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.

The bigger they are, the harder they...smash your face in.

The first thing you might be thinking when you look at the head of this monstrous figure is “OMG, run away!” Alternatively, if you enjoy geeking out about cool LEGO creations (and since you are reading this, you probably do) you might be thinking, “How is that head even LEGO?” Djokson has masterfully connected an assortment of shield, sword, claw, and robot parts – not to mention gleaming golden one rings – to create a most frightening visage.

The organic structure of this mighty destroyer is continued throughout the head and torso with macaroni tubes forming ribs and other musculature, and more muscles are crafted with the use of ribbed tubing. That blue flaming ball and chain he’s swinging is not a business end you want to be anywhere near. Seriously, run away.

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.

Tom Servo and me – a journey, part 1 [Feature]

Hi, my name is Chris Doyle. And I’m an AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO). Once upon a time, like 10 years ago, I was a prolific LEGO builder. No, really. I was. I built huge pop culture-inspired builds, took them to shows, and made a little bit of a name for myself in the community. If you’ve been around for a while you might even remember a few of them. I discovered the potential for cheese wedges to create lenticular images. I had one of the first large builds of Serenity from Firefly. I did a lot of Cube Dudes and super-heroes and transparent-brick mosaics.

Two of my proudest creations were 1:1 reproductions of Mystery Science Theater 3000‘s Crow T. Robot and Tom Servo.

They were pretty well received. I won a few awards and even had them signed by series creator Joel Hodgson and members of the cast. And then…life happened. I stopped building. I stopped being involved with LEGO in general, really. Tom and Crow were packed up after their last showing, and more or less forgotten. Despite the hours I spent sorting bulk brick in an attempt to set up a home workshop, I was firmly in my grey age.

But, in the infamous words of Monty Python…“I got better.” This is the story of how Tom Servo (and LEGO) came back into my life. Thanks to timestamps from Twitter, Instagram and metadata from my photos, I can retrace my steps and take you with me on this journey of rediscovery. Warning….it’s a bit long and involved. Really. I mean, note the “Part 1” in the title up there…

See more of Chris’ journey in rebuilding and redesigning Tom Servo.

Cat with a big dumper

When LEGO came out with these massive tires a few years back vehicle builders rejoiced, but sometimes you need something more for building large tractors, monster trucks, post-apocalyptic mono-wheels, or other things needing outrageous tires. A builder who goes by the name of Sariel found some amazing non-LEGO tires that fit LEGO hubs perfectly, and used them on this legendary Caterpillar 797F Dump Truck. The real thing is 25 feet (7.7m) high to the canopy, 49 ft 6 in (15.1 m) long and weighs in at a staggering 624 tons when empty. This model is considerably smaller but no less impressive and, as LEGO vehicles go, it is a force to be reckoned with.

With its rugged stance and attention to detail, I would have been impressed enough if this were a stagnant model. However, as this image illustrates, it is jam-packed with Power Functions and a robotic Mindstorms EV3 unit to give it that extra push of awesomeness. I can see myself playing with this big Cat for hours all the while making truck noises like a six-year-old. It doesn’t take much for me to revert back to a six-year-old but, given this post’s title, you would have guessed that already.

In fact, you can even see it in action in Sariel’s video!

[Update: an earlier version of this article mistakenly identified the tires as LEGO elements. We regret this error.]

A balanced approach to drone construction

LEGO builder Markus Rollbühler returns to the Brothers Brick with WheelSpin, a mono-wheel utility drone. Part of the year-long Mech Monday project, WheelSpin is a self-balancing mono-wheel drone with multiple configuration options. The base of the mech is filled with great texturing, with greebles including Technic chain links, hammers, and space blasters. The lime green of the armor creates a nice contrast to the transparent blue of the eye sensor, blade shield, and the shock absorber at the base of the leg.

The industrial version shown here comes complete with a grabbing claw and saw blade — advertised as “perfect for any kind of industrial job.” Personally, I see it as greeter at Wal-Mart in a very dystopian future. Your mileage may vary.

This menacing mech may be considering it’s life-choices

Of all the possible uses for a LEGO tire, I think my favorite is masterfully demonstrated by Marco Marozzi, who uses them to flesh out his many mech creations. One example is this heavily armed mechanoid soldier, the tire forming the seal around his neck. As he looks to be examining the back of his hand thoughtfully, I have to wonder if either a butterfly has landed there, or he’s thinking about how hard the blood will be to wash out. This solder features a number of cleverly re-purposed minifig and vehicle accessories, like the snowshoe on the shoulder, and this tread for the feet. The use of several older dark gray elements that are off-color really gives the model a well-weathered look.

Enormous LEGO castle dominates the shoreline

If a medieval castle was an exercise in the projection of power, we’ve got a new Lord of the Manor on the scene in Joel Midgley. His latest LEGO project is Hingston Castle, a formidable fortress, impressive in both scale and details. The sheer size of the castle grabs the initial attention, but then you’re sucked in by the little touches — the lovely shoreline landscaping, the water, the roughness of the walls, the off-grid angles of the outer rampart. And as for that dark grey line tracing the contours of the crenellations — beautiful!

Joel has lavished as much attention to detail on the action within the walls as without. The central yard plays host to grazing animals, trees and flowers, patrolling guards, and stables…

Best of all, hinged panels in those walls allow visibility of the castle’s fully-detailed interior. Click to take a tour of this incredible LEGO castle…

“Great ambition is the passion of a great character”

When a statue is erected of someone riding a horse, they usually follow certain rules. If the rider died in battle the horse would be rearing on two legs. If the horse has one leg up, the rider died of an injury and if the horse is standing on all four legs, then the rider died of natural causes. With this in mind Filbrick has built a statue of Napoleon Bonaparte on a horse standing on all fours. I particularly like the textured “greebling” effect on the horse using wheels, gears, Bionicle parts, radar dishes and other bits usually employed in building spaceships.

Some statues of Napoleon on horseback have been erected in all three leg configurations, because the cause of his death can be a topic of hot debate. Did he die bravely in battle defending the French army? Was he poisoned by enemies while in exile on St. Helena as so many history books suggest or was it just the unkind fate of the winds? Autopsies reveal that the cause of death was stomach cancer which may have been brought on by excessive levels of arsenic. (A-ha!) However, later studies, not available during his time, stated that Napoleon (and so many others of his day) were being exposed to arsenic throughout his entire lifetime from glues and dyes and not by purposeful murderous intent. It would seem that Filbrick’s depiction of a serene horse on all four legs may be the correct configuration all along.

A hunter weathered and a hunter feathered

There is an ancient manner of hunting that involves the use of a trained hawk to catch the prey. Few now practice such an art, but LEGO builder Hongjun Youn has created one such hunter, who is perhaps one of the two left in Korea, the builder’s home country. Shown with his hawk perched on his shoulder, the pose is regal, the sort of thing you might see in an old National Geographic magazine. What sets this build apart from the crowd is the level of texture, something difficult to do with hard plastic bricks. While the hawk is one of the better ones I have seen at this scale, the best feature is the deeply lined and weathered face of the hawker, implying that he has spent most of his time outside exposed to the elements.

Speaking of the face and the elements, it took me a while to figure out what pieces the builder used. A deep dive into Bricklink revealed them to be a hockey mask from the 2003 Sports theme and another hockey mask flipped upside down; together they make for an impressive and expressive visage. The glorious fur texture around the neck and boot cuffs, as well as the neck feathers of the bird, is accomplished by the use of this armor piece, and the layering of various tattered cloth elements completes the look. All in all, this pair of hunters looks ready to set out into the wilderness and bring back some game.

Fortnite Mecha Team Leader, heck yeah!

Tackle the Fortnite article? Sure, I can do that! (clears throat) You were delighted when we featured the Loot Llama. You went completely ape-poopy when we showcased the Fortnite Battle Bus. Now prepare to totally lose your collective cookies at the sight of this Mecha Team Leader built by Kelvin Low. Fortnite is a series of three video games that has kept 125 million players up for more than a fortnight at a time with its awesome game play and graphics. It is a pop culture phenomenon that I am definitely savvy to, so don’t go getting it into your heads otherwise. I was totally thrilled when I finally saved the…um…Fortnite princess from the…uh…Fortnite monsters. And I like how the mech looks sort of like Voltron except with silly faces which, as you and I both know, is completely integral to the plot.

Kelvin’s model is accurate to the source material–and I am speaking from personal gameplay experience and definitely not research I did two minutes ago. Care to build one of your own? Follow Kelvin’s step-by-step instructional Youtube video if you’re into that kind of thing, which you probably are.

LEGO is using AI to create audio and Braille building instructions as it aims for greater accessibility [News]

Today, LEGO announced a key step in further opening its play experiences to builders with visual impairments, as the company is beginning trials of a new system to aid those with visual disabilities in following LEGO instructions. Called LEGO Audio & Braille Building Instructions, the system uses AI to pair digital traditional-style visual instructions with verbal or tactile Braille directions, and was developed in collaboration with life-long LEGO fan Matthew Shifrin, who is blind. Matthew has been creating his own accessible instructions for years, which are available for free on legofortheblind.com. Similarly, the official instructions created by the new AI-driven program will be available for free from legoaudioinstructions.com. Still in an early trial phase, the system only supports a handful of sets at present while the development team seeks feedback from users. The team then plans to implement the feedback and add more sets in the first half of 2020, with an eventual goal of supporting all new LEGO product launches.

In a separate initiative to create greater accessibility for their products, earlier this year LEGO announced the production of Braille Bricks, a collection of 63 new elements that feature LEGO studs arranged as Braille dots. Developed by The LEGO Foundation, the sets aim to aid in teaching visually impaired children how to read, by making arranging letters and words both easy and fun. Each set contains about 250 bricks in five colors, spread across the alphabet, along with numbers and a few important symbols. The sets will be available in a variety of languages and will be provided for free to visually impaired students through a network of schools around the world. It’s unclear if The LEGO Foundation has any plans to make the Braille Bricks available outside of the school program.

Read the full press release below: Continue reading →

These Hollywood stars love their LEGO minifigures [Feature]

For any hardcore fan of LEGO, having yourself immortalised as an official LEGO minifigure can be the highest honour. But you might think that’s not the case if you’re already famous. On some level, it’s nice to think that the stars of Hollywood are bigger than the branding that’s associated with LEGO and its licenses, but it turns out that no matter how famous you are, it’s still a prestige to be acknowledged and embodied as plastic minifigure that will live for eternity (well, almost that long).

Let’s take a look at some Hollywood Stars who loved to pose with minifigures of themselves, whether official figs from sets or custom fan creations.

Continue reading →

Half bulldozer, half tank, half robot, and 100% awesome

I have never played Overwatch, but I have purchased several of the LEGO sets based off the game just because they look cool. A little while back, though, I did a quick browse of the different characters to familiarize myself with the ones appearing in brick form. Apparently, there are different roles in the game, one of which is Tank. (This might be obvious to everyone but me, but I have never been a gamer.) Djokson has built a tank, not from the game itself, but inspired by it. Called the Siegebreaker, the mech looks more than capable of doing a lot of breaking, with big scoops up front, a big gun on the back, and additional armaments on the arms. Siegebreaker reminds me quite a bit of Bastion, but cooler.

The visual highlight is the large spring in the middle, giving it the appearance of rugged durability. I love the yellow color scheme; it makes it look almost like a cross between an excavator and Bumblebee from Transformers. The fact that Djokson used Constraction gun elements as part of the base makes it even cooler. Curious about what the sentry mode of the tank looks like? It has one, of course.