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.

Frogs, Monkeys and Cthulu, Oh My: We interrogate that builder of the bizarre, Fedde Barendrecht [Interview]

This week we were able to track down Fedde Barendrecht to his Australian hideaway in Brisbane. Fedde, who goes by the handle Karf Oohlu, works from home, uploads another crazy LEGO creation almost daily and dreams of world domination. Somehow lots of monkeys and frogs are involved. Let’s dive into his mind but keep your wits about you. Once he has us in his tentacled embrace he may not let go again.

The Brothers Brick: Hey Fedde! What can you tell us about yourself? How did you get into LEGO and what keeps you there?

Fedde: Hi, I’m an old fart, my name is Fedde Barendrecht, Dutch born, Australian raised, and now living in Brisbane Australia. I blame a certain AFOL, Aaron Andrews (aka Darkspawn)—it’s all his fault. The first time I’d visited his place, I saw all the castle MOCs he was working on. (These days, family life—kids—is burning up most of his spare time, and cost him his Lego room.) It got me interested, so I first got into Bionicle, thinking they seemed restrictive and so would feed the interest but not get out of hand. A few System sets eventually got bought, some more—things got out of hand.

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.

Keep Up! Time is running away!

What would a clock say if a clock could talk? (say that three times fast!). Leonid An brings us a very charming character of time and named him Tony the Talking Clock. His expression is familiar to many of us–an exasperated blue-faced look that says, “I ain’t gonna wait for you if you’re more than a second late, buddy!” I’m still in awe at how Tony is able to stand without falling over with that top-heavy build! I suspect the magic behind that is that time does not stop, and if you’re always in motion, you’re not going to fall.

Celebrating the Year of the Rooster with abundance, good fortune, and joy

Builder Samuel Ho celebrates the Year of the Rooster this Chinese New Year with a little table standee featuring none other that this year’s zodiac animal, the Rooster! The build features a few other key elements to highlight the celebration of a new year in many parts of Asia and around the world. Red is the color for the New Year symbolizing joy and fortune. The potted plants featured on both sides are mandarin oranges, which are also symbolic of good fortune and abundance. If you’ve not guessed it yet, the characters translate to “Chicken” in Traditional Chinese characters.

Look at the starfighter, look how it shines for you

The wedge is a classic shape in LEGO starfighter designs, and that can mean a pointy model needs something eyecatching to stand out from the crowd. mrutek‘s Arrow does exactly that, through a combination of beautifully-shaped brickwork, and a retina-dazzling yellow color scheme. I’m a particular fan of the use of “bow” curves down the ship’s sides to create a lovely smooth section.

Sometimes LEGO creations using one predominant colour can see the details get washed-out and lost, ending up a little bland. The builder escapes that trap here through some judicious striping, and depth of texture added through the use of smaller tiles. Personally, I might have gone with blue rather than black for the stripes to create a bit more visual jazz, but that’s nitpicking at an otherwise lovely little spaceship.

A blast from the past with with an Amsterdam tram

Amsterdam trams have been in service for over a century – from the days of horse and buggies, now transitioned to the era of electric powered vehicles. This LEGO model by KMbricklab features a model that was in service from the late 20s to the late 60s, with a distinctive, iconic, and classic look. This build is full of details, and I especially like the detailing of the pantograph and makes me wonder if a truly electric powered LEGO tram car would be possible to be built. It would certainly fit in very nicely into a LEGO City throwback scene!

New fusion battery and an oil change

What use is a super-cool, super-fast speederbike if it won’t go? Don’t underestimate the importance of vehicle maintenance in LEGO’s far-future. Sad Brick makes the mechanic the hero in this smart hangar diorama. The speeder bike itself looks great — it’s a veritable festival of greebling. But don’t miss the wall of neatly-placed tools, and the cabinet towards the rear with its tiny drawers — little details that create a sense of reality. Finally, the use of a blue glass “notepad” by the minifig is a cool futuristic touch (even if it is a it of a sci-fi trope!)

Holy Batbots!

When Bruce Wayne gets too old to pull on the cowl, he can probably hand over duties to this fantastic LEGO Bat-bot by Pete Reid. The automated version of the Caped Crusader looks fully kitted-up and ready to take on Gotham’s worst. I particularly like the use of minifigure “neck brace” pieces to create the iconic Batman forearm armour, and the way Pete has used the same parts to make the eyeholes properly pop in that mask. Also, don’t miss the little Blip-robot sidekick, tricked out in an unmistakeable Robin color scheme. Great stuff.

The sword is yours, Pilot; build your own LEGO Titanfall 2 Ronin [Instructions]

Since completing my LEGO Ronin Titan back in August 2016, I received numerous requests for a building guide for him. After reconstructing him in LEGO Digital Designer and photographing steps requiring techniques that stress parts, I present step-by-step directions to build your own Ronin. Take a look at the parts list, then follow the video below and tear up the Frontier with a brand new broadsword-wielding mech.

80s-style Mecha revitalised for the brave new world

I’m going to guess Djokson was influenced by watching cartoons in the early 80s. The builder’s latest mecha looks like a modernized and souped-up version of Tranzor-Z, as it was known in the US, better known as Mazinger-Z elsewhere in the world. It takes distinctive features from the classics — a V-shaped chest plate, hefty arms and calves, and pointed earpieces. With a set of blade-like elements on it’s back for flight assistance, its overall bulk and strength give off some serious attitude — “Get out of my way or you’re gonna regret it!”

Only Imperial Scaretroopers are this spooky

These Bone Troopers by Karf Oohlu look like George Lucas decided to put his Stormtroopers into a scary movie. These unique-looking LEGO soldiers use a few common elements to replace the arms and legs of a typical minifigure — giving them more realistic proportions. The only thing we’re missing is a skeletal version of Darth Vader to complete this new screenplay. I’d gladly pay money to LEGO if they had such a spin-off theme — Spooky Knights anyone?

Full steam ahead on this classic engine!

Both my father and my grandfather were train drivers, so you could say trains are in my blood. When I saw this incredibly accurate classic steam engine by Britishbricks, I just had to share it. In Great Western Railway dark green, this beauty is very reminiscent of the classic British engines from the 1950s and 60s. There are so many things to enjoy about this beauty: check out the tip of the pirate hook and black sausage front buffer, along with the LEGO rubber bands as ribs around the boiler. From the working wheel assembly and Power Functions all the way to the tail of the coal tender, this spectacular replica has steamed its way into my heart.

Treasures from the antique store

Builder Jared Chan has a superpower of taking large things and miniaturising them in LEGO. This set of vintage items looks like it’s been plucked right from a sitting room somewhere. I can’t decide on which is my favourite of them all; there’s more than one that really screams out to me. I’m torn between that the gramophone or that beautifully sculptured desk. Which is your favourite?