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

Do Mini-Figs Dream Of Plastic Sheep?

The current collaboration between the planet’s most profitable and awesome toy company and the America’s longest everything television show seems like a match made in heaven. I hope you all got to watch Sunday’s crossover episode Brick Like Me, and are now poring over it frame-by-frame to catch all 52 in-jokes and bad puns.

Judging by the activity on Flickr, it looks many of you are now having a ton of fun with your Simpsons LEGO collectible minifigures too. If you haven’t got yours yet …what’s wrong with you?!

I guess David Pickett (fallentomato) couldn’t wait for either spin-off, since he recently decided to build the First Family of Animation out of raw bricks…

Make sure to check out the full set on Flickr, including brick-built Homer holding his minifig counterpart. But that’s not all …DOH! David also put together this handy instructional video showing you how to build them yourself. So put those figs aside for a second and give it a go!

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Star DOH’s

As Star Wars day draws to a close, and fans everywhere safely deactivate and stow away their light sabers until ComicCon, don’t forget that tonight at 8pm FOX will be airing Brick Like Me, the highly anticipated all-LEGO episode of The Simpsons. It’ll give you something to watch while you start poring over the 7000 pages of instructions that came with your new LEGO Sandcrawler.

You can watch the trailer for the Simpsons episode here. Oh, and if you’re East of me then you’ve probably already seen the episode by now. In which case *JEDI MIND TRICK* this isn’t the post you’re looking for …move along!


Image by Karl Westworth.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

In a galaxy far, far away ...or just really, really small?

Another Star Wars day retrospective for Lucas-fans… Over the years we’ve seen many great Star Wars themed fan LEGO creations of all shapes, sizes and styles. They run the gamut from vast minifigure based dioramas, to brick-built characters, and of course many fine ships and vehicles. But my personal favorites are probably these microscale dioramas by Rob Gillies (2 Much Caffeine).


 

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

I’m not an elephant!

On this May 4th, let’s not forget some of the often overlooked but nevertheless very important characters from the Star Wars universe. I speak of course of Jabba’s keyboard player and occasional restauranteur Max Rebo. So I present to you my Star Wars Day Definitive Guide to every known LEGO version of everyone’s favorite azure non-elephant:


 
 

IMAGE CREDITS (in order): Millie McKenzie (Leda Kat); Larry Lars; our very own Tim Gould (Gambort); Flickr member SIMAFOL; Flickr member kae_ae; and Eric Druon (baronsat).

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Continental curb hugging

Still a regular site across Europe, the Citroën 2CV or “Deux Chevaux” (lit. “two horses”) was a beloved lemon of a French economy car introduced in the 1950’s. Some could be forgiven for thinking that the name referred to vehicle’s horse power.

Polish builder and massive petrol-head Misterzumbi is no stranger to building LEGO versions of this and other classic cars, but he seems to have perfected his 2CV technique here, with a version that is an obvious nod to Nick Barrett’s larger model that we featured here last year.

The significance of the grandfather clock I can only guess at – perhaps itself an homage to the opening titles of the Antiques Roadshow. But I love that the builder chose to represent the vehicle in the full corner-hugging, wheel-screeching, teeth-clenching action of a 2CV going flat out at 8 miles per hour.

However, not satisfied with just one presentation of this idea, Mr. Z decided he should taunt us a second time with another high velocity 2CV vignette, this time featuring a Frenchman who is either very late for a picnic, or just more of a dog person…

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Star Wars Day deals this weekend at LEGO Shop At Home [News]

Once again LEGO® Shop will be celebrating the unofficial Star Wars™ holiday of May the 4th with a number of exclusive promotions over the 3 day span of May 3rd thru 5th. In addition to these great offers, May 3rd marks the launch of the brand new set, 75059 – Sandcrawler™.

All offers valid May 3-5th only. Offers apply both to the Shop At Home website and participating LEGO stores. Also check with your local LEGO store for other exciting Star Wars day events!

  • FREE Shipping on all orders of $75 or more.
  • FREE Exclusive Darth Revan minifigure with LEGO Star Wars orders of $75 or more. (while supplies last)
  • Exclusive LEGO Star Wars Poster with all LEGO Star Wars orders. (while supplies last)
  • Dozens of LEGO Star Wars sets also marked down. (while supplies last)

All offers are combinable on qualifying orders. Click any of the links below to get started on your LEGO Star Wars weekend spending spree. And may the fourth be with you!

3 Days Only! LEGO Star Wars Sale and Exclusive Darth Revan Promotion. Valid 5/3/14 thru 5/5/14

3 Days Only! LEGO Star Wars Sale and Exclusive Darth Revan Minifigure Promotion. Valid 5/3/14 thru 5/5/14Travel the dunes with the LEGO� Star Wars™ Ultimate Collector Series Sancrawler™

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Beyond the Brick: A LEGO Brickumentary  comes to the Seattle International Film Festival [News]

As if The LEGO Movie wasn’t already enough cinematic excitement for LEGO fans in one year, watch out, because here comes Beyond the Brick: A LEGO Brickumentary, a feature-length documentary about LEGO from award winning directors Daniel Junge and Kief Davidson. The documentary covers a lot of ground, from the history of the LEGO company, to the current LEGO fan phenomenon – with a bunch of fan builders and conventions getting the spotlight.

The documentary premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York this April, and today it was announced that there will also be screenings at the Seattle International Film Festival (SIFF) in May. Times and locations as follows:

  • Friday May 16 4:00 PM – Lincoln Square Cinema, Bellevue
  • Saturday May 17 3:30 PM – SIFF Cinema Uptown Theater, Seattle
  • Sunday May 18 2:30 PM – SIFF Cinema Uptown Theater, Seattle

Each screening will also be accompanied by a Q&A on stage with the film’s makers and some of the people featured in it. So if you’re a Seattle area LEGO fan, get your tickets now and come see it!

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Art Imitating Art

TKH takes his signature “sparkly-eyed female” building style away from the usual Anime fare for a moment, to take us behind the scenes of some classic works of art. Apparently Johannes Vermeer’s Girl With a Pearl Earring was having a little snake trouble …which may explain her distracted look!

 

Also check out Leonardo da Vinci’s Mona Lisa failing to get comfortable, and Jacques-Louis David’s Napoleon Crossing the Alps preparing to eat some snow.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.