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.

Look who’s laughing now

Look who’s laughing now… It’s Shenzi, Banzai, and the cackling Ed — the trio of villainous hyenas from Disney’s 1994 animated classic The Lion King, created in LEGO bricks by Timofey Tkachev. The sculpting here is excellent — each beast well-posed, and their different faces captured perfectly through a variety of building techniques and parts. The key to success lies in the choice of scale — these shady characters are surprisingly large, giving Timofey space to nail all the details. And while simple, the surrounding landscaping enhances the presentation of the central figures, suggesting the bleak elephant’s graveyard, which surely stretches to the horizons around them.

The Lion King‘s characterization of these hyenas received a mixed reception back in 1994, with some critics accusing Disney of racist caricature in the voice acting and dialogue. Disney never acknowledged any of this criticism, but Scar’s hyena lieutenants were quietly rewritten, and mostly renamed, in the 2019 live-action remake. Whatever you might think of the original movie’s depiction of this trio, it doesn’t affect the quality of the LEGO building on display here.

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I wonder who that boy is?

As a concept, Batman has some issues. In today’s world, a billionaire who gets his jollies from beating up the economically disadvantaged is…not a great look. Luckily there are some brighter aspects to his mythos to help balance things out. Robin became his kid sidekick back in 1940, and his bright costume and cheerful quips brought a little light to the Dark Knight. Oh, sure, you could point out that this was just adding “child endangerment” into the mix, but I’m trying very hard to be upbeat about things today. John Moffatt, at least, gives me a real reason to smile with this LEGO recreation of the Boy Wonder in Miniland scale.

Sure, some of these connections may not be 100% purist, but the Robin character has always been one to break the rules, at least a little bit. Headlight bricks are used for Robin’s shoulders, and also provide an interesting connection point for the not-quite-attached 1×2 tiles that create the angled shape for the gloves. I also like the cape, made out of click-hinge plates.

Is this just a start of a heroic run of Miniland figures like John’s Avatar collection back in 2015? Only time will tell. But I hope so.

LEGO T-47 Snowspeeder swooshes into action

One of the most recognizable ships from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, the versatile, low altitude speeder manufactured by Incom Corporation proved effective in the battle of Hoth, despite being ill-suited for cold environments. It looks like Massimiliano Sibilia may have taken low-altitude a little too seriously in this microscale model, which features the iconic wedge-shaped speeder skimming over the surface of Hoth.

The model captures the clunky aesthetic very well, and the harpoon and grill on the rear are particularly great details on this small scale.

LEGO Gift With Purchase 40370 – Push-Along Steam Engine [Review]

For LEGO’s upcoming gift with purchase, 40370 Push-Along Steam Engine, they are diving deep into the archives to celebrate the 40th anniversary of the release of 7180 The Push-Along Steam Engine set. This set was introduced in 1980 at the dawning of the 12v train era, and it’s quite a rare find these days. If you can find one still in a sealed box, you can bet it will set you back a bit. Lucky for you, this updated version of the model will be free with purchases over $99 / €99 / £99 available March 1st – 15th in LEGO Stores and Shop At Home. We got our hands on a copy before it hits stores to see what it’s all about.

Read on to see more in-depth details

The Mandalorian can bring you in hot or bring you in cold

Even months after its release on Disney+, The Mandalorian continues to be an inspiration for amazing LEGO creations. My new favourite is this diorama by CTR Bartosz. This scene from Chapter 1 of the series is packed with details that help tell the story. First, there are the characters: the Mandalorian and his bounty, the Kubaz waiting to call them a speeder, and the remains of a Quarren, cut in half by the door. Then there are the little things, like the tracker, the Quarren, or the dark red pieces representing his guts.

Take a closer look at this LEGO scene inspired by the Mandalorian

This Dieselpunk Dragonfly takes to the skies

Imagine a world, an alternate reality wedged somewhere between the 1920s and 1950s. It’s a little gritter and not as optimistic as say Steampunk but everyone wears a cool uniform, the radio shows are campy and the password to get into all the best speakeasies is; Dieselpunk. That is the world this LEGO creation by Asgardian Studio lives in. The builder tells us it was fun to render the red color scheme with a black and white checkered pattern and a smattering of orange highlights. This massive model has a 75cm (29.52in) wingspan, rotating propellers, retractable landing gear, and a fully detailed interior. I love the twin-fuselage, tri-propeller design, but the bubble eyes and dragonfly wings make this one awesome Dieselpunk model! We will surely look to the skies for more great works by Asgardian Studio.

Our wrap-up of LEGO at Toy Fair New York 2020 [News]

After a whirlwind of reporting over the last two days, we’ve completed our coverage of LEGO at Toy Fair New York 2020, North America’s largest toy trade show. While LEGO’s public presence was smaller than its been in years past, we got to look at quite a few new sets, and go hands-on with others that we’d only seen in official photos previously. Because the show is a trade show, it’s not open to the public. But we know you’re all itching to learn what the experience was like this year, so here’s a quick recap of our experience covering LEGO news at Toy Fair New York 2020.

Toy Fair New York is held each year at the colossal Javits Center in the heart of Manhattan, where the show lays claim to all 1.8 million square feet the center has to offer. Continue reading →

Portland’s biggest LEGO convention, Bricks Cascade 2020, is next weekend [News]

Portland’s premier LEGO convention, Bricks Cascade, is returning to the Oregon Convention Center next weekend. On February 29th and March 1st, builders from around the country (including several LEGO Masters contestants) will showcase thousands of amazing LEGO creations. There will be activities for kids of all ages including play areas, car racing, and photo opportunities. Vendors will also be selling minifigures, rare LEGO sets, LEGO-themed jewelry, custom gifts, and more.

Tickets are $11 for an individual day pass or a $40 for a family four-pack day pass (kids under 3 are free). For the extremely excited LEGO fans out there, two-day passes are available online as well. Tickets are available either at the door, select Safeway locations or online. The show hours are 10am to 4pm on both Saturday and Sunday.

The Brothers Brick is a proud sponsor of Bricks Cascade.

LEGO Spider-Man 76151 Venomosaurus Ambush unveiled at Toy Fair New York, complete with Spider-Ham [News]

LEGO unveiled one additional set yesterday at Toy Fair New York, LEGO Spider-Man 76151 Venomosaurus Ambush. The 640-piece set features a Venomized tyrannosaurus, a Spider-Buggy, and four minifigures including Spider-Man, Spider-Ham, Iron Spider and Venom.

LEGO requested that pictures of the set not be published until today, hence the confidential marking on the box. The set will retail for US $79.99 beginning June 1st.

See all the close-up photos of the Vanomosurus Ambush

More LEGO gear from Santoki revealed at Toy Fair New York including Dots-themed school supplies [News]

Santoki is a distributor of LEGO LED lights and stationery, and they’ve just revealed a new lineup of merchandise at the Toy Fair New York this year. Their products include pens, notebooks, keychains, and stationery which all predominantly feature the new LEGO Dots theme hitting store shelves next month.

Click to see more of the LEGO-themed Santoki merchandise from Toy Fair New York

Depth is just an illusion

As I have undoubtedly said before in these pages, and will almost certainly say again, I love immersive LEGO scenes, the sort that fill every corner of the image with LEGO (or a neutral sky background, as often I’m not too fond of brick-built skies). There’s something magical about being able to step into a creation that way. But it takes a lot of bricks, usually, and some meticulous planning of angles to make it work. There is a more natural way, and master-builder Markus Rollbühler shows us how: build a fantastic vignette that fills the frame and then put an iPad behind it with the rest of the scenery.

Some simple techniques in the build go a long way, such as tiles pushed down only partway to create a weathered brick arch, loose bricks on their sides for cobblestones, and some of his signature bushes made of grass stalks and leaves. The perfect lighting, the minifig posing, and the iPad’s added depth all lend themselves to a delightful scene. And no fancy Photoshopping required!

More than meets the eye

As someone with a degree in Latin, I love seeing Latin words and phrases used out and about in the modern world. Car names in particular seem to be Latin-derived, like Maxima (greatest), Navigator (helmsman), and Optima (best). Speaking of the latter, there is also a well-known Autobot called Optimus Prime, which is roughly “Best First” in Latin (I say roughly, rather than exactly, since it ought to be Primus rather than Prime, but it is still based on the same word). He is the best Transformer, that much is clear, from the Prime family, which is the “first family” of the strange alien robots. Sam.C (S2 Toys Studio) brings us said Autobot with this stellar transforming LEGO build.

Optimus looks awesome with his massive guns and his blocky shape. I love the shaping on the head in particular. He looks so angry, like Megatron just stole the AllSpark. It brings me back to the toys I played with as a kid, with limited range of motion but big guns and broad shoulders.

Read on to see Optimus’ transformation