Cyber Monday? Who has time for that?! It’s day 2 of the annual TBB Advent Calendar-a-palooza and we have six doors to open today! Come on folks, you can save money on your online shopping later.
As ever, our intrepid TBB team is on hand with witty comments, insightful observations, and bad jokes for each day’s builds. And of course, you can add your own thoughts in the comments section each day! So without further ado, let’s crack open the build for day 2…
Click here to see today’s builds!
All year-round, we here at The Brothers Brick spend our time featuring amazing builds made by the LEGO fan community. But we figured, for the holiday season, it would be great to build something together. For each day from December 1st through the 24th, we’ll be posting instructions to a custom TBB advent calendar build, one part each day. Want to participate? You can find all the parts you’ll need for the TBB Advent Event from our announcement in November. Read on to see what we’re building today!
Better get after it! Day 1 isn’t going to build itself!
December is here, and in these parts that means it’s time for us to don our ugliest sweaters, top off our mugs of hot cocoa, and get very serious about tiny builds hidden behind little doors in LEGO’s crop of advent calendars. And what a bumper crop it is, with an unprecedented (sinister?) SIX themes on offer! This year Marvel lets the other Avengers take a holiday so that Spider-Man and friends can have the spotlight. Disney doubles the minidoll offerings with a princess-themed calendar making its debut. Advent alumni Star Wars and Harry Potter are back, and of course, we have LEGO’s own City and Friends themes.
6 themes, 24 doors… that’s a whopping 144 gifts. It’s going to be a wild ride. Join us each day for holiday spoilers and our brilliant insights (and awful jokes). And of course, you can add your own thoughts in the comments section each day! Brace yourselves. We’re going in…
Click here to see today’s builds!
As many of our regular readers are aware, come December each year, we here at TBB open up all the LEGO advent calendars, showing off each day’s builds along with some choice witticisms from the staff. Well, of course we’re still doing that this year, but we’ve also decided to add on an additional, TBB-exclusive advent event this year. From December 1st to the 24th, we’ll be posting the instructions for 1/24th of a custom Christmas model, designed by me. Has your Yuletide interest been piqued? Read on to find out more!
Read on to find out how you can participate and for the set’s parts list
The last time I rapped at y’all an interesting thing happened. Whether it be diverse representation in the Friends line, or the minifigures that come in LEGO Star Wars Microfighters sets, folks online sure have opinions about it. The consensus of said opinions on my last post, at least the ones that chose to share them anyway, was that they didn’t like me or the accompanying AI-generated image of me chitchatting and being as cool as a cucumber. As for not liking me, we did our own scientific research on the matter. We polled nearly a dozen people, and asked whether they’d prefer to encounter me in the forest or some rando dude from the internet. They unanimously chose me! However, I’m willing to acknowledge that our research may be biased because nearly a dozen people were all I could survey in the TBB hot tub last night. As for not liking the AI-generated image of me, the online randos might have had a good point, so we did something about that. Now you get this mugshot of me from 2015 that definitely isn’t AI-generated, so don’t get that idea in your heads. Or is it? Definitely not, maybe. What’s with the mugshot, you may ask? Well, as mentioned in my prior post, I was charged with the distribution of biohazard materials across property lines. (I swear they made up that rule just for me!)
As mugshots go, it’s not bad. I was living the YOLO lifestyle back then as evidenced by my sweet green fauxhawk, devil-may-care expression, and aviator sunglasses. In my defense, and if it’ll please the court, Your Honor, this mugshot was the only publishable image of me I had on my phone. The rest are -well- hilarious to be sure but nothing we can publish on The Brothers Brick. Which is why I’m appealing to y’all with…
A call for lemur art!
That’s right! We’d love to see your artistic chops and different styles and mediums. Please submit your original A. Lemur-related artwork using the form below. You may draw me in all kinds of predicaments and situations; why I could be riding a rollercoaster, driving a car, or even soaking in TBB’s headquarters hot tub when Andrew isn’t looking. With your imagination and artistic ability, there’s no telling what hijinks I could be up to! Extra kudos points go to you if you include something green and white in the composition. Kyle says it’s good branding!
What do I get in return?
I’ll come by occasionally to rap at y’all to explain some LEGO terms, maybe talk about events in your area or whatever floats my tail. When I do, and if we use your image to accompany it, I’ll credit you and even provide a link to your socials. With legions of readers worldwide, it could garner you some sweet likes and follows! We’ll even throw a bit of swag your way.
But what do you look like? How are you different from other lemurs?
What’s to stop me from just copy/pasting lemur images and raking in the sweet rewards? Good point! Besides the fact that I can talk, write, and be overall charming and likable, I look a little different from your normal lemur in the sense that I have a green and white striped tail. Andrew dared me to do it a long time ago and I just sort of kept it. I am older now, so I sometimes wear glasses; green, of course. You can depict me in a dyed green fauxhawk, like in my mugshot, but it’s not necessary. Otherwise, I look like your normal, walking’ talking’ smart-aleck lemur.
What are the rules?
Please submit your original art using the form below by September 7th, 2024. Any medium, any style is welcome whether it be digital art, collage, paint, markers, pencils, whatevs! All we ask is that it’s hosted on the internet somewhere for us to go have a gander. Also, please be over 13 years old. No entries from anyone 13 or under will be accepted. I hate to say it but -sigh- please no AI-generated art. As you may have witnessed, we have eggheads already who can do that and some folks didn’t like it. In this scenario, I get to rap at ya occasionally about cool LEGO stuff and whatnot, talented people get credit and attention for their sweet, sweet art, you don’t have to see mugshots or any of those hilarious unpublishable images from my phone, and we keep the naysayers off our backs. It’s a win/win for everybody!
Thanks for reading. Now let’s see what magic you can do!
The Octan energy company holds a special place in the hearts of many in the LEGO community. On the face of it that might seem rather strange – it’s only an energy company, after all, and a fictional one at that. (Well, mostly fictional – as discussed previously on TBB.) But it has been an ever-present in LEGO’s Town and City lines, and more besides, since its introduction in 1992. Its famous red and green roundel has adorned everything from petrol stations to football jerseys in the brick-built universe.
However, there’s one Octan activity that has always held a special fascination for me personally: motorsport! Their association with racing goes back almost as far as the company itself. But how did this enormous energy mega-corp get involved with motorsport in the first place? Did their monopoly on fuel extend to a winning streak on the circuit? Inspired by a livery spotted in a video game, I thought I would take a stab at answering these questions. So join the starting grid with me, dear reader, and let’s find out about Octan’s racing heritage!
LEGO elements are a fascinating creative medium where the palette of possibility is constantly evolving, but the pieces of yesteryear never go away. Duplo bricks from 45 years ago can still connect with forgotten Znaps or the latest Dreamzzz. Serbian builder Djokson is an undisputed master of bridging obscure LEGO B-Sides with new shapes and colors. Over 10 years, he has created and shared nearly 400 LEGO models, each remarkable in form, personality, and originality. Djokson has been on a hot streak this year with multiple new models a week that showcases his growth as an artist. This seems like the perfect time to sit down with Djokson and learn a bit more about the mind behind this incredible run of LEGO marvels.
Read on for the rest of our interview with Djokson and a retrospective of his amazing builds! !
Hello, I’m A. Lemur and I’m The Brother’s Brick mascot. Our newer readers might be saying; what the heck is going on here? Admittedly, the last time I gabbed at ya, Adele’s 25 won Album of the Year, and everyone was getting all saucy with Fifty Shades of Gray. You see, I got into a poo slingin’ altercation with my neighbor and, as a result, was sent to the lemur pokey for a while. But, as per my court-ordered community service, I’m here to teach you about some common LEGO acronyms you may have heard at conventions or right here on our own pages.
MOC – what does that mean?
A MOC is the common term for something that is My Own Creation. This is when you take LEGO and design your own thingamabob without instructions. This can be achieved with the LEGO you may already have or through orders from our friends over at Brickset or Bricklink. Keep in mind that this is not simply building a LEGO set, although it’s totally OK to do that. Most LEGO folks young and old just build sets and display them proudly on their shelves. But a MOCer-that is a breed apart! You can usually identify them at LEGO conventions by their brick badges, thousand-yard stare, and the demeanor of someone who generally can’t be trusted with the undergarment section of a Sears catalog. The last MOC I made got me kicked out of my local LUG because those sweaty nerds just don’t know good art when they see it!
Wait, what’s a LUG?
A LUG means LEGO Users Group. There are LUGs all over the globe and it’s a great way to get together with like-minded friends, usually in a library or other public spaces (that incidentally also host Poo-Slingers Anonymous meetings) to talk about LEGO sales and happenings, and show off your newest MOCs. If you are so inclined, get yourself on the Google and discover LUGs in your area. From there you can behold the aforementioned thousand-yard stare as someone there is sure to completely nerd out over NPU.
Which brings us to NPU
This means Nice Part Usage. This is when someone very cleverly uses LEGO bricks in unconventional ways to illustrate a complex shape or detail. Our contributors are forever going on about NPU in our articles. That means job security for us. I’m pretty sure if they didn’t have that to talk about, they’d otherwise be avid and lonely gamers. There is nothing more soul-crushing than playing a board game by yourself when someone walks in on your one-handed solo campaign!
What a bunch of AFOLs!
And what are all those grown-ass folks called who enjoy building with LEGO? They’re known as AFOLs or Adult Fans of LEGO. These are the guys and gals you see at conventions, your local LUGs, or lurking in the toy aisle at Walmart or The LEGO Store looking for the latest and greatest LEGO sets, and pretending to buy them for their “kids”. It was once suggested that we are not AFOLs, as adult FANS of LEGO are the folks who pay to see us at conventions. Instead, they reasoned, that we are Adult Hobbyists of LEGO but that moniker didn’t stick because – well – no one likes that acronym.
That’s all I’ve got for now but stay tuned for another day as our other contributors or I will come back with explanations for other common LEGO acronyms. Wait ’til someone explains BURP to y’all! It’s a hoot! Or look it up for yourself and more in our LEGO Glossary. Thanks for reading, friends. Until next time, keep it real and trust me when I say to keep your poo in your own yard.
LEGO has revealed a new mosaic set featuring Legends of Goth. The adult-targeted set contains 7,182 pieces, a large brick separator, and instructions and extra parts to build all five album cover designs by The Cure, Bauhaus, Sisters of Mercy, Siouxsie and the Banshees, and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. This set comes with a curated soundtrack that is downloadable via a QR code and will enable fans to listen to their favorite Goth albums while building.
The LEGO Goth Legends set comes in a box the size of a large pizza and will retail for US $219.99 | CAN $299.99 | UK £250.99 with a global release date of May 1st.
descend further down the spiral to see more
Thank you so much for all the great LEGO and TBB-related questions that have filled our mailbag this past week. I’ve got some answers for you below. But if you don’t see your question below, or my answers lead to more questions, the mailbag is still open on our original post.
All your questions will be answered below…
Dear reader, we know you have so many questions for us about LEGO news, reviews, and the creations we feature on our site. We see them regularly in our comments, in messages sent via Facebook and Instagram, and through our Contact Us page. And while we try to reply to the multitude of inquiries we receive through these portals, it’s about time we had an official Q&A session with you all. Use the form below to submit your questions, and I’ll be back next week with as many answers as I can muster (to questions submitted through any of these channels, both old and new). If there’s something you’ve been wanting to ask us about LEGO, writing, or anything else relevant to the site, let us hear it!
Fill out the form below with your questions
With 2023 behind us, we’ve been looking back on LEGO moments, and crowning our LEGO Builder of the Year and LEGO Creation of the Year, congratulations to both. But one of the things that our readers enjoy about our content is our in-depth set reviews. Many of our readers (myself included) count on our reviews to help them decide whether or not to buy that new modular, or that Star Wars set packed with unique minifigures. So, lets take a look back over our most popular reviews of 2023 based on total views.
Find out which of our LEGO reviews was the most popular in 2023