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.

Saw Gerrera’s guerrillas snatch some kyber crystals

The Jedha ambush scene in Rogue One has proven to be a popular subject for LEGO Star Wars builders, with some excellent scenes by builders such as Dunedain98 and Graham Gidman. Now, German builder Boba-1980 has built a rather substantial version of this pivotal scene, with uniquely “Star Wars-y” buildings surrounding the action in the square itself.

My favorite building is the one left of the arch with the balcony, populated by some ill-fated partisans. The builder has achieved the curve of the balconies by combining 1×1 round bricks with regular bricks.

There are realistic details throughout the diorama, including inset sections of walls that look like sections of plaster have flaked off in the ancient city.

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A knight needs to drill every day to stay in top condition

There was a (perhaps deservedly?) forgotten LEGO Castle theme from the early 2000s called Knight’s Kingdom with large figures, which introduced many specialized parts that appear to be hard to use other than for their apparently intended purpouse. You would expect me to reveal a surprisingly innovative use of such elements in the newest creation by Russian LEGO builder Red, but the real surprise is how elegantly the builder used the said pieces simply for their intended purpose, which is often a risky move among highly critical LEGO builders. On the other hand, there are many imaginative techniques throughout the build, which reward a viewer inspecting it closely. The best part, however, must be the figure’s menacing general shape, which gives a strong impression of a very muscular man in impenetrable armor, and yet keeping a strange sense of elegance – a perfect combination for a knight.

Playable Life-size 88 Key LEGO Piano Keyboard

Tickling the ivories is clearly a hobby for alanboar. Combine that with a love of ABS and you have this beautiful full-size, 88-key soft-touch piano keyboard which he has meticulously reconstructed out of around 5,000 LEGO elements. At first glance, you may be forgiven for thinking this was real — as it looks much like a genuine, life-size, real piano keyboard. Measuring 1.4m by 30cm (4.5 feet by 12 inches) this amazing replica is even playable! My favorite feature is how Alan has customized it with his own name emblazoned across the top. A beautiful piece of equipment that would not look amiss set up on stage with a world-famous keyboardist and supporting band.

’32 Ford Deuce served in true vintage style

This classic hot rod, built by Andrea Lattanzio, doesn’t have a bright red or racing green paint job, but a rather more drab shade of tan. Officially known as Cordoba Tan, it was a colour used almost exclusively by Ford, and the actual vehicle depicted is a 1932 Ford Deuce 3 Window Coupé. The hot rod is awesome, but for me the background workshop with its vintage details draws the whole image together. I love the vintage Coca-Cola bottle vending machine, the palate with Esso oil spilling onto the floor, and the retro radio on the window sill.

This particular Deuce was built in California and shipped to Japan where its new owner lives. Takehito Yamato contacted the Walden Speed Shop in Pomona, California, to order a traditional hot rod. Andrea has also captured this hot rod’s details in LEGO as you can see from the broken-down view showing the red Chevy ZZ383 with aluminium heads in all its glory.

We all change. When you think about it, we’re all different people, all through our lives.

We’ve seen plenty of great LEGO TARDIS models over the years, including the rather excellent LEGO Ideas 21304 Doctor Who set released at the end of 2015. Prior to the official set, most builders focused on creating great police boxes, rather than the detailed interiors that generally vary from Doctor to Doctor. Inthert corrects this oversight with the main console room of the 11th Doctor’s TARDIS, including the white interior of the front door and the sloped walls with circular openings.

The console itself is lovely, with various controls that only the Doctor and a few experienced companions understand how to operate. The floor is built from trans-clear plates, and various walkways lead off to other parts of the vessel’s enormous interior.

My only complaint is that the scene feels a bit quiet, so I’ll just assume that the Doctor is off on an adventure with Amy and Rory.

LEGO Ninjago 70623 Destiny’s Shadow [Review]

The LEGO Ninjago Movie and the new 2017 Ninjago sets that will accompany the film are set to release this September. To tide ourselves over until then, let’s take a look at Set 70623: Destiny’s Shadow which was released earlier this year.

The set retails for $29.99 and has 360 pieces. Considering the $0.10 per piece pricing many LEGO fans have come to expect, Destiny’s Shadow actually comes in below the expected price range. Additionally, the set currently has a 4.8 out of 5 stars review on Amazon (courtesy of five, yes five, total reviewers who either bought the set for their son or their grandson). Not bad!

Read the full review of 70623 Destiny’s Shadow after the jump

Paradise Lost

Where other builders might only use a single shade of green, we’ve come to count on the fact that Sergeant Chipmunk uses at least three, and to great effect. Chipmunk’s most recent creation cleverly utilizes several unusual and vibrant LEGO colors to create a tropical paradise. I particularly love the combination of dark green and azure on the ship sails. In addition to the use of color, this pirate scene also has a great sense of movement and action. Look closely and you’ll see that one of the sailors lost his hat (and quite possibly, his life).

To the edge of the universe and back. Endure and survive.

While it’s always going to be hard to top the massive 20,000-brick diorama of The Last of Us by Tim Schwalfenberg that we featured earlier this year, the post-apocalyptic video game is so full of atmosphere that I’m glad to see other LEGO builders tackle the haunting game. Christophe captures the protagonists as they approach a dilapidated building. Foliage cascades from an upper floor, with broken glass hanging from windows. My favorite detail is the air conditioning unit on the second floor.

I do wonder what kind of interior Christophe has included in his build, because one of the only shots other than the one above is of Ellie’s guitar sitting silent in an empty room.

Tiny legends: Freddy Mercury and Brian May, BrickHeadz style

Thanks to this LEGO tribute to the legendary rock group Queen by Krzysztof J, I’m singing softly to myself, affirming my role as a champion and contemplating Galileo. Tiny Freddy is resplendent in his iconic yellow jacket, rocking that mic like no other, hand raised. The suave hairstyle is genius, much like the inspiring persona. And Brian? That hair. Positioning all of those 1×1 round plates must have been mind-numbing, but the end result is spectacular. His guitar is perfect. It’s a little detail, but man: those bases are lovely. I would love to see LEGO’s BrickHeadz line use those!

Do kings have bad heir days if they’re always wearing a crown?

Castle is an evergreen theme: always there, always lovely, always relevant. This beautiful castle gate caught my eye with its bright colors and clean build. The highlight of this build from Milan Skeiz are the minifigures (including the archers), which have custom crocheted coats! He’s made quite an elegant attempt at a boat build; I would have never guessed he’d never built a LEGO boat before. His take on the sail and mast is unique; I’d love to see one in real life like that!

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Massive LEGO Who Framed Roger Rabbit display built with over 250k pieces

The good folks of KC Bricklab have come a long way since they started the Kansas City-based LEGO club five years ago. Their most recent exploit is an incredible journey through the half live-action, half-animated feature film Who Framed Roger Rabbit. The 1988 Robert Zemeckis film is filled with hairy escapades, quick humor, and more than a bit of weirdness, and at 8 by 16 feet, KC Bricklab’s display brings it all to life.

The display was a collaborative effort by 19 members of KC Bricklab, and contains the zany mainstreet of Toontown, the huge Acme factory warehouse, and a bit of psychedelic forest among other scenes.

KC Bricklab began planning the build in December of 2016, and had it completed in time for display at Chicago’s Brickworld LEGO convention in June. Although the club meets monthly, most of the planning was done virtually, and the finished display for the convention was the first time the builders got to see the full layout assembled.

Click to see the rest of the images

Zeus, God of thunder and the sky

Perennial TBB favorite Moko has given us a great blessing: Greek god Zeus in BIONICLE. Somehow I suspect the real Zeus would be jealous as this model is more fabulous than he is. There are a lot of things to comment on here, so let’s dive in.

The shields are perfectly sized and shaped to give Zeus the buff body that everyone, human or otherwise, seems to favor. The use of the gold mask as the shoulder gives great shaping – and check out those biceps! Appropriately, he is haloed by blades, adding to his intimidating stance. I particularly love his hair. That’s not a color you see often, if at all, and it makes this model stand out.