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.

LEGO Ideas officially reveals 864-piece 21321 International Space Station [News]

LEGO has just announced the final design of the fan-voted 21321 IDEAS International Space Station. Catered for adult LEGO fans as a display piece with authentic ISS details including rotating joints and adjustable solar panels, the main build is accompanied by a buildable mini NASA space shuttle and cargo spacecraft. The 864-piece set will be available in LEGO stores and online on February 1st, 2020 retailing at US $69.99 | CAN $99.99 | UK £64.99. We’ve already got our hands on an early copy, so be sure to check out our review: 21321 LEGO Ideas International Space Station Review.

Click to see more images and the full details of the International Space Station

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LEGO Ideas feels right at home in orbit with 21321 International Space Station [Review]

Many of us here at The Brothers Brick are space fans in one way or another, so we were pretty excited to see that the next LEGO Ideas set would be 21321 International Space Station when it was proclaimed the winner of the 10th-anniversary fan vote last summer. Now less than a year later, LEGO is revealing the final version of the set today, and we’ve got our hands on a copy to bring you a full review. Retailing for US $69.99 | CAN $99.99 | UK £64.99, the newest model from the LEGO Ideas crowdsourcing platform has 864 pieces and will be available starting Feb. 1.

Click to read the full, hands-on review

If ever a hero deserved an upgrade...

Say what you will about Tony Stark, but sometimes it feels like he has the same solution for every problem: Put a suit of armor on it. Take, for example, the case when his regular armor isn’t studly enough. His answer? Put on another suit of armor on top of the one he’s already wearing. Sounds kind of silly, but you have to admit that the Hulkbuster does get results. We’ve seen a few LEGO-released versions of it over the years, but the LEGO community always seems to take things one step further. Case in point, Sam.C (S2 Toys Studios) brings us an excellent upgrade indeed.

The key piece of the build is the Hulkbuster canopy from 2015’s 76031: The Hulk Buster Smash. The rest of the build, though, feels a bit closer to 2018’s 76104: The Hulkbuster Smash-Up (I mentioned we’d seen a few of these from LEGO, right?) The detailing is much improved here, with bulkier legs and better integration of the angles in the chest armor. I particularly like the pistons in the knee assembly and the printed 1×1 round tile used in the feet.

Read on to check out the detailed back side

Boisterous banana gone bonkers

For some reason this reminds me of Pickle Rick from Rick and Morty, but I’ve gotta hand it to Kevin H. for a great usage of one large LEGO part that stands out. The yellow kayak now transformed into a mad banana going postal for some unknown reasons. I’d like to think bananas tend to have their rotten days as well. Perhaps a slip of the mind, or maybe it’s just not very a-peeling to think about not being able to live to a ripe old age.

Happy Hamtaro New Year!

Chinese New Year is fast upon us, and this year’s celebrated zodiac animal is the rat. What if another rodent got in on the game, though? Last week’s proposal was the Year of the Guinea Pig. This week, CK Ho suggests the Year of the Hamster. Specifically, this adorable duo represents characters from the hit children’s manga and TV show, Hamtaro. The little red pouches they’re holding likely represent the red packets given out to children during the holiday. That and the kumquat trees are especially festive.

I’ve never watched the show but enjoy the sculpting of each character. Sausages used as eyebrows allow them to clearly emote, with one looking happy while the other seems a bit nervous. What’s there to worry about when both of you have packets?

For more LEGO Chinese New Year fun, be sure to check out our reviews of the Chinese New Year Temple Fair and Lion Dance sets.

Building LEGO Masters: Exclusive interview with Brick Artist Nathan Sawaya [News]

Continuing our series of behind-the-scenes articles about LEGO Masters, we chatted with Brick Artist Nathan Sawaya in his California studio about how he built all the props for the show, what kind of deadlines he faced, and working with LEGO as a creative medium.

The first half of our interview (conducted jointly with Brickset) focuses on his work with LEGO Masters and serving as their “brick artist in residence.” The second half discusses his personal views on LEGO as a whole, his traveling LEGO installation “Art of the Brick,” and how he went from an NYC lawyer to an LA artist.

Read our interview with LEGO Masters brick artist in residence Nathan Sawaya

Building ships with bricks

Ahoy there! The Peregrinus Shipyard is looking for boat builders to assemble seafaring vessels. Chief among these builders is Gabriel Thomson, the maker of this fantastic creation.

The shipyard is built on one thing: detail. From the roof design to the water depth, everything about the Peregrinus Shipyard is extremely eye-pleasing. I’m especially impressed by the brickwork in the walls of the drydocks. Click to see more of the shipyards

Goblins and dwelfs, oh my!

Most adult builders looked at the little goblin figures from LEGO’s Elves theme with some distaste. I suspect this was due to the bright colors and limited elements that make them up. I know I felt that way. They are difficult to fit into a build, even a fantasy one, because they are too cartoonish to be taken seriously. Given the right setting, though, perhaps they could be useful. Take, for instance, this build by John Snyder. Bright colors, like lime green grass and a purple wagon roof, tie the goblins and their garish hues into the overall build. The layout itself is unique, with large brick-built tomes bookending the multi-level scene. Plus, as always with a Snyder build, there are play functions. The small dwarf-elf (or dwelf, as the cover implies) is in trouble, about to fall through a trapdoor into the subterranean lair of the goblins. Could anything be worse than being captured by those almost-useless rainbow-colored creatures?

These LEGO school supplies are sure to make you pleased as punch

Have your co-workers or classmates been goofing off or gone on vacation too long and you’re ready to play some pranks on them when they return? How about replacing all their desk tools with LEGO versions, like these nifty replicas by Chungpo Cheng? With a glue stick, hole punch, and pen, Chungpo has all the things a teacher or accountant could want (don’t ask what an accountant uses a glue stick for).

And in case that’s not enough, try out these scissors, eraser, pencil sharpener, and retractable box cutter. Although each build is simple technically, they all look the part perfectly. There are even pencil shavings in the sharpener box!

LEGO Creator Expert 10272 Old Trafford-Manchester United [Review]

Soccer fans (or football fans as they’re called everywhere else) will get a kick out of the newest Creator Expert set, 10272 Old Trafford-Manchester United, a massive 3,898-piece model based on the Old Trafford soccer stadium in Greater Manchester, England, which serves as the home of Manchester United F.C.and over 76,000 of their closest friends. The 1:600 replica model is rated for 16+, clearly targeting an adult market, and is available now directly from LEGO for US $299 | CAD $349 | UK £249.99 for V.I.P. members — just in time for the stadium’s 110th anniversary this February.

Let’s open the box and see what’s inside!

Top 10 most popular LEGO set reviews of 2019 on the Brothers Brick [News]

In 2019, The Brothers Brick team reviewed a total of 68 sets of all piece counts and sizes. The signature sets of the year included those from familiar themes like LEGO Star Wars and Creator Expert. We also looked at a few other non-retail sets such as the Bricklink fan designed sets and even a Brickmania custom kit – did they make the cut?

Using view counts as a frame of reference, we’ve pulled together our most popular set reviews of 2019 that you, the fans, voted for with your clicks. Is there one set that stood out for you that you can clearly remember? Or are you rooting for a particular favourite of yours? Without further delay, let’s dive right into the list.

Click to reveal the 10 most popular reviews from 2019

A painted city is worth a hundred thousand bricks

When talented stars collide, masterpieces arise. I hate to be so cliche, but it is what it is. This artwork is the result of a collaborative effort between Grant Davis, Eli Willsea, and Micah Biedeman. It was the product of hanging out in Grant’s home last year, 3 weeks worth of cumulative effort, and somewhere between 50,000 to 100,000 LEGO bricks (who’s got time to count when you’re oozing with inspiration and art?). Both Grant and Eli should need no introduction, as neither are new to the world of making large scale builds and focusing on a single aspect of wonder. In 2018, they walked away with The Brothers Brick Creation of the Year award, and now they’re back with another stunning creation.

See more of this amazing build, including a video of how the builders accomplished this visual feast for the eyes