About Iain

Iain Heath is an avid builder specializing in the "Bricks of Character" style, which he helped define. He has been using LEGO to parody popular culture since 2007, when he created the now infamous Stephen Hawking model. He is a SeaLUG member and regular theme coordinator at BrickCon. For five years he also ran a blog called The Living Brick, that showcased the best character-based LEGO creations from around the world. You can find his irreverent body of work on Flickr.

Posts by Iain

Giving new life to an old image

Not content with recreating his parent’s wedding photograph as a conventional LEGO wall mosaic, Caleb I decided to commemorate their 25th wedding anniversary in this ambitious two-and-a-half-dimensional non-rectangular format. After spending 100 hours digitally designing the piece, Caleb then set about the arduous task of not only acquiring the 2400 odd bricks needed to build it, but also addressing physical demands on the model that aren’t apparent until a design actually gets assembled “in the flesh”.

I hope this is still hanging on their wall when they get to commemorate their 50th! At which time, Caleb can no doubt recreate it using 5-dimensional LEGO holocubes.

Last rest stop before Tatooine

Spaceport’s hollowed from the cores of asteroids are a staple of science fiction, but Spaceport Sphaera-Petram Iota by Casey McCoy is the first time I’ve seen one created in LEGO. Despite being microscale, the build packs plenty of detail thanks to some interesting parts usage and just the right amount of stickering.

And while the busy and colorful front side of this model succeeds in conveying the sense of an inviting waystation for weary space travelers, the rear – which represents the leftover shell of the asteroid – is also worth pointing out, being constructed from three sides of a Bram sphere:

LEGO designers offer an in-depth look at 70620 NINJAGO City [News]

As if the forthcoming NINJAGO Movie wasn’t already exciting enough, LEGO has been blowing us away with all the related sets and minifigs — none more so than the completely jaw-dropping 4867-piece 70620 NINJAGO City. Well now LEGO has released a video in which the set’s designers give us an in-depth, bottom-up, overview of this amazing modular set and its many, many, many, many cool little details!

The set is available September 1st and will retail for USD$299 / £259.99. And look out for a thorough review of it right here on The Brothers Brick in the very near future!

TBB cover photo: August 2017

Summer (if you live in the Northern hemisphere) is movie blockbuster season, and it’s already turning out to be a good one! What better choice for our August cover photo than this beautifully decked out retro movie theater façade by RVA LUG, which comes complete with LEGO-themed posters and is illuminated using 260 lights.

Want to see your own LEGO creation featured across TBB social media for a month? Then read the submission guidelines and send us your photo today.

Keep up with the Brothers Brick by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter or Pinterest. And for occasional extra goodies, follow us on Flickr or subscribe to us on YouTube.

When fanz take matterz into their own handz

The BrickHeadz character style has firmly taken root amongst the builder community, as evidenced by an ever-growing collection of fan-created BrickHeadz models that frequently exhibit more creativity, fun and ingenuity than some of the heavily printing reliant exclusives that LEGO is making convention-goers stand in sweaty lines for hours to acquire. Taking inspiration from some memorable movie characters, here are a few excellent examples that came across our desk recently:

Maleficent and the Wicked Witch of the West by tankm

Holtzmann and Slimer by James zhan

Russell and Carl from UP by JAE WON LEE

The Internet just went from bad to wurst

Even if you’re not a Snapchat user, you’ve probably been exposed to the latest Internet sensation that is the Snapchat dancing hotdog. The popular mobile chat tool recent added this seemingly harmless augmented reality feature, only for it to instantly balloon into possibly the biggest meme of 2017. Of course, not wanting to miss this latest pop culture bandwagon, I have crafted a LEGO version of this adorable sausage for your enjoyment and/or annoyance. Because let’s be frank, the weiner takes it all – and I’m on a roll!

Here comes the bride, four studs wide

Newlywed LEGO fans have been putting LEGO toppers on their wedding cakes for ages, but to date these have been either minifigs or miniland scale figures. But now Ben Fong has switched things up with this adorable BrickHeadz style bride and groom. The builder does not mention who’s nuptials these were built for, but they also come with a matching brick-built jewelry box complete with miniature LEGO engagement ring. I particularly like the groom’s slightly comical expression, and the use of those increasingly ubiquitous balloon pieces for the bride’s veil.

As American as apple pie

Four score and twenty.. No wait. The only thing we have to fear is… Uhhhm. Mister Gorbachev tear down this… Hang on. Ok, got it: Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company – George Washington. And George seems to be in pretty good company in this collection of busts by Tyler Clites depicting the Founding Fathers. WISHING OUR STATE-SIDE READERS A HAPPY AND SAFE INDEPENDENCE DAY FILLED WITH FIREWORKS, FRANKFURTERS, AND FREEDOM!

TBB cover photo: July 2017

Our cover photo for July is one for the petrol heads. André Pinto has crafted a convertible Alfa Romeo Spider in perfect detail using stylish dark red …apparently to the same scale as LEGO’s Ferrari F40 set judging by those wheels. Check out the full album to see some of it’s working features.

Want to see your own LEGO creation featured across TBB social media for a month? Then read the submission guidelines and send us your photo today.

Keep up with the Brothers Brick by liking us on Facebook and following us on Twitter or Pinterest. And for occasional extra goodies, follow us on Flickr or subscribe to us on YouTube.

It takes a cop from the future to fight a game from the past

In my opinion, the best movie from the 80’s has to be Kung Fury. Which is funny considering it’s actually a crowdfunded Swedish short made in 2015. This completely over-the-top parody pays homage to martial arts and cop action movies of the era. It features a murderous arcade machine, dinosaur-riding barbarian women, an army of incompetent Nazis, and even a cameo by David Hasselhoff. Watch it today! I loved it so much I even recreated a scene from the movie in LEGO…

Click here to go behind the scenes of this time hacking build

Microscale A-10 Warthog [Instructions]

For the enjoyment of his fellow military aviation buffs, builder ama77what has beautifully reverse-engineered this microscale A-10 “Warthog” fighter jet from a knock-off brand of building block, recreating it using bona-fide LEGO pieces and presenting it in the form of this handy single-page building guide. There really is nothing more to say here than go build it and SWOOOSH it!

He who adventures and runs away lives to adventure another day

British builder Spencer Stone has cunningly repurposed the portal beast from 76060 Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum (which we reviewed here last year) as the focus of this neat little dungeon scene. By placing the beast in a corner and shooting the build up close from the warrior’s level, Spencer creates an almost expressionist image that puts the viewer right inside the action. A few carefully placed dungeon accoutrements and wall features beautfully round out the scene.

All that remains now is for the Dungeon Master to figure out whether our cowardly protagonist earned any experience points from this encounter. But suffice to say that he’s probably in the market for a new +1 battle axe.