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.

Beckett BUILD Magazine to hit newstands soon [Review]

We recently received a copy of Beckett Media‘s latest foray into the world of fan magazines.

For a cover price of $9.99 USD or $14.99 CDN, you get 96 pages, made up of 23 Features and 4 Departments.

The features cover a wide range of topics, including trips to Legoland, interviews with Nathan Sawaya and Mariann Asanuma, BrickCon 2010, and Brickfilms on Youtube. There are also 5 features that deal with Mega Bloks, K’NEX, and other brands of building toys.

There were three features that caught my eye.

The first is a spread of popular Star Wars sets, with prices, pics, stats, and ratings. There were a number of errors, such as pictures of figs by the wrong sets and placeholders for numbers that hadn’t been filled in. While this is something that is to be expected from an advance copy, when I mentioned one of the errors to the editor, he said that a correction would be put on the magazine’s Facebook page. From that comment, I have to assume that this is not an advance copy, but the finished product.

The second feature I examined is called “Cool Stuff” and features creations by 13 different builders. Most of them were quite good. I asked the editor about the selection process and he said “We contacted many LEGO fans from around the world to feature them in this issue. They were all excited to be included in our premiere issue of Beckett Build Magazine!”. I contacted 9 of the builders and most of them said that they had submitted their work after a request was posted in the LEGO group on Flickr. With one exception, none of them had been notified that their creations had been selected. Hopefully the magazine is still in the process of notifying them and sending them free copies. There were two builders, with half-page spreads, who had never heard of the magazine and didn’t submit their work at all. Hopefully, that issue gets worked out.

The third featured was the article about BrickCon 2010. The captions list the name of the creation, the name of the builder and the name of the photographer. I talked to several of the photographers and they said that they were contacted through BrickCon and gave their permission for the use of their pictures. Most of the pictures featured the “Big In Japan” layout. The remaining pictures included one each of the Town layout, Castle, Mecha, World War II and Art. There was a significant error indicating that “Big In Japan” was the theme of the entire convention. In reality, BrickCon’s theme was “Tales of the Brick”. This was the error that the editor said would be corrected via Facebook.

Overall, the magazine has the look of a magazine that we would expect from a major publishing house like Beckett. It relies heavily on pictures and has a minimum of new information for the hardcore fan. It could be a good introduction to the new fan who is unaware of the greater online community. The price seems high for a casual browser of the newstands. The typos, errors, and lack of contact with featured builders disturbs me. That is not something I would expect from a professional publisher. Hopefully they put more effort into making improvements in future issues. If not, I foresee both a diminished credibility among readers and feelings of alienation among builders.

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No one’s ever seen a NightFury...

…until now. I loved Toothless from How to Train Your Dragon and this rendition by Mike Nieves is spot on. I especially like the menacing look of the eyes, but there’s a lot of dragon to love in this.

Kyomachiya – “capital town house”

Brickshelf user midnightcat built a detailed kyomachiya townhouse complete with a fully adorned interior. The technique of building the roof with a combination of cylinders and tiles create a good effect.

What’s the difference?

Q: What’s the similarity and difference between these two camels?

A: Both are dead and one is skinned!

Thanks to Sam W. (-infomaniac-), I’ll never be able to look at Lego camels the same again.

True Blue

Actually, neither of these ships uses true LEGO “blue.” They both use shades other than the standard blue, along with various bits of brown. Both of these ships caught my eye today (I’ve built my own brown and blue combinations, so I’m a fan).

First is the Arashi by Nathan Proudlove. He’s achieved an interesting effect by suspending engine pods far forward on spindly booms. It’s enough to make one wonder how it even stayed balanced for the photo to be taken.

Second, is a cute little ship by Tyler Clites. The most impressive thing about this ship is that it’s not really all that small at all, yet it looks like an adorable little ship. I’m also a big fan of the construction of the various intakes on the front. They add just enough detailing to balance out all the smooth curves on the rest of the ship.

You too can build your dream home!

It might not be my dream home, but I can appreciate the influences and sleek lines in Zack (NewRight)’s dream home. All it needs, according to him, are the pretty dolls.

Considering it looks like it should be perched in the hills of southern California, I’d have to say his assessment probably isn’t far off the mark.

Interior shots can be found on Brickshelf.

Central Station in Barsinghausen

Brickshelf user legorianer built a minifig scale version of an old train station from the early 20th century. The roof technique is simple and effective. Check out the entire gallery for construction photos.

Bacon and eggs chaser

That last one deserves a chaser. Here’s an adorable robot composed of bacon and eggs by KryptonHeidt.

Looks delicious, even to a vegetarian like me.

Nazi Death Camp in LEGO

Arguably the most controversial LEGO creation of all time may have been Polish artist Zbigniew Libera’s 7-piece “Konzentrationslager“.

Nearly 15 years later, yoshix presents “Todeslager”.

A line of prisoners walks in the snow toward a building labeled “Showers” while other prisoners are forced to unload coal for the gas chamber’s engines. A guard leans his rifle against the wall of the building. The barrel of a sniper rifle pokes from the window of a watchtower overlooking the scene.

So, what do you see in this diorama? (Let’s set aside speculation about the builder’s intent for the moment, because — let’s face it — those kinds of discussions are hardly fair and rarely interesting.) What does it say to you?

And how does it fit into the broader LEGO military building “scene”? Are there certain subjects that should never be depicted in LEGO? If so, what are they, and why?

Mecha without expression

This mecha by Nathaniel Shields is called Without Expression, but to me it looks full of character. The use of the tire is intriguing.

Thanks for the tip El Barto!

Ye Olde Forge by Luke Watkins

I can tell you where I’ll be going when I need the services of a forge. This creation is simply stunning. I’m partial to the look of 1×1 and 1×2 plates used to emulate stone; the chimney here is a gorgeous example.

All of the details here, really, are just wonderful. I see something new every time I look. What’s your favorite part about this forge?

Mr. Watkins, you have outdone yourself.

Before the wheel, early man invented Art

While Richard Dawkins might dispute the educational value of a cave man drawing a dinosaur, Karwik combines Duplo cave painting bricks with wonderfully atmospheric presentation in this little scene evocative of Lascaux, circa 15,000 BCE.

The stalactites are also a nice touch.