Home is where the heart is, and this residence by Ayrlego, loosely inspired by houses in the civilization-building sim Age of Empires 2 is a sturdy place to raise a family, with strong walls, a nearby source of clean water, and shady trees to relax with the little ones. The textured bricks built into the frame are a nice connection to the building, as well as a frame for the ground made up of sloped bricks.
Seismic communication? In my Federation? It’s more likely than you think. The Brick Artisan has created a LEGO Heavy Communications Rover that overcomes planetary dust and electrical storms with the power of vibration. It’d take a scientist to explain that, probably. Meanwhile, we can marvel at that intricate radar dish construction. There’s everything in there from minifigure jackhammers to battle droid torsos. The overall shaping of the rover reminds me of the old Rock Raiders theme, or the even earlier 6950 Mobile Rocket Transport, which isn’t too shocking considering the wheels and fenders were likely sourced from the Rock Raiders line and the canopy pieces from Classic Space — those three interlocking yellow windscreens take this build to another place entirely.
Speaking of Rock Raiders, how many of you first thought you were looking at a cave interior as the background here? I sure did. But that’s actually a still from Fury Road showing a massive dust storm. It still works for this creation’s backstory, but it sure felt weird to realize that. Anyway, if you want to see even more details of this clever build, check out this unedited shot.
As we continue our reviews of summer 2020 LEGO Star Wars sets, we’re moving on from The Clone Wars and Original Trilogy to the third wave of sets from the final movie in the Skywalker Saga, The Rise of Skywalker. 75284 Knights of Ren Transport Ship includes 595 pieces with three minifigs, and will be available September 1st (US $69.99 | CAN $99.99 | UK £64.99). The set rounds out the full group of Knights of Ren minifigures, but is it more than a cash grab for minifig collectors?
Read our full review of LEGO Star Wars 75284 Knights of Ren Transport Ship
When it comes to off-road capable vehicles, the motto seems to be, go big or go home. So it is no surprise that the 2020 G series from Mercedes is a beast. And LEGO builder Tim Inman has built a beast of model to show his appreciation. I especially love the low angle of this hero shot, showing the 4×4 in its natural habitat, driving over rocks.
Not only does this model of a Mercedes G550 look good on the outside, but it features a complete interior as well.
Generally speaking, all the LEGO pieces can be divided into two huge categories: bricks of strict geometrical shapes and more sophisticated, organic-looking elements. The thing is, it takes much more than just a handful of organic shapes to design an awe-inspiring creature — you have to find just the right combination of pieces. This is exactly what Tino Poutiainen achieved in his most recent 12×12 vignette. There are so many things that impressed me in this work, and I particularly like how a dark red flex tube is combined with light yellowish-green fangs. And if you are afraid of sea-serpents, keep your eyes above the water level and you’ll find a set of brilliantly designed sails made with 3×2 cupboard door pieces.
There is perhaps no builder more skilled at crafting interesting and unique figures out of LEGO than Eero Okkonen. One glance at the TBB archives will demonstrate that. But the most recent creation to grace our screens is my favorite of the lot, due to her graceful pose, captured mid-frolic, and elegant shaping. The use of the spider net from a Hobbit set with some boat sliders makes a perfect top, with the soft edges of the fabric causing the Magadril of Dandelions to look more alive and less LEGO-ish than most of Eero’s builds. And since her eyes are up there, it’s worth highlighting how perfect minifigure hands are for eyes. If I were single and a brick-built LEGO creation myself, I’d gladly tiptoe through some tulips, or dandelions, with her. If only she didn’t have that midriff tattoo since my mother would never approve of her…
With beloved minifigures and generally excellent vehicle designs in the LEGO Star Wars theme, location-based playsets often get a bad rap by comparison. Back in 2016, I described 75137 Carbon Freezing Chamber as half-formed, oddly over-engineered, ugly, and ultimately baffling — one of the worst LEGO sets I’d reviewed in recent memory. Then in 2018, we argued that the $350 75222 Betrayal at Cloud City doesn’t even live up to LEGO’s own product description, despite some stellar mid-scale vehicles and improved carbon-freezing chamber. Given that history, we were skeptical of 75291 Death Star Final Duel (US $99.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £89.99), which includes 775 pieces with five minifigs and will be available starting September 1st (with the now-standard caveats about COVID-19 shipping). But has LEGO exceeded our low expectations?
Read our hands-on review of LEGO Star Wars 75291 Death Star Final Duel
I like cutaway models that let you explore the interior mechanics and design of a vehicle. There’s something cool to know a builder went beyond thinking about the exterior shaping of a vessel to consider how it could really operate. And when you combine a quality cutaway of a submarine with a lively undersea diorama like General Tensai has, you get something extra special. Even if, just for a moment, I had to wonder about the lack of a tight water-seal. The Nokirian Battle Submarine feels like it could have been lifted from a scene from Das Boot. There’s a lot of slice-of-undersea life happening from the cots and galley to the more functional touches like the brick-built engine and periscope station. I also like how the somber reds and greys of the sub contrast with the vibrant aquatic life on the seafloor.
Maybe there’s a link between this sub and the General’s oil rig. If there isn’t, there should be.
No matter what kind of creature you are, if you live in a desert environment, chances are you would enjoy a visit to this fantasy oasis by Peter Z for a chance to enjoy fresh fruit, and to sit by the fountain to let the cool breeze wash over you. Gold and teal accents provide a lovely contrast to the tan structure, and the walls are peppered with little irregularities caused by the cutting wind and sand.
Living in Seattle, or in any major port town, for that matter, this scene by ExeSandbox is a familiar sight. What is much more unexpected about this model is the massive scale. Notice the “small” rolling cranes in the foreground are this crane base, which is 16 studs high! Even though this model is a digital render, this in no way diminishes the amount of effort involved in putting this together.
The builder includes a nice surprise detail in the cargo ship’s name, Leg Godt, the Danish phrase “Play Well”, from which LEGO derives its name.
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 last week of July 2020.
Let the music play with the new LEGO Ideas Grand Piano. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.
TBB NEWS: This week we reviewed two new Star Wars sets, learned to make a tiny T-Rex, saw the cancellation of a controversial set, got a sneak peek at the upcoming Harry Potter advent calendar and more!
MORE TBB NEWS:
TBB REVIEWS AND INSTRUCTIONS:
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:
Yes, you read the title correctly. Rocco Buttliere has used around 84,000 LEGO bricks, to be more precise. In addition to 300+ hours of building to recreate the Forbidden City in Beijing, China, Rocco also spent 400+ hours designing it first. If that doesn’t blow your mind, it should. That is one giant build of one of the world’s most spectacular architectural sites. Like his earlier LEGO diorama of Ancient Rome, Rocco built this one for a commission for a museum, and boy, does it belong there. The overview picture hardly does it justice, as it all blends together into a blur of flame orange, dark red, and grey, but zoom in and there are as many marvels as in the real deal. Fancy a tour? It’s not forbidden to look at this one, even for a commoner like me.
Check out the details of this incredible build