We’ve featured The Birchwood Baron by Steven Erickson before on TBB. Not long after that Steven surprised us with The Red Oak Regent. Now we finally have a LEGO creation that features both these gentle forest giants. Steven’s creation is proof that minifigures do matter. With that I am not implying that a build without minifigures is not that interesting. I am implying that it pays off to carefully put your minifigures together. It is easily noticeable when the minifigures in a creation are just an afterthought. Steven mixes minifigure parts from a broad selection of themes and they are not just castle. We can spot some Disney parts, but also pirates, Lone Ranger BAM and CMF. Speaking of CMF, have you seen our elaborate LEGO CMF series 23 review?
Category Archives: LEGO
First name: Krog, last name: Torturer, middle names: Zaak, the
This friendly-looking chap built by Ivan Martynov is called Krog Zaak the Torturer. With a name like that, there was little chance he’d end up in a nice, safe line of work. Even if the Torturer is just a title, I don’t think you’d want him running the Krog Zaak Daycare or being an accountant. He looks the part as well, very T-800-esque – that is, he could crush you underfoot with those clever springy legs. The head in particular looks very menacing with the yellow popping nicely against the grey machinery. I wonder if he gives good hugs.
Raccoon paladins are just as fierce as they are cute
Let’s follow this LEGO raccoon paladin by Miscellanabuilds into a world of fantasy and high adventure! The build comes to life from a roleplaying game campaign where this paladin is Miscellanabuilds’s character. Meet Procyous Loftyre, a Paladin of the World hailing from the Magic Woods. Dressed in green with a satchel and weapon, this paladin is ready for adventures across the land to help as many people as they can. Entwined flex-tubes make up the satchel’s strap, giving it a great woven and organic appearance. Speaking of great organic looks, the shapes of the raccoon paladin are lovely. The soft features of the fur balance the hard look of the paladin’s eyebrows. There’s no question this paladin is someone you want in your adventuring party.
TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for August 27, 2022 [News]
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 fourth week of August 2022.
TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS Christmas came early this week, with reviews of 2 recently revealed advent calendars. Halloween came early too, with the latest series of Collectible Minifigs all wearing costumes. Looking for more news? Be sure you check out our last Brick Report to read about TBB’s Brickcon 2022 Collaborative display announcement.
- [REVIEW] LEGO 75340 Star Wars Advent Calendar for 2022 – Where life is a snowy, sandy beach — SPOILER ALERT! We reviewed this year’s collection of mini-builds from a galaxy far, far away.
- [REVIEW] LEGO Collectible Minifigures 71034 Series 23 – “Oops, All Costumes” — Sure to be one of the most interesting collection for feeling unusual parts in the bag, the latest collection is all about elaborate costumes for your Minifigs.
- [REVIEW] LEGO Marvel Superheroes 76231 Guardians of the Galaxy Advent Calendar – Oh Christmas Groot, Oh Christmas Groot — SPOILER ALERT! We went on a far-out space trip with the first ever Guardians of the Galaxy advent calendars. I. Am. Groot.
OTHER NEWS
- Universal, Lego Group Construct Five-Year Exclusive Film Partnership To Create New Movie Franchises – [Deadline.com] — LEGO and Universal team up to make a pile of new movies all about the little plastic bricks we know and love.
- LEGO STAR WARS SUMMER VACATION IS HERE! – [Starwars.com] — Disney+ is now streaming the latest animated LEGO Star Wars movie featuring fun in the sun, and of course, sand.
- Hogwarts Express™ – Collectors’ Edition – [Lego.com] — Get ready to make your hard-earned money disappear in the blink of an eye with the new massive LEGO Hogwarts Express train scene.
- Motorised Lighthouse officially revealed! – [Brickset.com] — The new LEGO Ideas set is a stunning motorized lighthouse that just might wreck your budget.
“Ernie, two double-deckers at twelve o’clock!”
We’ve seen a few versions of the Knight Bus from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban in LEGO sets. However they all fail to replicate one of its most memorable tricks – distorting itself to squeeze between two London buses. Having done my fair share of rush hour cycling in London, I can confirm that this is no mean feat, and to be fair it’s quite hard to replicate in LEGO form. But that hasn’t stopped LEGO Instagrammer Gilderoy Blockhart from having a crack at it! There aren’t many LEGO pieces in purple (in fact a lot of them have come from Knight Bus sets), so this can’t have been easy. He’s even captured it mid-squeeze, going from six studs wide to a mere two at the front. And all this while still being able to fit Harry Potter himself – and some lights – in at the back! That really is magic.
A Star Wars scene but built in the style of a classic LEGO theme
Based on a scene from Rouge One: A Star Wars Story, Robert4168 has created this unique display which adopts the look of the LEGO Adventurers theme. Instead of the heroes obtaining the Death Star plans from a data library, here they appear to be climbing bookshelves in order to reach the treasure at the top. But alas, they are pursued and one of the heroes has fallen! A curved plant stem represents a guard for an elegant cutlass on the wall, with more of the piece forming an artistic trim at the upper section of the build. This is truly an unexpected combination of themes and it would be great to see more themes mashed together like this.
This robot looks as though it’s straight out of a mecha anime
Now that’s one eye-catching machine! Ryuhei Kawai has created this striking mech, primarily presented in yellow with hints of dark blue. The model has nice chunky proportions with a cockpit for a minifigure located at the head. The mech’s serious expression is formed of piercing purple irises combined with thick eyebrows. At the center of the torso, an old vehicle grill piece is used, with a wheel rim behind it representing a rotatory fan. For some extra speed, wheels are attached to the feet with superb mechanical details. It’s a wonderful build that is reminiscent of classic anime robot designs.
This Star Wars Yavin IV Rebel Base renders us speechless!
Most people would just buy the UCS Y-Wing set and call it a day. But clearly, legolux1973 is not like most people. Not only has he scratch-built the Y-Wing but he has created an entire section of the Yavin IV Rebel Base. Plantlife, scattered scrap parts as well as droids, and people busily working add tons of life to this amazing diorama. I particularly love the stepped sides and complex angles of the ziggurat-looking structure. He cites inspiration from Abe Fortier whose stellar Yavin IV creation was featured exactly on this date last year. Abe, himself cites inspiration from Jarek Książczyk and legolux also cites Josh Fowler. It’s certainly neat when one builder inspires another and the world is a better place for it. To be clear, this is a render but the model could be built in real life- or IRL if you’re super hip with the modern lingo.
Because it is so well deserved, here is a separate photo giving some love to that amazing Y-Wing.The details are spectacular! That’s deets for those who are hip.
A motorized microscale LEGO castle fit for the gods
LEGO builder Bart De Dobbelaer has left the details of the backstory sparse for this microscale castle beyond the fact that it is a home for gods, but it certainly captures my imagination. I’d be lying if I said it didn’t remind me just a touch of Laputa: Castle in the Sky, but this massive structure has some features that not even Laputa could claim. Surrounded by a ring of guardians, there’s a huge maze weaving through the entire castle grounds.
Additionally, the turrets spin and rotate thanks to some clever gearing and motorization, surely making the maze even more challenging.
A break from the heat
Nothing feels nicer in the depths of summer than a glimpse of a snowy landscape. Jake Hansen (Mountain Hobbit) leads us to Winter’s Gate, an early seasonal treat. Filled with great techniques like mostly connected candles to form bamboo poles, inset cheese-wedge designs, and unusual angles, this build rewards you the closer you look. Case in point: that weathered staff the figure is holding is made from an umbrella and a minifigure hand. How many of you missed that at first glance?
If you want more cold-weather relief, our Winter tag is here for you.
Well, he’s not called Stanley Ku-BRICK for nothing, I suppose...
Take a look through Shannon Sproule‘s Flickr photos, and you’ll see his interest in toys extends beyond the plastic bricks we cover on this website. He may not be the most prolific builder, but he’s a skilled toy photographer. What that does mean is that whenever his LEGO gets put in front of the camera, the results are stunning. Best of all? He’s also got a keen eye for retro sci-fi styling! Take a look at his latest scene. It’s a hotel room with a robot concierge, which sounds fairly innocuous. But the framing, the lighting (I love the backlit anti-studs above the bed!) and the positioning of the figures give this a real sense of foreboding. It doesn’t help that the concierge is keen to point out the escape routes in the caption. If you mixed The Shining and 2001: A Space Odyssey into a film, I bet this is what the poster outside the cinema would look like. Stanley Kubrick would be proud!
LEGO 75340 Star Wars Advent Calendar for 2022 – Where life is a snowy, sandy beach [Review]
Christmas still seems a long ways off, but merchandising has never cared much about that. And sometimes you need to make sure you have stuff on hand before the season starts! That’s the case with Advent Calendars, anyway. If you pick one up mid-December you’re really late to the party. So maybe it’s a good thing that LEGO has revealed the 75340 Star Wars Advent Calendar now. You know, so we can prepare.
This 329 piece set will be available September 1st from the LEGO Shop Online for US $49.99 | CAN $59.99 | UK £29.99. We’ll still be doing our annual daily Advent reveals in December, but if you don’t mind spoilers you can see all the goodies inside this calendar right now!
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.