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.

Talented Italian LEGO builder Luca Di Lazzaro dies far too young [News]

The Brothers Brick is a website dedicated to sharing amazing LEGO builds, news, and reviews. We generally write about things that make us happy. But it is with deep sadness that we must share the passing of an incredibly talented builder, Luca Di Lazzaro. The Italian native was a Deputy Commander for the Carabinieri station in Remanzacco, and an avid bicyclist. Unfortunately, it was a bicycling accident that ended his life at the young age of only 45.

We know Luca (pictured center) because of his presence in the Adult Fan of LEGO community. We have written many articles about his charming and wonderful creations, but we’d like to honor his memory by re-sharing a few of our favorites. You can click the links below to read those articles.

Cycling the Paris-Roubaix

Mamma mia! Che bella città!

Cast a coin into The Well of Desires

Udine, Italy’s Piazza San Giacomo in LEGO

If you don’t speak Italian, you can still read outside articles about Luca by pasting web addresses into Google Translate. If you’d just like to see more fantastic pictures of his work, check out his Facebook, Instagram, and Flickr. Our sincere condolences to his family and friends. In the LEGO community he will be sorely missed.

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 Friends, Elves, Star Wars and more on sale at Amazon [News]

Every now and then, certain LEGO themes go on sale at Amazon, and today it appears to be Elves and Friends coming in at between 30% to 40% off retail. We’ve assembled a list of the sales below, along with a few Star Wars, City and Creator sets as well, so happy shopping!

Friends

Time to go for a snow vacation with these discounted sets from last year, plus a few houses and bedroom sets have some fantastic parts.

Elves

If interesting parts and colors is your thing, then these sets are for you. These sets have great decorative pieces and foliage.

Star Wars

The Y-wing is on sale, along with sets from Jakku as well as some awesome buildable figures.

Creator, City & Superheroes

Looking at everything else, we have a spaceship, bus stop, and even the classic “Go Brick Me” all on sale.

As always, a tiny portion of these sales goes to support the reviews, event sponsorship, contests, and more that The Brothers Brick gives back to the LEGO building community.

LEGO unveils 41631 Newt Scamander and Gellert Grindelwald BrickHeadz from Fantastic Beasts [News]

LEGO just unveiled two new characters to add on to the BrickHeadz family from the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Newt Scamander and Gellert Grindelwald, numbered 76 and 77 respectively, are featured in a two-pack set of 247 pieces and retail price of $19.99 USD. These are the first two characters to be featured from the Fantastic Beasts theme and will be released for sale on October 1.

Click here to read the full press release…

We’re building the new LEGO Star Wars 75220 Sandcrawler [Video Review]

It’s been four years since LEGO released the last Star Wars Sandcrawler, the massive Ultimate Collector Series Sandcrawler. Now LEGO has returned with a set that’s a bit smaller, but still has 1,239 pieces, 75220 Sandcrawler. It’s available now, and retails for $139.99 USD. Today we’re building the set in this video review to see exactly how this giant mobile Jawa fortress stacks up.

75220 Sandcrawler includes 1,239 pieces with 6 minifigs. The set is available now from the LEGO Shop (USD 139.99 | CDN 159.99 | GBP 109.99), Amazon.com, eBay, BrickLink, and elsewhere.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick a copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

BrickCon 2018 LEGO convention in Seattle is now just one month away [News]

We’re now just one month from BrickCon 2018, the country’s longest-running LEGO convention. Each year LEGO fans flock to Seattle the first weekend in October to view more than 30,000 square feet of custom LEGO models, along with vendors featuring everything from custom-engraved bricks to vintage sets. The event is open to the public Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6-7, and tickets can be purchased online, with prices ranging from $11-$17 depending on entry time. Last year tickets sold out in advance, so don’t wait to get yours.

Adult fans who wish to get the all-access treatment can sign up for the full four-day experience, which includes the ability to display their own custom LEGO models, along with workshops, prizes, games, drafts, access to the friends-and-family night, and more. Signups for the full adult fan convention, which runs Oct. 4-7, can be found on the BrickCon builder site. Tickets for the full event are $75 if purchased before Sept. 18. After that, you’ll need to pay the late registration price of $100 or sign up at the door if any space is available (though that will cost even more).

The Brothers Brick is sponsoring a Ninjago City collaborative build at this year’s BrickCon, featuring creations from our staff and readers like you. Click the image below to learn more about how you can get involved.

The Brothers Brick is an official sponsor of BrickCon.

10 fan projects have qualified for the second 2018 LEGO Ideas Review [News]

The LEGO Ideas team has just announced that ten projects have achieved the required votes to qualify for the second 2018 LEGO Ideas Review. These ten sets reached the 10,000 supporter mark between May and September 2018, and as a result have made it into the next phase of the process, in which LEGO makes a decision about whether to select the design to become an official LEGO Ideas set.

Of course, there is no guarantee that LEGO will decide to produce any of these designs as an official set, but each fan-designed project deserves congratulations for reaching this important milestone.

See more about each qualified project

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for September 2, 2018 [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 first week of September 2018.

TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: LEGO Technic proves that you can build anything you dream about, and the 2018 Advent Calendars are now on sale.

LEGO built a life-size Technic Bugatti Chiron that actually drives – The car is built from a million Technic elements, powered by 2,300 motors, and goes 20 mph.
LEGO reveals The Simpsons BrickHeadz including Homer and Krusty the Clown – The Simpsons is back in LEGO form, this time as a duo pack of BrickHeadz.
Review of LEGO Frozen BrickHeadz 41617: Elsa and 41618: Anna and Olaf – “Do you wanna build a snowman?” (Literally, do you want to build one?)
LEGO Advent Calendars and Hogwarts Castle now on sale – New sets now available include the Hogwarts Castle, LEGO Advent Calendars and Las Vegas Architecture set.

TBB FEATURES & INSTRUCTIONS: We have some sweet instructions for you along with two feature articles highlighting history in different forms.

- Instructions to build a LEGO Batmobile from Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman Movie – Check out this guide to build the iconic sleek black Batmobile that you can fit a minifig inside.
- Feature: The minifigure turns 40: a colorful history of LEGO’s most beloved characters – Here at The Brothers Brick, we love minifigures and are excited to share the images and history behind the LEGO Group’s versatile and lovable characters.
- Feature: Brickfair Virginia Vietnam War collaboration – Fourteen builders from six countries collaborated to commemorate the Vietnam War through LEGO bricks.
- Enter Brothers Bricks’ LEGO Harry Potter microscale competition – Show off your stuff and you could win the massive new 71043 Hogwarts Castle.

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:
Check out the other LEGO news of the week

LEGO Advent Calendars and Hogwarts Castle now on sale [News]

September has arrived and so have new LEGO sets, from the Hogwarts Castle and 2018 LEGO Advent Calendars to the Las Vegas Architecture skyline set. These will likely sell out quickly, so make sure to get yours soon before they are out of stock.

Click to take a closer look at the new LEGO sets for September 2018

The minifigure turns 40: a colorful history of LEGO’s most beloved characters

Did you know that 2018 marks the 40th anniversary of the modern minifigure? In recognition of this very special birthday, the LEGO Group released its party-themed Series 18 minifigures a few months ago, including a remake of the 1978 policeman. The LEGO Group continues to celebrate, this time by reaching into their archives to share some historic images with our readers. Here at The Brothers Brick, we love minifigures and are excited to share the images and history behind the LEGO Group’s versatile and lovable characters.

A system is born, and so is a police officer:

In the post-World War II economy, the LEGO Group began shifting its priorities in toy manufacturing. While the foundation of LEGO rested on wooden toys, Ole Kirk Christiansen saw a future in plastics and purchased the company’s first plastic injection molding machine in 1947. It was with this equipment that the LEGO group first began producing its Automatic Binding Bricks in 1949. These hollow-bottomed bricks were the forerunner of the modern LEGO brick.

LEGO’s earliest sets were fairly basic construction toys, and characters were never packaged with the sets. This changed after Ole’s son, Godtfred, introduced the System of Play series in 1955. “System of Play” referred to the versatility of LEGO bricks to be used by themselves and with a child’s existing toys. LEGO advertised the toy as the perfect companion for dolls and HO (1:87) scale toy trains. LEGO created the Town Plan series, which is populated by brick-built buildings and prefabricated vehicles, to serve in part as an add-on for model railroading.

It was also during this time that LEGO introduced the great-great grandfather of the minifigure, a set of four tiny police officers. The figures were posed in four different positions, designed so they could direct traffic throughout the intersections of the Town Plan. Resembling HO-scale figures, they did not have moving limbs or recessed indentations for connecting to studs but were nevertheless LEGO’s first people manufactured for the System of Play.

Click to read the full history of the LEGO Minifigure

LEGO built a life-size Technic Bugatti Chiron that actually drives [News]

LEGO has revealed a life-size Bugatti Chiron built from more than a million Technic elements that actually drives. Powered by more than 2,300 Power Functions motors, the car is the first ever fully-functional self-propelled LEGO sports car, reaching top speeds nearing 20 mph (30 kph).

More impressive, LEGO designers didn’t use any glue in the construction which took more than 13,000 hours total. The life-size Technic Bugatti Chiron even includes a working speedometer and rear spoiler while replicating the sleek curves of the iconic sports car.

A bit bigger than the 42083 Technic Bugatti Chiron we reviewed earlier this summer, the life-sized model can fit two passengers inside and weighs a whopping 3,300 pounds (1,500 kg), supported by a steel frame.

Click to get a behind-the-scenes look at the life-size LEGO Technic Bugatti Chiron

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for August 26, 2018 [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 August 2018.

TBB NEWS: Bespin is back with the new Master Builder Series set, along with formerly unknown Harry Potter and Jurassic World minifigures coming your way.

LEGO reveals 75222 Betrayal at Cloud City, the first set in the Star Wars Master Builder Series – The set includes a whopping 18 minifigures, two droids, and two vehicles: Boba Fett’s Slave I ship and a twin-pod Cloud Car, available starting September 13.
Harry Potter, Jurassic World, Marvel, Ninjago minifigure packs revealed – These four-packs used to be Toys R Us exclusives, but now will be available in a few other places.
Parts pack bonanza with heavily discounted BrickHeadz on Amazon.com – Amazon.com has a BrickHeadz sale, with good deals on Harry Potter and Hedwig, particularly.
Enter Brothers Bricks’ LEGO Harry Potter microscale competition – Show off your stuff and you could win the massive new 71043 Hogwarts Castle.

TBB REVIEWS: While they don’t taste any different (we checked), take a look at this article comparing the old and new plant elements now sourced from sugar cane, as well as a review or two.

Guest Article: Sustainable LEGO Elements, 40320 Plants from Plants – This article from New Elementary takes a close look at the new plant elements sourced from sugar cane oil.
Review of LEGO Star Wars 75221 Imperial Landing Craft – This set includes 636 pieces and 5 minifigs (counting R2-D2) and retails for $89.99 in the US.
Review of LEGO Architecture 21047 Las Vegas – The Las Vegas Strip has never looked so adorable in this new skyline set including the Bellagio, Luxor, Stratosphere and more.

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:

Check out the other LEGO news of the week

LEGO Star Wars 75221 Imperial Landing Craft [Review]

The Imperial Landing Craft was added to the Star Wars canon with the 1997 “Special Edition” re-release of Star Wars: A New Hope. The recent release of 75221 Imperial Landing Craft marks the second time LEGO has produced a version of this vehicle, despite very limited screen time — the first 7659 Imperial Landing Craft was released in 2007. This latest LEGO Sentinel-class landing craft set includes 636 pieces and 5 minifigs (counting Artoo) and retails for $89.99 in the US ($109.99 in Canada | £79.99 in the UK).

Read the full review of LEGO Star Wars 75221 Imperial Landing Craft