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 Store on 5th Avenue New York City offers a brand-new feature: Brick Lab [News]

On June 24 2021, LEGO opened a new flagship store on 5^th Avenue New York City. With 7,175 square feet (about 660 square meters) over two floors, the store offers a brand-new feature called Brick Lab, which turns physical LEGO builds into digital ones to become part of the interactive story. The experience is 20 minutes long, and fills the walls, floors and ceilings with animated interactive content which then the visitors can play in, using both physical and virtual builds. The LEGO Group aims to have this feature in 100 other flagship stores in the coming year.

Click to find out all the features of the store!

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Micro monastery is mighty on charm

Building a great vignette on a small base is an art form, a balancing act between choosing the right parts and colors to achieve detail, without being too visually heavy. Isaac Snyder is a master of the craft, as you can see from this monastery built on a 12×12 base. Not only is the landscape nice, featuring simple rockwork under a fall leaves strewn hillside, but the gate is also very well built, with some gray plates for a weathered look, along with just a few gold details below the roof. But the great details continue below the model to the sculpted base, which reminds me of a Bonsai pot.

Old gods and hidden dangers

The heart of the forest lay deep within the multitudes of birch protected by the Forestmen. The unaware would see a plain tree but within its ancient form lay the spirit of the forest, a god older than the dirt its roots now dig through. Those that hear whispers of its power seek to gain a piece of it to use for their means, good or evil. At least, that’s the story that comes to mind when I see this model. Here builder Eli Willsea shows us the Prince of Persia attempting to evade the Forestmen as he seeks the power granted by the ancient birch. Check out the parts Eli used, like the vehicle shovel in the background of the underground chamber or the horns and large claws as branches. Fantastic rock molding frames the sandy texturing of the bricks at the base of the chamber, detailed with minifigure legs and candles. While the smaller birch trees make use of the slits in the technic parts for their look, Eli used black lifesaver bouys to achieve the bigger birch’s characteristic stripes.

You can find more of Eli Willsea’s designs in our archives.

You light up my life. You know, because you’re a lamp.

There’s something extra cool when LEGO crosses paths with Art Nouveau. This amazing wasp-winged table lamp, designed by Ted Andes, was inspired by antique Tiffany lamps. And as cool as that lampshade “glass” is, I admire the twisting metalwork accents the most. Although the small details like the gracefully curving wall plug and period-accurate light-switch are also in the running.

Taking off the top, you can better see the brick-built vintage lightbulb and the complex construction that went into the shade’s base. Seen out of context, that lampshade could easily double for a Matrix-inspired robotic vehicle. Amazing work, there.

Built as part of the Bio-Cup contest, Ted was limited to using 100% LEGO elements. That means that this lamp doesn’t light up…yet. Ted says that he plans to add that “non standard” functionality in the future, with an eye on displaying it at an in-person LEGO convention. You know, when those are a regular thing again.

LEGO Star Wars 75314 The Bad Batch Attack Shuttle [Review]

During the final season of The Clone Wars that aired on Disney+ last year, one episode featured Clone Force 99, also known as the “Bad Batch.” Through that backdoor pilot, this group of misfit clone troopers got their own Disney+ series, with inevitable LEGO Star Wars tie-ins. The first (and so far only) LEGO set based on the TV show is 75314 The Bad Batch Attack Shuttle, which includes 969 pieces with five minifigures for US $99.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £89.99. The set is available for pre-order now, and will be released on August 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 our hands-on review of LEGO Star Wars 75314 The Bad Batch Attack Shuttle

The Tachyomatic Combine combines complex angles and interstellar build techniques

Well, I’m pretty sure Nick Trotta is from outer space or he’s been sent from the future to kill us all. How else could you explain LEGO build techniques of this caliber? This Tachyomatic Combine combines (how do you explain word association that good?) complex angles, futuristic aerodynamics, and interesting colors and textures. The end result is so cohesive you’d be convinced Nick visited the future. Actually, he’s taken inspiration from artist Weiyi Qin whom I’m pretty sure is also from outer space.

Care to see other angles and the inner workings of this mind-blowing model? I’m pretty much going to speak for you here and say that you do. Go on, click the link! You know you want to!

No seriously, click it. You won’t be disappointed!

Survival separates the LEGO dodos from the beasts!

The whimsical R 194 is back with a LEGO build titled “DDD (DODO Delivery)” that belongs in the world of Mary Poppins. From the brown hat to the multicolored socks to the blue and white umbrella, this dodo clearly has style. There are a lot of fun details to enjoy, like the glasses perched on the dodo’s beak and red messenger back hung around its beck.

This shot focuses more on the individual items, including a small suitcase and wagon filled with even more tidbits.

Matthias of Redwall is ready for battle

LEGO builder Matt Goldberg presents us with this impressive build of Matthias from the Redwall books, written by Brian Jacques. The model is an entry in the Bio Cup competition and portrays the protagonist of the first Redwall novel. Matt has captured the rodent-like features, even the bulbous eyes, of the young mouse. Rounded plates at the face and knees assist in creating the anthropomorphic form of the body. Ready to hear enemies nearby, the large ears of the model are created using the reverse side of armour pieces. It’s nice to see some Knights’ Kingdom pieces make an appearance such as the sword and the pauldron armour at the shoulders. Let’s hope there’s a grand feast awaiting the young hero at Redwall Abbey.

LEGO Gift with Purchase 40486 Mini Adidas Originals Superstar [Review]

You may have seen our 10282 Adidas Originals Superstar set review a short time ago. We’ve also had the chance to review its mini counterpart, 40486 Adidas Originals Superstar, which will be available July 1 and is free with qualifying purchases of US $85 | CAN $85 | UK £85 in LEGO stores and on the LEGO website. Let’s take a look and see if this set measures up to its bigger counterpart or if it falls a bit flat…footed?

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 the full review!

Everything is melting! Also everyone!

The new Everyone is Awesome set is, well, awesome. But inclusivity and cool monochrome minifigures aren’t exactly new ideas. Just ask Andreas Lenander – they’ve been building in those themes for a while now. Andreas has combined earlier builds into a stellar group display that showcases the full range of melty creative possibilities. Out of the group, my favorites are still the black and white builds, even if the stark contrast there doesn’t lean into the more colorful…hold up. Is that Batman I see hiding behind the red waterfall?

Don’t think that Andreas is limited to one thematic style, though. Check out a full range of great builds that we’ve featured in the past!

This flight’s been grounded…except on the water.

Lately, I’ve been thinking a lot about getting whisked away somewhere on a plane. But hopefully not a plane that uses an actual whisk to hold its propellers on, like this one does. But I suppose the whisk is the least of this pilot’s worries, as Grant Davis has constructed quite the impressive belch of black smoke coming from the engine of this seaplane. The texture of the smoke is quite impressive, and I particularly like the black smoke near the engine, made from what I think are a couple of TIE Fighter pilot helmets. The use of the small ship in the background to create a forced perspective horizon really makes it feel like this pilot is isolated, which adds a wonderful additional element of drama to the scene. I don’t imagine making engine repairs while rocking on the open ocean is an easy task. Hopefully his radio still works.

Clone troopers vs. battle droids in landscape-focused LEGO Star Wars build

Noah (h2brick) is back with another Star Wars build, this time focused on the planet of Utapau featured in Revenge of the Sith. The colors of the bricks are great and mesh well together, separating the different areas. The mini-story that’s playing out between the customer clone troopers and the battle droids is a fun touch; maybe we’ll see General Kenobi falling into the water soon. While I lot of LEGO creations are framed with tiles, Noah chose to have the water and rocks continue down and away from the build, keeping it more organic.

This time-lapse is a great look at how Noah’s build came together. If you’re interested in learning more about how to make your own LEGO creations (especially for landscaping), you need to watch this.