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.

LEGO 31109 Creator 3-in-1 Pirate Ship [Review]

One of the beloved classics from LEGO is the Pirates theme. It first saw its debut in 1989 and made waves through the mid-90s capturing the imagination of young ones all over the planet. These days, fans who grew up during the early days of LEGO’s early success pine for a return of the three golden classic themes: Space, Castle, and Pirates. LEGO is well aware of this and instead of an outright re-issue, the inspiration never died, but only revived and modernised to steal the hearts and minds of the newer generation today. One such example is the latest Ideas set, 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay. Now, I believe there’s a good chance the LEGO Creator Pirate Ship will be remembered decades later repeating the very same cycle of nostalgia, albeit in its own special and unique way. The LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31109 Pirate Ship has 1,264 pieces and comes with four minifigures. The set is slated for a June 1 release, but the final price has yet to be revealed, but we will update this review as soon as we can confirm it. Let’s up anchor and set sail for a journey of discovery on how the LEGO Creator Pirate ship fares in today’s context.

Click to read the full review of the Creator Pirate Ship

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Where Anakin lost a game of The Floor Is Lava

Here’s a teeny tiny LEGO rendition of Mustafar, lava-drenched mining planet, and the venue for The Big Jedi/Sith Showdown between Obi-Wan Kenobi and his errant apprentice Anakin Skywalker. This microscale Star Wars build by Tino Poutiainen is a cracker, packed full of clever parts usage and smart styling. Hammers and spanners make up many of the distinctive details of the mining facility, and a line of rollerskates adds some interesting textures to the structure’s upper surface. Best of all, a miniscule rendition of an AT-AT Imperial Walker which is the smallest-whilst-still-recognisable design I’ve yet seen. Lovely stuff.

Dinosaurs are pretty retro, when you think about it

At first glance, you’d think this was just a cool LEGO creation of a dinosaur playing a guitar. And you’d be right. But as Pistash could tell you, this is also a bit of retro history in the form of a late 80’s icon. Because this is no mere musical reptile. This is Denver, the Last Dinosaur. He starred in his own animated TV series back in 1989.

Sadly, I never saw the show, but I can comment on this LEGO version. I have to admire the use of curved mudguards in the mouth, in a light-aqua color only seen in a LEGO Friends set from 2013. That same light-aqua fills in the face and the chest, contrasting nicely with the green of the main body. The organic curves of the arms are from arched and curved brick.

I may not know who Denver is, but he still looks like he’d be fun to hang out with.

Electric Boogaloo is Cyberpunk, right?

We’ve featured several of Joss Woodyard (Jayfa)‘s amazing LEGO characters and creatures in the past, but this one is probably my favorite. Cyber-Punk is a super-expressive build that feels like it stepped right out of a comic book. A Toa Okoto head is enhanced with magenta dragon horns and quarter circle tiles for a stylish hairdo. The highly poseable legs are Bionicle beams surrounded by rubber LEGO tires. And there’s a nice bit of detailing on the shoes with an ice skate for laces.

This was built for the preliminary round of Bio-Cup 2020. I can’t wait to see what else comes out of that competition!

Glowing in the deep

For my taste, we don’t see nearly enough horrific LEGO monsters here on the Brothers Brick. That’s why I’m so happy to write about the Luminescent Levviathan by Marko Petrušić. This creepy creature is based around a lot of hard-to-find Bionicle sets from 2007. In particular, it uses unique glow-in-the-dark pieces from Nocturn, Takadox, and Gadunka. These key elements are mixed with armor plating from the same sets to extend the shapes even further. The best bit, though, is that tail. The fins are made from Batmobile wings and an inverted use of glowing spines from the Nocturn set.

From the side, you can better see the build isn’t all black and blue. There’s a bit of brown on the underbelly, giving this an even more natural look. If, you know, nature was really pissed at us. Looking outside, maybe it is. At least this thing appears to be aquatic. If Marko makes a murder hornet version, I might never venture outside again.

Splish Splash

There are a couple of things that I envy about this build by Krzysztof J. First and foremost is that bathtub. Owning a giant claw-footed tub like that is long term goal for me. But, just behind that material greed, is envy of the skill involved in rendering this scene. Creating human-proportioned figures out of LEGO is no easy feat, and there are some great techniques in play here. In particular, I like the Aztec shield earrings and the wedges for hands. The way the balance of the figure is hidden beneath the surface of the 1×2 brick “water” disguises necessary seams and provides just a touch of privacy to an intimate moment.

But back to that tub. I love the gently sloping angles on the sizes, the sturdy construction of the legs, and the attention to detail in the overflow drain and hand-held faucet. Little touches like the alternation between solid and hollow studs in the detailing at the bottom of the basin add just the right touch of realism.

The rest of the scene is also worth investigating. The pump-soap dispenser makes great use of transparent 2×2 brick, and the bath mat feels like it has the right texture. Even the base is pretty sweet, with a nice inlaid tile floor. Next time I try and relax, I only hope I can do so in such nice surroundings.

Microbot squad reports for colorful duty

Only 9 bricks tall but Marco De Bon‘s tiny squad of microbots pack a detailed punch! This colorful trio of bots knows how to make maximum use out of minimal space. Each has a unique assortment of nice LEGO parts usage that exemplifies the saying “good things come in small packages.”

First up is grey microbot mkI using hand armor for its head and a ladder holder for a shield.

Next is the red microbot mkII which has some scuba breathing masks tucked against the chest for some added texture. I guess Marco’s been dipping into their nautical pieces because there are also some frogman’s feet/flippers on either side of the bot’s face and a lifeguard’s rescue float for a codpiece. I love the huge chunky shoulders on this one.

Lastly, we’ve got blue microbot mkIII, who is a little trickier. The bottom of the head is an upside down Nexo shield which stumped me at first. He also has a really neat use of Hero Factory badge for his chest paneling. It’s also got all sorts of munitions for taking out whatever it is microbots encounter.

Those who live in glass houses

You’ve heard of treehouses. Now Aukbricks presents something that is a tree…in a house. This LEGO creation is like a childhood dream, a four-story modern home that surrounds a tree. The inspiration is a concept by A. Masow Architects. Incidentally, this LEGO creation and its real-life counterpart are both renders that don’t exist in real form but AuKbricks tells us he used about 4500 bricks, all of them utilizing real colors and legal connections.

Click here to tour the house

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for May 16, 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 May 2020.

LEGO has revealed the latest set geared towards adult builders, the Haunted House. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.

TBB NEWS: This week we saw the introduction of a whole new LEGO property with Monkie Kid, got scared in a Haunted House, and put a little LEGO in our Zoom meetings.

LEGO Monkie Kid revealed with 8 sets and a TV show based on Chinese Monkey King legend – We have your first look at the brand new LEGO Monkie Kid theme including all 8 sets and the animated show’s first trailer.
Behind the scenes of LEGO Monkie Kid – Take a look at all the work that goes into making a new LEGO theme like Monkie Kid, and learn about the designers who made it happen.
LEGO Monkie Kid sets now available for purchase – All 8 sets from the new LEGO Monkie Kid product line are now available. Which are you most interested in?

LEGO 10273 Haunted House revealed as next set in the Creator Expert Fairground Collection – Go for a terrifying free-fall in LEGO’s new Haunted House fairground ride.
LEGO 10273 Haunted House designers reveal the hidden secrets within Manor Von Barron – An adoring army of adventuring LEGO designers have donned their disguises to discuss the droves of delightful secrets hidden within the exhilarating new 10273 Haunted House.

LEGO DOTS summer 2020 sets revealed including bracelet mega pack, second tile expansion pack and more – Check out the new LEGO DOTS sets and bracelets (including a “super-rare” tile) available from LEGO May 24th.
Inject a little fun in your video calls with these LEGO virtual backgrounds – Get these official LEGO backgrounds for your Video Teleconferencing sessions to brighten up your online meetings or meet-ups.
LEGO Education and FIRST unveil RePLAY, the new FIRST LEGO League season theme – The new season of LEGO FIRST League will be all about health, sports, and fitness. Check out two new sets for new divisions of the competition.

TBB REVIEWS & INSTRUCTIONS: We got fast and furious with our review of Dom’s Charger and sped to another galaxy in the new UCS A-wing.

LEGO Technic 42111 Dom’s Dodge Charger [Review] – We build and test the new replica of Dom’s iconic Charger, which looks much better on the movie screen than in one’s living room.
LEGO Star Wars 75275 A-wing Starfighter, the latest Ultimate Collector Series vehicle [Review] – Read our review of the A-wing, the latest lineup from the LEGO Ultimate Collector Series.
Build a classic van for your everyday LEGO City needs [Instructions] – How about a classic van for your LEGO city citizens to surf around town with?

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:

Free Game Alert: ‘LEGO Ninjago’ Is On The House For A Limited Time, Forbes – ‘The LEGO Ninjago Movie Video Game’ is free for Xbox One, PS4 and PC this weekend.
Genius creates LEGO machine that ‘plays’ Animal Crossing, Polygon – Set it and forget it to get ahead in Animal Crossing.
That time LEGO hosted the world’s smallest Pride parade, LGBTQ Nation – While the world celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Uprising and riots last year with huge parades and festivals, the toymaker LEGO got in on the action.
Brickworld Offers Four New Online LEGO Expos Starting May 16, Broadway World – Brickworld, which regularly hosts LEGO conventions throughout the Midwest, announces four more virtual expos in 2020.

LEGO Rogue Shadow brings Darth Vader’s enemies to justice

Behold a ship worthy of a Sith apprentice as Kirk Haksever completes his path to the Dark Side with Star Wars: Force Unleashed’s Rogue Shadow. There is much more to discover within the studless LEGO bulkheads of the spacecraft which boasts a fully recreated minifigure-scale interior layout in this masterful build effort.

Explore more of Starkiller’s Rogue Shadow after the break

LEGO Monkie Kid sets now available for purchase [News]

LEGO has officially revealed the brand new theme, Monkie Kid, based on the Monkey King legend from the Chinese novel Journey to the West. The new theme includes eight sets that are now available for purchase from LEGO.

The sets range in price from US $34.99 to $169.99 and include a ship-based team headquarters, two large Monkey King and Demon Bull mechs, and a variety of vehicles.

Get a closer look at the sets, prices and piece counts of LEGO Monkie Kid

Chubby Grimlock is the best Grimlock

So…anyone else finding that self-isolation has lead to needing to let a notch or two out on your belt? It can’t be just me, as this LEGO Grimlock by Andreas Lenander seems to have put on a few ounces as well. Personally, this cute and cuddly version of the leader of the Dinobots feels like an upgrade. I like the highly-articulated tail, the use of ingots to break up the the curved slopes, and those cute little arms.

At least he’s venturing outside, based on those flowers. I should probably do that, too.