Posts by Theo Spencer

A LEGO builder earns their stripes by re-visiting a fan favourite

Last year, we featured a terrific LEGO tiger from DeRa that was so good it made onto our Creation of the Year shortlist. As it turns out, that was just the latest iteration of a design that DeRa has been gradually improving over the years. Now, we have another update to investigate! In some ways the changes are subtle. The overall shaping is just as good, and its excellent posability has been retained. But the devil is in the detail, and that’s where this big cat truly shines.

Click here to see what upgrades DeRa has made to their feline phenomenon

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.

A sled dog for the modern era

They say that dogs are humankind’s best friend. That rings true in several walks of life, and among the elderly, they can be a vital source of companionship. But as Sigmund Haugland‘s LEGO vignette proves, they’re just as useful in times of emergency! All it takes is a little ingenuity- and I’m not just talking about those forced perspective portraits. A defective stairlift is no match for a fishing pole and a doggy treat!

Is this temple big and close, or small and far away, or just built at microscale?

I love LEGO builds that mess with your sense of scale. Mattia Careddu is the latest to discombobulate me with a mysterious, watery fantasy world. Clearly that temple in the middle is massive: there are rocks floating around – literally – with waterfalls coming out of them. But hang on, those birds look like ibises, making excellent use as they do of some dinosaur tail elements. And I recognise those leaf elements too, which means this build isn’t actually that big. But then you see the steps up the side of the temple… Wait, how big are those birds?! And that’s to say nothing of the great big serpent tree deity thing that looks ready to devour the lot. Whoever’s on that little boat sure is brave going wherever here is.

The Porsche 911 of LEGO van builders

There was once a time (I’m told) that vans were strictly for businesses and tradesmen. The humble VW Transporter changed that and made them cool leisure vehicles; now, the Transporter and its variants are a near-ubiquitous presence on European roads. LEGO car builder Sam Andreas even went as far as calling this 1979 T3 “the Porsche 911 of vans”. Now I know there is some VW lineage to Porsche, but I can’t say I’m seeing it – much as I love Sam’s two-tone brown livery here. Then again, I’ve never owned either vehicle. So what do I know? I’m pretty sure you’re not getting a rubber dinghy in the back of a 911 though. So score one for the T3!

This LEGO market square makes up part of a massive modular medieval metropolis – with over 14,500 pieces!

The last couple of LEGO builds we’ve featured from Sandro Damiano have all been just small parts of a greater whole. Slowly but surely, Sandro is building up an enormous modular castle world. It’s a rapidly-growing settlement! This is already the 5th segment, and number 6 is apparently on its way too. What’s impressive – aside from the modularity – is how all the sections stand as great models in their own right. The latest addition is a medieval market village. This portion is well over 100 studs long! And that means there’s plenty to explore…

Click here to take a tour around the market!

August LEGO Star Wars sets and Soundwave now available [News]

May the Fourth may be behind us, but that doesn’t mean we’re done for big LEGO Star Wars set drops! Several LEGO themes are getting set releses this month, including Creator and Wicked, but the big draw for many fans will be the next line of Star Wars sets hitting shelves. We’ve been gradually reviewing them over the last few weeks, and if our reviews whetted your appetite, now you can get your hands on these new sets from a galaxy far, far away. It’s not all Star Wars, though – the third large-scale Transformer set, 10358 Transformers: Soundwave, will also be available in just a few days’ time.

There are plenty of others newly available – be sure to head over to LEGO.com (US | CAN | UK) to see what else is new!

Take a look at the galaxy far, far away’s latest offerings here!

LEGO Catbus from My Neighbour Totoro puts a massive grin on our faces!

If you’ve been following Joss Ivanwood over on Instagram, you’ll know he’s been hard at work building a bus out of LEGO. That might sound a bit odd – Joss is better known for making fantastic creatures than vehicles, as our archives will attest. But it all becomes clear once you realise it’s the famous Catbus, from Studio Ghibli favourite My Neighbour Totoro! It’s been several months in the making, and now it’s debuted, we can see what a magnificent creation it is. We’ve even got the movie’s other protagonists too!

I absolutely love Totoro; it’s probably my favourite Ghibli film. So indulge me, and let’s take a closer look at Joss’ cracking Catbus!

All aboard…

This LEGO medieval house has a private dock, view of the sea, and a rather alarming angle to it...

Now that we all have cars and bikes, it can be hard to imagine just how important a method of transport boats once were. Sailing was the best way to transport a decent volume of cargo a long way at relative speed (well, unless you were landlocked, of course). Peter (forestArcher) is building up quite the repertoire of rickety LEGO medieval buildings, and for the Summer Joust castle competition, he’s tackled a seaside residence! This one is receiving some vital supplies by boat. And although it’s brilliantly built by Peter – the different angles at work are great, particularly that yellow house – I can’t help but think whoever lives there might need them, lest this precarious pad falls into the sea!

There are plenty of other Summer Joust builds trickling in – take a look at some of the ones we’ve featured in our archives, and be sure to keep checking back for more!

Shiny hunting for a massive LEGO Pokemon

LEGO phenom Zane Houston has been on something of a Pokemon kick of late. First Pikachu, then Haunter both left big impressions on us (although we’ve seen some equally good smaller ‘mons, too). But after two Pokemon from the first generation of games, Zane has brought a touch of Gen-2 epicness to the majestic Gyarados. It’s in these games that we first encounter shiny Pokemon, with a red Gyarados popping up at the Lake of Rage. Zane has captured the moment in all its studly goodness; we make a lot of builds that hide their studs, but I like how all these statues are really embracing their studs!

The framing here is superb. The shot from below, combined with the brick-built splashes of water, really make you feel the ferocity of this powerful water Pokemon! Make sure you check out Zane’s photostream to see some fascinating insights into the build process, too.

LEGO celebrates upcoming season 5 of Stranger Things with Brickheadz four-pack [News]

LEGO’s BrickHeadz line has proved to be one of the most enduring ways of collecting brick-built characters from your favourite IPs, with literally hundreds having been given the treatment over the years. With the fifth and final season of smash hit Stranger Things coming to Netflix this November, it’s perhaps little surprise to see LEGO return to the theme to celebrate the occasion. A four-pack of characters from the show’s first season, 40801 Mike, Dustin, Lucas and Will Figures, will hit shelves later this year. 542 pieces make up, as the name suggests, Mike Wheeler, Dustin Henderson, Lucas Sinclair and Will Byer. Although we don’t yet have a confirmed release date, we do know that it will retail for US $39.99 | CAN $54.99 | UK £34.99.

Click here for a closer look at the latest in the BrickHeadz collection

LEGO Gotham City expands with 16-minifigure-strong 76300 Arkham Asylum [News]

It takes a special kind of crazy to be a supervillain, and a special kind of prison to keep the rest of us safe. A good thing, then, that Gotham City has the Arkham Asylum. And from September 12, you can have it too – in LEGO form! 76300 Arkham Asylum has just been unveiled, with 2,953 pieces and 16 minifigures covering both heroes (such as Batman and Robin) and villains (from Mr Freeze to Killer Croc). Interestingly, the press release – which you can read after the jump – indicates that it doubles as a 24-part advent calendar as well as a nice display piece. It’s a tad pricier than your usual LEGO advent calendar, at US $299.99 | CAN $379.99 | UK £269.99, but it can already be pre-ordered ahead of its September release.

Enter the asylum below, and see if you’ll go crazy for this big Batman set!

Wizard of Oz’s Emerald City gets the LEGO treatment as part of Wicked wave of sets [News]

Something Wicked this way comes… Yes, Wicked, with a capital W! Following the theatrical release of the Disney film last year, another wave of LEGO sets is releasing this September 1. Most interesting among these is 75685 Emerald City Wall Art, a 1,518-piece display set that you can decorate your walls with, yellow brick road and all. Stylistically similar to previous LEGO Art sets, this one does include 6 minifigures: Wicked’s protagonists Glinda and Elphaba, plus Dorothy Gale, the Cowardly Lion, Scarecrow, and Tin Man from the classic Wizard of Oz adaptation. All this will be available for US $159.99 | CAN $199.99 | UK £139.99 from September 1.

We may not in Kansas any more, Toto – but we still have more pictures after the jump!