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.

A lumbering giant forged in stone

It’s easy to love life-like animal builds (at least for me), but some certainly stand out more than others. This giant rock tortoise by Ralf Langer is one of those builds. The shaping is truly splendid, especially when it comes to the head, and the eyes are also quite expressive. In addition, the engineering to stabilize and support the head and neck had to be pretty tough to master!

According to Ralf, this was sort of an accident. He was going for something else but apparently that something really wanted to be a tortoise instead. I think this birth of art has happened for many of us, and I’m especially grateful for builds like this. Apparently the rest of the tortoise isn’t quite finished, so I have my fingers crossed that there will be more to come soon!

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Classic roadster gets a Classic Space upgrade

Take the classic lines of a 50s-styled roadster and sprinkle on the magic dust of LEGO’s Classic Space theme. What do you get? This fabulous Jetsons-esque vehicle from billyburg. It’s a glorious mash-up — sleek curves with a retro roofline, aerials, and fins, all decked-out in the immediately-recognisable colour scheme of LEGO’s original sci-fi line. Ingot parts offer a bit of bonnet texture, and the rear fin is an excellent use of a boomerang piece. Cut tubing provides a nice touch of blue detail to the open studs down the sides, and that front grille is beautiful. If our vehicular future looks anything like this, I want it to arrive right now!

Luck, Prosperity, and LEGO

We’ve all seen the giant Chinese dragons given life by hidden dancers in their bellies. They’re especially popular in parades surrounding the Chinese New Year. But they aren’t just for fun. These colorful characters are created to honor the beloved creatures of Chinese tradition and culture. Dragons are a symbol of power and luck. They are also said to represent prosperity and strength. This LEGO build, by Vlad Lisin, is a really cool tribute to their beauty.

Vlad has done a great job of bringing the dragon to life with the details of the face. I’m especially fond of the expressive eyes, eyebrows and cheeks.

A new kind of old temple in the new world

Mesoamerican temples lend themselves naturally to LEGO, with their blocky shapes and colours that are often abundant in collections, namely grays and greens. There seems to be an influx of Mayan and Aztec temples lately as you might have noticed on The Brothers Brick, and we have the Summer Joust competition to thank for this. One of the creations built for this contest is this one by Andreas Lenander

The first thing that catches our attention is the dark tan ground, a change from the expected greens that are used in similar creations. While I like the contrast that green gives, tan is probably more realistic. The sand and olive green overgrowth on the temple is an interesting colour choice, joined by dark green, which looks almost black in the photo. This darker colour gives a strong impression of wet moss, setting the scene in a particularly dank swamp. Some of the more unique parts usages include the Statue of Liberty headgear used as serpent’s head ornaments and the brown treads used as vines.

LEGO Star Wars: The Last Jedi 75216 Snoke’s Throne Room [Review]

One of the most shocking scenes in Star Wars: The Last Jedi occurs on Supreme Leader Snoke’s enormous flagship the Supremacy, when Kylo Ren turns on Snoke and he and Rey join forces to battle the Supreme Leader’s Praetorian Guards. 75216 Snoke’s Throne Room captures this scene as a playset. The set includes 492 pieces with 5 minifigures and retails for $69.99.

Read our hands-on review of 75216 Snoke’s Throne Room from The Last Jedi

Not even brick can save you from me!

We’ve seen a multitude of characters built by YOS Bricks in BrickHeadz form and otherwise, inspired by everything from Disney movies like Wreck it Ralph to Blizzard games. A strange mix indeed, and the collection of Blizzard Brickheadz has been flying under the radar so far. But now, with the addition of the Prime Evil Diablo from Diablo III and his host Leah, it is about time Yos Bricks’ “BlizzHeadz” get some recognition!

YOS Bricks takes the popular theme of Brickheadz to its limits and further with his builds, and the builder has declared that the Diablo figure in particular was the hardest so far. It is very complex while still keeping the basic BrickHeadz look. The ribbed horns are captured really well with the use of hinge bricks and 1×2 plates with door rail. Other characteristics like the iconic forehead and patterns on the demon’s body are also captured perfectly. The addition of Leah in the picture adds a bit of a sad tone to those more familiar with the story.

Click to see more of YOS Bricks’ Diablo characters in Brickheadz style

LEGO holds “Christmas in July” sale with free Nutcracker [News]

Want to get a HUGE head start on that Christmas shopping instead of doing it the day before? Did you miss out on the 40254 Nutcracker set during the last Black Friday promotion? Well you’re in luck, because this weekend from July 28-29th, LEGO Shop at Home US is hosting a “Christmas in July” sale where you will receive the nutcracker set free with purchases over $99 US. There are a couple of sets on sale as well including the popular 10259 Winter Village Station and the Ninjago Quake Mech. Use this link or click the image below to see the sets on sale and make your purchases while supporting The Brothers Brick at the same time!

“He had decided to call her Hedwig, a name he had found in A History of Magic”

Builder spacehopper’s digital LEGO version of Hedwig finds Harry Potter’s snowy owl elegantly perched on what I hope is a copy of A History of Magic. Although relatively small in scale, the use of slopes in varied shades of grey and white effectively suggest feathers. This works well when contrasted with the more formal tiled technique used to create the magical tomes; I especially like the gold ingot elements added here to give textural detail to the book’s cover. Simple inset amber eyes, so often referred to by J.K. Rowling in her novels, complete the build, bringing Harry’s faithful companion to life.

Newsweek Special Edition: LEGO – The toy that changed our lives [Review]

When you play with LEGO, it’s a birthday party every day! Throughout 2018, the LEGO Group has been celebrating two very special birthdays in the form of the patented LEGO brick (60 years) and minifigure (40 years). To celebrate the occasion, LEGO has given us Wal-Mart exclusives, a special 60th anniversary set, and a series of collectible minifigures dressed for a party. Thanks to Newsweek, we now also have a special edition magazine that is entirely devoted to our favorite interlocking plastic building bricks. We finally got our hands on a copy and are eager to share our thoughts with you.

Read our full review of this Special Edition magazine about LEGO

Tlachtli: The Mesoamerican ballgame

The Mesoamerican ballgame is an ancient sport played throughout Central America starting more than three thousand years ago. While some games may have been played purely for exercise or entertainment, there is strong archaeological and historical evidence for highly ritualized games that could even end in human sacrifice for some or all of the losers. W. Navarre has captured the action of a ballgame from the Aztec era, when ballcourts included rings through which players tried to bounce the rubber ball. The builder uses forced perspective to achieve a backdrop with a stepped pyramid temple — even the blazing blue sky is built with bricks.

The microscale pyramid includes decorative elements made from cut stickers — only official LEGO stickers, of course! The cheese slopes work wonderfully for the pyramid’s steps.

LEGO Star Wars 75218 X-wing Starfighter – the return of the classic Incom T-65 [Review]

Despite — or perhaps because of — the release of two different T-70 X-wings produced in support of The Force Awakens in late 2015 and mid-2016, it’s been over six years since LEGO has released a version of the iconic T-65 starfighter featured in the Classic Trilogy. With the release of 75218 X-wing Starfighter on August 1st, the most recognizable Rebel fighter in the Star Wars universe becomes available to a new generation of LEGO builders. The latest X-wing includes 731 pieces and four minifigs and will retail for $79.99 in the US (CDN 99.99 | GBP 89.99).

How does this latest LEGO X-wing stack up against the previous X-wings released over the years?

Read our hands-on review of 75218 X-wing Starfighter

A new beauty born from a new beauty born from decay

Château Nottebohm is an abandoned mansion in Belgium, and while it may not be the only one of its kind, there has to be something special about it to inspire Marion to build it in LEGO not once, but twice! Abandoned buildings are an acquired taste, but even if we would not all agree they are beautiful, decades of disuse have granted the mansion an aura of mystery and the impression of nature reclaiming what man has taken.

This amazing creation really rewards a closer look, so click here to see more!