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.

New LEGO Star Wars Build Your Own Adventure book — exclusive first look and interview [Feature]

May the 4th — Star Wars Day. Perfect timing to take an exclusive first look at the new LEGO Star Wars Build Your Own Adventure book. Galactic Missions comes with a new Cloud Car model and Bespin Guard minifigure, and the story is packed with new LEGO Star Wars models and building tips put together by The Brothers Brick’s very own Rod Gillies. The book will be available in August, and can be pre-ordered now from Amazon.

LEGO Star Wars Build Your Own Adventure

We caught up with Rod to find out more about the new book, and what it’s like for a ‘fan-builder’ to work on a project with the LEGO Star Wars team and book publisher Dorling Kindersley.

Click to read the interview and see more pictures of what’s inside the book

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Duel of the Fates

Often considered one of the best lightsaber duels in the entire Star Wars Prequel Trilogy, the face-off between former-Jedi-master-turned-pincushion Qui-Gon Jin, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Darth Maul has inspired many LEGO fan creations over the years. This tribute by LEGO 7 features sculpted figures on a simple base. Both Obi-Wan and Darth Maul are fully poseable and ready for action.

Obi-Wan and Darth Maul’s lightsaber duel

And after the director yells “cut!”…

Obi-wan: “Wow, those lights are hot. Hey Maul… wanna grab a drink at Dexter’s later?”
Darth Maul: “If You’re buying.”

Classic Maul.

Obi-Wan and Darth Maul’s lightsaber duel

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.

The Encroaching Empire

Order 66 has been executed. The Clone Wars have ended. Sith Lord Darth Vader has become Emperor Sheev Palpatine’s trusted enforcer, bringing Imperial order to an unruly galaxy. Tim Lydy has put his stamp on this era of turmoil with his first-ever Star Wars creation, and it is most excellent.

For the Empire!

I really love how cramped and chaotic the trench feels. However the highlight for me is the giant statue of Palpatine constructed out of Light Aqua which doesn’t really have a very extensive parts selection yet.

I also appreciate the effort Tim went to incorporating the writing on the side of the scene in Aurabesh, the Star Wars universe’s standard alphabet.

TBB alumnus Tim has been featured in the past for his work with superherothemed models. I certainly wouldn’t mind if he dabbled in the Star Wars sandbox some more!

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.

LEGO Star Wars before the first LEGO Star Wars sets [Feature]

It’s hard to believe twenty years have passed since the release of the first official LEGO Star Wars sets. Unofficially, children and adults alike have been building Star Wars-themed models since the first film hit theaters in 1977. While many of these custom builds have been lost to history, some photographs of Star Wars models made their way into LEGO Club magazines like the UK’s Bricks ‘n Pieces and North America’s LEGO Mania Magazine. One of the earliest models I was able to find was this AT-AT walker from The Empire Strikes Back (1980). That movie was only two years old in 1982, which is when twelve year old Philip Dodge had his model featured in the Summer 1982 issue of Bricks ‘n Pieces. While the photography might not have aged well, his AT-AT looks amazing for having been built during the 1980s.

Check out more LEGO Star Wars models from the pages of LEGO’s club magazines.

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.

Build and program your own Star Wars droid with this LEGO BOOST Droid Commander set [News]

LEGO has revealed Star Wars Droid Commander, a 1,100-piece set that lets you build and program three droids from the Star Wars universe including the iconic R2-D2, a Gonk droid and a Mouse droid. The set uses the LEGO Boost platform in combination with a new free app to help learn programming to achieve success in more than 40 pre-loaded missions. The set is expected to retail for US $199.99 | CAN $249.99 | UK £179.99 starting September 1st.

Click to get a closer look at the Droid Commander set

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.

How much bricks would Lewa chuck?

We know and love Anthony Wilson for his charismatic and vibrant brick-built characters. Some of them are utterly cute, while others are inspired by some very challenging video games. But this time Anthony draws inspiration from the very first generation of LEGO Bionicle sets, and in this particular case — from 8535 Lewa. His lumberjack Lewa scene is a stunning combination of smart building solutions and tiny references. The highlight of the scene is, of course, Lewa’s plaid shirt, which suits the hero surprisingly well! But can you spy the rest of symbols and smart use of pieces?

Lewa the Lumberjack

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.

When an obsession becomes a liability

No doubt, any LEGO fan with a passion for building can relate to this humorous scene by Ralf Langer. LEGO Star Wars 75192 UCS Millennium Falcon burst on to the scene in 2017 with a whopping 7541 pieces and a price tag to match. Star Wars fans flocked to the store to bring their large prize home, often to the chagrin of their partners, families and bank accounts.

What it takes to build the biggest Falcon

I love a model that tells a story and this one employs some great details that serve to add to the narrative. The inclusion of dead plants is a funny little gem and the expressions on all the minifig’s faces tell us everything we need to know about what they are thinking. The mom’s rolling suitcase and the daughter’s teddy bear are a nice touch as well as the many open boxes of parts spread around the room. The Millennium Falcon itself is also a terrific little build all on its own. My favorite bit is the LEGO storage shelves which are all organized by part. The bucket handles add a nice splash of color and detail and the use of single parts in the shelves represent the organization system perfectly. A true homage to the LEGO obsessed.

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.

LEGO Star Wars Tantive IV now available with Battle of Hoth freebie, double VIP points and more [News]

LEGO is celebrating May the Fourth a day early by making Star Wars 75244 Tantive IV available for purchase for VIP members. The set comes with 1,768 pieces and six minifigures including Princess Leia and Bail Organa, and sells for US $199.99 | CAN $269.99 | UK £179.99. The set will be available generally starting tomorrow.

In addition to the Tantive IV, LEGO is offering quite a few freebies including the exclusive 195-piece 40333 Battle of Hoth with LEGO Star Wars purchases of $75 US / £75 UK, double VIP points on all LEGO Star Wars purchases and other sales that vary by store and region.

Additionally, the elusive 70842 Emmet’s Triple-Decker Couch Mech from The LEGO Movie 2 is now available for US $29.99 | CAN $3.99 | UK £24.99 as well as the new Disney Collectible Minifigure Series 2 for US $3.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £2.99 each (read our feel guide here to help find your favorite characters).

Add that to the 21 sets launched late last month from Toy Story 4, Spider-Man, and The LEGO Movie 2 and we have ourselves the beginning of a very promising summer in terms of new LEGO sets.

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.

A tear can either carry pain, or hope

We featured an emotionally packed creation by Malin Kylinger a few months ago, and the builder returns to the theme with another scene in a similar style.

A lonely tear of pain and hope

The build has a very authentic LEGO style, using some prominent elements, like official dragons and an eagle, in their intended way. The same impression is facilitated by the brick and slope design of the translucent outer shell of the tear, reminiscent of brick sculptures one can see in Legoland parks, LEGO stores and other promotions around the world. Many LEGO artists choose serious themes for their creations, but Malin’s very loyal approach to the brick as a child’s toy makes the contrast between the message and the medium even more pronounced. The builder says the creation is open to interpretation, and mine is “contrasts everywhere!”

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.

Space elephant shines in silver brick

All hail the mighty space elephant! Created by Demetrius Gaouette, this sci-fi war beast is decked out in dazzling silver armor. The use of silver elements is what sets this elephant apart as something from the future. I’m a big fan of the lack of curvature to the elephant’s ears and legs, allowing the viewer to focus on other design aspects like the armor and troops. Next time Blacktron goes to war, they’d definitely want a dozen of these in battle.

African Elephant Rider (V1.0)

Demetrius’ model is a digital render, with some parts not yet commercially available in certain colors illustrated.

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.

Harry and Draco duel it out as stars of the show

When it comes to creations shared on The Brothers Brick, it may seem like the brick-built models are the stars of the show while minifigures stand in as accessories. This is not always the case, though. For example, in Hugo’s model of Draco Malfoy casting Serpensortia, the architecture acts as a frame or backdrop while the minifigures take center stage.

Serpensortia-1

Don’t get me wrong, this backdrop is built amazingly well – from the stained glass window, to the arch over the window, and the mixed brickwork – but I’m a sucker for well-integrated minifigures. While there are some stock characters mixed in, such as Filch, Snape, Draco and Harry, my favourites are the other characters that fill out the scene. There’s a subtle art to choosing the right facial expressions and hair pieces to bring a character to life, and then you need to position them in a dynamic way to ensure they’re reacting appropriately and not all standing parallel or perpendicular to each other. Hugo has nailed all of that in this scene. The full range of expected emotions is visible, with characters upset, scared, or angry depending on their house. Yet this ignores the most cleverly placed minifigure of them all…the one that’s included in the building itself as a moving painting.

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.

Super spiffy speeder bike and rider

The hovering speeder bike is a subject that has inspired many LEGO fan creators over the years, with many science fiction movies, comic books, and anime providing plenty of inspiration. Examples from popular culture often combine real-world mechanical bike features like windscreens, stickers, pedals and thrumming engines with fantastical fins, guns, and even bigger jet engines. Minifig scale versions are fairly common, but Djokson has opted to build a larger scale speeder bike complete with a sleek and racy rider.

Akiyama Sidewinder GT

Among the key details that get my heart racing are twisting flexible tubing running the length of the bike, connecting the front and rear engines to the fuel supply. Rubber tires turned inside out give the rider’s hips a smooth transition, and those boots made from just a few parts are a great visual focal point.

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.