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.

A holiday home under a dome

Builder Malin Kylinger creates a lovely little getaway ensconced in a glass dome that evokes thoughts of Victorian mantlepiece decor and vacation getaways. We’ve featured Malin’s incredible creations in the past and they never fail to wow us.

I love a good microbuild and this one doesn’t need to be outrageous to capture our attention. Its simplicity makes me think fondly of being in the woods and the peacefulness that brings. A tiny cabin sits atop a nicely built mountain surrounded by some nice trees made from grass elements. The three-leaf element is used for the ground greenery and the pink flowers create a nice color contrast. I really like the small waterfall at the front of the house and the sand green and gold design that surrounds the bottom border. A lovely little getaway under a dome where the weather is always perfect.

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Once charged, this solar-powered gentlelady can be a hellion on two feet!

LEGO Builder Andrew Evans has heated up something a little different for us to savor. She is Vaihdelia, the Solar-Powered Gentlelady and she’s adorned in what seems to be a corseted jacket made from solar panels. My artist’s sense of color is alight with Andrew’s use of black and gold. White makes an excellent tertiary color while just a few hints of orange, green and marigold really makes this figure pop. The sword guard is a carriage wheel and the piece is used again as part of her collar. The three-panel presentation illustrates how versatile this figure is. Her solar-powered parasol is comprised of parts from a Darth Vader buildable figure but can convert to a shield while in fight mode. I’m sure she’s a gentlelady for the most part but can be a hellion on two feet when she needs to be!

Wait, a not-grey Star Wars spaceship?

I love the LAAT gunship from Star Wars, so when I saw it was a candidate for an upcoming UCS set I was thrilled. Better known as the Republic Gunship, it is probably my favorite Clone Wars ship. It has great blasters, a refreshingly not-grey color scheme, an interesting shape, cool doors on the sides; it’s essentially a cross between a UH-1 Huey, an A-10 Warthog, and a spaceship. And I love it. This rendition by Thomas Jenkins is awesome, with elegant curves and smoothly-transitioned angles. Because that’s the trick with the LAAT; there are so many different curves and angles that fitting them all in while maintaining a solid model is exceedingly difficult. But this one succeeds, and even appears to include Jedi Bob.

Modified bricks with curved tops make for some smooth curves, improving the square edges of all the official LEGO renditions. Also a major improvement is how Thomas made the wings and doors of bricks rather than plates; this allows them to be smooth and solid without needing a ton of tiles, which always looks a bit off due to the slightly rounded edges of tiles. The interior looks smooth, too, and big enough for minifigs without being excessively large. If LEGO does release a UCS version of this ship, I hope the designers borrow some design elements from models like this one. I would buy one in a heartbeat. Did I mention I love it?

Take a hike to the Temple of Caerus

Deep in the mountains, on a desolate hillside lies the hidden Temple of Caerus. Luckily LEGO builder Joel Tyer can show us the way. All you really have to do is follow the pathway up the steep stairs built into the curves and slopes of the mountain. Make sure to avoid the guards as you climb higher and higher, up to a height where a few trees small trees cling to life and the more common plants to see are various grasses and moss. While it’s hard to describe it myself, you’ll know it when you see it – a brilliant white temple, rising through the clouds. If your journey is successful, tell them I sent you and they should let you in.

Arcade fire incoming

We love when someone does something cool with a specialised “one-shot” part — the sort of piece most folks imagine only has a single specific use. Here’s a great example of thinking outside the box from Kelvin Low, who has taken the arcade cabinet from the Jay Avatar Arcade Pod and turned it into the body of a chunky-looking mechanoid. This thing has all the pointy guns and menacing gippers you might expect, and its “face” is excellent. But most of all, it’s a creation where the unusual parts-usage enhances the model rather than hinders it. The arcade cabinet stickers give this a vibrant exciting look, and an undeniable cyberpunk feel. This reminded me of the graffiti-enhanced killer robots described in KW Jeter’s 1989 novel Farewell Horizontal. (Now there’s an old-school cyberpunk reference for you!)

A bit of a stretch.

Unpopular opinion time: not every mech needs to be a military hard suit covered in weapons. Oh, sure, they look cool. But what about mechs made for peaceful purposes? Search and rescue? Exploration? Or, best yet, construction? Sure, it’s a bit meta, but I like the idea of things made out of LEGO that are intended to make other things out of LEGO. That’s why the Kroniton Cybernetics I-Beam Bolter from builder Scott Wilhelm makes me smile. This giant robot (piloted by our favorite construction guy, Emmet, of course) features a striking black and orange color scheme, solid articulation, and an action feature that, frankly, caught me by surprise.

Sure, the extending lifting arm with it’s working grippers is cool, and shows that Scott thought about how this sort of mech would need to function in a real construction situation. And the rotating fastening device on the other arm combines form and function. Even the roll-cage around the operator cabin says “real world compatible.” All of those things are quality, but none of those things are shocking. Not compared to this:

This is the first extendo-mech I’ve ever seen. I’d wager it’s the first one you’ve seen, too.

And that, friends, is why I love this build.

Sorcerer’s Apprentice set on cleaning

Whether you’ve seen Fantasia or not, you likely still recognize Mickey Mouse in costume as the Sorcerer’s Apprentice. Mops play a large part in the story, and builder Alanboar Cheung has done well to incorporate some mop Easter eggs in his creation. Ignoring the brick built mop, the first mops are the old witch’s brooms, cleverly used as the ends of the apprentice’s belt. Especially ingenious is the use of the janitor’s mop as the apprentice’s wand. While there are no other hidden mops in this charming creation, there is so much more to appreciate about this well sculpted icon.

This fire CAT is red hot!

When firefighters pull out the big equipment…I mean really big equipment, chances are there is going to be a traffic jam for miles. But chances are, they are also doing some big, important work; this scene by Steven Asbury is not your standard saving-a-cat-from-a-tree fare. The fire department excavator can perform a variety of tasks including pulling down severely damaged structures, clearing mudslides, and assist with debris removal in wildfires. It often responds with the Urban Search and Rescue team. Like so much of Steven’s work, this scene demonstrates rather cinematic photography and a keen sense of foreground, middle and background. Clearly he cares deeply about firefighting as this isn’t his first rodeo on the subject. Here’s a previous time we featured his work. You can see the inspiration for this particular excavator in action via this video.

LEGO announces new Fast & Furious license coming to Technic [News]

Today, LEGO announced a new licensing partnership with Universal Studios to create sets based on the mega-hit Fast & Furious franchise. With more than $6-billion in box-office revenue from the franchise already, Fast & Furious 9 is slated to hit theaters May 22. LEGO plans to release a tie-in set a month earlier on April 27, which will be a Technic kit with an age rating of 10+. LEGO has yet to confirm any further details about the set.

Jill Wilfert, Vice President of Inbound & Entertainment Licensing at the LEGO Group, had this to say about the partnership: “The LEGO Technic brand with its authenticity and attention to detail and the action packed Fast & Furious franchise are a great match. Both franchises are known for creativity and cool cars so we are really excited to work with Universal on this awesome product that both LEGO Technic and Fast & Furious fans are going to love to build!”

Head back to Skyrim where adventure awaits

Skyrim is the northernmost province of Tamriel, the world of the Elder Scrolls videogames. When Bethesda Game Studios launched the fifth installment of the series in 2011, Skyrim received as much praise for its Norse-themed design elements as for the immersive gameplay. Marcin Otreba clearly enjoyed the game’s styling as he’s recreated a typical Skyrim town scene in LEGO. The hut is excellent, with an appropriate blend of wooden tones, and a spot-on tiled roof constructed with triangular parts. I love the wooden palisade of spiked logs, and the forge and grinding stone are almost perfect recreations of these key elements in the game. But best of all? That fire — genius use of an inverted pearl-grey basketball net! This neat little scene makes me want to grab a sword and shield and head for Skyrim myself once more. It’s fun to wander the cold, hard streets of Whiterun. Well, at least until you take an arrow to the knee.

The next LEGO Technic premium set is a 1:8 Lamborghini supercar [News]

Confirmed today at the Nuremberg International Toy Fair 2020, the next LEGO Technic exclusive set will be a scaled copy of a Lamborghini supercar. The set will be the third in the LEGO Technic Ultimate Series of supercars following 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS and 42083 Bugatti Chiron. Just like the other two cars, the new Lamborghini will also come in massive 1:8 scale, but the price is up to 379 Euro, which makes it the second most expensive LEGO Technic set after 42100 Liebherr R 9800 Excavator.

The new LEGO Technic 42115 Lamborghini supercar is scheduled for exclusive release on June 1st and will be officially available in stores from August 1st. Piece count, regional prices and official pictures of the set are yet to come, so stay tuned!

via Racing Brick

This awesome 1:13-scale LEGO model of a Maz airfield firetruck uses more than 9,000 pieces

Usually, when you accumulate a whole lot of red LEGO pieces in your collection, there are two things you would consider for your next building project: a Ferrari or a firetruck. Since Ilya Luashkin had also got huge off-road Technic tires, it was a no-brainer. This 1:13 scale copy of the MAZ-7313-AA60 airfield firetruck is the result of more than 400 hours of meticulous planning and building. Consisting of more than 9,000 pieces, the model is nearly 47 in (120 cm) long and weighs almost 20 lbs (9 kg).

The exterior of the truck might seem a little bit boring, but Ilya made sure to precisely copy all 22 doors and compartments that the real truck has. And it would not be a proper LEGO Technic build without a custom-designed chassis featuring fully independent suspension. Because of the sheer weight of the model, the body rests on 13 pairs of the hardest LEGO Technic shock absorbers. Continue reading →