Posts by Theo Spencer

LEGO Icons Botanical Collection 10340 Wreath – deck the halls with boughs of plastic [Review]

Christmas is coming soon. Yes, yes, I know, we haven’t even had the autumn equinox, let alone Halloween. But in the world of retail, things are starting to ramp up. It’s no different at LEGO, who are releasing two festive additions to the Botanical Collection line. The more obviously festive of the two (in the Western world, anyway) is LEGO Icons 10340 Wreath, a 1,194-piece set that you can pre-order now for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99. Alternatively, it may also be available through third-party resellers such as Amazon or eBay. It will hit shelves from October 1st, but will you want to deck your halls with it come the holiday season? Read on to see what we make of it.

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.

Let’s wrestle with the build of the wreath below!

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LEGO Star Wars 40730 Luke Skywalker’s Lightsaber: Return of the GWP [Review]

Nothing quite says Star Wars like a lightsaber, does it? Many a happy childhood has been had waving around anything from sticks to plastic replicas and making humming noises. While many film props have seen official LEGO sets (think the helmet series), lightsaber replicas have been restricted to Gift-with-purchase (GWP) slots. 40730 Luke Skywalker’s Lightsaber is set to be the third such promotion, with availability from October 3rd through to October 10th. To qualify for it, you’ll need to spend a hefty US $499.99 | CAN $649.99 | UK £429.99 on 75397 Jabba’s Sail Barge. Read our review to find out if it’s a weapon worthy of the Jedi, or if it should be consigned to the Pit of Carkoon…

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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LEGO Star Wars 75397 UCS Jabba’s Sail Barge: Time to set sail, or wait for set sale? [Review]

The LEGO Star Wars line is no stranger to big, expensive sets. Since the second edition of the UCS Millenium Falcon in 2017, we’ve averaged one $500+ set every other year, ranging from the minifigure-scale 75313 AT-AT and 75331 Razor Crest to Star Destroyers both Imperial (75252) and Republic (75367). In 2024, we are being graced with another – and for once, it’s not overwhelmingly grey! 75397 Jabba’s Sail Barge is the latest entry to the Ultimate Collector Series line, and a minifigure-scale one, at that. With 3,942 pieces, it will retail for US $499.99 | CAN $649.99 | UK £429.99, and may also be found at third-party retailers like Amazon or eBay. This LEGO Sail Barge will start crossing the Dune Sea from October 3rd for LEGO Insiders, while journeys for everyone else start from October 6th. Jabba has invited you on board as a guest of honour; should you join him?

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.

Read on to see how our cruise aboard the Khetanna went!

Don’t bug me with your PC problems!

There’s two things I love in this world: great LEGO builds, and word-play. Philippe Moisan‘s latest build has both in spades! You might think it looks like an insect’s apartment – but in fact, this is a computer. Don’t believe me? Well for starters, there’s a literal computer – i.e. an object to compute or calculate – in form of an abacus. There’s a bunch of hard discs on the walls; a deck of (expansion) cards on the shelves; a mother (surf) board; some (integrated) chips; and of course the fan. But front and centre of it all is a problem. This PC’s got a bug! But as long as they still let you access The Brothers Brick, I think we can let them stay…

LEGO Ideas 21352 Magic of Disney unveiled [News]

The latest challenge on the LEGO Ideas platform tasked builders to celebrate ‘100 Years of Fairytales’. The winning build was announced last September, and today, we get a look at the finished product: 21352 Magic of Disney. Designed by LEGO Ideas user 2A2A, this latest set contains 1,103 pieces depicting characters from throughout Disney’s history. That extends from recent feature films like Encanto – from whence we get a Bruno minifigure – all the way back to Mickey as he appeared in the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Retailing for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99, this celebratory set will release this coming October 1st.

See more magical pictures after the jump!

A brick-built vision of life in the post-apocalyptic desert

The year is… sometime in the future. The passage of time has long been forgotten by the dust. And if you don’t have your wits about you, you, too, will be forgotten. This is the dystopian vision that Polish LEGO builder Marcin (bigfig2000) brings us. But for all its post-apocalyptic caution, it’s impossible to take your eyes off this huge diorama! It depicts what looks to be an outpost in the desert, an oasis of sorts among the chaos. That isn’t to say there’s no disorder here, though! It’s absolutely jam-packed with details, characters and little stories forming.

Come and see who’s hanging around – if you’re brave enough…

LEGO Icons Botanical Collection 10370 Poinsettia – Big points for the poinsettia? [Review]

We’re big fans of LEGO’s Botanical Collection here at TBB; heck, it inspired a whole collaborative display at BrickCon recently. It seems to be popular with the public at large, too, as new sets keep popping up. One of the latest to be announced is LEGO Icons 10370 Poinsettia – a flower native to Mexico with, believe it or not, a link to the holiday season. With 608 pieces, it will retail for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99 from October 1st, although you can pre-order it now. (It may also be available from third-party sellers such as Amazon or eBay.) Now there’s loads of time until the festive season starts, but might this flowery offering be worth picking up before then? Read on to 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.

All signs point to our poinsettia review!

Barging across a cyberpunk river in style

Such is the size and scope of the cyberpunk New Hashima collaborative project, we’re still seeing new LEGO builds from it that pop up several months after it made its debut. Gus (Faëbricks) showed off a little Octan fuel truck back in spring that caught my eye. And now, it comes with a helping hand in the form of this neat hoverbarge! It reminds me of chain ferries that you might find linking two sides of a river or harbour. And that in itself is no mean feat: balancing the recognisable features of contemporary life with sci-fi elements, while its purpose remains clear. The same could be said for the truck, for that matter. Masterful design, Gus!

Hitting the bullseye with a poison dart frog

One thing you should know about the LEGO community is that certain animals have something of a cult following in brick form. The crab craze has been well-documented in our TBB archives, for instance. But another favourite is the humble frog. This one comes in all shapes and sizes, from the little green frog piece to more life-sized models like Áron Gerencsér‘s latest amphibian. Áron is a bit of a don when it comes to Bionicle and other ‘constraction’ figure pieces, so it’s little surprise to see them used to such good effect here. The blending of organic shapes is practically seamless. This li’l guy looks about ready to jump off the screen!

And yes – the frogs, too, have their own Brothers Brick archive. Hop on over to have a look!

Many motors make this massive LEGO MAZ mobile!

Earlier this year, Nathan Hake debuted this huge LEGO model at a convention, and we have finally been graced with pictures! This behemoth is a MAZ-537, a former Soviet vehicle used for carrying… Well, pretty much whatever you want, from armaments to heavy machinery. It’s typical of vehicles of its ilk and era, with great big tyres and utilitarian styling. In LEGO form, Nathan has combined Technic and System pieces to pull off the MAZ in terrific detail. And of course, there are plenty of play functions: it’s got working suspension alongside motorised steering and propulsion!

But how do you level up such a huge undertaking? With an equally huge diorama, of course! This makes for a very nice display piece, with the colours of the river, grass and appropriately autumnal birch trees providing some pleasing contrast to the grey hulk of the truck.

I recommend heading over to Nathan’s Flickr to check out some of the videos of this creation in action – even in the real wilderness!

Hitting the slopes in LEGO – literally

The end of August (and summer) signals the start of many countdowns. Some will be eagerly awaiting spooky season, while others will already be counting down the days until LEGO sets are wrapped under the Christmas tree. But just like Ciamosław Ciamek, I, too, am looking forward to winter – but not for the festive season (which shouldn’t start until December anyway, if you ask me). Winter brings snow, and snow means the ski season starts again! But Ciamosław’s build presents us with a cautionary tale. Even if skiing is a bit like riding a bike, it’s always worth giving yourself an easy slope first up to dust off the cobwebs. Don’t go straight for the double-black-diamond. Otherwise, you could end up making an unintended intrusion into someone’s piste-side cabin….

A LEGO build for those with green thumbs

When someone has a knack for gardening, you might say they’ve got a green thumb. How should we describe someone with a knack for LEGO building? Plastic pinkies? Hmm, doesn’t have the same ring to it. Either way, Julius von Brunk has definitely got both in this wild sculpture! The hand is apparently modelled on his own left hand, so there’s an element of still life here. But the composition of the piece is just as good. That red brick in the middle really pops against all the complementary green. I find myself searching for some sort of meaning behind it… What do you reckon that could be, readers?