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

That’s a lot of bull

2021 is the Year of the Ox, and to help us celebrate, LEGO builders are constructing a breadth of bricky bovines. Pistash challenged himself to use only pearl gold elements, and the result is this mechanical bull that’s actually not very brickish at all. With a mess of bars and ornamentation pieces surrounding a core frame of fence gates, this golden calf is one of the odder creations I’ve seen recently, and I am loving every bit of it.

Check out other LEGO Year of the Ox creations in our archives.

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.

7 new LEGO Monkie Kid sets revealed for Spring 2021 [News]

LEGO’s new Monkie Kid theme debuted last year and seems to be going full steam ahead. The initial Spring 2020 wave included 8 sets, while last Fall we got another 4. Now thanks to Chinese retailer Momo, we’re getting a first look at 7 brand new sets releasing March 1. The sets range in size from the 203-piece Monkie Kid’s Cloud Bike, all the way up to The Legendary Flower Fruit Mountain, a massive 1,949-piece fortress. There’s no word on the exact prices for the sets yet–although the Chinese retailer has local prices listed, they don’t bear much reflection on what prices we can expect elsewhere.

Be sure to check out these other upcoming LEGO sets, too:

Click to see more of the LEGO Monkie Kid Spring 2021 sets

Rotor is coming in hot!

What would Bionicle characters look like if they were designed by fans? That’s what some LEGO fans have been exploring, and one recent example is this Bionicle villain by awesomenessborn. The answer seems to be that they’d be a bit bigger than most Bionicle characters were, a whole lot more detailed, and totally cool. At first glance I thought this character was much smaller, and then I spotted the orange wheel used as a shoulder. And I was nearly fooled into thinking that was an official Bionicle mask he was wearing, but it’s actually made out of a handful of pieces, including a Pakari mask on top. With the huge chopper blade on top, I’m almost getting the vibe of Roboriders/Slizers.

And speaking of fans and Bionicle, don’t forget to check out the official LEGO Ideas fan vote to revive a classic theme, where Bionicle is one of the four finalists!

Hands-on with LEGO 71741 Ninjago City Gardens, the biggest Ninjago set ever [Review]

When LEGO introduced the Ninjago theme back in 2011, no one could have guessed that it would come to be one of the company’s most popular themes. Now celebrating its 10th anniversary, Ninjago is getting its biggest set yet, 71741 Ninjago City Gardens. At 5,685 pieces, it’s the fifth-largest LEGO set ever, and the third entry into the cyberpunk modular buildings collection known as Ninjago City. A series of high-rise buildings containing all manner of city life, Ninjago City Gardens houses restaurants, a museum, an arcade, a dojo, and apartments, along with 19 minifigures. Ninjago City Gardens is available now for US $299.99 | CAN $399.99 | UK £274.99. Let’s see how this one stacks up to the previous Ninjago City sets.

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

LEGO 10295 Porsche 911 Turbo & 911 Targa revealed as next Creator Expert car [News]

LEGO has just taken the wraps off the newest Creator Expert set, 10295 Porsche 911 Turbo & 911 Targa. Ringing in with a massive 1,458 pieces, the set contains the pieces to build a classic 1970s-1980s Porsche 911 in either of two configurations: the wide-fendered 911 Turbo with an iconic whale tail, or the stylish 911 Targa with a removable top. The Porsche 911 follows last year’s light yellow Fiat 500. The set will retail for US $149.99 | CAN $199.99 | UK £119.99 and will be first available to LEGO VIP members starting Feb. 16, with regular retail availability starting March 1.

Click to see more of the LEGO Porsche 911

A picture worth 10,000 bricks

This beautiful painting by Hoang H. Dang shows a pleasant street scene with ancient architecture and a gnarled tree, along with a few small street vendor stalls. But there’s much more to it than first meets the eye. Although it’s ostensibly a painting, it’s actually a low-relief sculpture masterfully executed with LEGO bricks, lending it an amazing sense of depth.

And look closer–this painting is much bigger than you probably realize. There’s detail packed into every square inch because the entire piece is enormous–more than 3 feet wide. It’s so big that a Duplo fire hydrant looks right at home. Let’s take a look at some of the other details.

Continue reading →

The tower of Barad-d’aww

How small can the dark lord get? This teeny, tiny tower of Barad-dûr from The Lord of the Rings was constructed by LEGO builder Hubba Blöoba, and it’s got all the right notes despite its diminutive size. A pair of grey bananas make the two spikes that ring the all-seeing eye, while clips and slopes make up the jagged tower itself. The atmospheric clouds elevate this little vignette further and give it an appropriate sense of foreboding.

LEGO Ideas holds fan vote to revive a classic theme for the LEGO 90th Anniversary Set [News]

Next year the LEGO Group will celebrate its 90th anniversary, and to mark the occasion LEGO is planning bring back a classic theme with the help of fans. The company has assembled a list of 30 iconic themes and is holding a fan vote to select the best one. The winning theme will be turned into a single new set that will launch next year as part of the company’s lineup aimed at adult fans.

The voting process will be split into two parts. Starting today, fans can vote for their favorites among all 30 themes, and each fan will get to choose up to three themes to move forward. This first round of voting will be open for one week until Jan. 25. Then LEGO will compile the top three themes and hold a run-off vote starting Feb. 3, where each fan will get to select their single favorite. LEGO won’t announce the final winning theme right away as they intend to keep it secret for a while, presumably until they’re ready to reveal the finalized set based on the theme. The new set will be dubbed LEGO’s 90th Anniversary Set.

Click to see themes up for consideration

LEGO reveals new wave of Ninjago sets for 10th anniversary with TV tie-in [News]

LEGO is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the wildly popular Ninjago theme in 2021. They kicked off the year by including golden minifigures in some new Ninjago sets, such as 71736 Boulder Blaster, and then launched the biggest-ever Ninjago set, 71741 Ninjago City Gardens, which is available starting today. Now the company is revealing four more sets launching in March that will tie in with the new season 14 of the Ninjago TV show. The sets come with an all-new setting that appears to be influenced by Polynesian cultures, with the usual Ninjago twist of martial arts, magic, crazy characters, and dragons.

Click to check out all the details on the new Ninjago sets

LEGO sets for Disney’s Raya and the Last Dragon revealed [News]

Three LEGO sets for Disney’s upcoming animated film Raya and the Last Dragon have been revealed, thanks to retailer Learning Express Gifts. Raya was originally slated to premiere last November but has been bumped to March 5, when it will release simultaneously in theaters and on Disney+. The new LEGO sets are part of the Disney Princess lineup and feature minidolls rather than minifigures. The sets introduce a number of new elements for designs iconic to the movie, such as Raya’s conical straw hat and her pill bug-like companion Tuk Tuk, and of course, Sisu the dragon. There’s no word yet when the sets will be available for sale.

Click to see more of the LEGO Raya sets

Get a closer look at 71741 Ninjago City Gardens with more official images [News]

Last week we got our first look at 71741 Ninjago City Gardens, but today LEGO is taking the wraps off the set with a few more images via certified reseller Bricks World LEGO Certified Store in Singapore. Ninjago City Gardens will be the third in the Ninjago City series and includes 18 minifigures. The set will be available starting Jan. 14 for members of LEGO’s free VIP loyalty program, and for everyone on Feb. 1. Once available, it will retail for US $299.99 | CAN $399.99 | UK £274.99.

Continue reading →

LEGO 71741 Ninjago City Gardens revealed as biggest-ever Ninjago set with 5,685 pieces [News]

LEGO’s latest retail catalog is giving us a look at the new LEGO Ninjago 71741 Ninjago City Gardens. 2021 marks the 10-year anniversary of the Ninjago theme, and LEGO is celebrating by releasing the theme’s biggest ever set. The 5,685-piece set is the third in the Ninjago City series spawned by The LEGO Ninjago Movie, and brings gardens, a shrine, arcade, Ice Planet Ice Cream Shop, a Ninja Control Tower, and more to the modular city, along with a plethora of minifigures. The set will be available starting Jan. 14 for members of LEGO’s free VIP loyalty program, and for everyone on Feb. 1. Once available, it will retail for US $299.99 | CAN $399.99 | UK £274.99.

Click to see more of Ninjago City Gardens