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.

Well, well, well

Huge LEGO dioramas are all well and good, but sometimes you can stop and enjoy the details in isolation. This Viking-style well by Marcin Otreba would feel at home in any larger collaboration, but works just as well a stand-alone creation. Unrelated, did you ever notice that if you type the same word often enough it stops looking like a real word? Well, I have. Well. Well. Well.

Anyway, there’s a lot to admire about this build. the use of half-circle tiles and rounded 1×2 plates make for a smooth and well-rounded stone exterior. The use of robot arms on the roof add just the right touch of visual interest and Viking-style. I also like the rocky exterior to the display base. It creates the feeling of a much larger scene without making things feel like you’re looking at the cut off top of a hill.

Back in January, we featured another of Marcin’s builds that include a similar well design. Check it out to see how well it works in context!

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With 100 magazine foil bags, the sky is the limit

Most builders love a good challenge, but everyone loves free LEGO. Such was my reaction when my LEGO user group, Brickish, selected me to represent them in a build challenge. In this friendly competition amongst UK and Ireland-based LUGs, the task was to build anything using the parts provided in 100 LEGO Star Wars magazine foil packs. These were provided by Fairy Bricks charity, and contained 10 each of 10 small sets. I (Mansur “Waffles” Soeleman) challenged myself to take these small Star Wars models and… not build anything Star Wars related. There weren’t much of the usual grey bits anyway. So I had my next favourite thing in mind: microscale architecture.

I had no plan going into this build challenge. But the parts provided were surprisingly good – lots of small bits that I use in my building style. I knew I was going to surprised myself with the finished results, and I did, for such is the nature of any challenge. It definitely produced a beautiful build I am most proud of: The Voyage to Cirrus Palace.

In case of a lack of bullets, just use birds instead!

This just has to be one of the ‘silliest’ scene’s from Indiana Jones and the Lost Crusade and General Tilney managed to capture it quite perfectly in LEGO. The best thing about this photo is that everything is made from LEGO bricks, even the sky! Partway through the film, Indiana Jones and his father Henry are trying to escape from enemy airplanes. There is a lot of bombing involved and at one point, they get cornered on a beach full of birds. Father Henry charges the flock of seagulls while flapping his umbrella. This startles the seagulls and they take off into the airplane which causes it to crash. Henry mumbles a Charlemagne quote, which might actually not be a Charlemagne quote and the scene ends. That is some classic Indiana Jones right there!

The lovechild of Star Wars ship designs

When certain design elements dictate the look of the gritty Star Wars universe, it is best to stay within those constraints when designing new and different ships. That doesn’t mean make them same-y and boring, but rather different and unique enough to make sense. LEGO builder Librarian-Bot has struck the perfect balance (literally!) with a hybrid of the Millennium Falcon, the Ghost, and the Resistance Bomber. The Raging Comet flies with a unique wedge shape that combines the bulky nature of the freighters mentioned above. Despite a top-heavy structure, this ship balances on its tip by a stand or a singular landing gear. To achieve this feat, Librarian-Bot built this freighter with an airy but detailed interior to reduce the weight.

Many details also add to the characteristics of a starship from a galaxy far, far away. Starting from the top, there is an oversized sensor dish and on either side, familiar circular docking rings. In the front, a cockpit with an iconic conical shape, and lots of intricate angles and greebling between it all. These are a great homage to the Millennium Falcon, which set the standard for Star Wars ship designs. Four engines in the rear are different from what you would expect, but they do not look out of place. The entry hatch further down includes a foldable boarding ramp that some might find excessively long, its superfluous nature just screams “Star Wars!” Red highlights break up the monochrome greys, and a black and yellow checkerboard pattern give the impression of the Raging Comet being a fast smuggler ship.

Back to school, in some way or another, we hope

Is 2020 going to be the year that every kid stays back a grade? I sure hope not! I’m seeing an alarming number of adult students making a mess of their educations this year, with distance learning not being their strong suit. Hopefully, the kiddos are faring better than their parents. In the meantime, Instagram user brickdesigned presents some neat LEGO back-to-school elements. Various desks, lockers, a chalkboard, and those noisy metal benches from chemistry class are surely hitting me in the nostalgic feels. This is usually the time, in the late days of summer, that kids are gearing to go back to school. So whether you’re going to a physical place or learning from home, your old uncle Lino wants you to please make the best of it and be safe out there. Got it, you little whippersnappers? Good! I’m glad we could have this talk. Now get the heck off my lawn!

Johnny Thunder is always a good way to go!

Having a Johnny Thunder figure in your creation always is a big plus! Valerius Maximus however made a lovely LEGO temple to go along with his Johnny Thunder and Pippin Reed figures. There are also two chameleons hiding in the creation, as well as a few odd parts using camouflage to blend in with the surrounding. Can you spot the army helmet? Valerius Maximus also used not just the flower stem with 3 leaves but also the sprue part, which I always greatly appreciate.

Create your own mosaic masterpiece with Lego Art Remix [Review & Interview]

Recently TBB’s Chris Doyle shared with us his journey of creating a custom LEGO Art mosaic. One of the tools Chris used, LEGO Art Remix, was an essential step towards getting to the finished product. We took some time to talk to Creator Deb Banerji about the project. With his background in Computer Science, Deb coded the foundation of the LEGO Art Remix tool in about 5 hours, though he’s spent a bit more time refining it since then. I’ve had some hands-on time with it from the first release and to its current final form, and it’s only gotten better. The latest results output close to a finished mosaic design that you can immediately start building within minutes if you had the parts on hand.

Click to read the review and interview with Deb

LEGO and IKEA reveal the BYGGLEK product line after two years of collaboration [News]

Today LEGO and IKEA revealed the BYGGLEK product line, more than two years after we first brought word of the collaboration between the two Scandinavian companies. The new product line promises to alleviate the organization of after-play with LEGO elements and provide a storage solution. Four products offering various size storage boxes are being introduced. LEGO says the heart of the collaboration is developing a system where kids are able to experience a quicker way to engage in continued play with LEGO bricks after a pause or break in play. The goal, LEGO says, is that this results in a storage solution that can cater to an intertwining concept of play and storage at the same time. With IKEA’s vast portfolio in furniture and home products, the BYGGLEK blends in with also being a unique decorative piece of storage, matching themes of IKEA products that are already on shelves today.

Click to see more of the BYGGLEK system in use

LEGO Star Wars 75294 Bespin Duel now available [News]

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back recently celebrated the 40th anniversary of its release, and LEGO is honoring the occasion with 75294 Bespin Duel available exclusively from the LEGO Shop and Target ($39.99 USD | $49.99 CAD from the LEGO Shop and $39.99 USD from Target). The set includes 295 pieces, with minifigures of Luke Skywalker and his dear dad Darth Vader, and will be available on August 27th, 2020.

Two years ago, LEGO’s first “Master Builder” set 75222 Betrayal at Cloud City included a scaled-down version of this same scene, but this version is more detailed and includes a stand with a commemorative plaque.

Unfortunately, this LEGO Star Wars set will only be available in the US and Canada. The set was originally designed as the exclusive set for Star Wars Celebration, originally scheduled for August 27th-30th. With the cancellation of nearly all in-person events in North America due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this set is being made available online, but only in the United States and Canada.

Once upon a time 4.77MHz is all you needed to get things done

Getting everything done was possible on an IBM PC XT running at 4.77 MHz not too long ago. Yes, you read that right, all gaming needs, word-processing needs, and multiplayer games meant your sibling or friend sitting right beside you banging on that other side of the keyboard and functioning at the amazing single-digit MHz. This digital render by mrmotinjo is a time machine back to the ’80s.

While you continue to admire the rest of the peripheral devices like speakers and joysticks take a closer look at the elegant desk, which is also built with digital bricks. And believe me when I say those 2×2 tiles are a lot more reliable and lasting than what we used to call our storage devices – floppy disks. Now all I need to find is that turbo button that will get my machine screaming up to 8MHz.

The fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy

We all know the Millennium Falcon is the fastest hunk of junk in the galaxy. We’ve all heard the whole song and dance about it making the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs. But what we don’t get to see much in LEGO is the iconic ship blasting through hyperspace. Rui Miguel Anacleto has made it happen in all its stunning glory. The blue afterburner trails are a particularly good touch. I can go into detail about all the neat techniques used here or, better yet, you can build your own by following along with Rui’s instructions. It’s a better use of your time than watching some giant head yell on TV.

Part wild cat, part bird of prey, this sculpture is stunning

Some LEGO creations look more like what you traditionally think of as art than others. Large scale sculptures are a good example of this, and Ekow Nimako’s are my favourite LEGO sculptures, and his latest piece is no exception. Part hawk, part Lynx, this Griffyx cub is all beauty.

While this isn’t the first time The Brothers Brick has shared one of Ekow’s creations, this is the first one that I’ve had the pleasure of writing about. And like Lino before me, I’m having a hard time picking my jaw up off the floor and finding the right words. LEGO sculptures are so often made up of the easier-to-acquire-in-mass-quantities bricks, most notably the most basic of all LEGO elements, the 2×4 brick. But Ekow’s palette includes a much more vast array of shapes and sizes of LEGO pieces. In what I can only imagine is a ridiculously thoughtful process, he’s able to craft the best, most organic-looking brick-built shapes I’ve ever seen.

Take the Griffyx. Just by looking at it, you can feel the way it’s stretching its neck as if it just woke up and it’s loosening up its muscles. You can see the flick of its tail, as it whips back and forth. The fur looks soft to the touch and the wings – expertly engineered out of smaller chima wings – look primed and ready to take flight. I don’t get those same strong sensations from other brick-built sculptures, only Ekow’s. Will my editors allow me to go as far as to say he’s the greatest LEGO sculpture of our time? Nothing against all the other brilliant brick artists out there, but Ekow is just rewriting the game.

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