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.

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!

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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.

Seasonal spoilers ahead!

A smooth build for a bumpy ride

Embrace your inner child and take a trip to an amusement park of LEGO in this wonderful build from KitKat1414. For this Iron Builder contest round, the seed part is the LEGO Friend’s theme horse saddle in dark azure. A rather versatile part, the saddle here is put to use in a lovely variety. In the foreground we have the standout bumper cars with their fishing pole contact shoes to supply them with power from the ceiling. A cool use of magic wands still in their sprues are the railing details behind the bumper cars. A roller coaster train sails by in the background, affording some breezy sights. Further in the background is a little stand made of the saddle turned on its side.

A seedy little workspace

It may seem like an ordinary day to you or me, but in Kit Nugent’s (KitKat1414) world, things are a bit more interesting. In this masterfully built LEGO slice of life, a man is confronted by the fact that 25 Friends Horse Saddle in Dark azure has infected his home. As you may have guessed, this is part of the Iron Builder competition, where the challenge is to incorporate the seed part (in this case the aforementioned saddle) into a build in the most interesting ways possible. Not only are there the “easy” wins of a flower pot or bookshelf, but Kit has incorporated them into a standing lamp and even a chair’s backrest. But the best use to me is turning a bunch of them into floor trimming. Oh, and that rug made of carrots is pretty sweet, too.

More inspired part usages (include more saddle-y goodness) await in our Iron Builder tag!

Surprisingly, this squid is not attacking the lighthouse

Based on the drawing of a child, this fascinating LEGO build has been cleverly constructed by Ben Cossy. The original drawing describes a squid taking on the role of a lighthouse and inking boats which are going by too fast. The squid build uses multiple tentacle pieces from the Gargantos Showdown set while blending different shades of green together in the formation of the body. The ships are miniature in their size with quarter circle tiles portraying sails. Looks like one has already been caught speeding!

There is also an informative video that demonstrates some of the techniques used in creating this scene.

Hot dog! These are some good sausage dogs

As much as I consider myself a dog person, I do think there’s a certain size of dog that is a bit too small for me. Nothing against them (or their owners) – it’s just personal preference. We all know that all doggos are good doggos, after all. That said, I do have two exceptions: puppies (because, you know, puppies!) and sausage dogs, or Dachsunds. In particular, these delightful Dachsunds built by daisy brick. The smooth-haired variant on the left was actually built some four months ago, with the long-haired companion the most recent addition to the family. They are a perfect complement to each other! Despite their similarities, Daisy has done a great job at differentiating the two breeds by switching up the way the fur is built. And do I spy some poseability in those little legs? Perhaps they can recreate the adorable waddle of their real-world counterparts!

Nothin’ says lovin’ like somethin’ from the oven

I love unusual subject matter for LEGO builds, and Maxx Davidson has picked a great one – a vintage oven! The four-burner gas-powered beauty is instantly recognizable, with great use of curved slopes and SNOT building to evoke memories of Grandma’s kitchen.

Continue reading →

That blue choo-choo voodoo

I’m sure by now, Caleb Schilling is sick and tired of the azure saddle LEGO part he’s been working with throughout this round of Iron Builder. But, build by build, the LEGO Master continues to find new uses for the clunky piece. This adorable locomotive is no exception, utilizing 31 of the saddles. While they’re primarily used to make up the sides of the engine and attached cars, each one features a new configuration, showcasing each of the part’s sides. The pairing of the dark azure saddles with dark blue and black makes for an excellent color combo, and contrasts the blurry green background of the countryside whizzing by.

Speaker loudly and carry a multi-pronged stick

Today we double-dip into the LEGO world of Ralf Langer with his build Open Air 2053, providing a look into the future of concert music. The towering stack of speakers in the background is impressive, utilizing the largest tires around to churn out some thumping beats. I like the subtle changes in color and style between the different units, highlighting that this is a collected array of equipment, not a part of a set. The well-scaled drum kit appears more uniform, as of course it should. And the use of tank treads for the drum hoops is excellent! Finer details like cords and controls, both on the speakers and the keyboard array, put in a lot of work here. Through these details, we see that instruments and equipment haven’t changed much in 31 years. However, the musician has gone through a complete makeover! Given Maestro9000’s innate multi-instrument ability, this one was no doubt programmed by Dave Grohl himself.

The modern Toa for the modern age

I can’t be the only one who was disappointed with the LEGO Bionicle representation in 11021: 90 Years of Play. Thankfully, Mathijs Dubbeldam has provided an excellent example of seven Toa Nuva using current parts. These figures don’t sacrifice any movement possessed by their counterparts from 2002, relying heavily on the Mixel ball joint. And the sculpting of the Bionicle masks in this scale is exceptional! Each Toa feels unique and recognizable by their face alone. But the real victory here is Mathijs’s glorious weapons crafting. Relying heavily on the Ninjago parts library, each of the septet is properly equipped and ready for battle. The display stand is the icing on this ball-jointed cake, pairing a proper biome with each member of the troupe.

The circuit of life is a series of parallels

One of the great pleasures I find in creating art through LEGO bricks is the ability to merge two contrasting forces. It could be two colors in something as simple as a black and white build. Or it could be the complexity of a mature emotion like grief or loss expressed via a toy for children. In this case, Ralf Langer highlights the natural and the artificial in this computer board/forest hybrid. And, boy, does Ralf show off his prowess for both styles. The circuitry is sharp, precise, and clean; all stud-less with crisp corners and neat rows. Gradually, that regimented look gives way on the green medium to Nature’s chaos: curves, bumps, and rocky nodes galore! There’s a lot of great parts usage here, but my favorite has got to be the dual rows of Modulex bricks. These LEGO products of a slightly different scale are a rare sight in builds, but can provide some truly brilliant solutions to construction problems without straying from the brand.

Today I Learned: Collaborative intelligence

If you don’t know what collaborative intelligence is, let me show you an illustrative example. You take two brilliant LEGO builders, say, ▷Cezium◁ and Ivan Martynov, you put them inside shared digital building space (aka collaborative mode in Stud.io) and let their shared mind run wild. But be cautious of some mind-blowing mechs and awesome use of LEGO Mindstorms elements.

Usually I don’t appreciate people changing LEGO parts colors to any non-existing shade; it just ruins the challenge of using what is available. But with jaw-dropping render quality I can forgive a lot: these builds look both mesmerising and a bit terrifying. I’m kind of happy they only exist in the digital world.