Look up into the sky and you might spot a man looking even further up into the sky. Herschel’s Observatory by Ayrlego is an academic’s retreat floating aloft in the clouds. It’s the perfect vantage point for stargazing. Ayrlego has done some really impressive building here. The texture of the roof is sublime. And I love the way the cobblestone gives way to vegetation, which in turn gives way to the stone that keeps them up in the sky. I’d love to see what kind of aircraft soars up to that dock.
Today LEGO has revealed the next round of the popular Collectible Minifigures, 71037 Series 24. This wave brings 12 new characters in blind bag foil packs with a pink theme, including a few minifigs that are likely to catch the attention of many adult fans, such as a brown Classic Space figure and a Black Falcon soldier. Series 24 will be available for US $4.99 | CAN $5.99 | UK £3.49 each when they’re available starting Jan. 1.
Don’t miss our full review of the previous Minifigures Series 23.
Click to see the full Minifigures Series 24 lineup
I am a huge fan of putting together custom LEGO minifigure. Mixing and matching minifigures can be a true art form, which some builders have taken to a next level. Well-thought-out minifigures can really highlight your creation. Whereas sloppy put-together minifigures can draw away the attention of an otherwise stellar build. In this creation by Ids de Jong we can spot some great minifigure combinations.
Combining new parts with old classics can really make the old parts look current again. For instance, the man in the middle features a really old torso combined with dual moulded and printed legs, top that off with a more modern hairpiece and you would hardly notice that the torso is a classic. The build itself is quite stellar too. There are stairs used for the roofing of the Golden Crown Inn. The backside of masonry bricks are used to represent wooden doors and the floor in this creation, which you would look past quite easily, is a true work of art.
Builder Tony Bovkoon takes us back to the mid-fifties with this modified Ford F-100. This vehicle is quite the collection of sand green curved slopes! It’s the signature contours we saw in the early days of the F-series, accurately recreated in this beautiful truck. Tiny details like the katanas for windshield wipers and the tan bed liner really make this construction pop. And I love the modern wheels and lowered chassis on this resto-mod design.
The hood even lifts open, revealing a detailed engine design. The radiator design at the front of the cavity is such a simple, yet easily recognizable classic truck feature, even for a fair-weather auto fan such as myself. It’s beautifully executed, and my favorite part of the build.
Engineering mastermind Grant Davis comes to us today with an infinitely brilliant design: a machine that knocks over and resets ten LEGO dominos. The simplicity of the tan dominos atop a plain gray box with only “D-O-M-I-N-O” spelled out on the front belies the complex machinery within. Grant has rigged up sections of of the base to open, revealing liftarms that right the fallen dominos in reverse order. This allows for another round of toppling via a different poking device, again hidden in the base. But the really impressive genius here is the magnet system in each domino making sure that the rectangular tiles always fall and reset into the same positions. To hide the standard LEGO magnet in a two-stud width without sacrificing any exterior design is truly marvelous!
Of course a picture can only do this build so much justice. Check out a full explanation of Grant’s design process, and the final product in action, in the video below. Oh, and prepare to pick your jaw up off the floor, as well. This machine isn’t designed to reset that…
Since the opening of the LEGO House in Billund in 2017, LEGO fans from around the world have wandered the building in awe, enjoying many large brick-built displays, and even getting to check out one of the injection molding machines that create the beloved brick. Now, with 40563 Tribute to LEGO® House gift with purchase, you can enjoy a taste of the fabled destination with 5 mini-models based on actual LEGO displays, the original wooden duck, and a model of a brick molding machine. This set contains 583 pieces and will be available for a limited time from 11/25 to 11/28 with a qualifying purchase of US $250 | CAN $320 | UK £250. And please consider using those affiliate links while you do your shopping. You can help support TBB this holiday season while you fill your cart.
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.
In the steampunk-esque LEGO world of Wandering Skies, floating rocks make up the land… sorry, sky-scape. And Okay Yaramanoglu shows us how one inventor makes a home amid the levitating boulders. I adore the cartoon quality of Okay’s creation here. The tudor-inspired walls of the inventor’s abode contrast well with the golden shades of its roof. And the green highlights from the surrounding vegetation and window shutters add brilliant pops of color against the blue background of the sky. There is some fantastic parts usage throughout, including the cloud sculpting using 1×1 curved slopes and all the mechanical contraptions coming out of the building’s roof. But the best by far is the rock on which this “church” is built. The large rocky baseplate and craggy wheel from Nexo Knights for the two islands fit perfectly into this scene.
Despite the best efforts of large online retailers, drones still haven’t quite taken off (geddit?) as the main method of transport for goods. When they do though, I hope they look as good as this LEGO drone created by Stijn van der Laan (Red Spacecat). It’s a perfect example of near-future sci-fi – it has the classic drone layout we all know and love in the form of the propellors on each corner. But at the same time it looks too slick and cool to be from this day and age. It has a touch of the Boston Dynamics about it.
Even the container matches this aesthetic! It can be easy to overcomplicate future space-freight containers, but Stijn has done a sterling job to keep this convincingly realistic. Naturally, the container and craft are compatible.
What’s better than a cool LEGO VW Beetle? Two cool LEGO VW Beetles! That’s just what Flickr user RGB900 has served us up with. Although being largely the same in terms of construction, it’s a good example of how different colour combinations can convery different characters in builds. I get the feeling the white one is driven by your typical surfer dude or dudette – Beach Boys on the stereo, laidback driving style, not that fussed if they’re actually any good at surfing. The black one on the other hand is definitely driven by someone who wants to be the best surfer around. Probably playing heavy metal to drown out what is no doubt a very loud exhaust. And wishing they had a black surfboard to match their ride, no doubt. Lime green doesn’t strike me as a very cool colour, but then I wouldn’t know much about being cool…
Rod Gillies brings TV’s most successful soldiers of fortune to life with this microscale creation. Every child of the 80s knows this black and gray van with its striking red stripe. Even if you didn’t watch the show, the van adorned toy aisles and Halloween costumes and lunch boxes. Heck, even younger kids might know the van, thanks to it’s recent-ish inclusion in LEGO Dimensions. But Rod’s gone even smaller than LEGO did, and he’s accomplished it without needing to use a printed piece for the stripe. I love it when a MOC comes together.
Looking for inspiration for what to do with your pick-a-brick stash of curved window frames? Look no further than this beautiful airship by Kai/Geneva featuring several of these window frames as the perfect curved fuselage. I’m also a big fan of the crisscrossed LEGO strings wrapped around the fabric envelope. The majestic airship also features some Bionicle blades to deter any passing pirate who thinks this ship is easy prey.
In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the 3rd week of November 2022.
TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS The big news (literally) was all about the newest set from the LEGO Icons theme, a towering model of the famous French monument made from a monumental 10,001 elements, the Eiffel Tower, and a gift with purchase model of Gustave Eifel’s apartment to go along with it. We also covered a new book by a master model builder. Looking for more LEGO news? Check out our last Brick Report.
In other news…
