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.

What lies beneath the waves?

Every year for the past few summers, right around now talented castle builders start coming out of the woodwork and displaying their creations for the Summer Joust. One such talented castle builder is Carter Witz, who has built the ruins of some ancient civilization on the edge of a tropical island. Unlike most such builds, however, Carter has set most of the building beneath the waves, implying either that the level of the sea has risen or that the level of the land has sunk. Or were the original inhabitants merfolk? Our only clue is that the builder has titled the work “Flooded…”. Whatever the events were that befell the now-ruined tower, it is an impressive build.

Large sections of rocks often get to be tedious, but Carter has kept the rocks looking interesting by varying the pieces and techniques on the way up. Minifigure arms on the submerged trees make for effective branches, and the tan gears look like nice corals. There are even ball joint pieces used as some sort of sponge, perhaps. The nicest detail, though, is the fish hiding in the hole in the tower. They don’t mind at all that the place is flooded.

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LEGO 75253 Boost Droid Commander now available for purchase in US and Canada [News]

The LEGO Boost 75253 Droid Commander details were revealed back in May and you can now order it online at LEGO Shop@Home on the US and Canada stores. It comes with 1,177 pieces and retails for US $199.99 and CAN $249.99. Other locations such as the UK does not have them listed as of yet.

Click here to order for the US Store listing and here for the Canada Store listing.

You can read more about the details of this set and features in the Press Release announcement or check out the Designers Video released recently below.

A beast from a garden that is older than your grandads

The good old backyard wriggler seems like a toddler in comparison to Tino Poutiainen’s mighty “Ancient Earthworm.” Its resemblance to both the famed Jurassic-era predator and a Tremors Graboid is quite striking. Even still, this leaves me to wonder what scale is it built in? Is it in minifig scale or actually closer to life-size? Whatever the case, this LEGO beast gives me the feeling that it would be an unrelenting foe, whether chasing me down a main road or a garden path.

Poutiainen’s use of the long cattle horn and spiky appendage piece, both in reddish-brown give this build some sensory perception when deep underground. It’s crowning part use though, is the large figure forearm with fist for the head. This piece was only produced in one set almost a decade ago, so it is good to see it making such a purposeful appearance here.

2,000-brick LEGO version of Edinburgh Castle and gardens

Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, famous for its castle atop a volcanic plug of rock, and the Princes Street Gardens, a public park lying between the city’s Old and New Towns. It’s my home, so I’m obviously biased, but it’s widely regarded as one of the most beautiful and dramatic city centres in the world. The challenge of recreating my home city in the brick has haunted me for years, and I finally decided to take a proper crack at it. After 18 months of off-and-on building, multiple orders of bricks, and a great deal of cursing and starting over, this 2,000(ish) brick model was the result.

The model is 75cm by 40cm and captures the upper stretch of the famous Royal Mile, the Castle Rock, and the whole of the gardens — including the train tracks, the Scott Monument, the art galleries on The Mound, and the various churches which are dotted across this slice of the city.

Over a total of a year and a half, I was probably building this for three months or so, with flurries of activity punctuated with periods when I couldn’t bring myself to even look at it! Google Maps was a constant companion throughout the project, allowing me to zoom in on individual buildings to capture detail, or zoom out to understand general scale and comparative distances. It’s amazing how much you learn when you look in this level of detail at somewhere you think you know well.

Once the model was completed, I wanted to get some images against a real sky. The photo below captures one of my favourite views of the city — looking out from Waverley Bridge across the Eastern section of the Gardens, the National Gallery and Royal Academy buildings ahead, and the Castle looming over everything in the background. As happens often in real life, one of the city’s many double-decker buses has managed to get into the shot…

Whilst I’m pleased with how the final model turned out, at the moment I’m saying I’m never attempting such a project ever again! However, I’ve already caught myself looking at maps of the city and idly wondering in which direction I should extend the diorama. I think it’s only a matter of time before I’m engrossed in mini city-building all over again.

LEGO Speed Champions reissues the classic 911 with 75895 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0 [News]

Today, LEGO is taking the wraps off the sole entry to the Speed Champions fall 2019 lineup, 75895 1974 Porsche 911 Turbo 3.0. Although we previously got a small glimpse of the model in the 2019 catalog, we’ve now got all the official details and photos for the set. Retailing for $14.99, the set will have 180 pieces and is slated to be available Aug. 1.

Click to see all the pictures and read the press release

No, really. Space is curved.

When you hear the term “LEGO brick” your mind is drawn to an image of just that…a brick. Rectangular. Boxy. Brick Spirou shows us the alternative with the Space Police Interceptor. Decked out in classic Space Police I colors, this single-pilot ship is all about the curves. The wings feature the repetition of double-curved slopes in a design that reminds me of the air turbines you might see in a strictly atmospheric craft. The front forks have triple curved wedges that add even more smooth lines to the look.

The rear of the craft also has some nice shaping. An aircraft fuselage section leads your eyes to the just-textured-enough engines. My favorite detail, though, is the Hero Factory Spine placed just in front of the tail fin.

Space Police interceptors have been all the rage here at The Brothers Brick lately. Be sure to also check out the Galactic Interceptor we reviewed recently!

The wendigo is scary indeed...

The 2019 Bionicle-building challenge Biocup is on and LEGO Bionicle enthusiast chubbybots has jumped into the ring swinging. The first round’s theme is scary monsters, which I definitely think this wendigo fits into. Intimidation and furious brutality are the words that spring to mind. The Hero Factory Hand Armor as the top of its head was an excellent choice that brings those stark white teeth to the foreground on that monstrous underbite. Those rubber tyres on the arms and ankles remind me of the tufts of hair on a minotaur. I wonder it played some role as a muse while chubbybots started to piece this guy together? My favourite piece use on this terrifying vision would have to be a tie between the four eyes made from small red lever bases and the shadow trap, creating what looks like the end of a gnarly set of gauntlets.

Be sure to stop by and check out some of the other contenders in this year’s Biocup!

B.B. Kong – King of the concrete jungle

Marco De Bon has graced our pages with his LEGO mech’s many times but with his new Mecha Beast “B.B. Kong”, he’s approached them from a whole new slant. Most, if not all of his mechs, are completely armored, meaning all mechanisms are hidden. B.B. Kong, on the other hand, is full of exposed piping and other greebly goodness.

Click to check out more of this Mecha Beast

How I designed a motorized Lego chromosomal model to represent a genetic disease [Guest Feature]

Today we’re pleased to welcome Caleb Watson as a guest contributor to give a special introduction to his latest creation. We’ve featured some of his amazing models in the past such as the iconic ‘I am your Father’ Scene and the opening temple from Raiders of the Lost Ark. His newest model is starkly different from his past works being a chromosomal model designed for a project in his 11th-grade genetics class. He worked on this several-thousand-piece model for about two months and he explains his processes for designing it along with the scientific background behind the project.

The Building of an NF1 Chromosomal Model

By Caleb Watson

It’s no surprise that school is one of the biggest factors in my life that dictates how much time I’m able to build my LEGO models (along with friends, family, and running). As a result of this, I’m always looking for opportunities to integrate LEGO into what I need to do for school, which is how I came to build this model.

Right now, I’m wrapping up my junior year at Ballard High School in Seattle, and along with that, the final year of the three-year Biotechnology career pathway, a set of STEM-focused classes organized in a small cohort that takes biology, chemistry, and genetics. The first-semester project for genetics this year was to write a 9-page research paper covering everything about a genetic disease. I selected the disease Neurofibromatosis because it is quite common yet not well known, and has many interesting and unique attributes. For the second semester and capstone project of the Biotechnology Career Academy, we had to use the information we’d learned in our research papers to create a science project for the Student BioExpo at Shoreline Community College. Seeing the opportunity, I chose molecular modeling with the intent of building a LEGO model for my project. Continue reading →

LEGO City 60230 People Pack – Space Research And Development [Review]

Among LEGO universes, space exploration is the new Pirates. And the new Castle, too. Space is trending like never before. Quite uniquely, LEGO isn’t only revisiting historic moments, but also gives us a glimpse into the future of space traveling; this is what LEGO City summer 2019 sets are all about. The lineup consists of familiar concepts for ships and vehicle, but there’s one set that stands out from the rest, 60230 People Pack – Space Research And Development. The set brings a stunning assembly of 14 minifigures along with a bunch of accessories and equipment. It consists of 209 pieces and retails at US $39.99 | CAN $49.99 | UK £34.99.

Click here to continue reading…

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for June 23, 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 fourth week of June.

TBB News and reviews:

Explore where paved road ends with the new LEGO Technic 42110 Land Rover Defender set– We brought you the latest Technic vehicle for rugged offroad adventure, LEGO style.
LEGO 75936 Jurassic Park: T. rex Rampage, the biggest LEGO dino ever– We went beyond just a review of the new Jurrasic World set with excerpts from an exclusive TBB interview with the set designer Mark Stafford.

The Brothers Brick Readers’ Survey 2019 – win 10266 Apollo Lunar Lander– We’ve opened our latest reader poll, and we want to hear from you. And in case providing your valued opinions about how we can improve the TBB experience isn’t enough, we’re giving away a copy of the latest addition to the stellar LEGO space collection, 10266 Apollo Lunar Lander. The survey will be open until June 30th.
LEGO 77903 The Dark Knight of Gotham City revealed as San Diego Comic-con 2019 LEGO Exclusive– The second exclusive LEGO set for San Diego Comic-Con 2019 includes the Dark Detective, a couple of brooding gargoyles and a neat Gotham City skyline complete with bat-signal.
LEGO 77902 Captain Marvel and the Asis revealed as San Diego Comic-Con 2019 LEGO exclusive– The first exclusive LEGO set for San Diego Comic-Con includes Captain Marvel, a SHIELD jet, and the universe’s most terrifying feline.

Continue reading →

The heart is the soul, and sometimes the path to death

Biocup 2019 has kicked off this year with a preliminary theme of all things scary. Biocup is a fan friendly organised event where builders challenge themselves to use Lego Technic, Bionicle, CCBS (Creature and Character Building Systems) and Constraction with having little or no traditional LEGO System bricks involved. This particular round is themed on creations built on things that scare or put fear into your heart or send chills down your spine. Builder [VB]’s creation of a heart nailed right through is something to be afraid of. As much as the heart is one of the strongest muscle in the body, it’s also the one that can be the weakest or darkest in soul.