Posts by Theo Spencer

We’re big fans of this massive minifig and their supersized LEGO spaceship!

LEGO’s up-scaled minifigure models (or MiniBigs, as I like to call them, which is going to catch on any day now I’m sure) have proven to be a popular concept for creative AFOLs to run with. Pascal Hetzel must have seen our April Fool’s post and created his own big classic space minifigure. But, not content with merely creating a massive minifigure, he’s built a supersized spaceship to go with it! And true to Neo-Classic Space form, it’s got plenty of greebles and texture, making it far more than a simple up-scaled model. If you can call such things simple, that is!

My Orange Spaceman with his Space Scooter.

This thing is so big, I’m sure it would’ve reached the 100-stud long threshold required of SHIPtember builds. If you want to see more enormous LEGO ships, be sure to check out our archives!

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Taxidermy is so much easier with LEGO bricks

There are many important events on the LEGO calendar, ranging from month-long build challenges to contests and competitions. But arguably one of the most important is the annual Creations for Charity drive, where LEGO builders come together to raise funds for charity through their builds. Daniel Olvera has thrown this taxidermied centipede into the ring for this year. Taxidermy seems like a much easier job in LEGO; much less gruesome. And no matter how many small LEGO elements you use, they’re surely easier than trying to coax an insect into a frame without damaging it further!

Scolopendra_dehaani

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LEGO Icons 10366 Tropical Aquarium: deep-dive into the world of re-colours [Review]

Four years ago, LEGO released an intriguing Creator set that stood out for its uniqueness: 31122 Fish Tank. What a great idea! A way of bringing some aquatic LEGO into your home without all the yellow of their traditional underwater themes. Clearly, some bright spark at LEGO saw that set, and went: OK, but what if we made it bigger? That’s clearly just speculation on my part – but the end result is the same: 10366 Tropical Aquarium, which releases this November 13 for US $479.99 | CAN $599.99 | UK £399.99. Among its 4,151 pieces, it counts a large number in new or rare colours, and in good quantities at that. But there’s more to this set than just new re-colours! Take a dive into the tropical waters, and let’s check it out together.

LEGO Icons 10366 Tropical Aquarium | 4,154 Pieces | Available November 13 | US $479.99 | CAN $599.99 | UK £399.99

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LEGO goes re-colour crazy with new Icons set 10366 Tropical Aquarium [News]

NPU: Nice Parts Use. Often used to denote a cool or unusual use of a LEGO piece. LEGO themselves have been no stranger to this concept, and themes like the Botanical line have taken that maxim even further. And although we’re only now getting a first glance at the latest LECO Icons set, 10366 Tropical Aquarium, that first glance is full of parts in new colours! We can see what appear to be two fresh colourways of hat and some new transparent leaf pieces among its 4,154 pieces. The price of admission seems accordingly high – US $479.99 | CAN $599.99 | UK £399.99 – but you’ll have to wait for our review to find out if there’s treasure in that sunken chest or just a soggy old boot! This colourful coral tank with its fishy inhabitants is slated for release November 13th.

Dive in for more pictures of LEGO’s latest underwater exploration

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Ooo-lah! Melt all your LEGO bricks with this Martian tripod’s heat ray

You know when you can hear a picture? Well I can hear this LEGO tripod built by Ivan Martynov. The sound I can hear is ‘ooo-laah’. If you’re confused, go and listen to Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of the War of the Worlds. In fact, even if you’re not, you should do that anyway – it’s a brilliant album. But back to Ivan’s build – which is based on art by one Henrique Alvim Corrêa. It’s full of spindly, biomechanical bits that don’t look like they should hold even this LEGO build’s weight, let alone a deadly heat ray. But that’s the wonders of Martian tech for you!

Tripod

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This tiny LEGO ship is weathering a big storm

Without wishing to toot my own horn, I’m proud to count being a fluent francophone as one of my diverse skills. That list also includes making mediocre LEGO builds and being able to recite the first 10 digits of Pi off by heart. There’s nothing mediocre about seb71‘s tiny water craft; a build which, despite using only 30 pieces, still conveys a great sense of movement and drama. But it did pose some questions, not least of which was what a ‘coup de tabac‘ is – the title of this piece. As it turns out, despite literally translating to ‘hit of tobacco’, it’s a maritime term for a sudden, violent squall or storm at sea. And with such careful selection of constraction pieces, Seb has really nailed his impression of just that!

Gros coup de tabac

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A LEGO frog is not just for Frogust

Frogust may have concluded over a month ago, but is that going to stop us from featuring awesome LEGO frog builds? You bet your bottom brick it won’t! This delightful dancing duo comes from BigBrickStan. The one on the right is in colours we’ve become accustomed to seeing in LEGO: green and white, with some orange highlights and big beady eyes. Why change a winning formula, right? But the use of prints on the left is equally eye-catching, in particular the torso. That part was originally a Dreamzzz turtle head! Even these amphibians are turtles all the way down, it seems…

Best Fwiends

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LEGO Star Wars 40806 Gingerbread AT-AT: a sweet deal for Life Day [Review]

Ever since its first Advent calendar back in 2011, Star Wars has been a regular feature of LEGO’s holiday season offerings. Even so, in the last few years, it’s felt like they’ve been ramping up the Life Day celebrations. We (well, LEGO employees) got to see an extremely limited candy cane X-wing in 2019. In 2023, it was a small diorama with Finn, Rey and Chewie to coincide with an animated Christmas special. And this year, we get 40806 Gingerbread AT-AT – a set as unique as it is festive! We haven’t been entirely complimentary of this year’s Star Wars sets; can we end on a high note?

LEGO Star Wars 40806 Gingerbread AT-AT | 697 Pieces | Available October 1  |US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99

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.

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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.

LEGO Icons 10361 Holiday Express Train: all I want for Christmas is... 3D printed LEGO? [Review]

Isn’t it weird how trains and Christmas seem to have such a close association? Whether that’s down to unwrapping a train set on the big day, or Santa Claus becoming a railway magnate to help distribute presents, we couldn’t say. Either way – festive trains have also been a regular feature of LEGO’s product lineup over the years, including two at minifigure scale. This October 4th, you’ll be able to add a third engine to the Winter Village train shed, for the princely sum of US $129.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £109.99. In some ways, it’s the same old story – but at the same time, there are big changes afoot among this set’s 956 pieces. Got your tickets ready? We’re travelling first class on the TBB Review Special of 10361 Holiday Express Train!

LEGO Icons 10361 Holiday Express Train | 956 Pieces | Available October 4 | US $129.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £109.99

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.

All aboard to read our full review!

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.

LEGO Star Wars 75413 Republic Juggernaut: what’s all the fuss about, then? [Review & Analysis]

Better late than never, right? We’ve done reviews on almost all of the sets in LEGO’s Star Wars summer range. But astute readers may have noticed one set missing, one that’s caused quite the stir in the community: 75413 Republic Juggernaut. It has 813 pieces, and includes 8 minifigures, including the long-awaited Galactic Marines and Commander Bacara. But it’s had something of a frosty reception so far, largely down to its price of US $159.99 | CAN $199.99 | UK £139.99. So, finally, let’s take a look at it ourselves, and crunch some numbers to see if said reception is justified!

LEGO Star Wars 75413 Republic Juggernaut | 813 Pieces | Available Now | US $159.99 | CAN $199.99 | UK £139.99

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Beauty is in the eye of the brick-holder

The last time we featured some LEGO artwork by Jarek Książczyk, it prompted all sorts of questions. He recently built two more, in what we’re told is definitely not becoming a series. The only question I’m prompted to ask is – why not?! They’re beautiful! We start off with a piece simply titled ‘Watchers’. This is actually a remake, of sorts; the first time Jarek built those little fellows, they were photographed on their own. This is the realisation of his full vision, and that brick-built sunset looks glorious!

Watchers

However, we’re told that it was a real pain in the backside to work with! The parts for both the piece above and ‘The Last Piece’, below, are held in by only friction, gravity and the black frame. I really like the use of the Minecraft ‘eye’ plate for the skyscraper windows here.

The Last Piece

In fact, that focal point in the middle kind of looks like an eye too. Combined with the Watchers and the first piece entitled ‘Come and See’, is sight the common thread that links all these pieces? That’s my interpretation, anyway. What do you see in these three LEGO paintings? Tell us in the comments!

Abstract Thoughts

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Gremlins’ beloved mogwai is back in bricks! LEGO Ideas 21361 Gizmo revealed for October 1 – [News]

LEGO has been on something of a Gen X nostalgia kick lately. We’ve had sets from TransformersJaws, and now, we have a throwback to a comedy-horror classic from the ’80s. It’s thanks to the Ideas line this time – specifically, the ‘If We Could Turn Back Time’ building challenge. Fan designer Terauma took the grand prize with their model of Gizmo from the iconic ’80s flick Gremlins. As a reward, it got turned into an official set! 21361 Gizmo contains 1,125 pieces, and when it launches on October 1, it will retail for US $109.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99.

There are more pictures and info after the jump – although there’s no word on when you should feed it…

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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.