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.

A charcuterie board complete with cheese and a mouse?

Okay, so maybe this isn’t quite a charcuterie board, I am still unclear on the concept, but I do know such boards were trending in the blogosphere over the holidays. Ted Andes does give us a great minimal LEGO model of a cheese board of sorts with all the essentials – even the casual kitchen mouse.

The board is simply constructed out of one tile panel and several plates in alternating brown and dark tan. As for the arrangement of elements topping the board; we’ve got the mouse from series 18 of the collectible minifigures, for the Swiss cheese we have a minifigure torso in light yellow – arms removed, and of course to slice and dice the cheese there is a minifigure machete which looks great as a cheese knife and then the silver slotted slope piece as a shredder. This little assortment is certainly social media ready.

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When trouble comes to town, what will you do?

A new guard is having to learn on the job as bandits attack in this portside scene by Jesse van den Oetelaar, which features some well-textured stone structures, along with a brick-built boat. The dock is nicely detailed, with merchants and a local catching fish. There’s also some great window construction, like the first floor of the middle building which uses the bases of black turntables to frame transparent plates.

$fractured kingdoms, bandit attack$

A good ol’ apartment building in Theed, Naboo

I think it’s safe to say that many fans’ fascination with Star Wars revolves around the universe itself with its interesting planets offering eye-catching landscapes and architecture. Anthony’s LEGO model of an apartment dwelling on Naboo, while not an exact building from the films, reimagines the aesthetic of Naboo’s capital city, Theed and projects it onto an everyday building.

This model certainly is referential to modular type builds, but two features really hone in on the Star Wars vibe. The obvious one being the clone trooper minifigures on patrol, and the other – the sand green dome which is a signature element of Naboo’s architecture. The dome is definitely my favorite part of this build, comprised of two sand green dish pieces laid on top of a square base made with sand green slopes, tiles, and bricks. The rest of the structure is quite standard; composed of bricks, slopes, and tiles as well as some more ornamental elements which can be seen in the archways, windows, and balcony. Quite honestly Anthony’s modular could fit into a larger brick-built Naboo cityscape or just as well a regular LEGO city, its specificity as well as its versatility is much appreciated.

Blossoming of the bonsai builds

The release of LEGO’s new botanical line which includes the beloved Bonsai Tree has inspired many lush and succulent spin offs, Marius Hermann’s brick-built sakura bonsai being a great example of the trend. Technically when I refer to “the trend”, I am actually referencing a competition currently being held by Brickset encouraging the building of bonsai plants.

Hermann’s blossom bonsai makes use of some very interesting LEGO elements for a tree build, the trunk includes clipped triangular signs, various blade, tail, and vine elements, rock elements, and even the minifigure snowshoe element all in a brown color scheme. These pieces combined perfectly recreate the undulating trunk of a bonsai tree. The blossoms also utilize a cornucopia of different 1×1 elements including white crowns and flowers as well as tiles, ice cream swirls, cherries, and flower pieces in light to bright pink. Some greenery is also included, this is accomplished using the Joker Collectible Minifigure hairpiece in light green. The potted portion of the model is brick-built using plates, tiles, and bricks in black on top of a brown base fashioned in the same way. Overall Hermann’s model is very detailed, more so than the set released by LEGO, additionally it seems to be larger. So far I have enjoyed seeing these competition entries and look forward to more models to come.

Wow, this sled is bananas!

If you happen to wonder why so many recently featured LEGO models are using the banana part, it is the seed part in this year’s Iron Builder competition, where LEGO fans who participate are required to use it in their models. In this winter scene by KitKat1414, the banana makes a great tuft of wind-blown hair, but it also gives the sled runners the perfect curve. Bonus points for that stylish lens flair.

This one will get you right in the feels

There’s something special about a family building LEGO together. Dave Kaleta and son, Elliot, collaborated on this slice-of-life diorama. It was a gift to Elliot’s grandmother, celebrating one of their favorite shared activities: watering the plants in her back yard together. The quality of the build is stunning, but the sentiment behind this is even more touching. But…since this is a LEGO-focused site, let’s take a moment to appreciate the offset between the tiles in the patio, the use of fences in the chairs, and the expressive characters. Even the watering can is a tiny bit of joy.

If you like this collaboration between Dave and Elliot, you’ll be amazed at the work they did together on their Alphabet fleet.

Dabs of lively color

Brothers Brick contributor Benjamin Stenlund has been braving the Iron Forge lately, and this artistic build make uses of the seed part of a LEGO banana. And that’s cool and all, but there are other keen details to enjoy. If you look closely you’ll spot some wildlife hanging out in those colorful puddles of paint. And I really do enjoy when a frog shows up unexpectedly as creative part usage. And somehow that rat is even more perfect, with the curve of its tail suggesting a squiggle of paint.

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This build is bananas, and that’s no bull. No, wait, that is a bull.

Forced perspective and clever part usage makes this bullfight from KitKat1414 stand out in a crowded bunch. Get it? Bunch? Because of the LEGO banana seed part from the latest round of Iron Forge? C’mon, work with me here. The bull makes great use of them in the horns, but did you also spot them in the gate in the background? How about in the pile of kicked up sand behind the bull’s hoof? I also like the multicolored 1×1 round plate serving as the crowd in the background. Good stuff.

If bullfights aren’t your thing, you can always check out some other animal related creations and find something that suits you better!

Bowl your arms off!

While I am known for having a dark sense of humor, I can assure you this title was provided by the builder himself. PaulvilleMOCs graces us with this fabulously retro LEGO bowling sign. The colors, the fonts and the shapes are all indicative of signs seen outside of bowling alleys across America. When you’re a bit out of shape a round of bowling can feel like you’ve bowled your arms off. However, this double entendre refers to the arm-less minifig torsos used throughout. There are two in the bowling pin, one in the exclamation point and a third comprising the back end of the red arrow. Clever parts usage like that makes us wonder what other tricks Paul may have up his non-existent sleeve. Non-existent because; no arms. OK, you got it then? Good! Seriously, these jokes just write themselves. I don’t even have to try anymore.

This Apache helicopter is built from rare and ornery bricks

2004 was a pivotal moment for some adult fans of LEGO. This was the year that defined the distinction between what we call “old gray” and “new gray”. LEGO made a change to two shades of gray and brown that year that made the colors brighter and a bit more palatable to kids. Some grumpy old fans resistant to change declared they would leave the hobby forever while others embraced the newer colors. Lennart Cort dates back to before 2004, or at least some of his LEGO collection does. He tells us this stunning AH-64D Apache Longbow model was built in 1/38 scale and built using “old dark gray” as its primary color. Speaking from experience here this can be a difficult feat as the old gray parts are becoming increasingly rare and ornery. Kinda like older adult fans of LEGO; rare and ornery.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for January 22, 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 third week of January 2021.

We review the new LEGO Ideas Medieval Blacksmith set. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.

TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: This week we got medieval with the new Blacksmith Shop, cast our votes for the upcoming LEGO 90th anniversary set, collected a shiny LEGO coin, figured out how to maximize our GWP intake and more!

LEGO Ideas holds fan vote to revive a classic theme for the LEGO 90th Anniversary Set – LEGO Ideas might be bringing your favorite classic theme back! Check out the fan vote to select which theme will be in LEGO’s 90th Anniversary set!
LEGO Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith – the Black Falcons return to LEGO Castle [Review] – Read our hands-on review of the latest LEGO Ideas set, 21325 Medieval Blacksmith. How does it stack up against classic LEGO Castle sets of yore?
Your guide to LEGO Gift With Purchase (GWP) offers for Week 3 January 2021 – There’s a way to stack 4 Gift with purchase promotions for the US and CAN LEGO store to maximise the offers. We run through the current GWP promotions for US, CAN and UK.
Behind the scenes and details of the LEGO Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith with insights from LEGO Designers – Inspiration and creation of LEGO Ideas Medieval Blacksmith with tiny and hidden details from LEGO designers Wes Talbott and Austin Carlson.
First official look at the LEGO Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith – We get the first official look at the LEGO Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith.
LEGO Castle collectable coin and display case now available for VIP Exclusive Rewards – If you like shiny things, this coin is something you may want to add to your collection.

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:

DIY build your own edge-driven Ultrasonic Record Cleaner spinning device from Lego, Bas van Lieshout – While busy building a edge-driven UCRM from cardboard and 3D-printer parts I had to wait for my 0,5 RPM 12v motor and I thought why not give it a go with some Lego.
Raspberry Pi Universal Lego Sorter Recognizes Any Brick, Tom’s Hardware – What piece did you need again?
LEGO Braille Bricks Help Blind Children Learn to Read, Psychology Today – The new educational toy will be available in twenty countries by the end of 2021

A picture worth 10,000 bricks

This beautiful painting by Hoang H. Dang shows a pleasant street scene with ancient architecture and a gnarled tree, along with a few small street vendor stalls. But there’s much more to it than first meets the eye. Although it’s ostensibly a painting, it’s actually a low-relief sculpture masterfully executed with LEGO bricks, lending it an amazing sense of depth.

And look closer–this painting is much bigger than you probably realize. There’s detail packed into every square inch because the entire piece is enormous–more than 3 feet wide. It’s so big that a Duplo fire hydrant looks right at home. Let’s take a look at some of the other details.

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