If you’re any kind of self-respecting Harry Potter fan, you know about the Mirror of Erised. Even more importantly, you know one of the most famous quotes of the entire series. As Dumbledore says, “It does not do to dwell on dreams, and forget to live.” These noble words that resonate with us all come at a pivotal point in the storyline.
Now that scene has been masterfully re-created in LEGO stop-motion by Geertos13 who also voices the young wizard.
This charming little village is the home of an exotic mineral. At first glance you wouldn’t notice that this is where pearling is done. But as you look closer, you begin to see the story told by builder Ayrlego. As villagers go about their day, two women sit in the top corner, opening the clamshells.
The rockwork and landscaping are nice, as well as the angles of the buildings, and the little scenes are simple but clever and cute. My favorite part is actually the fish racks at the bottom, using pirate hooks to hang them up for drying.
Like this build? Ayrlego is a great storyteller, and we’ve covered several other creations that are even better! You’ll find the beauty in the fine details of this jaguar sighting, these navy barracks, and this research center.
The Brothers Brick is a website dedicated to sharing amazing LEGO builds, news, and reviews. We generally write about things that make us happy. But it is with deep sadness that we must share the passing of an incredibly talented builder, Luca Di Lazzaro. The Italian native was a Deputy Commander for the Carabinieri station in Remanzacco, and an avid bicyclist. Unfortunately, it was a bicycling accident that ended his life at the young age of only 45.
We know Luca (pictured center) because of his presence in the Adult Fan of LEGO community. We have written many articles about his charming and wonderful creations, but we’d like to honor his memory by re-sharing a few of our favorites. You can click the links below to read those articles.
Cast a coin into The Well of Desires
Udine, Italy’s Piazza San Giacomo in LEGO
If you don’t speak Italian, you can still read outside articles about Luca by pasting web addresses into Google Translate. If you’d just like to see more fantastic pictures of his work, check out his Facebook, Instagram, and Flickr. Our sincere condolences to his family and friends. In the LEGO community he will be sorely missed.
When I first saw this build I did a double take. There are lots of pirate shipwrecks out there, and lots of medieval-looking structures. There are also plenty of creations featuring pirate ships attacking those structures. But there most definitely aren’t many shipwrecks running through the center of a village, sitting on a floating sky-rock, splitting it in two. The level of engineering involved in such a creation deserves major kudos, and those kudos belong to John Snyder.
We’ve featured other creations by John, but were particularly struck by the interesting setting for this one. Every angle shows masterful attention to detail.
One of the sweetest moments in the Harry Potter series is when the young wizard gives Dobby a sock at the end of Chamber of Secrets. It is at that moment that the loveable House Elf becomes free from the Malfoys. This tribute to that moment, built by Chung-Heng Cheng, is an exceptional work of art. The body shaping is really nice and it’s immediately recognizable as the little hero.
Can’t get enough of all things Wizarding World? Check out our Minifigure Feel Guide (which includes Dobby) as well as our review of the new 71043 Hogwarts Castle (which includes scenes from the Chamber of Secrets).
A couple months ago, we had the opportunity to talk to one of our favorite builders, Takamichi Irie, about his work. He is most notably known for his use of minifigure parts to achieve life-like shapes in creations ranging from insects to household items. His excellent attention to detail gives his creatures character. Enough character, in fact, to have several of his bugs featured at the LEGO House in Denmark.
Takamichi’s builds have been featured several times on our site, such as his exceptional motorized BB-8, based on the character from the Star Wars franchise. After writing about his Dipodidae, we knew we needed to learn more about his creative process, and ask him about his life and inspiration. 
Tell us a bit about yourself! What got you started with LEGO? Was there a dark age, and if so, what brought you back?
I’m a student who studies Architecture and Landscape Design in Japan. When I’m asked about my passion for LEGO, I always say that I’ve been building with LEGO or Duplo since I was born, because I have an older bother. In my childhood, I asked my parents for only LEGO as birthday presents every year. But I couldn’t buy much LEGO for myself with my small pocket money when I was in junior high school. I only bought some of the small Star Wars sets for their minifigs at that time. That moment was my darkest age, and after that I started building and uploading my own creations on the internet.
Read the full interview with Takamichi Irie
Building in monochrome can often be a huge challenge, even if the source material is too. This lovely mausoleum by Jens Ohrndorf is a really great example of knocking that challenge out of the park. The Taj Mahal-esque creation puts some nice techniques to work, especially on the top. Also, the aged and yellowed bricks give it a feel reminiscent of being true-to-life.
This close-up photo really shows how neatly everything fits together. Overall, the perfect amount of detail is packed into a satisfyingly compact microscale build.
We have covered many of Jens’ awesome creations, and some of my personal favorites are his animals, including the mole, polar bear, rhino, and bison!
A couple months ago we featured a spectacular LEGO shipyard, built by Arjan Oude Kotte. Adding on to his harbor town, his most recent creation is this awesome billiards hall. The architecture of this building has its own sense of style, as it perfectly resembles what you might think of when you hear, “Hamilton’s Billiards”.
There are lots of great side-builds used to create the signage and siding of the structure, especially the lettering. The roof shingles look fantastic as well! And, as always, the billiards hall fits seamlessly with the rest of the town. Our only wish is that we could see what fun lies inside!
We’re really impressed by Arjan’s attention to detail, and the story that he tells with his work. For this reason we’ve requested an interview! Stay tuned for a chance to learn more about this awesome builder.
Contests can be excellent sources of inspiration. That may be the case for Kingmarshy, who is competing in the 2018 Bio-Cup. The tournament is centered around Technic and Constraction creations, and this entry was submitted for the 3rd round. The round is themed “The Future” and this is subthemed under “Utopia”.
There’s a lot of really great parts usage in this fun little build. The ribbed hose for the skirt is one example, and the Throwbot Technic gearbox pieces are also a great addition. My personal favorite part is the design of “GD-801” the robo-dog. The harpoon gun tail and retro wheels for shoulders really give him the perfect sci-fi look.
![RoboDog](https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/935/43903308451_3542b1bd75_c_d.jpg")
There are certain building styles you can spot miles away; maybe even… Cross Country? With every creation it becomes more and more clear that Jason and Krystal of JK Brickworks are the king and queen of kinetic sculptures. Jason’s latest model, this Canadian Cross Country Skier, uses slightly similar techniques to past builds, like Sisyphus, but is still unique. This time we have a really interesting crank-shaft mechanism providing natural movement.
As always, this build is mesmerizing, polished, and genius. Personally, I’m quite jealous of Jason’s ability to see just how to make things move so smoothly. Anyone who has tried to build similar sculptures knows it’s not that easy. And even though I’m sure there were a few iterations, this outcome is a sure medal winner. Check out the video to see just how it’s done!
From a Breaking Bad scene to this bearer of babies, these LEGO creations by LEGO 7 couldn’t be more different. Although totally different, this stork is another recognizable character. And fun too! Seen wearing the red hat in the Disney classic Dumbo (and other cartoons), he is the legendary baby delivery bird.
Actually, the baby myth came from the original Hans Christian Andersen tale “The Storks,” and it was told to children who were too young to understand where babies really come from. One of my favorite things about this build is that the bird actually has posable wings, which swing outward. The body shape is great, as well as a nice marriage of System and Technic parts. Another thumbs up!
The latest wave of LEGO sets includes several sets designed to work with LEGO Boost — the first sets to extend the 17101 BOOST Creative Toolbox into a true system. Not only are the LEGO City 60194 Arctic Scout Truck and LEGO Ninjago 70652 Stormbringer sets compatible with Boost, they are fusions with the robotics system.
LEGO City 60194 Arctic Scout Truck has 322 pieces and 3 minifigures at $59.99 USD, while LEGO Ninjago 70652 Stormbringer has 493 pieces and 4 minifigures $39.99 USD. Both sets are available now as part of the summer 2018 wave of new LEGO sets, along with Boost released last year.
Click here to read more about these exciting combinations