Posts by Theo Spencer

Can’t see the forest for the trees – but we can see the Empire instead

The forest moon of Endor is the scene of the Star Wars equivalent of the Teddy Bear’s Picnic, where a coalition of Ewoks and Rebels (oh, and some Jedi) defeated the might of the Empire once and for all. It’s a scene that has been rendered in LEGO many times, to great effect. Abe Fortier (AKA Hypolite Bricks) has joined the fray with a superb effort! Often, these dioramas are dense with vegetation and trees; it did take place on the forest moon of Endor (not Endor itself!), after all. Abe’s isn’t quite as densely populated with plants, but that might be for the better here. It gives some space to focus on the scene’s protagonists and antagonists – and the superb landscaping. It looks like it gave the good guys a better line of sight to take down that AT-ST, too!

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LEGO Icons 10335 The Endurance: worth enduring, or a polarising proposition? [Review]

Whenever we’ve had LEGO sets representing old sailing ships, they have more often than not been connected to pirates or their adversaries. In that respect, the newest entry in the Icons line is rather unique: a vessel designed purely for exploration. Polar exploration, that is! This is 10335 The Endurance, a model of the ship which took Ernest Shackleton and his crew to the Antarctic, only to get stuck and then crushed in the ice of the Weddell Sea. The Endurance has since become one of the great undiscovered shipwrecks until it was found in 2022, 100 years to the day after Shackleton’s death. Two years on, and you can now recreate this legendary ship from 3,011 LEGO pieces for US $269.99 | CAN $349.99 | UK £229.99. Availability starts from November 29, while it may also be available from third-party sellers like Amazon or eBay.

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.

Set sail on the Endurance and read the rest of our review here!

This LEGO bust would make a fine addition to any collection

One thing that Star Wars – and especially – the prequels, for their flaws – does really well is villains. One look at Darth Maul or the Emperor and there’s no doubting which side they’re on. But really, none of them looked as villainous as the skeletal General Grievous, whose likeness has been captured by Sakiya Watanabe (N.A.B.E_mocs). In builds where the cybernetic and natural collide, texture can be a useful tool to differentiate between the two, and this is a fantastic example. Grievous’ armour is almost entirely studless. It’s wonderfully organically shaped, too – a touch of irony therein, perhaps! In contrast, his fleshy bits (for want of a better phrase) are rougher. His esophagus (I think that’s what it is) is all studded plates, while the red eyes use anti-studs to perfectly accentuate their organic nature.

What do you get when you cross knights in shining armour with the frog prince?

If you want to bring a bit of whimsy to a fantasy LEGO creation, a good place to start is making your characters animals. Oh, and giving them a massive sword. That’s the angle that Dan Ko has gone for in this charming duo. Both the frog knight and his snail steed are full of character – and clever parts use! Our knight in croaking armour has some fantastic leafy webbed feet, and the ski for a cross-guard is a neat idea for this asymmetric sword. The snail, meanwhile, has caterpillar tracks wound up to form its shell. Although I must admit – and this might be a niche reference – that with those bright yellow eyes, it reminds me of the slugs from the LEGO Rock Raiders video game. Perhaps they’re distant cousins?

Paleolithic paleontology beneath the LEGO ice

We know what dinosaurs are these days. Big, reptilian-avian creatures that roamed the Earth millions of years ago, doing cool dinosaur things. But what would early humankind have made of fossils, had they found them a mere 10,000 years ago? This is the question that photomark6 is pondering. It’s a superbly staged photograph! The eye is drawn to the T-Rex fossil around which the scene revolves. But the bright colours of the minifigures make us focus on the real story here. What are they feeling? Wonder about this new discovery? Fear, that it might break out of the ice and devour them? Or cold, from their outfits that don’t look particularly well-suited to the ice and snow? (I know which one I’d be feeling the most!)

LEGO cyberpunk creation towers above everything – including its creator!

Few collaborative LEGO builds can surely claim to have the reach that the New Hashima project has had. It’s seen offshoots pop up all over the world, and builders are still adding to it almost two years after it started. Blake Foster is the latest to construct another cyberpunk edifice – and quite a sizable one, at that! Blake tells us that Hashimacorp Tower took almost 18 months to complete, including a 20-hour (!) long building session. That’s commitment! And I think it warrants a closer look, don’t you?

Come and take a tour of this terrific tower!

A long time ago, in a savannah far, far away...

After a galaxy-wide sigh of relief, one of the first things that will have crossed the newly-formed New Republic’s mind will have been ‘OK, but what do we do with all this stuff?’. After all, the Empire had a some pretty formidable weapons of war that suddenly needed new purpose. Fortunately, budding entrepreneurs like LEGO builder Dominique Boeynams were on hand to transform them into something better suited for peacetime. Dominique managed to get an AT-AT all the way back to Earth (don’t ask how – I gather he had to promise a lot of freebies), chopped its top off, and now arranges safaris with a Star Wars twist. It’s actually perfect for the job; that heavy armour comes in handy when the lions get hungry, see. They tend to have better luck picking off unruly tourists doing their best Luke Skywalker impression…

Bear witness to history in this brick-built Viking diorama

With the benefit of a few hundred years of hindsight, we can look back and say that the vikings were pretty cool. But if you were a resident in a village on Britain’s eastern shores at the time, you might not agree with that assessment. We can look to James Pegrum‘s LEGO snapshot to see what one of their frequent raids might have looked like. There’s a fabulously-textured chapel or monastery juxtaposing the much newer-looking longboat, while the resident monks are showing a mixture of fear and defiance. The minifigure’s-eye perspective really makes you feel among the action – a witness to history in LEGO form!

LEGO Black Friday exclusive 10335 The Endurance celebrates Ernest Shackleton with 3,000-piece sailing ship and GWP [News]

Earlier this month, National Geographic released a documentary on Disney+ about the discovery of Ernest Shackleton’s lost ship, Endurance. With perfect timing, LEGO is now releasing the polar exploration vessel in a 3,011-piece display kit: 10335 The Endurance. Retailing for US $269.99 | CAN $349.99 | UK £229.99, this ship will set sail from November 29 — just in time for the holiday season. No mention of Endurance can pass without mentioning the incredible feat of human endurance that followed its wrecking; and so LEGO Insiders can also get their hands on an exclusive gift with purchase — 40729 Shackleton’s Lifeboat – free with copies of the Endurance purchased between November 29 and December 2.

Take a look at pictures of the Endurance and lifeboat James Caird below!

Beaker the Muppet – the squeaker of the puppets

Muppets builder extraordinaire Jon-Paul Hansen has made another addition to his LEGO collection of the fuzzy puppets. This time, it’s one of my favourite characters – the appropriately-named lab assistant, Beaker! There’s some great parts use here to capture the squeaky puppet’s features. A couple of aeroplane tail fins sit either side of a dark green windscreen – first introduced in the Botanicals Poinsettia – to make for an excellent labcoat and tie, respectively. As for the fuzzy fire-red hair, that’s superbly recreated with a bunch of red bushes. And speaking of fire – I can practically hear Beaker’s frantic “mi-mi-mi-mi-mi!!”s through the screen!

Ricky Raccoon’s red rocket rat-rod racer

If you think of a hot-rod, there’s a good chance you’d think of a modified old car, perhaps something like the Ford Model A. In LEGO form, there’s one theme that sticks out for styling its cars in a similar 1930s aesthetic: Fabuland. And if you think that theme’s bright colours wouldn’t suit a rapid straight-line rat-rod, here’s captainsmog‘s drag racer to change your mind! It’s a great tribute to the theme, making use of old parts – the windscreen window frame, and Ricky Raccoon, of course – alongside newer ones, like the red bucket headlights. Even the Wacky Racers-esque rocket on the back fits the vibe!

Tricksy LEGO parts use makes for a terrifying treat

With the whiff of Hallowe’en still in the air, we’re still seeing scary LEGO builds cropping up. This one by Ari Hytti wasn’t even built for All Hallows’ Eve (it’s part of an ongoing round of Iron Builder), but it definitely fits the bill! And being an Iron Builder creation, it’s absolutely chocka with Nice Parts Use (NPU). Obviously that includes the seed part – a bright orange Unikitty tail – which you can spot in those fearsome flaming swords. But also noteworthy are the constraction armour hooves and the, ah, singular item of clothing, which I believe is a re-purposed Duplo carpet. But you need to look to the head for the best bit. Much of this Warden’s threatening demeanour comes from that toothy scowl, which is printed on a Bionicle Piraka head. It’s the perfect piece for the job, as the eyeholes double as flared nostrils!

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