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 bridge beneath the tracks

There is so much about this little scene that stands out as awesome. Regularly featured here on TBB, excellent master builder Tim Schwalfenberg does it again with his River Crossing. He says, “You can’t really have a train without some sort of track to display it on,” so he built one. The textures and colours of the rocks and foliage are impeccable. The intricate detail that has gone into the iron framework of the span across the turbulent rapids is amazing, and the brilliant red engine leaps out from the subtle textures of the natural colours and contours on the cliff face.

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for May 20, 2018 [News]

This was the biggest week of LEGO news of the past several months, with hands-on coverage from LEGO’s Fall Preview event in New York City as well as numerous product announcements — with more yet to come! This is our weekly Brick Report for the third week of May 2018.

TBB FEATURES & REVIEWS: In case you missed it among all the news coverage this week, we have a hands-on review of the latest LEGO Ninjago Movie set.

Review of 70657 Ninjago City Docks – A new dock scene joins one of our favorite LEGO sets of 2017. Read our review to see how it stacks up against 70620 Ninjago City.
Bre’s Classic Space pinball machine – If you’re into LEGO (and you probably are if you’re reading this), by now one of your friends or relatives has probably shared a link to one of the many articles about this working LEGO pinball machine on your Facebook timeline. In case you missed it here on TBB last week, here’s our original coverage of TBB contributor Bre Burns’ amazing Technic creation.
75192 UCS Millennium Falcon back in stock – The largest LEGO set of all time is back in stock, and you can help support TBB’s coverage of events in places like New York and Billund by clicking through from TBB when purchasing your LEGO!

TBB COVERAGE FROM LEGO’S FALL PREVIEW EVENT IN NYC: LEGO’s selection of sets unveiled at Toy Fair 2018 back in February was more limited than in years past, but LEGO invited TBB to a special Fall Preview event. Don’t miss all the new products we were able to play with!

LEGO Harry Potter sets hands-on coverage from the Fall 2018 Preview event – We saw the prototype Hogwarts at Toy Fair, but here’s our first detailed look at the complete line of sets from both Harry Potter and Magical Beasts.
LEGO Star Wars sets hands-on coverage from the Fall 2018 Preview event – We take a close look at the complete line of LEGO Star Wars sets for summer and fall, including a new, classic X-wing with both Luke and Biggs.
LEGO Batman Fall 2018 sets + hands-on demo of App-Controlled Batmobile – Only three new LEGO Batman sets were revealed this week, but one of them is a Batmobile with mobile app integration that has some serious potential for building remote-controlled vehicles.
LEGO Marvel Superheroes Ant-Man hands-on coverage from the Fall 2018 Preview event – With Black Panther and Avengers: Infinity War behind us, the next wave of LEGO Superheroes Marvel sets consists of just one set supporting the forthcoming Ant-Man sequel.
LEGO City People Pack hands-on coverage from the Fall 2018 Preview event – Collectible Minifigures are not the only way to get great new minifigures and accessories. We took a close look at the next People Pack, which includes a gorgeous bald eagle.
LEGO City Arctic Expedition hands-on coverage from the Fall 2018 Preview event – Pleistocene megafauna (large animals from the last Ice Age) join the menagerie of LEGO animals with the next wave of LEGO City sets, and our Editor-in-Chief Andrew couldn’t be more excited.
LEGO Creator sets hands-on coverage from the Fall 2018 Preview event – Although the assortment of LEGO Creator sets unveiled in New York was limited, the main attraction was 10261 Creator Roller Coaster. Watch the demo video below!
LEGO Technic sets hands-on coverage from the Fall 2018 Preview event – The next wave of LEGO Technic sets includes the futuristic 42081 Volvo Concept Wheel Loader ZEUX.
LEGO Unikitty sets and Unikitty Collectibles Series 1 hands-on coverage from the Fall 2018 Preview event – The forthcoming Unikitty! TV show (yes, the title itself includes an exclamation point) is yielding a full wave of LEGO sets, including a blind bag assortment similar to Collectible Minifigures.
LEGO Powerpuff Girls sets hands-on coverage from the Fall 2018 Preview event – With the LEGO Dimensions video game canceled, LEGO puts its inventory of Powerpuff Girls figures to good use with a range of sets.
LEGO City Trains hands-on coverage from the Fall 2018 Preview event – The next wave of LEGO City Trains includes two new trains, a cargo train and a passenger train.

See all of the LEGO news from TBB and beyond

Aedes from Hades

Interestingly enough, Benjamin Cheh Ming Hann starts the description of this creation of a mosquito with a questionable choice of words, “Hate them or love them”. I am either oblivious to a huge mosquito fandom or perhaps I’m right that nobody can love an annoyingly high-pitched flying sound and the endless itching of their bites, not to mention the far more serious world health issues. I understand if many of you are turned away from this creation due to very well justified hatred towards mosquitoes, but you can just imagine it as a male mosquito, which does not suck blood, as the builder very informatively points out in the picture’s description.

All anatomical characteristics of Aedes aegypti are captured perfectly, of which the most difficult looks the subtle curve of the abdomen. Most notably though, the model can stand on its legs as a true insect would, which is hard to do at this scale and with legs as thin as these while still keeping them poseable.

Click to see the mosquito up close, with zero itch risk!

A streetcar named Peter Witt

Some people call them streetcars. Some people call them trams, and other people call them trolleys. Whatever you know them as, Nouvilas’ version of a Peter Witt is so nice it’s “off the tracks.” A Peter Witt is a type of tram car, named after the man who designed the first one back in 1914. Nouvilas built his streetcar for a collaborative diorama representing Harlem, New York, in the 1930s. I really like the way the cheese slopes flare out to create the curve of the “bumper,” and the chocolate brown and tan color scheme feels authentic for the period….almost makes me hungry for a Nestle bar!

Click to see the full Harlem layout

Upgrade your Tron lightcycles to add cool movement [Video]

Builder Jason Allemann, (aka JK Brickworks) has made a name for himself building kinetic LEGO sculptures, from Sisyphus eternally pushing a boulder to a ball maze that was turned into a real LEGO set, or even a tense Death Star trench run. But now he’s turned his hand to the new 21314 Tron: Legacy set to give it a bit of dynamism, making the lightcycles bob and weave as they cut their way across the grid.

What we love about Jason, though, is that he’s never content to simply show off something cool and leave us wondering how he did it. Instead, with every build he walks us through the steps of how his mechanisms work. Check out the video below.

Click to see the video and discover how they’re built

Calling all cars! Calling all cars!

Pixeljunkie is wanted dead or alive by the LEGO police. His crime? Impersonating a 1955 Buick police car with amazing detail! He modeled his car after one that appeared in the 1950s American action crime drama TV series Highway Patrol. A number of American cars of the 1950s were famous for their decadent levels of chrome trim, and Pixeljunkie’s Buick does not disappoint. For example, use of the Bellville bucket handle to form the shape of the grille is incredibly effective and brilliant!

Have you seen the LEGO linebacker Beebee ate?

The new trilogy’s adorable astromech has appeared in a number of official versions from LEGO, including as a minifig, as a UCS Model, and even as a polybag! However, Brick Spirou has reimagined him again as a kind of Claptrap (from Borderlands). I love the LEGO Technic shoulder pads, the unique poseable fingers, all assembled with a simple yet perfect colour scheme. Could you imagine games of the future featuring huddles of muscled, mono-wheeled, mini-bots charging around a pitch wildly chasing a leather ball? Such a wonderful idea exceptionally executed.

Perhaps this BB-8’s full designation ought to be Borderlands Buddy – 8.

The very beginning of eggsistence

Many people see LEGO building as art, me very much included, but there are examples of creations which take this a step further and fully embrace their artistic potential. Often depending on composition and built for one perfect picture, builds like this symbolic image of the beginning of a new life inspire many builders to keep improving and create stunning art from what is, in essence, a toy. Sad Brick has generated a great deal of interest with his latest creation and it would not be surprising seeing it serve as inspiration for the next generation of LEGO fans.

The build itself is very simple, as there are no more than three bricks connected into any of the elements here, but simplicity is sometimes exactly what we need to portray a message. Of course, this is not a simple image of a microscopic view of conception, because all the cells are replaced with different shapes of eggs. This adds a layer of ambiguity to the picture, and since the builder does not provide a description, only you can decide what the symbolism means!

The LEGO Group celebrates the Royal Wedding with adorable BrickHeadz copies of the Royal family [News]

Today is a huge day for the British Royal family and the whole country of Great Britain as Prince Harry and Meghan Markle exchanged vows and rings before the Queen and 600 guests at St George’s Chapel. The LEGO Group joins the army of well-wishers congratulating the Duke and Duchess of Sussex with a short and utterly funny video featuring both Prince Harry and Prince William and their families. Just look at Kate Middleton holding baby Prince Louis; what a lovely picture!

See the cute animation below.

And they lived happily ever after… pic.twitter.com/LMBqJp8W99

— LEGO (@LEGO_Group) May 19, 2018

An abandoned hangar leads to a remake of a classic LEGO train set

Alexis Dos Santos has been chugging along with some new train models, and this rustic scene consists of two separate structures. Alexis’ “Abandoned Hangar” on the left serves as a tribute to the history of trains, while the building on the right celebrates the history of LEGO trains. I really enjoy the way these two buildings play off of one another, with the darkness of the hangar giving way to the bright and colorful rail yard.

Continue reading about this model

Living in a desert is no excuse to give up style

While Sarah Beyer‘s Olive Sand House is not what one might imagine when they hear “living in a desert”, it does look both adventurous yet strangely comfortable. Sarah is a master of contemporary architecture in LEGO and has created many unique LEGO houses before. This latest one is not so much unique in an architectural sense, but all the building techniques make it an easy favourite for me.

The Olive Sand House is a treat when it comes to textures. There are grilled sections on the walls and the whole roof has a very satisfying grilled texture to it too. We tend to talk about colour blocking most often in sci-fi creations, but it is very much an important feature of this (admittedly nearly futuristic) building. Another important factor is the landscaping around the house, giving it some context. There are some interestingly used parts as well, most notably BrickHeadz glasses used as fence on the balcony, the same technique that just appeared in the Creator Expert Roller Coaster.

All 3 LEGO 2018 Advent Calendars revealed: LEGO City, Star Wars, Friends [News]

Along with the rest of the fall 2018 sets we’ve been closely following in conjunction with LEGO’s special preview event yesterday, LEGO has revealed all three of this year’s holiday season Advent calendars. As with most recent years, they follow the themes of City, Friends, and Star Wars, with the same prices as previous years: $29.99 USD each for City and Friends, and $39.99 for Star Wars. They will be available in September. Check them out below.

Click to see all the 2018 Advent Calendars