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.

Suns out, buns out

We rarely have days like this in the Pacific Northwest and certainly not in early May. However, Miro Dudas either lives in a warmer climate or is dreaming of sunbathing in the tropics. The figures, with their tanned bodies and shapely buns, are cleverly constructed using minifig legs. 1×1 round plates act as their bare feet. It’s a clever trick that can only work from this vantage point; view the figures from the front and the illusion is ruined. The simple palm trees, the towel, the beach bag, and the gentle surf makes for a relaxing scene indeed.

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TBB cover photo for May 2020: Seeing Double

This month’s community cover photo features a mind-bendingly detailed alchemist workshop by Markus Rollbühler. Look carefully, and you might think that he’s used Photoshop to mirror one side of the image. A cheeky way to save bricks! However, look even more carefully at the shadows and reflections and you’ll realize it’s not a digital trick, but a full LEGO creation with perfect symmetry.

The immaculate photography complements such an expertly crafted creation. I wonder if the alchemist who resides here is creating such a symmetrical scene through some kind of magic, or are they just OCD?

Want to see your own LEGO creation featured across TBB social media for a month? Then read the submission guidelines and submit your photo today. Until next time, stay well and be safe, and practice social distancing whenever possible as we need it now more than ever!

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Retrieve Majora’s Mask before the Dawn of the Final Day

German gaming and LEGO enthusiast speedyhead takes us back to the haunting adventure of the Legend of Zelda: Majora’s Mask. This is very, very far from the only LEGO Zelda model we’ve highlighted over the years, but I’ll tell you why this one stands out to me.

First: colors. The in-game mask is certainly colorful, but seeing it in LEGO form is an explosion of hues. The dorsal fin piece featured here in no less than four distinct shades combines with the contrasting dark red and blue of the mask face to create a pop of color.

Second: look into those eyes! The mysterious, evil artifact is a key element of the game, and looks suitably possessed with malice here.

Finally, parts usage. I’ve already commented on the colorful fins, but the perfect use of croissants deserves a shoutout as well.

LEGO Star Wars UCS A-wing Starfighter now available with other May the Fourth deals [News]

LEGO is kicking off Star Wars Day celebrations early ahead of May the Fourth by launching the 75275 A-wing Starfighter. In addition to the UCS A-wing becoming available, LEGO is offering 40407 Death Star II Battle as a free gift with Star Wars purchases more than US $75 | CAN $75 | UK £75 (available through May 4th or when supplies run out).

LEGO is also offering double VIP points on all Star Wars sets (like the new helmet series) and various deals on other Star Wars sets throughout the weekend. The new Star Wars sets join several other LEGO products that have recently become available including Wonder Woman vs. Cheetah and the buildable Minions (which both have 2x VIP points for the entire month of May).

Click to get a closer look at each new LEGO Star Wars set now available for purchase

First look at the LEGO 75288 AT-AT from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back [News]

Revealed by retailer Amazon Japan, we get a first look at The LEGO 75288 AT-AT that comes with the label of the 40th anniversary of Star Wars Episode IV: The Empire Strikes Back. It’s been a while since an AT-AT was released at this scale with LEGO 75054 AT-AT back in 2014. It comes with 1,267 pieces, six minifigures and is scheduled to be released on Sept. 1st 2020 for US $159.99 | CAN $199.99 | UK £139.99.

Click to see more images

Don’t leave me hanging

One of the hottest LEGO fads right now is tensegrity sculptures. These builds use tricky physics to create models with sections suspended in mid-air with no obvious means of support. I’ve seen a lot of different approaches, but captainsmog has come up with one of the best. Invocation features a giant flying dragon, suspended in the air by taut lengths of LEGO chain. There’s no Photoshop trickery here. It’s just science. But I’m willing to admit there’s just a bit of magic, too.

Even if there wasn’t mind-bending suspension going on, this would be a great build to look at. The dragon’s belly is constructed of minifigure arms, creating an eerie organic feel to that armor. And the invocation platform is pretty swanky, too. I like the use of minifigure beards to create different versions of drippy candle wax, and the use of glow-in-the-dark tile for lines of mystic power is inspired. There are even tiny little touches, like the candle flames all blowing outward from the downdraft from the dragon’s wings. I love that attention to detail.

LEGO Star Wars 40407 Death Star II Battle is this year’s May the Fourth giveaway [Review]

Every year for the increasingly merchandised “May the Fourth” Star Wars holiday, LEGO has produced an exclusive item to include for free when you buy other Star Wars products. This year’s promotional set is 40407 Death Star II Battle, a microscale vignette from Return of the Jedi featuring an A-wing and TIE Interceptor skimming the battlestation’s surface. The set includes 235 pieces, and will be included with Star Wars purchases between May 1 and May 4 from LEGO’s website over US $75 | CAN $75 | UK £75. LEGO is also offering double VIP points on all Star Wars purchases over the same timeframe. LEGO lists the set for US $14.99 | CAN $19.99 | UK £13.49, but it isn’t available to purchase directly, and likely won’t ever be unless LEGO ends up with a lot of extras after the promotion ends.

Click to read the full review

Just a pile of parts? These giant LEGO pieces are the perfect illusion

Did you do a double take? Same here! If you’re still confused, zoom in. This is the most exceptional upscale of LEGO pieces I have ever seen. Prolific builder Inthert has pulled off a bit of genius with this latest creation. While every element is expertly crafted, a few stand out as top notch. Minifigure parts, for example, are one of the hardest things to build, but including one was a must. Yet among many piles of unsorted brick are not one but two torsos, and one’s even holding a lightsaber. These torsos are identifiable from both distance and up close, and Luke’s even incorporates string to finish the illusion. Moving on, there’s a cheeky tribute to the “brittle reddish-brown” epidemic, which couldn’t be more spot-on. (Rest in pieces, 1×3 plate!) But my most favorite detail has to be the black airtanks with the flexible hose “neck bracket” wrapped around a brick stud.

Something else to marvel: there is not a single exposed real top stud among the brick-built copycats. Now, if you’ve been bitten by the upscale bug, you can see more enlarged LEGO elements in our archives. You can also check out more builds from Inthert.

Lime Drop

LEGO car builder Tony Bovkoon has done something you don’t see much of. You take a Volkswagen lime and white T1 campervan, drop the stance, move the rear engine to about mid-chassis and give the whole shebang a dropside bed. Fenders bring some of that lime color to the rear of the build and a keg-style fuel tank in the bed finishes out the look. This is the kind of thing that only makes sense in dreams. My dreams anyway, and probably a few of Tony’s. If you’re interested in having the kind of dreams Tony and I have, here’s a thematic tie-in that might get you started.

The doors open, it has a fully detailed interior and all the niceties you can expect from a LEGO vehicle of this scale. This photo best illustrates the engine, truck axle, and ground scraping stance.

Leave it to the beaver

I grew up in the state of Oregon, USA, where the beaver is our state animal. I also attended Oregon State University, where Benny the Beaver is our school mascot. So I guess I have a bias for these buck-toothed builders. When I saw this cute little guy, built by Miro Dudas, I had to write about it. Now, it’s not just because this animal is significant for me; it’s nicely done. The aspen tree looks great and using legs for paws gives it organic character. The most clever part: using leg hips for teeth!

Miro does a great job with LEGO wildlife, like this quiet fox, a curious bear cub, and a gorgeous stag.

Interview with LEGO Star Wars 75275 A-wing Starfighter designer Hans Schlömer [Feature]

Earlier this month, LEGO revealed 75275 A-wing Starfighter as the latest Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series set in advance of the set’s release for the May the Fourth celebration, and normally we’d be bringing you an in-depth review of the set about now. However, like so many other areas of our lives these days, the coronavirus shutdowns have thrown a wrench into our plans, because LEGO hasn’t been able to get us an early review copy. So in the meantime, we caught up with the set’s designer, Hans Schlömer, to learn a bit more about the set.

75275 A-wing Starfighter will be available starting May 1, and will retail for US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99.

I want to note up front that I usually conduct interviews after I’ve built the set and had a hands-on experience with it, but due to current events I don’t yet have it. So my apologies if a few of these questions would be obvious after building the set. But let’s start with learning a little about you. How did you become a LEGO designer?

Hans Schlömer: 12 years ago I was hired to design 3D models for a LEGO online game. Creating LEGO models in 3D was a hobby of mine for years. Little did I know that this would also be the perfect education and training for becoming a LEGO designer!

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A canopy as tasty as a canape

These are challenging times. I’m pretty sick of hearing that. Even more, I’m pretty sick of living it. But occasionally…occasionally…challenges can be pretty great, too. I mean, it’s hard to be too grumpy when great LEGO builders challenge each other and we get to look at the sweet, sweet results. One such outcome is the 4-D4 Recon & Fighter Craft built by Inthert. Challenged to build a ship around a specific 10x4x3 canopy in under 48 hours, the resulting ship still looks like it took months of work.

The orange version of the canopy is lifted from 2007 Mars Mission theme, but that’s not the only callback. The black, white, and orange color scheme is also a direct tribute, as are those orange wheels. The curve to the front of the ship is the result of some very tricky building, but it’s the triangular bracing at the ends of the arc that makes me smile the most. Or maybe it’s those tank treads. Or the texture and pattern from those grey wedge plates. It’s hard to make a choice. It’s all just so tasty.

Anyone else suddenly hungry for a re-release of Mars Mission?