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.

Don’t lose your head over this elegant mantis

The praying mantis female will sometimes consume the head of the male while mating. What’s this self-made widow’s secret? alex_mocs knows that there’s nothing more alluring than Bionicle and Constraction elements, seamlessly integrated into organic LEGO builds. This model of the
Viridis Mantidae is the pinnacle of elegance with a touch of menace. Like a master sculptor, alex manages to coax disparate LEGO elements together in ways that suggest that this was the role they were destined to play, from the green whip antennae to the Ninjago sail wings to the Bionicle chest.

alex_mocs is one of the organizers of the Bio-Cup. The first round, with the theme “Dreams,” closes on June 9th. If you’re interested in building MOCs that play with non-system elements like alex’s model here, it’s not too late to enter. Don’t worry – they won’t bite!

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LEGO Bricklink Designer Program Series 5 – Mushroom Village: Make some ‘shroom on the shelf! [Review]

Jonas Kramm is a LEGO builder that comes up frequently in the archives of the Brothers Brick. His revered style covers the gamut of subject matter, but has been focused on a series of creations featuring the Lilliputian denizens of a mushroom kingdom. One of our first forays into this theme (called “Tiny World of Wonders” by its creator) came in Series 2 of the Bricklink Designer Program with the Mushroom House. And this month, we return once again with LEGO Bricklink Designer Program Series 5 – Mushroom Village. Complete with 2,436 parts and 7 minifigures, TBB was able to review a copy of the set before it becomes available for pre-order on June 10th at 08:00 PT. BDP Series 5 – Mushroom Village will retail for $209.99 USD. Read on for our thoughts on this second dance with the mycelium.

LEGO sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Read on for our full review of this new BDP Series 5 set!

This Week in LEGO Bricks: Absolute Icons [Feature]

Every week there are so many amazing MOCs and builder stories that we’ve come to rely on ABrickDreamer’s handy This Week in Bricks videos to keep up. After a well-deserved two-week break, our faithful video chronicler of the LEGO building world is back with a bumper crop of creations to share! This week brings a mix of iconic characters, from Mario to Black Panther, as well as iconic builders like N.A.B.E. mocs (look forward to our interview with this rising star next week!), microscale legend jeff_works, and many more!

Also, welcome to the Brothers Brick review crew. ABrickDreamer (aka Davide Sacramati) reviewed the latest Botanicals sets for us last week: Japanese Red Maple Bonsai Tree and Happy Plants.

LEGO Star Wars 75428 Battle Droid with STAP: studs not on STAP [Review]

The Single Trooper Aerial Platform, probably isn’t one of the first vehicles to come to mind when you hear “A long time ago in a galaxy far away,” but by virtue of LEGO Star Wars debuting alongside The Phantom Menace blitz, the humble STAP was one of the first of the first to get the brick treatment. That pedigree aside, I think it’s fair to say some were surprised by the vehicle’s return in 75428 Battle Droid with STAP, which offers a large-scale version of that vehicle and its pilot. But you know what? As a big fan of Episode I, I’m all here for it! This set contains 1,088 pieces, and can be pre-ordered now for US $139.99 | CAN $169.99 | UK £119.99. Shipping starts from July 1, after which point it may also be available from third-party retailers like eBay or Amazon. Is that price too steep for a STAP? Let’s find out!

The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.

Step up to our STAP review!

LEGO sets sail for the Grand Line with a treasure trove of ONE PIECE sets coming August 1, 2025

Today LEGO unveiled the Most Wanted sets in the Grand Line with a full range of sets based on the Netflix adaptation of ONE PIECE. This license is huge for LEGO as the world of One Piece, drawn from the 105 (and ongoing) volumes of manga from Eiichiro Oda, is a global phenomenon packed with hundreds of unique characters, memorable locations, and cool vehicles. Not since Marvel and Star Wars has LEGO found an IP with as much potential for both play and display sets.

While the sets are based on Netflix’s live-action version, the visuals of the show hew so close to the anime that the LEGO versions might as well be lifted from the originals. Even if you don’t know or care about the source material, the sets bring the pirate theme back to the fore with a splash of fantasy. The minifigs and mix of parts look incredible (I love that they found a way to incorporate Zoro’s Three Sword Style). This first wave of sets draw on the first Netflix season. Season 2, coming next year, brings in even wilder characters and locations to draw on for new sets. Enough gushing. The full set reveals follow. Tell us in the comments if you’ll be joining the Straw Hats crew.

Sail on for the scoop on all of the One Piece sets coming this August

Run-down never looked so good [Building techniques]

This public market style bike shop by adotnamedstud uses the metal gate element to attach shingles along different angles for a great weathered look. The addition of a small utility pole, a satellite dish, and rooftop foliage adds visual interest. I also like the compact tool drawer in front, made with modified tiles.

Everyone loves a building kit

To anyone who has built a model kit of the non-ABS type of plastic, you can probably feel the texture of the these plastic frames. I love every ounce of detail that Oshi has included, down to the last sprue. As someone who has built both plastic models and LEGO, it is a great combination of worlds. In looking at the details of the “model parts,” don’t miss a wonderful start to the actual car model. It looks like Oshi has selected “green forest” for the model’s final color. I don’t believe that is an official LEGO color, but I trust the builder that it will look incredible.

Keiichi Kamei dreams of electronic bricks – 10 years of Blade Runner Builds [Interview]

Some adult fans of LEGO finish a creation, move on to the next, and never look back. Others return to a favorite build again and again over many years, updating parts or expanding scope. Keiichi Kamei falls into the second group. For this former LEGO Master Japan and Sakura LUG member, a love of LEGO is matched, or even surpassed, by a deep appreciation for the classic sci-fi film Blade Runner. Those entwined passions have kept “KABA” expanding and upgrading his vision of 2019 Los Angeles for a decade. His creations were previously featured in Brick Journal and on this site, but when KABA shared new pieces of his Blade Runner tribute, we thought this would be the perfect time to catch up and get to know the builder better.

The Brothers Brick: When did you first start recreating vehicles and scenes from Blade Runner in LEGO? Were you building things like this since you were a child, or did you start as an adult? Did you experience a “dark age” when you stopped building?

Keeichi Kamei (KABA): When I was a child, of course, I played with LEGO, but it was just one of several games for me at that time. LEGO became “my hobby” in 2012, when I was 49 years old.
Originally, my oldest son was a LEGO enthusiast, and as a parent, we built sets together. When he started college and stopped playing with Legos, he told me that “I give all the parts to you Dad,” and I decided to build the Police Spinner from my favorite sci-fi movie Blade Runner. A few years after I started building the LEGO Police Spinner, I finally completed the MOC with a satisfactory result. I wanted a backdrop for my MOC photos, so I started working on buildings and other vehicles that appeared in “Blade Runner. It kept expanding, and a few years later it became what it is today, a diorama that recreates the city that appears in Blade Runner using LEGO. By that time, I was totally hooked on LEGO.

Keiichi’s Voight-Kampff test… er, interview continues after the fold

A perfect LEGO microscale japanese city block in spring

The Micropolis standard enables big cities to come together at LEGO conventions, but more than that, building at microscale also presents a challenge to builders, encouraging them to push their creativity by working with parts largely designed for minifigures. Take this charming Japanese micropolis block by Ids de Jong, which makes clever use of minifigure accessories as foliage. A roller skate element works well as a roof-mounted utility, and the red part, commonly used as a fire extinguisher handle, is used to create a traditional arch. The choice of building, including a convenience store, colorful vehicles, and cherry blossoms, completes the scene very nicely.

Bones-to-Brick collaboration celebrates prehistoric life in LEGO

From Johnny Thunder to Jurassic World, LEGO has a long history of sets featuring dinosaurs and other prehistoric life, but as much fun as it can be to pose a mighty molded Spinosaurus, we’re partial to brick-built dinos, like a Creator 3-in-1 T.Rex or the recent Mosasaurus Boat Mission. Of course, our favorite creatures of all are original creations from the LEGO building community, like those that were just unearthed as part of the Bones to Brick collaboration. Seven talented builders contributed an ancient creature in their own style, and we’re excited to share the full collaboration. These builders are also all veterans of the BioCup, the annual competition that also kicks off this month, so I’m sure we’ll be seeing more from this crew very soon!

J6Crash presents Ankylosaurus magniventris, an armored dinosaur of the late Cretaceous. Sand blue and black bricks make a pleasing combo, and the technique of laying claw elements flat to create ridges along the back is brilliant.

Benjamin Anderson is next up with Dimetrodon limbatus, a creature of the Cisuralian period, some 40 million years before dinosaurs showed up. There’s a lot to love about Benjamin’s creation, but I’m smitten by the spine sail with a colorful gradient created from alternating teeth.

The paleontology tour continues after the break

Building a little help to clear up the table-scraps

A few days ago, I wrote about W.F Ikhasi’s efforts in letting an idea for a LEGO creation simmer for a while before finishing it. As I wrote that article, it’s a topic that was fresh on my mind. My desk is absolutely covered in table-scraps; little builds that never fully grew into a finished article. And when I say covered, I mean I’m starting to struggle for space! It’s about time I enlisted some help to clear them. Fortunately, one of those ideas – a frame for a folded net piece – did grow into a scavenger’s speeder. So now this guy can help me clear out things, like this old engine, that were sitting around gathering dust!

The crane/tow-rope was also lying around among the detritus and quickly became this speeder’s party piece. Of course, it folds up neatly for zipping around the mud flats, where you might spot some older builds too… This walker is an older MOC, but it’s far from being a table-scrap!

Brick art: Casting a MOC in concrete to stand the test of time

Every LEGO bricks begins its life being cast in plastic from a mold. For builder Olle Moquist’s last creation, bricks become molds for a new building material: concrete. Inspired by the concrete sculptures of David Umemoto, Olle started with a traditional LEGO build, used it to create a silicone mold, then poured concrete to create this incredible creation. A single red minifigure and dark blue microfigure offer a pop of color and clarify scale.

Up close, the subtle imperfecti0ns in the pour add an air of weathered beauty. Even though the cast is just days old, it looks timeless – a relic from an alternate brutalist timeline where grey-clad children play with concrete blocks.

See how Olle made this incredible concrete creation