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.

Fear the broadside of the mighty airship Bellonatus

Flying ships are certainly not uncommon among LEGO builds, going back to the heyday of LEGO steampunk and floating rocks eight or ten years ago. Mark Erickson has incorporated large LEGO boat hull pieces into a rather amazing flagship for his fictional Vermillion Empire.

Mark’s ship uses custom-printed sails cut to standard LEGO size, but the most impressive part of the ship is all the gold detail, both surrounding the cannon ports and at the prow of the ship, where a mighty ram is ready to impale enemy ships.

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Getting to the heart of the matter

In this enigmatic piece, builder why.not? creates a heart from the negative space formed in a wall of black bricks. Acting like a window it draws our attention towards the red and white quadrants behind. Two opposing figures face off across the coloured fields, separated by rugged chains. As a builder myself, I find the use of the imperfect connections between elements to create glowing cracks particularly effective. As we’ve seen before, why.not? is careful not to give too much away, leaving the work untitled, but this shouldn’t stop us pondering the turmoil of the heart it passionately expresses.

Battle for the sky between Fujin and Raijin!

The Japanese Shinto-Buddhist gods of wind and storms have an eternal rivalry for control of the skies. Fūjin is the god of wind, and carries an enormous bag of air to blow, while Raijin beats drums to make thunder and lightning. LEGO 7 has captured the look of these well-known deities perfectly in LEGO, complete with bolts of lightning emanating from the cloud that Raijin is floating on. Although Fūjin is typically depicted with red hair, the white hair that both characters share ties them together wonderfully, while both gods sport distinct armor around their waists in silver and gold. This pair of fearsome spirits would fit in perfectly guarding the Kaminarimon “Thunder Gate” at Senso-ji in Tokyo.

A super airship Odyssey

Daniel Church must love airships. The latest addition to his oeuvre, The Odyssey from Super Mario Odyssey, is the result of a well-documented 3-month building and planning process. It is also a result of Daniel’s exploration of the form over the past nine years—not least of which is the Fortnite Battle Bus we recently highlighted.

There are many subtle details to admire in this build: the slight flare of the upper panels, the use of nearly 50 LEGO rubber bands for ribbing, the Zamor sphere used as a globe, and so many elegant curves.

A sheriff from another world, and I don’t mean the American old west

There’s something indefinable about this alien sheriff by Patrick Biggs that I can’t help but love. He wears the classic old-west sheriff attire–a long black coat with a dark gray waistcoat beneath–but it’s the small details that really bring this character to life, such as the spurs on the sheriff’s boots, his thumb poised on the hammer of his six-shooter, and the excellent sideburns constructed with light gray feathered wings, just to name a few.

However, I think my favorite part about the build may be the simple use of a Friends star piece as the sheriff’s badge; in other words, using a star as… well… a star, showing that sometimes the perfect part is indeed out there, you just need to find it.

Butterfly mimicry: the marriage of LEGO art and scientific ideas

Brothers Brick regular Alanboar explores the link between LEGO art and science in his latest Butterfly Mimicry creation; his exquisite case of mounted butterfly specimens being made in honour of pioneering naturalist Henry Walter Bates. The concept of Batesian mimicry argues that harmless species, such as these butterflies, evolve the markings of poisonous animals avoided by predators.

Tracing the subtle differences in pattern across these beautiful LEGO butterflies, each created from a limited set of elements, reminds me of our understanding of the malleability of genetic code and the way Bates’ work foreshadowed these discoveries.

LEGO 21311 Voltron now available [News]

The largest LEGO Ideas set to date, 21311 Voltron is now available. Long anticipated by fans nostalgic for the iconic giant robot from the 1980s TV series of the same name, Voltron stands over 15 inches tall and includes 2,321 pieces, and costs $179.99 USD. But most impressively, it’s actually assembled from the five lions, and transforms with remarkable ease. Voltron will be widely available beginning Aug. 1, but if you’re a VIP member you can go ahead and purchase the set now from the LEGO Shop Online. VIP membership is free.

Buy LEGO 21311 Voltron from the LEGO Shop Online [USA | UK | CAN]

If you’re still on the fence about Voltron, or just want to know before spending your hard-earned cash on a giant transforming robot, check out our review. We go in-depth in our text review of Voltron, and give a thorough breakdown of the transformation process in our video review below.

That’s no moon – it’s a rebel space station

Don’t be misled by first impressions. This Rebel Alliance Space Station by Corry Lankford is an absolutely enormous LEGO creation — nearly two metres tall!

Corry has grabbed the “grubby realism” aesthetic of the Star Wars universe with both hands and stuffed his space station full of greebles and details, creating a genuine sense of a lived-in future. This shot of one of the decks showcases some of the texturing that’s gone into the model, whilst offering a glimpse of the detailed interior compartments…

Click to see more of this amazing Star Wars creation, including the accompanying spacecraft

When Buddha inspires your LEGO builds...

Why not make a Buddha out of LEGO? Actually, while we’re at it, why not make a posable Buddha mech? That’s what inspired Moko to build this odd-but-beautiful creation, and the posable figure is actually quite intriguing. The body shape is nice, and the face, as well as the hair made with exposed studs on the head, are expertly crafted.

Moko is also quite good at taking photos that really bring his characters to life. If you can read Japanese (or roughly approximate it with an in-browser translator), you can learn more about Moko and his build on his blog. Actually, even if you can’t, his plethora of pictures are quite interesting! Yes, a minifigure can indeed fit in the compartment behind that muscular chest, so we guess that makes this technically a mech.

A beautifully run-down cottage in the woods

A cottage in the woods is a very pastoral setting, but this cottage by Pavel Angelov Marinov looks a bit sad and neglected. Could be the perfect hiding spot for an evil sorcerer, or a fugitive framed for the murder of his wife by a mysterious one-armed man, or even a beautiful princess troubled by a curse. Between the overgrown landscape, the dilapidated stone walls, and the roof with a tree growing out of it, this cottage could use some love. Maybe some industrious little dwarves with funny names would be up to the task.

One of my favorite features of this model is the roof. Using ball joints first introduce by LEGO in 2014 in the Mixels theme provides the perfect organic curve to build the crooked thatched look. Also, Pavel’s choice of olive green stems mixed in with the traditional green ones provides a nice contrast with the green flowers.

A skyline that fits seemlessly with your collection

There are lots of people making their own versions of the LEGO Architecture city skylines. This is especially the case with a new contest on LEGO Rebrick. One hopeful builder, Felix (saabfan2013), could certainly be a top contender with his recreation of San Francisco.

In addition to the iconic Golden Gate Bridge, Felix included several other important landmarks. They are the Palace of Fine Arts, Salesforce Tower, Coit Tower, and Transamerica Pyramid. He also built an adorable row of houses with a tiny trolley car.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for July 22, 2018 [News]

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the fourth week of July 2018.

TBB NEWS, REVIEWS AND FEATURES: When it rains, it pours! This week was packed with LEGO news, featuring reviews, trips back in time, and even some decent deals.

Review of LEGO’s largest-ever Ideas set, 21311 Voltron – With 2,321 pieces, Voltron is available to LEGO VIP members beginning July 23 (global Aug. 1) for $179.99 USD.
LEGO Voltron designer video shows behind the scenes effort to make the set a reality – Designer Niek van Slagmaat and graphic designer Mark Tranter share that the leg and arm connections were the most challenging part and even kept them up at night.
Review of LEGO Architecture 21042 Statue of Liberty – Lady Liberty is arguably the most complex and satisfying builds, with 1,685 pieces and available for $119.99 USD.
Feature: LEGO CL!CK – A social media experiment that failed – We take a look at LEGO CL!CK, an obscure social media effort in our new series, LEGO Ventures that Vanished.
Some Amazon Prime Day deals still available – Amazon Prime Day has come and gone, but some discounts on LEGO still remain.
BrickCon 2018 Public Exhibition tickets on sale now – BrickCon 2018 is coming the weekend of Oct. 6 and 7 at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall, and tickets just went on sale.

TBB ASTON MARTIN NEWS AND REVIEW: The top secret reveal of the week was the brand new James Bond Aston Martin DB5, and we have all the coverage you need right here.

Review of LEGO 10262 James Bond Aston Martin DB5 – The $149.99 USD set is packed full of features, including rotating license plates and even a working ejector seat.
10262 James Bond Aston Martin DB5 revealed as next LEGO Creator Expert vehicle – The 1,290 piece-Aston Martin DB5 is available now for LEGO VIPs (worldwide August 1).
Aston Martin DB5 set designer reveals the piece that set the scale for the super spy car – LEGO senior set designer Mike Psiaki tells-all about the new James Bond car.
TBB Live from London: Exclusive interviews with LEGO designers at the Aston Martin launch event – Check out our coverage of the LEGO Aston Martin DB5 launch.

TBB SDCC NEWS AND REVEALS: San Diego Comic-Con wraps up this weekend, but we are still getting new sets revealed as well as some instructions for those fantastic exclusives. Hooray!

LEGO releases instructions for San Diego Comic-Con 2018 exclusive sets – LEGO is being a bro by releasing instructions for all three SDCC exclusives, a trend we hope continues!
LEGO 76115: Spider-Man Mech vs. Venom Mech unveiled – This set swings onto shelves December 1 with a piece count of 604, four minifigures, and priced at $49.99 USD.
LEGO 76095 Aquaman Black Manta Strike revealed – The set with three minifigures and 235 pieces dives into stores August 1 for $29.99 USD.

OTHER NEWS: There were quite a few other interesting LEGO news articles from around the web this week. Here are the best of the rest:

Check out the other LEGO news of the week