Building a good LEGO frog can be a challenge, with so many organic shapes, but Maxx Davidson shows how effective some parts can be. Take the surfboard used for both the front and back legs, with the back legs upside-down. The eyes built on a 45-degree angle give this handsome frog a great personality. But as much as I love the frog, the big mushroom competes for my attention.
If there’s one thing you should know about me in this wonderful LEGO hobby, it’s that I love a good brick-built anthropomorph! So this trio of summertime fruits getting their chill on by Palixa And The Bricks really speaks to my core. First up is an adorable watermelon slice relaxing in a lawn chair. There’s nothing like a refreshing beverage to cut through that summer heat, and there’s no doubt this little dude needs to hydrate. While simple, the Converse-style shoes here are everything! But if you desire something more technical, the design of that LEGO folding chair is absolutely wicked.
We’re just getting warmed up. Check out the other two summer fruits below!
There’s a truism among artists that horses are impossible to draw. In life and imagination, they’re majestic beasts, but as soon as you try to recreate that unique form, the proportions are all off. Capturing a horse’s distinctive majesty is doubly difficult in LEGO, but brick artist Vincent Kiew stepped up to the challenge with a splendid steed drinking from a stream. Vincent nails the horse’s muscular build with excellent shaping from head to hocks. Samurai helmets make for a very clever solution for the horse’s hooves. A detailed patch of meadow rounds out the scene with lovely flowers, brush, and ladybugs adding to the pastoral beauty.
Would you be brave enough to step into the unknown? This scene by Bousker was inspired by the BBC adaptation of The Silver Chair, the fourth book of C.S. Lweis’ Chronicles of Narnia. For such a small scene, it successfully captures the ominous and majestic mood. Between the scale of the wall relative to the tiny figure at the center to the river flowing from the crack in the wall to the stark black border of the scene, it feels a bit like an open book about to slam shut. One of my favorite details is the use of several curved shield elements as flat rocks to shape the flowing river.
When someone has a knack for gardening, you might say they’ve got a green thumb. How should we describe someone with a knack for LEGO building? Plastic pinkies? Hmm, doesn’t have the same ring to it. Either way, Julius von Brunk has definitely got both in this wild sculpture! The hand is apparently modelled on his own left hand, so there’s an element of still life here. But the composition of the piece is just as good. That red brick in the middle really pops against all the complementary green. I find myself searching for some sort of meaning behind it… What do you reckon that could be, readers?
Before Tieflings or Githyanki, before Strahd took his first bite or Tasha so much as hideously chuckled, there was the Advanced D&D Player’s Handbook adorned with a red demon idol with jewel eyes who sparked the imaginations of a million young adventurers. Derek Bourgeois pays tribute to the OG D&D icon with a LEGO model of D.A. Trampier‘s classic illustration. Derek deftly captures the mix of menace and grandeur in the demonic statue, putting macaroni tubes to good use as fingers that clutch the flaming brazier. Third-party lighting elements make the flames dance for extra dungeon ambiance. Those jeweled eyes look quite tempting for treasure hunters. Perhaps a party of heroes from the new Dungeons & Dragons Collectible Minifigures will attempt to pry them free.
For a starfighter that appears for about 0.3 seconds in the background of Return of the Jedi, the B-wing gets a surprising amount of love (especially from our Managing Editor, Kyle). Maybe it’s the way it swivels, keeping the cockpit upright. Or maybe it’s just the enduring mystery of how exactly this thing is supposed to look like a “B” (what, was “T-wing” somehow taken?). Regardless, this LEGO version by Simulterious looks great. The model captures the asymmetrical coolness of the storied starfighter, along with a level of detail worthy of a film prop (look at the greebling along the cockpit!).
Here’s a view from the back, to give you a better view of the Quadrex Kyromaster ion engines and the hull plating along the ventral wing. Take special note of the sloping where the wing meets the fuselage, which gets just at the right angle. It’s been a while since LEGO has released an official B-wing model, but I’d love to see them try to match this level of detail.
LEGO is kicking off the first week of September with some exciting treats for fans of their licensed content. Get ready for a September filled with LEGO fun, featuring LEGO Ideas 21351 Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas, 77092 Great Deku Tree 2-in-1 Set, and 76437 The Burrow – Collector’s Edition. An anticipated line of minifigures from the Dungeons & Dragons theme will also be released this month, making a great addition to the LEGO Ideas 21348 Dungeons & Dragons: Red Dragon’s Tale, released earlier this year. Plus, we get the annual advent calendars hitting the LEGO shop for those shoppers eager to get a head start on the holiday season. Head to LEGO’s website for full details on these sets (US | CAN | UK).
Have a closer look at the September wave of sets here
Is it a coincidence that Steven Wayne Howard shared this spectacular LEGO troll bust on the same day that World of Warcraft unleashed The War Within? Even though Steven isn’t a WoW player, his Day-Glo-colored troll, Ves’Panak, has so much personality that it has me itching to roll a new Zandalari Troll of my own. Steven was inspired to create this troll in light royal blue after acquiring a copy of LEGO Creator Expert 10298 Vespa 125, and only parts from that set are used for the blue skin. NPU (Nice Parts Usage) abounds throughout the build, from the dragon wing mohawk, dino tail tusks, frog teeth, and Banshee wing torso. My favorite element has to be the dark grey skulls, accented with orange eyes, teeth, and tusks. 
This isn’t Steven’s first Horde-inspired fantasy bust, and hopefully, it won’t be his last. Perhaps a Tauren next?
In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders worldwide, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the 4th week of August 2024.
TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS We covered the long-anticipated Zelda set, which is really two sets in one with alternate versions of the iconic Deku tree from the Zelda franchise. Harry Potter fans have a new collectors series set to look forward to — the Burrow comes with a whopping 10 minifigures, featuring the entire Weasley clan for the first time in a single set! For even more news and reviews you may have missed be sure to check out our last Brick Report.
It’s not even Halloween, but some folk are already pining for a winter wonderland. Christmas comes early in LEGO courtesy of Eann McCurdy (Miscellanabuilds) whose delightful midnight train scene is both cozy and clever in design. As his eighth and final entry in the latest Iron Builder competition against Geneva D, Eann incorporates the required red cauldron in the engine’s boiler. The pileup of snow in front of the train is a perfect mix of parts, including ice cream, hoods, and a frog. I especially love the forced perspective created by snow-capped trees at two scales. A tiny red byplane appears in the background, referencing Geneva’s prior Red Baron entry.
As if the brilliant train weren’t a grand enough finale, Eann prints the scene as a postcard for a bonus build that amps up the holiday spirit. Candles, Chrismas lights, and candies show off an abundance of red cauldrons. Dr. Strange capes make a sweet appearance as candy wrappers. Decorated gingerbread is the icing on the cake cookies.
Any fan of pirate history knows the legend of the Jade Eye’s Return, and how young Duke Wavewalker and his ragtag crew fell into the hands of the nefarious Captain Hutt while fleeing the Imperial armada. Joe (jnj_bricks) pays tribute in LEGO to the memorable scene on the shoals of Cancun where Duke and crew were taken by skiff to the all-meaty shark pit. Joe’s clever mash-up was made for a challenge to blend Star Wars with history, so taking the plank-walking Sarclaac scene back to the golden age of pirates is a perfect fit. The skiff’s brick-built hull is a lovely design and Joe’s technique for partially submerged sharks is brilliant, nesting the upper jaw over a grey dome and using triangular tiles for the dorsal fins. What sells the scene is the excellent remix of minifigs. Of course, pirate Chewie would use Hagrid’s beard.
