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.

Nothing but praise for this LEGO church

Capturing the spirit of the subject, conveying detail at scale, and cleverly using parts are the holy trinity of a LEGO microscale builder’s goals. Builder Christian Rau scores the trifecta with this remarkably faithful LEGO model of the Jesuit Church in Lucerne, Switzerland. While the actual church took over a decade to construct, Christian finished much quicker, using parts from across many decades of LEGO history – notably the 1x1x2 windows introduced in 1956, and the versatile 1×2 inverted arch which are less than three years old. Offset building techniques throughout the model are especially effective in illuminating the towers’ shapely onion-tops (which are also square in real life!) and spot-on color choices harken the building’s characteristic façade.

The building I work in started life as a Romanesque Revival style church, and I frequently imagine modeling it in LEGO. Perhaps I will take a page or two from the book of Christian’s techniques…

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LEGO all-stars bring Edo-era Japan to life in LEGO in epic collab

Each year the RogueBricks community, home to many of Europe’s most accomplished LEGO builders, comes together for a collaborative build. This year’s endeavor is an immersive recreation of the Japanese city of Kumamoto during the Edo Period built atop a whopping 170 base plates (that’s 2.5 x 4.3 meters!). The massive diorama depicts the coastal city in autumn and is packed with details of life during the Tokugawa shogunate, including scenes telling the story of the famous samurai Miyamoto Musashi.

Attendees were treated to motorized elements and integrated lighting, as well as informative plaques describing the history captured in bricks. As a bonus easter egg for young visitors, 10 Ninjago charaters were hidden in the build. Like 2023’s Rogue Odyssey collaboration, the project took home first prize for collaborations from both jury and audience. We’ve highlighted several contributions in recent weeks, but only now can we share the complete build thanks to Hannes Tscharner. Extended highlights and builder credits follow.

Read on for a full tour of this tour de force!

Plucky Patapons emerge from Playstation Portable past in LEGO

If you were lucky enough to have a PlayStation Portable, then there’s a good chance you remember Patapon, the music and tactics mash-up that’s up there with Space Channel 5 and PaRappa the Rapper in the rhythm game Hall of Fame. Builder Vlad V boots up the little fellas for this pixel-perfect LEGO tribute. Vlad nails the personality of the silhouetted soldiers as they march to the beat. It’s a simple mix of parts, but it couldn’t be more faithful. And you don’t have to know the game to appreciate the lovely sunset mosaic. Already the “pat-a-pat-a-pat-a-pon” earworm is back in my head. If you’re also feeling nostalgic for Patapon, the spiritual successor Ratatan is on its way with more great character designs to inspire LEGO builds.

How to build a LEGO archway [Building Technique]

We spend a lot of time here at TBB talking about finished LEGO works, but rarely do we get into the work-in-progress techniques that go into those pieces. For instance, builder Monty Matte shows us how to properly portal our palisades with this LEGO archway technique over on his Instagram. A frequent feature of many of Monty’s builds, this image gives us just a peek into how the architectural detail comes together.

Rock solid colossal castle

When we checked in with Louis of Nutwood last week, the builder took to the seas on itty bitty sailing ships. This time Louis puts those ace LEGO skills to work at colossal scale with the impressive Fortress of Hyrrefur. The castle features distinctive brickwork that incorporates SNOT techniques, profile bricks, and sloped corners for an impressive chiseled look. That intricacy extends to the rocky base with nary a foothold for would-be invaders.

The fortress is even more impressive up close.

Click to explore Hyrrefur Fortress from every angle

Iron Forging ahead with another This Week in LEGO Bricks! [Feature]

A lot happens every week in the world of LEGO builders. Thankfully, we can always count on ABrickDreamer to highlight the best MOCs, videos, and builder news. This week’s big story is the Iron Forge competition, currently in the free-for-all phase. We try not to choose favorites here at TBB, but best of luck ABrickDreamer! Now, on with the news…

NikiFilik spells out how to build your own LEGO wizard [Instructions]

Blue is a great color for wizards. Majisto, Disney’s Merlin, Gauntlet‘s best hero… Tolkien fancied the idea of a blue wizard so much, he made two of them! But the prize for the cutest blue wizard around goes to NikiFilik, whose LEGO mini-mage is about 90% beard, which is the ideal proportion. This build is a remake of an earlier character design from last August that NikiFilik created for the Vignweek competition. Small changes, like the new hat, cuffed sleeves, a curlier staff, and smoother boots, show how even a small build can benefit from iteration. And now you too can have a li’l wizard buddy for your desk as NikiFilik has generously made free instructions available to all.

Massive dragon and tiger pagodas stand over 2 1/2 feet tall!

Lee Nuo has graced us with a pair of pretty pagodas modeled entirely in LEGO! These very real (and very visit-able) pagodas in Kaohsiung, Taiwan are equal parts elegant and exciting with mythical animal-shaped tunnel entrances into each building. The animal theming continues up to the first roof of each tower, with miniature versions of their respective creatures decorating the railing. The big dragon – eating some tourists – has a perfectly modeled fringe made of blue flames and Hero Factory lightning bolts. If you like pagodas, there’s more in our archives, as well as more great tigers and dragons (including a certain recent Build-of-the-Year!) I’ve certainly found Lee’s build inspiring and I’d love to go visit some day. If you went, which animal would you prefer to be eaten by?

How to feather a LEGO eagle [Building Technique]

We’ve marveled in the past at the strong LEGO work of Sakiya Watanabe. But this close up of a WIP they’re working on allows us some better insight into the parts that can create a biological texture like feathers. A cacophany of bars, clips, and claws, it all comes together to form quite the eagle head.

LEGO Wolfpack on patrol

Wolfpack Beastmaster is the unambiguous favorite of Collectible Minifigures Series 27, bringing back a fan-favorite Castle faction and a new wolf mold. As appealing as the figure is out of the box, minifig modder Kamil Karpiński always finds ways to take minifigs to the next level. The Beastmaster gets a wickedly clever brick-built crossbow while his sword goes to the captain, an incredible figbash foe who leads the pack atop a fearsome dire wolf. Seeing Kamil’s trio has me craving a new Wolf Pack building set. If LEGO releases a Classic Castle update in 2025, would you want the Wolfpack, or is there another theme you’d rather revisit?

Slithering into a prosperous new year with DeRa

According to the Chinese horoscope, 2025, Year of the Wood Snake, promises to be a year of prosperity and financial success, thanks to the snake’s charisma and cunning. In that spirit, builder DeRa offers a New Years’ greeting featuring the zodiac snake in a traditional motif atop a bag of gold coins. The coiled snake is definitely a charmer, but it’s the bag that has me in knots with its incredible shaping. DeRa certainly has a knack for zodiac animals. The builder’s majestic tiger made our short list for best creations of 2024.

Transformer, roll out!

Having grown up in the eighties, the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of a Transformer is a vehicle that changes into a giant robot. In the real world, though, a transformer is less exciting. It is a device that changes the voltage of an electric current. Transformers can range from small enough to fit on printed circuit boards to massive industrial units weighing hundreds of tons. My latest LEGO model represents a mid-size example, of about 50 tons.

I’ve been building minifigure-scale vehicles lately, and a transformer seemed to be a suitable load for a nice heavy-haulage truck. The Mercedes Arocs truck is a model that I have been planning (and buying parts for) for quite a while. It should pair nicely with a Goldhofer modular trailer.

Let’s shift gears and see how this truck came together!

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