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.

Taking a tiny shot at castle

We see many grand castles and medieval scenes built out of LEGO all over the internet, but sometimes it is the little gems that make you go “wow!” Today’s “wow” is alego alego‘s microscale castle series, which focus on interesting parts usages.

We’ll start with the sea castle, as well as some of his other microscale castle creations The latest build is particularly neat, using stud shooters as towers connected by tiny staircases. My favourite part is that the shooters have the triggers inserted, so technically, one could shoot the tops off the towers!

Click to check out the rest of the awesomely tiny castles!

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Theres a new sheriff in town, and he means business

This wild west scene by captainsmog shows the transfer of a notorious prisoner to federal custody under the watchful eye of the local Sheriff. This is one bandit who won’t be rescued by his posse, hooking up a rope or chain to the side window and yanking the wall right off the jail. His only hope will be an ambush in Rattlesnake Gorge… if his henchmen can rustle up some dynamite, that is. The prison coach, while simple in construction, clearly looks sturdy enough to hold any bandit, and the use of log bricks is the perfect choice for the front office of this classic building.

It’s always nice to see a clever use of those parts that are somewhat specialized, and that many builders have in large supply. If you have ever purchased a collectible mini-figure, or 2, then you probably have a some of those 3×4 plates with studs down the middle. Used here to build a simple slat roof. The builder also created an undertaker’s office which features siding made from angled tiles. By far my favorite detail is the marvelous vultures fashioned from a minifig hairpiece and a hand for the head. There is something strangely spooky about carrion birds made from body parts…

A noteworthy build waiting to be discovered

Every once in a while I get that feeling of “why didn’t I think of it?” and this is certainly one of them. Peter Reid, who designed the 21109 Ideas Exo-Suit, makes use of parts both new and old in unique ways. I’m particularly impressed by the method with which the thin blue lines were achieved, using the Hinge Brick Base and the Top Plate. The parts have been around for quite a while, which means it was technique waiting to be discovered. The two other new pieces are the Hoop Blade, which was only introduced this year, which forms the notepad’s rings, and the realistic looking end to the pencil thanks to the obvious use of the Eraser Minifigure from the Batman Collectible Minifigure Series.

The last LEGO house east of the sea

We’ve seen brick-built versions of Middle Earth’s Rivendell before (including Alice Finch and David Frank’s astonishing build) but here’s a microscale creation depicting Elrond’s home — “the last homely house east of the sea”. This tiny model by Isaac Snyder is nicely done — I love the way the buildings nestle into the surrounding rock, and the muted colours he’s picked. The various techniques and pieces used for different pillar designs are a little masterclass in microscale architecture — well-worth a closer look.

Wonder Woman at the ready

Polish builder Lucas Aligierski takes us to Themyscira with his LEGO Wonder Woman, a model he sweetly dedicated to his wife. The model belongs to a class of sculptures that expertly blends traditional LEGO System elements with constraction-scale elements like those produced for Bionicle and Hero Factory. The pieces used lend themselves to the very organic, muscled look of everyone’s favorite DC warrior princess. The sculpted look is appropriate for a character born from clay.

Click to see even more crazy detail on this wondrous model

LEGO version of James Bond’s submersible Lotus Esprit

Considered by many to be the best Bond movie of the Roger Moore era, The Spy Who Loved Me features an undoubted highlight — Bond’s Lotus Esprit sportscar transforming into a submarine. Nicknamed “Wet Nellie” (in homage to Little Nellie, Bond’s famous gyrocopter) the car’s stylish lines and aquatic abilities immediately earned it pride-of-place on most 70s fantasy car wishlists. If you always wanted one, why not follow Luis Peña‘s lead and build your own LEGO version? It’s unlikely you can afford the real thing — in 2013 Elon Musk bought the prop vehicle from the original movie for a cool £550,000!

Despite its tight dimensions, Luis’ model includes all the details you’d expect, including the wheel arch fins and the iconic slatted windows. It also features a smart interior…

The only thing that seems to be missing is a compartment for dumping Alka Seltzer tablets into the water behind the vehicle. That’s how the moviemakers created the streams of bubbles trailing from the sub during the film’s underwater sequences!

Last day for LEGO Forma pre-orders on Indiegogo [News]

Today is the last day to support LEGO Forma, the new experimental product line featuring kinetic sculptures of fish. The only remaining set available for pre-order on Indiegogo (at the time of publishing) is the UK-only base pack featuring a koi fish. The sets should ship at the beginning of next year.

LEGO Forma was announced as a limited short-batch pilot program designed to target LEGO early adopters and determine if there is a market for unique products that don’t lend themselves to other product lines. While it appears the LEGO Forma launch was successful with many perks selling out, the initial amounts of available perks appear to have been reduced in order to show them being “sold out” by the end of the crowdfunding period. It remains to be seen if LEGO considers the effort a success or if the Forma product line will see a general release.

The Brothers Brick will bring you a review of LEGO Forma when it ships, but until then, check out this reverse-engineered version by Jason Allemann (aka JK Brickworks) built completely out of LEGO bricks rather than using metallic skins.

LEPIN ordered to stop making and selling LEGO imitation products by Chinese court [News]

Earlier today, a district court in China ruled against four companies for infringing multiple LEGO copyrights by producing and distributing LEPIN-branded imitation products. The companies were ordered to “immediately cease producing, selling, exhibiting or in any way promoting the infringing products” and to pay LEGO 4.5 million RMB in damages (about $650,000 US).

The four companies, including Shantou Meizhi Model Co. among others, were held liable by the Guangzhou Yuexiu District Court for copying 18 specific LEGO sets and multiple minifigures in addition to “carrying out unfair competitive acts.” Niels B. Christiansen, CEO of the LEGO Group commented that the rulings “send a clear warning message to other companies who may be copying LEGO products,” and that the company will continue to “take all necessary legal actions to protect our intellectual property rights.”

The ruling is another significant legal victory for LEGO as the company continues to battle imitators in China. Last year, LEGO won a similar case against Bela Bricks for creating, distributing and selling imitation LEGO products. The rulings also provide precedent to continue pursuing many other clone brands who have tried shutting down and reopening with different names to avoid enforcement.

Unsettling figure will haunt your dreams

Sometimes the most effective LEGO creations are those that skillfully employ a sparse economy of parts. This creepy figure from Cezium does exactly that–building genuine character from a handful of pieces. Whilst this (blind?) old lady appears to be only gathering herbs, her eyeless visage and the skull-bearing staff create a real sense of unease. I suspect there’s nothing but a frame beneath the cloth habit, but it doesn’t matter, as what is visible is well done. The face (built from an upside down Raptor body no less!) and the skull are excellent, and the use of spider leg parts for the staff’s tips is perfect. Couple the model-building with atmospheric photography and you have a wonderfully unsettling LEGO creation.

Epic 4-scene collaboration by Shobrick and Cole Blaq, plus an exclusive look behind the scene [Feature]

LEGO TOKYO is a special collaboration between Aurélien Mathieu (better known online as Shobrick) and Cole Blaq. To be precise, it’s really Shobrick’s swan song from the LEGO scene–and what better way to make a grand exit but with a monumental partnership to release four epic scenes that were put together by professional set designers and talented artists.

Click to see the duo’s amazing images of LEGO Tokyo and read about how they were created

A proper vehicle for the true heroes of the city

Every superhero needs a top-notch ride. While Batman has to choose among all of his Batmobiles, other heroes, like firefighters, have a lot to show, too. Steven Asbury, an expert in the sphere of city fire safety, is constantly upgrading the city department’s engines. Here’s the new Arrow XT platform with a ton of things to spy: a dozen of compartments, flashing lights, switches, and some skillfully designed custom stickers.

And on a quiet day, this truck is still a finest jewel of the modern LEGO city.

Take control of Twitch’s LEGO Shock Drone from Rainbow Six Siege [Video]

One of the most fun games I play with friends is Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, a tactical multiplayer game of attack and defend resolving bomb defusal or hostage situations. In the attack phase, I like playing as French GIGN operator Twitch, who is equipped with her own hand-crafted camera drone outfitted with a taser. To show some love for this game, I built the Shock Drone with LEGO in 1:1 scale.

The bulky design of the Shock Drone compared to other operators’ standard camera drones allowed enough room internally for Power Functions. Each front wheel is powered by a motor and controlled by SBrick, which, just like in Siege, allows me to control the drone with my phone. You can see it in action, as well as a glimpse at the internals and a gameplay comparison for those unfamiliar with Siege, in the video below.