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.

Even weirdo space-demons have play dates

If there’s one thing LEGO builder Bart De Dobbelaer has taught us is…um…he’s probably a weirdo space-demon. I mean, seriously! Check out this offering, for example. He captions it with “Can Timmy come out and play?” Then goes on to say that “even demons have play dates”. That is all. We’re left to fend for ourselves as to the how and why this is all happening. I mean, I’m sure there’s a good lesson in here somewhere about great textures, and the use of lighting in your LEGO creations. But I’m pretty certain by now that Bart has tentacles and at least one proboscis if not several. Check out what I mean with all his alien weirdness in our archives.

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LEGO Harry Potter 76396 & 76397 Hogwarts Moments: Divination and Defense Classes [Review]

Last year we got four new Harry Potter books to add to our shelves celebrating the subjects taught at Hogwarts School. In addition to the initial Transfiguration and Potions classes, we were also given the Charms and Herbology lessons. These clever little sets expanded on previous Disney storybook playsets that provided younger LEGO fans with portable scenes and characters, and the translation to the Wizarding World has been fantastic. Back at again this year, LEGO is giving us two more lessons Tetris-ed in between custom printed covers. The first new lesson is 76396 Hogwarts Moment: Divination Class which has 297 pieces and comes with Professor Trelawney, Harry Potter, and Parvati Patil minifigures for US $29.99 | CAN $39.99 | UK £24.99. The next is 76396 Hogwarts Moment: Defence Against the Dark Arts Class with 257 pieces and Professor Moody, Hermione Granger, and Neville Longbottom minifigures for US $29.99 | CAN $39.99 | UK £24.99. Both are available on the LEGO Shop starting March 1st.

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.

Read on for the full review of these magical sets

The real casualties of a real war

This new LEGO creation by a historian who goes by the name of Benjamin acts as a stark reminder that there are currently real-world actions with real-world consequences. Here we see a Ukrainian civilian discovering possibly a loved one among a heap of rubble. Benjamin provides a passage in German that, while you are free to translate it yourself, the gist is that this is not a war of tanks and soldiers but rather of mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters, as well as kindergartens, schools, town halls, shopping malls, universities, factories, and homes. When we feature things like this we predictably get a slew of comments on social media that state something to the effect of; keep your world view out of LEGO. Or I come to this site to not see this kind of thing so stop doing it. The truth is that something as big and consequential as one country invading another cannot go unnoticed and cannot go unheard, even among us adults who enjoy building with LEGO. At the very least it has us worrying about our Ukrainian and Russian friends, family, and colleagues, but the impact of these actions span far wider than that.

Keeping silent or purposefully misinformed about such things is how wars like this get started in the first place. It’s how they can go on indefinitely. This is why we at The Brothers Brick will stand with our brethren of builders and feature articles such as this one. While we haven’t shied away from real-world problems before, this is the first you’ve seen depicting the conflict in Ukraine. I can assure you that this will likely be the first of many because alas real-world actions like this are too important to go unheard.

A rover that can handle the harshest winters

March is here and the first day of spring is just a couple of weeks away. But Ilya T. is reminding us to prep for next winter with the Ice Shredder. With its giant rotary saw on an articulated arm, the Ice Shredder is capable of turning frozen barriers into crystal clear cubes suitable for cocktails in no time. Ilya’s use of primarily blue and white, accented by trans-neon orange, pays perfect tribute to the old Ice Planet 2002 theme. And the use of garage door sections as blades is cooler than cool.

LEGO Technic 42139 All Terrain Vehicle – A vehicle that really does have it all [Review]

The LEGO Technic theme is all about the fun of engineering, and what’s more fun and filled with mechanisms than a utility vehicle? But not another tow truck or crane or piece of construction equipment. No, we’re talking about the LEGO Technic 42139 All-Terrain Vehicle! It’s about time we’ve had a solid-sized ATV in the Technic lineup! So let’s not beat around the bush. Instead, let’s hit that throttle and get in the thick of it! Come along with us as we build and test this 764pc model’s many features. It just became available today, and retails for US $79.99 | CAN $99.99 | UK £64.99.

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.

Click to read our in-depth review of the rad ATV

Unmasking a clever build technique

As Febrovery 2022 comes to a close, we here at the Brothers Brick Bullpen thought we had seen every variation on space rovers there was to see. But builder Scott Wilhelm had a trick up his sleeve that we weren’t expecting: a half-track rover built from a giant Bionicle mask. That’s right, the giant curved mass of dark red that you see below is the main gate from Set 8759-1 Battle of Metru Nui. Scott has cleverly crafted a minifigure cockpit on the mask’s forehead, and cramped all manner of glorious greebles into the mask’s negative space. While the mask was only ever available in one set, this rover might have the LEGO Group looking to see if they still have the mold on file.

Star racing across the universe

Cast your mind back to 2006 and you might remember the obscure anime, Oban Star Racers. Charlie Mann has recreated the Whizzing Arrow from the show, which served as the main character’s racer. The large engines have smooth rounded forms with the ability to splay out in sections for when the boost function is engaged. The orange dome on the side acts as a gunner turret to fight off aggressive opponents. I tried to build this vehicle when I was young but gave up, so it’s great to see that Charlie has succeeded in constructing a model accurate to the original design.

LEGO Harry Potter 76399 Hogwarts Magical Trunk [Review]

Now, this is something we haven’t seen before. At least in this form. Though it isn’t classified in the Hogwarts Momemnts line, this delightful little playset fits in well with the motif. The scaling is a bit off (it’d be more of a pencil case in comparison) but, what can you do? If I were 8 years old and in love with the Harry Potter franchise, I’d definitely lug this and the others around from daycare to my grandma’s house just to play. Don’t worry, though 76398 Hogwarts Magical Trunk may be 8+, there are a ton of great grabs in there for the pluses. Adults and kids can find one of the coolest sticker sheets ever laden with Harry Potter art, not to mention all the extra pieces, giving you tons of ways to customize your trunk and show your House pride. Oh, and I almost forgot about the plethora of minifigure heads and hairs to customize your own Hogwarts students. This 603-piece-set is available March 1st for US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99.

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Batman needs his Robin: Rebuilding LEGO Art 30125 into the Boy Wonder [Instructions]

We recently shared an early look at the LEGO Art 31205: Jim Lee Batman collection, one of the new additions to the LEGO Art theme. The set comes with three main images to choose from: Batman, the Joker, and Harley Quinn, all based on iconic Jim Lee art. There are also “ultimate builds” that feature a larger look at the Bat, and a showcasing a quiet moment between Batman and Catwoman. But we were left wondering…where’s Robin? Well, The Brothers Brick contributor Chris Doyle decided to see if it was possible to build a Jim Lee-style Robin out of only the parts in the 31205 kit. Spoiler alert: Yes, you can. And we provide the instructions if you want to give it a try yourself!

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Fly, awesome mech, fly!

Blasting its way onto our screens, this mech is ready to lead the charge. Bushido Bots has created one tough-looking machine, armed with a staff and several gun turrets. The hints of red and gold, across a mostly white colour scheme, are reminiscent of the designs seen in classic mecha shows. A handlebar piece forms the outline around that piercing blue eye and on the back, there are also adjustable booster engines. It’s great to see a compact mech like this with so many intricate details.

Hit the slopes in this busy ski resort.

After spending a fair amount of time in ski resorts over the last couple of years, Pixel Fox decided to chronicle a lot of what they witnessed in one elaborate LEGO build. With only a few exceptions, the various hijinks these minifigures are up to are all based on real events. (I’m guessing the presence of an Ice Planet explorer is one of the exceptions.) Recognizing the similarity of this scene to the Where’s Wally? books (“Waldo” to us Yanks), Pixel Fox has provided a key of objects to search for. And while you’re hunting for guitars and gnomes, make sure to linger on some of the great build details, like the larger-than-life Swiss Army knife, the gondola lift car, and the numerous ways Pixel Fox has constructed variations on minifigure legs for realistic winter game chaos.

LEGO City Space 60348 Lunar Roving Vehicle & 60350 Lunar Research Base [Review]

When I was a kid, the LEGO City line was one of my favorites (though it was called Town back then). But these days, between Star Wars and Ideas and massive Creator Expert sets and all the other cool themes I enjoy, I don’t often get the opportunity to build City sets. So I was excited when LEGO reached out to us about reviewing the latest wave of LEGO City sets, which focus on space exploration. Real-world space has long been one of the recurring City themes, along with firefighters and police and construction, with the first space shuttle set launching in 1990. This latest wave is inspired by NASA’s Artemis project, the planned mission to return to the moon by 2025 (the first Artemis I unmanned mission is planned for this spring). Today we’re looking at two sets in the middle of the range, 60348 Lunar Roving Vehicle with 275 pieces (US $39.99 | CAN $49.99 | UK £24.99), and 60350 Lunar Research Base with 786 pieces (US $119.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £89.99). Both sets will be available March 1.

The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with early copies of these sets for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Read the full, hands-on review