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.

Wrap up: Castle at BrickCon 2011

I have to say that Castle totally rocked this year. This was my sixth year being involved in the Castle section at the Con and I think this was the best so far. Everyone involved really stepped it up this year and they all deserve a round of applause.

The quantity of creations was overwhelming and we had to beg, borrow and steal more area (Many thanks to Steve Walker and Wayne Hussey for making that process virtually painless and to Scott Fowler for graciously giving up part of the neighboring Pirate tables). But quantity doesn’t really say much about a section. It was the quality of the creations that really blew me away. I knew that the builders who were coming had skills but they all out did themselves.

Our collaborative layout was packed with so many builds, flowing from one to another, that it was difficult to see everything and the section of stand-alone models was outstanding.

We had three categories for which builders could win a trophy and a LEGO set. The voters were very hard pressed to make their selections, but they finally did and the winning models and builders were:

Best Overall Castle Creation:
Hogwart’s Castle by Alice Finch
Photo of Hogwart’s by Bill Ward

Best Community Contribution:
Al Wahat by Sebastiaan Arts

Best Fly-in Dragon:
Whiskers by Myself

Hearty thanks also need to go out to the following people and companies: To Will of Brickarms for the awesome contributor packs and prototype weapons that he made especially for us, to Ryan of BrickWarriors for the sweet fig packs he donated and to Learning Loft Toys for the Lego set prizes they donated to our winners.

We all had a great time and plan to make next year even bigger and better. So if you want to ‘Go Medieval’ at BrickCon next year, please join us! BrickCon!!!

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6 feet long Lego Battlestar Berzerk

Garry King likes building ships from the Battlestar Galactica universe, and he likes them big. His newest Battlestar Berzerk is so large that it requires internal supports for this 54-pound behemoth. More pictures and detailed descriptions are on MOCpages.

Wrap Up: Numereji 2421 at BrickCon 2011

First of all, I’d like to thank everyone who contributed to the Numereji 2421 display at BrickCon in Seattle last weekend! Because of your skill and creativity people got a much clearer idea of our vision.

We plan on a Numereji 2422 collaborative display at BrickCon 2012 and look forward to the return of great creations, changes to reflect the passage of time, and phenomenal additions.

Congratulations to the winners in our four categories who were acclaimed by peer balloting!

Best Overall: The Ark by Drew Ellis (also Best Capital Ship for the entire Space display)
Best Building: Communication Station Iris by Alex Fojtik (counter-rotating arrays of awesome)
Best Terrain: Numereji Ranchero by Josh Wedin (and unofficial sillyness prize)
Best Vehicle: Scavenger by Shane Weckstrom (NPU purple basketball player pants)

Special thanks to Brandon Bannerman for his CSS Howland hull design and for working on the hulk up to the wire.

Justin Pyne also deserves a shout out for his very close second in the Terrain category and for embracing the challenge of a peaceful space town. Shows heart in a youngster.

I also enjoyed displaying my own Earthship House, and a barn built from a sections of Howland hull. More pics of that once I get a good light box set up and get rid of this stalker rain that followed me back to San Diego.

Steve Jobs (1955-2011)

A few hours ago, the world learned that it had lost one of its most brilliant stars. Apple co-founder and former CEO Steve Jobs died after a lengthy illness.

Nearly every post I’ve written on this blog, every line of code, and every photo I’ve taken has made its way through the MacBook sitting here on my lap. But more importantly, Jobs inspired a generation of creative professionals to do amazing things with their imaginations. And no matter what kind of computer or mobile device you’re reading this from, I know that’s something all of you out there can relate to.

New brick separator adds Technic axle pusher, tile-removing wedge

Paul Lee just got back from a trip to Billund, where he picked up a brick separator with some new features.

Paul says:

The brand new debricking tool. It’s smaller. Streamlined down to about the footprint of a 2 x 10 plate. There are many notable new features. There is a technic axle pusher for removing those stubbornly embedded axles. There are of course the standard top and bottom brick removing configurations. Also new is the pointed wedge at the back end of the lever, very useful for popping tiles and splitting plates that the other end can’t. It basically doubles as an ABS thumbnail. It’ll do whatever you would do with your thumbnail without ruining your manicure. Lastly, another nice added feature is the jumper plate offset in the underside, allowing the removal of jumper plates that the previous version of the tool could not handle.

LEGO in the White House

This is such a great photo. President Obama casually sits on a desk talking to three beaming winners from a science fair, each proudly holding their trophies built from LEGO.

Official caption: “President Barack Obama congratulates Google Science Fair winners, from left, Naomi Shah, Shree Bose, and Lauren Hodge in the Oval Office, Oct. 3, 2011.”

Thanks for the tip, Bruce!

日本郵便配達車 – Japan Post delivery van

Someone mentioned during the FBTB+TBB panel at BrickCon on Sunday that they missed the Japanese-focused LEGO models we used to feature, so I was very glad to run across this adorable little van by 1103spa (whose blog features some pretty cool Antarctic vehicles, too).

October 2011 LEGO sales & deals [News]

Between BrickCon and my birthday, October has been a great LEGO month for me for the last few years, but it looks like the rest of you out there can share in the joy with a plethora of LEGO sales throughout the month.

First off, LEGO.com is offering double VIP points for the full month of October, and it looks like all magnets are 50% off.

The new holiday set 10222 Winter Village Post Office has just been released.

And in case you missed it, 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van is also out.

Not to be outdone by TRU’s Bricktober (which we won’t be supporting since they dropped FBTB, TBB, and Brickset all at once with no explanation a while back), Amazon.com has heavily discounted several large sets, starting with 7965 Millennium Falcon at 25% off, or $105.

25% off is nice, but Amazon has several more at 30% off, including 7066 Earth Defence HQ and 2507 Fire Temple.

Finally, if you’re in the UK, October 8th brings free LEGO sets from The Sun.

With which to light your way.

I had to do a double-take with this one. The thumbnail looked like it was just a lovely presentation of a small-ish lantern. But it was lovely, so I looked, and realized I was actually looking at a LEGO creation.

Luke Watkins said this was a random creation that took very little time, but I definitely appreciate the build and the thought that went into the presentation.

I Feel This Racing Stripe Is Quite Nice

The builder known as M_O_N_K_E_Y on flickr has been busy posting some fantastic creations. I was especially drawn to this orange mecha. I consider orange to be a bit of a difficult color to work with, in part because of a smaller part variety in the color, and it is well managed in this creation.

I like the look of the large, smooth cowlings accenting the spindly technical bits. It’s believable to me for a real world robot.

Not everyone wants to count down to Christmas.

I’d apologize for the amount of pictures in this post, but I’m not going to. I’m afraid that Jamie might just create a figure to come after me in my sleep. I’m compelled to post all that are available.

And let’s face it: these are AWESOME.

Jamie has started his annual Halloween advent, and the results are frighteningly spectacular, as expected. I do hope you continue to watch for his daily installments. They’ll get you in the proper Halloween mood.

Registration now open for Bricks by the Bay 2012 [News]

Bricks by the Bay logo As announced at BrickCon this past weekend, registration is now open for next year’s Bricks by the Bay convention, March 16-18, 2012.

Here’s the full announcement:

For the serious LEGO® builder we again will offer a LEGO fan convention! The event will be held Friday-Sunday, March 16-18. Benefits of attending the convention include:

Custom engraved name badge made out of LEGO bricks

Access to speeches, presentations, and discussion sessions

Show your models in the Grand Ballroom for convention attendees and the public

Become a vendor (additional fee applies) to sell LEGO and related products at the convention and public show

Exclusive discounts at the LEGO store (TBD)

Chance to receive free LEGO sets in Prize drawings and contests

The event theme this year is “Green.” It is inspired by the fact that St. Patrick’s Day takes place that weekend, but we’re not limiting it to that: any creative use of the color green, subjects relating to the environment, and of course Ireland or St. Patrick’s Day themed models are suitable. In 2010 our theme was “The Brick Artistic” and in 2011 it was “Creative Combinations.”

If you’re interested in attending the whole convention, read all about the Convention, Hotel, Registration, and Schedule, along with more information about the weekend’s
events.

Not sure if you want to come to the convention or just the public day? Read our FAQ to find out more.

Check out the Bricks by the Bay website for complete details on how to register. And don’t miss coverage of last year’s BBtB on The Living Brick.