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.

Wonder what the tide will wash up today

One benefit of setting up your post-apocalyptic outpost on the beach, aside from the abundant food source of the ocean’s bounty, is the wondrous things that wash up in the surf. In this scene by Tom Loftus a lone soldier stands watch as the low tide washes in. The outpost is built from shipping containers, which are plentiful if you live near a major shipping hub. The model is part of an iron builder challenge using a dark red Minifig shield part, which you can see in the timbers of the bunker half-buried in the sand.

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Dystopian novels are so 1984.

Can you judge a book by its cover? Conventional wisdom says “no,” but John Snyder may have a different opinion. The elegant book binding here is complemented by some slice-of-life details that are every bit as charming. This creation is part of the Iron Builder contest, and this round focused on the challenge of incorporating modified 2×3 plates into the build. We can see them in action in the book bindings on the cover, and in the dark red flowers. The golden carriage wheel on the cover matches the yellow centers to the flowers as well as the gold coins, but did you know that the black cloth bag there is (probably) also a LEGO element? It looks to me to be a Wolfpack Pouch. Now there’s a part you don’t see every day.

If you’re in a literary mood, why not check out our book archives? You just might learn something new!

LEGO reveals 10276 Colosseum; ancient Roman stadium will be biggest LEGO set ever [News]

Today, the LEGO Group redefines the idea of a truly massive building set once again. The new 10276 Colosseum is a huge copy of the ancient Roman stadium consisting of whopping 9,036 pieces. The previous record of 7,541 pieces set by Star Wars 75192 UCS Millennium Falcon was not that long ago thought to be an unbreakable achievement, but now it is about to go down. Despite being almost 1,500 pieces bigger than the Kessel runner, the Colosseum will retail for US $549.99 | CAN $649.99 | UK £449.99; in the US, this is $250 less than the original 75192 Millennium Falcon price tag. The set will be available starting November 27.

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In space no one can hear you hiss

Do you know what’s scary? Velociraptors. While the Tyrannosaurus is all teeth and ignorant brawn, the Velociraptor is a smaller, nimble and cunning creature capable of working together to hunt down kids in a laboratory. At least that’s what Jurassic Park has led us to believe anyway. Bob DeQuatre takes the already scary raptor and puts it in a spacesuit; one with opposable claw finger technology. You may as well just kiss your tookus goodbye by this point. Not only are the kids toast but the director and camera crew won’t be around to make the slew of blockbuster sequels. It’s a bummer, really. But all kidding aside this is a really cool idea. I particularly like the expression of the raptor’s face under the protective space dome.

He may be Gandalf the White, but he’s looking rather grey today

Tragically underused in LEGO builds is the immersive, cinematic shot. Sure, it’s vastly easier and faster to build a vignette, or a stand-alone building, but I deeply admire builders who can move their creation beyond plastic bricks and into an entire world filling the frame. Nathan Smith is one of those builders, playing with light and camera angles to put the viewer in the scene in a believable way. Are there many mind-blowing building techniques on display here? No, not really, though that door does look quite nice. But nothing is out of place, with meticulously arranged leaves and crates, and the smooth walls of the citadel allow the lighting effects to shine. And shine they do, illuminating a ruminating Gandalf perfectly.

Love LEGO builds inspired by The Lord of the Rings? Then check out the TBB LEGO Lord of the Rings archives. They’re epic!

Save money on flowers to buy more LEGO

I think most of us will agree that a nice LEGO set or custom creation can spruce up your interior decor quite a lot. I personally am also a fan of adding flowers to my home. After all, they look good and they smell good. However, after about 10 days they have to be replaced and they cost quite a lot of money. Money I could also spend on LEGO. James Zhan offers a solution to this problem with his lovely creation called ‘Flower and zen’. And to me, the title says it all! Now all I have to figure out is how to get my LEGO to smell like flowers.

Do what must be done

Any time I see LEGO creations relating to Order 66 from Revenge of the Sith, I feel the emotional tension rising. As painful as it is to see clones turn on their former Jedi comrades, you have to admit that builder First Order Lego does a painstakingly good job at depicting the ultimate betrayal.

From the clones’ march into the Jedi Temple on Coruscant to the younglings hiding in the background, this build perfectly captures the epic darkness of the moment. The only word I have for the level of detail, especially in the Holocron bookcases and the statue work, is beautiful.

Oh, and did I mention that this build is literally lit?

A morning in Paris

Start off the day by taking a stroll through the colonnade, grab a croissant and magazine from the newspaper stand, then head down to the underground metro. Now I could spend an endless amount of time imagining that I’m walking around in this LEGO modular row by Jean Macou. This delightful set of buildings is like Parisian Restaurant meets Assembly Square, but with an unlimited budget. Each building is more decked out than the next. Some of my favorite details include the gold and nougat color palette on the pub and small restaurant at the front. I’ve also been eyeing that sand green masonry brick building to the right and its gorgeous white trim and tan ground floor.

Remove the floors to peek into the detailed interiors of the build. Here’s an inside look of the pub– its layout and color scheme achieve a next-level realism for architectural builds.

Nature is reclaiming the palace, beautiful floor and all

It’s always fun to see what LEGO builders can come up with when encouraged to think of new ways to use particular pieces. And that’s exactly what Tom Loftus has done in this abandoned throne room with dark red 2×3 shields. The first place you’ll notice it is as the seat of the three thrones, which I really think works well.

I particularly like the overall design of the two smaller chairs – the seashell piece makes a very nice palmette on the seatback. The other place these shield parts are used on the floor, in a really genius kind of way. By arranging the front of the piece in a triangle, the handles on the back form a simple pattern. Repeat that 30 or so times and you have a really stunning looking floor. As a bonus, the spaces between the handles work really well for the overgrown motif, as they create the perfect gap for plant elements to be stuck into. A final note about the whole overgrown look: rather than just use clear bricks as windows and leave it at that, Tom covered the opposite side of the clear bricks with tree branches, blocking some of the light that would come through, just like vines on a real overgrown window.

News Flash: Michael Bay to reboot Sesame Street franchise

Hi-ho, Kermit the Frog here! Today on Sesame Street news we’re sharing the latest Hollywood Leak! The monster on the street is telling us that none other than Michael Bay of Transformers fame has been tapped to relaunch the Sesame Street franchise for, and I’m quoting here, “a million kajillion dollars.” The source of the leak, a Mister “I.M. Lying” provided an image of a LEGO toy prototype reportedly designed by Simon Liu. Using the new Oscar the Grouch head from the Sesame Street Ideas set, Simon has given our resident Grouch the ability to take out his own trash. Additional sponsorship from the letter “G” for “Greeble” and the numbers 1, 2, and 3 are also reported. I, personally, think this is a terrible…hold on. I’m now getting word that our source may have been making all of this up. So nevermind. Sheesh.

(Well, even if the movie rumors are fake, this Oscar Mech is very real. Check out the 360 degree spin on Simon’s Instagram if you don’t believe me. Then check out some of the other creations of Simon’s we’ve featured.)

Outfitted for an expedition

When you’re exploring an alien wilderness, prospecting for valuable materials, you don’t want to get caught underprepared. This LEGO figure, built by the talented Marko Petrušić (Cezium) is suited up and ready. I love how smooth the midsection is, and how solid the whole figure looks. Many aspects of the base, rifle, and body are cool, but what really sells it is that jacket. You can’t help but feel warm just looking at the “fuzzy” fringe made from gears and Minifigure hair.

Marko built this as a birthday present for Buttloaf_Builds and claims to have been inspired by his incredible recreation of the Nigerian trickster, Eshu. But Marko is exceptional in his own right, with several other builds featured on here on The Brothers Brick.

This clock tower looks like a giant clock

This LEGO clocktower made by Jaap Bijl, looks just like a giant grandfather clock. The shape of the build made me chuckle but that is not the only reason this creation is aesthetically pleasing. The cobblestone base is constructed very well using bars and half round tiles mixed with regular 1×1 and 1×2 tiles. Giving it a bit of a weathered look. There even is a small pendulum hanging between the two base pillars of the build, On top of that we have a Tudor style house with the Big Ben clock dish to represent the clock. It is always nice to see a part that is so tied to a particular set being used in a fan creation. The roof of the building is purple with some golden details. Adding a pop of colour to a roof of a build always makes it pop. The little turrets made of lanterns and splat gear add so much character to the little building. To top it off the build is set on an irregular base composed of all different kinds of earth tones and is adorned with birch trees, which are in fashion with LEGO right now.