This tranquil LEGO scene from Damian Z. is a great way to highlight the real star, the tractor. The Polish Ursus C330 is a wonderful piece of work with lots of detail despite its small minifigure-scale size. A handful of common clips and other bits stand in for the engine details, while Technic pulley wheels work as the hubs to make tractor-like tires out of larger-scale racing tires.
Posts by Chris
Neptune Discovery Lab, the 1990s LEGO classic from Aquazone, gets a serious upgrade
For the past year, Peter Carmichael has been texting me updates about an Aquazone base he was building. We both grew up in the 90s, so the classic LEGO themes from that era are full of nostalgia for us, and I’m always excited to see old favorites get a new makeover. But Peter said his update to the 1995 set Neptune Discovery Lab wasn’t going to be a simple redux with modern elements, but something grander. At nearly 6 feet long and using more than 50,000 pieces, I think he delivered.
The highlight of the base is the working Aquazone monorail track, an idea LEGO contemplated in the 90s but never ultimately released. The track makes a large figure eight, winding through the central base before looping around the edges.
LEGO adds Jaguar Formula E and I-PACE vehicles to the Speed Champions lineup [News]
Today LEGO announced the newest set in the Speed Champions lineup will come from a new brand partnership with Panasonic Jaguar Racing. Set 75898 Formula E Panasonic Jaguar Racing GEN2 car & Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY will feature two of Jaguar’s newest all-electric vehicles along with one of the longest official LEGO set names. The Formula E I-TYPE 4 racecar has just been unveiled today by the Panasonic Jaguar Racing team and represents the pinnacle of the team’s technical capabilities. Meanwhile, the Jaguar I-PACE is the brand’s newest all-electric SUV, marketed to go toe-to-toe with the Tesla Model X. The set will be available January 1, 2020.
TBB cover photo for October 2019: Entering Aquila
This month’s cover image across TBB’s social media comes to us from W. Navarre, who together with three other builders crafted a series of exquisite scenes from the 1985 film Ladyhawke. We covered all four scenes this summer, but we were so drawn to this beautiful portrait of the middle eastern city of Aquila that we just had to pick it. Everywhere you look the buildings employ ingenious patterns of bricks, making this feel like a vibrant, wealthy merchant town.
Want to see your own LEGO creation featured across TBB social media for a month or more? Then read the submission guidelines and send us your photo today. Photos that do not meet the submission guidelines will not be considered, and will be removed from the group. Extra consideration will be given to images that have seasonal relevance and work well in a wide landscape orientation.
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LEGO partners with BBC’s Top Gear for new Technic set [News]
Today, LEGO has joined with BBC Studios to create a new set based on the hit TV show Top Gear, according to a new report by industry magazine License Global. The current iteration of the long-running show will be entering its 28th season next year, continuing to bring its peculiar blend of automotive news and creative hijinks to audiences around the world. The new set will be a LEGO Technic model and will presumably be a vehicle of some sort, and we’ll be sure to bring our readers an update once more is known about the set. For now, let us know in the comments what you think of this new license.
LEGO Collectible Minifigures 71025 Series 19 Feel Guide [Review]
We recently brought you our in-depth review of the LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series 19 (71025), and that may have helped you decide if you want to pick up a set of the characters. But as always, the 16 unique figures are randomly packed in blind bags. So how to ensure you a full set, short of buying a full case or paying a premium to have someone else do the searching? The key, of course, is to feel the bags before you purchase, and we’ve got our Feel Guide to help you do just that.
71025 Collectible Minifigures Series 19 are available from Sept. 1 at LEGO.com for USA $3.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £2.99, as well as from third-party sellers on Amazon and eBay.
Up to 40% off various LEGO Star Wars sets on Amazon, including biggest sale yet for Cloud City [News]
If you’ve been holding out on picking up some new LEGO Star Wars sets over the past year, then today’s Amazon sale just might be the nudge you’ve been waiting for. The online retailer has discounted a variety of LEGO Star Wars sets by up to 40% off, including the huge set Betrayal at Cloud City (75222) for $289.99 (17% off), which according to our data is the cheapest it’s been yet on Amazon. Check out more of the highlights below.
Click to see more of the sales
LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series 19 (71025) are back to the basics and better than ever [Review]
LEGO’s long-running collectible minifigures theme is back again with its third wave for the year. The last few waves focused on IP tie-ins, bringing a second wave of Disney, The LEGO Movie 2, and the Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts series. 71025 LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series 19 returns to the classic formula with a wide variety of non-branded characters from all walks of life and lore, and it’s a refreshing change of pace even for those who loved the latest several series (I particularly enjoyed the Harry Potter figures). Series 19 is also the smallest set in the past year, returning to the standard 16 figures that were the trademark of the line until recently. As usual, they will retail for USA $3.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £2.99 per figure and are packed in blind bags. With characters ranging from a Fright Knight to a guy in a pizza costume, let’s dive in and take a look at Series 19.
LEGO Technic’s biggest set ever now available for pre-order: 42100 Liebherr R 9800 Excavator [News]
LEGO Technic is getting bigger this year, with the Liebherr R 9800 Excavator (42100) clocking in at a massive 4,108 pieces, making it officially the biggest Technic set ever. It’s now available for pre-order from LEGO.com for US $449.99 | CAN $549.99 | UK £399.99. Although the site doesn’t list its release date, we expect it to be Oct. 1 based on the previously released catalog. Using a customized version of new Control+ app that we just featured in our review of the brand new LEGO Technic 4×4 X-treme Off-Roader (42099), the giant mining excavator has not one but two smart hubs and seven motors.
Check out all the details of this huge new set below. Like Technic? Be sure to check out the just-announced 2,500-piece LEGO Technic Range Rover Defender (42110).
Cruisin’ with the classics
For the past 50 years, the Porsche 911 is the car most associated with the German sports car brand. But it was the venerable 356 that gave the company its cred in the automobile world. Debuting in 1948, the car was the company’s first production vehicle and continued all the way to 1965. With its curvy, tub-like shaping it’s a difficult design to translate to LEGO (nearly as challenging as the Ferrari 250). Jonathan Elliott has done an admirable job with this jet black Speed Champions-sized model.
I only wish it had the early split-window variation, which has always been my favorite. But that’s definitely pushing the bounds of what’s possible at this scale.
Ride now! Ride to Gondor!
The city of Minas Tirith in the realm of Gondor is one of the most iconic locations from Tolkien’s beloved The Lord of the Rings books, and was brought to life perfectly in the film adaptations. Builder Nicola Bozzolan has crafted the capital stronghold in LEGO, and it looks amazing. Using over 7,000 pieces, Nicola spent more than 60 hours making the White Tower nestle just perfectly among the mountains, with its seven-tiered system of defensive walls.
Spreading out on the Pelennor Fields, the curved city is rendered excellently in microscale. High at the top of the central spire of rock is the palace of the kings of Gondor. The emblematic white tree of Gondor is in the central courtyard, with its ancient sweeping branches represented by a LEGO feather.
Six LEGO sets from Disney’s Frozen II revealed [News]
Today we’re getting our first official look at the tie-in sets for Disney’s upcoming Frozen II. As the sequel to the incredibly popular 2013 animated movie, the new film will follow the further wintertime adventures of sisters Anna and Elsa and snowman Olaf and is slated for release Nov. 22 of this year. Six new sets based on the movie were revealed by toy retailer Kockarium, so we’ve got all the details below. There are four regular sets, and two in the 4+ line (which used to be known as Juniors). We don’t have USD prices, but we do know an approximate Euro price for each.
UPDATE | Sept. 11, 2019: The images contained within this article were sourced in good faith based upon their being made public by multiple toy retailers, including Kockarium. The LEGO Company has determined that these retailers should not have published the images, and have asked that the images be removed from The Brothers Brick as well. In furthering our good-faith efforts, we have removed the images. We will return the images to the article at a later date once they are made public again.