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.

An absolute unit of a mech

There are mechs designed to transport cargo, to build new worlds, to race against each other, to save lives… And then there’s the Thunderbolt — designed, well, to destroy. The builder of this titan, Japanese mecha master Moko, made sure every tiniest piece of the mech’s design forebodes its foe’s fast, yet painful death.

But, of course, it’s not the mech’s color that gave it its name. The real show starts once the yellow bracers come open and everything around is illuminated with stunning lightning effects. This is when you notice old LEGO Technic 9V wired connectors running along the mech’s forearms; what a brilliant example of functional elements doubling as decorations.

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Slowly, magnificently, the ship rose out of the water

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire is the first in its series to truly delve into darker themes and atmosphere. It seems this mysterious and gloomy tome is what inspired Simon Hundsbichler to build his latest creation, a microscale scene of the Durmstrang ship’s arrival at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft & Wizardry.

It seems Simon has a phobia for normal bricks, as there are hardly any throughout the build. There are a few used as the lake and some plates visible here and there, but everything else is built from “specialized” parts and more or less exotic tiles and slopes. Of course, the inner construction probably has a lot of basic bricks, but here the looks are probably the most important. The best details have to be the tower’s roof and the wings used as waves. It is not all just in the cool parts used and in the combinations of bricks most people would never think to put together; a big impact is made by the lighting, photography and the subtle background added in post-production. I can almost hear the wind howling and waves crashing!

This LEGO model was built as an entry for TBB’s Microscale Magic contest. Coverage on TBB of an entry will not be taken into consideration during judging, and will have no effect on its ability to win, either positively or negatively.

Femme fatale can be interpreted in many ways

We have seen many top-notch character builds from Eero Okkonen over the years, including his recent recreation of the Finnish band Circle, and it seems Eero has nailed the human form in bricks so well that he can pump them out with an (ironically) inhuman speed, with each better than the last!

The builder often takes inspiration from Japanese videogames and cartoons and his latest creation, RADIANT EXERT IV is no different. While there is no specific source material that Eero has tried to recreate, the bulky armour, bunny-ear ribbon in her hair and a miniskirt are unmistakably Japanese. There is a strange yet perfectly balanced mix of bulk and elegance, with eye-catching details like a sword with a laser blade made of Clickits string and wings on her boots.

This apothecary will fix what ails you

Fantasy-styled castle creations are a popular subject for LEGO builders, and we love when someone offers a twist in a building genre often dominated for long periods by a particular style. This village apothecary by Mr_Hobbit_Foot has elements of the established “fantasy ramshackle” style (pioneered by Luke Hutchinson amongst others) but adds a cartoony edge. We have the expected rough-and-tumbled brickwork to create detailed walls, and the mixture of tiles and plates for a textured roof, however the shaping of the central building evokes Asterix illustrations or a Celtic feel as much as your regular fantasy setting, and the irregular bases make the whole model pop off the page.

The builder appears to be slowly putting together a full fantasy village in this style. I particularly like the blacksmith’s shop, which comes complete with a pumpkin-headed scarecrow out front…

Colossal Gundam made with over 10,000 LEGO pieces and stands 3 feet tall

When LEGO artist Henry Pinto dreams of a project being envisioned, its always going to be a thrill and it never disappoints. Looking at it brings chills down our spine with the exceptionally detailed and accurate modelling of the Gundam RX78-02 from Mobile Suit Gundam: The Origin. Fans of mecha surely buckle at their knees seeing this amazing mecha coming to life in LEGO. Thanks to Henry, we have exclusive never before seen photos of this amazing build in all its glory.

The RX78-02 stands 90cm tall (over 35 inches) and is made up of over 10,000 LEGO elements weighing around 10kg (22 lbs). Henry started building this back in May and recently completed in September – a total of 5 months and late nights, lunch breaks, and with constant tweaking to perfection. What makes it also outstanding is how it’s void of the typical LEGO studs that give it a clean and smooth finishing, never giving a hint that it was made with LEGO elements in the first place.

Click to see more of the incredible Gundam

Our future lies amidst the stars, in a LEGO O’Neill Cylinder

First proposed by the American physicist Gerard O’Neill in the 70s, an O’Neill Cylinder is a large tube, pressurised with an atmosphere, and spinning to create artificial gravity. The hull features alternating strips of “land” and transparent windows, allowing sunlight to be reflected inside from large mirrors. The cylinder has become an iconic design, familiar from a raft of TV, movie, and videogame depictions of mankind’s future. Ralf Langer has built a beautiful LEGO version of an O’Neill-based space colony, using microscale to ensure his space settlement features fields and trees, flowing rivers, and towering cities. The rings supporting the curved land panels have technical-looking greebles, and the entire creation looks much bigger than it really is. This is epic LEGO sci-fi, depicting a future I’d love to see.

LEGO Ideas First 2018 Review Results bring the names of the next LEGO Ideas sets [News]

As many of us are still enjoying their newly bought LEGO Ideas 21311 Voltron sets, the LEGO Ideas First 2018 Review Results are already here, so we can finally learn what the next LEGO Ideas set will be.

Click here to see the ideas approved by The LEGO Group!

Massive 1/15-scale LEGO Vought F4U Corsair takes to the bright and terrifying Pacific skies

With its distinctive inverted gullwings and gorgeous dark blue color scheme, the Vought F4U Corsair is easily my all-time favorite fighter plane. Produced throughout both World War II and the Korean War, the warplane also has the distinction of having the longest production run of any piston-engined fighter. While James Cherry may not be the most prolific LEGO builder — he shared his amazing 1/15-scale LEGO F-14A Tomcat jet fighter exactly two years ago — but each of his creations is well worth the wait. Built to the same scale as the Tomcat, James’s Corsair is deceptively huge; for a better sense of the scale, notice that the palm trees are built from stacked washtubs! We’ve estimated that this LEGO Corsair has a wingspan of over one hundred studs (over 32 inches or 82 cm), and it’s over 80 studs long from nose to tail (over 26″ / 67 cm).

See more photos of this amazing LEGO Vought F4U Corsair

What colour should a spaceship be? Answer: all of them!

Throwing traditional building caution to the solar wind, Alex “Orion Pax” Jones’s insanely colourful ship is certainly one of the more unusual models to come out of this year’s SHIPtember challenge. Alex notes that he tried to use all of the colours in the LEGO palette, making his build not only a SHIP (a seriously huge investment in parts), but also a SHIC (a seriously huge investment in colours).

After its namesake, the side of the vessel operates as an interstellar PAX or peace sign. Borrowing heavily from the graphic flourishes of graffiti aesthetic, the spacecraft shrugs off the utilitarian norms of spacecraft design in favour of a brash, exuberant look. Alex explains his ethos best when he says: “If you ride, ride in style!”

He is horrible—horrible beyond anything you can imagine—but wonderful

This dark and mysterious figure by Fedde Barendrecht represents a powerful evil from H. P. Lovecraft’s horror stories. While not as well known as Cthulhu, Nyarlathotep is just as terrifying. In the stories and poems he is said to have a thousand forms, and Fedde has decided to build possibly the most sinister of them in LEGO; a tall, slender man with coal black skin and clothing, with tentacles spreading from underneath his robe.

Most of Fedde’s builds are small with a funny theme, generally centered around an imaginative new use for an exotic brick. Every now and again, however, a nightmare-inducing creation like this one pops up. The build itself is simple, or at least it uses very few pieces, apart from the numerous tentacles. My favourite part usage is the octopus used as Nyarlathotep’s mouth and the tentacles behind his head.

LEGO Star Wars 75251 Darth Vader’s Castle is unveiled [News]

Most LEGO Star Wars sets are naturally starships and various vehicles for transportation to the many planets of the galaxy, so every building or other structure released by LEGO sparks many fans’ interest. This time, the galaxy’s greatest villain, Darth Vader, welcomes everyone to his formidable castle on the planet Mustafar, as seen in Rogue One. The new LEGO Star Wars 75251 Darth Vader’s Castle, which will be available exclusively at Amazon.com during the upcoming holiday season, features a massive-looking castle built with nearly a 1,000 pieces.

The castle’s hangar houses a copy of the Dark Lord of the Sith’s iconic TIE Advanced starfighter, while the castle itself is populated with Darth Vader in his usual black armor, a second Darth Vader (as seen in his bacta tank), two Royal Guards, an Imperial Transport Pilot, and even a mouse droid.

Darth Vader’s Castle has multiple rooms, featuring several play scenarios such as Vader’s recovery in the bacta tank, communing with the Dark Side of the Force in his meditation chamber, and a landing platform at the very top of the castle.

LEGO Star Wars 75251 Darth Vader’s Castle set will retail $129.99 US and pre-orders start October 4, 2018.

LEGO Shop@Home has started taking reservations as well. The item will be shipped on 1st December if preordered now.

LEGO Star Wars 75251 Darth Vader’s Castle: 1060 pieces | US: $129.99 | Canada: 149.99 CAD | UK: £119.99

See the full photo gallery and press release after the jump

Microscale LEGO island scene is a calm oasis

Sometimes the most surprising detail in a microscale LEGO model can be the simplest one.
Sad Brick demonstrates this in a simple island scene showing a cherry tree as the centerpiece. I enjoy the use of flower elements still attached to each other to sculpt very spherical foliage. Small gold hut-like dwellings help sell the scale of the massive tree. Approaching the island is a ship with a few more great part usages, like the wing from the chicken suit wearing collectible mini-fig, and a twisted white rubber band for the ship’s wake.