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.

Serving up a pint of awesomeness with an exclusive interview with model car designer Tom Daniel [Feature]

Sure we all love to build with LEGO but, chances are, you may have dipped your toes into other toys and hobbies as well. Before rediscovering LEGO, I was an avid model car builder and collector of Hot Wheels cars (and still am!). Hot-rodding legend Tom Daniel holds a special place in my heart as his outlandish show rod models and Hot Wheels casts such as the Beer Wagon, and Red Baron is still popular and sought-after toys today. You may recall that LEGO legend Andrea Lattanzio built Tom Daniel’s Paddy Wagon a couple years back. To be clear, Andrea’s Beer Wagon (pictured below) dates back a few years as well but it was never featured here at the time. Recently he sat down with Tom Daniel for an interview and if you ask me, that’s pretty thrilling!

Some highlights of note from the interview; the Beer wagon was Tom’s first design for Monogram models, then came the Red Baron and his career pretty much skyrocketed from there. Overnight Daniel dreamed up the Munster Koach for George Barris, although the credit for the design by Daniel often gets misstated. He also designed the Bat Cycle for the 1960s Batman television series. Tom Daniel also flew for the U.S. Navy during the Cuban Missile Crisis and worked as a Design Engineer for the APOLLO MOON Project. Of course you may read the entire interview here.

We’re rather proud of Andrea’s achievements. He was voted The Brothers Brick Builder of the Year in 2019. He’s still quite the prolific builder nowadays. We raise our glasses high in salute to him. Check out why we think Andrea Lattanzio is a pint of premium brew.

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Putting the art into arthropod

You may have recently noticed a dramatic increase in the number of crab creations in the LEGO community. Rising with this increase has been the use of the pun ‘feeling crabby’ – which, to be fair, is a good one. Heck, we’ve even used it twice (yes, twice) on this very website, and those weren’t even written by resident pun-meister Lino. DanielBrickSon has rather forced our pincered hand into using it a third time. In our defense, how else would you describe this piece of artwork? It’s named the Hana Crabba, and I can’t tell if that face is camouflaged to ward off predators or if this is some sort of ancient crustacean deity. Either way, it doesn’t look best pleased to have been turned into a beautiful piece of brick artwork. How ungrateful!

This arrowhead-shaped spaceship gets to the point quickly

Modeled after the Trilobate arrowhead, builder Rubblemaker provides a speedy LEGO starfighter made for quick trips across the cosmos. It’s not everyday that you see Bionicle parts interspersed on a space creation, but the builder navigates it well, using the Rahkshi legs to great effect around the cockpit. And the shaping of the rear engine with toothed wheels and gears feels right at home here. But overall, while I understand the ancient inspiration for this build, my mind is instead taken back to 1998 and the Aquazone faction Stingrays. With a high concentration of dark gray, highlights in red, and wing curves reminiscent of a squid’s body, I feel like this fighter would be at home in the stars or the sea.

Your ‘wich is my command!

I’m pretty sure that Jaroslaw Walter knew that I was starting a diet today, and that the last thing I needed to see was a delicious, melty LEGO Italian sandwich on ciabatta bread. I know it’s made of plastic. I know those juicy sun-dried tomatoes are actually minifig fireman helmets. And I know that the ooey-gooey cheese is accumulating on the parchment paper in pools made of 3×3 and 4×4 radar dishes. And, yes, I know the paper-thin slices of Parma ham are ingeniously made of plastic dragon wings

Reminder: TBB-sponsored collab MOCing Memories at BrickCon 2022 [News]

In case you haven’t heard, BrickCon 2022 is only two and a half weeks away. That’s only 16 days left to get things in order for the Seattle area’s biggest LEGO shindig! And if you’re anything like me, you’re knee-deep in 8×8 plates and minifig utensils finishing things up. But while you’re making sure your Technic technique is perfect, your castles are adequately crenellated, and your ever-growing brick badge is properly fortified, please remember that TBB is hosting its own collaboration at the con: MOCing Memories. Any build that pays homage to LEGO sets of the past (or pieces thereof) is welcome. That’s regardless of scale, regardless of theme, and regardless of era.

“But Kyle,” you say, “there’s only 380 hours left for stacking bricks on top of plates on top of slopes before I put my beautiful masterpiece on display! How can I get something new done in time?” Well, here’s an example of something small that would fit right into MOCing Memories, based on 6190 Shark’s Crystal Cave from 1997. And as a bit of further motivation for you, this may be one of the trophies up for grabs in the theme. Hope to see you and your builds there!

A modern brick for modern times

Builder Aido Kessler wants the future of LEGO today with the brick of their dreams, as submitted to New Elementary’s Make a Wishbrick contest. While the idea presented, a headlight brick minus its foot, is something that’s been on my wish list for longer than I can remember, that’s actually not my favorite part of this build. In an effort to zhuzh up the design, Aido added a living quarters inside a technologically advanced brick. The vignette very much feels like a LEGO-themed take on The Machine Stops by E.M. Forster, my favorite bit of science-fiction. I love the clean interior juxtaposed with the technological textures on the exterior, and the subtle hints of trans-light blue really drive home the space-age look. Now will our hero continue to inhabit his little brick-built cube, or will he break free with his new part and let his creativity run wild?

Crouching motorcycle, hidden dragon

Joey Klusnick doesn’t let old DUPLO pieces take up space in his collection with no purpose. Instead of getting rid of them, he mixes DUPLO stuff with a modern best-selling theme, like Ninjago. The result is hilarious: now, it’s Lloyd’s newest vehicle/weapon. It might have no claws, teeth or wings, but it’s extremely swooshable. Just look at these wheels!

Great LEGO build may not win power, but it wins respect

Samurais and mechs mix so well. It has been proved by the LEGO designers, and now Moko confirms it one more time. His warrior in dark red armour is a sight to behold. For me, the lack of prints or patterns makes its clean, neat look really stand out. And all the chrome rings is where the design really shines.

If you’ve been following Moko’s creations, you should know that possibility is a must for a great mech model. This samurai is no exception, striking its signature stance with the sword ready to hit. What a beauty!

LEGO VIP 5007331 – Retro Tin Lunchbox: Vintage 1965 sandwich not included, thankfully [Review]

The LEGO VIP program’s reward center continues to be a roller coaster of ups and downs. We still had a few points left on our account, so we picked up the latest bit of non-brick swag up for offer – the VIP 5007331 Retro Tin Lunchbox. This blast from the past is available now, one-per-account, for 2500 points (US | CAN | UK). Is it worth the equivalent of a $20 US discount? Read on and see what we thought!

Have we developed a tin allergy?

How would you like it if someone picked YOUR apples?

Hungry? Me too. But this crab from Patrick Biggs doesn’t care about just how tasty that apple looks. None for you! Maybe try talking to that little pink frog…they might have some sway with the big grey crustacean custodian. On the building front, I like Patrick’s construction in the pincers and legs. The grey of the armor plating offsets the stark white of the tree bark and the green of the foliage. Plus, pink frog. Gotta love that.

There are plenty of other treats in our archives if you’re still feeling crabby.

General Ko-nobi! You are a bold one.

Dan Ko has been bold enough to create a bust of everyone’s favourite rheumatic cyborg. Much like Darth Maul, General Grievous is one of those villains that just oozes evil but was perhaps under-used on the big screen. Nevertheless, Dan has perfectly captured the essence of Grievous. The combination of the reptilian eyes with those wedge slopes is so perfect! The lightsabers that he famously collects (General Grievous, that is, not Dan) around the base are also a nice touch. Even villains need a hobby, I suppose. I guess it’s more exciting than collecting stamps.

Big detail to be found in this Lilliputian village

Welcome to the microscale marvel that is the LEGO village of Valendiell, created by the brilliant Peter Ilmrud. First things first, we need to address the gigantic tree at the center of this build, which towers over the village, the lighthouse, and even the neighboring castle. I like the natural shape created by the foliage, setting it apart from the minute vegetation scattered around it. Under its massive boughs, we have a darling castle design, utilizing these technic pins as turrets. It’s an ingenious bit of parts usage, but nothing compared to the outstanding implementation of the brown minifig epaulettes on the airship and the small boat. And I’m only scratching the surface of all the great secrets hidden in Valendiell. See what else you can spot below.