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.

LEGO Star Wars UCS Millennium Falcon and Winter Village Station now available for VIP members [News]

Ten years after the first version hit shelves, the new and improved 75192 Star Wars UCS Millennium Falcon is now available to order from the LEGO Shop online. The largest LEGO set ever released includes 7,541 pieces, 10 minifigs, and is priced at $799.99 USD. In some locales, the set may not be available until 7:30 AM, instead of midnight.

The set will be available more broadly starting on October 1st, but is currently available only to LEGO VIP Program members. Of course, you can just sign up for a VIP membership for free, so that means the set is available to everyone now, assuming you’re ready and able to cough up the ~~rent payment~~ eight hundred bucks for it.

Additionally, the newest holiday set, 10259 Winter Village Station, is also available to VIP club members for $79.99. The set pairs perfectly with last year’s 10254 Winter Holiday Train and has 902 pieces (or just under an eighth of the size of the UCS Millennium Falcon for one-tenth of the price!).

These sets, along with all LEGO 2017 Advent Calendars and newer sets like the Old Fishing Store, are now available to order from the LEGO Shop online.

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TBB sits down with LEGO Star Wars UCS Millennium Falcon designers at exclusive launch event to talk about the biggest set ever [Interview]

Tonight the LEGO Store in London’s Leicester Square hosted the midnight launch event for the stunning new 75192 Ultimate Collectors Series Millennium Falcon – the largest LEGO set ever made. Fans queued outside for hours to be amongst the first to purchase the new set, and the atmosphere as the doors opened was something akin to the air of hysteria which might accompany an iPhone launch. The patient fans were welcomed inside at midnight by a pair of Imperial Stormtroopers and the unforgettable opening fanfare of John Williams’ score.

Those first in line were greeted in-store with rounds of applause from the gathered LEGO staff, and a wall of brown cardboard boxes – perhaps visually uninspiring, but a reassuring signal regarding stock availability for those further back in the queue.

Happy purchasers saw their sets signed by designers from the LEGO Star Wars team. Even those who had waited longest in line said they’d had a good time, genuinely delighted as they wheeled their massive sets off into the darkness. The entire event was a testament to the continued power of Star Wars, and the enduring appeal of a really, really big box of bricks.

Director of Lego Star Wars Design Jens Kronvold Frederiksen, left, and Design Manager of Lego Star Wars Michael Lee Stockwell

Prior to the midnight opening, the Brothers Brick joined other members of the press to meet with the lead designers for LEGO Star Wars – Jens Kronvold Frederiksen and Micheal Lee Stockwell. They shared some of the challenges of building such a large model, and their thoughts behind some of its features…

Click to read the interview with the set designers

Blade Runner 1849

We’ve seen excellent LEGO versions of the Blade Runner Police Spinner in the past, but as soon as I saw the title of the new movie I’ve been waiting for an 1849 steampunk remix. Jonas Kramm is happy to oblige with this clanky update (back-date?) of the classic sci-fi vehicle. The black piping makes for a pleasant change from the grey or gold steampunk builders tend to use for greebly details, and those brown whips uncurled against the dark blue panelling look excellent. The lanterns are a nice touch too.

Now to properly combine cyber and steam, what this really needs is a massive Neo-Victorian Neo-Tokyo diorama setting. Come on Jonas, what’s stopping you?

A place to call home in Hong Kong

Walking amongst the old residential buildings in certain parts of Hong Kong, one looks up to see hanging laundry, treasured rooftop garden space, and air-conditioning units attached to dusty windows. Chiukeung Tsang has captured the scene perfectly in LEGO, with loads of character packed into one model. The curved corner is typical of the architectural style, as are the rows of windows, and the commercial nature of the ground floor with residential housing above. I particularly like the use of colour on the right, it lifts the entire build and adds visual interest without looking too garish.

The view from the other side shows the typical ground floor shop, complete with awning, and the obligatory tourist posing for a selfie.

Practice shooting targets with a working LEGO Desert Eagle

As a LEGO weapon builder myself, I know how difficult it is to construct a gun model that fires projectiles and manages to look the part. However, YouTuber Snyzer_Tech makes it look easy with his functional Desert Eagle replica. Though it looks a bit flashy in custom-painted gold, his magazine-fed, brick-shooting handgun is impressive in both form and function. Watch Snyzer light up some brick-built targets in this slick two-minute video.

Bionicle’s Rahkshi reimagined

You may have been in for a surprise if you logged into Flickr a few days ago and found several of the most talented Bionicle builders out there had posted their own, reimagined versions of the Rahkshi – the Bionicle bad guys from a while back. I’m not entirely sure why or how this happened, but I am glad to see it because each of these builds are so unique will still be recognisable and true to the general design of the original sets.

Son of Makuta – Shattering by Mitch

See more of these Bionicle Rahkshi

Swashbuckling ship sails the seas

Rather than telling the tale of the “Curse of the Black Pearl,” we have a new swashbuckling adventure to share: the “Attack of the Dark Bluish Grey Pearl”. The titular ship has been beautifully sculpted in LEGO by Simon NH with some painstakingly intricate techniques for the hull. Simon used minifigure hands to hold 1×2 tiles together, which permits a great deal of shaping — check out that bow to see what can be achieved with this method. The sails are also fantastic, with plenty of movement and texture achieved with bricks.

Simon’s favourite part of the ship is its stern, so it is worthwhile taking a closer peek from the rear. There, sand green decorative fence and semi-circular windows fit in perfectly. I also love the use of the telephone handsets and Unikitty’s tail in dark bluish grey.

LEGO Creator Expert 10257 Carousel review – with designer commentary [Review]

We announced the news that LEGO was revisiting the fair with the Creator Expert 10257 Carousel back in April this year. The set has been available since June 17th and is priced at US$199.99 / £159.99 / 179.99€ for 2670 parts and 7 minifigures. While the set is not motorized, it can be rotated via a hand crank, and there is the option to add LEGO Power Functions once your hand gets tired from cranking. The carousel is 38cm wide and 32cm tall so you will have to prepare some display space for this large model.

This isn’t the first carousel to be produced by LEGO — 10196 Grand Carousel was on sale for a short time between June 2009 and November 2010, with limited availability. As a result, its after-market value has increased to make it an expensive buy for fairground fans. 10196 Grand Carousel was priced at £179.99 / $249.99 back in 2009 for 3263 parts including Power Functions, a Green 48X48 Base Plate, and 9 minifigures (it now commands $1-2k on the secondary market)

Continue reading →

Wearable LEGO Star Wars Jango Fett helmet

Lego Admiral continues his impressive series of wearable LEGO helmets with a build of bounty hunter Jango Fett’s helmet from Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones. The builder continues to refine his techniques since constructing his Darth Vader helmet replica, nailing the dome shape on top, the iconic T-shaped visor slot, and indented cheek plating. The fold-down rangefinder is a nice touch.

Lego Admiral shows the Mandalorian helmet is not only screen accurate in the bricks, but is also wearable.

BrickCon 2017 is three weeks away [News]

BrickCon 2017 in Seattle is only three weeks away! The largest fan-organized convention for builders begins Thursday, Oct. 5 (for a full day!) and runs until Sunday, Oct. 8. The public is invited to come see everything on Saturday, Oct. 7 from 10am to 4pm and Sunday, Oct. 8 from 10am to 3pm, at the Seattle Center Exhibition Hall.

Read all the reminders and logistics about BrickCon 2017

Do armed amphibian time travellers croak?

I’ve recently become a fan of Rick and Morty, and everything alien I see triggers all instincts of another time and dimension. This frog-like humanoid alien built by Random Vector is worthy of an ally in one of those adventures. You’ve got to love those magnifying glasses turned space goggles and the armed and dangerous pose of our croaking time traveller. I still can’t figure out how that mouthpiece area is held in place, but it’s an ingenious use of a part. I will always wonder, do space frogs eat bugs too?

Indiana Jones and the collection of LEGO vignettes

If there’s one thing I love more than a beautiful LEGO model, it’s a collection of beautiful LEGO models. Inspired by the Harry Potter vignettes we featured earlier in the year, John Klapheke wanted to build a series of something he was fairly knowledgeable about. The mission John set for himself was to create six vignettes for each of the Indiana Jones movies, each set on a 12×12-stud base.

At first, he was pretty adamant about keeping the entire scene confined to those dimensions. Later, with the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull creations, he relented and let some detail spill over (and sometimes through) the sides of the base. John says “aiming for consistency” was the unique challenge of a project of two dozen separate, yet interconnected creations.

Click to keep up with the Jones’s