About Bre Burns

After living in the LEGO mecca of Seattle for 9 years, Bre is now home in her native state of Oregon. She briefly worked for the LEGO Group as a Brick Specialist before she left to pursue her career in Zoology, and LEGO remains a huge part of her life. She and her partner Jessie are active members of SEALUG, SPSLUG, FabuLUG and SquatchLUG, and enjoy building creations big and small that span across many themes. Their build handle is Renegade Bricks. Both are also members of the Event Team for BrickCon, and Bre has previously been the Theme Coordinator for Technic/Mindstorms.

Posts by Bre Burns

Sports meets science in LEGO Education’s new BricQ Motion Essential set 45401 [Review]

LEGO Education has been on a roll lately! It feels like just yesterday (nearly a year ago) we were covering a review of SPIKE Prime, their current flagship product. Now we’re checking out a kit that approaches STEAM learning from a different angle. While robotics are awesome, and programming is becoming a more and more common skill, not everyone can afford those tools. The new BricQ Motion line seeks to break barriers and bridge the gap for those who do not have access to those resources. It also hopes to foster more hands-on exploration of physical science. Today, we’ll take a look at the kit geared for the lower primary-school audience, 45401 BricQ Motion Essential. It will retail for US $99.95 | UK (via Education Distribtor)

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

Click to learn more about LEGO Education’s latest release!

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.

LEGO Education seeks to overcome digital barriers with new BricQ Motion line [News]

In today’s modern society, it seems digital technology makes the world go round. Especially in recent history – when thousands of people are realizing that they can effectively work from home – computer skills are hugely advantageous. But not everyone is born with a computer in their hands. So many children don’t have tech-based resources in their learning environment. And STEAM isn’t all about digital learning. Enter LEGO Education’s new BricQ Motion line. Currently the offerings include 45401 BricQ Motion Essential (6+) and 45400 BricQ Motion Prime (10+). These kits promise to foster creative exploration of physical science through sports-themed guided lessons. They will both retail for US $99.95.

Continue for a closer look and to read the full press release

Creature of an enchanted garden

If you find yourself in a magical land, watch where you step. Amongst the alluring, translucent blue flowers hides a curious creature. Exceptional LEGO builder, Patrick Biggs brings this little character to life in a captivating way. An expressive face paired with a dynamic pose and uniquely contrasted foliage demand a second look. You can build a pretty flower or a cute dragon, but telling a story with the two is what makes this build interesting. I’m particularly fond of the parts usage in the head shaping of the dragon, as well as the Bionicle head elements used for the petals.

While you’re here, you can check out a few of Patrick’s other builds, as well as more dragons!

The esteemed astronomer and warlock

When I was a kid, my first introduction to Merlin was in the Disney animated movie, The Sword in the Stone. It has remained one of my favorite movies to this day, though I’ve learned that most depictions of Merlin are quite different. Seeing this LEGO build by Jens Ohrndorf, immediately brings me back to that beloved movie and character. The real triumph, though, is that stellar telescope. Using the palm tree trunk element to create the flared end gives it the perfect look.

Any true fan of the movie will know that the one thing missing is Archimedes, the owl. But don’t worry, Tyler Clites has us covered! And if you can’t get enough, we also have many more articles about owls, wizards, and magic.

Hardware, home, and holiday cheer

When you think of a small-town hardware store during Christmas, this has to be what you think of. At least, this is the exact image that comes to my mind. Excellent at architecture and storytelling, the Midwest Builders have struck again with a modular worthy of LEGO store shelves. The line of detailed buildings is in dire need of a hardware store, and this fits the bill perfectly. If we were looking at images of the newest release, it’d be at the top of my Christmas wish list.

Click to see inside!

A beetle with a bit of style

Japanese tiger beetles are one of the coolest bugs on the planet. Not only is this epic predator shrouded in a rainbow, but it also sprints the equivalent of a human ultramarathon every day. It’s one of the fastest-running critters out there. I certainly wouldn’t want to mess with those mandibles either. Takamichi Irie is known for his exceptional LEGO beetles, and this is one of his best. The body shape and mosaic-like exoskeleton really make it stand out and come to life.

Takamichi’s unique style involves the use of loads of minifigure hands. You have to wonder how he gets them. Does he have a hundred poor minifigs without hands, or does he get them in bulk? Maybe our past interview with him will shed a little light on his work.

A Christmas icon goes kinetic [Video]

When you think of Christmas songs, chances are one of the top ten that comes to mind is “Little Drummer Boy”. While not everyone in the world celebrates Christmas, I’m sure many of you can appreciate the most recent LEGO kinetic sculpture built by Jason Allemann of the JK Brickworks duo. Before the thing even gets moving, it’s clear that the ox and sheep are adorable.

Once the crank starts turning the magic starts. The little trio are mesmerizing to watch. Builds with timing can seem so complicated on the surface, but as Jason often shows, the inner-workings aren’t all that complicated. Still, it’s hard not to be jealous of how easy he makes it look.

As always, the instructions for this build can be found for free on the JK Brickworks website. This also isn’t the first kinetic holiday model! We’ve featured a flying Santa’s sleigh, Santa’s elves working on toys, and even a robotic cookie decorator.

Exploring the galaxy for fresh vegetation

I’m loving everything about this other-worldly scene by captainsmog! From the satisfyingly shaped spaceship that is reminiscent of the Rocket Boy LEGO Collectable Minifigure, to the cleverly crafted plants. The creative parts usage is rad and makes me want to go dig through my oddball parts. I particularly love the claw elements used to make the wavy red and orange… thingy? Genius!

This builder is not a stranger to TBB. He built one of the first tensegrity builds we featured.

The LEGO harvester to rule all harvesters

Holy guacamole, Batman, this machinery puts Scarecrow’s to shame! Corn cobs everywhere are shaking in their husks!

Well, this giant LEGO harvester built by Michał “Eric Trax” Skorupka actually has nothing to do with the infamous Gotham criminal, but it sure is impressive. With all the details of the real-life Krone BigX 770, the specs are incredible. With its perfect body-shaping and lack of dirt, it may even look better than the real thing. But it’s not just how it looks on the outside.

Even if you know absolutely nothing about farming equipment, you can appreciate the effort that went into making it move. Inside every expert-level LEGO Technic vehicle is a complex system of motors and gearing that is sure to leave you wondering how they designed it. And this behemoth even puts some of them to shame. It houses 9 motors (one servo, one XL, one L, and six M motors) and is controlled by three Sbricks. It even has lights! Simply put, it’s ridiculously cool.

If you’d like to see more like this, take a look at a couple more of Eric Trax’s other farming equipment builds.

A LEGO Master’s medieval masterpiece

Former Swedish LEGO Master Peter Ilmrud is known for detailed, colorful, and occasionally intricate works of art. Often times his builds feature subject matter of fantasy and bygone days. It’s hard to choose, but I think I enjoy his microscale castles best. This will be featured in a LEGO brand retail shop in Sweden, and it’s easy to see why.

The build catches the eye and takes you on an adventure from sea to castle spires. The real triumph is the parts usage in the castle itself. For the most part, the techniques aren’t new, but when they all come together the result is beautiful. I particularly like the techniques used on all the towers, especially stacking modified round plates and tiles back to back to achieve windows and the “stone” look. I also admire how the central helmet piece connected to the lantern element creates a particularly striking feature.

You can see more builds by Peter in our archives. While you’re at it, check out all the incredible previously featured builds in both the microscale and medieval categories.

Outfitted for an expedition

When you’re exploring an alien wilderness, prospecting for valuable materials, you don’t want to get caught underprepared. This LEGO figure, built by the talented Marko Petrušić (Cezium) is suited up and ready. I love how smooth the midsection is, and how solid the whole figure looks. Many aspects of the base, rifle, and body are cool, but what really sells it is that jacket. You can’t help but feel warm just looking at the “fuzzy” fringe made from gears and Minifigure hair.

Marko built this as a birthday present for Buttloaf_Builds and claims to have been inspired by his incredible recreation of the Nigerian trickster, Eshu. But Marko is exceptional in his own right, with several other builds featured on here on The Brothers Brick.

Delicate hues and enchanting views

You don’t see light aqua slopes used in LEGO builds very often. But boy do they look nice on this cottage, built by Azurekingfisher. I love how the plate offset gives it texture. The steep roof sections join together seamlessly and act as the perfect canvas for those detailed dormer windows. The ornamental fence elements and window arches really shine here.

Of course, we can’t overlook the beautiful vines and pastel colors carried throughout. The Friends cupcakes make for excellent flowers. While we’ve seen that application before, this palette doesn’t seem like it could be any more perfect. It’s even carried inside to the detailed tile floors.

Azurekingfisher is really talented with striking color palettes and intricate designs. Just take a look at what they’ve done with plant leaves.