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.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for September 2nd, 2023 [News]

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the last week of August, 2023.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS This week we covered new sets from Marvel, Star Wars, and LEGO Ideas. We saw LEGO announce a slow down in growth, and featured our 28th Creation of the week! And if you haven’t had your fill of news and reviews, be sure to check out last week’s Brick Report for more.

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 Art 31209 The Amazing Spider-Man breaks the mold [Review]

LEGO Art started out three years ago with four portraits, where the most variation in physical depth was the height of a stud. LEGO 31206 The Rolling Stones broke out of the rectangular frame and added a bit of depth and 31208 The Great Wave took the depth a bit further, but with LEGO 31209 The Amazing Spider-Man, LEGO have boldly gone right out of the frame! The set also combines larger plates and slopes with varied size tiles to replicate the style and shading of a comic book. Let’s take a closer peek together at the set, which checks in at 2,099 pieces and is available now for US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £169.99.

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

Read our hands-on review of LEGO Art 31209 The Amazing Spider-Man

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 Group announces slowdown in growth for the first half of 2023

According to their most recent press release, the LEGO Group’s revenue for the first half of 2023 is up only 1% over the same period in 2022. Similarly, consumer sales grew by 3% compared to that same period last year. And while a positive number is definitely better than a negative one, this rate of expansion pales in comparison to the stats thrown up over the last three years by TLG (revenue was up 17% for the first half of 2022, for example). However, amid a shrinking toy market, these numbers are outstanding when compared to their peers. And in that hostile environment, TLG managed to further grow its market share over this period.

CEO Niels B Christiansen remains undeterred by the slowdown: “Our strong financial position allows us to invest for the long term, particularly in areas such as digital, sustainability and manufacturing. Overall, our performance is in line with expectations, after three consecutive years of extraordinary growth and we are grateful for our great colleagues who work each day to inspire children through play.” In that vein, work continues on new factory construction in the US and Vietnam, as well as expanding facilities in Mexico, the Czech Republic, Hungary, and China.

If you’d like to read the press release in full, it’s available via the LEGO Newsroom page.

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 Ideas 21343 Viking Village revealed [News]

French retailer Fnac have given us an early glimpse of the next LEGO Ideas set: 21343 Viking Village. The original Ideas submission by user Brickhammer did reach the magic 10,000 supporters number, but didn’t make it past the reveiw stage. However, last year it was part of a vote conducted between LEGO and US retailer Target to bring back one of these sets. The submission will finally see the light of day over 3 years after its original submission. With 2,103 pieces and four minifigures, the set is expected to hit Fnac’s shelves on October 1st, for an estimated US $139.99 | CAN $TBD | UK £TBD.

More pictures and details after the jump!

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 75371: Chewbacca [Review]

LEGO Star Wars sets have come a long way from the blocky X-wing and Tie Advance set that may or may not have brought a swift end to my dim age (I never had a true dark age, where adult LEGO builders stop buying or building LEGO sets). The new parts and the building techniques they unlocked, along with a wide variety of new set types which met with varying levels of success, like “buildable” planets, constraction figures, and the new helmet series have been excellent offerings from the theme. But LEGO continues to push the envelope to draw more and more Star Wars fans to LEGO, and LEGO Star Wars 75371: Chewbacca is another such set. Coming in at about 18 inches, it just might be one of the tallest Star Wars sets yet… And it is definitely one of the most unusual. LEGO Star Wars 75371: Chewbacca includes 2,319 pieces and will be available for sale starting on Sept. 1st for US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99

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

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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 Creation of the Week (#28): “Nouvelle Chicane, 1988 Monaco Grand Prix” by alex_bricks

Every week readers of the The Brothers Brick Telegram channel choose the Creation of the Week: one project that impressed all of us the most. You may remember alex_bricks for his awesome Formula-1 Monaco scene, which got the Creation of the Week award back in February. Guess what? Alex does it again with the next part of the iconic racing track! Now it’s the chicane by the water, yet still amazing detailed and exciting!

Meanwhile, the new vote is already on! Join our Telegram channel to follow all the best LEGO creations, latest news, and, of course, vote for your favorites. See you there!

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 Ideas 21342 The Insect Collection – Botanicals meets animals [Review]

The LEGO Group is right in the thick of pounding out Ideas sets. At this point, the completionists are probably having a hard time keeping up with collecting the entire line. But there are definitely some you don’t want to miss. Under the microscope next is LEGO Ideas 21342 The Insect Collection. While it looks a fair bit more detailed than the original fan submission by José María Pérez Suero, it holds onto the spirit of that design. Join us as we get out our magnifying glasses and take a closer look at this seemingly beautiful build. The set, which contains 1111 pieces, will be available Sept. 7th and retail for US $79.99 | CAN $99.99 | UK £69.99.

Continue reading →

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 August 27, 2023 [News]

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the 4th week of August 2023.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS We may not have had much news coverage from big themes recently, but we still had some juicy news, including the announcement about the new LEGO loyalty program which will make it much easier for customers to access their rewards from a single log-in. We also covered the latest LEGO Ideas set: Insects, which looks like an awesome set. More Marvel collectible minifigures were announced, and braille bricks, to bring LEGO fun to visually impaired fans. We also took off for an amazing feature about the LEGO airplane sets based on real aircraft. While you’re catching up on LEGO news and reviews, be sure to check out our last Brick Report for more.

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 Icons 40642 Gingerbread Ornaments [Review]

With fall quickly approaching for the northern hemisphere, it’s time to start thinking about those holiday LEGO sets. One of the first coming out in the wave for 2023 is 40642 Gingerbread Ornaments, featuring a wealth of customizable looks on the basic anthropomorphic cookie pattern. But will these constructible confections lead to some delicious creations, or are they only half-baked? Composed of 190 pieces, 40642 Gingerbread Ornaments will be available in the UK starting on September 1, with the US and Canada having to wait until October 1. The set will retail for US $12.99 | CAN $16.99 | UK £10.99.

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

Click for the full review!

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 40656 Braille Bricks – an educational tool, expensive gimmick, or something more? [Review]

Before we get going with the article, please know that this isn’t going to be your typical review. In large part, that’s because 40656 Braille Bricks isn’t your typical set. There’s no model to build here, and the parts aren’t intended for imaginative exploration like Classic sets. Instead, this is an educational item, designed for targeted learning rather than invention. Let’s discover together what we can learn from LEGO’s latest offering, hitting store shelves on September 1, 2023. 40656 Braille Bricks will retail for US $89.99 | CAN $119.99 | UK £79.99.

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

Click for the full review!

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 Insiders program kicks off with a 1,000,000 point treasure hunt [News]

As many of you know from our earlier article, the VIP system is being replaced with LEGO Insiders as of today, August 21st. To kick off the transition to this new comprehensive loyalty program, LEGO is holding a contest through October 2nd with a jackpot of 1,000,000 Insiders points. For those working out the math, that equates to US $9,000 | CAN $12,000 | UK £7,000 in discounts on purchases through LEGO stores and their website. The form of the contest is a treasure hunt, with the prize “buried” amid LEGO parts. Using an AR phone app, piles of System bricks can be scanned in search of a golden brick or other prizes. These can include digital LEGO comic books, bonuses for LEGO games, and other items. But for the grand 1M point prize, six winners will be chosen each week, making for 54 winners over the treasure hunt’s duration. More info is available at www.LEGO.com/Treasure-Hunt. And if you want to skip right to the fine print, that’s available here.

Read up on the treasure hunt below!

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 71039 Marvel Studios Collectible Minifigures; the Marvel CMF line got renewed for a second season [Review]

There’s a lot of talk on the internet about “superhero fatigue” setting in at the box office. But, if you’re a fan of LEGO and the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the fatigue you might be feeling is the exhaustion that comes with waiting for your favorite hero to finally be rendered in minifigure form. Thankfully, the latest wave of LEGO Collectible Minifigures is here to save the day with 12 new figures. Like the first series of Marvel CMFs, this line focuses on characters from the numerous TV projects on Disney+; Moon Knight, She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, Hawkeye, and the upcoming X-Men ’97 animated series just to name a few. But is the combined might of these superheroes strong enough to fight your fatigue? Let’s crack open a box and find out. 71032 Marvel Studios Collectible Minifigures Series 2 will be available on Sept 1st for US $4.99 | CAN $5.99 | UK £3.49

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

Click to read the full, hands-on review

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.