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.

That one frog from the poster!

One of the most famous frogs in the world is the red-eyed tree frog. This gloriously rainbow-colored amphibian has graced many a poster. In fact, I had the one with them stacked on top of each other hanging on my own wall growing up. What I didn’t realize at the time was that those cute little ones definitely aren’t babies… Anyway, Joffre Zheng continues the admiration with this roughly-lifesize LEGO sculpture. Simple but adorable. Fun fact: their vibrant colors are mostly for attracting mates, but also safety. They try to keep the colorful parts of their body hidden while they rest on leaves. Then when a predator comes, they open their eyes and flash those legs to startle the would-be killer.

Another fun fact: the scientific name for this rainforest creature is Agalychnis callidryas, and the species part of that name derives from Greek words meaning “beautiful tree nymph”. Fitting, right?

You can check out more cool animal builds in our archives, as well as more creations by Joffre.

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New LEGO Creator Expert & Architecture sets coming: 10289 Bird of Paradise & 21056 Taj Mahal [News]

Today we are revealing two new adult-focused sets from LEGO in the Creator Expert and Architecture themes, 10289 Bird of Paradise and 21056 Taj Mahal. The Bird of Paradise set will be part of the ongoing Botanical Collection following 10280 Flower Bouquet and 10281 Bonsai Tree. Meanwhile, the Taj Mahal will revisit the famous Indian monument in a smaller scale than the former Creator Expert version, 10256 Taj Mahal. In an unusual move, LEGO has not planned a press release for these sets, but we have the sets in hand for upcoming reviews, so be sure to watch for our full, hands-on reviews of these sets very soon. 10289 Bird of Paradise has 1,173 pieces and will retail for US $99.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £89.99, while 21056 Taj Mahal features 2,022 pieces and will come in at US $119.99 | CAN $169.99 | UK £89.99. Both sets will be available starting June 1 in Europe and the rest of the world, but won’t be available until August 1 in the Americas.

Click to see more of these sets

Pollinator from another planet

Far away, on some advanced planet, there are probably cyborg animals. I mean, the likelihood of Earth-like creatures seems reasonably high. And cyborgs aren’t just made from our imagination. Look at prosthetics — medical advancements are headed there more and more. Matt Goldberg gives us a glimpse of that with his latest LEGO build. This bee has circuitry! While the trans-blue Insectoid wings call attention, there are other great features too, like the marbled Bionicle Mohtrek mask used in the abdomen. My favorites are on the head, where skates are used for mandibles and minifigure hands attached to sausages form the antennae. Also, let’s not forget that colorful flower, cleverly built with purple Bionicle Pakari masks.

We try to keep it light here at TBB. But on a somber note, did you know our bees are in trouble? Without bees and other pollinators, we’d starve. We’re not going to be able to develop cyborg bees anytime soon, and even if we could, the real thing deserves our help. Please take a moment to learn what you can do, and check out these sites for more information on bees and their impact. Every act helps – even small and easy ones like planting a little bee garden and providing a refreshing bee bath.

Elephants are back in the new LEGO City Summer 2021 sets [News]

With the first official picture of the upcoming LEGO City sets published by an Italian retailer today, we can finally have a detailed look at all the new elements and animals available this summer. This season it’s all about wildlife and rescuing wild animals. Only three sets are revealed so far, but we expect the line-up to include more products. Prices and availability are yet to be announced, but we expect all the sets to go on sale no earlier than July 1.

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TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for May 1, 2021

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the last week of April 2021.

We get our hands dirty building the cutest little droid from a a galaxy far, far away with the new R2-D2 set. Read our Brick Report for all the details

TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: This week we met the incoming cast of LEGO Masters 2, saw the reveal of a wave of Vidiyo sets and minifigs, reviewed the new R2-D2 set and more!

LEGO Masters Season 2 cast revealed with 12 teams – The full cast of the upcoming LEGO Masters Season 2 has now been revealed, and includes some very familiar names. Check out all the teams!
LEGO Disney Mickey and Friends theme revealed as part of the 4+ lineup – Mickey and Friends are coming to LEGO, as revealed by this pair of sets featuring the iconic characters in minifigure form with Mickey, Minnie, Goofy, and Pluto!
LEGO Vidiyo reveals 8 new sets for summer 2021, including Bandmates Series 2 – Here’s the new lineup of Vidiyo sets for summer 2021, including a new wave of collectible Bandmates, new BeatBoxes, a pirate ship, and more.
LEGO Star Wars UCS-style 75308 R2-D2 [Review] – We take a closer look at the recently announced LEGO Star Wars UCS-style 75308 R2-D2. Available on May 1st ahead of Star Wars Day, how does it compare to other LEGO Artoo units?
LEGO Collectible Minifigures 71030 Looney Tunes Feel Guide [Review]
– Wanting to collect a full set of Looney Tunes minifigures? We’ve got a handy guide and some great tips to make it easy to complete your collection or just grab your favorites!

OTHER NEWS: There were quite a few other interesting LEGO news articles from around the web this week. Here are the best of the rest:

10,000-Piece LEGO Waterfall Table Stimulates the Imagination, Nerdist – Nothing beats this new LEGO waterfall coffee table from artist and YouTuber Nick Zammeti
Here’s what awaits at Legoland New York, opening this summer, Times Herald-Record – A tour of the new theme park gives a ‘bricktastic’ taste of what’s to come.
Lego Friends Weekends coming to Legoland Florida Resort, Attractions Magazine – Lego Friends Weekends make their way to Legoland Florida, starting May 1, with new adventures, squad-worthy selfies, fun shows and activities, and awesome sweet treats.

Fight for the New Republic aboard the Corvus!

Fly the Raider-class corvette just in time to finish off the Empire at the Battle of Jakku! Just in time for May the Fourth, builder Rubblemaker shows off his version of the mighty Corvus in its New Republic colors.

See more of this sleek Star Wars ship

LEGO Star Wars Day May the 4th 2021 promotions now live [News]

Next Tuesday is May the 4th, which has come to be known as Star Wars day, and LEGO is kicking off the promotions this weekend, with the promotions now live. The two highlights of the sale are the new UCS-style R2-D2, which is available starting now, and the microscale Tatooine Homestead which is available now through May 5 (while supplies last) as a gift with purchases of Star Wars LEGO over $85. VIPs will also earn double points on all Star Wars purchases. If you’re planning to purchase anything this weekend, consider clicking through from the links in this article to help support TBB.

Click to see more LEGO Star Wars sets in the promotion

Can’t tell up from down

This slick little racer by Isaac Snyder is disguising a secret; flip it over and it’ll keep right on going. I’ve seen some RC cars in the toy aisle that have similar features, but I don’t recall seeing a LEGO racer that does it before. The front wheels are actually pairs of 6×6 radar dishes from a Monkie Kid set, which add a flash of teal to really make the bright color scheme sing. The best part? The whole model clocks in at just 101 pieces.

Wander deep into the woods to find something magical

If you’ve been reading the Brothers Bricks for a few years, no doubt you’ll recognize the distinct style of LEGO characters created by Patrick Biggs. I always tend to come across them online in the same way: I’m browsing some social media platform and this fantastic LEGO model scrolls onto my screen. I think to myself, “this is amazing, who built it?” And then I read the caption and realize “Of course, it’s Patrick!”

While I’m sure he agonizes over parts selection and placement, his models have an effortless look to them; the organic feel makes me believe they naturally grew, rather than being pieced together by an intelligent designer. With this Elk, there are so many things to love about how it’s sculpted, but my favourite is the legs. The 1×1 round plates stuck in the sides of the technic connectors – while not an uncommon technique – perfectly imitates how joints are thicker than other parts of the leg. And the armor plates on the front of the hooves so perfectly represents that layer of overhanging thick fur, really bringing this woodland creature to life. I’ve long been a fan of Patrick’s work as a LEGO artist and his ability to adeptly mix system and Bionicle elements, and this is one sculpture, in particular, I’d love to find a place for on my mantle.

LEGO Disney Mickey and Friends theme revealed as part of the 4+ lineup [News]

Our friends over at Brickset have spotted that Dutch retailer Van Der Meulen has published images of a pair of new sets based on the Mickey and Friends brand, which is the umbrella under which Disney places most of its movies, TV shows, and cartoons with the iconic characters. The two new sets are part of LEGO’s 4+ line aimed at junior builders, and feature simple builds with large elements. Mickey, Minnie, and Goofy have all appeared in minifigure form in a few sets before, but Pluto makes a first appearance in this scale. There’s no word yet on specific pricing or availability dates, but LEGO generally releases a large wave of sets on June 1, so it’s possible these may become available then.

Click to see the new sets

The Medieval Speed Shop for all your horse and wagon needs

Any car enthusiast knows that the Speed Shop can be a vital place to give your car that extra bit of oomph. Sometimes just a little more horsepower or even flashier rims will do it. Even a new air freshener can turn your ride from a zero to a hero. (Thanks, Vanilla Ice!) But LEGO builder Stephan Gofers has your solution for when you had a need for speed back in the horse and carriage days. This Medieval Speed Shop has everything we look for in a great LEGO creation. It has neat colors, nice parts usage, awesome build techniques, and also goats. Did I mention before that goats equal the formula for success here at Brothers Brick? I’m pretty sure I did. This isn’t the first time Stephan tickled our fancy. Check him out in our archives.

Ice Planet just got cooler with this life-size handheld computer

LEGO designer Chris Perron recently sat down to build a life-size replica of a LEGO element, and settled on one of his favorite themes, Ice Planet 2002 (a love I share with him). Instead of building a simple upscaled version of the theme’s iconic 1×2 tile, though, Chris reimagined it as a handheld tablet for exploring the frozen world. It’s bulky and rugged so that intrepid ice adventurers can handle it through gloves, and Chris converted all the knobs, lights, and screens to three-dimensional elements. And I couldn’t be more in love with the result. Forget about flower bouquets, this is the life-size stuff I want from LEGO.

And Chris didn’t take the easy route and just make the back a flat, featureless expanse of white. It’s got a rugged pattern that seems exactly like what you’d see on a device made to withstand being dropped onto the ice. The 2002 in the middle is just the icing on the nostalgia cake.