It takes a lot to design a great LEGO spaceship and even more to build a swooshable one. Now, once the new 10283 NASA Space Shuttle Discovery is revealed, let’s look into the eyes of brave LEGO designers behind the latest exclusive set. Meet Milan Madge, Mani Zamani, and Nico Vas, three courageous designers telling us more about how the LEGO version of the Discovery space shuttle was created.
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And if you look to your left, you can see some very nice part usage
Every LEGO creation tells a story. Sometimes it’s a fairytale with dragons and princesses, and sometimes it’s a more harsh story involving weapons and armed forces. As for the latest brick-built scene by Peter Stella, I guess the story is as clear as it can be. Obviously, the tactical team breaks through the window to take a better look at the laboratory’s fantastic interior design. They must be rushing towards the back-lit sections on the walls, which create a perfectly ominous atmosphere. And I won’t blame them if they decide to steal the design for their own headquarters. But my favorite elements are UFO helmets, but I wonder what happened to the aliens..?
This car was meant to be built
There are not that many iconic cars that look great in LEGO bright light yellow color. Obviously, Fiat 500 is one of them, but can you think of another? Firas Abu-Jaber knows one, and it’s the legendary Shelby Cobra. And guess what? This one in the picture below is built with just pieces available in the Creator Expert Fiat 500 set!
This is definitely one of the sweetest alternative builds I’ve ever seen. Not only does the shape looks great and recognizable, but it also looks like Firas didn’t have to compromise when working on the exterior. Sure, a couple of points would look better with a different choice of pieces, but the proportions are spot-on.
LEGO Technic 42121 Heavy-Duty Excavator [Review]
There’s no such thing as a boring outside activity; there are only boring machines that make things dull and tedious. And for proper digging, you need a proper excavator, preferably a heavy-duty one. It’s been a while since we got a great LEGO Technic excavator set, but here comes the new 42121 Heavy-Duty Excavator. This 569-piece set brings back mini-scaled construction machines and uses a bunch of newly-introduced pieces for its neat design. The set is available for US $39.99 | CAN $49.99 | UK £34.99.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with a copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
The LEGO Group reports double-digit growth in both sales and revenue in 2020 [News]
Today, The LEGO Group presented the financial report for the full year of 2020. An online event was hosted by the company’s CEO, Niels B Christiansen, who announced a strong growth of all key indicators. In 2020, the revenue grew 13 percent to DKK 43.7 billion compared with 2019, while consumer sales grew 21 percent compared to the same period. Operating profit was DKK 12.9 billion, an increase of 19 percent compared with 2019. The brand’s global market share grew globally and in its 12 largest countries.
Niels B Christiansen, the CEO, said: “We are very pleased with these results. They show the timeless relevance of the LEGO brick and learning through play. This performance is also a testament to the passion, creativity and resilience of our people. Despite the challenges of the pandemic, they worked tirelessly to keep the world playing.”
TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for March 7, 2021
In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the first week of March 2021.
Welcome to the Hundred Acre Wood, we’ve got lots of pots of huиny! Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.
TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: This week we met LEGO Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood, reviewed some adorable BrickHeadz kittens and tested out a couple of new 4+ sets!
- LEGO Ideas 21326 Winnie the Pooh: building the Hundred Acre Wood – We take a close look at just what this sweet-as-honey set has to offer in our full review
- LEGO Ideas reveals 21326 Winnie the Pooh 1,200-piece set, bringing Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and more – Winnie the Pooh and friends are coming to the Hundred Acre Wood in LEGO form with the latest Ideas set to be revealed
- The next LEGO House exclusive set revealed: 40502 The Brick Moulding Machine – A 1205-piece replica of an actual moulding machine is already available exclusively at the LEGO House since Thursday
- Building a tiltrotor aircraft using Circuit Cubes – Raplh explores Circuit Bricks LEGO-compatible electronics to motorize his tiny model of a Bell XV-15 tiltrotor aircraft
- LEGO Ninjago 71747 The Keepers’ Village – This 632-piece set features five minifigures and a playset full of surprises. Check out our full review!
- LEGO BrickHeadz 40441 Pets Shorthair cat and Kitten – Check out our review of this adorable cat and kitten from the new LEGO BrickHeadz sub-theme Pets
- LEGO Ninjago Legacy 71740 Jay’s Electro Mech – What happens when you combine a historic mech with the “Learn to Build” 4+ age range market? Come along as we explore the transformation of Jay’s Electro Mech in our full review
- LEGO Marvel Avengers 76170 Iron Man vs. Thanos – We take an early look at a new 4+ set featuring key players from the MCU. Is there any draw for adult builders, too?
- LEGO launches Future Builders ad campaign for International Women’s Day 2021 – Ever wanted to see your kid on that famous LEGO ad from 1981? Now you can, says the company, thanks to a new ad campaign launched for International Women’s Day
- LEGO to stop using black backgrounds in instructions – LEGO customer service says that the company plans to stop using black backgrounds on instruction manuals for Creator Expert and 18+ sets
- LEGO Gift With Purchase (GWP) offers for Week 2 March 2021 – The LEGO 40450 Amelia Earhart Tribute is now available as a Gift With Purchase (GWP) when you spend US $100, CAN $130, UK £100.99 in LEGO stores
OTHER NEWS: There were quite a few other interesting LEGO news articles from around the web this week. Here are the best of the rest:
- Top Gun: Maverick – Official Trailer IN LEGO, YouTube – YouTube user Onbeatman reveals a jaw-dropping rendition of the movie trailer recreated with LEGO bricks
- LEGO’s CEO will livestream its 2020 financial results, Brick Fanatics – Niels B. Christiansen is set to reveal the company’s 2020 financial results in an exclusive livestream event next week
But... will it blend?
Isn’t it funny that kids use LEGO bricks to build things that don’t exist in our world, but adult fans adore brick-built models of real-life objects? This pretties kitchen blender by Joffre Zheng has no ion engines, no laser guns, and does not breathe fire; still, it instantly captured my attention with its clean, neat look. And I know its secret! Did you notice the new corner bricks with bow 2×2? These are perfect for smooth transitions between vertical and horizontal surfaces. Although the bowl’s design may not be as perfect as the rest of the blender, I haven’t seen anything similar before. And now, here is the question… will it blend?!
The next LEGO House exclusive set revealed: 40502 The Brick Moulding Machine [News]
Today, LEGO reveals the new 40502 The Brick Moulding Machine set. The set becomes the second LEGO House Limited Edition product (joining 40501 The Wooden Duck) and will sell exclusively at the LEGO House starting March 4 for 599 DKK (approximately US $99).
A black and white ride for the Red Planet
Here’s a fun fact: while here, on Earth, we often design our vehicles to merge with the environment, on Mars, the more attention your rover gets, the better. And since the planet is red, even black and white will do. Cole Blaq knows how to make a rover remarkable with an unusual cockpit structure while keeping the rest basic. It has just the right amount of detailing, with neat headlights in the front and very suitable stickers in the back. And why would you need more when your rover has rims like these?
It’s time to take a stand
What makes a great LEGO spaceship? A stylish cockpit? Massive engines? Mindblowing stickers all over the wings? Tino Poutiainen has a different view, and it’s all about the stand. The first time I saw this stunning built, my attention was instantly captured by the fantastic design of the base that the ship is resting on. So simple and clever, it proves that you don’t need thousands of different kinds of pieces to surprise everyone with something new. And once I noticed the ship, I can’t help smiling at the smart use of the Technic Roborider head in red.
LEGO VIDIYO sets are officially revealed [News]
Today, LEGO announced the first wave of brand new VIDIYO sets. The new press release gives more details about what we learned from the initial announcement, as well as introduced new types of products. The new LEGO VIDIYO is all about three things: BeatBoxes, Bandmates, and BeatBits. The first wave, which is slated for March 1, will include six unique portable BeatBoxes that each hold a minifigure representing a specific music genre. The colorful tiles included in each BeatBox, are called BeatBits; you’ll find two special BeatBits and 14 random BeatBits in each BeatBox. Besides the six BeatBoxes, the series will include 12 Bandmates to collect.
Minifigures from LEGO Ideas 21319 Central Perk set are now available as keychains [News]
Brand new LEGO keychains with minifigures from LEGO Ideas 21319 Central Perk set are available from LEGO.com right now. There are six keychains listed online meaning that each of the main characters got their own keychain, except for Gunther. The keychains look identical to the minifigures that can be found in the Ideas set, and retail for US $5.99 | CAN $6.99 | UK £3.99 each.
Click here to take a closer look