Posts by Theo Spencer

TBB’s Top 10 LEGO set reviews of 2024 [Feature]

It’s that time when everyone – including us at the Brothers Brick – is doing a Year in Review. We’ve already done that to an extent: shortlists for our Creation of the Year and Builder of the Year awards, plus the 10 most popular creations to feature on our website. But what about our Year in Reviews, plural? Hundreds of LEGO sets were released this year, and our critical eye passed over 89 of them. Inevitably, some were more popular than others, both with our reviewing team and you, the readers! We’ve crunched the numbers, and these were our 10 most popular review articles from 2024. And if you missed any, check out our complete reviews archive for this year and beyond!

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Beam me up, Master Chief!

Oh, have I mixed up my franchises again? Maybe I should lay off the eggnog during my Halo Infinite playing sessions. I immediately recognised Ben Brickson‘s superb LEGO beam emitter as being from that universe. It looks remarkably more peaceful than I’ve become accustomed to, though… Perhaps the Covenant are still on their Christmas vacation. Or they got accidentally beamed up by a passing USS Enterprise. I mean, it’s perfectly feasible that they would come across a Halo installation, right? They’re only separated by a few hundred years. Wait, maybe the phasers are where they got the idea for their plasma weapons! Or – OK, OK, I’m putting the eggnog down now…

Being a cantankerous heckling Muppet really takes it out of you

What does Statler get up to after a hard day’s heckling? According to Jens Ohrndorf‘s LEGO build, having a nice quiet evening in. Slippers on, tea in the pot, cat ready to pounce on his lap when he’s done with the paper – it must make a nice change of pace to having Waldorf around. And he’s lucky to have such a nicely-built front room! The lamp is very nice, with a piece normally reserved for starship engines doubling as a shade. And the grandfather clock goes from four studs wide, to three, then two, then three, then two again – it looks fabulous!

Shortlist announced for TBB Creation of the Year 2024 [News]

We cover loads of amazing LEGO builds over the course of a year on the Brothers Brick. In fact, over the course of the past 12 months, that’s over 700 individual creations! Now they’re all great, obviously – but every year, a handful really stand out to us, and we like to bestow upon one of them the Creation of the Year crown. It might be a creation that uses parts in a new and interesting way. Perhaps it’s a collaborative build, combining the talents of multiple builders to reach new heights (just like last year’s winners!). Maybe it’s so epic in scope and scale that we simply couldn’t stop thinking about it. One thing’s for sure: it will have taken our breath away! The TBB staff have trawled through their memory banks and our site archives to draw up a shortlist of 10 of our favourite builds. These won’t necessarily be the most popular – keep an eye out for that list in the coming days! – but we will announce the winner on New Year’s Eve. Read up on our nominees, and check out our previous winners in the archives!

Without further ado, let’s meet our nominees!

Shortlist announced for TBB Builder of the Year 2024 [News]

The end of the year is always a time for reflection. At the Brothers Brick, that normally involves trying not to think how much we spent on LEGO sets, or how many times our resident lemur mistook a LEGO piece for a snack this year. (I make it six, at last count.) But we also like to reflect on all the incredible builders to have graced our site in the past twelve months. As we do so, a handful stick out who are clear contenders for the coveted TBB Builder of the Year title. Usually, these will be creators who have shown, among other things, consistency, growth, creativity, versatility, and a mastery of the humble LEGO brick. Basically, the ones that we constantly find ourselves writing about! You can see our shortlist below, and check out previous winners in our archives (there’s a full list at the end of the article, too). Oh, and be sure to let us know who your pick is in the comments!

Ladies and gentlemen, your nominees are…

Rome wasn’t built in a day – and neither was the Death Star

Of the many great things about the Andor series, one was a short post-credits scene which showed… Well, I won’t spoil it – go and watch the Narkina 5 prison arc, and you’ll see what I mean. Suffice to say it has a link to this LEGO build, created jointly by Stefan Johansson and Robert Lundmark. It depicts a couple of TIE fighters flying over an unfinished part of the Empire’s infamous Death Star. And very nicely built, too! I like how the shape of TIE’s wings are reflected in the surface the droids are building. But that gold really makes it pop, in contrast to the blacks and greys of both the Empire and space as a whole. And of course it’s reminiscent of solar panels in real-world space stations, really putting the science into science-fiction!

LEGO Star Wars 75405 Home One Starcruiser: Home One home run? [Review]

LEGO Star Wars fans of a certain vintage may remember a set named 7754 Home One Mon Calamari Star Cruiser. I certainly do – to this day it’s one of my favourite sets. But that remains the only rendition in the brick of Home One, the Rebel Alliance’s de-facto headquarters in the Return of the Jedi era. Even then, it was only the inside! In 2025, we get to see the MC80 depicted in all its bulbous glory thanks to 75405 Home One Starcruiser and its 559 pieces. Part of LEGO’s fledgling Starship Collection, it is available for pre-order now for US $69.99 | CAN $89.99 | UK £59.99, and will ship out from January 1, 2025. After that date you might also be able to find it on sites like eBay or Amazon. Will this be another entry into this writer’s pantheon of favourite sets? Read on to 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.

Click here to read our full review!

LEGO Star Wars 75404 Acclamator-Class Assault Ship: a classy ship of great acclaim [Review]

Right now, one of the biggest LEGO Star Wars sets you can buy – one of the biggest LEGO sets full stop, in fact – is the colossal 75367 Venator-Class Republic Attack Cruiser. But what to do if you don’t have the funds or space to make such an investment, yet still want a brick-built Republic capital ship? Well, for a fraction of the footprint, you could pick up the 450-piece 75404 Acclamator-Class Assault Ship starting from next January 1! This midi-scale vessel is a fraction of the price, too, with pre-orders open now for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99 (oh, and it might show up on eBay or Amazon after its release date). But just because it’s cheaper doesn’t automatically make it a good deal – read on, and see if we think it is so…

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 here to see our full review!

When you want to get excited about LEGO builds on the internet but you’re just a chill guy

There’s a chill guy who’s been making waves on our internet feeds lately. That, of course, is LEGO builder Maxx Davidson (I haven’t met him personally, but he seems pretty swell). Oh, I guess there’s that meme doing the rounds too – and funnily enough, that’s just what we have here in Maxx’s latest creation. The translation from 2D cartoon to 3D LEGO build is admirably done – everything is perfectly placed. He’s got some black sausage eyebrows and mouth, giving him a laid-back demeanour; and that grey sweater and blue jeans combination looks perfect for relaxing in. He makes it look so easy. What more is there to say? It’s literally just a chill guy.

LEGO Star Wars 75402 ARC-170 Starfighter: the comeback story arc [Review]

Before the X-wing, there was the ARC-170. Well OK, technically there was nothing before the X-wing as the original Star Wars came out before the prequel films – but let’s not get into semantics just yet! While the former has seen plenty of LEGO iterations down the years, there have been just two sets of the Republic’s main starfighter, and none since 2011. None until now, that is! LEGO Star Wars 75402 ARC-170 Starfighter forms part of the new line of LEGO Star Wars sets coming out on January 1, 2025. With 497 pieces, it can be pre-ordered now for US $69.99 | CAN $89.99 | UK £59.99, and will likely be available on eBay and Amazon too. Does this hotly-anticipated comeback live up to its billing? Read on to 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.

Take flight in our review to see how this fighter stacks up!

LEGO 40701 Ballerina & Nutcracker Scene Gift with Purchase [Review]

The internet can argue for ages about what the best Christmas song is. And while there are some correct answers (it’s the Pogues, obviously), one which should not be overlooked is Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite. This was Christmas music before Christmas music was a thing, and has been set to many a festive ballet performance since. You might find yourself humming it if you build LEGO’s next Gift with Purchase (GWP) offering: 40701 Ballerina & Nutcracker Scene, which will be available from December 6 to December 31 with purchases of US $TBD | CAN $TBD | UK £TBD. (You might also find it at third-party retail sites like eBay or Amazon.) I think it’s preferable to having Mariah Carey stuck in your head, anyway – so let’s take a closer look at this holiday-themed set!

Click here to read our full review!

LEGO 40702 Christmas Picture Frame Gift with Purchase [Review]

The holiday season is all about gifts, right? Well no, it’s probably got more to do with family, friends and a great big roast dinner. But gifts have become an inescapable part of Christmas. And if you’re doing some LEGO gift shopping from December 13 until December 31, you might get a little gift of your own! There are two Gifts with Purchase (GWPs) being offered in that timeframe, the smallest of which is 40702 Christmas Picture Frame. This set will be available with purchases exceeding… Well, we don’t have that information yet, so the prices are US $TBD | CAN $TBD | UK £TBD! We’ll update that when it’s available, of course – you might also find it from third-party sellers like eBay or Amazon. In the meantime let’s take a closer look at this festive frame.

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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