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.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for August 15, 2020

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 second week of August 2020.

We relive those heady days of sugar cereal, Capri Sun and hours of punching blocks with our review of the new LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.

TBB NEWS: This week we took a deep dive into LEGO Control Panels, reviewed three new sets including the Nintendo Entertainment System and the Crocodile Train, saw the reveal of a new LEGO Star Wars Holiday special streaming on Disney+ and more!

LEGO Education joins consortium to accelerate STEAM learning in response to COVID-19 pandemic in the US – The LEGO Foundation, Intel, and CDW-G are partnering with non-profit First Book to create a grant program to bring new methods of digital learning to under-served children across the US.
New LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special to stream on Disney+ – Get ready to celebrate Life Day again with an all-new Star Wars Holiday Special starring LEGO characters from across the Skywalker saga.
A fascinating article on the UX design of LEGO control panels [Feature] – An insightful analysis of the User Experience design process of LEGO control panels by George Cave.

TBB REVIEWS:

LEGO 10277 Crocodile Locomotive [Review] – After a 7-year hiatus from the last standalone serious-looking train set, we take a look at the Crocodile Locomotive and share our thoughts.
Is the LEGO 71374 Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) more than just a 1-UP of 1980’s Super Mario nostalgia? [Review & Video] – The answer is yes. Read our review to see why LEGO 71374 Nintendo Entertainment System may be one of the best LEGO sets of all time.
LEGO Technic 42112 Concrete Mixer Truck [Review] – Let’s mix it up! The LEGO Technic line has lacked a concrete mixer for far too long…but set 42112 makes up for that lack in a big way.

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:

Orlando Bloom Shows Off His LEGO Room on THE TONIGHT SHOW, Nerdist – Apparently, Legolas is not LEGO-less.
LEGO Game Steam Sale Includes LEGO Marvel’s Avengers, Lego Batman: The Videogame, And More, Player.One – Steam is hosting a special sale for LEGO games right now, with select games going for up to 80% off their original price.

Celebrating 80 Years of LEGO, Smithsonian Magazine – Children and hobbyists rejoice – today is Lego’s 80th birthday
Help! I spent the hottest weekend of the year grappling with the new Lego set from The Beatles, NME – It took a whole day, soundtracked by the deluxe version of ‘The White Album’.

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Some happy little trees to pee on

Bob Ross taught a generation of artists and would-be artists to paint, myself included. He had a soothing, gentle demeanor about him and a voice that could squelch a prison riot. You can tell he was a guy that just loved the world and all the lakes, mountains, creatures and trees within it. Happy little trees, he called them. Soothing, mellow little trees without a care in the world, yeah, that’s nice. He taught us that there were no mistakes in your world, only happy accidents. This LEGO Bob Ross Corgi by BrickinNick has surely had a few happy accidents in his day, probably on the rug. But do we get mad at the little fellah? Nah, he’s just doing what he’s put on this planet to do; paint happy trees and maybe pee a little behind the couch. Yeah, that’s nice. And wouldn’t you know it, BrickinNick got us all mellow and groovy before. Give it a gander, my friend.

Chicago’s hockey legend is padded up in LEGO

Here come the Hawks, the mighty Blackhawks! I am not a sports guy, but I respect athletes who have brought a semblance of glory to their hometowns. Especially when I have lived in that town for over a decade, and exceptional athletes become the local heroes. Teacher and LEGO artist Dave Kaleta has built a large sculpture of a Chicago Blackhawks player Jonathan Toews. Being a Chicago native, Kaleta chose the Blackhawks team captain as the subject to commemorate the new hockey season. This build not only serves as cultural imagery for hockey fans and Chicagoans but as just a realistic and detailed representation of a talented sportsman. In addition to the dynamic posing of the skating Toews, this massive sculpture is packed to the brim with interesting building techniques.

One can examine the photo for at length to see how he has assembled the details like the numbers and the Blackhawks logo. Since I don’t have much to say about hockey, I can talk about the build itself!

Read about the details and a little bit of LEGO-related hockey trivia I could conjure up!

In the court of the crimson king

LEGO builder Grant Davis demonstrates quite a few tricks with this massive King of Diamonds playing card. The seed part is a white 4×4 flower. He incorporates twenty-one of those mamma-jammas into the intricate design of this card. Also expertly woven into the design is yellow ribbed hoses and a myriad of parts situated in complex angles. Grant doesn’t provide size dimensions in his write-up but based on the bricks that we can see, we estimate this feat of artistry is nearly three feet high! Now let’s hope he’ll also build fifty-one of his closest friends to complete the deck. Until then, you may want to settle in and check out some of the other stuff Grant has built.

The Sandcrawler...or Mooncrawler?

Hide your droids! Hide your ship! Or else the crew of this massive LEGO Sandcrawler built by Walter Whiteside will scrap and sell them in exchange for breakfast, maybe a nice mudhorn egg. As always, it is great to see a mashup between Star Wars and LEGO’s Classic Space theme. This time rather than a flying vehicle we have a brilliant blue Sandcrawler, but given its classic space look, I could see this mobile fortress making its way across a sandy and cratered moon.

Continue reading →

In case of emergency...

We’ve all been there. Maybe you’re on lunch break at your office where you don’t usually build LEGO. Or maybe you are like me and your brick separators can be in any one out of a number of tin boxes. Luckily Allyson Gail shows us how we can prepare for such disasters in her build – a twist on the old classic “break glass in case of emergency”.

The composition of this build is quite simple – mostly red LEGO bricks and some tiling at the top with large clear translucent windows to create the glass portion. Gail even includes a much needed brick-built hammer hanging off of a long chain element – to break the glass of course. Inside is the coveted original bluish-grey brick separator, the preferred separator of some builders and all the more reason why it should be tucked away safely for emergency use only! Thanks to Gail’s inspirational model, now you too can be prepared for a potential brick separating emergency.

New LEGO Star Wars Holiday Special to stream on Disney+ [News]

The infamous Star Wars Holiday Special from 1978 ranks as the low-point of the Star Wars franchise for many fans, and for most of my lifetime Lucasfilm essentially refused to acknowledge its existence. But in recent years the made-for-TV special’s epic terribleness has gained it a cult notoriety, and Disney is ready to embrace it by reviving the Holiday Special in conjunction with LEGO, according to an announcement on Starwars.com. A new animated special is set to stream on Disney+ starting Nov. 17.

Staring Rey and BB-8 and set after The Rise of Skywalker, LEGO Star Wars characters from across all three trilogies of the Skywalker saga will gather to celebrate Life Day in an “endearingly irreverent way.” According to the press release, the 2020 LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar (75279) that was announced earlier this summer will feature some of the holiday-themed characters from the special. The special will also undoubtedly serve as a promotion for the upcoming LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga videogame that was announced last year. No official release has been given for the game yet, though it is still slated to be released this year.

The stars align for a classic space nova

Bionicle Day, 8/10 (810nicle), is behind us, and we’re catching up by celebrating some builds that incorporate the popular buildable figure elements from LEGO’s past. Blake Foster found inspiration to use Bionicle elements such as Macku‘s helmet and Hero Factory feet (ball and socket configuration) for the side of the hull. The standard blue LEGO Classic Space hue is an obvious homage to the 1986 LEGO Cosmic Fleet Voyager. Just don’t expect to see Benny fit into this space fighter, because it is micro-scale. After some quick research on novae, I get why Blake Foster named it “Nova Class.” It is akin to nova, the astronomical event where new stars form and explode, shining bright and slowly fading, just as Blake described how the build constantly came apart during its construction. For now, bask in its glow.

It’s time for your Daily Fable

If you are from Europe and between 30 to 50 years old then this LEGO creation must be instantly recognisable for you. I am talking about Rickard Stensby’s Mr. Owl from the Daily Fable (Fabeltjeskrant in the original Dutch). Every day the wise owl would read from his local newspaper while perched up in his tree. He would tell the kids wonderful stories about the events taking place in Fableland, and especially the mishaps, quarrels, experiences and emotions of its furry and feathered animal inhabitants.

Fablernas managed to capture the essence of Mr. Owl perfectly with his wise but gentle facial expression and his noble composure. The plumage is especially well done and resembles the source material perfectly. The original puppets were made from fabric.

Also check out another LEGO owl we featured yesterday, though of the more wild variety.

LEGO Education joins consortium to accelerate STEAM learning in response to COVID-19 pandemic in the US [News]

As a response to the new methods of remote work and learning that many of us are experiencing from the global pandemic, CDW-G, Intel Corporation, and the LEGO Foundation are collaborating with the nonprofit organization First Book to start the Creating Learning Connections Grant (CLC). The grant will fund new learning methods for several thousand students and families in Title I schools in the United States impacted by the pandemic. LEGO says the students will receive critical at-home and in–the-classroom learning resources, including internet connectivity, technology devices, and hands-on STEAM learning solutions.

Click to read more about the initiative

Tealpunk dance revolution

Anyone who has met me knows that I am a sucker for the colour teal. Some even joke that I disregard anything LEGO which does not include teal. In which case, the talented Simon Liu has earned my respect with his small cyberpunk robot. Not only do I approve of the gorgeous colour scheme, but also the ingenious usage of my favourite elements throughout. For example, the “espresso handle” in the knee and elbow joints and the Overwatch gun in the lower legs. The robot clips make for strong shoulder and hip joints, and the round 1×1 plate with hollow stud is very useful when attaching these to a proper LEGO stud connection. Last but not least, let’s not forget about a fairly new part: Monkie Kid’s headphones as shoulder armour.

By adding a neon gridded base and dynamic pose, this small build became Simon’s homage to another similar pink-haired cyberpunk robot that we have previously featured.

What a hoot!

If you ever find yourself wandering through the lush tropical forests of Lanyu Island, off the coast of Taiwan, you may come face to face with a Lanyu Horned Owl. But don’t be frightened! The Lanyu Horned Owl’s piercing yellow eyes and pointed ear tufts are just for show and it’s probably only looking for a nice midnight rodent snack. Our nocturnal friend comes in peace, as we find it calmly perched as Ian Hou’s latest LEGO bird creation. Ian uses a combination of curved sloped bricks for the owl’s wings and staggered wedge plates to render the plumage on its face and backside. Dark tan shell pieces form most of the owl’s chest feathers. The result is a wonderfully realistic build, shaped in all the right ways.