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.

Enjoy the romance of rail travel aboard the JNR 583-series limited express EMU

Introduced in 1967, the Japan National Railways 583-series of electric multiple units (EMUs) served long-distance travelers for 40 years, with the very last rolling stock finally withdrawn in 2017. Riding in these was nearly as exciting as traveling on the Shinkansen bullet trains, though certainly not as fast. Japanese builder Orient R. Minesky (also on Flickr) has recreated this iconic and historic train in LEGO, in its original dark blue and cream JNR livery, prior to privatization and breakup into regional railways in 1987. Presenting the train photographed on a cement wall from a low angle, with LEGO electric lines against a real-life background, makes it seem like the train is clattering toward you at speed.

See the detailed interior of this LEGO JNR 583-series train

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LEGO cancels release of Technic 42113 Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey [News]

LEGO has canceled the planned release of one of its upcoming Technic sets, the 42113 Bell-Boeing V-22 Osprey, due to its association with militaries. The summer 2020 LEGO Technic lineup includes the usual construction vehicles such as a Volvo Articulated Hauler, but it also includes the licensed V-22 Osprey, which is a far more unusual subject for LEGO set. LEGO has long publicly held that it does not produce modern military vehicles, and fans were quick to point out that the V-22 Osprey is traditionally a military aircraft. The German Peace Society organized a petition to halt LEGO’s production, and combined with broader questions from the LEGO fan community over LEGO’s licensing of this military aircraft, LEGO has today made the decision to halt rollout of the set. The set was slated to be released Aug. 1.

The Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey is a tiltrotor aircraft for VTOL (vertical takeoff and landing) missions and is operated by the U.S. Air Force, Marines, and Navy, as well as the Japan Self-Defense Forces. Although some examples are equipped to play search and rescue operations, the V-22 is not operated by any civilian sources.

Click to read LEGO’s official statement

The other other Michelangelo

One of my biggest gripes with a certain variety of religious art is the portrayal of angels. I know you’ve seen it, too. Angels are cute: either chubby naked kids or else delicate and fairy-ish. How could a super-human cosmic entity be cute? Aren’t there any sculptures or paintings of muscle-bound ones that could be played by Chris Hemsworth in a movie? Sure, I know, angels don’t have bodies, and thus no muscles, but still. When one of them is called Michael the Archangel, a warrior of God who fights Satan and casts that fallen angel into Hell, one would expect more than a mild mannered, almost dainty face and spindly limbs in any portrayal, at very least. Enter Tino Poutiainen.

His LEGO version of the archangel might be made of small plastic elements, but there’s some serious power in that torso. And the arms avoid being spindly, too, due to those tires. And that hair! Everyone knows you fight better with serious flow (and play hockey better, too). Coolest of all, though, is that circle of wings that also holds up the halo. Such an elegant touch! The arrows in the shield make good use of the feather element, though who launched them is a mystery; everyone else seems to be cowering away from this mighty protector.

Love LEGO angels? Then check out some more at this link to see ones we’ve featured before!

LEGO Star Wars 75280 501st Legion Clone Troopers with AT-RT & BARC speeder [Review]

The summer 2020 lineup of LEGO Star Wars sets has added a number of sets inspired by Star Wars: The Clone Wars, including 75283 Armored Assault Tank with Ahsoka Tano and one of her unique Clone Troopers. 75280 501st Legion Clone Troopers adds the elite infantry that Anakin Skywalker leads into battle as part of the Grand Army of the Republic. The set includes 285 pieces with the four Clone Trooper minifigs and two battle droids, and is scheduled to be available in the US starting September 1st from LEGO (US $29.99 | CAN $39.99 | UK £24.99), though actual availability may vary significantly due to COVID-19.

Before we dig into the details of the set, it’s important to briefly correct some earlier reporting, which indicated that this is part of the minifigure-centric Battle Packs line of sets within LEGO Star Wars. Although the set does include four “army builder” Clone Troopers and a pair of battle droids, the inclusion of two substantial vehicles places this within the realm of standard LEGO Star Wars sets, not Battle Packs.

(And yes, I inverted the torsos on a couple of the nearly identical Clone Troopers as you can see in some of the overall photos, but thankfully we caught it during photography and the detailed minifig photos are correct.)

Read our full review of LEGO Star Wars 75280 501st Legion Clone Troopers

LEGO Harry Potter 2020 Advent Calendar revealed [News]

Swiss toy retailer Meinspielzeug.ch has just shared official pictures of the upcoming Harry Potter 2020 Advent Calendar set. As usual, the set consists of 24 mini-builds and includes 355 pieces and 6 minifigures. The set will be available starting September 1. Detailed pictures of the set are right behind the link to this post, so be careful not to spoil the surprise!

75981 LEGO Harry Potter Advent Calendar | 335 pieces (Now Available on LEGO Online Store)
US $39.99 | CAN $49.99 | UK £24.99

Click here for more pictures of the set

The LEGO 12-volt train era rides (around) again

LEGO train track used to be blue, but 40 years ago the Grey Era started, and Holger Matthes built this beautiful and functional Roundhouse “Bamberg” with some very modern parts and techniques, but still perfectly in the style of those classic 1980-1987 sets.

See more of this LEGO roundhouse, including a video!

Fire and brimstone and a bone dragon, oh my

This black castle by Aaron Newman which he calls Grimstone is a delightful blend of classic fantasy and a bit of industrial revolution, with smokestack-looking towers, and a hint of castle Greyskull, with those black claws flanking the main gate. The sloping bridge over flaming hot magma leads to a dilapidated town that is looking a bit worse for wear. I also love the many shades of orange plates used for the lava.

A ship designed to bug you

Giant spaceships are cool, but I think we’ve seen the strength of the small one-man fighter to slip in and do some real damage. Blake Foster created the Grumpy Gnat Attack Fighter in under 24 hours…a level of speed this thrust-heavy vehicle understands. Built in Classic Space colors, the transparent-yellow windscreen hails from 2011’s 7985 City of Atlantis, and the blue cowling is sourced from a variety of Bionicle parts. I particularly like the Rahkshi Back Cover along the top and sides. The gap designed for the Rahkshi spines makes a perfect place to have the ship’s fins extend through. And the little touches like the red and green navigational lights just make me smile.

This isn’t Blake’s first foray into new Classic Space vehicles. Not by a long shot! Check our archives for more space-y goodness.

LEGO Star Wars 75283 Armored Assault Tank (AAT) from The Clone Wars season 7 includes Ahsoka Tano and Ahsoka Trooper [Review]

Season 7 of Star Wars: The Clone Wars concluded on Disney+ recently, converging the storyline from the long-running animated TV series with the events portrayed in Revenge of the Sith. The season also wraps up a key storyline about Ahsoka Tano, connecting to her appearance as “Fulcrum” in Rebels. Because of this, LEGO fans have been excited about the inclusion of a new Ahsoka minifigure alongside a special “Ahsoka Trooper” in 75283 Armored Assault Tank, announced as part of the summer 2020 wave of LEGO Star Wars sets. The set includes 286 pieces with two minifigs (plus two battle droids), and will become available in the US on Sept. 1st, but may be available already in other regions (US $39.99 | CAN $49.99 | UK £34.99) due to logistics and supply chain challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read our hands-on review of LEGO Star Wars 75283 Armored Assault Tank

When greed was good and spoilers were big

The eighties: hair and shoulder pads were big, smoking was cool and greed was good. If you wanted to show off your financial success, the car to buy was the Porsche 911 Turbo. Because of the weight of its rear-mounted engine and the massive turbo lag, flooring the throttle pedal whilst driving through a slippery curve resulted in a fair few investment bankers wrapping their Porsches around a tree. However, in the hands of a good driver, these things were rally monsters. Dennis Glaasker brings us 1/14 scale LEGO models of two of these classic racers.

This pair competed in the 1984 Ypres Rally in Belgium. Henri Toivonen, with Ian Grindrod as his navigator, won the rally in the white and dark blue car in ‘Rothmans’ livery (a tobacco company). The red and white car failed to finish, though. Belgian racers Robert Droogmans and Ronny Joosten didn’t wrap it around a tree, fortunately. They retired from the race because their gearbox failed. There is much to love about the models. For instance, note how the B-pillars (the struts under the roof at the back of the doors) are sloped slightly aft, just like on the real car. Everything opens and the cars have realistic interiors, with racing seats and roll cages. Dennis recreated their colour schemes using a mix of different coloured parts and perfectly matching custom stickers. Best bit: those iconic whale tail spoilers.

Galidor lives!

This build actually has nothing to do with the defunct theme, but you can’t help but notice that Galidor staff in the center. When Cody Avery designed this angelic LEGO character inspired by the renaissance art adorning the tombs of saints, it might not have been intended to be the focal point. But we certainly admire how perfectly it fits. It’s also ironic that something from LEGO’s least “LEGO-like” theme could be used to make something so lovely. It’s a beautiful story of rebirth, with or without the staff.

A different Galidor-inspired build better explains the history of the theme. We feature loads of creations using similar parts. Also, check out another of Cody’s builds, The Elder Beast.

School’s out for summer. School’s out forever!

Did you ever have that dream where you’re back in high school and all the kids are riding to school in a chopped rusto-mod school bus and everyone is thrashing out to Alice Cooper’s School’s Out? You haven’t? That’s like my second-most recurring dream beside the one where we’re in high school and Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden is teaching gym class. High school for me was in the late eighties so you can forgive me if all my dreams involve hair metal. Red2 may or may not have the same dreams but they at least have the chopped rusto-mod school bus down pat. This LEGO creation features a chromed-out Cummins Deisel motor and an opening folding school bus door.

You need a tetanus shot just to look at this thing! I remember tetanus shots. Our school nurse administered them to us while smoking Virginia Slims. As I said, school for me was a long time ago and it was a different time back then. No one smokes in school anymore and Alice Cooper is now a conservative old man who enjoys golf.