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.

Not just another brick in the wall

Walls can be drab. I don’t know if you have ever had to stare at a wall, but I spent my fair share of time as a kid in time-out, sitting in a chair in the corner, examining the minutiae of the paint texture of the wall. Since then, I have stared at many walls, from cinder block to stylish shiplap, in doctors’ waiting rooms, my old calculus classroom, and many other places. They all look more or less the same. And the same thing can often be said of LEGO castle walls. Seen one castle, seen ’em all. But Marcel V. provides a break from the monotony by spicing up the grey with nice texture, but even more importantly, fun accessories. Because you know what makes a wall worth looking at? Family pictures, or a clock, or a piece of art hanging there.

Sofia's Journey - The Gate Of Branheim

The art of Marcel’s build is in the clever piece usages. There are paintbrushes and minifigure hands in the roof frame on the small tower. Unikitty tails give a delightful decorative detail on the battlements, and pistols provide support beneath. I also enjoy the wheelbarrow from a catapult and the vulture made from orc ears. All of these fun features make this wall lovely to look at, not drab. Add to that the fact that it is shown under construction, well, that just makes it better and more interesting. I’ve already stared at it for a while, and will continue doing so with pleasure.

Like the build? We covered an earlier part of Marcel’s brick adventure here.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Roofs? Where we’re going, we don’t need roofs [Video]

Iconic cars need no makeovers, but one way to make a car even more special is to make it topless. This is exactly what Alexey Tikhvinsky did to the famous 10187 Volkswagen Beetle set from 2008. More than a decade ago, a bulky model in a rare dark-blue color became an outstanding example of car model-making, which later resulted in a lineup of LEGO Creator Expect cars. Tan/brown pieces give the car some strong retro vibes. Although most of its body has a great resemblance to the original model, there is a fully functional chassis hidden underneath. Equipped with an independent suspension and a functioning gearbox, this Beetle has to offer much more than meets the eye.

Volkswagen Typ 1

The car is driven with three new Powered Up motors (just like the recent LEGO Technic 42099 4×4 X-treme Off-Roader set). The new powerful motors are perfect for such a heavy body. Bonus points are for a functioning gearbox. Thanks to the two sets of gears the car can be turned into a crawler, capable of conquering some of the steepest terrains outdoors. The winch in the front of the car is also functioning and can easily pull the car’s weight.

Volkswagen Typ 1

It would be unfair to leave our readers without a video of the model in action. As usual, the nearest skate park turns out to be one of the most suitable filming locations.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

We got lucky with LEGO Brick Headz’ new 40436 Lucky Cat [Review]

The Maneki-Neko, or “Beckoning Cat” is a symbol of good fortune, originally from Japan, but commonly referred to as a Chinese Lucky Cat due to its frequent appearance in shop, business, and restaurant entrances in China, and in Chinatowns across the world. With Chinese New Year approaching at the end of January, LEGO is introducing a Lucky Cat to its Brick Headz range. Read on to see what we thought when we got our paws on a set…

LEGO Brick Headz 40436 Lucky Cat has 134 parts and will be available from 1st January 2020 US $9.99 | CAN $12.99 | UK £9.99

Click to read our review of this fortunate feline

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

2019 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 22

Welcome to Day 22 of our LEGO Advent Calendar countdown. Each day, we’ll reveal the four mini-builds from the LEGO Harry Potter, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Friends, and LEGO City 2019 advent calendars along with commentary from The Brothers Brick team.

If you’re opening one (or more) of these advent calendars along with us, we’ve made sure the pictures and commentary on each day’s models will be behind a jump so we don’t accidentally ruin the surprise. Will we get something new for Day 22?

Click to reveal today’s LEGO advent calendar builds!

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

LEGO Masters reality show announces teams, including some familiar faces [News]

LEGO Masters has announced it’s cast of contestants for the upcoming brick building reality TV show. Many of the cast have had creations featured on The Brothers Brick previously, and we are excited to see what everyone else creates on the show. LEGO Masters premieres on Wednesday, February 5th in North America on FOX.

We are especially excited to announce that one of our own contributors Flynn DeMarco and his husband have been cast on the show. Many people may recognize his Treasure of Snake Queen diorama. We are excited to hear about some behind-the-scenes details from him once the show airs. Tyler Clites is also regularly featured on The Brothers Brick for his outstanding models.

Click to see all the LEGO Masters contestants and their bios

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for December 20, 2019 [News]

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 third week of December 2019.


TBB NEWS & REVIEWS:


MORE TBB NEWS


The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Alright, break it up, dummies!

There is so much to love about this digital ice breaking scene by Tong Xin Jun. The striking color choices of the Land Rover Defender and the vessel it is pulling is appealing to the eye and seems to be this builder’s signature move. The broken ice patterns are nothing short of mesmerizing in their execution, their glass-smooth tops are accurate for a windswept arctic tundra. This is achieved by lying bricks and slopes on their sides in a SNOT (Studs Not On Top) configuration. The slopes change direction only at the bow of the vessel, accurately depicting how ice chunks would react to being plowed through and the transparent bits in the boat’s wake is an excellent touch. The entire composition is indeed a work of art. The scene seems a bit precarious however. Ice chunks smaller than the Land Rover may not support its weight and, as seen from this view, I squint and wonder why all the minifigs would be shirtless in a frigid arctic scene.

Icebreaker

Click to find out why.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

LEGO City 60252 Construction Bulldozer [Review]

The LEGO City is expanding in 2020, and we’re happy to show you a preview of one of the new sets! Today we’ll be looking at 60252 Construction Bulldozer. Designed for younger builders, this 126 piece set features two minifigures, a bulldozer, wrecking ball, and an assortment of construction-zone extras. Set 60252 will be available beginning December 26th in the UK and January 1st in North America, and it will retail for $19.99 USD | $24.99 CAD | £17.99 UK.

LEGO City 60252 - Construction Bulldozer


Continue reading

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

2019 LEGO Advent Calendars, Day 21

Welcome to Day 21 of our LEGO Advent Calendar countdown. Each day, we’ll reveal the four mini-builds from the LEGO Harry Potter, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Friends, and LEGO City 2019 advent calendars along with commentary from The Brothers Brick team.

If you’re opening one (or more) of these advent calendars along with us, we’ve made sure the pictures and commentary on each day’s models will be behind a jump so we don’t accidentally ruin the surprise. Will Day 21 be fun?

Click to reveal today’s LEGO advent calendar builds!

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

Black Falcon flies again

Between 1984 and 1992, the Black Falcons were one of the lead LEGO Castle factions, alongside the Crusaders. The sometimes fractious relationship between these two factions defined an entire era of LEGO Castle. The Crusaders might have had more official sets released during this time, but the Falcons were “outnumbered but never outgunned” — what was never in doubt was the quality of their castles. 1986’s 6074 Black Falcon’s Fortress is widely acknowledged as one of the finest LEGO Castle sets to be released, and was honoured with a LEGO Legends release in 2002. In a nod to that fine fortress heritage, Marcus Aspacher has put together an impressive castle of his own for the Falcons to defend…

Single-colour castles can sometimes suffer from “big grey wall syndrome”, but there’s more than enough texture built into the masonry here to prevent that. The fortress is impressive in its scale, and in the level of detail around the crenellations and towers. I particularly like the brick-built banners hanging on either side of the gatehouse.

The rockwork is well done, and the path leading up to the gate is smartly put-together from a good mix of angled plates. The castle is equally impressive from the rear, with a cool little bridge leading to an outlying tower. The rear view also showcases the excellent landscaping, and the attention that’s been paid to foliage and the transition between rock and walls…

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

A build to watch out for

Most builders seem to gravitate towards the unusual when crafting their LEGO creations, from fantastic castles to spaceships, perfectly maintained and bustling historic downtowns, or superheroes. We all know those things don’t exist. But sometimes a builder builds something mundane, commonplace, and knocks it out of the park. Take this watch by Andreas Lenander. I think the results tock, er, speak for themselves, but I especially love the presentation with the brick-built box and the delightful band that looks properly wearable.

Lego Watch - New Elementary parts fest

Built for a challenge over at New Elementary, the hands are neatly crafted with a new Batman accessory, though as a result the watch can only ever tell times that have the hands at 90 degrees from each other. Not that a LEGO watch actually tells time, of course, unless we are talking about the line of watches that TLG has released as gear. Rounded 1×2 plates with holes make the band seem supple, and the 4×4 round tile looks like a watch face when inverted, with a little line for 12 and 6 o’clock. This is an ordinary object, perhaps, but the build is extraordinary.

Love LEGO watches? Check out this Rolex from a while back.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

When was the last time you danced?

The new Creator modular comes out January first and, while this is exciting news, the general consensus is that it is rather plain. That would not have been said if this creation by Joshua were the new modular instead. This Dancing Modular is part Dancing House by Frank Gehry and Vlado Milunić, part Krzywy Domek and part funhouse mirror. The dizzying, sweeping windows juxtaposed against curving transparent balconies is a compelling sight to behold, and the garden roof terrace brings a bit of nature to what otherwise might be forboding architectural chaos.

Dancing Modular

The interior boasts some brightly lit, yet quaint, well-appointed spaces such as this one. Continue reading

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.