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

Immersed in a world of magic

I must admit that animals often catch my eye by themselves, but this immersive group of builds by Sven Franic is even better. It’s easily recognizable as Hedwig and a collection of Harry Potter’s possessions. But what impresses me the most is the exceptional attention to detail and unique use of parts. Take the ink-spill or the black hotdog wick on the candlestick, for example.

The conical hat from LEGO Ninjago sets was an excellent way to finish off the handle of the wand. Additionally, the 6-stud shooter and gold wheel were a great solution for the lamp filament. I admire the body-shaping for Hedwig, as it’s not an easy feat to produce nice feathers on a bird looking straight on, let alone from the side.

Sven is not a stranger to building birds. Back in June he produced a pretty epic toucan. You could even build your very own cuckoo clock bird using Sven’s excellent instructions!

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.

Test your luck with this spinning LEGO roulette wheel [Video]

Of all the incredibly impressive Great Ball Contraptions out there, you don’t see too many that mime regular objects. Intro Berthil van Beek’s roulette wheel. This expertly engineered marvel is a real treat to watch!

Click to be mesmerized by a video of it in action!

A Classic Space spin on the 10251 LEGO Brick Bank

I think it can be a fun practice when someone takes an official LEGO set and puts an entirely new (or old) twist on it. This Classic Space version of 10251 Brick Bank released in 2015 built by Justin Winn is just the kind of thing I’m talking about. Its façade is easily recognizable as the bank, but has all the classic colors and vibe of the retro-space and M-Tron themes. I’d love to see this idea applied to the entire modular series!

Justin’s Classic Space Brick Bank has a full interior, with a vault and plenty of old-style computer terminals.

This isn’t the first time Justin has “spacified” an existing LEGO set! Check out his customization of the 10196 Grand Carousel!

A peaceful winter village with a unique Christmas tree

What do you do when you get your hands on a giant pile of white ornamental fence pieces? Build an extravagant winter village of course! At least, that’s what builder Joe Gan did. The lovely white houses definitely make this picture zoom-worthy, but my favorite part is the giant purple Christmas tree. The color choice, in addition to the other accents throughout, make for an eye-catching build.

The next evolution of walking LEGO dinosaurs [Video]

We’ve been following the ongoing evolution of a series of mechanical LEGO dinosaurs built by Dan Schlumpp. Each iteration has become more and more streamlined, and the latest addition to his Mesozoic menagerie is no exception. The body-shaping is excellent, as well as the color choices.

This stegosaurus not only looks great, but lumbers around beautifully! It’s amazing to get such an organic body while still trying to create and hide all the right mechanical components.

If you’re curious about the previous iterations, check out our feature on one of Dan’s previous dinos.

A little wink from the Wizarding World

This lovely model of Harry Potter’s famous owl, Hedwig, is the work of DOGOD Brick Design. He does an exceptional job producing streamlined, organic shapes with LEGO. One of my favorite aspects of this model is the use of the automobile hoods to resemble chest feathers. I also love that she is posable, and that the handlebar used for the wink is easily replaced with a matching eye.

If you like this, check out his adorable Niffler! We also recently covered his excellent Frankenstein for Halloween.

A picturesque LEGO micro-castle

There are lots of microscale castles out there. Some just stand out. This one by Isaac Snyder caught our eye for how clean and picturesque it is. The colors and angles work nicely as the castle tucks neatly into the mountainside, with a lovely seaport scene in the water below.

Isaac also built this lovely minifigure-scale watchtower. I’m a big fan of the scattered brickwork as well as the decoration and architecture on top of the tower.

Both builds are entries in the Colossal Castle Contest XVI. If you love building under the castle theme, maybe you should check it out!

Busy in Santa’s workshop... [Video]

Now that we’re closing in on December, it’s time to release the Christmas builds! I’ve been anxiously anticipating another seasonal kinetic sculpture by Jason Allemann, and he hasn’t disappointed.

These elves at their workbench are cute enough alone, but of course, there’s more! Jason’s latest creation uses a nifty mechanism to give it an assembly line feel.

Watch a video of this kenetic sculpture in action

A bit of LEGO abrakadabra [Video]

Ever wondered how some of the classic magic tricks are done? Teun de Wijs might have some answers for you! This LEGO version of the “floating woman” illusion is a little technical marvel, and when seen from multiple angles, gives an idea of how such a trick might be done.

See this magician in action!

The three words that best describe you are as follows...

And I quote, “Stink. Stank. Stunk!” Dr. Seuss’s vile villain who stole Christmas, and his trusty dog, Max, come to us in LEGO form! This awful (lovely) model of Mr. Grinch by Miro Dudas is simply terrible (awesome)! In seriousness, this is one of my most favorite builds in recent history. Miro’s wonderfully expressive recreation is remarkably close to the latest version of the character in the new 2018 movie, The Grinch.

It’s all about the tasty things in life

Who needs riches when the best part of your day is food? This plump little guy is all about his next meal rather than gold. Sassafras the “Happy-Go-Lucky” dragon is the work of Mitch Henry, who designed him for a dragon building contest hosted by Jayfa, an excellent builder we’ve featured numerous times. This adorable creation caught our eye for its unique character and parts usage. Do you have an idea for a cool dragon? Give the contest a shot!

CoRob: An ingenius construction aid, or a creepy robot menace?

Sheo, the master of beautiful, organic, strange, and sometimes creepy LEGO art, is back with yet another bizarre creation. While it may not be quite as creepy at first glance, imagine the slow turn of the ever-smiling head. Or maybe take a look at that smaller pair of hands, with their evil-looking claws. Yep, terrifying. Freakiness aside, CoRob the construction robot is actually pretty cool.

This automaton can transform into a variety of helpful job-site equipment. I’m a big fan of the crane… and that drone! Just look how happy he is! Do you like Sheo’s style? Like construction? Check out his motorized Bucyrus mining shovel replica. How about weird builds? Perhaps his dapper dragon or giant space fish is right up your alley.