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.

Fright Knights flashback

Do you remember Fright Knights? Thomas “Thomassio” van Urk does, and he’s built a flashback tribute model to the LEGO Castle subtheme from the late 1990’s.

This homage is quite a bit more complex than the forgotten theme’s biggest castle set, 6097 Night Lord’s Castle, but features many of the key details that scream “Fright Knights” including bats (using original flags, soldier helmets, and bat elements), Willa the Witch on one of the towers with a telescope, and even main antagonist Basil the Bat Lord if you peer closely. More modern flourishes include the Bat Monster from an early collectible minifigure series, seen terrifying a hapless knight on the grounds outside the castle.

It’s not just new and old minifigures being included. Fancier building techniques than the original sets are on full display here as well, with tons of Studs Not On Top tiling and detailing all over the place. My eye immediately latched onto the round tower section shown below, which features some really nice double cheese wedge action to fill the gaps of the detailing wrapped around the tower.

If you enjoyed Thomas’ work here, see some of his previous models on TBB like the Dohodno Zdanie and giant sky pirate airship the Lady McZep.

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LEGO Speed Champions 75892 McLaren Senna [Review]

Having taken a a drive around Memory Lane with classic cars like the 1967 Mini Cooper S Rally and 1980s-era Ferrari F40, we turn to the thoroughly modern 75892 McLaren Senna. Rather than a sticker price of $837,000 (give or take another million dollars when finally auctioned off), this LEGO version of the European supercar retails for $14.99 (£12.99 in the UK and $19.99 in Canada), with 219 pieces and one minifig driver.

Read our hands-on review of LEGO Speed Champions 75892 McLaren Senna

Bricks LA 2019, Southern California’s premier LEGO convention, is this weekend [News]

Southern California’s premier LEGO convention, Bricks LA, will be open to the public this weekend, January 5-6. Beginning Saturday, builders from around the country will gather at the Pasadena Convention Center to showcase more than 13,000 square feet of amazing creations. Vendors will be selling vintage LEGO sets, LEGO-themed jewelry, custom gifts, and more. Tickets are only $5, with kids under 5 free, and are available online.

The show hours are 9-5 on Saturday, and 9-4 on Sunday.

Although online registration has closed, adult builders who wish to display their models and attend panels, participate in LEGO-themed games, and more can still purchase tickets at the door.

The Brothers Brick is proud to be a sponsor of Bricks LA.

The LEGO Movie 2’s largest set revealed as 70840 Welcome to Apocalypseburg! [News]

LEGO has officially revealed the largest set from The LEGO Movie 2, the massive 70840 Welcome to Apocalypseburg! Clocking in at 3,178 pieces and twelve minifigures, the set features the post-invasion home of the main characters located in a broken down Statue of Liberty (à la Planet of the Apes).

The set will be available starting January 16 for $299.99 for LEGO VIP members, with general availability beginning February 1st.

Click to see close-up photos of the largest LEGO Movie 2 set

This LEGO Volkswagen Beetle is a Bumblebee in disguise

For those of us who were in our early teens in the eighties, Michael Bay got it all wrong when he made his first Transformers movie. Listen to me, Mr. Bay: Bumblebee turns into a Volkswagen Beetle; not a Camaro. Travis Knight, the director of the new 2018 Bumblebee movie, was a teenager in the eighties and is a self-confessed Transformers fan. He nailed it.

We’ve already featured a really sweet LEGO version in Beetle mode by hachiroku24 and a screen-accurate Bumblebee robot by ekownimako. However, they don’t actually transform. I happen to think that this a pretty essential feature of any Transformer.

Making it transform is certainly not easy, but I pored over pictures of new Bumblebee toys released for the movie. I also happen to have a LEGO Beetle design that I like, which I could use as a starting point. It is quite small, though, at about 19 cm long (roughly 7 inches) and there is a lot of stuff that needs to fold into it. The end result is flimsy, it doesn’t really want to stand upright unsupported and it’s not nearly as nicely proportioned in robot mode as in the movie, but it works: the Beetle unfolds into a Bumblebee.

How small can you go?

Sometimes, the leviathan is small. In this magnificent tiny vignette by Grantmasters, a lone ship rides a ferocious ocean. It’s a safe bet that it’s the Pequod, since it’s hunting a white whale. As usual, Grant’s build is rife with excellent parts usages, from the little known Belville figure feet making most of the whale’s body, to the beard for a tail, or the axe blades for water.

Turning back the clock to classic aviation with the DC-3

The Douglas DC-3 is among the most iconic aircraft in the world, with a distinctive shape that’s instantly recognizable. Unfortunately for LEGO builders, that shape is also rather difficult to produce with LEGO bricks. However, that hasn’t dissuaded Vaionaut, who turned his skillful hands to this classic and produced a masterpiece. He started with an earlier design by Obuh Samateus and significantly overhauled it for accuracy and stability. Apart from the excellent shaping of the compound curves in the aircraft’s fuselage, the small touches, such as the brick-built German flag on the tail and the chrome non-custom chrome cowling on the engines, really make this model sing. The small service truck is easy to miss, but it’s a fantastic accompaniment also.

LEGO 75228 Escape Pod vs Dewback Microfighters [Review]

With the ringing in of 2019, we’re also getting the release of Series 6 of the LEGO Star Wars Microfighters. When the series was first introduced, each Microfighter pack came with a single build, and most, if not all were vehicles, as the theme’s title implies. 75228 Escape Pod vs Dewback Microfighters comes with two builds in a single pack, which we first saw introduced in 2018. But now for the very first time, a Microfighters set features a creature instead of a vehicle. It’s also the first time the Dewback is in a brick-built form as opposed to a molded figure, and it created a bit of a buzz with LEGO Star Wars fans. The set comes with 177 pieces and retails for $19.99 USD. Let’s take a look and see how it stacks up.

The Escape Pod and Dewback are among the first scenes on Tatooine we see in Star Wars: A New Hope. C-3PO and R2-D2 first arrive from their escape pod fresh off the Tantive IV with the plans of the Death Star hidden in R2-D2’s memory banks. Sand Troopers scour the desert hunting down the pod’s contents, confirming that the pods were not empty vessels as first suspected but instead finding traces of droids in the area.

Read the full review

A shiny upgrade for the N1 Naboo starfighter

Embracing custom LEGO pieces can have dramatic results. In builder Inthert’s case, the decision to swap out standard grey bricks for custom chrome elements (taking a cue from the UCS Naboo Starfighter) on the upgrade of his 2017 version of the N1 Naboo starfighter is a shining triumph. Not only does this new version of the classic Star Wars ship capture the sleek lines of the original, something we saw from him recently in his TIE-Proteus model, its burnished finish echoes the art deco motifs of the Old Republic. I’m put in mind of the allure of vintage sports cars, whose glistening engines can’t help but entice even the non-motor enthusiast.

Charming North Pole residence could be Santa’s other house

Now that Santa’s big night has come and gone, the man has earned some rest and relaxation. What better place to unwind after a very busy holiday season than this lovely chalet by Jack R., perfect for relaxing with a steaming cup of hot chocolate after a day of skiing or snowboarding. Above the door, the stained glass look, made with transparent orange plates behind turntable bases, adds a touch of warmth to the scene.

Next to a nice stack of firewood outside, a couple of Santa’s sled team also enjoy a nice rest. Jack demonstrates a great use of battle droid torsos as the reindeer heads.

How low (and fast) can you go?

Masterful builder Jarek has turned his hand away from building incredible Star Wars models to something a little closer to home in our world, but still nearly as fast. This snazzy Formula 1 Ferrari has remarkably accurate lines, something that’s exceedingly difficult to accomplish in LEGO at this scale. In fact, LEGO’s official designers in Billund have tried their hands at this very car, which appeared in 75889 Ferrari Ultimate Garage. He’s captured the spindly nature of these heavily glorified go-karts, and even sitting still this thing looks fast.

Especially impressive, though, is that Jarek hasn’t overlooked the small details, like the exposed chassis and suspension at the car’s rear.

Let’s go for a ride! This LEGO Junkrat from Overwatch will blow your mind!

Blizzard’s Overwatch brand is now an official LEGO theme and it seems to be inspiring even more fans to create their favourite characters from their favourite bricks. This time it is Joffre with his interpretation of the insane Junkrat character.

The build perfectly captures the character, from various explosives to his iconic leg prosthetic and his crazy face — the latter probably being the best part. All sorts of colours in the hair capture the singed ‘do, while the raised eyebrows and his tongue sticking out show what a fun-loving guy he is. The pants also give a surprising amount of detail in their exotic colour scheme, which is a big plus to the overall build.