Category Archives: LEGO

You’d probably expect a lot of the posts on a LEGO website like The Brothers Brick to be about LEGO, and you’d be right. If you’re browsing this page, you might want to consider narrowing what you’re looking for by checking out categories like “Space” and “Castle.” We’re sure there’s something here that’ll fascinate and amaze you.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for May 6, 2017 [News]

The start of the month of May was pretty busy here at The Brothers Brick with the celebration of May 4th (aka Star Wars Day) and some other great announcements. We don’t want you to miss any of the world’s greatest LEGO models, news and building contests, so here’s your weekly Brick Report for the first week of May, 2017.

TBB NEWS, REVIEWS & INSTRUCTIONS: This week we are excited to see a new UCS Star Wars set become available in LEGO stores, along with some pleasant deals on sets.

Detention Block Rescue (Star Wars Celebration exclusive) [Review] — Our very special review of a limited Star Wars Celebration exclusive, raffled during the official Star Wars convention in Orlando, FL.
May the 4th 2017 sales & deals from the LEGO Shop [News] — Star Wars Day was marked with the release of the massive Ultimate Collector Series Snowspeeder 75144, and continued with a free R2-D2 mini-set on orders over $50 from the LEGO Shop. Catch up with the all the latest offers and sales as they are all valid till the end of Sunday, May 7th.
Summer 2017 Ragnarök LEGO sets revealed [News] — The first pictures of two LEGO Super Heroes Thor: Ragnarök sets appeared this week online, revealing the all-new designs of our favourite Marvel characters.
LEGO Nexo Knights 70349 Ruina’s Lock & Roller [Review] — Take a look at this bizarre Nexo Knights set, which turned our to be a fresh mix of rare colours and impressive minifigures.
Registration now open for Brick Fiesta 2017 [News] — The 8th annual Brick Fiesta LEGO convention is ready to welcome its guests in Dallas, TX. Sign up to see some mesmerizing Great Ball Contraptions and many more automated LEGO creations!
LEGO typography contest – design a new typeface [News] — Our partner blog New Elementary has announced one of the most unusual building contests of the year so far — a competition of brick-built fonts using some of the recently released round tiles.
Ford Mustang Shelby GT500 in Speed Champions scale [Instructions] — This brilliant 6-studs-wide vehicle would be an awesome addition to any LEGO Town diorama.
MEKA activated! Build your own LEGO Overwatch D.Va Mech [Instructions] — Our contributor and very talented mech builder Nick Jensen shares instructions to his latest Overwatch mech.

OTHER LEGO NEWS: Besides a couple of noticeable pieces of news, this week was pretty uneventful in the LEGO themed part of the web.

Cars 3: LEGO does Lightning McQueen and crew in new sets, Yahoo Movies — An exclusive look at the new LEGO Juniors sets available in May.
Cassini: The grand finale — No historic event goes unnoticed by LEGO fans, and the conclusion of the Cassini spacecraft mission is no exception. Don’t miss this beautiful brick-built tribute to the seven year journey to the distant world of Saturn and its rings, built by a reader from Chile.

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The LEGO Balrog shall not pass!

The LEGO Balrogs we’ve featured here on The Brothers Brick over the years have been large and monstrous, with flames flying and wings flying everywhere. Jonas Kramm takes a subtler approach with a considerably smaller Balrog built almost entirely from black. The black only serves to make the creature more sinister, making the contrasting orange flames on the Balrog’s back and his flame-whip even more striking. The Balrog is an ephemeral creature wrapped in darkness and fire, and the absence of explicit wings also adds to the evil look of this creature from the depths of Middle Earth.

While rather more gaudy, you might also enjoy the massive LEGO Balrog by Chak hei Mok and a looming Balrog by Aaron Newman.

Can I get a big hand for this model?

The new(ish) LEGO “bar holder with handle” pieces are put to fantastic use as fingers in this robotic hand model by Josephine Monterosso. The combination of parts in the digits, coupled with the choice of a curved panel for the back of the hand, creates a lovely set of angles and brilliant posing possibilities. Needless to say, I insist Josephine now builds the rest of the robot to accompany this excellent appendage. Eagle-eyed readers may spot the non-purist use of squashed minifigure handcuffs for the lower-knuckles. Your mileage may vary on such abuse of LEGO pieces, but when the effect is this good, I’m going to let it slide.

LEGO DC Superheroes Build Your Own Adventure book announced [News]

Today LEGO has revealed the latest entry to the Build Your Own Adventure book series by publisher DK, featuring Green Lantern and his fellow DC Superheroes. The 80-page hardcover volume includes a Green Lantern minifigure and a small selection of bricks, and is filled with building tips and more than 50 small models for inspiration designed by TBB’s own, editor Rod Gilles. The book is due out in August, and is currently available for preorder from Amazon for $16.50 USD or £17.99 in the UK. Rod is a veteran of the Build Your Own Adventure Series, having previously built models for the Star Wars Build Your Own Adventure book and the LEGO City Build Your Own Adventure Book.

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Oh, wicked, bad, naughty Zoot!

She has been setting alight to our beacon, which, I just remembered, is grail-shaped. The beacon appears to have drawn in Letranger Absurde, who has commemorated the occasion with this fantastic rendition of the Wicked Zoot Abbey from Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

The scale is deceptive here; I daresay it’s microscale of a very large abbey. He’s made excellent use of SNOT techniques, using new corner tiles to give texture to the walls of the building. Take a peak at the spire in the back – it’s not often you see a string reel drum used without string, or the complete assembly!

If you haven’t already done so, check out our interview we did with him earlier this year to gain excellent insight into his creative process.

They’re good builds, Brent

Let’s face facts: cats no longer rule the Internet. Nowadays the web belongs to the man’s best friend, dogs. And Korean builder Amida Na presents us with this digitally constructed pack of LEGO woofers big enough that anybody can find the perfect companion. Personally, I would totally go with the goofy Samoyed, whose tail is incredibly fluffy despite being built with just a handful of inverted slopes and plates.

Registration now open for Brick Fiesta 2017

Brick Fiesta is an annual Lego convention taking place in cities throughout Texas since 2010. This year’s event is happening in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex from June 29 – July 2 at the Mesquite Convention Center. The theme is Automation, featuring Great Ball Contraptions and motorized gizmos at the center of display amidst over 35,000 sq. ft. of convention floor space. Register early by May 31 for $55 or thereafter for $65. Visit the convention’s website for more info.

If this is your first time attending a fan event, please check out our Attending LEGO fan conventions series!

Merry Christmas, Mr Bean

Mr Bean, the comedic character both created and played by Rowan Atkinson, is a firm favourite all over the world. He has a tendency to get into all sorts of trouble while attempting to achieve relatively mundane tasks, but the comedy value often relates to his innovative solutions to any problems he encounters. Patrick B has built a LEGO version of Mr Bean’s house with lots of details that relate to the Christmas special episode Merry Christmas, Mr Bean.

I am a huge fan of Mr Bean and recognised so many of the little details in this fun creation, from the mouse hole and ingenious LEGO mousetrap (mouse gets a piece of cheese in his Christmas stocking and it is ‘served’ on the mouse trap), the stocking hanging on the fireplace, the stolen Christmas tree, and the infamous turkey that awaits Mr Bean’s attentions later in the episode.

When Mr Bean finds that the television shows are less than ideal, he hears the sounds of carol-singers outside. The alternative view below shows that this detail has also been captured with a couple of young singers in the background ready to lull Mr Bean into an deep oblivious sleep.

Fans of Mr Bean may also like my LEGO version of Mr Bean’s mini, complete with instructions.

Druid’s perch defies gravity and housing codes

I can only assume the druid who lives here has both excellent balance and doesn’t tend to stomp around. The Maestro gives us this updated version of an older creation, showing significant growth in their building style. This version features excellent rock-work and a very precariously perched cottage. I’m frankly impressed this stayed upright long enough to photograph it. The wall texture is particularly lovely, using a combination of hinged plates and 1×1 round plates creating a pock-marked, uneven surface giving this little cottage plenty of character.

Arcade classic Bubble Bobble in perfect LEGO form

The Arvo Brothers are best known for their amazing builds, including iconic Alien characters and Kaneda’s bike. But things have taken a turn for the cute now, with Bub and Bob from the classic game Bubble Bobble. The two bubble dragons are small, making their flawless design and naturally bulbous shape even more impressive. These are packed with amazing details and excellent part usage, like the car hood used to shape the head, and the ridge down the dragons’ backs. The bubbles being LEGO too is just icing on the cake.

These designs are significantly updated from the versions that the Arvo Brothers built ten years ago, thanks to all the new colors and parts that LEGO has introduced since then. Good news is that the Brothers will be posting buildings instructions for these models soon, so keep an eye out!

Rogue group, use your harpoons and tow cables – go for the legs!

What’s not to love about this action-filled nano-scale diorama of the Battle of Hoth by Belgian builder GolPlaysWithLego. The AT-AT is built with almost no visible studs and a perfectly shaped body section, and a clever use of the signal paddle element for the head mounted blasters. Two T-47 Snowspeeders swing into action, just as the AT-AT is about to be brought to its knees.

The DF.9 turret (looking a tad bit helpless but ready for action) and the 1.4 FD P-Tower complete this throwback to one of the most iconic scenes from The Empire Strikes Back.

A bridge too far for the T-1000

We’re looking forward to Arnie’s classic Terminator 2: Judgement Day returning to cinemas later this year. What better way to whet your appetite for it than with jp_velociraptor‘s LEGO version of the famous truck chase?

Check out the use of transparent bars and supports to depict the flying masonry as the truck bursts through the bridge parapet. Explosive action like this is often difficult to convey with bricks — but it’s certainly accomplished here.

The flood-channel diorama is nicely done, but the truck is a smart little model itself. Here’s a closer look, along with a suitably serious-looking T1000…