About Bre Burns

Bre is an Oregon native who came to Seattle with her partner, Jessie, in 2015. She briefly worked for the LEGO Group as a Brick Specialist before she left to pursue her dream of being a Zookeeper. Now she works at Woodland Park Zoo, but LEGO continues to be a huge part of her life. She and her partner are active members of SEALUG, FabuLUG and SquatchLUG, and enjoy building creations big and small that span across many themes, under the name Renegade Bricks. Bre is also the Theme Coordinator for Technic/Mindstorms and a member of the Senior Staff for BrickCon.

Posts by Bre Burns

Who knew a dragon could be so gorgeous?

I have to say, as a writer for TBB, I’ve seen A LOT of custom builds. I spend far too much of my time scanning Flickr and Instagram for the next awesome piece of art to share with you all. Maybe it’s the fantasy nerd in me, but this… is exceptional.  This dragon, built by talented LEGO designer, Wes Talbott, is all sorts of awesome. The ombre, rainbow-esque coloring is so perfectly executed! Making it for The LEGO House collection, he fittingly calls it, “Chromalagous” but the beauty goes beyond the color palette.

The placement of the scales is so organic and detailed, it truly looks like the skin of a giant reptile. It certainly doesn’t look like LEGO at first glance. And I don’t know about you, but I find myself with my mouth agape, muttering “how?” questions. Those horns?! I’d love to get a look at the internal structure, but this has to take a great deal of sculpting talent. What techniques does he use to make all those odd angles? Your guess is as good as mine.

Wes is a prolific artist, both in LEGO and graphically. Check out some of his official work in our archives, including reviews of the new 21327 Typewriter and 21325 Blacksmith Shop.

The delicate hum of nature

Hummingbirds are truly miraculous little creatures. It’s incredible how something so small and delicate can achieve such monumental tasks. For example, they can migrate hundreds of miles between the summer and winter seasons. Builder LEGO Monkey pays tribute to these little guys with this great vignette, and the composition is nicely done. The tall blades of grass, “large” flower, and broken stick set the scale well. I’m particularly fond of the little ladybug, created using the minifigure costume element attached to a stud with Black Panther ears to cap it off.

If you like this, check out our other nature related builds! In particular, we have loads of examples of excellent LEGO birds.

Getting a LEGO makeover with Creator Expert 10291 Queer Eye – The Fab 5 Loft [Review]

In 2003, a bold new reality TV show was making major waves. Originally called Queer Eye for the Straight Guy, it followed five gay men as they provided a full lifestyle makeover to straight guys in need of a fresh take. After a massively popular start, the focus on only heterosexual males was dropped. Eventually the show ran its course, but as you may already know, Netflix rebooted Queer Eye in 2018 with an entirely new “Fab 5” cast. Even more successful than the original, it has now won multiple Emmy awards. The creative, playful show seeks to celebrate love, expression, and acceptance, not only for others, but yourself as well. Its values are echoed by the LEGO Group, which decided to honor the series with LEGO Creator Expert 10291 Queer Eye – The Fab 5 Loft. Joining a growing subtheme of TV-based sets, this is the first reality show appearance.

Come along as we take a closer look at the 974-piece kit, which includes 7 minifigures (with 3 additional torsos) and Bruley the French bulldog. It will be available starting Oct. 1 for US $99.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £89.99

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 review!

LEGO reveals 10291 Queer Eye – The Fab 5 Loft featuring the Netflix series’ iconic studio [News]

LEGO has taken the wraps off the next set based on a television series, 10291 Queer Eye – The Fab 5 Loft. Featuring the iconic team of “more than a makeover” experts from the hit Netflix series, the set pays homage to the unique personalities and talents of each member. Join Tan, Karamo, Jonathan, Antoni, and Bobby in a tour of their Atlanta apartment! The 974-piece set also showcases one of their most beloved heroes, Kathi Dooley, and their favorite pupperoni, Bruley the dog. The set will be available starting Oct. 1 for US $99.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £89.99

Click to see all the pictures of Queer Eye – The Fab 5 Loft

A new way to do layered shadowboxes

I have to be honest, I’m pretty jealous I hadn’t thought of this myself. Whenever I go to a comic-con, I always spend a bit of time ogling over the booths with lighted, layered-paper shadowboxes. How did I never think to make one with LEGO?! Well, it looks like filbrick beat me to it! First up is a shadowbox classic: a stag in the woods. I love that the builder chose to go with this color gradient. It does appear that he may have been inspired by the work of talented LEGO artist Grant Masters to complete the top portion of the stag itself.

Lego IDEAS Contests

Next up is an astronaut floating in space. The colors and shapes are both awesome and trippy at the same time! The extra window on the side is a cool touch too. While both builds are renders, and I’m not sure if real-life replicas in these specific colors would be possible, they sure are fascinating!

Lego IDEAS Contests

I’m going to have to test this concept out with some of my own designs! How about you? What images would you create?

Not your thing? That’s okay – we have tons of other art builds for you to check out! We also have all sorts of cool builds by Grant Masters that you won’t want to miss!

Imagine how a mechanical cicada would sound...

As you may already know, cicadas are the loudest insect on the planet. When they “sing” together (more like radio static, clicking, and rattling) they are one of the most deafening animals in the world in general. Pretty cool for such a small creature! But what would a giant mecha cicada, like this LEGO one by Mitsuru Nikaido, sound like? I’m guessing a helicopter mixed with a chainsaw. But enough about that. Just look at this awesome build!

LEGO Mecha Snail Cicada-15

It’s all sorts of awesome in terms of techniques and body shaping. The segmentation is excellent, and I’m particularly fond of the batarang shields on the abdomen. The eyes, wings, and legs are spot-on too!

LEGO Mecha Snail Cicada-08

Fun fact: cicadas are basically living musical instruments (even if we don’t think of it the same way). Yep, that’s right! They use muscles in their sides to squeeze and accordion “ribs” surrounding two membranes known as tymbals to create different chirps. And their abdomens are hollow so that they can amplify those sounds. Why? That’s how they find a lady-friend! Ahhh, the song of love.

Another fun fact: Mitsuru Nikaido is the epic master of mecha animals. You’re not going to want to miss some of his other incredible works of art. My favorite might be the mecha snail!

As solid as a lone wolf

Did you know that real lone wolves (the four-legged kind) are actually essential for wolf survival? The ones who choose to go their own way as a juvenile do so to find new territory and start their own pack. They are brave and resourceful and keep the genes strong by preventing inbreeding. This LEGO wolf by Mike Nieves is strong in more ways than one. Its stoic, determined expression makes way for solid body-shaping techniques and overall structure. From nose to tail, shoulder to paw, the body-in-motion pose is on-point.

While you’re here, take a look at a couple more of Mike’s builds, as well as tons of other animal-related LEGO creations.

Small columns never looked so good

Here at TBB, we feature all sorts of incredible LEGO builds from all sorts of incredible builders. We’ve seen equally awesome techniques on tiny creations as we have on giant ones. We’ve also seen hundreds of superb towers, pillars, and columns, and in fact, several of them are from this same builder, Ralf Langer. But I particularly appreciate these pillars, at this scale, because Ralf uses simple techniques to produce something awesome. Twisting the internal structure to alternate those pentagonal tiles is truly eye-catching. And the rest just sets it off perfectly.

IMG_4093

There are several cool techniques here, but I’m sure plenty of us are making a mental note right now about those columns. I see you over there, trying to consider the reverse engineering so you can borrow it later! Just make sure to give him credit, and while you’re at it, take a moment to appreciate some of Ralf’s other builds.

A micro monastery nestled in the rocks

There’s a lot more to this tiny build than a monastery on some rocks. In fact, the building isn’t its best feature! Talented LEGO builder Roanoke Handybuck did a great job at interlacing those light bluish grey elements to form the rocky outcropping. The pink flowers attached to reddish brown horns and minifigure hands are a superb fit too. But perhaps the most clever aspect is the use of only 3 pieces – two crowbars and a hotdog element – to try and recreate a Japanese torii archway.

Clifftop Monastery

If you like this, you should stick around and see more of Roanoke’s Handybuck’s handy-work.

Smooth as a baby’s... bottlenose?

I’m always impressed when a builder manages to make LEGO models completely smooth. Going stud-less can be hard, and even harder when dealing with organic shapes. This bottlenose dolphin built by Ken Ito (暁工房) may show just a few studs, but the body shaping is superb! The arch of the back end and tail are particularly well-executed.

It seems as though this builder has a knack and a penchant for these kinds of creations. Marine life is just a snippet of what he can do. Stick around to see more like this!

More than a room with a view

In a world where steampunk hot air balloons and sky-pirates exist, there is a need for sky-based communication and supply stops. This cozy LEGO “Cloud 9 Outpost” built by Marcel V and LEGO designer Markus Rollbüler is just the place. It may be cobbled together, but it’s home-sweet-home to its humble inhabitant and his trusty pup. He also has to be picking up all sorts of reception with so many satellites and antennae! There’s lots of funky and fun parts usage here, but I particularly like the minifigure goggles used as bench legs.

Cloud 9 Outpost

This could be a place for a weary traveler to find respite or just a solitary lookout. Who knows? But what I do know is that there are many more builds to see by Markus and Marcel!

LEGO and a little red bicycle [Video]

If you think about it, it’s probably safe to say that more people in the world know how to ride a bicycle than operate an automobile. In fact, there are some countries where riding a bike is the preferred mode of transportation. It’s also not surprising to know that Denmark, a friendly, quiet, and quaint country (and the home of LEGO) is one of the world leaders in using bicycles for transportation. This working LEGO bike, built by Donny Chen pays homage to bikes everywhere.

Working LEGO Bicycle

The details are totally awesome, from the body shape to the realistic drive-train, freewheel, and pneumatic disc brakes. You’re going to want to watch the video below to get a full tour of all the excellent features!

Wondering why there’s sheet music on the bike’s rack? That’s a nod to Donny’s magnum opus: the incredible LEGO Ideas set 21323 Grand Piano. Yep, he’s the fan designer of one of the coolest LEGO sets of all time! Check out our review, linked above.