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.

Conversion Van Conversion

Sometimes the best inspiration for a custom LEGO Creation is an official LEGO set. When 1saac W. saw the brown van in the upcoming Avengers: Endgame Final Battle set, he knew he had to have one – but in classic black with stylish pin stripes. In addition to the color swap, there’s some more subtle upgrades that make the model even more accurate to the real 1970s Ford Econoline: a round window in the back, an exhaust pipe just behind the rear wheel, and even door handles made from minifigure roller skates. I bet if we could see inside there’d be some stylish shag carpeting and a rocking 8-track player.

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Mech behemoth towers over all

From the classic mecha anime, Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam, Moko’s model of the Rick Dias comes loaded with weaponry. This red giant supports a long bazooka and also has a pair of beam pistols attached to its massive backpack. A variety of slope pieces have been used throughout the design, the most prominent being the slope 2 x 2 x 3 part. The unusual circular section in the chest has been created by using round corner 4 x 4 x 2 pieces.

The model packs a punch with its articulated hands and can pull off some impressive poses even with a hulking frame.

By building in this scale the model has enough detail to make it near identical to its anime counterpart. This is one for Gundam and mecha fans alike while also demonstrating an impressive show of Lego engineering.

Star Trek: The Next Generation engage!

This new LEGO creation by Mikael Montelius features all your favorites from Star Trek: The Next Generation. From left to right we have Wesley and Beverly Crusher, Captain Picard, Data, LaForge, Riker, Troi and Worf. There aren’t many parts here but the likeness to each character is uncanny. I like that each shoulder is touching the next but is slightly askew. The base and the whole presentation makes for a handsome display that could adorn any desk or office. The formula is simple, yet brilliant. We’ve been smitten by Mikael’s work before but I can see this setting a trend for other builders to follow. Think about how this formula of characters on a neat linear display could work for other fun franchises like Star Wars, Marvel, DC Comics, Harry Potter or…The Human Centipede. Sorry. I’ll just let myself out.

Stolen Spyrius Technology

Back in 1994, the LEGO Space Police had to deal with one of their most challenging foes in the form of SPYRIUS, an intergalactic band of espionage agents who specialized in stealing the technology of more peaceful citizens in the United Galaxies Space Council. Now, in 2021, Spyrius has finally gotten a taste of their own medicine thanks to builder Moppo!, who has managed to steal some technology from Spyrius and used it to create this custom LEGO creation, a modern update on the Saucer Scout.

This version of the vehicle is larger, but it hasn’t lost the feel of a smaller ship perfect for recon missions. It’s still got those perpendicular engines, ready to blast the ship off in any direction, in case it needs to make a quick getaway from Space Police patrol ships in the area. The pops of lime green near the cockpit are a great compliment to the traditional red and black color scheme. And, of course, it’s not a real Spyrius set without that trademark printed tile.

11/12 Grimmauld Place – transforming Harry Potter build

Accio Harry Potter fans! This Harry Potter LEGO creation from Alan McMorran is a delight. Alan takes Grimmauld Place, featured as a transforming house in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix, and expertly reworks the design to fit between Assembly Square and Pet Shop. It really does belong on this street from the dog sitting by the door to the exposed bricks to the white windows. When attention is drawn to the top of the building one starts to suspect that something’s a little…magical about this place. The windows look medieval and the color shifts to a somber combination of black and gray.

The model is great, but this is where it truly becomes remarkable. The building can be transformed from 11 Grimmauld Place into 12 Grimmauld Place. Watch the transformation here.

After the transformation. The difference in the smooth and studded walkways is a great detail. The skull and snake are very welcoming, don’t you think?

LEGO bricks crushed under hydraulic press to create a donut [News]

LEGO bricks are known to be extremely durable and it takes a rough magnitude of 4,240 newtons (950 pounds) to crush a single 2×2 brick based on tests by The Open University’s engineering department. The Hydraulic Press Channel, is known for crushing all sorts of things with a hydraulic press, and more recently, turning them into donuts. Their latest attempt is to experiment with LEGO bricks.

Click to see the video of LEGO being crushed into a donut

Writing The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks with Daniel Konstanski [Interview]

Last fall, LEGO held a vote to let fans pick the topic of its next adult-focused book. The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks, written by Daniel Konstanski, emerged victorious and has been available for pre-order via the crowdsourced publishing platform Unbound ever since. The book will not be available via normal distribution after the Unbound campaign, so with just one week remaining for pre-orders, we caught up with Daniel to find out what he’s been up to for the last nine months working on this book. Of course, we haven’t read the book yet, so we wanted to know a bit of what to expect from the finished book. Daniel says he’s been allowed full access to The LEGO Company’s archives—an unprecedented level of access—and has been delving through more than 600 pages of transcripts from interviews he conducted with LEGO employees.

He was able to share with us some exclusive sneak peeks, such as the dinosaur tribe that almost made it into the Legends of Chima theme. The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks will be published in 2022, though only available to those who backed the project on Unbound by May 31, 2021.

Click to read the full interview

LEGO Art reveals 31203 World Map mosaic as biggest LEGO set of all time with 11,695 pieces [News]

With 11,695 pieces, the newest LEGO Art set 31203 World Map breaks the record once more with the highest piece count in a set in the company’s history, nudging out last year’s 10276 Colosseum by several thousand pieces. Like the Art sets released before, World Map consists mainly of 1×1 round tiles which create the continents and the oceans. The set is built on 40 interconnecting baseplates which can be arranged in 3 different ways to display different portions of the world in the center. However you arrange it, the set is 25.5 in. (65 cm) high and 40.5 in. (104 cm) wide. The World Map will be available from LEGO.com and LEGO Stores globally from June 1, 2021, priced at US $249.99 | CAN $349.99 | UK £229.99, and from other retailers globally starting August 1, 2021.

Be sure to also read our full, hands-on review of the LEGO Art 31203 World Map mosaic, and check out the full press release and images below.

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LEGO Art 31203: World Map – The biggest LEGO set ever [Review]

There are large LEGO sets, and there are really large LEGO sets. And then there are the ones that take things to an entirely different level. Say hello to the biggest LEGO set ever — LEGO Art 31203 World Map. At 11,695 pieces, this new LEGO Art mosaic is the largest set ever released, beating out the 10276 Colosseum by 2659 elements and the Star Wars 75192 UCS Millennium Falcon by more than 4000. But quantity doesn’t always match up with quality. Come along as we explore the highs and lows of this new set, which will be available June 1st from the LEGO Shop Online for US $249.99 | CAN $349.99 | UK £229.99 and will become available from other retailers globally from 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.

Click to read the full hands-on review

Enough internet for today says the Ring-tailed Terrsier

Sometimes when you are scrolling online, you happen to stumble upon an image that screams: Enough internet for today! Mischief Mecha’s latest LEGO creation had that effect on me. And I feel like I need to emphasize that this is a LEGO creation. I personally had to look twice. What gave it away to me was the hands and feet which are made of parts I recognized. The rest of this builds pieces remain a mystery to me. I do know some of the main focus parts come from the LEGO Galidor theme like this fur collar which is used twice and makes up most of the body. Whether you consider Galidor pieces or not to be actual LEGO is up to you, but you can’t deny that this is very clever, creative, and oddly mesmerizing to watch.

A magical catch with striking form!

Builder Eero Okkonen has a history of building some impressive figures. A master of brick-built poseable models, his creations are full of character and story. The eye-catching designs always pull my attention to his intriguing use of pieces and array of techniques. This model, Archchancellor Ridcully’s Catch, has a magic about it that makes it clear Eero was harkening back to the classic fantasy series, Discworld. This Archchancellor is the wizard, Ridcully, out flyfishing on a relaxing morning and he’s certainly made a great catch here.

In this fully posable figure inspired by Sir Terry Prachett’s Discworld series, Eero’s use of rounded hinges and plates really help with the mobility of the legs. Meanwhile, 1×1 clips and the newer “stud with bar” help to achieve awesome angles with the arms. The hands are a bit simple, sure, but they still seem to provide great grip and dexterity! Also, thanks to the scale of the model, the fishing rod minifig piece fits perfectly in this flyfishing motif.

There are lots of things to appreciate about this model, so take some time to check it out! From the cape to the brick-built fish complete with a splash of water and framed by cattails, Eero Okkonen once again shows his skill with LEGO. I mean, just look at that beard and literal handlebar mustache! Find more through the links or by checking out his Flickr and Instagram @eerookkonen.

A well-seasoned guard tower

It’s that time of year again for some, particularly those who are already wishing it was autumn due to hot and humid weather. Well if you’re one of those people, you are sure to love Ayrlego’s model guard tower standing nice and tall in an autumn forest.

For the guard tower build itself, a number of brown and grey elements are utilized to render the stone and wood structure. Tiling is especially key to this build with the salmon-colored and tan tiles used at different elevations to render wood roof shingles. A couple of the old wavy flags in green and yellow are hung at the front of the building, denoting the city colors. This LEGO tower rests on an elevated brick-built terrain consisting of tan and olive green tiles, plates, and bricks instead of a baseplate. Of course, where there is a built structure, there should be some creatures around, and here we’ve got a couple of minifigures and the coveted LEGO goat hanging around the area. Lastly we have the brick-built trees displaying some crisp bright light orange tree branch elements. I can almost smell the autumn air through this build.