We’ve gathered our top-10 articles of 2023 based on clicks and views. Opinions may vary but keep in mind we’ve crunched the raw data and this is how it all shakes out.
Category Archives: LEGO
LEGO Marvel 76281 X-Men X-Jet; is it too X-Pensive? [Review]
Let’s just deal with the major issue right away. When the official reveal for set 76281 hit, you could practically hear the collective gasp from LEGO fans around the world. An average of ten cents per piece tends to be the benchmark for judging the value of a set, but the X-Men’s aerial transport clocks in at nearly twenty-five cents per piece. I saw a lot of comments online from people writing the set off because of the price alone. So, exactly what is it that’s commanding such a lofty price tag? Back in the 90s, superhero cartoons were all the rage, and one of the most popular was X-Men. And Disney+ is about to debut a new animated series called X-Men ’97, a direct sequel to that previous animated adventure. And a new series means new merchandise, including a LEGO tie-in set featuring four of the most popular mutants as well as the X-Men’s main mode of transportation, the X-Jet (aka The Blackbird). We got our hands on a copy and we’re determined to give it a fair shake. So, for now, put thoughts of price out of your head and let’s find out if the X-Jet can soar or if a crash landing is inevitable. 76281 X-Men X-Jet comes with 359 pieces and will be available on January 1st for US $84.99 | CAN $109.99 | UK £74.99
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.
New LEGO sets for January 2024 now available for purchase [News]
The east coast of the US is celebrating the calendar change over to 2024, and LEGO fans are celebrating the release of new sets at the beginning of another month. And with about 150 new sets hitting virtual store shelves, there’s certainly plenty to celebrate. This latest wave of new sets includes an interesting concept: a space-based cross-theme concept showing up in Technic, City, Creator, and Friends. Of course we won’t be able to cover everything, but check out a smattering of the highlights on this New Year’s Release Day below. And if you want to see everything in the new catalog, head on over to the LEGO website (US | CAN | UK).
Check out our favorite sets in the January wave below!
Ace Parts Usage: TBB’s favorite LEGO build techniques of the second half of 2023 [Feature]
It’s been nearly six months since our first “Ace Parts Usage” article. In it, we sifted through hundreds of LEGO creations to determine our top 10 favorite build techniques from January through June of this year. If you’re unfamiliar, builds that feature particularly cool techniques are said to have NPU (Nice Parts Usage). We’ve seen everything, but occasionally we’re extra impressed by something new and unique – an “ace” parts usage. Although we’re about to announce our overall favorite builds (using several criteria) in the running for the TBB Creation of the Year , we want to honor some ace parts usage right here, right now. There were too many awesome considerations over the past 6 months, so we decided to give you our favorite 15 instead of our favorite 10. Join us as we count down the best of the second half of 2023!
LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31150 Wild Safari Animals [Review]
We continue our look at 2024’s Creator 3-in-1 sets with the largest one announced so far, LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31150 Wild Safari Animals. Realistic animal models are a Creator tradition, even going back to the precursor Designer Sets – that’s 20 years! Let’s tour this 780-piece set, which will be available January 1st and retail for US $64.99 | CAN $84.99 | UK £59.99. Don’t worry, we’ll get to the flamingo.
Rudolph the red-nosed nightmare fuel
Christmas is now, for better or worse, behind us. You know what that means? Hallowe’en is only 44 weeks away! The reason I bring that up is because of Patrick Biggs‘ latest LEGO build. It may seem like a festive build at first – but don’t let that fool you. This isn’t Rudolph; it’s a being known only as R̵̂͠u̶͐͠d̵̈̀o̷͛̈l̴̀̓p̶̅͘h̵̎. And I’ll be honest, it gives me a touch of the heebie-jeebies. The spindly legs, the tentacle-like antlers, the piercing white eyes… Yep, that wreath is not throwing me off: this is definitely an early spooky season build.
TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for December 30, 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 December, 2023.
TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS As we reach the end of another great year in LEGO news and reviews, we covered new sets from the Creator theme, LEGO Icons, Sonic the Hedgehog, Collectible Minifigures, and Jurassic Park. We also shared the first in our end of the year articles for your favorite LEGO moments of 2023. Fortnite and LEGO collaborated to launch a new game mode perfect for squading up with your friends for a LEGO-building survival mode. If you want even more news and reviews, be sure to check out our last Brick Report.
- [REVIEW] LEGO Creator 31156: Tropical Ukulele — Dreaming of a tropical vacation? This buildable ukulele is a good place to start.
- [REVIEW] LEGO Sonic the Hedgehog 76996: Knuckles’ Guardian Mech — The latest Sonic character to get their own set.
- [REVIEW] LEGO Icons 40681 Retro Food Truck Gift with Purchase: Bold bonus flavor? — A delicious hot dog food truck to add to your LEGO city.
- [REVIEW] LEGO Creator 31148: Retro Roller Skate — Another light azure Creator set, with nostalgia on wheels.
- [NEWS] LEGO offering many sets for up to 40% off in end of year sale — Lots of deals on LEGO sets you may have missed out on.
- [FEATURE] TBB readers speak! Your favorite LEGO moments of 2023 — Our readers shared their favorite LEGO memories from 2023.
- [REVIEW] LEGO 71045 Collectible Minifigures Series 25; is this series the GOAT (Greatest Of All Time)? — The latest CMF line-up may be one of the best yet.
- [REVIEW] LEGO Fortnite – A video game match made in heaven? — Squad up in a new LEGO-themed survival mode.
- [REVIEW] LEGO Jurassic World 76964 Dinosaur Fossils: T-Rex Skull – Do we dig it? — A nice display set to add to your dinosaur collection.
Click through to read more LEGO news from around the world
Fresh from the oven, it’s the ginger-brick man
We’re all familiar with the loveable LEGO minifigure, right? And some recent sets and creations have also brought us the big-fig, whether from Harry Potter, Castle, or even a generic theme. But what about the minifigure representation on a medium scale? Donny Chen introduces us to a fresh-baked midi-scale LEGO figure with his delicious gingerbread man. In these post-holiday times, I must admit there’s such a thing as too much sugar. So thanks, Donny, for tempering the size of this cookie-fied fig to something more diet-friendly.
LEGO Creator 31156: Tropical Ukulele [REVIEW]
The LEGO Creator 3-in-1 theme has been expanding its line-up to include display models like the Retro Roller Skate and smaller plant-based sets from last year. If you’ve been dreaming of a tropical vacation during these darker winter months (unless you live in the Southern Hemisphere, that is) then maybe this tropical ukulele or the alternate surfboard model is the perfect display set for you. LEGO Creator 31156: Tropical Ukulele includes 387 pieces and will be available on January 1st for US $29.99 | CAN $39.99 | UK £24.99
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.
Life-size LEGO Ghostbusters gear is ready to take on Gozer the Gozerian
In case you were wondering, this collection of ghostbusting gear is actually made of LEGO, and not the movie props they appear to be. Centuri Chan has done one heck of a job recreating the Ghostbusters logo, ECTO-1 license plate, proton pack, and ghost trap out of our favorite plastic bricks. This smorgasbord of paranormal paraphernalia was on display earlier this year at the Christchurch Brick Show back in July, but was only recently uploaded to Flickr for all of us not able to make the trip to New Zealand. Now we know exactly who we’re going to call…
Check out more pictures below, but don’t cross the streams…
LEGO Sonic the Hedgehog 76996: Knuckles’ Guardian Mech [Review]
The new LEGO Sonic the Hedgehog theme (launched earlier this year) has the potential to give Mario a run for his money when it comes to video game-inspired LEGO sets. With lots of unique molded minifigures and brightly-colored scenes and vehicles, fans of the franchise have a lot to get excited about. Knuckles’ Guardian Mech joins the line-up in January. The set features a mech for Knuckles, including his iconic pointed boxing gloves, as well as another character: Rouge. The latter is a bat-girl with a fancy flier intent on stealing the giant green gem that Knuckles is defending. LEGO Sonic the Hedgehog 76996: Knuckles’ Guardian Mech comes with 276 pieces, and will be available on January 1st from the LEGO website for US $34.99 | CAN $44.99 | UK £29.99
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.
Reeks and Nexus and Acklays, oh my!
Despite being on the brink of its 25th birthday, somehow there are still locations and sets that haven’t been made into LEGO Star Wars sets. One that I’ve seen a lot of requests for recently is the Geonosian arena from Episode II: Attack of the Clones. Well, The Minikit Guy has had enough of waiting! He’s taken matters into his own hands and crafted a small section of this enormous arena. The stadium architecture is nice enough on its own, broken up with some nice texturing, and I like the way the balcony has been made with curved slopes. But the monsters are well worth a look too! You’ve got the cat-like Nexus; the rhinoceros-inspired Reek; and my personal favourite, the spidery Acklay. And look closely behind the Acklay – you might spot The Minikit Guy’s namesake hidden away in the walls!
