LEGO releases one new modular set a year, but every so often there’s a set that is modular-adjacent that fans of the line wish could better integrate with their collection. The Chinese New Year restaurant, French Cafe, and especially 2023’s lovely Friends Botanical Garden (which predated the minifig scale Botanical Garden which is even more modular-adjacent). Modular builder Melanie found a solution to integrate the Friends garden into her city by turning the conservatory a two-story corner unit using a design by MingBrick. I adore the park bench and cherry blossom tree at the base of the stairs adding a parklet at street level that fits perfectly with the sidewalk aesthetic of other modulars.
Category Archives: LEGO
LEGO Star Wars 75409 Jango Fett’s Starship: The Starship Who Shall Not Be Named [Review]
I don’t know if they have heirlooms in Star Wars, but if they do, the Slave I is surely one of the bounty-hunting Fett family’s. It made its first appearance in the Empire Strikes Back as Boba Fett’s ship, but Attack of the Clones revealed that it had once belonged to his father, Jango, albeit in a different paint scheme. The former has made up the bulk of the ship’s LEGO appearances, including a much-loved Ultimate Collector Series edition released in 2015. Ten years on, it’s the Episode II version that is getting the same treatment, in the form of 75409 Jango Fett’s Firespray-Class Starship, containing 2,970 pieces. Release is slated for this Star Wars day (May 4th), with a retail price of US $299.99 | CAN $379.99 | UK £259.99. Is it worth a detour to Kamino? Strap in, let’s find out!
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 here to read our full review!
UCS Jango Fett’s Starship leads Star Wars Day wave of LEGO sets [News]
On May the Fourth, aka Star Wars Day, LEGO is releasing an eclectic mix of sets and exclusives from across the franchise. Jango Fett is the MVP of this wave, with 75409 UCS Jango Fett’s Starship and his headpiece joining past Mandalorian designs in the Helmet Collection. Celebrating 10 years since his angsty debut, Kylo Ren also features with a buildable helmet and 75606 Kylo Ren’s Command Shuttle at midi-scale. Andor is back with 75399 Rebel U-Wing Starfighter, and rans of Rebels and Ahsoka will be thrilled to see 75416 Chopper (c1-10P) at a scale to match the latest R2D2 set. A mix of Gifts with Purchase will accompany the sets. Look for our reviews coming soon.
We’re going in for all the Star Wars details. Cover me, Porkins!
How to summon a LEGO genie [Building Technique]
Each year, we get to see some amazing LEGO building techniques on display during the part count-restricted Rogue Olympics. Mark van der Maarel keeps it well under 100 with this great magic lamp. And if you’re like me, your first wish will be figuring out how those white disks fit together to make such a great puff of smoke!
LEGO builders join forces for some greebley goodness
Do you know what greebling is? I’ll tell you: it’s a mish-mash of tiny mechanical details that serve little-to-no purpose other than making something look suitably futuristic. It’s a favourite technique of LEGO sci-fi builders, particularly in Star Wars-adjacent or -inspired builds. And these mechanical mounts from Red Impala and Zakarion are masterclasses in the technique! First, we have K-Drak and his steed Zeet, as built by Red Impala. You may have seen his work before – he’s a frequent fixture in our Minifigure Monday round-ups. The figure here is suitably attired, which, together with its ostrich-looking mount, really drives home the fact these guys live in the desert.
As for Zak, he made Oros and Gazelle here – and this thing seems to be made almost entirely of greebles! I’m a sucker for sand-red, so that’s what I’m drawn to here. Of course it would be a sand-based colour, being a desert mount. It also appears to draw inspiration from birds like ostriches or emus, but it’s interesting to see how two different builders can take the concept in wildly different directions!
Comic book characters bound from the page in bricks [Minifig Monday]
Ever since Spider-Man appeared in minifig form as part of the LEGO Studios line, superheroes have been a staple of the toymaker’s catalog, in official sets and collectible minifig series, with minifig spins on iconic characters even getting their own films and video games. LEGO has released some pretty deep-cut heroes (especially those controversial Comic-Con exclusives), but no amount of official sets can keep up with all the characters that have ever appeared in print. This week we’ll take a look at some creative spins on comic characters from the big two of DC and Marvel and beyond.
Our first character is The Batman Who Laughs, the evil universe jokerfied version of Bruce Wayne, courtesy of piotrbricks. Piotr first shared this a few years back, but it remains one of the sickest superhero designs using all official parts that I’ve ever seen. The cartoony grin of Joker from The LEGO Batman Movie is so eerie coming from the Dark Knight’s cowl, especially with rubber bands covering the eyes.
Now for something completely different, Polish builder ponuryy pays tribute to stars of bandes dessinées Asterix and Obelisk on their trip to Egypt. Their druid friend Getafix incorporates newer elements for the head, but his vintage legs seem inspired by this take from OG AFOL Michael Jasper.
Read on for more custom comic book minifigs
A good dog, a not-so-good vegetable, and some great LEGO word-play
I don’t really know why broccoli gets so much shade. Its cousin cauliflower would be more deserving: it doesn’t really taste of anything, it’s easy to overcook and it disintegrates when you try and eat it. I much prefer LEGO pun-meister Maxx Davidson‘s take on it. Cauliflower? No, collie-flower! This adorable collie looks delighted to be sporting a sunflower on its head. I love the inquisitive nature of those tooth-element ears. What a good dog. And I will begrudgingly admit that the brick-built vegetable next to it is very nicely done, too. I still wouldn’t eat it though.
Join our haunted tour of this epic LEGO lair for New Orleans vampires
Jeff Chapman has carved out a place in the LEGO builder scene with a bloody knife, specializing in the macabre with a historical twist. While most of his creations so far have centered around Salem, for his latest build, Jeff travels south to New Orleans, another American city brimming with haunted history. Like his New England builds, Jeff bases his model on a real-world location, in this case an iconic corner building on Royal Street that was home to the legendary Jacques St Germain, the French Quarter vampire!
Jeff’s models are always best experienced via narrated tour of history and build process on his Spooky Brixx YouTube channel, which you can watch here. Or skip down to a photo gallery for more pics of this haunted masterpiece.
This LEGO Book of Boba Fett is an excellent read
Star Wars fans may have scratched their heads at Disney+’s choice of names for a show about one of the galaxy’s most notorious bounty hunters, but Les Foutch took it as a challenge and built a LEGO book to capture iconic moments from the show in miniature vignettes. With so many action-packed scenes from the show to choose from, it took two volumes to fit it all. The results are a cool tribute to the show and must have been a lot of fun to build as well!
Read on to crack open the over and peek inside the Book of Boba Fett
A worthy watery tribute to a great LEGO theme
While LEGO Star Wars may have brought me back to buying LEGO sets regularly, the Atlantis theme from 2010-2011 was one of the first themes where I bought every set that came out. It was a perfect mix of submarines and sci-fi. By the look of this awesome homage to one of the most memorable sets in the theme, by Edge of Bricks is as big a fan as I am.
This reboot of LEGO Atlantis 8061 Gateway of the Squid is a substantial upgrade of the original but retains all of the classic elements, including a cage made of squid bones (which is cool, even if squids don’t have any bones). The base is packed with great undersea flora and fauna, including a garden of green hot dog elements and glow-in-the-dark crowns as anemones.
“Even the greatest LEGO builders are forgotten someday”
At first glance, Frieren: Beyond Journey’s End looks like a pretty standard D&D-infused anime adventure, but all it takes is one episode to know you’ve found something special. The beloved series about friendship and loss and the passing of time is told from the point of view of Frieren, an elf who ages much slower than her former questing companions. Joffre Zheng pays tribute to the heroes who slew the Demon King in LEGO form. From left to right, Fern, Stark, Frieren, Heiter, Himmel, and Eisen are lovingly recreated in the Miniland style, each proportioned to match the anime and manga. I especially like the way Joffre captures Heiter’s signature pose, hand on chest. It’s a beautiful ode to a series that reminds us that no matter how much time we have left, friendship matters.
TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for April 12, 2025 [News]
In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders worldwide, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the 2nd week of April 2025.
TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS This week saw the announcement of a new twist on the Marvel collectible display front with scaled-down bust models of two iconic Marvel characters, Iron Man and Spiderman (also of the iron variety). These smaller versions of popular characters seem to be a sign of LEGO learning from past mistakes like the oversized and overpriced Black Panther bust. If this Brick Report leaves you with an itch for more news and reviews, be sure to check out last week’s Brick Report.
- [NEWS] LEGO announces new Marvel Mini Bust line with Iron Man and Iron Spider sets — More affordable character bust sets that won’t break your display shelves.
- [FEATURE] Gayle Spiller’s enchanting LEGO box dioramas — This beautiful collection of nature-inspired dioramas is inside the box.
- [FEATURE] Dark Side? Light Side? Take a walk on the Wild Side of Star Wars — Our coverage of custom minifigures this week celebrates a galaxy of diversity.
- [FEATURE] This Week in LEGO Bricks: The Catbus/Dark Knight Returns –ABrickDreamer’s weekly video roundup of AFOL stories. Studio Ghibli and Batman feature.
OTHER NEWS
- Newest LEGO factory opens in Vietnam – Environmental sustainability and long-term supply improvements to the region are touted by the LEGO Group in the announcement.
- From Production to Play: How the LEGO Group builds and delivers LEGO® products around the world – [LEGO] — The LEGO Group outlines their global business and distribution model.
- LEGO drops diversity terms from its annual sustainability report – [The Guardian] — In a sign of the unbalanced influence of certain individuals, LEGO has removed diversity-focused language from their annual sustainability report.
- Exclusive LEGO Vietnam factory set sparks global collector interest – [Tuoitre News] — LEGO continues to grow its worldwide manufacturing and distribution channels by opening a new factory in Southern Vietnam, and announces a new set to commemorate it.