Until the final season of Game of Thrones is over, every dragon is going to remind of Drogon, Rhaegal or Viserion, but this one hits the mark more than most. Creations which give a sense of life in motion are always exceptional, and this one is simply on fire! Inspired by a dragon that was seen in a piece of artwork, mrxsto99‘s model captures a heroic knight on a steed battling against the odds with a larger-than-life dragon.
Click here to see more of the fiery dragon
Before there was Bionicle, there were the Throwbots, or Slizers, as they were marketed in some parts of the world. While not as popular as their successors from Metru Nui, the theme introduced many elements that would later find use in Bionicle. Many people still remember them fondly, and now a few of those nostalgic fans have teamed up to give them a modern facelift.
We highlighted Turbo a few days ago, but now eight of the original sets have been taken on by as many builders (with four more slated to come soon), and each of them brings their own style to the table, as well as their ideas for what the original could have been. Some stray wildly from the source material, and others are more faithful.
Microscale castles are ever-present and always pleasant to look at, but often the width of LEGO bricks works best for minifig-scaled castle walls, making ones built at smaller scales too blocky. Aaron Newman has gone around this problem by using panels and the bottom sides of bricks as walls proportionate to the scale.
The build has a good sense of clutter naturally present in medieval castles, but my favourite part is the fortifications on the towers; the creation is made for a competition that stipulates using silver goblet pieces in unique ways, but all I can see is the brilliant use of upturned 2×2 round bricks!
Google Chrome users who have experienced connectivity issues may recognize this LEGO dinosaur built by joffre0714, which is based on a built-in Easter egg game playable when the browser is offline. I appreciate the effort put forth by the builder to average out the pixel sizes between two and three plates high, maintaining the overall square proportions with rectangular bricks.
Ever since LEGO introduced the minifigure, the tiny plastic characters have enthralled children and adults around the world. With hundreds of new figures each year, they’ve consistently proven to be one of LEGO’s most popular attractions, featuring prominently in most of LEGO’s products, and of course, they’ve spawned a whole theme just for themselves. Eight years from their inception, we’re now up to Minifigures Series 18 (71021), though of course there have been more than 18 series, with some special themes like The Simpsons or Team GB falling outside the numbering system. This wave of Collectible Minfigures (CMFs) features 17 unique characters and will retail for $3.99 USD. They should be available around April 1, though if previous series are any indication they may begin showing up in stores sooner. Let’s dive in and see what Series 18 is all about. (Hint: it’s a party!)
The microscale style has reached one of my personal favourite LEGO Ideas sets, 21307 Caterham Seven 620R. Builder Victor has managed to cram the important features of that build into a handful of pieces, complete with a simple base that uses one of the printed pieces from the official set. The rear section is where most of the interesting stuff is happening: the use of two fender pieces to make the back fenders is smart, but the minifig headphones as the roll cage is even smarter, while the batarang as the windscreen detail makes me want to invert these colours to make a proper open top batmobile.
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 third week of March 2018.
TBB NEWS, REVIEWS & INSTRUCTIONS: There were reviews and news a plenty this week, so sit back and relax with our weekly news recap.
TBB LEGO SET NEWS: Classics are making a comeback, with sets reveals from the original Jurassic Park. The Incredibles, Star Wars, Tron and the Wizarding World.
OTHER NEWS: There were a few other LEGO news articles from varying places around the web this week. Here are the best of the rest:
Click to read more news about LEGO
Did you know that most frogs do have teeth? They are very tiny and not actually used for chewing. But this frog is on a whole different level. I’m pretty sure you don’t want to make him angry! Nobu_tary, a LEGO builder we’ve featured many times, is the witty creator behind this creature. Usually he makes LEGO food like a banana as well as posable figures, but this is a refreshing new addition to his collection!
The body-shaping here is really terrific, and the use of that head piece brings it to life. You might recognize the part from the retired LEGO Chima Speedorz set, 70103 Boulder Bowling. It’s one of those pieces that are difficult to find another use for, but he’s done it perfectly here! This is one frog I wouldn’t mind dissecting… and putting back together of course!
Before LEGO produced plastic bricks, the company had its humble roots in making wooden toys. The wooden duck was first produced in 1935 and is an icon of the early years of LEGO. Jason Allemann has recreated a 1:1 scale of the model, complete with moving mouth when the duck is pulled. Check out more info on the builder’s blog and get access to free instructions to build your own.
Watch the plastic wooden LEGO duck in action in a video
If you were a medieval peasant, would you prefer a cozy hut in the village, or a windmill in the countryside? Though it may be a bit drafty, I think I’d pick the windmill. At least, I’d pick this one, built by Sandro Damiano! With its quaint cabin and cobblestone path, it’s a peasant’s castle!
Sandro does a great job of capturing all the little dimensions and levels. It keeps your eyes wandering around the scene. This garden is full of tasty veggies to take to the market!
Maggie’s loose again in this quirky creation by Andreas Weißenburg. Maggie is posable and completely radio-controlled, cleverly constructed using an SBrick and Power Functions Motors. It features four-wheel steering and tilting trucks, but don’t take our word for it—we’ve got video of Maggie action.
We’re trying something a little different at the Brothers Brick to introduce some of the amazing videos our builders are coming up with of their LEGO art, so we had Andreas send us some video and we added a bit of commentary. So check out this video of Maggie cruising around, and also let us know what you think of this style.
Details are one thing, but Jeremy Williams takes it to astronomical levels with the Krait Single-Seat Escort. There are so many intense details all around that it’s hard for me to even recognize the pieces or techniques used. It is not just about the intensity, colours help too. We’re so used to seeing gray textures on mecha and spaceships that even black, let alone blue versions of it come out as a total surprise.
I shouldn’t just emphasize the textures and details though, even if they are the build’s highlight. The colour blocking is excellent and the shape of the spacecraft is believably blocky with no redundancy. A genius addition is the microscale space station in the background, which is a solid build in its own right. The post-production on the picture is very attractive too, making it look almost like box art for an official LEGO set.