The spring equinox has just been and gone, so the days are getting longer and summer is on its way. To get us in the mood, Grant Davis has crafted an idyllic-looking bit of LEGO coastline. The still pictures on their own are already making me long for a bit more sunshine (especially having just been through the Finnish winter!), but these only tell half the story…
See what secret lies in the water…
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 weekly Brick Report for the 3rd week of March 2022.
TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS Last week was a big week for mech fans, with reviews of a bunch of new superhero, antihero, and villain mechs including Iron Man, Black Panther, Wolverine, Spider-man, and Green Goblin. The hero trend continued with new brick sketches for Iron Man and Miles Morales. We also covered the announcement of three new Star Wars diorama scenes, a new app-controlled Technic vehicle, and last but certainly not least, we brought you an in-depth review of the famous time-traveling DeLorean from the Back-to-the-Future movies. And if that’s not enough LEGO news, be sure to check out last week’s Brick Report for more.
I just can’t get enough of this LEGO Venator-class Star Destroyer by FlyInSpace! The lines on this build are so clean, it looks like the edges were cut with a hobby knife. At 27 inches long, it’s hard to believe this model is actually a step down in scale from the LEGO Ultimate Collector Series.
See lots more details of this LEGO Star Wars ship
Meet the Epyft, an alien being created by Mattia Careddu. This LEGO creature brings to mind a hummingbird crossed with a butterfly, as its long mouth reaches down to the bright blooming flower, drinking up all the rich nectar. No doubt the sugar is needed for the energy to stay in the air. The flower and the surrounding foliage feature so many cool parts to create something out of this world! Bionicle masks give the translucent green plants and blue flowers cool shapes and textures. Speaking of Bionicle masks, they’re also used for the creature’s sides, but that’s not the coolest bit of parts usage for this build. The creature’s body is a fun use of a torso piece from the Galidor toy line, produced by LEGO in 2002 for the sci-fi kids show by the same name.
Streaking though the sky comes the latest LEGO creation from French builder F@bz! Clean lines and great parts usage are present throughout this flying ship. The angles on the wings use a wonderful old slope brick with studs on the slope. The splash of purple and yellow really pop and the light blueish gray of the engines give great contrast to the deep black of the wings. I particularly like the use of the large rotor blade running down the center of the fuselage.
The one constant about Tony Stark is that he’s always working on upgrades; portable suitcase armor, Hulkbuster add-ons, nanotech. And now it seems he’s helping his friends armor up with a line of Marvel Mechs from LEGO. Miles Morales, Thor, and Cap already got in on the fun, and now Wolverine and Black Panther are joining Tony in a new wave. Does mech armor make the hero as much as clothes make the man? Or are these largely extraneous accessories for what are already Earth’s Mightiest Heroes? Let’s find out with a closer look at 76202 Wolverine Mech Armor (142 pieces, US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99), 76203 Iron Man Mech Armor (131 pieces, US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99), and 76204 Black Panther Mech Armor (125 pieces, US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99), which are scheduled to drop on April 1st.
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.
Jarvis, give me a link where people can click to read more about this. Attaboy.
Two peers, brothers in spirit, pitched against each other above the flowing, roiling lava of a devastated planet. This climactic battle is full of intense moments between these iconic characters, such as the one captured here in diorama form by TheCreatorr. Moments before Obi-wan defeats Anakin, they balanced atop shielded platforms and hovering droids battling for their fates. The lava swelling below them is brilliantly built with various gradients while black patches of burnt materials rise to the top.
I’m a huge Batman fan, be it comics, cartoons, films or brick. In LEGO form, I’m always looking for something unique that’s perhaps not black (or very very dark grey!) and along comes DekuScrub72 with this fantastic build, lifted straight from the classic ’60s series! The vignette recreates the famous scene of the dynamic duo moving past an open window and meeting a local with a hint of the Gotham skyline beyond with Trans-Brown plates adding subtle detail as windows on the city block beyond and the Unikitty stand as clouds. And, just like the way the show was filmed, the scene is tilted 90 degrees!
After we got an early look at two of the new LEGO Star Wars Diorama collection sets earlier this week, LEGO has officially revealed the full lineup of all three sets, including the previously unseen 75339 Death Star Trash Compactor Diorama (US $89.99 | CAN $119.99 | UK £79.99), which includes five minifigures (plus R2-D2) and features moving walls. It joins 75329 Death Star Trench Run Diorama (US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £54.99) and 75330 Dagobah Jedi Training Diorama (US $79.99 | CAN $109.99 | UK £69.99). All three sets are available for pre-order starting today and will be released on April 26. The Trash Compactor set will be exclusive to LEGO stores and Wal-Mart, while the other two sets will be available from LEGO and a variety of other retailers.
Check out more info and pictures of the sets below, and don’t miss these other upcoming LEGO sets for Spring 2022:
Brick Sketches are a relatively new LEGO theme that debuted in 2020, based on a popular series of builds by LEGO designer Chris McVeigh, from back when he was just a humble fan. Brick Sketches blend 3D sculpture and 2D art to create brick-built portraits of popular characters suitable for hanging on your wall. So far, LEGO has officially released Brick Sketches for only three of its IP licenses – Star Wars, Disney, and DC Comics. But Marvel joins in the fun this April 1st with the release of the 200-piece 40535 Iron Man US $16.99 | CAN $19.99 | UK £14.99 and the 214-piece 40536 Miles Morales US $16.99 | CAN $19.99 | UK £14.99. But will these sets draw you in? Or are they kind of sketchy?
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.
If for some reason you were disappointed by the recent Super Robot Creator set, have no fear! Nobu Tary has constructed this large-scale version of the mech model. The build features more exaggerated proportions than the original, while maintaining a similar colour scheme. The head has a sharp pointed form, with the horns tucked in and represented by rounded tiles . The chunky boots even have hints of yellow, as seen in the Creator set, and spoiler pieces portray neat-looking ankle guards at the feet. Unfortunately, you can’t build this mech using just the parts found in the original set, but hopefully it will inspire fellow fans to recreate official sets in fun and interesting ways.
It has been almost seven years since the last line was released but diehard fans of Bionicle do their part to keep the Great Spirit alive. For this inspiring model, builder Patrick Biggs looked back twenty-one years to when this new line helped bring life to the struggling LEGO Group. Originally a convention trophy concept, this model resembles an incense burner with smoke rising through the Toa of Fire’s resting mask. The wistful, rising smoke soon branches out into a delicate, birch-like bonsai tree with bright, lush foliage. A pink frog hangs out on the lowest branch both as a nod to the 10281 Bonsai Tree (which came with over a hundred of them) and to the fandom’s obsession with LEGO frogs (thanks to the influence of LEGO designer Nick Vás). The delicate trunk of this towering tree magically spirals upward towards the sky, becoming denser and branching outward just as LEGO continues to grow and thrive.
