About Chris

Chris Malloy (porschecm2) has been a LEGO fan nearly all his life, having started with System bricks at age 3. He is the co-author of Ultimate LEGO Star Wars, and his creations have been featured in several books and The LEGO Movie. He also helped develop the first LEGO Minecraft set, 21102 Minecraft Micro World: The Forest, which has gone on to inspire a whole theme of sets. He's been active in the online community since 2002, and regularly attends LEGO fan conventions such as BrickCon and BrickCan. He enjoys building in a wide range of themes, but keeps returning to Castle, Space, and Pirates. Check out his LEGO creations and photography here.

Posts by Chris

What’s tiny and cute and stomps around on 3 legs?

What’s tiny and cute and stomps around on 3 legs? The Niffler, of course! Provided he’s piloting this unusual LEGO mech by Andreas Lenander, that is. The adorable little creature from the Wizarding World is surely up to something cute, and when was the last time you saw a 3-legged mech with claw hands? The bit of bright foliage in the background is also the perfect accompaniment to this build. It’s amazing how just adding a touch of scenery like that can give a whole new dimension to a quick build like this mech.

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Upcoming The Batman movie LEGO sets revealed, including Technic Batmobile [News]

Today LEGO has taken the wraps off a wave of sets from the upcoming movie The Batman, a reboot starring Robert Pattinson. The new sets include three minifigure-scale sets. 76181 Batmobile: The Penguin Chase features Batman’s newly stylized muscle car Batmobile with Batman and the Penguin, while another, 76179 Batman & Selina Kyle Motorcycle Pursuit, includes a pair of motorcycles for Batman and Celina Kyle, AKA Catwoman. The third is 76183 The Batcave: The Riddler Face-off, which can function as a garage for the Batmobile and Batcycle from the other sets. It includes Batman, Selina Kyle, The Riddler, The Drifter, Alfred, and Commissioner Gordon. The final set, 42127 The Batman – Batmobile, is a larger, 1,360-piece Technic version of the new Batmobile. The movie is slated to release March 4, 2022, but you’ll be able to snag the sets well ahead of that as they’re available to pre-order now and will begin shipping Nov. 1.

Check out more images and details

LEGO reveals 9,000-piece 10294 Titanic ship model as second-largest LEGO set ever [News]

Today LEGO is officially revealing its second-biggest set ever, 10294 Titanic, to commemorate the 110th anniversary of the ill-fated ship’s launch in 1911. The huge 9,090-piece ship model features the iconic ocean liner in its prime, with cross-sections of the interior decks accessible at several points. The Titanic model rings in at more than 4 feet in length (1.3m) and will cost US $629.99 | CAN $799.99 | UK £569.99 when it’s available beginning Nov. 1, 2021.

The Titanic edges out last year’s 10276 Colosseum set by a mere 54 pieces to take the second-highest spot on the list of biggest LEGO sets, but falls well short of the top slot, occupied by the 11,695-piece World Map mosaic set released earlier this year.

Be sure to also check out our full, hands-on review of the LEGO 10294 Titanic.

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Hands on with LEGO Creator Expert 10294 Titanic, a 9,000-piece ship more than 4 feet long [Review]

The upper boundary for the size of LEGO sets has been steadily rising for the last decade as the company increasingly courts the attention of adult fans with broader interests and deeper pockets than the toy’s traditional audience. When the Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series 75192 Millennium Falcon arrived in 2017, it set a new high watermark with a whopping 7,541 pieces. That record has since been broken several times. LEGO’s latest venture into the open waters of adult collector pieces comes in the form of the world’s most iconic ship, one whose name is synonymous with its monumental place in history. 10294 Titanic doesn’t quite get the top slot on the part-count hall of fame (that record goes to 31203 World Map mosaic from earlier this year) but at more than 4 feet in length and 9,090 pieces, it’s the largest traditional LEGO model of all time. It features a detailed exterior and segments of the lavish interior. The monstrous ship launches next month, and will set you back US $629.99 | CAN $799.99 | UK £569.99 when it’s available Nov. 1.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Click to read the full, hands-on review

The death of a fruit

Anything can be a LEGO creation, as proven by this little scene from byggi_l which depicts a fruit salad being created in what can only be described as a brutal manner. The anthropomorphized fruit look on in horror as the apple comes to an untimely end. The fruit themselves are simple little builds that employ modified Lowell Spheres to make their rotund, studded shapes, and the eyes and facial expressions are perfect. I can’t help but be reminded a little of those Veggie Tales videos I watched as a kid.

LEGO baseplates to get sustainable packaging, new set numbers in 2022 [News]

Today LEGO has announced that they will be updating the packaging on the standalone baseplates to employ sustainable paper packaging instead of the thin plastic sleeves the pieces are currently sold in. The new packaging is slated to be available starting next year, and LEGO will be issuing new set numbers for the baseplates that use the updated packaging. The company says they have no plans to discontinue any of the baseplates. This follows last year’s announcement about LEGO’s broader sustainability initiatives, including a planned move to paper instead of plastic bags inside sets, a move that had been scheduled to begin this year. Today LEGO said that rollout will also begin in early 2022.

LEGO baseplates with the current plastic packaging.

The four baseplate products that will be affected are:

10700 Green Baseplate | US $7.99 | CAN $9.99 | UK £6.99

10701 Grey Baseplate | US $14.99 | CAN $17.99 | UK £12.99

10714 Blue Baseplate | US $7.99 | CAN $9.99 | UK £6.99

11010 White Baseplate | US $7.99 | CAN $9.99 | UK £6.99

Here’s the official statement from LEGO:

Over the next few months you will likely see some products with “retiring soon” branding or perhaps a local retailer reporting that they are no longer able to order certain products. We want to share ahead of time that there is no need to be alarmed about baseplates.

In 2022, baseplates will be changing from their current plastic packaging to more sustainable paper packaging. Besides packaging, there are no additional changes with the LEGO baseplates and you will still be able to get the same colors and sizes in 2022 that you can purchase today. You can expect to see the new packaging around March 1, 2022.

Current Product Number

Product Number as of March ’22

Product Name

10700

11023

Green Baseplate

10701

11024

Gray Baseplate

10714

11025

Blue Baseplate

11010

11026

White Baseplate

Visit www.LEGO.com to learn more about what the LEGO Group is doing in regards to sustainability and our Planet Promise.

It’s a pirate’s life for me down by ‘arr-bour

You might have missed it, but last Sunday was that silliest of holidays, Talk Like a Pirate Day. And to celebrate the occasion, Nick Sweetman built the local LEGO pirate hangout, the Skull and Crossbones Bar & Grill. The cutaway design is ingenious for giving you a feel for the building while letting you see all the piratey action, mostly consisting of lots of drinking and carousing—which seems about right. My favorite thing about this scene, though, is the multitude of pirates wearing that classic blue pirate coat. Often builders try to carefully make sure all the minifigures in a scene are uniquely dressed, but this somehow seems perfect to me for how LEGO pirates would dress and I absolutely love it.

The ancient relics of space

It’s nearing the end of September, and for many in the LEGO fan community that means spaceships. Big spaceships. Dubbed Shiptember, this month features the annual informal fan challenge to build a space SHIP (that’s a Seriously Huge Investment in Parts). This SHIP by Sheo is certainly a unique take with an unusual color scheme and design. The builder envisions it as an ancient relic drifting through the cosmos, a shrine for space pilgrims, and it certainly feels otherworldly.

Although the shape is predominantly a few large grey columns, Sheo hasn’t slacked on the detailing, as there’s plenty of interesting techniques inlaid into the beams. There are lots of bits I could point out, but one of the best to me are the tiny white 1×1 plates inserted upside-down as diamonds between four grey slopes, seen below on the lower right image inset. It’s a beautifully simple technique that works perfectly to add visual interest, and I could see it being applied on everything from spaceships like this to castle walls.

And I can’t help but admit that I also see a little bit of a giant egg-beater in the ship’s design. Or maybe I’m just hungry…

LEGO Creator Expert 77942 Fiat 500 limited edition comparison: blue is the new yellow [Review]

A few weeks ago, LEGO announced that they were running a trial in the UK to test variants of a few popular sets, altering their sizes or colors. The flagship model of this program is an update on last year’s Creator Expert 10271 Fiat 500, which overhauls the car’s light yellow to a light blue. The new set receives a new number, and 77942 Fiat 500 is sold from now until Nov. 30 through LEGO’s website in the UK (£74.99) or through retailer Zavvi. Unlike LEGO’s UK site, Zavvi does ship outside the UK, briefly allowing fans elsewhere in the world to get the set, though the first stock of Zavvi’s sets appears to have sold out and Zavvi has taken down the listing. LEGO has said that since it’s part of a trial program, once the set is sold out, it will not be available again. Today we’re taking a brief look at how the new blue Fiat compares to the yellow version we reviewed last year.

Click to read the full review

LEGO reveals 10293 Santa’s Visit for the 2021 Winter Village collection [News]

It’s time pay another visit to the LEGO Winter Village with this year’s addition 10293 Santa’s Visit set. Designed by Chris McVeigh, the new winter house model is full of holiday symbols and heartwarming moments. The set isn’t particularly big, consisting of 1,445 pieces, but sets a charming scene featuring a family and Santa in his iconic boots. The set will be available to VIP members starting September 16th, and at LEGO stores starting October 1st, for US $99.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £79.99, but you can check out our review of 10293 Santa’s Visit today already.

See more pictures and read the full press release

A different sort of digital LEGO build

These days, we come across a lot of digital LEGO builds, and it’s easy to see why. Through several free programs, the world of virtual building offers anyone access to infinite quantities of bricks in any type and color you need. But despite having seen thousands of digital creations, builder Tong Xin Jun still managed to create something I’ve never before seen: LEGO Digital Designer. The interface of LEGO’s now-retired free building software will be familiar to many of you, but look closely, because I promise you’ve never seen it like this before. That’s right, this is the LDD interface built out of bricks within LDD! It’s an absolutely brilliant piece of design that I’d love to see rendered with physical bricks, and I actually think the majority of it could be.

This LEGO Donald Duck hides a full Disney recording studio

Donald Duck, Disney’s angry but lovable waterfowl, may be a bit in the shadow of Mickey Mouse, but he’s still got plenty of fans, such as LEGO builder Ian Hou. Ian’s latest build is a huge bust of Donald sporting his iconic sailor’s uniform and cap, and it’s a lovely bit of building to get the duck’s shape down so well, even including a slight coloration to Donald’s eyes thanks to some carefully chosen aqua elements.

But turn the bust around and you’ll discover that Donald’s got a secret: a full recording studio for Disney voice actor Clarance Charles “Ducky” Nash, who voiced the duck’s mad rantings. It’s quite a feat to fit such a lovely detailed interior inside Donald’s head without compromising his looks!

Current Product Number	Product Number as of March ’22	Product Name
10700	11023	Green Baseplate
10701	11024	Gray Baseplate
10714	11025	Blue Baseplate
11010	11026	White Baseplate