From Iron Forge finals to the biggest LEGO Sandworm we’ve ever seen, it’s been a week full of amazing MOCs and builder news. Our friend ABrickDreamer is here with the highlights, including our Lunar New Year interview with Vooi Loon Low. Which build is your favorite this week?
According to his biography, when he’s not building LEGO spaceships, Thomas Harding can be found photographing pigeons. That affinity for birds must extend to geese as well, as Thomas rustled up this charming fellow for us to take a gander at. Thomas first tried to make the Canadian goose using only the remaining parts from his phenomenal deer alt-build using parts from 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox, but the plan didn’t quite fly. With a few extra parts, the bird came together swimmingly. I especially love the minimalist yet unmistakable head. It’s funny how the 2×3 design plate was first designed for simulating rock, but has found life in LEGO sets as fur and feathers.
Honk!
Here at The Brothers Brick, we strive to bring you the best LEGO creations we can find, all made by those in this fantastic community. But covering all these great builds, along with plenty of LEGO news and reviews, takes a dedicated team of volunteers to keep our site running. I was once recruited by TBB using one of these posts, and we’re once again looking to fill our ranks, specifically with Contributors to help us find and highlight the best builds on the internet and social media, as well as elaborate on LEGO-related stories and news within the community. While all are welcome to apply, we’re especially interested in growing our ranks outside the US, be it LEGO fans from Eastern Europe or Southeast Asia. Non-native English speakers are welcome, and can offer TBB unique perspectives on the brick we all love. Are you interested in helping us out? Read on for more on the open positions at TBB and how to apply!
Click to read more about the open roles
LEGO fan contests like Brickscalibur can push even the best builders to new creative heights through creative prompts, tight deadlines, and friendly competition. One builder whose creations consistently caught our eye during the latest competition goes by T-86 (Swe). What impresses with T-86’s builds isn’t just the stellar medieval brickwork, but the variety of approaches that capture the breadth of “castle” as a building theme. Let’s take a moment to celebrate each of T-86’s five submissions.
![[The traitor]](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54265974577_efbdfb215f_b.jpg)
First is “The Traitor,” submitted for the Perspective Matters category. This build is a showcase for brickwork in the modern castle aesthetic, creating walls that are deceptively simple at a glance, but upon closer inspection are a web of clever techniques. The arches on the right, capped with a jigsaw of “cheese slopes” are a highlight, as is the door with its deep notches. By framing the shot with wall-to-wall LEGO bricks and simulating natural lighting, the immersive scene pulls you in. T-86 sticks to a grounded setting but adds a fantasy twist using elves for the tale of deception playing out in the courtyard.
![[The shadowmolded]](https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/54266222041_36455873a2_b.jpg)
Next, for the Adventuring Party minifig-centric category, T-86 goes full fantasy in an eye-catching way, using almost entirely black elements. Dubbed “The Shadowmolded,” they make a nightmarish ensemble, softened somewhat by a mix of animal companions. The brick-built dragonraven is especially nice.
Press on for more enchanting castle builds from T-86
Few LEGO builders can deliver a sci-fi scene as well as the infamous Tim Goddard. And he delivers yet again in this beautiful scene set in the Star Wars universe. On a landing platform set out on the water, we spy a Shipwright-in-training testing out their new engine designed for propulsion in the air or water. With the crew observing an Emberfeather Crane, a sign of good luck on this final test flight. With so much detail in the scene, I think my favorite inclusion is the return of one of Tim’s builds from last year, standing tall in the background.
On January 28th, toymaker Mattel announced a new brand for building kits called Mattel Brick Shop with the first wave of sets appearing in May of this year. While details are light at this time, the newly launched website features graphics very similar to packaging on LEGO (sorry, “other name brands”) sets for 18+ builders.
The press release states, “With Mattel’s trusted legacy and expertise, Mattel Brick Shop is designed to disrupt the status quo and elevate the building experience. Here, we bend the rules of construction with innovative features and materials that inspire builders to try something new.”
As for what those innovations might be, the included image provides a possible clue, as the logo dimensions and orientation suggest a mobile phone. Perhaps app integration will feature heavily? Could the prominence of the word “shop” could indicate the ability to pick out bricks individually as one might from other name brands? Or perhaps it refers to the embossed “Mattel” printed on each stud.
Mattel is also the owner of the Mega line of blocks, which the toymaker says will not be going away with the introduction of this additional brand. Mega has seen impressive growth in recent years thanks to high-profile IP not offered by other name brands, such as Pokémon, Barbie, and Game of Thrones. This is again speculation, perhaps Brick Shop plans to differentiate with iconic building-focused sets for older consumers or perhaps sourcing ideas from the community? We won’t need to wait long to find out.
Mega Bloks debuted in 1991, succeeding Tyco as the leading line of bricks compatible with other name brands. While the underlying patents on LEGO’s interlocking brick system expired in 1978, the Danish toymaker took Mega to court in the 90s over similarities with the “studs and tubes” system, but ultimately lost the case with the judge ruling that the specifics of the LEGO brick’s shape “merely performs a technical function and cannot be registered as a trademark.”
The anniversary for said patented brick also happens to be January 28th and is now known as International LEGO Day among fans of other name brands.
Okay, so maybe the ancient Greeks didn’t celebrate the Lunar New Year, but they certainly loved the Zodiac, and when it comes to snakes, who better to usher in the new year than everyone’s favorite gorgon, Medusa? James Zhan recreates this monster of myth with her writhing hair of snakes in LEGO as the figurehead of an ornate mirror, fusing whimsy and functionality. Perhaps it’s a warning not to get lost in your own reflection (or just a sly wink to Medusa’s fate in Clash of the Titans). James rounds out this beautiful and functional model with a microscale version of Olympus above and a Greek city below.
As a bonus, James created an alternate profile for Medusa with an open eye that can be swapped in should you dare to meet her gaze. The spikey vine works brilliantly in both orientations as Medusa’s eye lashes.
Like the film that inspired it, Roland Grace’s LEGO model of Edward Scissorhands is an instant-classic. Every one of Edward’s characteristic traits is captured perfectly, from his wild hair and wary stare, to his ill-fitting borrowed clothes that betray just a glimpse of his “monstrous” true self. The build is exceptional, but the way Roldan has posed the impressive 20″+ figure is what really brings this iconic and misunderstood character to life.
It’s rare today that such a well-loved and enduring piece of 90’s pop culture has not been serialized, sequel-ized, rebooted or otherwise rehashed, and I for one hope to see this film stay that way. But speaking as Roldan’s newest fan, I will be eagerly waiting his next release.
As a child growing up in a small town, LEGO made my world so much bigger. I could imagine life in space, the Middle Ages, or big cities because the act of building with bricks made history, science, and far-off places real. But it wasn’t until years later, thanks to communities like Brickshelf and sites like this one, that I came to understand how universal my experience was. One of my great joys in writing for this site has been the chance to learn from and be inspired by creations shared by talented builders around the world.
Builders like Vooi Loon Low, a Chinese Malaysian AFOL living in Kuala Lumpur.
A few years ago, Loon started sharing LEGO models of shops on Petaling Street, the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s historic Chinatown. Specifically, he’s been recreating the shops as they would have appeared in the 1950s. These buildings, sometimes paired with black and white photos, are the only LEGO models Loon has shared. I wanted to know more about Loon’s motivations for this very specific and long-running project. When I reached out, Loon was kind enough to share his story.
Read on to hear Loon’s story and see more of his builds of historic Petaling Street
Three years ago, one of Vincent van Gogh’s paintings was turned into a LEGO set in the form of 21333 The Starry Night – part of the LEGO Ideas theme. Today, another brick-built depiction of the Dutch impressionist’s work is unveiled, but this time as part of the popular LEGO Art line: 31215 Vincent Van Gogh – Sunflowers. This new display piece depicts the fourth and perhaps most well-known painting in Van Gogh’s sunflower series. Or more specifically, a repetition thereof, created in collaboration with the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam, where the real painting is housed. Consisting of 2,615 pieces, you can hang your very own copy on the walls starting from March 1st. You can also pre-order it now at an RRP of US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £169.99. There are a host of events surrounding the product’s launch in Europe, too, so be sure to read the press release below for all the details!
More painting pictures and LEGO’s press release after the jump!
There’s something about this pigeon that I don’t trust. The way he stares with disdain as he paints the sidewalk with suspicious white dots… I’m not saying he’s connected to the mob, but he’s definitely a made bird. Made out of LEGO by Tobias Whelan [Intense Potato], to be specific. The builder is best known for vehicles and buildings (including New Hashima and the amazing Medina al Musawrah collab), but this foray into animal builds shows his range. Tobias wanted to experiment with some of the newer curved elements that LEGO has added to the mix, as seen in the shaping of the bird’s head and chest. My favorite parts use has to be minifig arms for the bird’s toes. A common pigeon from an uncommonly talented builder.
LEGO launched the Helmet Collection as part of their Star Wars line some five years ago, and many of the early sets depicted Imperial designs. Since then, we’ve seen Mandalorians, clones, bounty hunters and Rebel Alliance pilots. Now, we’re coming full circle to the Empire again: 75429 AT-AT Driver has today been announced as the latest entry into the Star Wars Helmet Collection. The massive four-legged walkers they drove undoubtedly left an impression when they appeared in The Empire Strikes Back, and from this March 1st you can add the AT-AT Driver helmet to your collection. With 730 pieces, it will retail for US $69.99 | CAN $89.99 | UK £69.99.
Click here to see more pictures of the AT-AT Driver!