Category Archives: News

Stay current on the latest news and information about LEGO, from sales & deals to new set announcements. We also cover LEGO events and conventions all over the world.

Come join us! The Brothers Brick is recruiting now [News]

Have you ever wanted to tell the whole world about the awesome LEGO model you just saw? Are you the person your family and friends look to on Facebook or Twitter for the latest LEGO news and the best LEGO creations? If you have a passion for LEGO and want to share it with the world, The Brothers Brick might be the place for you.

As a TBB Contributor, you’ll get to highlight the news you find, showcase your favorite LEGO models from other builders, and even show off whatever you build yourself. You will be writing 3-4 new posts each week. But all that sounds easier than it actually is.

To help make sure that you’re successful as a new Contributor, here’s what we’re looking for:

  • Adult LEGO builder (AFOL) aged 18 or older.
  • Established track record in the AFOL community, whether on Flickr, a LEGO fan forum, or somewhere else.
  • Good communicator and writer, as evidenced in comments and forum/group discussions.
  • Previous blogging or article writing experience a strong plus.

TBB Contributor positions are unpaid — all joking about secure compounds and million-dollar yachts aside, The Brothers Brick is run by a bunch of passionate volunteers who write about LEGO in their spare time. All money the site earns through the support of our loyal readers goes toward server and bandwidth costs, purchasing products to review, sponsoring contests and fan events like BrickCon, and helping out the LEGO fan community wherever we can.

Even though it’s a volunteer role, being a TBB Contributor provides a genuine opportunity to participate in one of the top hobby sites in the world. If you don’t have prior blogging experience, you’ll have the opportunity to learn or improve on tangible professional skills such as writing for the web, headline writing, search engine optimization, and social media strategy.

To apply, fill out the form on our TBB recruiting page. Questions? Ask us here in the comments.

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 reveals six new sets to celebrate 80 years of Batman, including classic vehicles, villains and Shazam! [News]

Batman is turning 80 on March 30, so LEGO is launching six new DC Super Heroes sets to celebrate. The line-up of sets includes our heroes Batman, Robin and Batwoman using iconic vehicles such as the Batmobile, Batwing and Batcycle to defeat classic villains like The Joker, Harley Quinn, and The Riddler. In addition to the expected Batman characters, Shazam also comes in one set (most certainly a nod to the upcoming DC film).

The sets range in price from $9.99 to $99.99 USD with general availability starting later this summer on August 1st. One set including Mr. Freeze will be available at Walmart one month early starting on June 1st.

Don’t miss the rest of the LEGO summer 2019 sets reveals, and be sure to check out the new Toy Story 4Spider-Man, and The LEGO Movie 2 sets that just went sale a few days ago:

LEGO Architecture
LEGO Batman
LEGO City
LEGO City Space
LEGO Creator
LEGO Friends
LEGO Friends Ocean
LEGO Harry Potter
LEGO Jurassic World
LEGO Ninjago
LEGO Star Wars

Click to take a closer look at the upcoming LEGO Batman sets

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.

The LEGO VIP rewards program is changing and going digital [News]

The LEGO VIP rewards program is changing and going digital. Starting in June, LEGO will be launching a new online rewards center with digital VIP cards that will “introduce some new ways to earn and spend VIP points.” The changes follow a beta program launched earlier this month offering a few users mobile wallet versions of their VIP cards on Apple or Android devices while also promising “targeted and personalized offers sent directly to your phone.”

While the digital push is framed as being part of LEGO’s environmentally conscious “Planet Promise,” physical cards will still be available upon request. There are no planned changes to existing VIP points or values, though VIP accounts must now be registered online and connected with a unique e-mail address.

VIP points will also now be valid for 18 months with the expiration countdown clock renewing after every purchase, essentially extending their life indefinitely for fans who make a LEGO purchase at least once every year and a half (a change from the points expiring two years after earning them if they were not used).

There are many benefits to the LEGO VIP Program including signing up for free, accruing points toward discounts on future purchases, early access to select product launches, as well as access to other offers and promotions throughout the year. (For example, the LEGO Store is running double VIP points through the end of March.) Going digital will hopefully lead to faster communication about new offers and more clarity about LEGO’s reward system.

However, the LEGO VIP Program has had several missteps in the past including the exclusive Black VIP Card roll-out which promised “exclusive contests, exclusive rewards, exclusive access” and then hardly delivered, as well as tracking and enforcing hard purchase limits across several online orders. It remains to be seen what the “new ways to earn and spend VIP points” will be, but we are cautiously optimistic based on past promises if the program remains true to providing loyalty rewards and doesn’t veer toward increased tracking with even more fragmented offers than currently exist.

We will publish more information about the changes when it is announced, but in the meantime you can read the full email announcement from LEGO after the jump.

Click to read more about the new digital LEGO VIP program

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.

Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen steps down from LEGO Board of Directors [News]

Kjeld Kirk Kristiansen is stepping down from LEGO’s board of directors, essentially passing on control of the company to the next generation of the Kristiansen family. Like a parent giving their child a LEGO set they grew up with, Kjeld announced that he will step down from LEGO next month, which leaves his son Thomas Kristiansen acting in his stead as the fourth-generation Kristiansen to help lead the company.

The change follows a plan to make a generational shift in leadership which has been happening for several years since Thomas joined the board in 2007. He and LEGO Brand Group CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp are interviewing candidates to ultimately replace Kjeld on the board with the goal in mind of bringing in someone to help the company through their centennial anniversary.

Kjeld has been a reassuring presence to the LEGO fan community throughout the years, visiting several conventions and driving the creation of the LEGO House in Billund, Denmark. He is the son of Godtfred Kirk Christiansen (who was the son of LEGO inventor Ole Kirk Christiansen), and appeared on LEGO boxes as a child. He was CEO of LEGO from 1979 until 2004 and has continued to be a driving and inspirational influence on the company.

The full press release as well as a history of the Kristiansen family’s ownership of LEGO is included after the jump.

Click to read more about the history of LEGO

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’s first crowdfunding experiment: FORMA 81000 Koi Model Super Box [Review]

LEGO FORMA is the company’s first foray into crowdfunding. It is described as an “experience designed for adults looking for a fun and engaging way to reconnect with their creative side”. The LEGO FORMA crowdfunding exercise began in late September 2018, and finally shipped in January to UK supporters, with shipments to US supporters following up in mid-February after a brief delay from shipping issues.

During the campaign, the base setup cost $85 USD in the US Market and $88 USD in the UK Market, and included the box set 81000 with the default Koi Skin Pack, and 3 additional separately packaged skins. Fans could also take the less costly option of just getting the base pack (single Koi Skin Model) for $45 USD (US) $46 USD (UK) and additional skins at $15 USD (US) / $16 USD (UK) each. Now that the crowdfunding is completed, if you’re looking to pick one up, the only way currently is to turn to the secondary market such as Bricklink or eBay where they’re already commanding a premium. Let’s do a quick dive into the details of this unique experience from LEGO.

Click to see the full review of the FORMA experience

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.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for March 24, 2019 [News]

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 fourth week of March 2019.

What are The LEGO Group’s plans for the future and what has impacted their business model most strongly the past few years? Read on to find out.


TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: It could have been called Disney week with new minifigures, Steamboat Willie revealed and a Darth Vader bust that caught our eye.


https://youtu.be/I7ybyV3C3M8

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:
Click to read even more LEGO news

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.

Minifigure murder mystery in a magnificient mansion

The two things that stood out first in this build by XBrickmonster were the imperfect walls and the intricate windows made of LEGO elements ranging from claws and minfigure hands to tails and even Technic pins. That aside, the scene itself is a grand mystery waiting to be solved by our two detectives. While I leave the hard part to the experienced folks, I’m still trying to solve how that yellow frog got up there on the beams of the roof.

Murder in the Study

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 Store offering double VIP points from now until the end of March [News]

The LEGO Store is offering double VIP points on all purchases through the end of the month, ending on March 31st. This is the perfect opportunity to pick up some new sets like the sleek 10265 Ford Mustang, LEGO Ideas 21316 The Flintstones, or the massive 70840 Apocalypseburg. There are region-specific links below for the LEGO Shop online, or you could peruse our guide to all the new LEGO sets launched earlier this year.

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 partners with NimbleBit to create the LEGO Tower mobile game [News]

Fans of NimbleBit’s popular mobile game Tiny Tower will soon have a chance to make their blocky, pixelated world out of LEGO. The new game, LEGO Tower, challenges you to build a skyscraper with apartments and businesses for your digital minifigures to live, work and play in with one huge elevator that connects them all. The game will be available starting this summer.

Interested tower builders can also visit LEGO Ideas on March 26th to find out how their creations can be featured in the new mobile game.

Click to get a closer look at the new LEGO Tower mobile game

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 Star Wars 75227 Darth Vader Bust revealed as Star Wars Celebration and Target REDcard exclusive [News]

LEGO has revealed 75227 Darth Vader Bust, another set in their Star Wars 20th Anniversary lineup. The exclusive set contains 327 pieces and will retail for $39.99 US. The set will initially be available at Star Wars Celebrations, with limited general availability to Target REDcard members on April 11th.

(EDIT: Target did not make the bust available on the 11th and instead posted it early in the morning on the 12th. It appears to have sold out in less than 15 minutes. We have reached out to Target to see if any other batch will be made available but have not heard back. For those that missed it, instructions are available.)

Click here for the complete press release and pictures of the front and back of the LEGO Darth Vader Bust

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 reveals Disney Collectible Minifigures Series 2 [News]

LEGO has revealed the full line-up from the much-anticipated second Disney Collectible Minifigures series, including characters from Frozen, Hercules, Aladdin, Nightmare Before Christmas and more. The collection includes 18 characters from many beloved Disney films and will be available from LEGO and other toy retailers starting May 1st for $3.99 US | £2.99 UK | 4.99 CAN.

Hot off the heels of the LEGO Ideas Steamboat Willie set announcement, it might as well be Disney week in all things LEGO. We have your first look at all the new Disney minifigures right here, including close up photos of each character.

Click to see all the new LEGO Disney minifigures

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.

Details of LEGO Ideas Disney 21317 Steamboat Willie set including retro Mickey and Minnie Mouse [News]

LEGO has revealed 21317 Steamboat Willie, the next LEGO Ideas set featuring retro-Mickey and Minnie Mouse minifigures as well as the iconic S.S. Willie steamboat. The boat’s steam pipes bounce up and down and the paddle wheels rotate as the set is pushed forward. The set comes with 751 pieces and will be available starting April 1st for US: $89.99 | Canada: 119.99 CAD | UK: £79.99.

The monochromatic set comes only a month after it was selected to be one of the next LEGO Ideas products, a shockingly fast turnaround in comparison to previous LEGO Ideas sets. The set is also quite an upgrade from the original submission. Continue reading to see all the official photos, or take a closer look at the insides and build process in our review of 21317 Steamboat Willie.

Click to see all the details of the Steamboat Willie LEGO Ideas set

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.