Posts by Theo Spencer

Step to the rhythm made out of grey LEGO bricks!

I would say I’m showing my age with that Roni Size reference, but given New Forms came out the year I was born, perhaps it’s just an aging music taste. The reason I’m trotting it out is because a LEGO builder appropriately known as The Maestro has titled this musical build after a UK drum and bass classic: Brown Paper Bag. This appears to be an alternate universe where Dr Frankenstein is a D’n’B junkie, and he’s rigged up his monster with a banging sound system. It features some clever parts use, too – it took me a minute to realise that head is the back of an elephant’s head. I love the tyres for music notes, too!

Brown Paper Bag

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LEGO Star Wars 75417 AT-ST Walker: does the latest UCS set walk the walk? [Review]

It’s almost become a tradition – insofar as LEGO has traditions – that we get two Ultimate Collector Series Star Wars sets every year. Usually, these come in May (for May 4th) and some time in the autumn. But this year, 75417 AT-ST Walker is bucking that trend! This latest UCS set releases this August 1st alongside a host of other Star Wars sets. It’s the second time the Imperial walker has been tackled at this scale – but this time, your US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99 gets you 1,513 pieces. Pre-orders are open now, and after its release date, it may also be available from third-party retail sites like eBay or Amazon.

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.

Walk this way to read our review, if you’re no chicken (walker)!

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Five new LEGO Star Wars sets revealed, including UCS AT-ST, Jango, and Clones [News]

The first reveals of the next wave of LEGO Star Wars sets has jumped out of hyperspace! The quintet of sets covers a wide age and price range, with all set to release August 1, 2025. The headline act is 75417 AT-ST Walker, the second iteration of the scout transport at Ultimate Collector Series scale and first in almost two decades. That one is 1,513 pieces for US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99. At the other end, we have our second Slave I (Jango’s version) of the year, and two massive clone sets that include some long-awaited Galactic Marine and Commander Bly minifigures.

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This gargoyle has gone from grotesque to gorgeous!

By many accounts, gargoyles were installed on the sides of buildings to ward off evil spirits and demons. That makes them heroes, despite their somewhat scary looks. But as Magmafrost13 demonstrates, throw a pink skirt on a monster and suddenly the scariness makes way for cuteness. Kind of. I have to admit, all I’m imagining is an anime in which a bunch of gargoyles have to learn to ward off a series of demons through the power of friendship, love, and togetherness. Magmafrost13, I have an idea for a pitch…

Mahou Shoujo Gargoyle-chan

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Getting deep into Bionicle lore with the Bio-Cup

The Bio-Cup, as the name suggests, challenges builders to make creative use of parts from LEGO’s beloved Bionicle theme. This theme covered a lot of ground, so it’s easy to draw comparisons between MOCs and sets, but Margit‘s latest reminds me of some of my favourite Bionicle villains. The underwater-dwelling Barraki were very reminiscent of some of the strange aquatic creatures you might see in the ocean deep. Creatures that have a certain ghostly quality. Which makes them perfect for Margit’s chosen sub-theme for this round of the Bio-Cup: Ghost/Wraith! See, it all comes full circle.

Shark Wraith

Margit’s spectral spectacle won her category in round 1. We can’t wait to see what she comes up for in Round 2!

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LEGO Nike 43008 Nike Dunk: does the swoosh swish? [Review]

Four years ago, our Alexander reviewed a thoroughly unusual set: a LEGO shoe. That set was among the first of a big push from LEGO into the world of brand tie-ins targeted at more than just AFOLs, and now, we have some more legendary footwear to contend with. This time, we’re shooting some hoops with LEGO Nike 43008 Nike Dunk! And it’s an altogether different vibe to the Adidas Original. With 1,180 pieces, this snazzy sneaker hits the court on July 1 for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99. You may also find it on third-party retail sites like eBay or Amazon. Is LEGO’s latest basketball collab a slam dunk? Or are brick fans about to get skunked? Let’s find out!

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.

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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.

Colour us impressed by this colourless LEGO diorama

Colour is an important facet of good LEGO builds. Yeah, that might sound like stating the obvious – a consistent palette will generally look nicer than a mish-mash of colours. But Syrdarian has graced us with a prime example. It’s a nice build to start with: some cool terrain shaping, and the top of the bridge wall mirrors the hammers used in the archway. But most noticeably, it’s all so drab! The grey background seems to have been chosen carefully for its resemblance to a grey winter sky. And even the figure is dressed in muted colours. The only relative bright spots are the tan reeds, and the figure’s skin, standing out against the harsh environment, and drawing us in as a result. A good build, but with great composition!

Carrying firewood alone in the snow

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Let me hear your engines roar! No, wait, not like that...

Alt builds seem to be having a real resurgence lately. In case you’re not familiar, it simply involves taking a LEGO set, setting aside the instructions, and letting your imagination run wild. Sometimes, the result can be completely different to the original! Flickr builder R 194 has got their hands on 10330 McLaren MP4/4, turning a fossil fuel-powered race car into a bionic dinosaur! And since there some very nice printed elements in that set, this re-imagined dino has a distinctive racing feel to it. Even the Ayrton Senna minifigure gets involved with a nifty two-piece remote. RC dino-mech racing? Now that sounds rad!

McLarex

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Finding the unusual in everyday Japanese architecture

We’re used to seeing some weird and wonderful buildings from Pan Noda, from the quirky to the downright fantastical. So imagine my surprise when I found that their latest build is of a real house! This depicts a residence in Kitano Ijinkan – a historical district of Kobe, in Japan. Many of the buildings here are built with more non-Japanese flair than traditional influence. Pan’s build, though, is of their usual high standard!

Kitano Ijinkan "Hilltop House"(Kobe)

This is the ‘Hilltop House’, which apparently used to serve as the Chinese Consulate, among other things. There are a pair of ‘komainu’ guardian lion statutes just inside the gates, and rumour has it that walking past them will lead to success in your love life. I don’t know if there’s any truth to that, but I do know that I love Pan’s LEGO recreation of these statues!

Kitano Ijinkan "Hilltop House"(Kobe)

See more of Pan Noda’s haunting recreation of the Kobe Hilltop House

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Putting the ‘rat’ into pirate – with clever parts use to boot

We often see collaborative projects in the LEGO community where different builders will all build within a similar theme. But it’s not often that said collab is themed around a specific builder! Steven Howad (Ghalad) and co have undertaken a “special secret collab” (his words) to celebrate LEGO designer and AFOL community stalwart Markus Rollbühler. Steven was handed five mice to get him started, but he has taken them and really ran with it – there is so much NPU here! The mice are in the beard, but we also have: octopuses and tyres for the hair; Dots wristbands for the sash and headband; lifejackets for the jacket buttons; long-haired dogs in the cheeks; and plenty more besides. But my favourite – and the most meta – are the boat hulls used for the hat and epaulettes!

The Dreaded Pirate Ratbeard

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Street art from the walls of London to the bricks of Denmark

For such an inherently 3-dimensional medium, there’s an impressive amount of 2-dimensional LEGO builds out there. Mathew Walls makes his TBB debut with one such build – and appropriately, it’s an artwork that was famously drawn on walls! Perhaps Banksy’s most famous artwork, Girl with Balloon was originally made with stencils and spray-paint – and you can’t get much more 2D than a single layer of paint. But Mathew has done a great job of replicating it here, with the help of various curved and angled tiles and plates. Even the girl’s outstretched hand is there, reaching for the balloon that has escaped this 2D frame.

Girl with Balloon

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Massive power loader takes on enormous Xenomorph in LEGO sci-fi battle of the ages

Alien creations appear to be like London buses. You wait ages for some great LEGO creations, and then two come along within a few days of each other! We featured a wonderful Miniland scale power loader earlier this week (along with an excellent title, I may add). But one-time LEGO Masters Australia winner Henry Pinto has upped the load-rating on the power loader, and then some! He’s made a truly titanic take on Ellen Ripley’s yellow ride. But that’s not the only big build here. After all, what’s a power loader without a Xenomorph to chuck around the USS Sulaco’s lower decks?

Power Loader vs Xenomorph

Click here to take a closer look at these phenomenal creations!

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