This rock-covered hill with billowing clouds by Caleb Saw is giving me serious Howl’s Moving Castle vibes, or really, almost any Studio Ghibli film. The soft focus on the background would help hide the many connections used to assemble the cumulus clouds if Caleb hadn’t done such a masterful job of doing that themselves. Can you spot the many unique elements used? There must be at least 10 different radar dishes, domes, and curved slopes used, not to mention some balloon parts.
Today sees the release of A Minecraft Movie, the unlikely yet inevitable next step for the world’s best-selling video game. Will it make waves like The LEGO Movie did back in 2014? Critically, reviews suggest no, but we’ll see after this weekend what generations raised with these digital building blocks think. Outside of the cinema, perhaps the strangest Minecraft partnership has been with LEGO. In most regards, Minecraft succeeds at blending play and building in a digital space better than any LEGO game has to date, and early in the product’s life, LEGO was in talks to partner with Mojang for a “Brickcraft” take on the experience.
Even though a partnership or buyout on digital worlds never came to fruition, LEGO has been enjoying over a decade of success with toy kits based on the Minecraft IP and aesthetic, like the recent tribute LEGO Minecraft 21265 Workbench. The theme is a best-seller with younger builders but there are many adult fans who enjoy expanding on the theme with original creations or incorporating the unique elements into their sets. Let’s take a look at some of our favorite Minecraft builds!
Builder Syrdarian has found magic in the isometric angles of Minecraft’s voxel world. Titled “No Mistakes, Just Happy Accidents,” this scene looks as tranquil as a Bob Ross painting until you look closely at the glowing light source. Oops! Someone got too close to the lava. I love the verticality of this build and the cutaway terrain that makes it feel like a part of a much bigger world.
Grab a pick and dig deeper for more Minecraft inspired builds
As March rolls into April, several LEGO events come to an end and reputable sites like this one roll out dubious news. With so many amazing builds and stories in the AFOL world, we’re grateful that ABrickDreamer is here to round up the highlights in one place. This Week in Bricks captures highlights from events like Marchitecture and the Rogue Olympics, as well as April Fools, but it was character builds that took the spotlight. From a mind-numbingly good Nien Nunb to the latest Eero Okkonen diva, builders created some striking and memorable characters this week.
Some Star Wars creature designs are admittedly cool. Others, like the Aqualish, leaves us asking- is that a butt for a mouth? When I first saw Nien Nunb in Return of the Jedi, I told anyone who would listen- That looks like a [redacted by editing staff] on a [redacted by editing staff]! I was in junior high so I’m pretty sure that utterance got me suspended from school. LEGO phenom Oscar Cederwall is clearly a fan; in fact, he tells us this odd Sullustan was one of only a few Star Wars action figures he had as a kid. I have to give props for the neat build techniques at play here. Everything from his mouse-y eyes to his -uh- fleshy jowel flaps are spot on. He also piloted the Millenium Falcon alongside Lando so he garners some cool points there. But, Oscar, if you haven’t already, check out the episode of the Venture Bros. when The Order of the Triad conjure up Nien Nunb and calls him an abomination. It’s quality entertainment!
Last week Dicken Liu made waves with an unlikely alternative build and instructions to turn the Creator 3-in-1 Cute Bunny into an Alien face hugger. Not one to rest on his laurels, Dicken is back with the most impressive and insane alt-build we’ve ever seen – a large-scale Alien Xenomorph and another spin on the face hugger, this time drawing exclusively on the parts from Dinosaur Fossils: Tyrannosaurus Rex (which reviews editor Bre called one of her favorite builds of all time). Was Dicken so preoccupied with whether or not he could create these alt builds that he didn’t think to stop if he should? Who am I kidding, of course he should have! It’s amazing. Force of nature Dicken Liu always finds a way.
Dicken is a prolific builder who over a few short years competed in LEGO Masters China, was invited to display his works at the LEGO House Masterpiece Gallery in Billund, and was crowned Builder of the Year in 2023 on this very site. His builds include everything from characters to architecture to silly gags. Lately, he’s been exploring alternate ways to display and remix sets, and with the Xenomorph rebuild, Dicken’s talents truly shine.
While Xenomorphs are most commonly seen in the films with a black carapace, tan works surprisingly well for the creature, matching the on-screen colors of the face hugger. Dicken manages to use the limited curved bricks from the T-Rex set to sculpt a dead-on Xenomorphy head, aand the the many bony elements give it the extra Giger touch. Conveniently, there are enough of the slender ribs left to make a face hugger with clasping legs and curving tail that make it much more menacing than the bunny version.
Dicken generously provided free instructions for his face hugger alt build, which lets anyone make their own LEGO face hugger for under $20. If Dicken shares instructions for this latest masterpiece, we will update so that you can re-engineer your own T-Rex into an even deadlier apex predator.
UNO isn’t just the card game that teaches kids to count to one in Spanish. It also spawned a TikTok trend with the iconic Reverse card, a totemic item so powerful that it can flip any situation back on the other person. Dominique Boeynaems recreates the most iconic card since the Black Lotus tapped for 3 with UNO’s game changer built from LEGO bricks. It may look like a simple design, but Dominique shows some impressive SNOT building skill to line up the arrows just so without gaps, using brackets as half-plate spacers. It’s such a remarkable likeness that seeing the build atop a pile of actual UNO cards, you’d be forgiven for missing that it’s LEGO at all!
Dominique’s UNO Reverse card was made for the “Backwards” challenge in the Rogue Olympics competition, which also inspired Woomy World’s taco cat.
Sybrin Hendrikx is known primarily as a builder of incredible LEGO race cars, and his latest LEGO build is arguably still a hot ride but of a much less terrestrial variety. With this beautiful rendition of the stolen Police Cruiser from Disney’s Lilo and Stitch Sybrin has somehow captured the organic, almost fluid lines of the craft’s elegant yet powerful design, which seems to draw inspiration from sources as diverse as the classic Jaguar E-type roadster and tropical fish. Another thing that Sybrin is know for is the judicious use of custom decals in his creations, used here to great effect.
The Police Cruiser’s design is for me a brilliant highlight in the now classic original 2002 animated Disney film, which had a look and feel completely unlike anything from the studio then to-date. So far, the 2025 live-action Lilo and Stitch film looks to be a virtual shot-for-shot remake, meaning no additional screen time for this too-briefly depicted beauty. I guess I will just have to scratch that itch by admiring Sybrin’s “remake” instead.
With initial reactions to LEGO Icons 10354 The Lord of the Rings: The Shire finding it beautiful but not a great value, would a family fishing trip help? LEGO Icons GWP 40761 The Lord of the Rings: Sméagol & Déagol will be available from release (Insiders April 2nd, everyone else April 5th) through April 8th (while supplies last!) with the purchase of Bag End: (US | CAN | UK). So let’s dig into this 181-piece GWP and see if it’s worth prioritizing a long-awaited purchase of LEGO Icons 10354 The Shire on initial release. If you miss the GWP during this window, it may be available from some 3rd party resellers like Amazon or eBay.
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.
Check out the review of this new GWP below!
March is becoming a packed month in the LEGO building community – Marchitecture, Imperial March, and our old favorite Marchikoma when builders make “think tanks” inspired by the mecha of the classic anime Ghost in the Shell. A think tank is a sentient mech characterized by 4 (or sometimes more) legs with feet or rollers, a pair of manipulator arms, and sensor “eyes,” that skitters about like a high-tech militarized spider or crab. Each year builders find ways to add a fresh spin to the iconic design. Let’s bring on the Marchikoma mecha of 2025!
We start with this Blue Planet Attacker by LEGO set designer Wes Talbott. Inspiration came from Wes playing with the latest smooth nougat parts in his collection, which paired with red-orange evoked the classic Life on Mars LEGO theme. Bright yellowish green and dark azure highlights make for a distinct color scheme. But it’s those manipulator arms and big eyes that ooze personality. Wes paired the mech with a patch of incredible space terrain where the military mech makes peaceful first contact.
Fellow LEGO designer Chris Perron also skates in with this beautiful Ice Planet mech, the Snow Scuttler. Chris took inspiration from the CMF Ice Planet fig for the design specifics, like the curves and sensor eye. Aside from the iconic trans neon orange elements from the classic theme, Chris incorporates X-Pod lid and Fabuland windows to create maximum curves with minimal seams.
Skitter on down for more think tank goodness
LEGO has offered a sneak peak of their upcoming mosaic set: 42025 Map of Greenland. Following the success of the 31203 World Map mosaic set from 2021, LEGO seeks to launch other geographic map mosaic sets starting with the sovereign nation of Greenland, which is an autonomous territory in the Kingdom of Denmark. The Map of Greenland set consists of 5422 pieces and measures 53 cm long 74cm high (20.86in x 29.13 in) and will be available from LEGO.com and LEGO Stores globally from June 1, 2025, priced at US $149.99 | CAN $249.99 | UK £129.99. There is no word yet as to when this set will be available globally at other retailers but The LEGO Group anticipates that this set will be of particular interest in the American market segment.
Acknowledging that the size and complexity of sets has become overwhelming for many builders, LEGO announced today the Creator 1-of-3 line that promises to let fans build at their own pace. The first wave features a scaled-up Classic Space Minifigure serialized over 3 separate sets. Together the sets contain an intimidating 694 pieces, but don’t sweat it! With the 1-of-3 line, the model is split into more manageable stand-alone kits with modest piece counts designed to lower anxiety. LEGO Creator 1-of-3 40125 Classic Space Torso, the largest of the wave, consists of an up-scaled Minifigure torso containing 274 parts and features the iconic Classic Space logo and posable arms and hands. Set 40126 Classic Space Legs trails its torso counterpart with 231 pieces and features movable legs, while set 40127 Classic Space Head rounds out the trio with 189 pieces, comprising of a blue helmet and the iconic smiling yellow Minifigure face. While it’s possible to collect them all to build a fully posable up-scaled Minifigure that stands 10 inches tall (25.5 cm), there’s no pressure to do so. Each section makes a wonderful display piece on its own. We can expect all these sets to hit store shelves on May 15th. Read on for info and pictures for each specific set.
No fooling, April is set to bring us some huge new LEGO sets on store shelves. Disney fans have their eyes on LEGO Disney 43263 Beauty and the Beast Castle, which has Insiders access beginning today. Tolkien lovers will certainly be excited for LEGO Icons 10354 Lord of the Rings: The Shire, with access as early as April 2nd. And for those who are looking to take a trip down the mighty Mississippi, LEGO Ideas 21356 River Steamboat hits store shelves on April 7th, again for Insiders only. Check out all the new sets, and some of the other releases from this year, by heading over to the LEGO website: LEGO US | LEGO CAN | LEGO UK.
Check out the images and details for all these new sets below!