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.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for February 24, 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 February 2018.

TBB NEWS & INSTRUCTIONS: After last week’s thirty news articles during New York Toy Fair, this week was pretty calm and all about cars.

Review of LEGO Speed Champions 75884 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback – This dark green car includes 183 pieces and will retail for $15.99.
Review of LEGO Speed Champions 75886 Ferrari 488 GT3 “Scuderia Corsa” – LEGO’s love affair with Ferrari continues with this red racecar, also $15.99, built from 179 pieces and lots of stickers.
LEGO Speed Champions 2018: More images to whet your appetite – More images of upcoming cars with detailed product info have been revealed ahead of their release in March.
Instructions to build your own vintage Bugatti – You can now build your very own vintage racecar thanks to instructions from Norton74.
Instructions to build your own LEGO Mario – It’s me, LEGO Mario! Create your own brick-built plumber with these free instructions from hachiroku24.
When Life Imitates LEGO – The Octan Gas Company – Did you know there are real-life Octan gasoline stations in Russia? We investigate this intriguing development.

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:

LEGO Group earns no. 6 spot on list of Top 10 Most Innovative Companies in Consumer Electronics, Fast Company – The iconic toy brand made the list for boosting children’s coding skills and bridging the divide between physical and digital play.
LEGO builds foundations in China classrooms as old markets slow, Japan News –LEGO is hoping to build a following with Chinese parents by working with state schools to get kids playing with LEGO as a way to boost motor skills, creativity and attention spans.

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Get a taste of Italy with the new LEGO Speed Champions 75886 Ferrari 488 GT3 “Scuderia Corsa” [Review]

With a dash of American muscle out of our system with the 75884 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback, we continue our look at the upcoming 2018 LEGO Speed Champions sets today with 75886 Ferrari 488 GT3 “Scuderia Corsa”. LEGO sent us an early copy of the set, which includes 179 pieces and will retail for $15.99 beginning on March 1st.

The Ferrari 488 GT3 is the latest endurance racecar variant of the 488 series, which builds on the legacy of the 458 produced between 2009 and 2015. The 488 is currently in production, and the GT3 has raced at Daytona and Le Mans. 75886 Ferrari 488 GT3 features the same model of current Ferrari racecar as 75889 Speed Champions Ferrari Ultimate Garage, allowing builders and collectors to pick up this contemporary racecar in two liveries at two different price points.

Read our complete, hands-on review of LEGO Speed Champions 75886 Ferrari 488 GT3 Scuderia Corsa

When Life Imitates LEGO – The Octan Gas Company [Feature]

Every city needs fuel to run, and prior to 1992, real-life oil companies like Shell, Esso, and Exxon provided the energy to keep brick-built LEGO cities running. Then, a new competitor entered the market — a Danish oil company that went by the name Octan. Soon, all the other players couldn’t keep up with Octan and that led to the dominance of a single supplier monopolizing the brick fuel market. Octan were not satisfied with just the ABS market, and it seems like the fictional gas company grew into a real-life company supplying gasoline to real-world vehicles… (HOLD ON RIGHT THERE!) Yes, you read that right… How did a fictional company become real?

Well, we’re not going to give you false hopes that we know exactly how a fictional oil brand came to exist in real life, but we just wanted to share a mysterious incident that popped up on the web. A screen capture appearing to show an Octan-branded gas station in the real world went viral within the LEGO fan community recently, and we decided to find out what we could. We may not have all the answers, at least for now, but we do hope that someone will step forward to give us some background and context.

Click here to read more about our investigation into the real life Octan oil company

Build your own LEGO Mario [Instructions]

If you have been dreaming about having your own poseable LEGO Mario figure, then dream no more! hachiroku24 has created a LEGO version of the world’s most famous plumber and had kindly provided instructions to allow others to build their own Mario. He can be posed in a variety of ways thanks to the use of Mixel joints.

Click here to see the parts and instruction video

Fabulous superspeeder hops into spring

While it is generally accepted that cheetahs are the fasted land animal, you may not know that the fastest ‘air’ animal is Bonnie Bunny in her superspeeder. Yes Bonnie Bunny may have enjoyed camping in her caravan and playing in the playground in official LEGO sets, but her true adrenaline-junkie nature has been exposed by Pico van Grootveld. The adorable speeder is fits Bonnie Bunny perfectly with some cheery spring yellow parts and nice sticker application.

The Fabuland creatures always scream cuteness but there’s nothing better than crossing Fabuland and some of the other LEGO themes. If you liked this Fauland/Star Wars hybrid then you will also enjoy a Fabuland-themed Millenium Falcon or this fabby Tie Fighter.

A different kind of office

This scene might have a table and chair, paper and writing utensils, but it’s still different from the stereotypical view of a modern office. This architect’s office by Anthony SÉJOURNÉ is equipped with everything a master draftsman needs, and more — it really is what every architect needs for their planning and design.

The table is simple, but really well built, with gray pieces added to dark tan with structural as well as aesthetic benefits. I love the carefully cluttered snack cupboard and the chair, which has more details than it reveals at first sight. Overall, the creation benefits greatly from the slightly larger than minifig scale, at which brick thicknesses and all minifig utensils become less disproportionate than they are in a regular minifigure’s hands.

There cannot be two birds — on a one bird cable

Inspired by the Pixar short For the Birds, Gregory Coquelz has built this faithful recreation of the film’s unfriendly birds. The build captures the expression and character perfectly, thanks to minifig helmets used as eyelids and curved slopes as beaks. The addition of the electrical line and the slight gradient in the background make it almost like watching the cartoon.

A Stormtrooper’s standard-issue blaster replicated in LEGO

Daryl Ng complements his LEGO Han Solo’s blaster with the classic E-11 blaster rifle seen in the original Star Wars trilogy. His LEGO rendition is true to the props seen on-screen, capturing the Sterling SMG underneath and various sci-fi details. Like his previous blaster build, the E-11 is presented with a display stand featuring a UCS-style specification card.

Continue reading →

Stand a chance against the Xenomorph with a LEGO Motion Tracker

Sometimes I wonder how characters in horror films manage to make the worst decisions. Then I played as far as I could get in the terrifying first-person perspective game Alien: Isolation, and it all makes sense. In the heat of the moment, good decisions are hard to come by, and you don’t always have as much information as you need. For example, the motion tracker, like most of the equipment found in the game, is true to the aesthetic of the Alien film franchise and while incredibly useful, has definite limitations. Nevertheless, it’s a great device, and I decided to replicate this tool with LEGO.

The screen and every light on the in-game model lights up on my LEGO replica. I also had the chance to use a technique I wanted to use in a prop replica for a while now; the coiled wire on the right side of the device was made with a flexible hose and numerous Technic worm gears.

Hands on with the LEGO Speed Champions 75884 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback [Review]

Although LEGO didn’t showcase the new wave of 2018 LEGO Speed Champions last weekend at Toy Fair New York, the full assortment was waiting for us in Seattle upon our return, and we’ll be bringing you reviews of each set over this coming week, ahead of their release on March 1st. We’re kicking things off today with 75884 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback, which includes 183 pieces and will retail for $15.99 (USD) / £12.99 / 14.99€.

The Ford Mustang was first introduced in 1964, and quickly became a favorite among car enthusiasts for its excellent balance of speed, power, styling, and affordability. The “fastback” version is curved from the roof to the tail, and was particularly popular as the stock basis for racecars. This LEGO set depicts the classic 1968 Ford Mustang with curved fastback styling, kitted out in British racing green (complete with a white stripe along the side).

Read our complete, hands-on review of LEGO Speed Champions 75884 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback

Sail away on the Vagabond

Ships are not a rarity in LEGO fan creations, although we do not see yachts quite as often as cargo or fishing ships. This build, called Lake Union Dreamboat “Vagabond” by Markus Ronge is a fine addition to the LEGO yacht collection. I love the shaping on the upper half of the hull, as well as the elegant colour choices and how they are managed. The details on the outside are great, but what really sells the model for me is the effort put in the interiors, most notably the curtains behind the windows.

The builder also provides a view of the Vagabond in an alternate setting, with a family watching whales.

Mesopotamian manor

Where do the nobles of Mesopotamia gather to discuss politics or who owns the most camels? Sam Malmberg will show you the way to his desert retreat where drinks are served and the dancers are divine.

This build features prominent Arabian-themed architectural elements, and the use of colored paneling adds character to the predominantly gray structure. The slanted stone railing and the angled brown awnings are great techniques that have broad architectural applications.