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.

Nostalgic little mushroom home

This LEGO creation by Jonas Kramm really reminds me of the Smurf toys I used to have as a kid. It is simply amazing. Jonas was inspired by the Forest Elf minifigure and I can totally understand why. It is by far one of the cutest minifigures ever produced by LEGO and it goes along with this creation wonderfully. This model features a big mushroom which is used as the elf’s home. The vibrant blue color used for the door and the windows is a nice contrast to the red mushroom cap. It even comes with white scales.

Next to the mushroom home there is a smaller mushroom growing. (Maybe it’ll be someone’s home in the near future.) This little mushroom features the plate with crown leaf as the skirt of the mushroom. Jonas’ eye for detail is truly remarkable. I do have to admit that we featured the snail build before, but it goes along great with this creation and I understand why it was included as it is still a wonderful build. Using the foot plate in trans clear is a smart way to mimic snail slime. I want at least half a dozen of these, preferably with different hood colours and little blue minifigures.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Chunky mech just wants a handshake

It’s time to have a look at another fantastic mechanical model built by the talented Mitsuru Nikaido. The mech is presented in a monochromatic style for the most part, the exceptions being the little hints of colour at the eye and pistol. A wide claw piece represents the head and its placement allows for the convenient position of a red axle to act as an eye. At the shoulders, shield pieces are attached to the model, with angled bricks placed upon them. The fingers have a humanoid look, conveyed by the rounded tips at the ends. Armed with a tough looking blaster, this mech could prove to be quite the adversary.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for May 14, 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 Brick Report for the second full week of May 2022.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS This week our Brick Review covers a trio of LEGO set reviews! And if you missed last week’s avalanche, catch up on last week’s Brick Report here!

[REVIEW] LEGO Architecture 21058 Great Pyramid of Giza: draw back the sands of time — Chuck digs deep into the Great Pyramid, LEGO’s latest architectural offering
[REVIEW] LEGO The Transformers 10302 Optimus Prime is more than meets the eye — Transformers superfan Norm builds Cybertron’s greatest hero in this groundbreaking collaboration between two toy giants
[REVIEW] LEGO Ideas 40533 Cosmic Cardboard Adventures – A Boxy Gift with Purchase — See what Chris D thinks of the latest gift with purchase!

LEGO Ninjago 71775: Nya’s Samurai X Mech – A Crystalized idea of a cool robot [Review]

Season 15 of Ninjago is nearly here, and that means LEGO is unveiling a whole host of tie-in sets. The theme this time around is “Crystalized” – with our heroic ninjas taking on the Vengestone Army and their leader, the Crystal King. The summer 2022 sets include everything you’d expect from a Ninjago release – dragons, motorcycles, playsets, and…oh yeah…giant robots. We’re starting out our reviews with Ninjago 71775 Nya’s Samurai X Mech – a 1003 piece set that will be available starting June 1st in the UK, and August 1st worldwide, for US $119.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £99.99. Featuring the Samurai X Mech, a crystal beast, and a whopping 8 minifigures this set is ready for some serious play. Come along as we take things for an early test drive!

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.

Crystal blue persuasion awaits

An Avengers vignette that leaves an impact

Can you believe Marvel’s The Avengers just turned 10 years-old? To celebrate the momentous occasion, Okay Yaramanoglu has crafted a vignette replicating the Battle of New York from the film’s third act. Everyone’s here, from Cap to Hulk, keeping the city safe from the Chitauri. (And if you look closely, you’ll even spot a cameo by a certain scribe of super heroic shenanigans, True Believer!)

But my favorite detail is the pavement that’s been cratered in by a good ol’ fashioned Hulk-stomping.

Fly into the sun with this LEGO Sunriser

One of the key design elements of the Star Wars universe is its ‘lived-in universe’ feel. A consequence of that is that some of the ships can sometimes look a bit drab in their greys and blacks. Joey Klusnick has seen fit to remedy that with a ship designed to fit in the Star Wars galaxy, but with a colourful twist! The bright yellowish-orange paintwork, alongside the purple canopy, really makes this little spacecraft pop. There are some design cues taken from elsewhere in the galaxy far, far away. The unique, asymmetrical shape reminds me a bit of a B-wing, while the smaller engine ports follow the same Incom design used on the X-wing or U-wing. There is just about enough grey and battle damage (created with stickers) to keep that signature used feel. It even comes with a few play features – the cannons on the end can rotate on their axis, and the Astromech’s port actually opens rather than being an empty 2×4 hole!

Rusty rat rod ready to rumble

Are six-stud-wide LEGO cars considered historical vehicles yet? Builder Isaac Wilder. may find it hard to step away from this style but his execution definitely sets him apart from older Speed Champion sets. What the builder gives up in space for minifigures, he makes up in shaping and scale. Fantastic building techniques balanced through nice parts usage gives us a greebly, exposed engine suitable for such a reinvention of a hot rod. Its worn-down, rusty body is an aesthetic choice classifying it as a “rat rod” which is meant to show off the builder’s personality through the worn-down, rusty parts. The nicely executed transition to five-studs wide near the engine also helps give the hoses (used as the exhaust) a nice angle away from the body.

The main thing I’m unsure of is the tires. There aren’t many examples of actual white-walled LEGO tires so most builders usually make their own by wedging parts together or pairing white wheels with black tires. Though it’s possible 1saac made his own, or that I couldn’t find these exact parts while writing, it is also possible these are from a diecast model that just happened to have tires that fit around the silver discs. Even if it isn’t a “purest” model, this is still quite a satisfying example of proper six-stud LEGO cars.

LEGO Ideas 40533 Cosmic Cardboard Adventures – A Boxy Gift with Purchase [Review]

Last February, LEGO Ideas ran a contest to find an “Out of this world!” space build to be turned into a gift-with-purchase. Now, just over a year later, the winning concept from Ivan Guerrero arrives in stores starting May 16th. You can claim a copy of LEGO Ideas 40533 Cosmic Cardboard Adventures with a qualifying purchase of US $160 | CAN $160 | UK £160. This 203 piece set features an imaginative spacecraft that really leans into the concept of “boxy”. But is this an idea worth pursuing? Come along as we take an early look!

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.

Click to head to the unboxing of this boxy beauty

God Save the Queen – A Night at the Opera

Is this the real life? Or is this just fantasy? Nick Jensen brings us a fantastic LEGO album cover for Queen’s A Night at the Opera. This album is in Good Company with the other Queen builds Nick has done in the past and would make Freddie proud! The flex tubing script makes me feel like dancing in the rain. The details achieved in such a small space is superb. Open your eyes, look up to the skies and see the detail on the great lions, fiery crab, and majestic swan as the centerpiece here. I can honestly say that this album is the Love of My Life and Nick, I think You’re My Best Friend. You can find me Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon listening to Death on Two Legs now! Any way the wind blows…

This Xenomorph build has some bite

Xenomorphs from the Alien franchise are cool and terrifying at the same time, and this LEGO sculpt by Grantmasters is no exception! Based on the collector’s edition of the Alien: Weyland-Yutani Report, an informational book on the franchise, there’s so much detail packed into this low relief sculpt. Those slopes making up the brunt of the face look like they were made for rendering a Xenomorph, but the build really shines with the greebling on the sides of the face. Hinged cylinder links frame the face and connect to each other with a rope element across the top of the head. The Corners of the mouth feature many elements, such as minifigure arms and hands as well as some skeleton legs. The weapons orbiting the Xenomorph stand in for tendril designs. However, I think they’re present to guard the Xenomorph so it doesn’t leap out at the unsuspecting.

If Tatooine was in 30’s era Detroit

I used to think I was the only one who did this; you look at a Star Wars vehicle and imagine its Earthly counterpart. For example, the Millenium Falcon could be a Ford Falcon, Obi-Wan’s Jedi Starfighter could be a Jedi Starliner and Darth Vader’s TIE-Fighter could be a bitchin’ 70’s era Econoline with shag carpeting, beef jerky dispenser, lava lamps and a Boris Valejo space-wizard airbrushed on the side. Right? Well, it worked better before I put it to writing. Anyway, LEGO car guru and real-life car guru Peter Blackert clearly thinks of this stuff too as evidenced by this terrestrial 1939 Buick Y-Job concept made into Luke’s Landspeeder. There aren’t a lot of these lying around so I had to Google the vehicle but once I did, I can see how Peter saw the retro-futuristic shape of the Landspeeder. This computer render, in my opinion, perfectly melds the swooping curves of both designs.

Doing this sort of thing is a fun and imaginative exercise but if you prefer to keep your Landspeeder designs true to the movie, then try your hand at building the official UCS Luke’s Landspeeder LEGO set that has come out recently. Installing a beef jerky dispenser in the dash would only sweeten the deal.

LEGO The Transformers 10302 Optimus Prime is more than meets the eye. [Review]

In the early 1980s, an actor named Peter Cullen told his brother Larry that he was using their shared car to go to an audition for “the voice of a hero truck.” Larry, a decorated Marine officer, gave Peter some advice on how to play an effective leader, “Be strong enough to be gentle.” Peter took Larry’s words to heart and earned the role of Optimus Prime, commander of the Autobots. The show Peter Cullen was auditioning for, The Transformers, was basically a commercial meant to sell repurposed toys from Japan to kids in America. It wasn’t supposed to create an icon. But, when Optimus Prime was killed on-screen in The Transformers: The Movie, the backlash was swift and immediate. Peter Cullen’s “strong but gentle” performance had turned Optimus Prime into something more than just an action figure in the eyes of the audience. The Transformers team quickly set to work on a series of episodes to revive Optimus Prime in Season 3 of the show, and Optimus would remain one of the few constants of the ever-evolving franchise from then on. Now, nearly forty years later, that original incarnation of Optimus Prime has been given new life once again as a fully transformable 1508-piece LEGO set. LEGO The Transformers 10302 Optimus Prime will be available June 1st, for US $169.99 | CAN $219.99 | UK £149.99

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.

Clicking here to read more is the right of all sentient beings.