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.

Militarisation of miniature Mars

The first steps on the surface of Mars will be those of explorers and scientists. But how long until there are soldiers stomping around on the red planet? That’s the question put by David Zambito with his latest microscale LEGO scene. David has tackled the colonisation of Mars in the brick previously, but this neat model sees the addition of a pair of appropriately sleek-and-sinister-looking fighter craft (fashioned from minifigure ice skates no less). The little fighters might grab the initial attention, but don’t miss the excellent landscaping within the compact footprint, and the use of a minifigure helmet as a cool biodome structure.

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Going for the strike

This bowling alley vignette by David Zambito captures all the vibes of a classic pastime. There’s just the right amount of details to draw your attention to key features such as the bowling pins and the players. Even the gutters are there to remind some of us how much more practice is needed. Here’s hoping our minifig bowler scores a strike!

All small cars are not built equal

Ralph Savelsberg, whose collection of brick-built vehicles includes dozens of retro and contemporary exhibits, never stops perfecting his masterpieces. Even the new Beetle by Volkswagen, which Ralph had originally built 10 years ago, has recently got a makeover.

Thanks to the new curved LEGO slopes and tiles, the new Beetle has become a lot curvier. And the new 1×1 round tile with a VW logo print borrowed right from 10252 Volkswagen Beetle (VW Beetle) set sits just perfectly on the models bonnet. Here’s what the car looked like 10 years ago:

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for January 28, 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 last week of January 2018.

TBB NEWS & INSTRUCTIONS: We had a week packed full with news from Ideas to minifigures to slick speed racers.

LEGO Collectible Minifigure Series 18 revealed – Today may be the LEGO brick’s 60th birthday, but the LEGO minifigure’s 40th anniversary is just around the corner with some brand new costumes to celebrate.
2018 LEGO Speed Champions sets revealed – Buckle in and get your first look at these sleek cars coming later this year.
LEGO Ideas second 2017 review results may disappoint – No LEGO Ideas projects were approved this round, but what projects are still in the running?
Join TT Games as a LEGO Model Designer – Do you want to work designing digital LEGO models for video games? Best. Job. Ever.
New issue of HispaBrick Magazine available for free download –From snowy cabins to intriguing interviews, HispaBrick is shipping its next edition.
Build your own Moog Sub Phatty synthesizer – Quy Chau has kindly shared breakdown instructions for his detailed synthesizer build, and it is more complex than it appears.
Instructions to build a tiny typewriter – Niklas Rosén has a guide to create a nostalgic typing machine that’s almost extinct now with the advent of computers.

LEGO 60th ANNIVERSARY NEWS: Celebrate with us as we mark the 60th anniversary of LEGO’s 2×4 brick by reading some of the fun articles below or building something amazing.

Happy 60th International LEGO Day from The Brothers Brick! – Sixty years ago today on January 28, 1958, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen submitted a patent application for a toy building brick that changed all our lives.
LEGO 60th Anniversary Classic limited edition sets revealed – With limited edition boxes and sets on the horizon, the anniversary fun will last longer than just today.
LEGO celebrates 60 years with a half-ton brick in New York City – To celebrate the 60th birthday of its iconic 2×4 brick, LEGO created a red 10-foot tall brick and placed it in New York City right in front of the Flatiron Building.
What was LEGO doing the decade you were born? – What year did flesh color faces make their debut? When was LEGO named the toy of the century? Check out this timeline of LEGO milestones for all your answers and more.

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:

Virginia man breaks Guinness World Record for charity by walking over 120ft of LEGO bricks barefoot, Daily Mail – How far do you think you could walk without stopping on a pathway of LEGO bricks? Who will be the next person to beat the world record?
Inside the utopian, brick-loving world of LEGO’s adult fandom, Wired – 60 years after its invention, the Adult Fans of LEGO community – or AFOL for short – retains a healthy obsession with the humble brick… even if it means a second home for your 4,000-set collection.
Video: The invention of the legendary LEGO brick, BBC – Go back to when the LEGO brick was invented in Billund, Denmark, in 1958 by Godtfred Kirk Christiansen.
‘The Lego Batman Movie’ was robbed of an Oscar nomination, Business Insider – The critically-beloved “Lego Batman Movie” from February 2017 was left out of the best animated feature film race in favor of “The Boss Baby.”
Why you should never let your children play with plastic hand-me-downs, Daily Mail – First study of its kind reveals toxic chemicals in used LEGO, toy dinosaurs and dolls, though “you should not be concerned if you have old bricks that are in good shape and condition.”
LEGO expects more profit after IP win In China, Global Finance – An intellectual-property win for LEGO is a breakthrough for other global consumer-goods makers, signaling China’s willingness to crack down on domestic copyright violators.

What was LEGO doing the decade you were born? [News]

From wooden ducks to computer controlled creations and everything plastic in between, LEGO has come a long way since the early 1930s. To highlight the 60th anniversary of the LEGO brick patent, the company has pulled together some of its most important milestones in the timeline below.

What was LEGO up to the decade you were born in? What year did flesh color faces make their debut? What were LEGO bricks originally called? When was LEGO named the toy of the century?

Click to get a closer look at the LEGO timeline

Stunning 6 foot tall LEGO Scarif tower from Rogue One

The finale of Rogue One involved the heist of the Death Star plans from the vault in the Scarif Citadel Tower. The building is an impressive spire of Imperial tech — recreated here in LEGO bricks by Paul Trach. This huge model is no less than 1.8m tall, and took six months to complete. What could have been some big slabs of dark grey is enlivened by excellent texturing and details, and Paul has lavished as much attention on the base as the towering structure itself — the central circular plaza and its asymmetric bridges are beautifully done.

I like the way Paul has placed plenty of minifigures around the model, creating the impression of a bustling Imperial outpost. Do I spy a lonely Director Krennic all the way up at the top there? I think I do. And this view of a trooper squad shows the nice variety of figures employed, and gives a closer look at the excellent brickwork involved in creating Scarif’s signature tropical beaches…

Home is always where the heart is

The reason why some builds stand out more than others is that that we expect LEGO builds to be blockish and full of hard edges. This little build stands out because of its organic structure of plants and trees and a home that looks awkwardly quaint in its own way. The travelling minifigure that’s heading towards an adobe after a long and tired adventure reminds me of a longing for home after a trip. I have a feeling that builder Wesley Vaders is of similar mindset when building this, finally finding his way home after a long journey of ups and downs in his adventures in LEGO.

See more of this lovely LEGO home

LEGO celebrates 60 years with a half-ton brick in New York City [News]

To celebrate the 60th birthday of its iconic 2×4 brick, LEGO created a red 10-foot tall brick and placed it in New York City right in front of the Flatiron Building. The larger-than-life brick weighs in at 1,200 pounds, is made up of more than 133,000 individual bricks, and took 350 hours to make.

Even more mind-blowing than seeing such a plastic monolith in a concrete jungle is that a LEGO brick from 1958 still interlocks with a LEGO brick made today. This is due to precision injection molding and the original idea of using tubes to create clutch power. Before the Kristiansens settled on the familiar tube underside, they considered several 0ptions for the original pattern of LEGO bricks.

Click to take a closer look at the massive brick in NYC

Mystery awaits in a rediscovered Mayan temple

Even though this ruined Mesoamerican temple by Jonas Wilde doesn’t depict any particular site, it’s clear Jonas was inspired by the amazing Mayan structures of the Classic Maya era (250-900 AD). Jungle foliage drapes itself over the building, while palm trees sprout from the platform. The composition of this LEGO build is stunning, with the scene built on a platform that includes cutaway views of earth and stone, and a variety of heights that accentuate the detailed flora.

See more of this fantastic archaeological treasure

Happy 60th International LEGO Day from The Brothers Brick! [News]

Sixty years ago today on January 28, 1958, at 1:58pm, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen submitted a patent application for a toy building brick which was approved six months later. Little did Godtfred know that his “highly sophisticated inter-locking brick system” would lead to LEGO becoming one of the largest toy companies on the globe.

We’ll have more on the LEGO brick’s 60th anniversary later today, but we wanted to celebrate across all time zones. So today, let’s build a set, sort some parts, or create something new and amazing. Play well, everyone.

Want to know more about the history of LEGO? Check out our LEGO History timeline!

A slice of fantasy life

Here’s a great example of how effective composition can turn a LEGO scene into something special. This slice of landscaping from Sergeant Chipmunk is a nice model of two warriors meeting on a smartly-constructed bridge. The surrounding scenery is nicely-done — the layers creating the gradients around the small stream are fantastic, and I like the amount of detail going on with the campsite and animal life. However, what really catches the eye is the way the bridge cuts across the diorama in a dramatic diagonal, and how the framing walls follow the contours making it feel like a slice of terrain cut from a genuine fantasy world. Wonderful stuff.

A good dentist never gets on your nerves

The Brothers Brick features many LEGO models created during build challenges like “Iron Builder” and the “ABS Builder Challenge.” Lucky builders get mailed “seed” pieces and are asked to create a series of wonderful, amazing designs in a short period of time. As luck would have it, Brick Samson (aka yours truly) was invited to participate in the ABS Builder Challenge round 2.8.

After an inspirational chat with a friend about the seed part (the dark brown wheel arch fender looking thing) and the narrow leather recliner was born. Add a suitable gaudy tiled floor, sterile white walls and cupboards, appropriate fixtures and a few lethal instruments and you have a squirmy colourful scene to send a shiver down the back of your spine. Enjoy!