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.

Jammin’ with an 80’s icon

There are very few things that are more “Classic 80’s” than the WALKMAN. When it came out, it was the birth of compact tech that allowed you to easily bring your music with you anywhere. We take it for granted today, but it was fairly novel at the time. Along with it came a new era of music. Digital recording allowed for electronic effects, which has shaped the majority of popular music today. LEGO builder Jarek Książczyk (Jerac) pays homage to one of the icons that started it all, with this excellent scale model of the Sony WALKMAN.

What makes this retro build most awesome is the fact that the player opens up to hold a “cassette.” Additionally, he snuck in some electronics to make it seem like it actually is functional.

While you’re here, check out some of Jerac’s other great builds, including Mando’s Razor Crest!

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Who knew you could build big spaceships all year round?

Most people who have spent much time around the LEGO fan community have at some point encountered the phenomenon known as SHIPtember, that crazy building challenge every September to construct a spaceship that is at least 100 studs in some dimension (a SHIP being a seriously huge investment in parts). But what if it isn’t September, and you only want to build a spaceship that’s exactly 99 studs in length, featuring copious amounts of teal? Well, then you must be Markus Rollbühler. And then you build something like the Liu’s Inspiration to celebrate your new challenge month, MARCHtember.

Yes, I know, MARCHtember doesn’t make sense. Markus knows it, too. But it gets the point across, I suppose. And speaking of points, the large disassembled lime catamaran hulls make for some great greebly forward bits. And then there’s the teal: teal hot air balloons, and teal 3×3 dice, and just too many other teal elements for Mark Stafford’s peace of mind. But it couldn’t be inspired by Simon Liu without teal.

Good to the last drop

In the beginning, there were just troubling shades of grey. But then there was an industrial accident of some sort. And then OSHA came along. And then the company had some heavy fines levied against it as they refused to install adequate safety railings. At least, I think that’s the story this scene by Mark van der Maarel is telling us. There’s probably more to it. But whatever happened, LEGO minifigures were never quite the same ever again. There are lots of fun details here, but my favorite has to be the X-Pod lid that forms the base of the yellow pool. That splash is pretty sweet, too.

This creation uses only 51 elements, easily qualifying it for the 101-max requirement of the RogueOlympics. There have been a lot of great builds coming out of that contest, so be sure to check out our archives for even more quality minimal-part creations!

LEGO Star Wars Helmets Collection: 75304 Darth Vader and 75305 Scout Trooper [Review]

When LEGO announced the first wave of Star Wars helmets many of our readers may have been scratching their heads over the 18+ age rating and the fancy black packaging as LEGO had only recently begun building their adult portfolio. Also notably absent from this line of iconic helmets was perhaps the most iconic helmet of all, the Dark Lord of the Sith himself, Darth Vader. Well, LEGO has corrected this with wave 2 of the Helmets Collection. It includes the ominous visage of 75304 Darth Vader, along with 75305 Scout Trooper, the Stormtrooper variant first seen on the forest moon of Endor, the lightly armored Scout Trooper. The new helmets include 834 and 471 piece respectively, and have price tags of US $69.99 | CAN $99.99 | UK £59.99 (Darth Vader) and US $49.99 | CAN $69.99 | UK £44.99 (Scout Trooper). Both sets will be available for pre-order from March 25th, 2021 from LEGO.com and other retailers, and on general sale globally from April 26th.

Don’t miss our review of 75306 Imperial Probe Droid as well!

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick 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

LEGO officially unveils 75304 Darth Vader, 75305 Scout Trooper, and 75306 Imperial Probe Droid [News]

Following the early view of the spring 2021 LEGO Star Wars sets published on Walmart.com this week, LEGO has now officially unveiled these three new sets targeted at adult builders and collectors. In addition to continuing the Star Wars Helmets series with new 75304 Darth Vader Helmet and 75305 Scout Trooper Helmet sets, LEGO will also be releasing a completely new, large-scale 75306 Imperial Probe Droid sculpture.

Last week, we spoke with the LEGO Star Wars design team about all three of these sets, as well as some upcoming sets that have not yet been fully revealed. Read on for some extra info we heard straight from the design team!

Read all the available details about these new LEGO Star Wars sets

LEGO Star Wars 75306 Imperial Probe Droid [Review]

In the Star Wars universe, the bad guys often have the coolest toys. In A New Hope, it was Star Destroyers and the Death Star, and with the release of The Empire Strikes Back it was the AT-AT. But one of the first new characters appears in the movie as the Empire searches the galaxy for signs of the Rebel scum that destroyed the Death Star. I am, of course, talking about the Viper Probe droid, launched from the Imperial fleet and scattered across the stars in their pods. From the moment we first saw the technological terror rising out of the snowbank, turning its multi-eyed head and unfolding its arms like some kind of evil jellyfish, it was clear that the Empire would stop at nothing to find the rebels. Joining the collectible helmets in the new 18+ line of LEGO sets, the Imperial Probe Droid is finally available at a scale that does the source material justice. 75306 Imperial Probe Droid includes 683 pieces and will retail for US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £59.99. It is available for pre-order now, and will be available starting April 26.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick 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

The Mars Flytrap is more terrifying and flytrap-y than the Venus one

I had a Venus Flytrap once. I bought it when I had an infestation of fruitflies several years back. Or were they mayflies? I don’t know, I didn’t ask. Either my flytrap was fussy or they’re not that into fruitflies (or mayflies) because it really wasn’t the fly kill-fest I hoped for. But this LEGO Mars Flytrap by Linus Bohman is the stuff of B-Movie nightmares. It’s big enough to eat cars and it doesn’t seem fussy at all. The Mars Flytrap is expertly crafted with plant bits and I just love that horrific gaping maw. Oh, and before you flood the comment section with what’s LEGO and what isn’t, it’s all LEGO. Yep, even the cars! They’re from a series of LEGO HO Scale offerings from the ’50s and ’60s and are now worth a mint. Tasty!

A tiny dancer pirouettes in silhouette

If you ever thought to yourself while building a Batman LEGO set, these bat-a-rangs are neat and all, but they’re not much use, Dan Ko has a masterclass lesson for you in thinking about a specific part in a whole new way. This miniature ballerina made from just 30 parts, is a stunning example. The bat-a-rang slots perfectly in-between a grill, and the black gear makes an amazing dress. Considering the base makes up more than half of the parts used, the dancer is a true study in minimalist design.

But that’s not all. Dan includes the parts used, so if you are feeling brave, you can attempt to build your own version.

This Techno Samurai is dressed to impress

LEGO’s big cloth pieces are certainly among the odder bits to use in a creation, and it’s always interesting seeing how clever builders can incorporate them. Marius Herrmann says that the cloth was indeed the inspiration behind this techno samurai robot, which uses the cape from the large buildable Chirrut Îmwe figure from Star Wars. Although Marius says the design was cheekily a ploy to see how little LEGO building they could get away with, the exposed arms and head are nevertheless quite fantastic, with a great mix of elements. Altogether, it reminds me of something that Arasaka would have built in Cyberpunk 2077.

Zoinks! Get a clue! It’s Scooby-Doo!

If you look up Paul Hetherington in the dictionary you’ll find the definition to be builder of awesomely huge LEGO creations. Probably. I don’t know. Does anyone still have dictionaries anymore? Well, if we did, Paul’s smiling mug would be in it. The man has more talent in his little finger than most of us have in the rest of our fingers combined. Go ahead, look it up. I’ll wait. See? This time he takes us back to our childhoods and Saturday morning cartoons with this stunning Scooby-Doo diorama consisting of over 8000 pieces. Most of us would have just bought the Mystery Machine set from 2015 and called this case closed. But Paul integrates the iconic vehicle with an entire mystery mansion.

Click this link to discover more!

Lookie at this low-key temple of Lo’Ki

Using only 98 bricks, Markus Rollbühler takes us on a journey of wonder, discovery, and forced perspective. Could this be a scene from an upcoming Disney+ show? The high production values are certainly there. So…maybe? The Temple of Lo’Ki does seem to be dedicated to a certain marvelous god of lies. The minifigure helmet works surprisingly well as a micro-scale idol, as to the golden binoculars and window shutters. And that is one very old growth forest behind the temple, since some of those LEGO trees haven’t been in production since 1962.

This build is an entry into the second round of this year’s RogueOlympics, explaining the “under 101 part” challenge. We’ve already seen a few adventures from this contest, and I’m sure we’ll see even more. So keep an eye on our archives for more featured builds!

Remember to stay hydrated, even when exploring Mars

How many glasses of water have you had today? I bet, fewer than you you should! Instead of yet another boring reminder, I’d rather share with you this fantastic water extractor built by BobDeQuatre. Named Poseidon, this machine is much more advanced than your ordinary LEGO rover. According to the description, this thing can melt extraterrestrial ice and lift water up to the surface. I cannot confirm if this is true, but I can totally confirm some great part usage in the rover’s design. The cockpit reminds me about the 31107 Space Rover Explorer set which uses the same combination of pieces; although, the Poseidon is much more massive and impressive. Now, go and get yourself another glass of water..!