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.

Jaw-dropping model of Rome took 107,000 LEGO bricks to build!

Rocco Buttliere has been astounding us for years with his massive microscale LEGO creations. Being no stranger to rendering massive landmarks and vast ancient cities in brick form, he has just released a new expansion to his fantastic SPQR diorama of the ancient Roman capital (the right half of the build in the photo below). This new section of the Eternal City – built at 1:650 scale – took over 107,000 bricks and several thousand hours spread over two and a half years to build, but it was well worth the wait! Lets take a tour of some of the ancient landmarks, shall we?

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All that gold, and it’s still not the blingest thing on this Bionicle

Who’s the coolest Water Toa from LEGO’s Bionicle line? Gali, the OG? Nokama, perhaps, who appeared twice as a Toa as well as a humble Matoran? In truth, Mitch Phillips (AKA Gamma Raay)’s unnamed Toa of Water might have them both beat. There’s some serious bling on show here: an enormous gold door makes for a nice shield. The cape is pretty majestic, too. But the biggest party piece is actually the mask. Don’t recognise it? That’s because it’s exceedingly rare – handed out during the 2015 LEGO Inside Tour, only 200 of these transparent-blue ones were ever made! As a result it’s something of a collectors’ item, but it’s refreshing to see it used in a MOC. At the end of the day, it is still just a LEGO piece!

These Star Wars/WWII mashups are just plane awesome

It’s no secret that George Lucas looked to World War II-era dogfights for inspiration when envisioning the space battles of Star Wars, so a mashup of the two in LEGO form simply makes sense. Here, Jordan Fridal elegantly blends the celebrated North American P-51D Mustang with Star Wars‘s X- and E-wings, with pleasing results. The two ships (fittingly nicknamed “Rebel Scum” and “Laser Bait”) look ready to duel German fighter planes or Imperial TIEs, whichever they happen to run across—a testament to both Lucas’s original vision and the skill with which they were executed in brick form.

LEGO Ninjago 71818 Tournament Battle Arena – Is this arena studs or duds? [REVIEW]

The next wave of Ninjago sets is coming soon, which means another dojo/battle arena to add to our growing collection. The Tournament Battle Arena includes six minifigures and is compatible with the much larger LEGO Ninjago 71814 Tournament Temple City. There’s a fun moveable platform for fighting, a large statue, and a drum. There are also a few neat hidden traps to catch intruders by surprise. LEGO Ninjago 71818 Tournament Battle Arena comes with 659 pieces and will be available on June 1st globally and August 1st in the US for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99.

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 on for our full review

I can’t stop thinking about this LEGO Roman scene

Qian Yj is no stranger to triumphs, having brought home the trophy in LEGO Masters China. For his latest build, he turns his thoughts to ancient Rome (as men so often do) and presents a glorious temple facade. There is so much to laud about this capital diorama, but the sweet reliefs definitely take the cake. Marble supplicants kneel at the feet of a god in the pediment, flanked by floral designs all in white. The columns are most impressive too, the Corinthian flourish created by arranging teeth in eyelets around gnashing gears. The braziers are a simple yet very effective design. And those statues! Such lovely use of tiles to create lifelike forms at this scale. On the temple base, a gallic touch with croissant garlands.

Qian Yj excels at immersive models that sweep you away to a living past. To see the builder’s LEGO tributes to his native China, check out his photo album, or revisit our other favorite Qian Yj. creations.

Micro Barad-Dûr menaces a tiny middle earth!

If the price tag on the newly announced Lord of the Rings Barad-Dûr LEGO set is making your wallet feel like Viggo Mortensen’s toe, you should check out this micro-scale tower by Joe! From this mini monument to malevolent majesty, you can keep an eye on the hobbits with the DREAMZzz eye tile. With just a few pieces, Joe has captured the evil essence of the dark tower. The two outer towers are captured by a hilt and a plate with a bar, while all the spiky decorative business is made out of a few grills and a gear. I do wonder if Sauron will need a microscope to find the one ring at this scale!

Proud, invincible Hanshin Tiger mech! Go, go, go!

Baseball season is in full swing in Japan and famously passionate fans of the Hanshin Tigers are making noise for their favorite team. Amongst those fans is Sasaki Nobuyuki (Sasapon), two time competitor on early LEGO competition show King of LEGO on TV Tokyo, and member of the OG brickshelf community. Sasapon built this prize-winning mech last year for a “SigFig” mech contest. What is a SigFig? Essentially it’s a minifig avatar that represents you. Sasapon’s SigFig wears his Hanshin Tigers fandom proudly resulting in this delightful tiger-themed mech.

Sasapon leaned into yellow elements with black stripes and the associated construction aesthetic, adding a detachable bulldozer scoop and claw to the mech’s back. The highly-poseable mech is packed with personality and clever parts usage.

レッツゴー　レッツゴーささぽん!

Winning Star Wars: Dark Forces with the Moldy Crow

In a LEGO Star Wars world of Millennium Falcons, it’s nice when someone shows some love for the lesser-known bird-named ship. I say ship and not ships because I simply couldn’t think of any others. Let us know in the comments if there are any. Anyway, Jan Woźnica has built the Moldy Crow from the Star Wars: Dark Forces game and we’re all as happy as a lark in terms of scale and level of detail implemented in this new creation. Jan tells us this craft is a modified HWK-290 courier ship flown by Jan Ors and Kyle Katarn. Also, if you happen to like your gaming more analog than digital, you can also fly the Moldy Crow in the X-Wing Miniatures tabletop game. Check out why we think Jan Woźnica should be our squad leader and also get your fix for all things Star Wars.

LEGO Ninjago 71822 Source Dragon of Motion – Will you be moved to purchase? [REVIEW]

A LEGO Ninjago wave would only be complete with at least one dragon, and while 71814 Tournament Temple City does come with a small dragon, there is a much more impressive dragon coming out this summer, and it is awe-inspiring! LEGO Ninjago 71822 Source Dragon of Motion is possibly the sturdiest dragon ever from the theme, and considering how long the theme has been around, that is saying something. Measuring 25 inches in length, with a 29-inch wingspan, this might even be the largest single-headed Ninjago dragon ever. Setting all kinds of records, LEGO Ninjago 71822 Source Dragon of Motion comes with 1,716 pieces and will be available starting on June 1st, for US $149.99 | CAN $199.99 | UK £129.99

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 on for our full review

LEGO Ninjago 71814 Tournament Temple City – Do you have what it takes to compete? [Review]

Summer is just around the corner, and that means it’s time for another wave of Ninjago sets from the current Dragons Rising season. Recent waves have really been stepping up both the aesthetic and the sturdiness of sets and this wave is no exception… in fact, I can say with full confidence that these sets are some of the sturdiest mechs, dragons, and dojos I have ever seen from Ninjago, and that is saying a lot considering the theme has been around for over a decade. The first and largest set of the wave is LEGO Ninjago 71814 Tournament Temple City, which is a multi-floored temple on top of a dragon cave, complete with a blacksmith forge, a dragon, and 13 minifigures. The set includes 3,489 pieces and will be available on June 1st for US $249.99 | CAN $329.99 | UK £219.99

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 on for our full review

Building with character: a conversation with NPU wizard Djokson [Interview]

LEGO elements are a fascinating creative medium where the palette of possibility is constantly evolving, but the pieces of yesteryear never go away. Duplo bricks from 45 years ago can still connect with forgotten Znaps or the latest Dreamzzz. Serbian builder Djokson is an undisputed master of bridging obscure LEGO B-Sides with new shapes and colors. Over 10 years, he has created and shared nearly 400 LEGO models, each remarkable in form, personality, and originality. Djokson has been on a hot streak this year with multiple new models a week that showcases his growth as an artist. This seems like the perfect time to sit down with Djokson and learn a bit more about the mind behind this incredible run of LEGO marvels.

Read on for the rest of our interview with Djokson and a retrospective of his amazing builds! !

LEGO Jurassic World 76965 Dinosaur Missions: Stegosaurus Discovery – a LEGO Stego at last [Review]

As far as dinosaurs go, it’s probably fair to say that Tyrannosaurus Rex is the most well-known. But after that, I would wager that the Stegosaurus has a good claim to be the second most recognisable dino out there. And although LEGO’s Jurassic World theme has been around for almost a decade, the last time we saw a moulded, minifigure-scale Stegosaurus was in a brace of Adventurers sets at the start of the millennium. That changes this June 1st (August 1st in the USA and Canada), when 76965 Dinosaur Missions: Stegosaurus Discovery will start retailing for US $64.99 | CAN $84.99 | UK £59.99. That price gets you 420 pieces, but is it worth more than the sum of its parts? Read on to find out!

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.

Check out our full review below!