Syd Mead, the designer behind the iconic look of Blade Runner amongst other movies, has died aged 86. Chances are, if you’re into sci-fi and LEGO then you’ll have tried to recreate one of his famous designs — The USS Sulaco from Aliens, the light-cycles from Tron, Johnny 5 from Short Circuit, or this, the famous Police Spinner from Blade Runner.
Click to see a selection of LEGO models inspired by Syd Mead’s work
Putting together a shortlist of the finest LEGO creations of 2019 was a tough job, but narrowing it down to a single “best creation” proved an almost impossible task. Every model which made our shortlist was excellent, and there was much debate amongst the team. However, after a considerable amount of “robust discussion,” The Brothers Brick is delighted to announce the Classic Space Moon Base by Chris Yu as our LEGO Creation of the Year for 2019.
Click to see more photos and our thoughts on the LEGO Creation of the Year
2019 was a big year for LEGO with an incredible amount of new sets, business changes and announcements. The Brothers Brick has brought you the LEGO news in our in-depth style, sharing interesting stories that we’ve all read, shared, liked, and chatted about around the water cooler or LUG meetings. Here are the ten most popular LEGO news articles of the year.
Click to see the top 10 news articles for 2019
Every day the team here at The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO models from the global community of LEGO builders. We love how each of their creations make us smile and prompt us to reach for our own bricks. However, there are a handful of builders whose work offers genuine inspiration — displaying mastery of technique and creativity across different building styles.
The Brothers Brick is delighted to name Andrea Lattanzio as our LEGO Builder of the Year 2019.
Click to see a selection of Andrea’s models from 2019
The LEGO Speed Champions theme has been rather quiet for most of 2019, following the release of fantastic sets like 75894 1967 Mini Cooper S Rally and 2018 MINI John Cooper Works Buggy in January, building on more vintage history in 2018 with sets like 75884 1968 Ford Mustang and 75889 Ferrari Ultimate Garage. In the intervening year, it’s now apparent that the LEGO Speed Champions design team has been hard at work redesigning the Speed Champions line from the ground up, shifting from models that are generally six studs wide to an eight-stud axle track, with cars from Jaguar, Lamborghini, Ferrari and Audi. The new 76896 Nissan GT-R NISMO is the very first Japanese car featured in the Speed Champions theme, and was revealed to much fanfare at an event in November.
The set includes 298 pieces with a driver minifig and will be released on January 1st, 2020 for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99.
Read our hands-on review of LEGO Speed Champions 76896 Nissan GT-R NISMO
In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the last week of December 2019.
We review the LEGO Employee Exclusive set: The Christmas X-Wing. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.
TBB NEWS AND FEATURES: This week we looked back at some of the best builds of the year, started packing our bags for BricksLA, and reviewed five new sets including: The LEGO Technic Top Gear Rally Car, LEGO Ninjago Avatar Arcade Pods and the LEGO Architecture Tokyo skyline.
TBB REVIEWS:
OTHER NEWS: There were quite a few other interesting LEGO news articles from around the web this week. Here are the best of the rest:
Each year LEGO’s homebrewed Ninjago theme finds a new setting for its cast of pseudo-ninja heroes, ranging from sky pirates to medieval fantasy. The theme has always reveled in a no-holds-barred approach to mixing and matching ancient bladed weapons, advanced technology, and outrageous antagonists. The 2020 lineup’s twist is a cyberpunk aesthetic set in a digital world via a videogame. All of the Ninjago heroes find themselves dueling in the cyber realms via their avatars, bringing a Ready Player One-like plotline to LEGO’s most successful in-house theme. Today we’re looking at a trio of small sets that serve as the entry points to theme both for the consumers and the characters in the world. These arcade cabinet boxes are the transformation portals wherein Kai, Jay, and Lloyd are transformed into their digital avatars. 71714 Kai Avatar – Arcade Pod (US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99), 71715 Jay Avatar – Arcade Pod (US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99), and 71716 Lloyd Avatar – Arcade Pod (US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99) will be available starting January 1. They contain about 50 pieces each.
Bricks LA is Southern California’s premier LEGO convention, open to the public January 11-12. Builders from around the country will gather at the Pasadena Convention Center to showcase more than 13,000 square feet of amazing creations to eager LEGO fans of all ages. Vendors will be selling vintage LEGO sets, LEGO-themed jewelry, custom gifts, and more. Tickets are only $5, with kids under 5 free, and are available online.
Bricks LA also offers a special experience for adult LEGO fans, beginning January 10. Participants will enjoy LEGO-related games, panels, prizes, and more, as well as be able to display their custom creations for the public. For more information, click here.
The Brothers Brick is proud to be a sponsor of Bricks LA.
Some say that LEGO is only meant for kids and season 3 of Top Gear was the best one. All we know is LEGO and the BBC are bringing a very special LEGO Technic set, 42109 App-Controlled Top Gear Rally Car, and it is powered by a couple of new Powered Up motors. Thanks to Bluetooth connectivity, the car can be controlled via an app installed on a smartphone or a tablet. Despite the smart elements under the bonnet, the model consists of just 463 pieces, which makes it one of the smallest LEGO remote-controlled cars ever released. The set comes with a price tag of US $129.99 | CAN $179.99 | UK £124.99 and is already available in stores.
Click here to continue reading…
Each Christmas, the LEGO Group gives their employees a special gift in the form of an exclusive holiday-themed LEGO set. These sets often celebrate the company’s milestones, such as the home of LEGO’s founder with Ole Kirk’s House in 2012 and the 50th anniversary of LEGO trains with 50 Years on Track in 2016. This year, LEGO delivered a special present from a galaxy far, far away with set 4002019 Christmas X-Wing, designed to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the LEGO Star Wars license. Set 4002019 consists of 1,038 pieces and has been distributed to LEGO’s employees worldwide. Since this was given as a free gift, there isn’t any official retail pricing – Based on recent eBay completed listings, you can currently expect to pay anywhere from $200 to $300 USD. While not available in stores, you can purchase it via other avenues like eBay.
Read on for our in-depth review of this festive LEGO Star Wars set.
For nearly fifteen years The Brothers Brick has been highlighting the best LEGO creations, and 2019 has seen builders across the world put together some incredible models. To celebrate a year of great building, The Brothers Brick team has looked back over everything we’ve featured, and pulled together a selection of the finest LEGO creations of 2019.
Take a look at the fantastic models we’ve shortlisted, and stay tuned for the announcement of our LEGO Creation of the Year 2019 on New Year’s Eve!
Be sure to check out the LEGO Creation of the Year 2018, LEGO Creation of the Year 2017 and LEGO Creation of the Year 2016 to see what honourable company this year’s nominations are keeping.
Click to see all of 2019’s nominees
It’s not often that a LEGO set transports me back home. But regular readers of The Brothers Brick know that I was born in Tokyo and lived in Japan until I was a teenager, so I was incredibly excited when LEGO announced 21050 Tokyo. I’ve enjoyed each of the previous LEGO Architecture skyline sets I’ve built, but how does this one stack up for someone who calls Tokyo their hometown?
Tokyo was revealed as part of the LEGO Architecture skyline series for 2020, alongside 21052 Dubai. Tokyo is built from 547 pieces and will retail for $59.99 USD | $79.99 CAD | £59.99 GBP. Both sets will be available starting January 1st.
Read our hands-on review of LEGO Architecture 21051 Tokyo skyline