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.

Ari “loafbuilds” Hytti defends Iron Builder title against challenger Ben Anderson

Today, the three judges of the venerable Iron Builder competition announced the results of the latest face-off between defending builder Ari “loafbuilds” Hytti against challenger Ben Anderson. While Ben came out on top in the number of builds (7 MOCs to Ari’s 4), it was Ari’s consistent highlighting of the seed part that gave the returning champion an edge, and the judges were unanimous in picking their winner. You can read the judge’s comments here.

The see part for this round was the wave rounded flame element in dark blue, which with its unusual connection points and irregular shape made for a true building challenge.

Now, let’s recap the builds, starting with the victor, Ari!

Shared on Halloween, Ari’s “Infernal Bargain” is one of the most impressive build I’ve seen come out of an Iron Builder competition, and one of the largest! The seed part is used to excellent effect for the demon’s hair, as well as for the quill pen’s feather. The other parts brought, from a Viking sail contrct, to dragon legs for brows, to the truly inspired mountain elements for the neck, boggle the mind.

Click to see the rest of Ari and Ben’s amazing Iron Builder creations

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Gotta stack ‘em all, Pokémon!

LEGO Masters Germany winner Alex (Brix Tales) has been on a hot streak in recent months, participating in Habitat Challenges with some spectacular stacks that throw convention out the window. Traditionally, a habitat is an 8×8 base with two walls, built to house a minifig, and designed to interlock and stack. For this tribute to the Gameboy era of handheld gaming, Alex frames one familiar habitat with a pixelated explosion of Pokémon characters. I love how the build embraces the 2D source material and turns the pixel art into layered building blocks. All the starters are present and even a pair of Poké Balls make it into the mix. It’s not just a radical reinterpretation of the LEGO habitat stack – it’s one of the best tributes to 8-bit gaming I’ve seen in LEGO. Bravo.

Raging Raijin rises with thunderous applause

With a strike of lightning and an impressive thunder clap, Sakiya Watanabe (N.A.B.E_mocs) takes on Raijin, the Japanese God of Thunder in LEGO. With windblown hair and a dynamic pose, this creation has motion, even when sitting still; like I can almost see this beast-god blowing across the stormy sky as he beats the taiko drums that surround him.

Where would Raijin be without his windy counterpart Fujin? Well, thankfully Sakiya has already thought of that. You may recognize Fujin as we featured him back in August. Here they are posed together in all their Mongolian-fleet-destroying mythic demon glory. As fearsome and destructive as these two are when paired together, they also bring much needed rain and prosperity.

Dancing with dragons and thrones in LEGO

RebelLUG member Kaleb (llego_pig) returns to the Seven Kingdoms with the latest in a series of masterful medieval builds that capture the specificity of George R. R. Martin’s world like few builders can. This time Kaleb’s subject is the Merman’s Court, where Davos Seaworth meets with Wyman Manderly, Lord of the White Harbor. Take a moment to appreciate the murals that adorn the walls. Ornate mosaics have become a fixture in Castle builds, but usually to create geometric patterns. I’m in awe of the way Kaleb weaves a Kraken fighting a whale, kelp, and an undulating tide into the brickwork with minimal gaps. The floor, too, reminiscent of a seabed, is equally impressive.

Kaleb’s past LEGO tributes to Westeros landmarks have been impressive, and even grander in scale. Build in 2022, here is Kaleb’s take on Deepwood Motte. Theon Greyjoy might have called it a “wooden pisspot on a hill,” but it’s quite majestic in brick with excellent SNOT walls of wood-colored plates. The builder added a weirwood tree to make enhance the connection to A Song of Ice and Fire.

See more of Kaleb’s incredible builds from the Seven Kingdoms

Award-winning Canadian LEGO artist breaks the ice with a stunning 152,000 piece polar icebreaker [Feature]

Canadian LEGO artist Paul Hetherington probably needs no introduction. But in case you’ve been buried under the ice since the Truman administration like Captain America, Paul has just launched his largest commission yet; a 152,000 piece Seaspan Canadian Polar Icebreaker complete with a fully detailed interior. Designed with the help of LEGO Certified Professional Robin Sather of Brickville DesignWorks, this ship measures 11 feet long and 2 feet wide. Paul tells us the real Seaspan hasn’t been launched yet so this model will do more than help to visualize the real polar icebreaker currently under construction— it will help inspire future shipbuilders.

Not only has Paul built the ship, but he has included detailed landscaping, including the ice and ocean floor. Here is an aft view of the ship and its surrounding ice. The helodeck and helicopter are all very nice touches. This shot makes it clear that the interior is lit up as well.

Dive deeper into this record-breaking, icebreaking build

LEGO x F1 Academy: thoughts on brands, tie-ins and progress [Editorial]

Here’s a pop-trivia question for you. Who is the biggest tyre manufacturer in the world – i.e., who makes the most? I’ll give you a second to think about it. No doubt many of you know the answer already, if you’re reading this. The answer is, of course, LEGO. And after so long at the top of the tyre tree, they are finally getting involved in the real-world automotive sphere with a surprise partnership with F1 Academy, as announced the other day.

This represents the culmination of a big year for LEGO and Formula One. 20 sets have so far been released across five themes, including an entire wave of Speed Champions sets. LEGO has been a major presence at F1 races, most notably the Miami, British and Las Vegas Grands Prix. But even then, this latest announcement surprised many, including me. It got me thinking about LEGO’s relationship with IP partners, bringing in new fans, driving positive change in both motorsport and the world at large, and how to do a brand tie-in properly. And I got a bit carried away – so enjoy this long, rambly read!

Continue reading →

Chicken Dreams – a peck of clucking good LEGO hens (and instructions to make your own!)

It started with a dream – the dream of AFOLSs Carson Lacey and Syrdarian who dared prompt a new building challenge for the community: NovHENber. Frogs and crabs have had their time. Now let the chickens rise to the top of the pecking order! One builder who answered the call and has been strutting her stuff all month is Kristel Whitaker, who just finished her series of ten hens, starting with this plucky lady. This is an extraordinary build of a totally ordinary bird, living her modest egg-laying life on a bed of cozy ~~chopsticks~~ straw.

Only at the end of the series does Kristel reveal the nine fanciful fowl that followed were actually the first chicken’s dreams, with each microbuild becoming a piece of an impressive MOC with a brickbuilt dream bubble housing the peculiar and prodigious poultry. Each of these hens deserves a moment of appreciation.

Fly the coop with us as we meet all of Kristel’s amazing hens!

Do you have the Guts to build Berserk in LEGO?

Elden Ring and other From Software games have been a major influence on LEGO builds in recent years, but long before Dark Souls, another Japanese series wore the Dark Fantasy crown – the manga and anime series Berserk. Vietnamese builder Liivii forges anime characters and mecha from bricks and for their latest creation, they turned to Guts, Berserk’s violent antihero. As built by Livii, Guts is wearing the evolution of his armor infused with the Beast of Darkness. The builder recreates the Berserker armor with its many jet black ridges using all System elements, and most importantly, captures Guts’ bestial slouch as he lurches towards his next battle.

Build your own LEGO Enterprise D & Shuttlepod with these free instructions

On November 28th, LEGO ~~boldy~~ boldly goes to the final frontier with Star Trek 10356 U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701-D. We found this Black Friday release to be a stellar build, albeit one that asks a lot of your wallet and shelf space. During this year of big sets and big price tags, “the one I can afford” memes have flourished, with builders sharing their microscale spins on premium releases, and the Enterprise has spawned a few impressive fan builds. We were especially taken by this version from 2Bricks, which includes the Enterprise D, shuttlepod GWP, and minifigures. 2Bricks was kind enough to share the instructions so that you can build your own mini Enterprise!

With the holidays approaching, if you’re looking to Trek the Halls with Borg and Holodecks, 2Bricks has created instructions for a full Advent Calendar of Star Trek microbuild instructions that you can order here.

But first, start with the free instructions for the Enterprise D and shuttlepod. As Picard sings so merrily, make it so!

Click to view the instructions for the microscale Enterprise D and Shuttlepod

Get up-close and personal with this these Blacktron bruisers

Conventional wisdom would suggest that when you’re engaged in a dog fight in space, you want to keep your distance and let your laser guns do your enemy in. But Steve Marsh isn’t worried about convention. He’s begun a series of Blacktron ships that are built for combat, without using guns. The first is the SnubBuzzard, a brutal-looking battering ram of a ship that busts through its targets with ease.

The second is the Buzzsaw and, well, I probably don’t need to tell you how it attacks. It can be a challenge to bring new life to old concepts, and the idea of weaponless combat ships is an inspired approach. The resulting ships look swooshable and exactly like something I would have eaten up as a child. And, the best part is, when Blacktron reduces a Space Police cruiser to bits, you get to rebuilt it!

Are you a fan of Seve “Rubblemaker” Marsh’s distinctive spaceship designs? We’ll be back in a few days with an in-depth interview with this LEGO Space legend.

This LEGO microscale city is guarded by the power of arts and crafts

Among many other things, Athena is the patron Greek goddess of handicrafts. That makes Loic Gilbert‘s microscale LEGO statue the perfect tribute to her! It would be a fine figure taken on its own; add some colour and you have a flesh-and-blood Athena. But with that monochrome palette, and in the context of a well-crafted microscale settlement, it becomes absolutely massive! She’s a good choice of guardian too, seeing as one of her other patronages is warfare. Do gods and goddesses get to choose their patronages? Those two make an odd mix on the face of it. Maybe after a long day of warmongering, sitting down with some knitting or a LEGO set is the perfect way to unwind. Seeing as Athena is also the goddess of wisdom, I won’t question it.

Hawkins, are you ready to rock?

We’re still a few days away from the premiere of Stranger Things season 5, but it seems like the WSQK van is already everywhere. I’ve seen it on t-shirts, in toy aisles, it has an upcoming Transformers Crossover figure…and most impressively it’s the subject of a new build by Alex Jones. While we haven’t seen the mobile radio station in action on TV, yet, there’s already plenty of merch out there to judge by. So, it’s safe to say that Alex has delivered a stunning take. Not only is this model packed with plenty of playset-style features, like opening doors, but Alex recreated the van’s wild paint job almost entirely through bricks. Even the eagle shaped lightning bolts on the side.

Even more impressive? He built it twice, and gave it a dark and dreary redeco for scenes in the Upside Down.