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.

Treasure of the Snake Queen

Not to make this all about me, but I’m an artist who enjoys illustrating book covers. My work is heavily influenced by old pulps, spy novels, game manuals, serial horrors, children’s mysteries such as Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew, and anything involving elements of danger, intrigue, lush colors, and provocative titles. The point to telling you this is with a spooky castle, and a dense forest, this LEGO creation immediately resonated with me. The title, “Treasure of the Snake Queen” evoked a sense of danger and exotic adventure. Already this was something I was excited to write about. You can imagine my delight when I then learned that this piece was built by our own Brothers Brick contributor Flynn DeMarco and his partner Richard Board. Together they comprise a cohesive building team who goes by the name of Tricky Bricks.

See more of this massive model, including a video of it in action!

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Tom Servo and me – a journey part 4 [Feature]

Previously on Tom Servo and Me: Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3

When we last left Chris Doyle, he had just finished building his latest replica of Tom Servo from Mystery Science Theater 3000. All that was left was to take photos and write up the summary article. Simple, right? Well, if you’ve read the previous installments, you know things rarely went according to plan throughout this journey. Why should the last few steps be any easier? When things go disastrously wrong during the final photo shoot, Chris will find himself questioning if getting back into LEGO building was the worst idea he ever had.

In the end, it will all work out. We promise.

Up to 40% off various LEGO Star Wars sets on Amazon, including biggest sale yet for Cloud City [News]

If you’ve been holding out on picking up some new LEGO Star Wars sets over the past year, then today’s Amazon sale just might be the nudge you’ve been waiting for. The online retailer has discounted a variety of LEGO Star Wars sets by up to 40% off, including the huge set Betrayal at Cloud City (75222) for $289.99 (17% off), which according to our data is the cheapest it’s been yet on Amazon. Check out more of the highlights below.

Click to see more of the sales

Got a magazine? This might take a minute.

When men get older, skin becomes a bit thinner and gravity affects and elongates certain features of the body like ears, jowls and…other things. This wreaked havoc in the old days when outhouses were all the rage. A fella would walk out to the pit latrine in the dead of night, have a seat, then promptly get a spider bite right in the dangly bits! Thankfully deadly spider bites have steeply declined in the US since the 1950s, according to records kept by national poison control centers. Changes in how people live have helped as the switch to indoor plumbing sharply decreased black widow bites. (And you were worried I was going to crack a litany of poop jokes with this.) Despite my delivery on the matter, you have to appreciate when someone like Chris Goddard has the gumption to…boldly go where not many LEGO builders have gone before.

Weathered details abound with the use of reddish brown and the similar-but-not-quite-the-same dark red. Corrugated bricks here and there offer up some texture while round plates denote knotholes or perhaps where termites have chewed through the wood. Traditional folk art such as the animal skull and the crescent moon cutout completes the rustic feel. What’s the story with the moon? Legend has it that it dates back to when the general populace was quite illiterate and the moon shape denoted that ladies were welcome while a sun or star signified a loo for the gentlemen. Having two separate outhouses often proved to be impractical and difficult to maintain, so many properties went with only one and the traditional moon shape remained. And now you are (ahem)…privy to information you may not have had before. Aren’t you glad you dropped by? You ought to celebrate your new-found knowledge by lighting a match before you leave.

Greebling from the ground up

If you’re not familiar with the term, greebles are small details that make a simple object appear more complex. In LEGO building, that term is often applied to all those little textural elements you see on LEGO mechs and spaceships. (Don’t forget that you can check out this and many other LEGO-related terms in the TBB glossary.) Redbirch takes the greebling concept one step further with Mechannibal – a mechanical monster that appears to be all greeble.

Redbirch started building with an idea for the feet — minifigure torsos with jet packs. The rest of the monster is built over a core Mixel-joint skeleton, resulting in great articulation. Each move requires a lot of fiddly adjustments, though, as the surface detailing has to be tweaked to close any newly visible gaps. All that effort is worth it, as Mechannibal looks great (and menacing) from every angle.

Now we just need some clever builder to do a similar creation, but with all those Friends accessories that keep piling up…

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for September 14, 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 September 2019.

LEGO serves up a freshly baked gingerbread treat this holiday season.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS: This week we saw the reveal of two new Technic sets, reviewed the Series 19 Collectable Minifigures, took a look at the newest entry in the Winter Village line and got a peek at the design process of the Disney Train and Station.

- LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series 19 (71025) are back to the basics and better than ever [Review] – ere’s what we think of LEGO’s new Series 19 minifigures (hint, with 4 brand-new animals, it just might be the best series in a while!)
- Announcing the TBB Banquet brick-built food collab for BrickCon 2019 – Do you like brick-built brunches? Studded snacks? How about AFOL appetizers and MOC munchies? Then you’ll want to attend the TBB Banquet!
- LEGO Technic 42110 Land Rover Defender officially unveiled – This LEGO Land Rover Defender comes with more than 2,500 pieces and is the first Technic model ever to be released in olive green.

LEGO Technic’s biggest set ever now available for pre-order: 42100 Liebherr R 9800 Excavator – The massive LEGO Technic Liebherr excavator is now available for pre-order. This huge 4,108-piece set is the biggest Technic set ever!
Free Star Wars mini droid VIP exclusive with Droid Commander set purchase and a free LEGO lunchbox – There are two promotions at the LEGO Store online right now, a mini droid set and an awesome retro lunchbox.
LEGO celebrates 10 years of the Winter Village with 10267 Gingerbread House – LEGO is celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Winter Village line with a sweet treat, the new 10267 Gingerbread House.

TBB FEATURES AND VIDEOS

Behind the scenes of the new LEGO 10267 Gingerbread House – Watch a hands-on tour of LEGO’s sweetest set yet, 10267 Gingerbread House to find out what was the hardest part of the model to design.
Tom Servo and me – a journey, part 3 [Feature] – Chris Doyle has been working on a new version of his Tom Servo replica, his first big build in nearly a decade. Come along on part three of this journey of LEGO rediscovery.
LEGO designers of the new Disney Train and Station talk about their inspirations – LEGO designer Marcos Bessa and graphic designer Austin Carlson talk about the details of the Disney Train and Station.

OTHER NEWS: There were quite a few other interesting LEGO news articles from around the web this week. Here are the best of the rest:

We’ve made updates to LEGO Ideas!, LEGO Ideas – LEGO has made quite a few changes to the way LEGO Ideas works.
Python for EV3, LEGO Education – You can now use your EV3 Brick to unleash the power of Python programming using MicroPython.
Making Minifigure Dioramas – San Diego Comic-Con 2019 – LEGO Model Shop, LEGO – LEGO interviews two designers (including yours truly!) on their process of making dioramas for San Diego Comic Con 2019.
Are you ready for the world’s largest display of LEGO art? Here’s the scoop, TimeOut – Venture to one of your favorite kids’ museums, the New York Hall of Science, beginning Sept 28 for a glimpse at this record-breaking exhibit.
Towers of Tomorrow With LEGO® Bricks Arrives at The Henry Ford Oct. 12, The Verge – The exhibit features 20 of the world’s most astonishing skyscrapers.
Lego movie and game bundles are coming to PS4 and Xbox One, Engadget – Watch the film, then play the game (or vice-versa).

Don’t eat purple mushrooms unless you are a certified mycologist

I suspect that any self-respecting mycologist would eschew chewing on any purple mushrooms; a bright color like that probably screams “I’m poisonous!” That’s not to say a purple mushroom is not edible. All mushrooms are edible, after all; it’s just that some can be eaten only once. This purple mushroom mansion built by Jaap Bijl can be viewed as many times as you like but, like a real purple mushroom, I would not recommend eating it – ABS plastic doesn’t go down easy. Built for the Parts Festival hosted by our friends at New Elementary, there is an abundance of lovely parts usage, as well as plenty of Jaap’s favorite color, purple.

In particular, the new projectile launchers make for nice columns to flank the stairs. You’ll also find some stars, hearts, and splats for flowers and archways, and who doesn’t like some clever carrots in builds? The large flowers to either side give the scene some scale; either the house is small, or the flowers are huge! I like to imagine that there are little imps or faeries about. There seems to be a budding theme of tiny fantastic creatures growing, with some recent examples here and here, and I am a big fan.

Hunt for pirates on the HMS White Card

When I was a kid, pirate ships (as I called all boats with sails) were one of my favourite things to build with LEGO bricks. While I thought mine were OK, I wish I’d been able to jump forward in time and see some of Gerard Joosten’s ships, especially his HMS White Card.

While childhood me and adult Gerard’s ships are similar in that they start at the bottom with boat hull pieces, that’s where the similarities end. Though we’ve featured his builds before, Gerard pushed himself to take his shipbuilding to another level with this one and it shows. The two aspects that jump out the most to me are the shaping of the hull and the intricate rigging. Those large sails, coupled with small details like the brick built wooden stock on the anchor cement the HMS White Card as quite the stunning ship.

Not a drab grey brick in sight

If there’s one thing that sets today’s LEGO elements apart from those of the past, it’s the wide range of bright colors found in modern sets; they expand upon the original LEGO primary color palette with stunning diversity. Many of these colors are only available for a limited assortment of parts. This digital model by Pau Padrós uses some great new parts like this brick with a half arch first released in 71043 Hogwarts Castle, and this rounded brick in colors LEGO has not released yet, but we can hope that maybe someday, they will. The model features an angled facade and plenty of unconventional construction that orients the LEGO stud in several directions within a single structure.

LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series 19 (71025) are back to the basics and better than ever [Review]

LEGO’s long-running collectible minifigures theme is back again with its third wave for the year. The last few waves focused on IP tie-ins, bringing a second wave of Disney, The LEGO Movie 2, and the Harry Potter & Fantastic Beasts series. 71025 LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series 19 returns to the classic formula with a wide variety of non-branded characters from all walks of life and lore, and it’s a refreshing change of pace even for those who loved the latest several series (I particularly enjoyed the Harry Potter figures). Series 19 is also the smallest set in the past year, returning to the standard 16 figures that were the trademark of the line until recently. As usual, they will retail for USA $3.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £2.99 per figure and are packed in blind bags. With characters ranging from a Fright Knight to a guy in a pizza costume, let’s dive in and take a look at Series 19.

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Nevertheless, Warsaw persisted

It’s safe to say that Warsaw was a dangerous place to be in 1944. Already oppressed for five years by both Soviet and Nazi forces, the Warsaw Uprising was the resistance movement led by the Home Army (Armia Krajowa) to liberate the Polish city from German occupation. This Home Army mostly consisted of volunteer civilians and a faction called “the Gray Ranks” who were merely the Polish equivalent of young Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts. Despite being severely outgunned and outnumbered, the Home Army fought like the damned and while eventually obliterating 85% of the city’s structures, Nazi forces didn’t quite establish a comfortable foothold there. What I find particularly intriguing about this build by H2brick is instead of a sprawling World War II layout, he offers just a well configured slice of what it must have been like to be in Warsaw at that time.

The wide black band flanked by two rows of 1×2 Medium Dark Flesh plates establishes a solid stand for the scene and I rather like how some of the 1×1 bricks and tiles along the stairs and wall are not quite clicked into place, thus offering a more broken, haphazard texture to the terrain. The advancing Nazi forces clearly outnumber the fighting citizens in this diorama, and the one officer without a helmet; his blonde hair offers a striking visual contrast to everything else and somehow implies that he is the one in charge. As foreboding as this scene is, the builder (maybe knowingly) offers just a glimmer of hope for both the Home Army and the viewer. The solitary tree, with its roots exposed, is a life form that may hang on despite the tragedy surrounding it. The bit of graffiti on the wall, while not entirely intact, is the Polish flag and serves as a symbolic reminder of what the citizens are fighting for. While things didn’t go entirely well for the Home Army, their efforts were not for naught. The nation of Poland still stands long after what was supposed to be a “Thousand Year Reich” was wiped from the Earth.

Lounge in this library with style

Libraries are more than book repositories; they also provide educational services and activities for their surrounding communities. Thanks to Łukasz Libuszewski’s, the little citizens of LEGOLAND can now enjoy everything a library has to offer. It looks both modern and inviting, complete with enough glass to let the sunshine in. The library sports a modular design, in which sections can be removed to reveal the service desk and bookshelves. Especially impressive is the motorized glass elevator. Be sure to watch Łukasz’ video to view the library from all angles, the interior and elevator in action. You might even want to sign up for a library card!