Posts by Theo Spencer

Don’t fall asleep looking at this build – you’ll feel rather sheepish

Character master Oliver Becker has crafted this charming scene of a shepherd and his flock (of, er, one sheep). Now this might sound odd, but I’m actually glad there’s only one sheep here. Not because I’m ovinophobic, but because if I started counting sheep, I’d surely fall asleep and miss the rest of this great build! The sheep is very good, chewing away on the grass, with its spindly legs. (Well it’s chewing with its mouth, but you know what I mean.) And any build that uses X-pod covers is a good one in my book. But the shepherd is where the whimsy really comes into this scene. He’s a great caricature, using inverted arch pieces twice – in his boots and for his face. He’s quite rotund though. Maybe that’s where the rest of his flock went…

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.

How it’s made: nano-fig special

Ever wondered how LEGO’s nano-figs are made? Caleb Schilling has given us a sneak peek at their production line mid-manufacture. Bet you thought it was all ABS and injection-moulding, eh? Think again! Now I’m no expert, but I believe that inside this machine, there are tiny little gremlins (smaller even than nano-figs) armed with tridents, who carve these pieces out of coloured plastic. These tools of theirs are wonderfully versatile. You can see two of them sticking out the side, which when pulled presumably give the gremlins a poke, so they know which shift to be on. Some older ones also seem to have been re-purposed for the conveyor belt. How resourceful! It’s a wonder such production methods aren’t used elsewhere, really.

(Hm? What do you mean, I’ve failed the trial period for TBB’s production expert…?)

Summer 2023 LEGO Star Wars sets unveiled at Comic-Con, including buildable Chewbacca and Ahsoka series playsets [News]

San Diego Comic Con today saw LEGO reveal three upcoming sets in the Star Wars product line. Ahead of the hotly-anticipated Ahsoka series coming to Disney+ in a little over a month, we get two colourful sets depicting starfighters old and new from the Star Wars universe. The T-6 Jedi Shuttle makes its first appearance in a LEGO set since 2012, while the E-wing makes its first appearance in New Republic colours alongside an all-new ship for antagonist Shin Hati. Shin is herself part of a minifigure line-up featuring many of the Ahsoka series’ main characters. In addition to these two playscale sets is a buildable Chewbacca, depicting the lovable wookiee in a 2,000-piece, 18″ (46cm) sculpture. All three sets are available for pre-order now from LEGO.com, and will be released this coming September 1st.

Peruse pictures, press releases and pre-order links presently!

Is a LEGO builder’s work – or a church – ever truly finished?

I used to live down the road from a cathedral, and the one thing I have noticed about them and churches is that more often than not, they seem to always have scaffolding up somewhere for restoration work. This is based purely on anecdotal evidence of course, but I will use Margrabia Mokotowski‘s beautiful LEGO church as another datapoint to support this dubious claim! Inspired by a real church in Margrabia’s native Poland, it wouldn’t look out of place as the centerpiece of a medieval township, even with the heavy weathering in evidence with some nice texturing. The ever-present scaffolding, though, belies its true setting in a modern-day LEGO city. It’s funny how a few minifigures and safety barriers can change the context of a whole build by a few hundred years!

Wyrms: like dragons, but cuter

Supposedly, the difference between dragons and wyrms (and wyverns, and drakes) lies in the number of limbs they have, and whether they have wings or not. That may be so, but the name “wyrm” just sounds cuter than the others, don’t you think? Maybe that’s why Jonah Schultz refers to this adorable little LEGO guy as a wyrm, even if it technially has too many limbs to be one. That minifigure-leg snout is too cute to belong to a fire-breathing monster! How do we square this particular circle? Maybe Wyrm is its given name? Wyrm the Dragon. Yeah, that sounds fitting! If a little confusing…

Just an old car – no retro-futurism here, no sirree...

It’s been a while since we featured a proper old-fashioned LEGO car from Isaac Wilder. He’s been on a bit of a retro-futurism kick lately – which, don’t get us wrong, we’re all here for. That’s fine if you like that sort of thing. But nothing beats the simplicity of a good ol’ 50s sedan. This one would not look out of place in a film noir movie, or a British 60s police flick.

It’s always nice to see a builder play their hits, instead of messing around with this new-old-fangled retro-futurism nonsense. No crazy engines, no flyi- er… Oh. I guess old habits die hard.

Who are we kidding – we love Isaac’s work, retro-futurist or otherwise! See for yourself why he’s a regular feature in our archives.

Honey, I supersized the minifigs

I really like the “maxi-fig” concept that has been doing the rounds lately. It can be as simple as LEGO’s own 40649 Up-Scaled LEGO Minifigure set, or you can use it as a template to let your creativity run wild. Kristel Whitaker has done just that with this dandy pair of Day-of-the-Dead themed figs. They’re named Catrina and Skellie, and don’t they just look brilliant! I love the repeated use of yellow flowers and dark pink leaves on Catrina’s dress especially. It looks just like the intricate embroidery typical of this style of outfit. Skellie’s, er, skeleton is also nicely done with a mixture of SNOT (studs not on top) and tiled building.

Hopefully this format will blow up in a big way! Speaking of big – why not see what else the talented LEGO community has up-scaled?

Star Wars, but make it Blacktron

A spacecraft with black wings and a bubble cockpit? Easy – that can only be a TIE fighter. But hang on, these were also defining features of LEGO’s Blacktron II theme… So what is it? Well, it’s both! Gerard Joosten AKA Elephant-Knight has a bit of a knack for builds within the Blacktron II aesthetic, and he’s turned to the Star Wars universe for his latest creation. The TIE Defender is one of the more outlandish TIE variants, and as a result it fits very nicely into the design language of my personal favourite LEGO space villains. Does this mean Darth Vader gets a neon-green lightsaber…?

Visions of a dystopian flat-pack future

If the first thing that pops into your mind when thinking of dystopian futures is flat-pack furniture, well, you must be Cecilie Fritzvold. She decided to bring a touch of Scandinavian flair to the colossal cyberpunk city of New Hashima. You’d be forgiven for thinkin that Swedish minimalism and might not mesh that well with the often gritty cyberpunk aesthetic, but the concept works remarkably well. Little touches like the Japanese signage and neon decor make it look right at home.

All the best LEGO themes are found underground

What’s better than a LEGO build that evokes nostalgia for a past theme? A LEGO build that evokes nostalgia for two past themes! Flickr user Student Scissors submitted this creation in the Bio-Cup competition. As the name suggests, this competition uses parts from the Bionicle theme. That box is ticked here: there are plenty of ball joints, and what looks like a Kanohi mask on the figure on the right. But the minecart full of power crystals, the teal-yellow-brown-dark-grey colour combo, and that massive chrome drill… That sounds like Rock Raiders to me! Although come to think of it, the colour scheme of the bat (lime green with blue and orange highlights) is reminiscent of the Power Miners theme from 2009. So that’s actually three awesome themes from yesteryear in one!

Chief of the Danish Gauls, Madeoutoflegobrix

The chief of Asterix and Obelix’s little Gaulish village goes by many names. Vitalstatistix, Macroeconomix (in some US editions), and Abracourcix (as I knew him in the original French editions). But perhaps we should refer to Oliver Becker‘s excellent LEGO interpretation as Madeoutoflegobrix! The rotund chieftain and his caricatured proportions are very well done. The head especially is where this build really shines; the tiny helmet with the feathers is both accurate and adorable. And the ball joint and croissants are great respective choices for the big nose and moustache, features so integral to these indomitable Gauls!

The curious case of the Blacktron baggage

Chris Yu has a bit of a thing for LEGO space luggage. We’ve got a bit of a thing for his luggage, too – way back in 2019 his Classic Space suitcase was awarded the TBB Creation of the Year title. At long last, Chris has returned to this awesome concept – but with a more sinister twist! Naturally, the Classic Space case needs some opposing Blacktron baggage. It’s best summed up by one Ben Smith in the comments on Flickr: “I’ll be very surprised if this is not the most awesome thing you see all day”!

Click here to see what makes this build so awesome