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.

LEGO to merge online Pick a Brick with Bricks & Pieces starting February

LEGO is rolling out an update to its online ordering systems for individual bricks in February. The current Bricks & Pieces system is being merged into an overhauled Pick a Brick platform. The current systems are fragmented and difficult to use. While most fans are familiar with online Pick a Brick, many are completely unaware of the Bricks & Pieces platform, which is an offshoot of the replacement parts system and is only accessible via a small link in the footer of LEGO’s website. Screenshots we’ve viewed of the new platform indicate that it will retain Pick a Brick’s more robust search features rather than Bricks & Pieces’ limited search capabilities. The new platform will allow users to search the full catalog of available elements in a single location, and prices will be standardized across the selection so elements will now have the same price regardless of color. The company says that some specialized parts may see price increases, while some elements will become more inexpensive. We cannot confirm how significant or widespread these prices changes may be. The update is planned to be available to the Netherlands, France, Germany, and the UK in early February, followed by Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and the US in late February. Other markets will follow later.

Under the new, merged system, LEGO will select 1,600 of its top-selling elements to be clearly labeled as “Bestseller” and will be warehousing those elements in the United States and Poland. The company says that orders of Bestseller elements should be fulfilled within 5 working days, down from the 13-18 days with the old system. Orders of standard, non-bestsellers will still ship from Billund, Denmark, using the current, slower fulfillment process, but customers should be able to split their orders within a single purchase, so adding non-bestseller items to your cart won’t delay the whole order. All orders under the new system will now be eligible for promotions (currently Bricks & Pieces orders are not). Orders must meet a minimum threshold of €12 to waive an order fee of €3 for Bestsellers and €6 for non-bestsellers. Fees in other regions have not yet been disclosed.

LEGO will also be making the in-store Build a Mini experience available online, including elements that have been exclusive to it. However, this system will be separate from the merged Pick a Brick and Bricks & Pieces platform. Read the full press release from LEGO below.

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We bow to this royally awesome Zerg Queen

Okay, so maybe she’s not actual royalty. But Cecilie Fritzvold has constructed a menacing mother whose orders I would obey out of fear for my life. This Zerg Queen from StarCraft II is complimented wonderfully with a spawning pool base and some eggs, which are brought to extra-icky life thanks to the printed trans-bright green dishes.

Vidiyo jealousy

Sometimes a LEGO theme just doesn’t spark your interest. For me, this happened with the Vidiyo theme. Sure I noticed a couple of nice minifigure parts, but for me it just wasn’t enough to hop on the Vidiyo express. Aurore however did not skip on the Vidiyo sets and they show this off in their latest creation. We can spot parts from the Dragon Guitarist and the Flying Unicorn Singer had to sacrifice its wings for a figure in this creation. Now that we are talking about Aurore, their minifigures are always spot on. I am convinced that they put at least the same amount of time and effort into putting the figures to go with a creation together as is spent on the creation itself. Check out their profile and see for yourself!

Smug Smaug Sits Smartly in the Spotlight

There are a lot of Lord of the Rings LEGO creations out there, but Geneva Durand brings something extra to this offering. The great dragon Smaug sits atop a golden horde – pretty standard there – but this horde is lit from below with a warm yellow glow. The dragon’s form is excellent, with a good mix of red colors and a solid wing design featuring curved tile to create texture. Triangle tiles are clipped and wedged upright to create the creature’s spine, and golden horns are used to give him a grumpy expression over the Mixel 1×1 round printed tile eyes. The mix of golden-toned elements, chromed gold coins, and under-lit transparent elements, though, is what made this build stand out to me. Mainly because I wonder if Smaug’s body heat is melting that pile of gold, or maybe he just farts fire. Well, whatever it smells like, this build looks great.

Want more LOTR goodness? Check out some other featured builds!

Mattel is Swell – even in a digital age

For many, the late 1980s were a golden age for toys. Case in point, the Mattel Starcom line, and the 1987 release of the Shadow Vampire. John Blackstar has recreated this lost vessel in virtual LEGO, and boy does it hold true to the original. (Here’s a link to a short video featuring the Mattel version.) Sure, LEGO has yet to release some of these elements in the colors seen here…and I’d have to see the exploded view to understand how (or if) some of these bricks are actually connected. But that’s okay. The end result here is sleek, stylish, and makes me want to see LEGO start reviving “lost” toylines. Maybe then we can get some Micronaut crossover action. That’s super-sweet, too.

If you like to stretch your building imagination beyond the limitations of physical brick, why not take a stroll through our other featured digital builds?

Honey, I shrunk the Harbour!

The cityscapes from the Architecture series do well to capture individual landmarks with detail; this is true. And while this is an excellent way for LEGO to save on bricks, builders like Samuel M aren’t shy about pushing the parts limit to honor the cities they know and love. This Australian builder clocked in 30 hours of work over four months on this massive micropolis. Over 10,000 pieces were used to recreate a geographically accurate Sydney Harbour and a laundry list of landmarks. Stand-outs like the Harbour Bridge and the Opera House may be hard to miss, but Sam spent a lot of time trying to capture it all.

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LEGO VIP collectible coins are back tomorrow [News]

Announced today, LEGO is bringing back one of the most popular collectables of 2021, VIP collectible coins. The coins will be available in VIP Rewards Centre tomorrow, January 11, at midnight (for Australia, Japan, and Korea), at 10 am GMT (for Europe), and at 9 am EST (for the US and Canada). Besides the coins, the coin holder is back, too.

Here’s the official message from LEGO:

LEGO® VIP collectible coins are back!

We’re making our LEGO® VIP collectible coins and coin holder available again on January 11, 2022 in our VIP Rewards Centre. Each coin (as well as the coin holder) is only available to VIP members who didn’t get any coins or weren’t able to complete their set last year. We expect supplies to run out quickly. If demand is lower than we expect, we may open the promotion up so VIP members can get a second coin. Keep an eye on the VIP Rewards Centre for the latest updates.

The coins on offer to VIP members will be:

1. Collectible LEGO® Coin
2. LEGO® “Space” Logo – Collectible Coin
3. LEGO® “Octan” Logo – Collectible Coin
4. LEGO® “Pirates” Logo – Collectible Coin
5. LEGO® “Castle” Logo – Collectible Coin

They’ll be available at the following times:

In Australian and New Zealand: midnight Sydney time

In Japan: midnight local time

In Korea: midnight local time

Europe: 11am CET/10am GMT

United States and Canada: 9am EST

Last year we shared a review of the Castle VIP coin. The coin was available for 1150 VIP points, so make sure to check our opinion if you consider getting one tomorrow.

A face as pretty as a song

At first glance this build by Dan Ko is interesting enough. The LEGO Space Police Logo draws you in, and maybe if you’re a child of the 80’s you’ll recognize that red beast as a Mantisaur from the He-Man universe. Or maybe you’ll just dig the Mantiasur’s cool part usage like hotdogs for eye ridges, feet, and claws. Or the 1×1 round plate “teeth” that remind me of another creepy build from Dan. But then you look closer at the rider and you can’t help but think….”Hold on. That dude has a guitar for a head.”

How do you feel about this character? Do you want to be his friend or do you want to pull a Hendrix and remove this being from our reality entirely? I admit to being slightly torn, myself. Anyway. If you want to return to the noble past (future?) of the Space Police, I suggest you view some of our previously featured builds!

Kingdom for a handful of dark bluish gray slopes!

Besides sharing fantastic creations through the front page of the Brothers Brick, I like collecting building ideas to use in my own models sooner or later. No kidding, I have a ton of folders with pictures and links to my favorite ideas in numerous genres. Castle is one of the genres I’m planning to explore, but I’ve been in search of a perfect vision — until today. Kallstark Stronghold by Louis of Nutwood might be exactly what I was looking for. The way the castle merges with the landscape puts this build on par with modelmaking masterpieces; obviously, a LEGO version lacks weathering, but the texture of the walls adds so much character. The towers’ and walls’ proportions may be questionable, but I’m a fan of the current composition. The castle looks a lot bigger than it is. And this is precisely how it gets a little bit of magic — I need to know what is happening inside!

A mysterious warrior takes a moment to reflect

This mystical scene comes from the creative mind of W. Navarre. In the build, we see the silhouette of a figure perched on a rooftop, with the roof tiles cleverly portrayed through the use of ball joint plates. The warrior is overshadowed by a bright moon, which has a great variation of textured pieces representing the rocky surface. Waves crash against the house surrounded by a bamboo forest, featuring the use of tan Technic pins as bamboo stalks. The odd angle of the house mixed with the mystical aesthetic makes this one unique display.

Armored Titan keeps moving forwards

“I’m the Armoured Titan and this is the Colossal Titan…” Truer words have never been spoken (unfortunately). After a year since his last Titan build, builder Funnystuffs finally built another one just in time for the final season of hit anime series Attack on Titan. His Armoured Titan is very accurate to its animated counterpart and instantly recognisable for those familiar with the character. Angular pieces represent bonelike armour plating and dark red underneath shows off sinewy muscle. We expect builds of these titans to be more massive, but the scale here is accurate. This titan stands at 15 meters tall and Funnystuffs did a good job translating that to LEGO bricks.

Disclaimer: The pieces here are tan, the lighting makes it look like light nougat.

The enchanting Devil’s Bridge

Ralf Langer tells us that he has built a LEGO version of the Rakotzbrücke in Germany and I was like; yep, you totally pulled that off nicely, dude. It looks just like it! Pretending I knew what I was talking about lasted nearly five seconds before I turned to Google to figure out; what the heck is a Rakotzbrücke? It turns out it’s a man-made bridge that was built over a lake in Kromalu Park. The arched bridge is designed to create a perfect circle when it reflects in the still waters below. It’s also known as the Devil’s Bridge due to the belief that the magical circle must be the hands of the devil. Oh, cool! Now we all know something. I’m loving the dark still water and the overall dreadful mood of this eerie creation.