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.

Ilum, home to Kyber crystals and Imperials

Poland’s Jan T. has built an icy LEGO recreation of Ilum from Star Wars: Fallen Order and it’s an action-packed stage with a story to tell!

I have to admit I’ve never played the game but this model caught my eye for its boundary-breaking snowy clumps hanging off the edge of the edges of the scene. The stark gray face of the Imperial lair utilizes interesting paneling and some absolutely gorgeous cutaways reveal piping running through the walls. I also love the probe droid floating menacingly nearby.

Not content with only half the action, Jan has also included a backside to the stout Imperial fortress wall complete with an adorable little BD-1 hacking into a security droid.

Need more BD-1 in your life? We shared instructions from one of our favorite builders hachokoru24!

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It takes all sorts of sorts: LEGO organization and me, Chris Doyle [Feature]

Continuing our series on LEGO organization and sorting, contributor Chris Doyle invites you on a tour of his workspace and processes.

So, let’s start by putting things into context. One of my most vivid childhood memories is lying on a thick shag carpet, watching Battlestar Galactica, and being super frustrated that the clone brand LEGO that my parents had bought for me didn’t have the fine detail I needed to build Colonial Vipers. I remember swearing to myself that if I made it to adulthood, I would buy enough LEGO to fill a room. So, eventually, I did.

But a collection like this comes at a cost. And I don’t mean just that official LEGO product is on the expensive side. It eats up space, and time, and quite a few additional purchases just to keep things organized. So, in a vain attempt to justify this non-trivial investment, let me show you around and share my sorting process. C’mon. It’ll be fun!

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LEGO Powered Up update to the community [News]

The LEGO Powered Up technology is a followup to the LEGO Power Functions and made its debut in 60197 City Passenger Train and 60198 Cargo Train. LEGO Power Functions will be obsolete from current sets (if not already).

As LEGO seamlessly weaves Powered Up functions into their products, loss of some features and functions can sometimes leave fans more questions than answers. Over the short number of years, there has been more information sharing such as this consolidated FAQ made public. The LEGO Engagement team has also been reaching out to the LEGO community to gather feedback over time. Because of confidentiality and upcoming products, the lack of communication back to the community can sometimes be challenging. But to address that our feedback has been heard, the Powered Up team has released a public statement to share with the community.

Click to see the full statement from LEGO Powered Up Team

A rare and luxurious treasure

To be honest, when I chose to write this, I had heard of Fabergé Eggs but knew nothing of their history. I quickly learned that these aren’t just a generic tradition of creating fancy eggs. They are incredibly rare — as in, the original “Imperial Eggs” are each one-of-a-kind and worth millions of dollars. Ironically, LEGO versions of the eggs, like this one built by Marion Weintraut, are possibly even more rare. Of course, not being worth millions could be due to the fact that they aren’t loaded with actual gold and precious stones. Still, this one-of-a-kind piece is indeed regal and elegant!

There is something so royal and appealing about blue and gold! A couple of the real ones followed the same combo. Once upon a time, we discovered another LEGO Fabergé egg with a sweet story behind it. While totally different, it was just a pretty!

Winter, spring, summer, or fall

Vivaldi’s Le quattro stagioni is one of the most renowned pieces of music in the world, and served as newcomer ArmoredBricks’ inspiration for this moving (and moving!) LEGO model.

What sets this rendered model apart to me is not only the masterful instrument recreations but the titular seasons represented by small vignettes each crafted in their own clean, colorful way. Each one is such a clear personification of a season of the year. My favorite season vignette is the crooked, budding tree representing the spring season:

Check out the video below to see the full model in action accompanied by a sampling of the Spring concerti.

LEGO Star Wars gift with purchase for May the Fourth revealed as 40407 Death Star II Battle [News]

This year, for Star Wars May the Fourth weekend, LEGO suggest hopping into A-wing cockpit to take part in the Death Star battle. The upcoming promotional set revealed today, 40407 Death Star II Battle, depicts a couple of tiny Star Wars fighters swooshing by the turrets of the Empire’s notorious space base. The set will be available for free with the qualifying Star Wars purchases over $75 during May 1-4. Featuring a tiny copy of the iconic A-wing, this promotional set is a perfect gift with the purchase of the latest UCS 75275 A-wing Starfighter set revealed last week.

Click to get a closer look at the Death Star II Battle

A stunning rendition of Venice’s St. Mark’s Basilica

With all that is going on in the world today, it makes me wonder if I’ll ever be able to travel again. Will I get to see Italy, with all of its beautiful architecture, from the Roman ruins to the Catholic cathedrals, in person? Maybe not; although, if airfare stays cheap, I might be able to afford it for once! But just in case I can’t make the trip myself, talented LEGO builders like Giacinto Consiglio bring a taste of Italy to me. In this case, it is St. Mark’s Basilica in Venice. The architectural beauty is lovingly crafted for us in microscale, perfect for tiny statuette tourists and worshipers.

These days, I find it increasingly difficult to differentiate between good renders and photos of real bricks, but does it really matter when the building is done so well? The tower is fantastic, especially the windows. The winged lion representing St. Mark over the entrance is also lovely, as are all of the other saint statues with One Ring golden halos. But my favorite detail has to be that rose window on the south facade, with excellent use of the newer arch piece. It’s the best rose window I have seen in LEGO, at any scale. Now to go buy my plane tickets to pay a visit to the real thing!

The heroes among us

I won’t lie, this is a scary image to me. Enough of my family (both chosen and biological) are in high-risk groups when it comes to COVID-19. Seeing a possible future, even “just” in LEGO form, is sobering. But this is also an inspirational image. Health care professionals are doing everything in their power to help, often at great personal risk. That, to me, is a level of heroism that deserves to be recognized. Builder Horhat Razvan shares my view, based on this creation. It is part of the Brickenburg Association and LEGO Certified Store Romania initiative #eroiidintrenoi. Which, as you may have guessed, means “the heroes among us.”

From a LEGO and photographic standpoint, I like the bright light and clean lines captured here. The bed looks completely functional, as does the supporting equipment. Printed tiles give just the right level of technical detail to the setting, and the use of a pneumatic T-piece for the ventilator is both apt and clever. Razvan says that they would have given the minfigures the correct protective gear, but they lacked those parts. (Shortages seem like a common theme, sadly.)

Even when this crisis passes, let’s all do our best to keep health care professionals in our highest regard. Because this is what they do. They care. Every day.

It must have been something I ate.

Sometimes it’s a challenge to keep things in perspective. Builder Ted Andes created a sharp-looking table out of LEGO, but called the image “EAT ME”. I wonder why? If you look closely you might spot a small clue…

Let’s take a another moment to appreciate that table, though. The legs are made from lampposts capped with eggs. The table runner has some clever building allowing for a half-plate rise over the tabletop, letting it read more like cloth. The use of gold-toned modified 1×1 round plates for tassels on the ends also works well. The rest of the room is also full of fun details. The vase is a Galaxy Squad Alien Pod in a pleasing shade of transparent purple. The windows are stained glass from the Brick Bank modular set.

At a meta-level, I do enjoy the juxtaposition of scales that Ted has used here. It’s a much larger build than you first expect, but still not human sized, so it’s still kind of small, but still big, and I think I need to go lie down now.

The early bird gets the worm

In the northern United States, at least, one of the first signs of spring is when the robins return. It is a day much beloved, a turning point when the cold and snow is gone and flowers are about to bloom. Of course, in many places the robins never actually leave, and snow never really comes, so it is less exciting, but I know as a kid growing up in Minnesota I loved to see that first robin. So, since it is spring where I live, and needing an idea for a contest entry, I (Benjamin Stenlund) built a robin coming back to the newly-hatched chicks in her nest. I am quite pleased with how it turned out, with the adult bird poised in mid-air with her flight feathers extended, feet ready to grasp the edge of the nest; and I think the nest itself turned out well, too.

The adult robin was fun to make, even if it is awful fiddling with those wings; they stay together just fine unless you jostle them, but moving the model from my building table to my photography station required some rebuilding. A round plate with bar built into her tail fits into a dinosaur neck twig to hold her in the air, just off the nest. The hardest part was the face and trying different solutions for the beak; I wanted to be able to put a worm in her mouth, but it would not look right with the parts I had, so I left it out and just used the spike. Lots of flex tubing went into the nest, but it was worth it for the un-LEGOy, organic shape of it. And when I ran out of flex tube, I used oars and blunderbusses and a variety of spikes and whips. To maximize the spring feeling, I added some flowers; perhaps cherry blossoms, maybe apple, or whatever pink flower you like to see on trees! I know it makes me want to get out of the basement where I build and go take a walk, at least.

Like bird builds? Here’s a sparrow and an owl for your viewing pleasure.

LEGO Collectible Minifigures 71027 Series 20 Feel Guide [Review]

Last month we took an early look at the latest wave of LEGO Collectible Minifigures, 71027 Series 20, with a full in-depth review. Our in-depth review should serve as a guide to help you figure out if you want to collect the whole series, or just a few specific characters that are most interesting to you, especially since the new series is priced at US $4.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £3.49, a new high price for non-licensed minifigures (though some retailers are selling them for less than LEGO’s MSRP). As always, we source our reviews from a full case which we sort by feel before opening any packs. This means that we can bring you one of the best feel guides on the internet, since we’ve compiled our Feel Guide through hands-on experience.

71027 Collectible Minifigures Series 20 are available now at LEGO.com for US $4.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £3.49, as well as from third-party sellers on Amazon and eBay.

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This brick built figure is a real Peach

Builder ZiO Chao has given a us a beautiful rendition of a somewhat obscure character from the Mario Universe, Peachette. She made her first appearance in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe and is a unique form of another character but looks like Princess Peach. It’s all a bit confusing, but I digress.

This figure contains a lot of nice parts use and clever build techniques. The petals on her dress make use of the 4X4 with Bow brick combined with a few other types of curved bricks and plates to create a pleasing shape. The arms and puffy sleeves are nicely constructed and the modeling of the face and hair is detailed and full of character. The attention to detail includes perfect recreations of her unusual crown and trademark bow using the 1×1 heart tile. The pose is wonderful and really captures Peachette’s essence, bringing the whole character to life.