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.

How to organise and sort your LEGO collection, by the Mad Physicist [Feature]

With a lot of people holed up in their homes, as a result of stay-at-home orders to reduce the spread of COVID-19, The Brothers Brick has been getting questions on how to best organise one’s LEGO collection. There are obviously many different ways to do this. These range from not organising it at all, via sorting elements by colour or type, to giving every type of element in every different colour a separate container. The latter is seen by some people as the “ultimate” or “most advanced” sorting solution. A behind-the-scenes discussion among our contributors revealed that we all have somewhat different sorting systems. So, for those of you staring at a large pile of random unsorted LEGO, we’ll be sharing our ideas in a few feature articles. We’ll also go into the process of cleaning and sorting your LEGO.

In this installment, we kick off with our very own Builder in Residence, Ralph Savelsberg aka Mad physicist.

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.

LEGO Masters: An interview with finalists Tyler and Amy [Feature]

LEGO Masters aired its ninth episode last week where contestants competed in the Star Wars challenge. We won’t reveal the outcome, but The Brothers Brick had the opportunity to sit down with all three teams to talk about their experiences on the whole show. We’ll publish our interviews with the other finalists in the coming days ahead of the finale next Wednesday.

In our interview, we talk to “The Newlyweds” Tyler and Amy about how they came to be a team and prepared for the show, what their favorite moments were, and if they have continued building together since.

Read our interview with LEGO Masters finalists Tyler and Amy

Behind-the-scenes of LEGO Masters with Amy Corbett and Jamie Berard [Feature]

LEGO Masters enters the semi-finals with a Star Wars challenge tonight, and ahead of the episode, we got to sit down with judges Amy Corbett and Jamie Berard to talk about the season so far. They reveal what have been both the best and hardest moments about being judges, if they always agreed on who should go home, and how they are currently handling working from home.

In the interview conducted jointly with Brickset, BZPower and True North Bricks, Amy and Jamie also talk about some of the challenges and what made them so difficult, if they will be back for season 2, and how they became LEGO designers.

Read our follow-up interview with LEGO Masters judges Amy Corbett and Jamie Berard

Leaving LEGO Masters: An interview with the seventh team to leave [Feature]

LEGO Masters aired its seventh episode last week where contestants teamed up to build a Good vs Evil lair and battle. The Brothers Brick had the opportunity to sit down with the eliminated team and talk about their experience, what happened when the cameras were off, and how to handle both good and bad twists.

In our interview, the team talks about how they met and became friends, what skills are needed to do well on the show and what it is like building for long periods of time under bright lights. If you haven’t yet watched the episode, be warned that there will be spoilers!

Read our interview with the eliminated LEGO Masters contestants

Hands-on with the new LEGO SPOTS for boys [April Fools]

Hot on the tails of their DOTS success, LEGO has revealed the SPOTS line of accessories for boys ages 6-12. In advance of the theme’s release on April 1st, The Brothers Brick obtained an advance copy to share our impressions of the boys’ extension of the creative tile theme.

Our reviewer got his grubby little hands all over these new sets. Will he deem them totally badass or do they just blow chunks? Maybe a little of both? Read on to find out.

Click to read our full review of LEGO SPOTS.

Behind the scenes of LEGO Ideas 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay with designers Milan Madge and Austin Carlson [Feature]

A few days ago LEGO took the wraps off the newest Ideas set, 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay, a massive shipwreck island that contains the wreckage of the infamous Black Seas Barracuda. And not only that, but the set can also be transformed to create the full, seaworthy sailing ship too, and it will be available April 1, 2020, for US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99. We got our hands on an early copy to bring you a full review, but we also had a chance to sit down (virtually) with the two LEGO designers behind the set, set Designer Milan Madge and minifigure Designer Austin William Carlson, to ask them a few more things we wanted to know about the set. You’ll definitely want to read our full review first, though.

Read the TBB review of 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay here.

First of all, let me say that I just finished building the set, and I absolutely love it. For people like me who grew up with the original Pirates theme, this set is loaded with nostalgia and is so much fun, plus it’s a great build. Have either of you worked on any pirates sets previously? And if so, which ones?

Milan: Thanks for the kind words! I think I speak for the whole team when I say that we are so pleased you like it. We worked really hard to try and deliver something that would take you back to your childhood, just as the theme does for Pablo, the fan designer, so I’m so glad it did. I’ve never had the pleasure to work on LEGO Pirates before, so this is new ground for me, but I spent an awful lot of time making huge pirate and castle dioramas as a kid.

Continue reading →

Leaving LEGO Masters: An interview with the sixth team to leave [Feature]

LEGO Masters aired its sixth episode last week where contestants built a Storybook created by kids. The Brothers Brick had the opportunity to sit down with the eliminated team and talk about their experience, diversity and representation, and how they prepared to be on the show.

In our interview, the team talks about which challenge they wished they could have done better and how the cast has become more of a family. If you haven’t yet watched the episode, be warned that there will be spoilers!

Read our interview with these eliminated LEGO Masters contestants

Everything you want to know about LEGO Super Mario [Feature]

LEGO and Nintendo have revealed their four-year partnership in the making, showing off LEGO Super Mario to the world. The product line, arriving later this year, features an interactive LEGO Mario figure who collects coins in levels created with physical LEGO bricks. But how did the partnership come to be, how does Mario work, and what Easter eggs are hidden throughout the buildable levels?

The Brothers Brick sat down with Jonathan Bennink, the Design Manager at the LEGO Creative Play Lab and Digital Design Lead for LEGO Super Mario. who gave us a behind-the-scenes look at the upcoming product line. We asked him the questions you wanted to know the answers to, so read on to find out all about LEGO Super Mario.

Read our behind-the-scenes interview with the designer who brought LEGO Super Mario to life

Leaving LEGO Masters: An interview with the fourth team to leave [Feature]

LEGO Masters has aired its fifth episode last week where contestants built a mega city with a twist. The Brothers Brick had the opportunity to sit down with them and talk about their experience, the broader LEGO community, and if they ever went through a “dark age.”

In our interview, the team talks about which challenge they wished they could have done and how future teams can learn from failure. If you haven’t yet watched the episode, be warned that there will be spoilers!

Read our interview with these eliminated LEGO Masters contestants

The LEGO Creator Expert 10271 Fiat 500 is like cool, Daddy-O! [Review]

You may have seen our recent news announcement for the LEGO 10271 Creator Expert Fiat 500 set. Now we have a chance to build and review the iconic little car. The set consists of 960 pieces and is rated for ages 16+. It retails for the price of US $89.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £74.99; and is available directly from LEGO Stores & LEGO.com as of March 1, 2020.

Click to read our full review.

Leaving LEGO Masters: An interview with the third team to leave [Feature]

LEGO Masters has aired its fourth episode last week where contestants had to mash-up movie genres, though sadly another team went home. The Brothers Brick had the opportunity to sit down with them and talk about their experience, how family experiences shaped their outlook on life, and what the reaction has been to appearing on the reality show.

In the interview conducted jointly with BZPower and True North Bricks, the team talks about which challenge they would have been awesome at and what they would have done differently. If you haven’t yet watched the episode, be warned that there will be spoilers!

Read our interview with these eliminated LEGO Masters contestants

Leaving LEGO Masters: An interview with the second team to leave [Feature]

LEGO Masters has aired its third episode last week, and sadly another team went home. The Brothers Brick had the opportunity to sit down with them and talk about their experience, how to maintain a positive outlook under stress, and what the reaction has been to appearing on the reality show.

In the interview conducted jointly with Brickset, BZPower and True North Bricks, the team talks about how all the contestants felt like a family, what challenge they would have been awesome at, and what advice they have for contestants on LEGO Masters Season 2. If you haven’t yet watched the episode, be warned that there will be spoilers!

Read our interview with these eliminated LEGO Masters contestants