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.

MOCs of the Masters: Bringing Bionicle Back

LEGO Masters contestants come from a broad mix of backgrounds, but one corner of the LEGO world that doesn’t get much of a spotlight these days is Bionicle fandom. Alex Bailey is a builder whose preferred elements hail from Mata Nui and who brings in influences from anime and skate culture to his large-scale characters. Like  Tachayah, “he who gives life,” an original character inspired by Inuyasha. Finn’s face looks impressive with a Bionicle mask becoming white cornrows. Alex is joined by his brother Tone, a multi-media artist and musician. I’m excited to see what creativity they’ll bring to the LEGO table!

This is part of our series on MOCs of the Masters where we preview the work of the newest batch of LEGO Master contestants. Have a look at creations from other builders in the lineup.

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MOCs of the LEGO Masters: Medieval farm brings buckets of charm

Maia (mbbricks) is one busy builder! She and her father are making their LEGO Masters debut next week, representing Canada in the US edition of the show. She’s also prepping an epic elven village for next month’s Brickworld Chicago that sends Rivendell-style architecture into the mountains. But the build I’m most excited by is this medieval farm, with a slick half-timbered top atop a rocky foundation.

Maia says this is her first time using the SNOT (studs not on top) technique for the irregular stonework. It’s always a joy to see builders stretching their wings with new skills. The woven fence technique is always a favorite of mine as it’s a technique still used to this day in some farms near where I live in Sweden.

Good luck on LEGO Masters, Maia and Jamie (BricksDad)!

This is part of our series on MOCs of the Masters where we preview the work of the newest batch of LEGO Master contestants. Have a look at creations from other builders in the lineup.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Iced brickaccino for, uh, Jeff Vader?

Here’s a fun bit of AFOL lore for you, readers. One of my very first interactions with the online LEGO community – and indeed YouTube – was a brick-film of Suzy Eddie Izzard’s famous Death Star Canteen sketch. (It’s still online to this day, and having looked at the upload date I now feel terribly old.) I have to wonder if that might have formed the inspiration for Kelly Bartlett‘s fantastic Death Star cafeteria! It’s part of a collaborative display at this week’s Bricks Cascade event in Portland, OR: the Death Star Village. As the name suggests, it’s all the Death Star amenities we never got to see in the films. And Kelly has shown she has a knack for brand marketing… I mean come on, Death Starbucks?! It’s almost meant to be!

The barista droid has taken your order – why not take a look around while you wait?

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

How to squirrel away LEGO beard hair [Building Technique]

Maybe with the exception of minifigure hair, there are few LEGO parts that create shapes as interesting as those of the single-molded animal pieces. Case-in-point, Dominique Boeynaems puts a trio of gray squirrels to work creating the beard of this wizard aspiring to be a warrior. With their printed faces shielded from view, there’s little to take away from the furry tails of that scurry hidden on Merlin’s face.

Multiclassing

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Self-Portrait of LEGO’s next designer: Jiwoo Seon

Jiwoo Seon’s stunning modulars, like this gilded opera house, put her in LEGO Ideas 10k club three-times over. LEGO House is currently displaying her builds in the Masterpiece Gallery. In Seoul, her ornate framed floral works earned her a gallery show. But starting this August, Jiwoo’s building is taking her to someplace most builders only dream of – a seat in Billund as a set designer.  Jiwoo’s models are consistently ornate, finding classical beauty in constrained colors. It will be fascinating to see how her distinctive style will translate into future sets. As she begins the next phase of her life’s journey, the artist shares this brick-built self-portrait.

Self-Portrait: The Moment, the Look, the Instinct

And here’s the artist in her own words:

A fleeting moment never stays.
A candle burns and disappears, its flame vanishing too quickly.
But I believe—when I respond with instinct, the moment doesn’t vanish.
It remains, as light.

This piece is not a portrait of who I was, nor who I hoped to be.

It is the moment, the gaze that answered it, and the essence that sustained me, and the instinct unfolding through motion upon it—all brought together as a self-portrait shaped through my present gesture.

On the left, the candlestick and scattered matches represent the fleeting moment—a sharp, vivid instant that called for instinctive response.

At the center, a lavishly adorned frame holds my self-portrait blooming like blossoms.
It captures the gaze and emotions that responded to each moment, and the me who longed to bloom in the now.

To the right stands a solitary pillar—a symbol of the inner essence that has long sustained me.
Atop it, a ballerina spins in a quiet pirouette.
She is the embodiment of my present self,
built upon that essence.
Her movement is the convergence of instinct and gaze—a graceful expression of transformation, and the form of my will made visible.

Now, I stand—facing the moment, the look, and the instinct within me—shaped into one self-portrait.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for May 17, 2025 [News]


TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS

TBB FEATURES AND INTERVIEWS

Read all the rest of the LEGO news from around the web

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

1,941-piece LEGO City Tower brings together the best of LEGO City [News]

LEGO City covers a lot of bases. Fire service? Check. Police force? Absolutely. Construction? Naturally. Space? As of last year, big-time! But that’s a lot of different sets to buy if you want a taste of everything. Fortunately, LEGO has you covered with an enormous tower of City. And it’s called, well, 60473 The City Tower! 1,941 pieces make up a skate ramp, construction site, metro, and even a spaceship launch pad. If you’ve seen the LEGO City: No Limits TV show, you’ll likely recognise some of the seven minifigures included too. This one-stop City shop will hit shelves this June 1 with a retail price of US $209.99 | CAN $TBD | UK £179.99.

Continue reading

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

M.E.R.P.-ing around all the M.E.R.P. long day

If you recall the Smurfs cartoon, they used “Smurf” as a noun and a verb and it was pretty much a replacement for any word you wanted it to be. For example: I smurfed my way onto the dance floor, I’ve been smurfing the internet for an hour now and go smurf yourself. I’m pretty sure LEGO builder Thomas Harding just invented a new noun and verb-M.E.R.P., which stands for- well, you can read if for yourself in the photo. It’s short, rugged, reliable and capable of traversing all kinds of terrain. I just want to M.E.R.P. around all day with those two adorable little space people. Maybe we can be M.E.R.P. pals, listen to cool M.E.R.P-ing music and leave a steaming pile of M.E.R.P. on the boss’ desk. Have I taken this pun too far? Sorry, I’ll just M.E.R.P. myself out, then.

M.E.R.P. Rover

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Cello, is it me you’re looking for?

Yes, yes, I know this is probably a double bass rather than a cello. But I couldn’t come up with a bass-based pun for the title, so you’ll just have to bear with it. Besides, we should be focussing on this terrific LEGO musician as built by Mattia Carredu. The cello/double bass/contrabass/whatever it is is very well-sculpted – the wands for tuning pegs are a great touch. So, too, is its player, looking resplendent in blue. There are some great techniques at play here as well. Her dress includes an upturned cupcake tin, and the hat is a terrific arrangement of droid arms around a wheel. Individually, they’re great builds – but put together, they are the very picture of elegance!

Inverno

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

LEGO Icons 10352 The Simpsons Krusty Burger – Worth the price tag? [Review]

Way back in 2014, LEGO struck up a partnership and ventured into the TV city of Springfield. The Simpsons made their LEGO debut with 71006 The Simpsons House, which was quickly followed the next year with the 71016 Kwik-E-Mart. Meanwhile, there were two Collectible Minifigure Series. And then the theme fell dormant. Now, after a decade-long gap, we are getting the newest addition to the line, under the Icons banner. LEGO Icons 10352 The Simpsons: Krusty Burger enters the scene as the next large set in the series, though smaller than the others. Weighing in at 1635 pieces, and including 7 minifigures, it will retail for US $209.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99. Join us for lunch as we tour the set, which will be available to LEGO Insiders on June 1 and to all on June 4th.

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.

Disclaimer: Ironically, I live mere minutes from the town that gave the show its namesake, and my father was also teasingly gifted Mr. Burns memorabilia by his employees when I was a kid, but I have never personally watched the show in my life. I’m simply reviewing the set from a standpoint of a LEGO fan, and not necessarily a Simpsons fan, so please forgive me if I miss or mistake a reference.

Click to read the full review!

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

The Second-Best Restaurant at the End of the Universe

If the Restaurant at the End of the Universe is fully booked, don’t sweat it- You can always find a welcoming booth at Milo’s Diner. This intergalactic waystation, built in LEGO by Terra Ender, is built on the remains of an irradiated asteroid that definitely isn’t hiding any secrets beneath the spacedust crust. No, at Milo’s you’re always welcomed with a smile, whether you’re Space Police, hard-working M-Tron miner, or totally-above-board Blacktron accountant. They even serve droids!

Milo's Diner

T.E. is previewing this impressive installation before displaying it at Brickworld Chicago next month. For those who won’t be warping into the Windy City, we have all the details here. Order up!

Grab a booth at Milo’s, where the soup of the day is always the soup du jour

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Dancing, dueling, and Dicken: This Week in LEGO Bricks [Feature]

A lot happens every week in the LEGO building world. Fortunately we have ABrickDreamer to capture all the essential stories in one video. It’s a full week but here are my favorite stories from others in the community: New Elementary sheds some light on two LEGO color changes, one of our favorite builders, Ben Cossy, recommends the best 2025 LEGO sets to buy for parts, and BrickNerd sets the essential context for the wonderful Keith Haring: Dancing Figures that just released.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.