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 good vintage year at the farm

This must be a good year for grapes as a fine crop of an unusual round, lime green variety are being harvested on Nadine Wölfle’s farm. The farm not only specialises in some fine wine production but also breeds goats to produce and sell goats milk. If you take a look inside the cart, a good stock of goats cheese is being taken to market today. This is a gentle scene that is both attractive and detailed, with the cute little home at the far end, and the vines being harvested at the other. I love the old fashioned method of stomping to crush the grapes before the juice is poured into barrels.

Some added views give us a chance to see those cheeses being transported and some of the details in the front court and house. There’s plenty to love about this quaint scene but my eyes keep returning to the method of crushing the grapes and getting the juice into the barrels. Much as I love it, I’m not entirely sure this would pass hygiene standards nowadays.

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The fifth wheel

I never thought the fifth wheel of a car would be the most important one, but this incredibly unique VW Kübelkäfer built by Robert Heim makes me question my beliefs. The builder himself does not know exactly why anyone would drive or design a car like this, but the result is definetely original and interesting. While the central large tyre and its incorporation into the overall design of the vehicle is good, my favourite part has to be the cockpit, which appears to close up almost perfectly – just one of those satisfying moments when random bricks come together to create a very coherent shape.

Malt, hops, water, yeast, and ABS — the perfect pint

LEGO and beer — surely the perfect combination*. Austrian builder sanellukovic certainly seems to think so, having put together this fabulous Medieval brewery. I love the frame of poles out front supporting the hop vines, and the presence of a well — clean water being the single most important ingredient in good beer, and generally the reason for a brewery’s location.

The model has a nice interior, and there’s some great low-level photography to showcase it. I love when builders get their cameras down to minifig eye-level. It gives a wonderfully realistic feel when the images are up close like this…

*Always drink responsibly. Especially if you’re building something. Building whilst under the influence of alcohol often results in terrible models. And don’t even think about drinking beer if you’re not over the age of legal consumption in whatever country you live in. You hear us? Don’t be telling the cops that TBB told you it was okay.

Magic bricks are not as solid as they appear

Platform Nine-and-three-quarters has never looked so good. Jonas Kramm brings one of the most famous scenes in Harry Potter to life in LEGO bricks. There’s just enough detail here to stop the model looking too sterile, but not so much that it distracts the eye from the central action — the trolley disappearing into the wall. The half-trolley is really nicely done, with excellent shaping of the hole in the wall which creates the illusion. And the use of a butterfly net for that owl cage? Inspired.

Bigger, bolder, rougher, and stripier

It’s always good when LEGO fans build bigger and better versions of their favourite sets. Here, Tim Goddard shows off his latest version of 6973 Deep Freeze Defender. This is Space building at its absolute finest — great shaping, functional-looking greeble details, and beautiful colour blocking. The white stripes around the predominantly blue body make this model pop off the screen — a fantastic effect, and much harder to build than it looks!

One of Tim’s previous versions of this spacecraft features in Ice Titan — the free-to-download LEGO-illustrated sci-fi adventure.

And she’s building a stairway to heaven

Where’s she running off to? Be careful on those stairs! This 3D “picture” in LEGO bricks by Cab~ is a treat — a nice idea, executed well. The elephant trunk pieces make for a great stair carpet, and the striped wallpaper is excellent, offering a smart visual contrast to the plainer wall above. That wall could have been done with being built level — I think the angled bricks distract from the rest of the scene. However that’s nitpicking at an otherwise lovely piece of work. Well played.

Set sail — for adventure

Always nice to see a LEGO Fantasy/Castle creation which isn’t land-based. I like this little ship by Eggy Pop — it’s a relatively simple model, but it’s a lovely clean build. I particularly like the curved bricks creating the sense of a gathered sail. This is one of those creations where you can’t help but invent a story to go along with the scene: Where is our hero heading? On what noble quest is he engaged?

I’d like to see this diorama in real life, and take a closer look at the “waterscaping”. Check out this close-up of the nice brickwork which makes up the froth and surf as the waves wash against the rocks…

Many names for this towering sight

Orthanc, home of the corrupted white wizard Saruman, is an important part of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and is even referenced in the title of the second book, The Two Towers. The film version of the tower may not be quite as iconic as Sauron’s Barad’dur, but it’s still managed to burn itself into the memories of fantasy lovers all over the world. This microscale LEGO recreation by Maelven isn’t the first LEGO Orthanc model we’ve featured, but the builder has added a lot of great style to it.

Although quite a departure from this builder’s comfort zone of highly accurate Star Wars vehicles, Maelven did not disappoint in this turn to fantasy. The intense details on the tower will keep your attention for more time than you would expect, but what I really like is the gradual but very fluent tapering of the tower’s shape towards the top — an effect achieved by slightly tilting many bars and plates on the surface of the creation.

Like this tiny Orthanc? Check out this diorama of the breaking of Isengard featuring a 7 ft tall Orthanc, or a detailed 8 ft tall Orthanc with a full interior.

Find your fame and fortune deep in the dungeons

Dungeons & Dragons is one of the cornerstones of geek culture, but it seems to be somewhat underrepresented in LEGO, possibly because having two time-consuming hobbies like these is not possible for everyone. Galaktek was not discouraged by this, thus he was able to bring this expansive diorama to life for all of the classic RPG lovers out there.

There are many levels, from cellar to temple, each of them filled with monsters, traps and other kinds of detail. The changing colours add to the atmosphere of the scenes they encircle, as they get more and more intense moving down. Every single room has something to see and I advise looking through the Flickr album to inspect them all up close, including some humorous “behind the scenes” vignettes.

A LEGO scarlet macaw is within your clutch [Instructions]

Although the scarlet macaw is native to the humid evergreen forests of tropical South America, you may wish to take this opportunity to have your own as a desktop pet. There are definite advantages to owning the LEGO version designed by British builder Alan Mann; it will be a low maintenance and looks pretty without requiring too much grooming or feeding.

Alan has also provided an opportunity to enjoy the scarlet macaw in its natural habitat. The wild, open space of the forest is a much better place to see a real macaw, but your LEGO macaw will regress into a statue-like state and refuse to fly if released into the wild.

LEGO’s Force Friday sale drops prices on more than 30 Star Wars sets [News]

The last 24 hours have been chock full of LEGO Star Wars news, with the announcement of the new UCS Millennium Falcon and our own Millennium Falcon contest kicking off. However, that was just the prelude to Force Friday, where to celebrate the energy field that binds the galaxy together, LEGO is slashing prices across nearly the full LEGO Star Wars lineup, along with a sprinkling of other themes. Plus, LEGO is giving double VIP points during the sale and some other freebies for Star Wars purchases.

Lots of set prices are cut by 20 percent, which for some hard-to-find sets is a pretty great deal. A few dip even lower, such as the Stormtrooper Watch at 75 percent off, making it just $6.24. And even if you’ve already got some of these older sets, Star Wars: The Last Jedi LEGO sets are available beginning today, and qualify for all of the promotions.

The sale prices should be available from the LEGO Shop Online beginning at midnight Sept. 1, or shortly thereafter as LEGO’s servers update to reflect the sale. Although the sale should be active wherever the LEGO Shop Online sells, we believe this price list is only valid in the USA. Other regions should see similar price drops, though the selection may vary.

75105 Millennium Falcon, $149.99, now $119.99

Orders over $50 will get a free Scarif Trooper with a stand and placard. This is the second in a wave of new Star Wars characters with linkable stands, following R3-M2 earlier this year.

In addition, any and all Star Wars purchases will also get one of three limited edition LEGO Star Wars posters.

So just to recap: you’ll get 20% (or more) off older sets, a first go at The Last Jedi sets, a free exclusive minifigure, free exclusive poster, and double VIP points.

Click to see the full list of Force Friday sales

Good food for thought in Malaysia

In conjunction with the 60th anniversary of Malaysia’s independence, Malaysian builder Brandon Wyc has created a LEGO build based on the multi-racial, colourful and unique culture of Malaysia. Brandon describes the concept of his build as “Jalan-jalan Cari Makan / Walk Around To Find Good Food“. At the centre there is a colourful, imaginative three storey building with local food stalls, and four scenes along the edges; two are small roadside towns, one is a small riverside village, and the final one is a seaside village. The first view shows the roadside and seaside scenes with lots of activity going on and busy food stalls.

Take a closer look at this beautiful LEGO creation inspired by the diverse culture of Malaysia