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.

Incomming fleet detected by long-range scanners – SHIPtember 2025 week 4 [Feature]

I can hardly believe yet another SHIPtember has come and gone. This year was one of the most amazing turnouts, with many first-time SHIPbuilders and veterans blowing us away with the sheer scope of their creations, from a 500+ stud Halo ring to a five-pronged star-ship with an impressive amount of teal tiles, to a ship built into and around the bones of a giant space whale. From NASA-adjacent to completely alien, this year’s lineup of ships in all manner of 100 stud orientations will make a very impressive poster in the coming months.

Read on for our special coverage of SHIPtember week 4

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Lino rounds up the classic vehicles that put him on the LEGO automotive map [Feature]

Hey there, Lino Martins,The Brothers Brick’s own writer, editor and occasional public nuisance here. I’m about to do the most self-serving thing anyone on any LEGO platform can do; show off a bunch of my own stuff. And that’s coming from someone who has given away three different versions of Adult Fan of Lino brick badges! In my defense, and if it will please the court Your Honor, it wasn’t even my idea. One of my higher-ups proposed the idea to me, and if there’s one thing I know, it’s me, so I said sure thing. Without further ado, let’s check out some of the classic vehicles that made me a mover and shaker in the LEGO automotive world. I may even include some insider info not published anywhere else.

Let’s start with the Popcorn Wagon. This over-the-top show rod, originally designed by Carl Casper, is a prime example of what you’re about to see.

The Show Rod is an automotive phenomenon that occurred in the 60s and 70s that pushed the limits of what a vehicle can be by melding art and engineering. Car legends such as George Barris, Tom Daniel and Ed “Big Daddy” Roth were on the forefront of the scene. Building these wild rides took innovation, imagination- and maybe some degree of controlled substances. One such controlled substance acted as inspiration for Tom Daniel’s famous Beer Wagon that kids in the 60’s and 70’s got to build as a Monogram model kit. I’m not to only one to have LEGO-ized the Beer Wagon. Check out this entry by my friend Andrea Lattanzio who even got to interview Tom Daniel.

Put the pedal to the metal and let the good times with Lino roll after the jump

Making magic with mind-bending custom minfigs [Minifig Monday]

Last week’s grab bag installment of Minifig Monday was a lot of fun, but today we return to themed roundups. Specifically, we’re looking at wizards and warlocks and their sorcerous kindred – but the real magic is in the creative use of parts to push the boundaries of minifig creation!

We start this magical Monday collection with a character who is barely a wizard at all – Rincewind from the Discworld novels. As created by legendary minifig photographer Jez Rider, Rincewind is accompanied by The Luggage and a definitely-not-stolen sheep.

Custom minifigs represent! This incredible Wicked duo from LEGO Masters winner Ian Summers (bricktacular_builds) is currently in the LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery, and might be the smallest build to get that honor. The parts usage is mind-blowing, especially the backwards arms, Glinda’s teapot body, and a beard for Elphaba’s broom. I had the chance to speak with Ian at LEGO House and he’s a fan of Minifig Monday and the creations shared here.

Backwards arms? Redbirch ups the ante with legs for arms! The builder has only shared 11 MOCs so far, but they’ve already made Minifig Monday twice with some of the most innovative parts usage we’ve seen. Look at those extended legs, made by slotting a minifig hand into the leg hole. The handlebar shoulder armor is great too.

Let’s make some more minifig magic after the fold

Meet the LEGO builders behind the 2025 Masterpiece Gallery exhibition!

LEGO House in Billund offers guests an incredible way to connect with the company’s history and playfully engage with bricks, but my favorite wing is the Masterpiece Gallery, which honors fan creations from builders around the world. It’s an amazing way to showcase what LEGO artists are doing with bricks to a wide audience, and for those who follow the MOC world closely, it’s a chance to see favorite builds up close in the best possible venue (alongside three enormous T. rexes!). This year, the space was expanded to include two sections for wall-mounted artwork, bringing the total to 17 artists.

TBB was fortunate to speak with all of the builders this week before their works were opened to the public. Some of the faces and builds are quite familiar to readers of this site – one is even a contributor! Let’s meet these amazing builders:

Seigo Aoki (aka DeRa) – Japan

DeRa has created some of the most popular builds of the last two years featured on Brothers Brick, so seeing the amazing models in person was truly an honor. While DeRa‘s featured builds are organic subjects, the builder studies Architecture and has created incredible buildings from LEGO as intricate as his beasts and mechs. DeRa is proud that Japanese builders have been recognized around the world.

Meet the other 16 Masterpiece Gallery builders after the break

Prepare to launch into SHIPtember, week 3 [Feature]

Week three of SHIPtember is behind us, and that means many SHIP builders have wrapped on their epic builds. Some have even started a second SHIP. Many have taken their pics to post-production to produce that epic hero shot, along with a side-view pic that will be featured in 2025’s armada fleet poster, like the one I used for my hero image from 2024. My 2024 SHIP is the slim, dark blue ship just to the right of the Supramacy shown on the far left of the poster.

For many builders, the third week is a time for final details, engines, landing gear, or other greebly details that add the finishing touches to their space-bound masterpieces. But let’s not waste any more time as we take a look at a few completed SHIPs, and check out a few builders that flew under my radar in previous weeks, like a stealth ship with ventral optical camouflage.

Read on for our week 3 coverage of SHIPtember 2025

No Theme? No Problem! A Wild Card Showcase of Minifig Excellence [Minifig Monday]

This week, we’re throwing out the rulebook and smashing the (injection) mould. Welcome to a Wild Card edition on Minifig Monday — a glorious grab-bag of minifigure madness where demons rub shoulders with space police, and chicken hags party with cake golems. You read that right. This week’s featured builders are a masterclass in thinking outside the LEGO box. Expect surprises, odd pairings, and a whole lot of imagination.

Our first pick is this incredible shark samurai from bricksnbeasts, featuring a vintage shark head from the early 2000s Harry Potter line, but also some fantastic dynamic posing achieved with some brick-built arms. Surrounded by an impressive shiver of almost every LEGO Shark to date. Aura off the charts!

Can you smell what synthbugfigs is cooking? It is a jaw-dropping cake golem. With dripping frosting and an impressively organic-looking build, this fig certainly defies categorisation… and makes us hungry.

What other wild cards do we have up our sleeve? Click to find out!

Celebrate National Public Lands Day with the LEGO Park Ranger

In the United States, the fourth Saturday in September is National Public Lands Day – a day of service and celebration for the stewardship of public lands, from community gardens to national parks. It’s a day to give back as well as a chance to visit any of the county’s national parks for free. If you’re in the US, consider visiting a park this Saturday or reflecting on how to steward nature and resources for tomorrow.

Let’s also celebrate the amazing LEGO Park Ranger account, celebrating 10 years of sharing daily builds inspired by America’s parks and history.

Enjoy more highlights from the LEGO Park Ranger below

Blast off into SHIPtember – week 2 [Feature]

Wow, is the month half gone already? As we head further into SHIPtember, the SHIPs are shaping up, and the parts are really adding up. Digital builds begin their journey to IRL, or continue to grow in bytes, while their physical counterparts take on a more finished look. Some SHIPS are even done already. Builders wonder if they have taken on too big a challenge. They persevere, they re-work and re-work that one detail they are not 100% happy with. Some SHIPS may suffer a drop, or a shoulder bump, or a wayward cat, which gives the builder a chance to reinforce a more fragile section. Now, let’s check up on the builds of SHIPtember 2025…

Read on for our coverage of SHIPtember week 2

Celebrating 10 Years of MOCs with LEGO Mecha Maestro Marco De Bon [Interview]

Ten years ago, Italian builder Marco De Bon emerged from his “dark age” and began sharing incredible LEGO creations of giant robots inspired by the anime of his childhood. In the years since, Marco has continued to hone his craft, building mecha that are both highly articulated and exceptionally clean. Here at The Brothers Brick, we’ve long been fans of Marco’s mecha, hardsuits, and sci-fi crafts, so in celebration of this milestone, we sat down with Marco to look back on a decade of building MOCs.

Our interview with Marco and pictures of his 10 years of amazing mecha follow…

An Ode to the Goatherd: designing a pastoral LEGO diorama [Guest Feature]

LEGO diorama expert Anu Pehrson is back as a guest contributor to give a behind-the-scenes look at her latest creation, a large scene that highlights LEGO fans’ favorite farm animal, the goat, as well as the minifigure who tends it. If you’ve ever wondered how some of the big builds we feature go from concept to completion, Anu has documented her process for us from first bricks to final touches.

You may recognize Anu from some of her previous builds we’ve covered, including a giant minifigure-scale recreation of The Wall from A Game of Thrones. Check out our articles about Anu’s previous LEGO builds here. Continue reading →

Wake up samurai, these Cyberpunk minifigures have the coolest upgrades around [Minifig Monday]

In the neon-lit world of cyberpunk, storytelling thrives on the fusion of humanity and machine. Despite never having an official LEGO theme, this aesthetic has inspired a gritty niche within the minifigure community. Creators replace standard arms, legs, and accessories with intricate, high-tech upgrades that evoke a dystopian future, popularized by video games, movies and TV. In this post, we’ll explore the impressive craftsmanship of LEGO ripper doctors and celebrate the possibilities of LEGO’s increasingly intricate part selection.

Devid_vii delivers some top notch tactical troopers & a K Walker Unit in a sleek tiled-off design, creatively using four black microphones as missile pods. We love the articulation of this warbeast achieved using black pneumatic ‘T’s on its hips and feet.

Perhaps the most prolific Cyberpunk minifigure creator, Bam.bricks.customs has created an array of brick-built legs using Exo-force and minifigure hands that really pack a punch. Coupled with dual hazard-strip cyber swords and a rare Overwatch gasmask, “Codename: Savage” is right at home in 2077 cityscape.

Jack in for more cyber minifigs

SHIPtember 2025 – Builders boldly go [Feature]

September is one of my favorite times of year… not just as the start to cooler weather, leading to the best season of all, Fall; but also for the month-long LEGO building challenge known as SHIPtember. The goal is to build a spaceship that measures at least 100 studs in any dimension: length, width, or height. Or even diagonally (like a Borg cube). The only other constraint is that you must complete your ship within one month. The SHIP in SHIPtember stands for Seriously Huge Investment in Parts, and it shows in the final ships, which can stretch beyond the minimum into the 200-300 stud range. Having participated in SHIPtember for the last 10+ years, I can personally attest to both the challenge and the satisfaction in pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone as a LEGO builder, not to mention the incredibly supportive and collaborative community of SHIP builders around the world.

This year, the Brothers Brick will be taking a closer look at SHIPtember in the coming weeks, checking in with builders and sharing starships in progress before rounding up the SHIPs that launch for the stars at the end of the month.

Before we start our week one coverage, I should mention that some SHIPs are already done, as some builders, like college students, may not have full access to their collections during September, and start their SHIPs in August. As long as the builds stick to the 1-month requirement, they are every bit as eligible as those under construction now. I will also be sharing my own SHIPtember progress each week, at the end of each feature. With that out of the way, let’s jump into SHIPtember 2025 week 1!

Launch into our week 1 coverage