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.

Stained glass in Shanghai

The last time builder Hugo Huang shared an architectural build, it sent me down a research rabbit hole of light boats, German brewers, and Chinese occupation. Once again, Hugo uses LEGO to recreate a historic sight that’s too obscure for the travelogues but reveals a fascinating history. The Catholic Country Church, lovingly recreated in brick yellow and sand green by Hugo, was designed by architect László Hudec and completed in 1925. Hudec was a Hungarian who served in WWI, was captured by Russians and imprisoned in Siberia, jumped a train, and escaped to Shanghai where he joined an American architectural firm before starting his own practice. In the following decades, he designed many landmark buildings in the city, including several churches.

Hugo’s LEGO version is a fitting tribute with wonderful stained glass windows made of transparent cheese slopes, and incredible domes made of sand green aloe vera points from the succulent collection. I love it when a LEGO creation introduces me to new building techniques as well as fascinating facts about our world!

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What we build in the shadows...

Great castle architecture always grabs my attention. I’m continually amazed when builders find new techniques for medieval roofing, brickwork, or half-timbering in LEGO. Gabriel Midgley has quickly become a favorite castle builder and the Procession of the Vampire Lord shows why. Just look at that doorway. Forming arches from partially connected 2×1 plates is nothing new, but the three nested archways here with a half-stud offset is epic. The color gradient on the half-timbered top, using a mix of profile bricks on their sides, is gorgeous – especially when paired with the red and blue windows. Cheese slopes allow smooth curves for the tower side. And as with all of Gabriel’s builds, excellent landscaping, thoughtfully composed minifigs, and custom lighting turn a great architectural build into immersive world-building. This is truly a castle build you can sink your teeth into!

High score: nostalgia achievement unlocked!

As someone who grew up in days of yore, David Zambito‘s “Time Out” arcade is a feast of nostalgia, one that conjures up phantom smells of mediocre pizza and pubescent excitement. I don’t even know where to begin. Look at that radical retro carpet, cleverly rendered with a bunch of multicolored SNOT cheese wedges and plates (probably sticky with the residue of countless spilled drinks). The games are instantly recognizable. Counterclockwise from the left, I see Dance Dance Revolution, Pac-Man, that claw thingy that always deceives you into thinking you can actually pick up a stuffed animal, air hockey, Skee-Ball, and pinball (with little cow horns as the ball flippers!). The assortment of prizes is just as great, with the top-shelf prizes including some Wolverine claws and a Ninja Turtle shell. The good stuff always seemed to go for approximately 5,000,000 tickets each, so if you want those claws you’d best start gaming.

Tiny tower tribute to a legend

Microscale models of official LEGO sets aren’t hard to come by, but microscale tributes to original builds are much rarer and more personal. If ever a personal build was worthy of a microscale spin, it’s Bridgetown by Markus Rollbühler. Christian Rau lovingly adapts Markus’ masterpiece with the ace architectural artistry the builder is known for. Markus’ build was itself inspired by an illustration from Leo Hartas. Who will be inspired by Christian’s build and where will that creation end up, I wonder…?

LEGO Black Friday deals now live, 10335 The Endurance available [News]

Black Friday has become one of the biggest LEGO events of the year with new sets and special offers available from November 29 through Cyber Monday on December 2. The biggest news is that LEGO Icons 10335 the Endurance is now available for US $269.99 | CAN $349.99 | UK £229.99. Should you choose to buy it over the weekend, you can also land its exclusive Gift with Purchase (GWP), 40729 Shackleton’s Lifeboat. That’s not the only GWP on offer though: 40700 Holiday Winter Train and 40699 Retro Record Player are included with any purchases over US $170 | CAN $220 | UK £155 and US $250 | CAN $325 | UK £225 respectively, with two more polybags available on Cyber Monday with purchases exceeding US $50 | CAN $65 | UK £45.

The deals from the LEGO Insider Weekend – which started last week – will stay live until December 2, including exclusives available through the Rewards Centre (US | CAN | UK) and discounts on selected sets. There will be some price reductions available for non-Insiders too, but at the time of writing, there’s no information on what those discounts would be. Be sure to check the LEGO website (US | CAN | UK) throughout the weekend to see what deals you can pick up!

Check out all of the Black Friday deals below!

Link’s legendary LEGO sword that seals the darkness

Throughout The Legend of Zelda series, earning the Master Sword marks Link’s transition into a worthy hero. Builder Dylan Mievis has created many memorable video game tributes in the past and definitely proves worthy with this LEGO model of the Master Sword as seen in Breath of the Wild. Coming in at 110 cm in length, the replica is life-size (insomuch as a video game prop can be) and painstakingly faithful to the original design, down to the embossed Triforce at the base of the blade. Dylan depicts the sword as Link finds it, embedded in a pedestal, just like in LEGO The Legend of Zelda 77092 Great Deku Tree. Even more game-accurate, Dylan pairs the sword with a beautiful Silent Princess flower. Go ahead and try to draw the sword if you think you have the courage (and enough heart containers!).

Ringing in Autumn with some hot proboscis action

On the calendar and in accordance with dropping temperatures around here, Autumn is being shown the door by Old Man Winter. However, in Mattia Careddu‘s world, Autumn is just arriving as evidenced by their latest LEGO creation. Here we see a dynamic duo; first up is the red spider lily (Lycoris radiata), the Japanese flower that symbolizes the arrival of Autumn. Next on the docket is what appears to be a hummingbird but it’s Macroglossum stellatarum, a kind of moth called the hummingbird hawkmoth that behaves exactly like a hummingbird. I’ve found the hummingbirds around my feeders to be hyper-intense, territorial, and belligerent toward one another so, in this regard, some people also act like hummingbirds. This duo is doing birds and bees stuff. If you haven’t yet been made privy to “the talk” I advise you ask someone else. Or Google it.

The builder is no stranger to life-size flowers and unusual insects. We also like this Sri Lankan duo.

LEGO turkey is hot to trot this Thanksgiving

Today many of our American readers are no doubt sitting around a table with friends, loved ones, and that one annoying uncle, looking for ways to avoid talking about politics or football before carving into that centerpiece bird. Not this turkey! LEGO builder Lee Nuo presents the one that got away. With this gobbler on the lam, it means more room for dressing, yams, Brussels sprouts, or an extra slice of pie!

As always, we at the Brothers Brick are thankful to be a part of this amazing LEGO fan community. Whether it’s helping to share creations from builders around the world or bringing you news and reviews to help you navigate the hobby, we’re all motivated by a shared love for the creativity that flows from our favorite bricks.

Brickmaster and commander

For someone who grew up with the old Pirates LEGO theme, it’s always gratifying to see the theme’s evolution at the hands of able builders. Case in point: “Redcoat Navy Brigantine” by Evancelt Lego. The Imperial Navy sets sail in a slick, stylish vessel that pays homage to the original theme while really hoisting the yardarm a few notches in terms of detail and accuracy. This incarnation of the pirates’ nemesis has a distinctly Napoleonic feel. The deck hums with activity while bayonet-wielding marines stand at the ready. I love those brick-built furled sails, which are almost indistinguishable from cloth, and the trans blue and white tiles standing in for a serene sea. Is the Navy on the trail of pirates, or do they have another mission in mind?

This life-like LEGO Les Paul will rock your socks off!

If you’re a guitar person, you will generally fall into one of two camps. Either you’ll be on the side of the surf-rock Fender Stratocaster, or you’ll favour the heavier, crunchier sound of a Gibson Les Paul. LEGO have already made a set out of one of those – but it’s nowhere near as big as the one Hungarian builder LEGO Revival has just made! This is a life-size replica of not just any guitar, but their very own instrument, which you can see in the background of this shot. And although I learned to play on a variant of the Stratocaster, I always coveted a Les Paul Standard like this. So excuse me while I geek out on guitars for a little bit!

Come and nerd out with me, and see the incredible detail in this guitar

This wicked witch has her heart in the right place

Was Maleficent a misunderstood defender of the magical world or an unabashedly wicked always up to something bad? Kristel Whitaker shows that the iconic Disney villain is not that girl as the gravity-defying witch is taking part in LEGO’s Build to Give initiative by assembling a heart out of bricks. (Or maybe it’s just a ploy to be popular?) Even as Maleficent builds a heart, Kristel’s clever display is itself heart-shaped. Call me a sentimental man, but I find it charming.

Kristel built similar vignettes for fellow goth icons Wednesday and Noctura. It’s not too late to build and share your own heart as part of the Build to Give initiative. For every heart shared by December 31, LEGO will give a set to a child in need.

A duck hunter ready for dwagon season

Dan Ko‘s dark duck knight might be deththpicable, but his clever use of unexpected parts is truly divine. Who else could have thought to build a dragon’s jaw from Lloyd’s Avatar Arcade Pod? The finger leaf fronts as the dragon’s frills are easy to identify, but did you catch the three leaves in sprues as neck segments? Daffy’s minifig head looks surprisingly menacing with the Fright Knight’s helm spun around. Using a slider disc instead of a minifig shield is an inspired accessory that accentuates the toon vibes. Dan once again shows it’s not the number of parts that count – it’s how you use them.

The Deththpicable Dark Knight is Dan’s entry in the “Capturing Character” category of the 2024 Brickscalibur competition, which runs until Jan 15, 2025.