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.

Meeting the LEGO designers in Billund

The Brothers Brick were at the LEGO Idea House in Billund, Denmark yesterday speaking with LEGO designers from the Star Wars, Ideas, Boost, Creator Expert and Architecture teams, along with the TT Games team behind LEGO Worlds.

Star Wars Creative Director Jens has spent 18 out of the 19 years he has worked for LEGO dedicated to the Star Wars theme. You will be able to hear about Jens’ “dark side” moments of saying “no” to certain set ideas, plus his opinions on stickers, UCS sets, and much more.

Carl Merriam, one of the co-designers of the new LEGO Ideas Saturn V set, gives an entertaining view of the new LEGO Boost theme. We had a chance to play with Vernie the expressive robot and Frankie the harmonica playing cat. Frankie loves cuddles and will purr or squawk depending on your cat carrying technique.

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LEGO Boost is now available for preorder [News]

In addition to 55 new LEGO sets launched this week, LEGO Boost is now also available for pre-order from the LEGO Shop (shipping August 1). The kit was launched at the CES technology conference earlier this year and TBB was there to get a first look at the entry-level coding and motorization toolkit. We also got to sit down with the Boost designers in Billund this week, so stay tuned for an inside look at this intriguing new system. The 17101 Boost Createive Toolbox will retail for $159.99 and will include 840 pieces, plus a LEGO Move Hub, Interactive Motor and a Color & Distance Sensor

LEGO Speed Champions 75877 Mercedes-AMG GT3 [Review]

One of the LEGO Speed Champions cars released earlier this year that we overlooked — perhaps distracted by the truly awesome 2016 Ford GT & 1966 Ford GT40 (my favorite Speed Champions set yet) — was 75877 Mercedes-AMG GT3. Before we dig into reviews of the summer 2017 LEGO sets, let’s catch up with this speedy little roadster.

Read the full review after the jump

LEGO officially reveals sets for Thor: Raganarok [News]

A month ago we got our first look at the new LEGO sets for Thor: Ragnarok, with the official box art and a few images. Now, however, LEGO is officially announcing the sets as they become available globally beginning today, though oddly they don’t release in the US until August.

76084 The Ultimate Battle for Asgard, 400 pcs, $49.99 USD

(available from LEGO UK)

76088 Thor vs. Hulk: Arena Clash, 492 pcs, $59.99 USD

(available from LEGO UK)

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Summer 2017 wave of new LEGO sets now available, including Star Wars, Saturn V, and more [News]

Summer is here, and the floodgates of new LEGO sets have opened with 55 sets available as of today. Fans of Star Wars, Superheroes, City, Creator, Friends, Elves, LEGO Dimensions, and The LEGO Batman Movie have a lot to look forward to. And to sweeten the deal, LEGO is offering a cute free Minifigure Travel Pack and free shipping with purchases of $35 or more from the LEGO Shop.

STAR WARS: From Rathtars to the Quadjumper, LEGO has a plethora of new Star Wars sets including several battle packs, a Jedi Starfighter, a Freemaker ship, and a crispy Anakin.

75178 LEGO Star Wars Jakku Quadjumper, 457 pieces, $49.99 USD

75180 LEGO Star Wars Rathtar Escape, 836 pieces, $79.99 USD

75185 LEGO Star Wars Tracker I, 557 pieces, $69.99 USD

See all of the summer 2017 LEGO sets available now

Interview with the LEGO Ideas 21310 Old Fishing Store design team in Billund [Interview]

The LEGO Ideas team in Billund, Denmark revealed the first images and box art for the next Ideas set 21310 Old Fishing Store earlier today, and The Brothers Brick was on location at LEGO headquarters to meet the team behind this set. The set was revealed in a small restaurant in Billund as part of the LEGO Fan Media Days that TBB is currently attending. LEGO graphic designer Mark Tranter, fan designer Robert Bontenbal, and LEGO designer Adam Grabowski were on hand to talk through some details.

Click here to read the interview!

LEGO Ideas 21310 Old Fishing Store revealed [News]

LEGO has just revealed full details and images of its latest addition to the LEGO Ideas range of fan-created sets: 21310 Old Fishing Store, based on a design by Dutch builder Robert Bontenbal. The set contains 2049 bricks and will be available from September 1st, 2017 for a recommended retail price of USD 149.99 / EURO 149.99 / GBP 139.99. Official set description and box shots are included below. Get your hooks and lines ready to reel in this beauty in the Fall!

Find all the gear you need for a fantastic fishing trip at the Old Fishing Store! Walk up the steps from the beach into the shop selling fishing rods, hooks, harpoons, diving equipment, oxygen tanks and much more. Climb the ladder to the top of the watchtower and look through the telescope to enjoy the view. Then relax and read the newspaper in the office. Just make sure the cat or seagulls don’t eat the freshly caught fish hanging outside!

The Old Fishing Store is ideal for display and role-play, this model has 2 removable roofs, an opening back wall in the shop for easy access, 4 minifigures, cat and 3 seagull figures, as well as loads of other cool details and elements to fire up the imagination.

Don’t miss our interview with the LEGO Ideas design team behind this new set!

The Brothers Brick 2017 Readers’ Survey

Tell us what you think about The Brothers Brick and you could win a 75105 Millennium Falcon LEGO set! We always like to hear what you guys think about what we do — what you like and don’t like, and what you want to see from us in the future. Please take our short survey. It shouldn’t take you more than 5 minutes to complete and it’ll help us build you a better TBB. Click here to take the survey.

The survey is open until Tuesday, 20th June. Image courtesy of Todd Wilder.

The survey may only be completed once per participant. The free Millennium Falcon set will be awarded to a survey respondent picked at random after the survey closes. The prizewinner must be over the age of 18. An email address is required to enter the prize draw. The email address will only be used to contact the prizewinner to arrange delivery. All email addresses will be deleted once delivery is arranged. In the event of the initial prizewinner not responding to contact within 3 days, a new prizewinner will be picked at random. TBB reserves the right to substitute some form of voucher of similar value in the event of shipping proving ridiculously expensive.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for May 28, 2017 [News]

In addition to the best LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick also brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the final week of May 2017.

TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: It was a quiet week in LEGO news, but we still have a review of the stunning Ultimate Batmobile and some custom kits that will blow you out of the water.

Review of The LEGO Batman Movie’s The Ultimate Batmobile 70917 — Four amazing vehicles combining into one ultimate Batmobile!? A working Batsignal!? Flying monkeys!? Polka-Dot Man!? Take my money!
John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 WW2 torpedo boat recreated in LEGO — Dan Siskind from Brickmania shows off a full-size minifig-scale version of John F. Kennedy’s World War II torpedo boat, PT-109 with more than 4,000 pieces and measuring 27 inches (over 68 cm) long!
Insert a 5.25″ floppy disk and start up WordStar with this retro LEGO desktop — Chris McVeigh posted the final design for his DOS desk kit, which will be available from his online store soon, and it is a walk down technology lane that even includes a printed floppy disk.

OTHER LEGO NEWS: This week had a few interesting nuggets of LEGO-related news beyond the new kits, so here are the best of the rest.

No Minifigs Were Harmed In The Filming Of This LEGO Crash Test, Geek.com — What happens when you drive the LEGO Porsche 911 GT3 RS into a wall at 46km/h? Pure bliss.
Here’s How You Can Make Your Own Fidget Spinner With LEGO Blocks, Time — LEGO released instructions to build your own fidget spinner, with some LEGO Stores even stocking the parts to build it.
Cambridge University appoints LEGO Professor of Play, Daily Mail — After a massive search, Cambridge has named Professor Paul Ramchandani as its LEGO Professor of Play, tasked with examining the importance of play in education globally.
Brisbaine Airport seeks LEGO ‘master builder’ who can supply their own bricks for yearlong artist’s residency, Daily Mail— Are you in Australia and ready to show your master building skills of to the world? Well, working for the airport may be your ticket to fame.

The LEGO Batman Movie’s The Ultimate Batmobile 70917 [Review]

Even though The LEGO Batman Movie has been in theaters since February, LEGO Batman is back this summer with a whole new wave of sets. Many of the sets this time around feature some of the more spoiler-ish elements of the movie, but nothing that will ruin the movie if you haven’t yet seen it. The flagship of this wave is 70917 The Ultimate Batmobile, which we got our first look at in February at the New York Toy Fair. It’s a massive creation from the film’s turning point that features a Batmobile, Bat-Tank, Batcycle, and Batwing all joined into a rolling fortress for Batman and his cohort. By far the largest of The LEGO Batman Movie sets, The Ultimate Batmobile has 1,456 pieces and will retail for $129.99 USD and should be available June 1.

The set includes 8 minifigures, along with a light-up Batsignal.

Click to read the full review

Insert a 5.25″ floppy disk and start up WordStar with this retro LEGO desktop

We’re huge fans of Chris McVeigh here at The Brothers Brick, and I’ve enjoyed each of the custom LEGO kits I’ve bought from his online store — custom kits that I can only describe as artisanal LEGO kits, with beautifully printed packaging lovingly arranged in the shipping box with tissue paper. We featured Chris’s LEGO Macintosh desktop last year (which I bought for myself last Christmas and love, love, love!) and his LEGO Amiga 500 last month, and now Chris has posted the final design for his DOS desk kit, which will be available on his website soon.

The desk drawers are fully functional, with a bunch of accessories to make you more productive — or keep you distracted during the workday.

One of the things that makes us love Chris and his designs all the more is that he puts his detailed instructions online for free. Yes, you can buy his kits — complete with custom-printed floppy disks and retro calculator — but you can also download his instructions and build his designs with your own bricks if you want. Be sure to check out our interview with Chris McVeigh as well.

John F. Kennedy’s PT-109 WW2 torpedo boat recreated in LEGO

While the rest of us toil away at day jobs and try to squeeze in a bit of LEGO building in the evenings and weekends, Dan Siskind runs Brickmania full time, continuing to lead his company’s LEGO design team even while he brings on other great designers. Dan’s latest personal design project has been a full-size minifig-scale version of John F. Kennedy’s World War II torpedo boat, PT-109. Dan’s model includes over 4,000 pieces and measures 27 inches (over 68 cm) long, with a crew of thirteen custom-printed minifigures.

See more of JFK’s PT-109 in LEGO