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.

LEGO Friends, Elves, Star Wars and more on sale at Amazon [News]

Every now and then, certain LEGO themes go on sale at Amazon, and today it appears to be Elves and Friends coming in at between 30% to 40% off retail. We’ve assembled a list of the sales below, along with a few Star Wars, City and Creator sets as well, so happy shopping!

Friends

Time to go for a snow vacation with these discounted sets from last year, plus a few houses and bedroom sets have some fantastic parts.

Elves

If interesting parts and colors is your thing, then these sets are for you. These sets have great decorative pieces and foliage.

Star Wars

The Y-wing is on sale, along with sets from Jakku as well as some awesome buildable figures.

Creator, City & Superheroes

Looking at everything else, we have a spaceship, bus stop, and even the classic “Go Brick Me” all on sale.

As always, a tiny portion of these sales goes to support the reviews, event sponsorship, contests, and more that The Brothers Brick gives back to the LEGO building community.

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.

Welcome to a temple with a “killer” view

No matter how strange or limiting a LEGO part may appear to be, there is no such thing as a useless piece. With a little thinking outside the box, it’s sometimes surprising what you’re able to accomplish. Case in point, David Zambito’s microscale “Temple of Tarrasque” takes the LEGO Batman Movie’s Killer Croc minifigure and literally turns him on his side. Killer Croc’s body has been cleverly placed within the model to form a major portion of the mountainside, and the figure’s printed dark green spots are reminiscent of shrubbery. It accentuates an already beautiful landscape filled with a variety of fun angles, and the tiny temple is equally impressive.

LEGO unveils 41631 Newt Scamander and Gellert Grindelwald BrickHeadz from Fantastic Beasts [News]

LEGO just unveiled two new characters to add on to the BrickHeadz family from the Fantastic Beasts franchise. Newt Scamander and Gellert Grindelwald, numbered 76 and 77 respectively, are featured in a two-pack set of 247 pieces and retail price of $19.99 USD. These are the first two characters to be featured from the Fantastic Beasts theme and will be released for sale on October 1.

Click here to read the full press release…

We’re building the new LEGO Star Wars 75220 Sandcrawler [Video Review]

It’s been four years since LEGO released the last Star Wars Sandcrawler, the massive Ultimate Collector Series Sandcrawler. Now LEGO has returned with a set that’s a bit smaller, but still has 1,239 pieces, 75220 Sandcrawler. It’s available now, and retails for $139.99 USD. Today we’re building the set in this video review to see exactly how this giant mobile Jawa fortress stacks up.

75220 Sandcrawler includes 1,239 pieces with 6 minifigs. The set is available now from the LEGO Shop (USD 139.99 | CDN 159.99 | GBP 109.99), Amazon.com, eBay, BrickLink, and elsewhere.

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick a copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

If you give a House Elf an article of clothing...

One of the sweetest moments in the Harry Potter series is when the young wizard gives Dobby a sock at the end of Chamber of Secrets. It is at that moment that the loveable House Elf becomes free from the Malfoys. This tribute to that moment, built by Chung-Heng Cheng, is an exceptional work of art. The body shaping is really nice and it’s immediately recognizable as the little hero.

Can’t get enough of all things Wizarding World? Check out our Minifigure Feel Guide (which includes Dobby) as well as our review of the new 71043 Hogwarts Castle (which includes scenes from the Chamber of Secrets).

Like and subscribe for more LEGO YouTuber caricatures

One can expect outstanding LEGO caricatures from builder SuckMyBrick. Their latest series captures the likeness and personalities of several popular YouTubers well with the bricks. From left to right, we have: Rhett and Link of Good Mythical Morning; well-known vlogger Casey Neistat; Tyler Toney of Dude Perfect; infamous vlogger Logan Paul; silly singer Miranda Sings; Internet meme legend Techno Viking; and our friend at BrickNerd, Tommy Williamson.

Each build here is recognizable to those who enjoy the YouTube creator community, but my personal favorite here is their build of Casey Neistat.

BrickCon 2018 LEGO convention in Seattle is now just one month away [News]

We’re now just one month from BrickCon 2018, the country’s longest-running LEGO convention. Each year LEGO fans flock to Seattle the first weekend in October to view more than 30,000 square feet of custom LEGO models, along with vendors featuring everything from custom-engraved bricks to vintage sets. The event is open to the public Saturday and Sunday, Oct. 6-7, and tickets can be purchased online, with prices ranging from $11-$17 depending on entry time. Last year tickets sold out in advance, so don’t wait to get yours.

Adult fans who wish to get the all-access treatment can sign up for the full four-day experience, which includes the ability to display their own custom LEGO models, along with workshops, prizes, games, drafts, access to the friends-and-family night, and more. Signups for the full adult fan convention, which runs Oct. 4-7, can be found on the BrickCon builder site. Tickets for the full event are $75 if purchased before Sept. 18. After that, you’ll need to pay the late registration price of $100 or sign up at the door if any space is available (though that will cost even more).

The Brothers Brick is sponsoring a Ninjago City collaborative build at this year’s BrickCon, featuring creations from our staff and readers like you. Click the image below to learn more about how you can get involved.

The Brothers Brick is an official sponsor of BrickCon.

From parts car to restored racing legend, this garage has it all.

Over the past few weeks, I have been following Pixeljunkie’s progress on an exciting series of photographs that seemingly depict the restoration of a classic 1950s Mercedes race car. Time and time again, Pixeljunkie has demonstrated an impeccable talent in building minifigure-scale vehicles and setting the scene (like his Bugatti we featured back in July). His latest image depicts a gritty but gorgeous-looking garage, along with his partially stripped down Mercedes race car. Pixeljunkie opted to leave the engine exposed, and it sports a fair amount of detail for being confined within such a small space.

With the extensive repairs out of the way, it’s time to load the car up for transport. The fully restored racer looks simply stunning, and the small team of restorers is just as charming as the car itself. Out of the entire lot, the middle-aged motorhead with cigarette in hand is my favorite (the cigarette itself is an interesting use of three Nanoblock pieces). Several other fun details can be found in Pixeljunkie’s garage, such as a loft area with a drafting table and sink. Meanwhile, shelves are filled with a wide variety of tiny tools.

See the vintage Mercedes racing car in its restored glory

How to build a Grumman E-1 Tracer early warning aircraft from LEGO: Part 1 [Feature]

Question: “How did you build this?” Answer: “By making a plan and sticking to it.” The question is one that many LEGO builders will have had. The answer, in my case, is completely true, but also wholly inadequate. So, in an attempt to give a more fulfilling answer, in the next few weeks I’ll occasionally write a piece detailing the progress on my latest project: a scale model of a Grumman E-1 Tracer aircaft.

Some builders start by experimenting with a few pieces until they find a combination they like. They then build the rest of the model from there. I’m not one of those people. I plan my builds. “Doesn’t that kill spontaneity?”, you may wonder. Well yes, it does, but if I wanted to build a scale model of a complex object such as an aircraft spontaneously, it simply wouldn’t happen. My brain doesn’t work like that. Furthermore, I enjoy looking at pictures of aircraft, reading about them and thinking about which to build and how to build it. To me this is half the fun. If If I am spontaneous, I’ll build car.

Echo of a previous life

After playing the latest DLC for Hollow Knight, talented multi-theme builder Anthony Wilson can’t contain his delight . Such a cute, yet so deadly Shade is one of the many reasons to fall in love with the game. This ghost appears every single time the main character dies, and you’ll have to defeat it to regain the energy and the wealth you had collected before. You’ll face the Shade calmly levitating in mid-air right next to where you just died. Despite building a static figure, Anthony skillfully captures the ghost’s smoke-like body. And even the sword behind the Shade’s back looks exactly like the one in the game.

Building the winds of change

This mini-windmill model, built in collaboration between Mark van der Maarel and his son, resonates with positive energy. It’s wonderful to see the pieced-together building style normally associated with post-apocalyptic creations being used to covey a green message. The salvaged sails and junkyard components of the windmill are offset by wonderful foliage and neat tulips formed from lever bases. Nature is thriving here, a theme that resonates with LEGO’s recent plants set made from sustainable plastics.

Living around an ancient tree

We’ve seen a lot of LEGO castles built deep in forests, hidden among tall spreading trees. But John Klapheke takes an absolutely different approach to the idea of the landscape in and around his latest micro-castle. Instead of surprising us with enormous amount of greenery around the castle, he plants only one tree, but right behind the castle walls. I must admit I love how this scheme makes my imagination work: is it an old gigantic oak towering over the castle, or is it a regular forest tree occupied by a tribe of small mythical creatures? And it is simply stunning how a small sail boat leaving the pier adds a whole new storyline to this charming creation.