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.

The last (tiny) homely house east of the sea

Rivendell – the mention of the name already evokes a feeling of home. A location in J.R.R. Tolkien’s famous books The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, it appears as a sanctuary, a last respite to characters who are on a journey into “the wilderness.” Builder Elias (Brickleas) built the Last Homely House in all its peaceful glory in microscale in just 100 LEGO parts. While the elven buildings are tiny among the large cliffs, they are instantly recognisable thanks to clever parts usage.

I love the way Elias uses books as the angled roofs, and one stickered book is actually very fitting here. It is the Red Book of Westmarch, the book that Bilbo Baggins wrote during his retirement in Rivendell. The battle droid torso also works very well, since its skeletal nature represents the open-air feel of those buildings. I found the small waterfalls very impressive, using Hero Factory claw pieces which perfectly hug the large wedge used as a cliff. Elias perfectly demonstrates that when building something with a small number of parts, use the best parts.

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Designers of LEGO Ideas 21326 Winnie the Pooh come together and share behind the scenes details [News]

The team from LEGO shares a favourite video feature of ours by hearing directly from the designers involved in the creation of the LEGO Ideas 21326 Winnie The Pooh set. Featuring (L-R, image below) lead LEGO Model designer Ilia Gotlib, Simon Wilson (LEGO Element Designer), Felipe Silva Telles (LEGO Element Designer) and Ashwin Visser (LEGO Graphic Designer)

Click to see the full designer video

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for March 7, 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 first week of March 2021.

Welcome to the Hundred Acre Wood, we’ve got lots of pots of huиny! Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.

TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: This week we met LEGO Winnie the Pooh in the Hundred Acre Wood, reviewed some adorable BrickHeadz kittens and tested out a couple of new 4+ sets!

LEGO Ideas 21326 Winnie the Pooh: building the Hundred Acre Wood – We take a close look at just what this sweet-as-honey set has to offer in our full review
LEGO Ideas reveals 21326 Winnie the Pooh 1,200-piece set, bringing Pooh, Tigger, Eeyore, and more – Winnie the Pooh and friends are coming to the Hundred Acre Wood in LEGO form with the latest Ideas set to be revealed
The next LEGO House exclusive set revealed: 40502 The Brick Moulding Machine – A 1205-piece replica of an actual moulding machine is already available exclusively at the LEGO House since Thursday
Building a tiltrotor aircraft using Circuit Cubes – Raplh explores Circuit Bricks LEGO-compatible electronics to motorize his tiny model of a Bell XV-15 tiltrotor aircraft
LEGO Ninjago 71747 The Keepers’ Village – This 632-piece set features five minifigures and a playset full of surprises. Check out our full review!
LEGO BrickHeadz 40441 Pets Shorthair cat and Kitten – Check out our review of this adorable cat and kitten from the new LEGO BrickHeadz sub-theme Pets
LEGO Ninjago Legacy 71740 Jay’s Electro Mech – What happens when you combine a historic mech with the “Learn to Build” 4+ age range market? Come along as we explore the transformation of Jay’s Electro Mech in our full review
LEGO Marvel Avengers 76170 Iron Man vs. Thanos – We take an early look at a new 4+ set featuring key players from the MCU. Is there any draw for adult builders, too?
LEGO launches Future Builders ad campaign for International Women’s Day 2021 – Ever wanted to see your kid on that famous LEGO ad from 1981? Now you can, says the company, thanks to a new ad campaign launched for International Women’s Day
LEGO to stop using black backgrounds in instructions – LEGO customer service says that the company plans to stop using black backgrounds on instruction manuals for Creator Expert and 18+ sets
LEGO Gift With Purchase (GWP) offers for Week 2 March 2021 – The LEGO 40450 Amelia Earhart Tribute is now available as a Gift With Purchase (GWP) when you spend US $100, CAN $130, UK £100.99 in LEGO stores

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:

Top Gun: Maverick – Official Trailer IN LEGO, YouTube – YouTube user Onbeatman reveals a jaw-dropping rendition of the movie trailer recreated with LEGO bricks
LEGO’s CEO will livestream its 2020 financial results, Brick Fanatics – Niels B. Christiansen is set to reveal the company’s 2020 financial results in an exclusive livestream event next week

This alternate model is ALIVE – Johnny 5 made from a 42100 Liebherr R 9800 Excavator

Making alternate models from released LEGO sets is a challenging hobby, but Rogel Dela Fuente (RJ BrickBuilds) takes things to an impressive extreme with their transformation of a 42100 Liebherr R 9800 Excavator into Johnny 5 of Short Circuit fame. This is more than just a static creation – RJ has made a Johnny 5 that is truly ALIVE.

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Because flying fish are the best kind of fish

True story; one of the best days of my life involved flying fish. I was in the Navy and got reassigned to gyro school while we were deployed out in the Gulf of Mexico. Instead of waiting until we pulled into port, they hired a small craft to meet our ship. I was (carefully) hoisted over the side, and onto the craft. Usually, the captain gets a series of bells to announce his or her arrival and departure. Little enlisted schlubs like me didn’t get the same treatment except during our final departure from the ship. So they rang me off with bells and headed for shore. Here’s where the flying fish came in, jumping over the craft in droves as we sped through the water. I felt like freakin’ James Bond on a special mission! Once on shore at Panama City, Florida, I was reverted back to common schlub transportation but for an hour or so, I felt pretty special. Thanks for the memories, James Zhan! It would have been extra-cool to depart on a piloted flying fish like this.

A mosaic as proud as a peacock

One of the coolest things about LEGO building is how it can cross over with other art forms. This stunning mosaic by Deep Shen was inspired by a cross-stitch pattern. Translated into LEGO, it uses about 6,700 pieces to cover 160×104 studs (that’s about 50 inches x 32 inches) and took two weeks to build. The end result was definitely worth the investment in time and parts, as it really captures the majesty of the peacock.

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When remote learning is really, really, remote.

LEGO Master Builder Tyler Clites dips his toe into FebRovery waters with his Space School Bus. Tyler’s image description gives us some nice context for the theming – “I think having a kid has me thinking less about weaponry and more about the more mundane details of life in space.” Mars is far enough away for socially distanced learning, right? There are a lot of great details to enjoy here, but my favorites are the smooth curves in the rear cabin and and the dark red structural beams. And those frying pan details in the center of the layered wheels are just *chef’s kiss* levels of quality.

If space school busses aren’t your jam, then maybe you’ll like this awesome chopped rusto-mod version from our archives!

LEGO Gift With Purchase (GWP) offers for Week 2 March 2021 [News]

This month’s Gift With Purchase kicks off with the 40450 Amelia Earhart Tribute set. The Harry Potter and Collesseum promotions are still available from the past couple of months. Here’s a list of GWP eligibility based on item, price and region (the US|CAN|UK) based on today’s availability, 6 March 2021.

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Nothing a coat of paint won’t fix.

There’s a lot going on in this sculpture by Adam Betts. Gravity defying, drippy, creepy, and undeniably imaginative, Paint Pouring On A Minifig Skull is a creation that deserves a close look. I like how the underlying skull is a great match for the suggested bone structure of a minifigure head, and how the fondant-like paint overlay perfectly captures the “skin” and facial features as the paint covers the superstructure. The suspended paint bucket is also well done, and I love the tiny touch of the banana splashes.

If you like this build, be sure to check our archives for more skullful creations.

Working telescope built from LEGO

LEGO is truly beautiful in the way that it allows people to recreate real-world objects with both form and function. LEGO themselves have made working models of a grand piano and a Nintendo Entertainment System. Builder Victor continues the trend by creating a working telescope in the same style, though slightly smaller than life-size. Needless to say, it is welcome to see such objects completely remade from LEGO bricks, especially ones that function.

This model telescope works the same way as a real life one – peeking through the eyepiece lets one see the stars and planets, though not the real ones. Victor solves this problem with pictures printed on small window pieces backlit by a light brick. This imitates LEGO’s light projection techniques in their official sets like the Stranger Things: Upside Down and the Haunted House. Victor also provides four separate interchangeable prints, one of them being an easter egg reference to LEGO’s own Bionicle theme.

A vintage racer from automobile history

Back in the 1920s and ’30s, when Ferdinand Porsche and Enzo Ferrari were not heads of exotic sports car companies but mere racecar drivers, Mercedes-Benz pushed the limits of racing using supercharger technology developed from airplane engines. One sports car that utilized this enhancement was the Mercedes-Benz SSKL of 1931, which LEGO Technic and Model Team expert Pawel Kmieć (Sariel) faithfully replicated. This old roadster jumps out from black and white photographs with a clean white livery, custom-chromed parts and the laurel wreath of champions.

Pawel is a master of building accurate vehicles that are also packed with functions. He includes everything an essential large-scale LEGO vehicle needs: suspension and steering. In addition, he often crams the body of these vehicles full of LEGO electric motors, allowing remote control. This display model becomes a real-life racer, pushing a top speed of 5mph. Watch Pawel’s in-depth video of the build process, and the speedy drive outdoors.

Check out more builds depicting LEGO Mercedes-Benz vehicles!

LEGO Ideas 21326 Winnie the Pooh: building the Hundred Acre Wood [Review]

In the writings of A. A. Milne, the Hundred Acre Wood is home to many beloved characters. LEGO invites us all to visit these childhood friends in LEGO Ideas 21326 Winnie the Pooh. Based on an idea submitted by fan Ben Alder in March of 2019, this set will be available to LEGO VIP members starting March 18, with general availability following on April 1st. For US $99.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £89.99 you’ll get Pooh’s home and five exclusive minifigures. Read along as we look for honey-dipped surprises, keeping a watchful eye out for any stray Heffalumps. (Spoiler alert: There are no Heffalumps in this set.)

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