Posts by Theo Spencer

You want the tooth? You can’t handle the tooth!

The internet’s best Bionicle-based building bonanza, the Bio-Cup, got up and running last week with its preliminary rounds. Margit has busted out her LEGO constraction pieces and is getting in on the action, too, with a tooth fairy! I’m sure we can expect some bright colours, clever contouring with some armour elements, and… Oh. Well, I guess it’s true that no-one’s ever seen the tooth fairy, so who’s to say this isn’t what it looks like? I do like the Visorak leg skirt, and the tooth-filled wings are clever too, using inverted clear dishes to keep the illusion of transparent membranes. I still wouldn’t want it coming anywhere near my pillow though.

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A demon amplifier? Now that’s metal

Remember in Spinal Tap when they turn up their amplifiers to 11? You might think it’s just a funny gag, but rumour has it if you do that too many times you’ll turn your amplifier into a mischievous demon. Bionicle builder Mischief has seen it, and rendered its likeness in LEGO bricks And what LEGO bricks: the gaping maw hiding the speaker is a goal net, and the design of the quarter-inch jacks using tyres is fantastic. What tricks will this amped-up poltergeist get up to? Creating an annoying feedback hum? De-tuning guitars? If Spinal Tap are to be believed, it has a propensity for blowing up drummers…

LEGO Star Wars 75428 Battle Droid with STAP: studs not on STAP [Review]

The Single Trooper Aerial Platform, probably isn’t one of the first vehicles to come to mind when you hear “A long time ago in a galaxy far away,” but by virtue of LEGO Star Wars debuting alongside The Phantom Menace blitz, the humble STAP was one of the first of the first to get the brick treatment. That pedigree aside, I think it’s fair to say some were surprised by the vehicle’s return in 75428 Battle Droid with STAP, which offers a large-scale version of that vehicle and its pilot. But you know what? As a big fan of Episode I, I’m all here for it! This set contains 1,088 pieces, and can be pre-ordered now for US $139.99 | CAN $169.99 | UK £119.99. Shipping starts from July 1, after which point it may also be available from third-party retailers like eBay or Amazon. Is that price too steep for a STAP? Let’s find out!

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.

Step up to our STAP review!

Building a little help to clear up the table-scraps

A few days ago, I wrote about W.F Ikhasi’s efforts in letting an idea for a LEGO creation simmer for a while before finishing it. As I wrote that article, it’s a topic that was fresh on my mind. My desk is absolutely covered in table-scraps; little builds that never fully grew into a finished article. And when I say covered, I mean I’m starting to struggle for space! It’s about time I enlisted some help to clear them. Fortunately, one of those ideas – a frame for a folded net piece – did grow into a scavenger’s speeder. So now this guy can help me clear out things, like this old engine, that were sitting around gathering dust!

The crane/tow-rope was also lying around among the detritus and quickly became this speeder’s party piece. Of course, it folds up neatly for zipping around the mud flats, where you might spot some older builds too… This walker is an older MOC, but it’s far from being a table-scrap!

LEGO expands minifig Disney Villain offerings with Cruella de Vil’s car [News]

It seems that LEGO is on a bit of a 101 Dalmatians kick! With a couple of spotty-dog sets already coming out this month, a follow-up set focusing on the film’s villain has been announced for release in September: 43277 Cruella de Vil’s Car. The set is notable for its minifig scale, when most Disney playsets not targeting 18+ collectors have featured minidolls. The vehicle design is also quite striking, with classic car curves that could broaden its appeal beyond the usual Disney playset audience. In the live-action features and Cruella series, this car was an appropriately-named Panther de Ville, but this version is based on the unnamed roadster from the original 1960s animated feature. Either way, it’s made up of 378 pieces, and will retail for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99 when it releases September 1, 2025.

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June 2025 LEGO sets now available, from Lord of the Rings and Pixar to book nooks, Ideas and Technic [News]

June is often a bumper month for new LEGO releases, with the halfway point of the year coming up. And June 2025 is no different! There are loads of new LEGO sets coming out within the next few weeks – almost too many for us to cover. It does mean there’ll surely be something to take your fancy, though. There are book nooks, Technic diggers, Disney mascots… And a great big dragon. Check out some of our favourites below, or see all of the new releases (and more) on LEGO’s website: LEGO US | LEGO CAN | LEGO UK.

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Drumming up a dynamic LEGO musician mid-session

Steve ‘Rubblemaker‘ Marsh is well-known for his unconventionally-shaped spaceships. But he has more strings to his bow than just spacecraft! That’s proven by this snap of a robot drummer mid-jam. It’s deceptively large: red wheels, 4 studs wide in diameter, make up many of the smaller toms. But the drummer’s dextrous limbs are where the real complexity lies. According to Steve, achieving this dynamic pose required “independent movement in its neck, fingers, wrists, elbows, shoulders, waist, hips, knees and ankles”. So you know, just about every joint there is. Well, it was certainly worth the effort!

Ma.K.ing the most of LEGO’s wildest theme

Sometimes it pays to sit on an idea for a while. Occasional LEGO builder W.F Ikhasi tells us he had the fuselage of this Maschinen Krieger-inspired walker sitting around, unfinished, for no fewer than three years. Happily, it’s complete now – and thanks to… Galidor?! Yes, a piece from LEGO’s weirdest theme provided just the shape Ikhasi was looking for for the hind legs. So much so, in fact, that the front legs are a brick-built riff on the idea, and the end result looks great!

If you’re not familiar with the kitbashing dieselpunk world of Maschinen Krieger, why not get a taster in our archives?

TBB Asks: Did you have a ‘dark age’? If so, what brought you out of it? [Feature]

For our weekly TBB Asks feature, nothing is off the table. We might be asking our staff and readers whimsical questions about building sets from memory, but we might also delve deep into their psyches and get really personal. Well, OK, it’ll still be light-hearted fun – but this week, we’re going dark. Dark age! TBB Asks: did you have a ‘dark age’? If so, what brought you out of it? For those unfamiliar with the lingo, a ‘dark age’ is a period in one’s life where LEGO is not present. Sounds awful, right? For many this happens between childhood and at some point in adulthood, perhaps because LEGO isn’t seen as cool when you’re a teenager. But LEGO is always cool. Right, everyone? … Anyone?

Who are we kidding – obviously it is. But even our seasoned staff aren’t immune to a dark age, so let’s see who had one. And if you did too, let us know what made you come back to the hobby!

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Go gorillas for this feel-good LEGO build

When you see LEGO creations featured on the Brothers Brick, they’re normally no more than a few days old. But we can’t see them all – and some excellent creations do slip through our net. Happily, though, we’ve recently discovered Jean-Philippe Leroux‘s superb floating windmill, built a little over three months ago! But this isn’t any windmill: this is a vessel known to Gorillaz fans as the Slowboat. Even if you’re not a Gorillaz guru, you’ll probably still recognise it from the Feel Good, Inc. and El Manana music videos. The album from whence those songs came – Demon Days – is celebrating its 20th birthday today, so that makes our discovery of J-P’s build very timely indeed!

We’re going to give our Demon Days record another spin, but while that plays out, why not see what other musical builds have featured on the Brothers Brick down the years?

TBB Asks: do you have a favourite bit of non-LEGO brick LEGO memorabilia? [Feature]

Ever been at a LEGO convention and had to endure the awkwardness of meeting new AFOLs, with no idea of where to start the conversation? I know I sure have. OK, partly that’s because it was in Finland and my Finnish doesn’t go much further than ‘I like your LEGO model’. Still, if you’re looking for an ice-breaker question to get to know your fellow hobbyists a bit better, then take inspiration from our weekly TBB Asks feature! This week, TBB Asks if you have any favourite bits of LEGO memorabilia that aren’t LEGO bricks. Yes, even outside the world of bricks there is loads of LEGO swag to be had, some of it quite rare!

Let’s see if any of our staff have anything special in their collection – or indeed, if our readers do. Let us know if you’ve got some cool collectibles in the comments!

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From liminal LEGO spaces to fruity robot friends

In this house, we are big Pan Noda fans. And speaking of houses – normally, that’s precisely the kind of thing we’d be featuring from one of the best liminal LEGO space creators. But of late, Pan has been experimenting with other types of MOC, and we’re equally enthralled. We’ve got a couple of yellow mechs to feast our eyes on here, the first being the Banana-Automaton. There’s some clever parts use going on here: a yellow life-ring atop the head, chain-link treads to add some heft (and nice texture) to its limbs.

Those treads appear in its bigger sibling, too. This is the Pinea-Automaton, which looks designed to carry a pilot. Despite their differences, the common design language makes it clear that these are from the same family of automata. A scout and a heavy, perhaps? Presumably those blade weapons aren’t for preparing a fruit salad…