With video communications tools taking a forefront over the past weeks, LEGO has released fun backgrounds for you to use and transport your homes into another dimension and bringing some of their recent popular themes to inject a little fun during your meetings.
Click to see more of the virtual backgrounds by LEGO
LEGO builder Malin Kylinger is at it again and this time she has built an epic fantasy scene she calls “Battle of the Seasons”. A scroll acts as a battlefield while four distinct factions battle it out in the center. Inspired by The Heroes of Might and Magic video games, this scene contains a whopping seventy-three minifigs. It’s difficult to understand the scope of this scene from afar, so let’s take a closer look, shall we?
Alright, alright! I know it’s a pun only a dad could love, but I can’t help myself. This adorable little LEGO sewing machine, built by Vaionaut, is both clever and crafty. I’m a fan of the dress slopes used to make the body look sleek. I also like the Fencer’s foil used as the needle.
Of course, what would an old-fashioned sewing machine be without its mechanics? I’m a sucker for moving parts. The function is pretty simple, but it sure does make it look cool!
If you think this little guy looks familiar, maybe that’s because another builder came up with a sewing machine very similar a while back. It also moves! And in fact, that builder, Pixeljunkie, has updated his machine with some shiny new bling.
Click to see the updated Singer Sewing Machine
Amidst a slew of spaceships and post-apocalyptic scenes, it’s always good to take a break and enjoy some food for the soul. Miro Dudas‘ latest LEGO model employs a larger-than-minifigure scale to depict a wonderful domestic kitchen. The styling here is excellent — from the panels of the kitchen cabinets through to the Belfast sink set into the worktop. I particularly like the neat stacks of crockery, the roller blind above the window, and the smooth tiling on the walls, which offers more texture than a blank background but doesn’t distract attention. There are a couple of small details worth a closer look — don’t miss the “cheesegrater slope” used as a knife block, and the hammers providing the rings for the gas stove. Overall, this kitchen wouldn’t look out of place in an IKEA catalog. Great stuff.
Despite the great variety of LEGO tensegrity builds lately, almost all of them seem to have a few traits in common. In particular, most builders have “explained” the chains and string that connect the base to the hovering elements in similar ways. Either the connection is designed to look like it’s pulling the top section straight down, or it’s minimized to try and enhance the sense of gravity-defiance. What I like about this build by lokiloki29 is that the design of the connections implies obvious motion away from the center of the build. The 10-SGTY Racer feels like it’s trying to escape, and is being barely held in place by the tie downs. The result is a very dynamic build.
It certainly doesn’t hurt that the racer stands alone as a quality spacecraft build. Technic panels and curved slopes in medium azure give a sleek bit of contrast to the bright-light-orange of the quarter-arch bricks. I also like the ring of 1×2 tiles that match that arch. There’s some clever building with lightsaber hilts going on there.
I think it’s also a nice touch that the pilot has a big grin on their face. After all, I imagine flying a racer like this would be quite the joy.
When I was younger, my mom gave me a framed poster of a mother giraffe with her lips pressed against the head of her newborn calf. The title read, “The First Kiss” and while it always meant a lot to me, it means even more now that she has passed away. Needless to say, this lovely LEGO sculpture by Joe Perez has a special place in my heart. And as a model, it is very well done. I’m constantly saying organic shapes are not easy, and the body of a giraffe has to be one of the hardest. I love their positioning, the clips for the mother’s mane, and the brooms for both their tails.
If you’re interested in seeing more of Joe’s lovely builds, take a look at his majestic stag. Or perhaps you’ll find these beautiful birds of prey inspiring. And maybe if you want to get wacky, check out his prehistoric squirrel in this previous exhibition. (While not his, the sabre tooth cat is my favorite contribution.)
Having enough space to head out for an adventure to the LEGO store (gasp!) has always been a dream of mine. I like to calculate precisely the number of UCS Millennium Falcons, I could fit into any given area, measuring the exact width, height and depth and doing the math and volunteer that in my conversation as much as possible even when it’s wasn’t asked for. I don’t know how many of them I could fit here, but thanks to Andrea Lattanzio aka Norton74, I could at least calculate the number of LEGO miniature Millennium Falcons versions that could fit back there. You can now go an build one if you like, while I do the arithmetic.
Click to see the build guide and parts list
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 first week of May 2020.
26 projects have qualified for the latest round of LEGO Ideas. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.
TBB NEWS AND FEATURES: This week we take a look at the tensegrity craze, watch an interview with LEGO Designers Jamie Berard and Marcos Bessa, continue our feature series on LEGO storage methods and see the 26 projects that qualified for this round of LEGO Ideas!
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:
Models don’t get much betta than this. This fintastic creation is by Marcel V who nails the avid fisherman look. Prominently featuring a plaid shirt, with two custom fly lures dangling from the pocket. Sideways treads make a sofishticated zipper. Getting really down into the accurate details, our intrepid fisherman’s chest hair is exposed (horns) and he’s sporting a chain necklace. And what’s a fisherman without a rod? Perfect use of the chakram piece along the length.
Way back in May of 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe kicked off with Iron Man. Now, a mere 12 years later, Josephine Monterosso pays tribute with an amazing microscale rendition of the Mark I armor. As you’d expect at this tiny size, there’s a lot of meaning packed into each and every piece. The legs, made of robot claws add some weight to the hips, and the connection grooves on the minifigure hands that make the arms manage to suggest elbow joints. The round helmet (looks like the base of a lever to me) conveys the right shaping. But the real star is the torso – made from a single roller skate. Not only does that part provide all the necessary attachment points, it also transforms the central LEGO stud into a perfect ARC reactor. It’s amazing how much information you can get from just six tiny LEGO elements.
As impressive as the armor is, it’s also important to call out the setting Josephine built for it. Without this jagged rock backdrop, you might have mistaken the figure for a robot or even a sci-fi spacesuit. It may be a “simple” build of slopes and plates, but it adds great depth and context to the scene. Makes me wonder what other Marvel Moments might be possible at this scale. It’d make for a great, space-efficient diorama!
I’ve seen a lot of LEGO models, but I must admit that I never thought I would see one of a gay, polyamorous, gun toting redneck who keeps large tigers, but here we are. We were barely a week into our quarantine when a virus of another sort started invading the world’s TVs. Netflix’s Tiger King became an instant sensation as people lost themselves in a story about the goings on in the little known world of Joe Exotic aka The Tiger King. Add equally engaging side characters, large cats and a big dose of crazy and you have a hit on your hands. Joe Exotic minifigs have been popping up right and left, but this excellent brick built LEGO figure by SuckMyBrick deserves special notice.
This is such a fun grouping of figures, full of character and humor. The Joe Exotic figure captures him perfectly with his blonde mullet and cane. The giant eyes are hilarious and somehow fitting here and the gold earring is a great little touch. There is some great parts usage in the tiger’s face including the white croissant mouth and the minifigure pith helmets creating eyelids that give him some serious side-eye. It has a wonderfully crafted pose and a very telling facial expression. You can almost hear what he’s thinking. Seems to me this would make great fodder for a caption contest. Anyone want to give it a go?
Continuing our series on LEGO organization and storage, guest contributor Kevin Moses shows us that maintaining a collection in a small space doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Read the previous articles here:
Those of us who live in smaller urban spaces have limitations and considerations that are more pronounced than people with larger houses. While any space can be optimized and organized, we must do this more out of necessity than desire. Since many of us are stuck at home, it’s a great time to think about how you can make things better.
I’ve given a few presentations on this topic at conventions and started the Urban Brick Builder website to collect ideas that come up.