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.

We are all worms to the true tyrant of the sea

When you think it can’t get any worse, sometimes life likes to surprise you. Such is the case with this band of pirates as Dwalin Forkbeard tells us: The pirates have survived an unfortunate battle with an Imperial ship, only to be attacked by an ancient sea monster. They are doing everything they can to escape, going as far as blowing into the sail, but will that be enough? Judging by the skeleton on the animal’s back, they do not even have to be eaten to meet a tragic end.

Blow, Harry, Blow!

While the textures are somewhat simple, the inner construction of the creature has to be impressive to achieve the smooth, rounded shaping. The segment on the back resembling a small island is a common theme with sea monsters, but I have never seen it done in LEGO before, and a conservative amount of seashells and other sea animals spread across the monster really gives it a realistic impression. While the whale (or is it a fish? Is it any of that, even?) is obviously the focal point and the best part of the build, its surroundings help, too — the raft is positioned so that it gives a feeling of action and the water spilling off the diorama looks just so dynamic.

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Blue & green, small but mean, she’ll shoot you down right to Georgetown

Generally, in life, bigger is usually better. However, that is not the case with this neat little starfighter by TOKYO TAG TEAM. The build is a wonderful blend of colors, shapes, and angles compacted into a very small package, but for me, it’s the stickers that really set the build apart — I dig the little symbols plastered over different parts of the fighter. In particular, the use of the long blue stickers on the windscreen were an excellent design choice. Without them, the windscreen would likely feel very bland.

Berry Blue Banshee

After close inspection, I am only left wondering how the pilot steers the craft. Neuro-controlled maybe? That’s probably it.

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Ultimate LEGO Star Wars book now available – exclusive interview with the authors [News]

Ultimate LEGO Star WarsDK has just released Ultimate LEGO Star Wars, a completely new large-format reference book written by The Brothers Brick’s Senior Editor Chris Malloy and Editor-in-Chief Andrew Becraft.

The authors will be holding panel discussions and signings over the coming weeks, including at BrickCon 2017 later this week in Seattle, and we’re pleased to bring our readers the very first interview with the authors.

Continue reading

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Tyger Tyger, burning bright...

Possessed by the fever to follow the call of the wild, this magnificent tiger stops by the water to drink, or possibly to bathe as one of the few cats who actually likes water. Tigers are actually often portrayed in LEGO and we have even featured some in the past. There is something about the tiger that makes it ideal for a great builder to show off their skills — the shape itself is somewhat difficult to capture, but getting the colours right is a whole new level of difficulty. Simon NH did not let that discourage him and has created one of the best LEGO tigers I have seen so far.

Tiger

The shape is achieved with plates and wedges set up at different angles and some exotic parts rounding off the edges. The fur on the chin and the rounding on the back are especially good. The cat itself is great, but Simon did not stop there. Any good tiger needs a good jungle to go along with it — and what a good jungle Simon has made! The plant life is unique and the ground colours and textures flow very nicely. But my favourite part, except for the build’s focal point — the tiger, obviously — is the water, which uses many colours we do not associate immediately with water in LEGO, but somehow it looks distinctly like it.

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Is there an exo-suit in the house?

Nobody wants to be unwell, but if your temperature spikes or you break out in hives, then it’s time to visit the doctor. Andreas Lenander has created the kind of sick bay the average physician would dream of: Isolation beds to ensure disease doesn’t spread, a giant claw to transfer patients, and the latest in medical technology — the medical exosuit. The whole scene is full of great details for Neo-Classic Space fans. Although the exosuit and ‘claw’ are great, I really love all the little miscellaneous builds that complete the scene: ducts, vents, tubing, medical bottles, racks, and the little stasis beds.

Medical bay - exo suit walker Y.L.V.A.

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SHIPtempber is over and it looks like we may have a winner!

SHIPtemper is by far my favourite month of the LEGO building calendar — we get to see inside the imaginations of the most talented builders and see what they envision for the future of humanity. This year, when friends Sean Mayo and Tyler Clites got together, not only did they create two of the most beautiful SHIPs to enter cyberspace this year, they also filmed a time-lapse of their build so we can see into their process.

Sean’s Kel Corona is a deep space scanning station that’s 110 studs long. Creating curves in LEGO is always a challenge, but the payoff is spectacular — the lines, the colours and the small touches all contribute to make this SHIP spectacular.

Kel Corona

Meanwhile, Tyler’s Bishop is seen here on its voyage to the Yens galaxy. The color choices are brilliant, the dark blue and vibrant LEGO yellow contrasting against the grey. The angled protruding air intakes on the side are sublime and I am loving the use of the new squared macaroni pieces as the company logo.

The Bishop

Click more to see more pictures and the video

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LEGO reveals Star Wars BrickHeadz exclusive for New York Comic Con [News]

LEGO is releasing another exclusive set for this year’s New York Comic Con, revealed today to be the first Star Wars BrickHeadz. Set 41498, Boba Fett & Han Solo in Carbonite, has 329 pieces and will be sold for $40, but is only available at the convention. There’s no word on how many sets will be available, but it’s likely to be a very small number.

Update: read our review of this set.

41498 Boba Fett & Han Solo in Carbonite New York Comic Con Exclusive

Continue reading about the Star Wars BrickHeadz

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Sky-pirate flying fortress floats into view

Take a medieval castle, mash it up with a pirate ship, and then give the whole thing impulse engines, the ability to fly, and advanced weaponry. That’s W.Navarre‘s recipe for a truly original LEGO creation. This could have turned out a hot mess of a build, but there’s enough colour and texture continuity across the model to pull off the ambitious intent. The test of an unusual creative idea is “Does it make sense without having to be explained?” This model accomplishes exactly that — it’s immediately apparent you’re looking at a flying pirate castle ship. What more explanation do you need?

The Ionsaí

The rear portion is excellent. I love the integration of the engines and missile bay beneath the hull…

The Ionsaí

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TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for October 1, 2017 [News]

In addition to the best LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick also brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the first week of October 2017.

70922 The Joker Manor - 16
70922 The Joker Manor - 06

TBB NEWS: LEGO revealed a massive new Batman Joker set, and we have your inside scoop to all things LEGO House related. Plus, you could win tickets to BrickCon!


OTHER LEGO NEWS: This week had quite a few other interesting LEGO-related news articles. Here are the best of the rest.

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Cruise around the galaxy in sleek style

Spaceships can come in all shapes and sizes, and this build by Inthert manages to capture an unusual form with brilliant brickwork. Its organic shape makes it stand out — a beautifully curved structure, something challenging to achieve in LEGO. The key in making a great spaceship model is making one believe what it can potentially do. What sells this is not only its aerodynamic shape and the depth of functional-looking details, but enough bulk and build around the engines that it genuinely feels like it could have sufficient thrust to make warp speed.

EC21-Cruiser - 'Ellipsis' (2)

The side profile certainly gives you a sense of how curved and elegant the model looks…

EC21-Cruiser - 'Ellipsis' (Poster shot)

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.

Castle’s strength lies in its walls

The Castle theme remains a perennial favourite amongst LEGO building genres. This lovely model by Brick Knight shows why. The diorama has a classic colour scheme, with grey stone walls, a brown and tan wooden structure, and the obligatory red roofing. However, the wonderful details across the walls reveal this as a modern Castle creation rather than something from days of yore. Whilst older techniques like stacked upside-down 1×2 panel pieces contribute to the depth and texture, and decorated shields provide a link to the past, there’s excellent use of the modern “masonry” brick, and a nicely-judged scattering of hinges and 1×1 round plates to offer weathering effects. I particularly like the use of cheese slopes to create the arrow slits, and the lovely work on the stained-glass windows.

Castle close-up

The castle sits in a nicely-realised environment, with a stream and enough trees to suggest a larger world worth exploring beyond the diorama’s boundary. The mounted knight is surely setting out on quest to do exactly that…

Castle entire image

There are fun details to be found all over the scene. It’s worth zooming in for a closer look. I particularly liked this guard, taking a bath in the stream, his jerkin lying on the bank behind him…

Topless LEGO bather

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Set course for sunset, sailing amongst the clouds

Builder James Zhan calls this a Steampunk Airship, but it’s unlike others we’ve seen before. The steampunk style can sometimes be little more than an overlay of anachronistic technology, but this creation is stronger than that. It feels like a realistic flying pirate ship — if that’s possible!

Airship

James has a crew of Dwarven engineers for this craft, which perhaps explains the chunky solid feel of the machinery on display. A side view reveals the interesting cutaway section at the ship’s centre, giving a good view of the technical gubbins which serves to keep the vessel aloft.

Dwarves' Airship

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