What happens when you’re building and grab a Ninjago fig instead of a TIE Pilot? Generally I toss it back and keep building, but I imagine TBB alumn Simon Liu runs with it, as evidenced by this Kai Fighter, a TIE-turned-mech that’s as cool as it is well done. Ninjago and Star Wars may not be the most common crossover, but after seeing this I can’t wait to see Lloyd Vader and Jedi Master Wu.
Experience says that most of the problems encountered in the backyard can be solved with a garden hose. Whether it be watering plants, flooding a rathole, separating two mating cats, or showing a sunbathing neighbor who is boss, a live garden hose can do it all. This LEGO creation built by Jonah Schultz seems to depict an infestation of garden gnomes. Thankfully, he has The Peacekeeper 3000 (as I call mine) in view so we know those pesky gnomes will be scattered soon. This entire scene was built using only 101 parts, too. All parts are well-used here, especially the hose parts. But then again, I’d say that as I often tout my Constitutional Right to bear a garden hose. All that strength, respect, and power; must be what God feels like when he holds a hose!
You’d think in a LEGO forum chock full of nerds there would be among us a few experts on Lord of the Rings. A perusal of our archives proves such an expert has not been forthcoming lately and instead, you get contributors like me striving to do a passable article on a subject matter we know very little about. It’s a sacrilege, I know, but it doesn’t mean we don’t appreciate this breathtaking scene presented by Josiah Durand. It’s called Armenlos The Golden. I see beautiful shapes, a stunning artistic composition, and amazing build techniques while the rest of youse likely see a beloved scene from Rings of Power. If you fancy yourself as an authority on Lord of the Rings, (Then why not apply to be a contributor here? You can always do that, you know!) then you’d most certainly want to take a deep dive into our archives.
Here at The Brothers Brick, we love the Alien franchise. We really do! Most of us have been fans ever since 1979 when the first Xenomorph (ahem) burst onto the scene and we still can’t get enough of the chest-bursting, acid-spitting antagonist, by golly! We’ve seen great LEGO versions of Nostromo and even the horrifying Xenomorph. What you don’t see much of is The Betty from Alien Resurrection and Alien Resurrection 2 (because the first resurrection went so well for the aliens they pretty much had to do it again). Thankfully, Carlos Valero has us covered there. We can all sleep better now, preferably in a cryogenic years-long slumber, because what can go wrong with that? I mean, seriously, what can go wrong?
Whether it be the aforementioned Xenomorph or other unearthly critters not-from-around-here, you’ll find them all in our alien archives.
Much like Aquazone, I’ve always viewed Rock Raiders as “even more LEGO Space.” And there was never anything wrong with more sci-fi sets, in the opinion of 12-year-old Kyle. These are the kinds of fond memories triggered by this wonderful recreation of 4950 The Loader-Dozer by Bob DeQuatre. Without using any parts that are distinctly from either of the mining-heavy themes, Bob captures the essence of this powerful equipment perfectly. The choice of scoop at this scale is dead-on, and the move from black to dark gray feels more in keeping with the rest of the design. I just can’t get over the stellar use of spinner bases from this Ninjago set for the hubcaps of its mighty wheels. It’s as if that was their intended purpose all along!
And please take a minute to admire the craftsmanship that went into an accurate rendition of the accompanying Rock Raiders’ antagonist: the fearsome rock monster. This posable version feels so much more play-friendly than the single-molded version from ’99.
Return to the second book of the Harry Potter series in this outstanding LEGO Dueling Club by Alex Lam. The tan background is outstanding, employing a variety of structural techniques to recreate the Hogwarts hall. I particularly like the design of the lion’s head braziers, with school banners hung beneath. But amongst the throng of minifigures is the real highlight of the build: the dueling platform. This diorama of moon phases in purple and pearl gold is excellent, a perfect recreation from the movies. There’s quite a bit of skill in the use of those gold plates and tiles in the designs going from waxing to waning crescent, as the part availability is limited in that color.
I know the first image is a bit stationary, and my title did promise some action, so how about about a second shot with a bit more punch? Nothing beats watching the overly-pompous Lockhart get his butt kicked. Check out even more shots of the build on Alex’s Flickr page.
I need only two “words” to accurately describe this LEGO Optimus Prime variant by Angus MacLane: toats adorbz! The odd proportions here somehow work quite well together: tiny hands and feet, a boxy little head, and a big barrel chest sporting the truck’s grill and headlights. The overall look reminds me of some of the Playskool versions of the bot intended for toddlers. This is exactly the kind of masterful character creation you would expect from a much-revered builder like MacLane. Heck, I’m still flabbergasted by the shaping of that Optimus noggin in this scale! There’s so much crammed into that small 2x2x2 cube allowing for proper eyes and forehead visor, as well attachments for the side hardware.
Of course if it’s a Transformer, then it had better be able to transform. Angus’s Optimus folds up into a semi, with equally-adorable dimensions. The opaque medium blue windows are an elegant solution to the difficult task of conveying a windscreen without revealing the bot within. For all the unique stylistic choices here, I think I may even like this second version of Prime better than his first.
If you’ve been paying attention recently you may have seen sightings of King Ghadorah, Mothra and the King of Monsters, Godzilla. Now VelociJACKtor’s Rodan rounds out the big LEGO kaiju battle in all his fiery-red glory. There’s something just so pleasing about a group of friends building amazing creations based on the same theme. Seeing and writing about these legendary monsters has been like watching a Creature Double Feature…twice! I’m flooded with fond memories of childhood, popcorn, and campy kaiju movies right after the Saturday morning cartoons. Thanks for the memories, friends!
If you love kaiju and other creepy creatures as much as I do, then check out our monsters archive for a wild ruckus indeed.
Every week readers of the The Brothers Brick Telegram channel choose the Creation of the Week: one project that impressed all of us the most. Wonder what absolute domination looks like? Ask Joss Woodyard since his Gozilla just got more than half of all votes during the last Creation of the Week voting!
Meanwhile, the new vote is already on! Join our Telegram channel to follow all the best LEGO creations, latest news, and, of course, vote for your favorites. See you there!
Now in its 22nd year, the longest-running LEGO fan convention is back at it again with the 2023 theme “Journeys.” And appropriately so, as BrickCon is moving to the other side of Lake Washington this year for a bigger venue: the Meydenbauer Center in Bellevue, WA. The 4-day convention is also moving to an earlier point in the calendar, now happening Thurs. – Sun., September 7th – 10th (with public viewing days on the 9th and 10th). As always, adult builders and fans will be able to take part in games, presentations, display opportunities, prizes, and more. With registration open now, make sure to visit brickcon.org to get signed up early.
More details on BrickCon 2023 below
The Supermarine Spitfire is possibly the most iconic propellor-driven plane, and has appeared just about everywhere — books, comics, TV shows, films, music , and indeed, LEGO bricks. And while British dance legends the Prodigy penned the title of this post, the prodigy behind this brick-built Spitfire is Juliusz D. It’s slightly smaller than some other Spitfires you might have seen over the years, but it’s no less impressive for it. One of my favourite bits is the canopy, one of the first bits Juliusz built. In fact, this is apparently where the whole build stemmed from. Some custom decals – alongside stickers re-purposed from 76907 Lotus Evija – are the perfect icing on the cake to complete the iconic look of this WWII fighter.
We don’t just feature LEGO builds here on TBB because they’re cool, you know. Well OK, that’s partly why. But equally, we hope that sharing builds like Tino Poutiainen‘s here can inspire fellow enthusiasts (or those new to the hobby!) to pick up their bricks. Case in point: yours truly, after seeing Tino’s awesome take on the Vulture Droid from Star Wars! This particular creation takes the Separatist starfighter and turns it into something that would not look out of place in a manga, or even Maschinen Krieger. The Technic panels on the legs are what drew my attention; I don’t think I’ve ever seen them used for a Vulture Droid, even though they look like a near-perfect fit. Now excuse me while I go and rifle through my parts bins – Tino has given me an idea…
