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.

Baby, it’s cold outside

I think Khan said it best: “Do you know the Klingon proverb that tells us revenge is a dish that is best served cold? It is very cold in space.” Yes, in addition to being the final frontier, space is also pretty darn nippy. Builder Seb71 celebrates that icy perspective with the clean and crisp lines of Siberia. The subtle curves on the edges and wings keep things from feeling boxy, even with decoration that is very angular. And let’s talk about that deco work! The choice to keep things greyscale gives the stripes at the front great contrast to the white of the hull. The technique used to make the stripes is worth a closer look, too. Clever use of multi-directional building is used to align cheese slope tiles to get those sharp angles.

The real treat, though, is the blocky gradient on the rear wings. It’s a tiny mosaic that gives a lovely fade from black to white, blending the colors used elsewhere on the ship into a harmonious whole. And it just looks so swooshable…

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TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for November 9, 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 second week of November 2019.

TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: All the brick news that’s fit to print, from Star Wars to Batman, and everything in-between.

LEGO unveils massive Batmobile set based on Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman, available on Black Friday – LEGO announced this year’s Blackk Friday special set, the iconic jet-powered Batmobile from Tim Burton’s Batman
LEGO reveals two new Chinese New Year sets for 2020 – These colorful sets can be combined into one gigantic festival, complete with several lion dancers and plenty of festival attendees.
LEGO Star Wars Review: 75257 Millennium Falcon from The Rise of Skywalker – We brought you an in-depth review of the latest version of the fastest hunk of junk in a galaxy far, far away.
LEGO has announced the return of the Build to Give campaign – Last year, LEGO donated 500,000 sets to children in hospitals, foster and child-care homes, and under-served communities as a result of the campaign.

Click here to read the rest of the week’s news

Black is the new black: LEGO 1989 Batmobile 76139 [Review]

This year, the world celebrates the anniversary of the Dark Knight; the story of Batman is 80 years old. For many, many fans of the legend of Gotham it’s time to thumb through the oldest comics issues, while others will enjoy night marathons of movies featuring George Clooney, Christian Bale, and, of course, Michael Keaton. For the LEGO Group, it’s time to refill their supplies of bricks in black as not many things go together better than LEGO and Batman. This Black Friday comes the latest LEGO DC exclusive set, LEGO 76139 1989 Batmobile. A 3,306-piece monstrosity is an ultimate copy of the iconic vehicle from Tim Burton’s Batman movie. The set will be available on November 29 for Black Friday and will sell for US $249.99 | CAN $299.99 | UK £219.99. Make sure your Bat-Signal is on as we are about to go on a ride through the gloomy streets of the Gotham City…

Click here to continue reading…

A kinetic sculpture fit for a god [Video]

In Greek mythology, Apollo is a somewhat complicated figure, so it seems only fitting that he’s the subject matter of Jason Allemann’s latest kinetic sculpture. Building upon his previous galloping horse, he’s expanded the moving parts in this creation to include the horse’s legs, bodies, necks, heads and tails, as well as the chariot body and wheels and Apollo himself. He’s done such a good job making the overall movement look natural, it can be hard to pick out what parts are actually moving independently of each other. It all just flows together quite well.

Like everything Jason designs, the mechanics behind it all are quite clever, but even without the movement, this would still be a well-designed static model. I really like the way he’s sculpted the head and face, using a simply gap between pieces to represent the eyes and brow. Also pleasing are the choices of gold elements to adorn the chariot, giving it that ancient and regal look. The relatively new 22 long hose with connector ends is an especially smart choice for the reins. Watch the video he made and take a moment to be mesmerized by the model’s motion and hear about all about the mechanics from Jason himself.

“The Kid” wins by a knockout!

Can you believe it, folks? Builder Vir-a-cocha has reason to do a few victory laps around the ring today as this boxing scene has us all talking like Howard Cosell. This pugilist (probably so called because they look like pugs once they’re done with each other) has his arm raised in victory. “The Kid” in the red trunks has won with a knockout in the 9th round up against “Hollywood” Tony Malone in the blue. He’ll be seeing stars for weeks for sure! Boxing history is made here at The Brothers Brick Square Garden! This wouldn’t be the first time Vir-a-cocha has dazzled us all, not by a long shot!

Maz artillery truck pulls its weight, and more [Video]

Building functioning vehicles has been a passion for many builders ever since the introduction of the Technic line of LEGO sets back in 1977 as the Expert Builder series. Some builders add motors so their vehicles can move and steer, but then there are builders like Sariel who go far and above merely building a motorized vehicle to create something truly special. When I first saw this model of a MAZ 535 heavy artillery truck made in USSR, I was impressed by both the scale, and the attention to detail, which compared to photos is remarkable.

But the amazing attention to detail doesn’t stop there. Sariel has created a video that shows off some of the many hidden features, included an opening top hatch, and two speeds for the transmission, which allows the LEGO truck to pull an incredible amount of weight. In the video, the Maz is seen pulling a chair across the floor! There is even a scene of an adorable hamster checking out the fabric hand-stitched canopy.

Defend the walls of this enormous snow-bound castle

The only thing worse than your castle being attacked is surely your castle being attacked during the winter. I’m pretty sure Orcs siege engines toss more than snowballs. This enormous LEGO castle layout by Larsvader is a beauty, depicting an island fortress under attack by a terrifying army of Orcs. We’ve seen large castles before, but what elevates this model is the striking atmosphere created by depicting the castle in winter, with patches of snow blanketing the landscape, turrets, and rooftops. Just looking at this thing makes me feel chilly. Larsvader says this scene took 20 months to put together, but the effort involved more than paid off. The castle itself is excellent, with off-grid building creating interesting angles for the walls, and good use of texture and colours to break up what might otherwise be a large grey expanse. And the surrounding landscape is nicely-done, careful thought given to the layout, making the island feel like a natural strategic chokepoint — the obvious position for a stronghold.

The buildings and streets inside the castle are just as detailed as the surrounding walls. Take a look at this close-up image of what the town looks from minifigure eye-level. I love the stonework and wooden structural elements, but it’s the inclusion of mundane background details like the bakery which create the impression of a realistic castle during an extraordinary moment…

The Great War takes to the skies

This beast of a bomber is ready to spread its message of triumphant destruction among all those who oppose it. I love this digital dieselpunk design by Cagerrin, which is one of her many alternative history creations. The white and dark blue color scheme give the impression that this aircraft isn’t trying to hide. Its gold trim and eagle wings tell a tale of majesty, a symbol of the empire it flies for.

As far as aircraft made out of bricks go, this model is extremely well built. The wings are so smooth, with minimal studs exposed to give it a truly wooden appearance. Breaking from the vintage airplane norm, the engines utilize reverse propellers, pushing the lumbering bomber through the sky instead of pulling it along. The windows of the bomb bay is also another testament to Cagerrin’s sharp attention to detail. Even the barrels of the gun turrets have a World War I machine gun vibe.

Landscape and trees tell a story

While not depicting any particular scene I can remember, Mountain Hobbit’s Fishing Docks is clearly set in Middle Earth. The colour palette is consistent with the official sets, and Gollum lurking behind one of the trees on the hill is a dead giveaway. Let’s talk about those trees and hill though. The shaping of both is superb. Everything is basically sculpted using slopes and wedges. I really like the heavy use of pieces that are one brick wide on the hillside, giving it the appearance of being quite weathered. The curve on the rightmost tree is particularly well done, as it tells a story about how that tree grew: when it started growing, it wasn’t so close to the edge, but over time, its trunk grew thicker and the hillside eroded. Because of geotropism, the tree grew to point upward though, giving it the curved trunk we see today.

One horseman of the apocalypse

Who needs the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse when you have this Kumamoto Castle Samurai, who can do more ass-kicking and raise more holy hell than four horseman combined. Or, at the very least, he would ruin your 日本の宴会. DanielBrickSon is a master of building with Bionicle and this is some amazing feat. To give some perspective to the massive scale of this, the flag is a sail from the 70618 Destiny’s Bounty set. The flag topper is a minifig-scale horse battle helmet. So just imagine your minifig horse wearing it next to this beast and you’ll get a feel for what it might be like to do battle with this awe-inspiring samurai. While masterful build techniques abound, the 2×4 plates facing studs-out along the base are an excellent touch. This would look to be right at home as a centerpiece sculpture in any Asian art museum.

LEGO unveils massive Batmobile set based on Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman, available on Black Friday [News]

LEGO has officially unveiled its newest collector’s set, 76139 1989 Batmobile, a massive 3,306-piece model based on the Caped Crusader’s vehicle from Tim Burton’s iconic Batman film. Perhaps one of LEGO’s worst-kept secrets of the past year, this set features a slide-open cockpit with a new windshield, two pop-up machine guns and a rotating display stand. The model also comes with three new minifigures: Batman, The Joker and Vicki Vale.

The 1989 Batmobile will be available from LEGO beginning on November 29 for Black Friday. The set will retail for US $249.99 | CAN $299.99 | UK £219.99.

In addition to other LEGO Black Friday deals, those who purchase the 1989 Batmobile between November 29th and December 5th will receive an exclusive mini replica of the original model as a free gift-with-purchase while supplies last. The “not-so-mini” 40433 1989 Batmobile – Limited Edition comes with 366 pieces and a rotating base as well.

Click to see up-close photos and videos of the new 1989 Batmobile model and the upcoming mini gift with purchase version

Jedi found

After a decade of seeking solace and peace, the silence is broken by the sound of blaster fire and lightsaber slashing. The Empire has found another Jedi fugitive. Created by Hypolite Bricks, this apocalyptic Star Wars display features what might have been a scene from the upcoming Jedi: Fallen Order video game.

The level of detail here is incredible. The tree growing out of the gunship cockpit is genius, truly giving the image that the fugitive has been in hiding at this location for many years. Adding to that image is the disassembled gun turret and cloth covers, as well as the growing maize. The small green hut reminds me of Luke Skywalker’s hut on Ahch-To.

I hope we see more creations like this, since this is what Star Wars is all about: dirty, grubby, worn, and full of meaning. Hypolite Bricks’ Gunship Hideout is the definition of what a LEGO Star Wars diorama should be.