Category Archives: Feature

The Brothers Brick is not just about showcasing the best  fan builds and bringing you the latest LEGO News, we also love to investigate, interview and discuss!  These featured articles are all interesting articles that you can look back and enjoy reading.

2024 TBB Custom LEGO Advent Calendar – Day 4 [Feature]

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!

See what we’re assembling on day 4 of this 24-part build!

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.

2024 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 4 [Feature]

Are those jingle bells ringing? No, it’s the crinkly plastic bags inside each our six LEGO advent calendars. Friends and Disney, City and Harry Potter, Star Wars and Spider-man! It’s time to open some doors and find out who goes on the naughty and nice lists today.

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 4…

Click here to see today’s builds!

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.

2024 TBB Custom LEGO Advent Calendar – Day 3 [Feature]

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!

What’ll day 3 bring in this holiday creation?

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.

2024 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 3 [Feature]

On the third day of December, my LEGO Advent calendars gave to me… six mystery items that we’re here to reveal! Between City, Friends, Disney, Harry Potter, Star Wars, and Spider-Man, who will have us cooing like a trio of French hens?

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 3…

Click here to see today’s builds!

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.

2024 TBB Custom LEGO Advent Calendar – Day 2 [Feature]

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!

Day 2 waits for no LEGO builder!

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.

2024 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 2 [Feature]

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!

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.

2024 TBB Custom LEGO Advent Calendar – Day 1 [Feature]

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!

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.

2024 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 1 [Feature]

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!

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.

Announcing the TBB custom LEGO advent calendar for December 2024 [Feature]

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 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. Lemur explains it all, Episode 2: A call for art! [Feature]

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 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.

Chronicling the history of the Octan Racing Team [Feature]

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!

Continue reading

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.

Building with character: a conversation with NPU wizard Djokson [Interview]

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.

Mount

Read on for the rest of our interview with Djokson and a retrospective of his amazing builds! !

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.