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.

Ride about in this regal Royale

2018 has been a big year for the LEGO Technic Bugatti Chiron. While the Chiron represents modern elegance, the Bugatti name has been associated with opulent luxury since 1909. One of the most coveted Bugatti automobiles is the Type 41 Royale, with only seven examples having been built between 1927 and 1933. ER0L has taken the Royale, shrinking it down into an adorable LEGO model. Erol has successfully captured the incredible length of the real vehicle, along with the iconic two-tone Bugatti color scheme. This particular version is the Coupe Deville with coachwork by Binder. During World War II, it was hidden in the sewers of Paris to escape confiscation by Nazi Germany.

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Built with ridiculous speed in mind

Described as the “biggest, baddest, most bulbous speeder bike”, by builder David Roberts, the Turbinia certainly lives up to its name. I’ve admired David’s work for a long time now, especially the way he mixes his humorous narratives with the knowledge of an engineering graduate. In this case the turbine element creates both the quirky nautilus-like shape of the vehicle, as well as hinting at the real-life mechanics of a centrifugal processor. Whichever way you look at it, this colourful model is a whole heap of gyroscopic fun.

Bumblebee bot is a tasty Transformer

We’ve seen our fair share of LEGO Transformers models (notably the collection of brick-built robots by Alex Jones and Joachim Klang). But here’s a smart little version of Bumblebee in his Camaro iteration by Jerry Builds Bricks. The model is a neat design — not only does the car look sleek and smooth, it transforms into the robot without the addition of any more parts. I particularly like the use of the textured Technic part for Bumblebee’s face — it adds a level of detail beyond what you might expect at this scale.

A pair of super Soviet tractors

The Volgograd Tractor Plant, previously known as the Stalingrad Tractor plant, produced the workhorses for the Soviet era Russian farming industry. Short, snub-nosed and chunky, the DT-75 is an exemplar of sturdy utilitarian design. Builder Jakeof has created two LEGO versions of these unique looking vehicles, a DT-75 and a DT-75M.

Although small, they pack in the detail, especially in the case of the neat tread design and exposed engines. Together they stand as an iconic reminder of Soviet innovation.

Are you still there?

Bleak laboratories of the Aperture Science facilities (as seen in both parts of Portal) will be forever remembered by the game’s fans thanks to the chilling soulless voices of the turrets. Although LEGO creations are rarely designed to make any sound effects, just pictures of these works by (FLAVIO) is enough to make me feel uneasy in much the same way those turrets did. TORUS is a beautiful example of how irregular Technic parts can be combined with tiles to create a peculiar layer of armour.

Click to check out the other uncanny turrets

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!

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.