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.

An inspired basilisk

This little LEGO creation by KitKat1414 may sit on a tiny base but it packs a huge amount of skill. KitKat says this fantasy build is based on the ruins of St Andrew’s Cathedral, and the mottled stonework is excellently sculpted to portray the decaying Gothic architecture using a wide variety of grey elements. The green basilisk is wonderfully articulated circling the spire, and the face is a masterwork of brick techniques, of which the best might be the two baby dragons that combine to form the nose.

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How a handful of LEGO minifigs can support the medics and other Ukrainian heroes on the frontlines of Russia’s invasion [Feature]

As dawn broke across Ukraine on February 24th this year, the Russian Federation launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine. In my day job, I’ve been working with software development teams in Ukraine for nearly 15 years, mainly in Kharkiv, barely 30 miles (less than 50 km) from the Russian border. In the first hours of the invasion, I messaged an old group-chat from my previous job saying, “Stay safe, my friends.” My former colleagues began waking up to air raid sirens, rocket attacks, and fighter jets roaring over their heads, and I watched their online status turn from yellow to green as they began sending brief replies saying they were safe so far.

Brickmania “Ghost of Kyiv” custom Mig-29 fighter jet kit

Through colleagues like these in Kharkiv, Odesa, and the capital Kyiv, as well as ex-pats here in the US, I’ve grown to love the Ukrainian people and their independent spirit. Ukrainians have been fighting for freedom and democracy ever since declaring independence from the Soviet Union in 1991. That fight became much more visceral in 2014, when a democratic “Revolution of Dignity” overthrew a corrupt, oligarchic and pro-Russian government. Russia’s Vladimir Putin immediately responded by annexing Ukraine’s Crimea region and began a proxy war to take over the industrial Donbas region in eastern Ukraine. This led not just to atrocities like the downing of Malaysian Airlines Flight 17 that year, but an ongoing Russia-backed insurgency against the democratic government in Kiev — for many in Ukraine, the Russian invasion began in 2014, not on February 24, 2022. But since February, through the Russian army’s mass killings of civilians in Bucha, Irpin, Mariupol, and elsewhere; ethnic cleansing of over 2 million Ukrainians to Russia; and ongoing indiscriminate rocket attacks and air raids against civilian targets like schools and shopping centers throughout Ukraine today, the full-scale invasion this year has proven that Russia intends to commit terrorism and ultimately genocide against the nation of Ukraine and its people. In the 5 months since the Russian invasion, most of my old team relocated to western Ukraine, though nobody in the country is safe from Russian rocket attacks and bombing. Some staff from my old company chose to stay behind in Kharkiv, and at least one has even laid down his life defending his city and his nation.

Something wicked this way comes...

1:1 scale builds fascinate me and how the builder has used LEGO at this scale to display the subject of the build and furnish with detail. This LEGO build from BrickheXe has certainly cast a spell on me! This builder has constructed a Witches Grimoire, ink, and quill for capturing those last-minute spells and curses.The construction of the book is nicely done, clasped, and bound by making excellent use of a Dots bracelet whilst the front cover is effectively decorated through the use of various Gold pieces to serve as embossed detail on the witches tome and embellished with a mysterious purple stone and complimented with the burning candle for those middle of the night spell castings!

There’s some great parts usage in constructing the candle, the hockey stick in clear view works incredibly well for oozing wax and I appreciate the creative ways builders employ unusual parts into their builds! Without using any feather pieces, the construction of the quill perfectly captures the fluffy, feather qualities of this scribes tool complete with accompanying Ink well using all the right parts to finish this collection of ethereal trinkets. Collected together, I can imagine this sat on a Witch or Wizards shelf alongside the Hogwarts Icons!

These miners face a major obstacle

The dwarves of Undark were merchants renowned for their valuable ore, but one day they simply stopped coming to market. Sebastian Arts depicts the reason for their disappearance in this impressive build, showing an enormous dragon head throwing the underground mines into chaos. Sebastian has done an outstanding job with this vignette, crafting clever columns that look carved from stone, and even building a mine cart track that splits into two directions. The bright colors of the dragon head make it an instant focal point, but the multitude of minifigures are positioned in such a way that the action of the story is clear and easy to follow as your eye wanders along the build.

Four new LEGO Avatar sets revealed at San Diego Comic Con [News]

Pandora is calling in these four new LEGO sets based on the Avatar franchise. Debuting today at San Diego Comic-Con, we see an expansion of the toy line from the previously-announced 75574: Toruk Makto & Tree of Souls. Much like the set revealed during LEGO Con 2022, three of these models depict scenes from the first Avatar movie. But we also get 40554: Jake Sully & his Avatar in BrickHeadz form. Who knows what other new sets the upcoming movie, Avatar: The Way of Water, will bring! All the sets here will be released on October 1st, with 75572: Jake & Neytiri’s First Banshee Flight available for pre-order on July 21st through the LEGO website. And the BrickHeadz set will be a LEGO-exclusive, available only through their brick-and-mortar stores or LEGO.com.

75337 LEGO Star Wars AT-TE Walker [Review]

Easily one of the most iconic Star Wars vehicles from the prequel trilogy, the All-Terrain Tactical Enforcer, or AT-TE first appeared in the dramatic conclusion of Star Wars Episode 2: Attack of the Clones, but fans of the Clone Wars animated series which premiered in 2008 with a theatrical movie pilot will remember the excitement of watching a group of AT-TE’s scaling a vertical cliff on cables, with Annakin’s Padawan Ahsoka Tano leaping from one to another. This vehicle is clearly also a fan of LEGO designers, with this version being the 5th set since 2003. Let’s find out how this latest set stacks up against its predecessors. 75337 LEGO® Star Wars™ AT-TE™ Walker includes 1,082 pieces and will be available August 1 for US $139.99 | CAN $179.99 | UK £119.99

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.

Check out our full review

This modern home is the perfect place to find yourself

Builder Sarah Beyer has crafted a home that looks like a high-end VRBO listing, and we’re wondering when we can check-in. The pine trees shading the swimming pool promise a getaway from civilization’s stresses. But the flat roof and terrace, along with a windowed conservatory, mean you can still relax inside with all the latest modern comforts.

Inside you’ll find everything you could want during a long weekend vacation; from the latest in home entertainment equipment to a dining area suitable for a romantic dinner for two. Does anyone know the WiFi password?

Bricks aren’t supposed to bend that way!

Master of the geometric LEGO construct, Zachary Steinman has produced another marvelous sculpture. The three coordinate planes (xy, yz, and xz) all head toward a singular intersection at a central point. But instead of meeting, they bend into one another, creating this star-like shape. The bend is created in our favorite plastic medium by placing 1×2 rectangular bricks next to 1×1 round bricks, allowing for a curve without sacrificing stability. While this technique is no stranger to many a LEGO Castle builder, it’s nice to see it in a simple and artistic application such as this one.

LEGO Star Wars 75338 Ambush on Ferrix – you might be blindsided by how much fun it is – [Review]

At the end of August, Disney+ will offer yet another glimpse of that galaxy far, far away with Andor, the TV series that serves as a prequel to Rogue One (itself a prequel to A New Hope). Not much is known about the series beyond the fact that Diego Luna is returning to play the title character Cassian Andor, the soldier who helped Jyn Erso steal the Death Star plans. Well, we’ve gotten our hands on LEGO’s Andor tie-in set, 75338 Ambush on Ferrix, and we’re ready to share its secrets with you. This 679-piece set will be available August 1st for US $69.99 | CAN $89.99 | UK £69.99

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.

(No Bothans were harmed to bring you this information.)

LEGO Icons reveals 10306 Atari 2600 to celebrate Atari’s 50th anniversary with a brick-built console [News]

Following the success of 71374 Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), LEGO has unveiled its next nostalgia-laden set in the Icons theme with a throwback to one of the original home gaming consoles: 10306 Atari 2600. The iconic console, released in November of 1982, celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. The 2,532-piece set includes the console itself and the distinctive joystick controller, along with a cartridge holder and three game cartridges with LEGO-ified artwork, Adventure, Asteroids, and Centipede. The set also includes microscale vignettes for each of the three games, as well as a pop-up minifigure-scale scene built into the console itself. The Atari 2600 will be available US $239.99 | CAN $299.99 | UK £209.99 when it’s available starting Aug. 1.

Click to see more pictures of the Atari 2600

Restocking Fort Stockton

Part of a larger LEGO concept by the builder, this model of the docks at Fort Stockton, Wullham features some lovely architecture, delightful parts usage, and realistic rock formations. Flickr Builder Evancelt enjoys historical era models full of red jackets and muskets set against natural scenery with old buildings. Here they used some simplistic parts as crenellations and molding along the top of the fort, while cleverly employing letters with a red seal as diamond-leaded windows. Well-molded sea grasses and foliage compliment the sharp change to rock as we move down to the dock. Basalt formations are a delightful bit of geology that we don’t see enough of in LEGO builds or real life. Using dark grey at the base to illustrate the spray and waves of the sea on the rocks is a great decision that adds to the realism of the build.

Of course, the multilayered dock is also wonderfully detailed. Multiple shades of brown make up the boards, while reddish brown and dark brown in the supports mirror the water effect used on the rocks. The lamp piece is a good period setting element that matches well with the flat-topped chest. I love seeing historical models that aren’t focused on war. Sure, these are soldiers at a Fort but still, this is more about daily life than about a battle and I’m all about that. Not to mention how soothingly executed that blue sea is on the eyes. Well done, Evancelt, well done.

Spooky, hungry alien will eat you in good time

Doesn’t he just look…friendly? Those big eyes and that toothy smile just set your mind at ease, right? This model of B.A.R.R.Y. the hungry alien by LEGO Masters contestant Caleb Campion is a grotesque balance between friendly and frightening. His delicately sculpted head has a Grendel-like appearance that only a mother could love, not to mention the cursed Jar-Jar Binks heads that Caleb used as hands. The red cape from the Monkey King mech gave him a bit of a challenge but the final result blends well into the red tentacles swarming out from beneath B.A.R.R.Y.’s body. The bright red stands out well against the stark background and perfectly frames the mess of exposed innards in the creature’s chest. If I had landed my craft and been greeted by this, I’d be hightailing out of the atmosphere already.

B.A.R.R.Y.’s ready for his close-up! This creepy face might be the last thing you see on this distant exoplanet. Eagle-eyed builders will recognize the plethora of droid arms used to round out his head in addition to the droid head used as his nose. With everything going on, or going wrong, with this build I’d believe it if you told me this is what it looks like when you take a Muppet’s skin off. This looks like someone locked Animal in that attic from the insurance commercial for a hundred years.

It’s no surprise that a LEGO Master’s contestant could weave together bricks in such a cute but creepy way. Caleb Campion continues to show us the chops that got him on the show in the first place, setting up not only well built characters but also complimentary scenery that helps tell the story.