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.

LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales 71042 Silent Mary [Exclusive Review]

Last month, we went to New York Toy fair to bring you the first images of 71042 Silent Mary when LEGO unveiled their latest Pirates of the Caribbean tie-in set, 71042 Silent Mary, and now we’re pleased to bring you this exclusive early review of the set. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales is the fifth installment in the Pirates of the Caribbean film series and is due for release on 26 May, 2017. Although the official trailer for the movie features the Silent Mary, Armando Salazar’s ghost ship, there may be some very minor spoilers below.

LEGO 71042 Silent Mary has 2,294 parts and is due for release to LEGO VIP members on 17 March, 2017 priced at $199.99/£179.99/199,99 € and is listed for ages 14+. The Silent Mary isn’t quite the largest ship LEGO has made, though she does impressively measure over 18” (48cm) high with the main mast in vertical position, and 26” (68cm) long and 8” (22cm) wide. She’s just over 14” (36cm) wide with the main mast collapsed. To give you a comparison, a largest LEGO ship is 10210 Imperial Flagship, which measures 29.5” (75 cm) long and 23.6” (60 cm) tall. 4184 The Black Pearl is a bit smaller, coming in at 21” (53cm) long, 20” (50cm) tall and 5” (12cm) wide.

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LEGO announces new McLaren 720S Speed Champions set [News]

This morning LEGO revealed another supercar entry to the popular Speed Champions line. The McLaren 720S (set 75880) will be joining the likes of the Ford GT, Bugatti Chiron, and more when it’s available this June. The bright orange car also includes a car designer minifigure and a design desk for sketching out the cars of the future. We don’t have word yet on the price or part count, but it’s a safe bet it will be priced at $14.99 USD like the other standalone Speed Champions.

See more of the new McLaren 720S below. Continue reading →

The LEGO Group reports highest earnings ever in 2016, but US sales flat [News]

Every year, the LEGO Group releases its financial results, providing an insightful look into the operations of the company. For 2016, the company reported the highest revenue in the company’s 85-year history at 37.9 billion DKK (approximately 5.38 billion USD), representing a 5.5 percent increase over 2015. Notably in the US, however, consumer sales were flat despite a significant increase in marketing spending from LEGO in the second half of the year.

After all expenses, that leaves The LEGO Group with a net profit of 9.4 billion DKK (approximately 1.34 billion USD), slightly higher than the year before. The net profit is calculated after subtracting all operating expenses, including costly construction projects like the LEGO House in Billund and a new manufacturing facility in China, which ate up nearly a third of LEGO’s overall net profits. Continue reading →

Bricks, Bikes and a Book: a talk with German brick artist Aran Jistukawa-Hudson [Interview]

This week we talk with Aran Jitsukawa-Hudson (AKA Cole Blaq) about his art, philosophy and his life. Aran was born in Great Britain and grew up in Germany. He lives in Düsseldorf with his wife and three kids, is a cancer survivor, and attended university as an Art History student. We interviewed him 6 years ago here on The Brothers Brick, but there’s a lot to catch up on since then. He is currently running a Kickstarter campaign to publish an art book based on his Enter the Brick series. Let’s go explore the mind of a builder.

TBB: First of all, could you tell our readers a little bit about yourself? What got you into LEGO and what kept you there?

Aran: My real name is Aran Jitsukawa-Hudson, as some might know. My alter ego as an artist is Cole Blaq, which is a reference to a comic character and an adaption to Hip Hop language.

I am British by origin but mainly grew up in Germany. With my wonderful wife being Japanese, we’re a rich blend of cultures! Now I live in Dusseldorf, Germany, which is located at the river Rhine, north of Cologne.

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Double VIP Points at The LEGO Shop March 6 – 16 [News]

Earn double VIP points with every purchase at The LEGO Shop, now through March 16! If you’re not already a VIP member, signing up is free, and you’ll earn points for every purchase made through the LEGO Shop Online and in LEGO stores. Click through the links below to get double points on your favorite sets, and support The Brothers Brick. This is a perfect opportunity to get big exclusive sets that are unlikely to go on sale, like 10255 Assembly Square—but with the promotion, Assembly Square will net you more than $25 worth of VIP points.

10255 Assembly Square (Review)

Many other new sets are also available, including the new wave of Star Wars, Speed Champions, and more.
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TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for March 4, 2017 [News]

The Brothers Brick gives you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our Weekly Brick Report for the first week of March.

TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: This week was light on news, but we still have a new Ideas set on its way, an interview with a Swedish superbuilder and a review of some sweet rides. Happy reading!

Women of NASA is the next LEGO Ideas model – The results are in, and some hidden minifigures from NASA will be joining the LEGO Ideas line. Voltron is still in consideration too!
Build your own Antarctic LC-130 Hercules designed by Ralph Savelsberg – TBB’s own Ralph Savelsberg created a LEGO LC-130 Hercules that we sent to Antarctica, and now you can build your own iconic aircraft, thanks to a custom Brickmania kit.
LEGO Speed Champions 75878 Bugatti Chiron – For those fans of cars we’ll never own, the LEGO Speed Champions line has added a sleek Bugatti with a few new parts to boot.
Interview with Swedish superbuilder LegoJalex – We talk with Johan Alexanderson about his unique building style and how it is influenced by being an illustrator and comic book artist.

OTHER NEWS: There was a little LEGO news from other places around the web this week. Here are a few items we noticed and thought you might enjoy.

European Shipping Company Shows Guinness World Record LEGO Ship, Afloat – 7,000 employees of a Danish shipping company built the 40-foot long ferry with over 1,000,000 bricks.
LEGO Movie 2 Will Be an Epic Space Action Movie, MovieWeb – Chris McKay (director of The LEGO Batman Movie) reveals the sequel will be a big musical with lots of SPACESHIPS!
Build a Specialized LEGO Station for Ultimate Organization, Lifehacker – Check out what you can do with a few IKEA hacks to help organize your sprawling LEGO collection
Leia’s Jabba Kill Immortalized in LEGO Tribute to Carrie Fisher, Nerdist – A stunning Carrie Fisher tribute makes it to Emerald City Comicon, created by TBB’s own Iain Heath. Come to the Brick Nation area of the Seattle show to see it in person!

LEGO Speed Champions 75878 Bugatti Chiron [Review]

For those of us who are fans of cars we’ll never own, the LEGO Speed Champions sets have provided a rather more affordable way to collect Ferraris, Porsches, McLarens, and more. Absent from LEGO’s eclectic mix of supercars has been the Bugatti. While the inimitable Veyron might have been more to the liking of many fans, Bugatti retired the Veyron toward the end of 2014, just before the release of the new LEGO Speed Champions line. Perhaps better late than never, its even faster successor the 75878 Bugatti Chiron was just released on LEGO.com, and should be available more widely on March 1st.

The LEGO Bugatti Chiron includes 183 parts and one minifigure for $14.99.

See the full review of the LEGO Bugatti Chiron

Women of NASA is the next LEGO Ideas model [News]

Announced today, the Women of NASA project by Maia Weinstock is the next set in the Ideas line. This project was selected from a group of 11 other ideas that had gathered 10,000 supporters between the months of May and September 2016. Pricing and availability for the Women of NASA set are not yet available.

Build your own Antarctic LC-130 Hercules designed by Ralph Savelsberg with a kit from Brickmania [News]

Did you see the LEGO LC-130 Hercules we sent to Antartica at the end of last year? Did you want your own rocket-powered ski-plane? Over the last couple of months, TBB’s own Ralph Savelsberg worked with Dan Siskind and his team at Brickmania to turn Ralph’s model of this iconic aircraft into a custom LEGO kit you can buy.

Ralph is awesome, Brickmania is awesome, science is awesome, airplanes are awesome — we couldn’t be happier that one of our team’s designs is being turned into a Brickmania kit!

Learn more about this unique LEGO kit

A conversation with Swedish superbuilder LegoJalex [Interview]

We recently had the chance to sit down with Johan Alexanderson (LegoJalex) to discuss his building style and approach to the hobby. A part-time web developer, as well as a free-lance illustrator and comic book artist, Johan is 35 years old and lives in Sweden. Come with us as we explore the mind of a builder!

TBB: So how did you get into LEGO building?

LegoJalex: I started building about 5 years ago, after a “dark age” of about 15 years. I had a stressful time then and I really needed something to relax with, so naturally I started to build again. Building with LEGO has so many great memories for me and I really like the creativity involved. I think there are similarities with my interest in drawing and illustrating, where in both you have to think in a creative and artistic way.

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TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for February 26, 2017 [News]

The Brothers Brick publishes so many stories that we’re giving you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our Weekly Brick Report for the last week of February.

TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: The week was light on news, but after such frantic last week, we don’t mind. We still have some reviews, an interview and a guest post for your reading pleasure.

2017 Toy Fair New York roundup and inside look at LEGO’s booth – TBB’s own Chris Malloy reflects on the New York Toy Fair and shares some hands-on insight on what’s to come.
First look at LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series 17 at Toy Fair – Get your first look at the box for the next series of Collectible Minifigures (CMF) from the New York Toy Fair.
Review of LEGO Technic 42063 BMW R 1200 GS Adventure – This 603-piece BMW beauty is the first licensed Technic motorcycle ever released and is a bargain.
Review of LEGO Speed Champions 2016 Ford GT & 1966 Ford GT40 – These are truly stellar cars, with a new part and a great selection of other parts at a low price-per-parts ratio.
Interview with builder Anu Pehrson about Architecture and Al Pacino – We talk with Anu about her beautiful architectural builds and getting involved in the LEGO community.
LEGO on display at Emerald City Comicon 2017 in Seattle next week – Come see TBB’s display and many more pop culture-themed creations at Emerald City Comicon.
LEGO 3.18 mm connection analysis by New Elementary – Here’s an in-depth article about unique 3.18 mm connections from Tim Johnson originally appeared at New Elementary.
Amazon sales on Ninjago’s Temple of Airjitzu, Star Wars, Technic, Elves and More – This week there are several deals on Amazon worth knowing about.

OTHER NEWS: There was a little LEGO news from other places around the web this week. Here are a few items we noticed and thought you might enjoy.

Watch a LEGO genius build a machine that makes paper airplanes, BGR – Brazilian designer Arthur Sacek builds a robot capable of folding and launching a paper airplane.
How LEGO built brand trust, brick by brick, AdWeek via Huffington Post – LEGO has built a multi-dimensional brand that communicates this is something you can trust in.
21-year-old man cremated in giant LEGO brick, AOL – Losing a loved one is never easy, but a family of a deceased LEGO fan honored his life in a unique way.
How Warner Bros. and LEGO sold a comedy about a humorless vigilante, Ad Age – Batman is typically dark, so how is one of the best comedies of the year based on him?

That’s your Brick Report for the week. See you next month!

Speeder bike contest ends in less than a week!

Just a reminder that the annual speeder bike contest, run by the good folks over at the LEGO Speeder Bikes Flickr group, is drawing to close at the end of the month. We’ve seen some great entries so far but there is still time to get your rear in gear and build some awesome bikes! There are great prizes up for grabs, donated by The Brothers Brick, as well as all sorts of other swag!