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.

Crowdfunding for LEGO and BrickLink’s AFOL Designer Program sets has started [News]

In September, LEGO launched the AFOL Designer Program in cooperation with BrickLink to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the brick and to help bring fan designs to life. Out of the 443 submissions received, 16 designs were selected as finalists coming from fans from nine different countries. Today, pricing of those designs has been revealed, and they are now available for pre-order as the crowdfunding part of the program begins.

Designs will only be produced and shipped by BrickLink if they hit their target funding levels before April 15th. (That is the same day orders will be processed and charged.) If a project successfully crowdfunds enough orders, it will ship in May. Bricklink is also offering free domestic and international shipping for sets ordered during the pre-sale period.

Click to see each AFOL Designer Program finalist, price, and pre-order information

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.

Bring on the LEGO butter and bib

The line of LEGO Star Wars constraction figures has unleashed a plethora of new sculpted parts to feed the Bionicle building frenzy. However, this delicious looking lobster by 楚沐猴 puts some of the parts from LEGO 75529 Elite Praetorian guard to a very different use. The finished product is a crustacean that looks good enough to eat.

This tug is very uplifting

This McQue-inspired salvage tug by Martin Redfern is a plucky little workhorse on its way back to the yard with a fresh haul of parts. One of the reasons I find the floating boats and other vehicles from Ian McQue’s concept art so interesting is that they seemingly float out of the sea and defy gravity without any explanation. It’s as if these worlds simply don’t have the same laws of physics as our own.

If this theme looks familiar, we recently featured another of Martin’s floating vehicles inspired by the same source.

Whatcha gonna do when the Space Police come for you?

Let’s take a moment and go back to 1992. If you’re about my age, you were probably sitting on the floor surrounded by a huge pile of LEGO bricks building literally the coolest spaceship ever. With the hindsight of 20+ years, it probably wasn’t that great, but to my childhood imagination, it looked a lot like this Space Police II ship by spaceruner, which is definitely the coolest spaceship ever. Inspired by classic sets 6781 SP-Striker and 6897 Rebel Hunter, it’s the perfect mashup of outlandish design and wickedly cool styling. Plus, who doesn’t love those classic Space Police II colors?

When the wind blows your way

There’s nothing like a stiff breeze in your sails and a bit of steampunkery to make the workday fly. This rickety windmill by Martin Harris hits all the right notes with its exposed framework, abundance of gears, and plethora of thingamabobs that are the hallmarks of the aesthetic. The LEGO ship rigging elements pull double-duty here as framework, with Martin even taking advantage of their flexibility to bend them into place. Now the real question is: what does it power?

Moko’s militarized mecha is locked and most definitely loaded

The battlefield just became deadlier with this highly capable armored platform by master mecha builder, Moko. When it comes to an attention to detail, the builder has spared no expense. Moko’s piloted mecha is named after the wolf Fenrir of Norse mythology, and it looks ready to dish out some serious pain. Form and function are expertly fused together in a mech that not only takes down enemies, but looks good doing it.

There are plenty of crafty techniques, such as using an old school Bionicle head for the visor and printed elements as the rifle’s forearm. (Those pieces are from last year’s Mack Anthem set.) The design also allows for some intimidating poses.

Just like its ferocious namesake, this heavily armed and armored warrior is unlikely to allow itself to be easily restrained.

A neat fleet of stylised Batman treats

Inspired by the new LEGO Batman sets Batsub and the Underwater Clash and Batman Mech vs. Poison Ivy Mech, Elvis Lawrey has added his own spin on cartoon-like super hero vehicles. Embracing the chibi aesthetic, he’s rolled out a clutch of cute, fun, and playable vehicles for the Dark Knight to test-drive.

See more on these quirky Batman vehicles

For many around the world, the New Year is just beginning...

With the Chinese New Year less than a week away, we’re seeing a number of creations inaugurating the Year of the Pig and a new calendar for over 20 percent of the planet. Joseph Zawada provided a detail-filled scene of how the Lunar New Year is likely to be enjoyed next month in San Francisco, California. Held since the 1860s to celebrate Chinese culture in the United States, this parade draws in hundreds of thousands of visitors each year and is the largest Lunar New Year event outside of Asia. The builder recreated a lively portion of the parade in front of the Dragon Gate in San Francisco’s Chinatown. The scene features a ton of popular references to the Lunar New Year, such as dancing dragons and children carrying red envelops containing gifts of money (hóngbāo). There’s even a C-pop float to round off the sensory experience.

As a quick note, Joseph states he recently worked with LEGO China’s Integration and Engagement team and fifteen other builders to highlight the Lunar New Year in LEGO form (including the Nian beast we recently featured). We’re hoping to see many more creations in the days ahead. We wish our readers great happiness and prosperity for the year ahead!

The ARC-170: a classic in Star Wars design

For many Star Wars fans, the jury is still out on where the prequels stand. However, it’s likely that few would argue with the quality of their vehicle designs. I’d agree with Thomas Jenkins, who considers the ARC-170 Starfighter to be one of the franchise’s best ships. It’s also woefully underrepresented in LEGO, which makes his latest creation such a treat.

It’s a clean, compact build with carefully modeled lines. Positioning the ship into its attack configuration reveals grey and white colour blocking on the inner foils, which I find particularly pleasing. Overall, it brilliantly captures the ship’s unique proto-X-wing theme and reminds us just how talented those prequel designers were.

I see a row of cabinets and they’re all painted white.

Do-it-yourself projects are more fun in LEGO-form, such as this detailed painting-themed render by _spacehopper_. The cabinetry, refrigerator, and sink look attractive in this kitchen, complete with a mouth-watering turkey. (Who makes a turkey and paints the kitchen at the same time?) Someone has been busy painting but is noticeably absent. A ladder sits to the side, and the fan is running to help with ventilation. Meanwhile, the paint roller sits abandoned on the counter top, dripping white paint on the floor. No drop cloths or trays are there to catch anything. Perhaps our missing painter is a novice, realized he was in-over-his-head, and drove to the hardware store for the missing supplies.

Got a gyro or gear loose? You need Gyro Gearloose’s Little Helper

Fresh from the Disney town of Duckburg, here’s Little Helper, built from bricks by Oliver Becker. Eccentric inventor Gyro Gearloose’s automaton assistant makes for a delightful LEGO character — using ribbed metallic hoses for limbs is a perfect choice, and cockpit parts for the robot’s lightbulb head are simple yet effective. I find it wonderful how such a model, put together from relatively few pieces, can embody so much character. It’s down, in no small part, to the care taken in posing the model for photography, getting the curves of the back and limbs just right. The dangling feet are spot-on, as is the thoughtful angle of that transparent cranium. Lovely.

“Let your light shine” with UC’s Koenig Alumni Center

Do you call the University of Colorado Boulder (UC) your alma mater? If so, you might recognize this LEGO version of the Koenig Alumni Center, built by Imagine Rigney as a permanent display at the center. The Alumni Center hosts events like graduation ceremonies, weddings, retreats, and memorial services. Imagine Rigney did extensive research, using original photographs and blueprints to guide his build. The finished product looks both lively and colorful, packed full of fun details for CU alumni to enjoy.

See more details of this LEGO model of the Koenig Alumni Center