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.

Batman gets the drop on Joker’s goons in LEGO Arkham Asylum

There are plenty of candidates for “best version of Batman,” many of which will soon have their own LEGO BrickHeadz design, but a strong case can be made for the star of Batman: Arkham Asylum video game as the GOAT of Batmen. The game makes Batman a predator who uses the environment to stalk and take out goons, but more than that, the design trains the player to see the world through Batman’s eyes. Tom Studs captures the game’s DNA in LEGO with a vignette set in the Arkham Medical Facility. The industrial vibes are spot on thanks to a mix of printed tiles, tubing, and brick-built machinery. Most importantly, the scene has everything Batman needs to take down the Joker’s henchmen, like floor grates to sneak through, power boxes to disable with a batarang, and of course, a well-placed gargoyle on which to perch. All that’s missing is a Riddler Trophy.

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Alien juicer is sure to add something special to your morning routine

Everyone knows that fresh-squeezed juice is good for you, but I’m not sure if this LEGO appliance by James Zhan is a very smart choice. Who knows what kind of side effects you might endure by sampling a beverage extracted from an alien plant? Health benefits aside, there can be no doubt that this modern machine looks like it would fit right in beside a Kitchen Aid or a Cuisinart. The black motor at the back looks like it could turn any alien flora into a smoothie in no time.

Long have I desired to look upon this tiny LOTR diorama

In a film full of striking imagery, there’s one scene that nevertheless manages to capture the gravity, grandeur, and beauty of Middle-earth all on its own. I’m talking about the scene in The Fellowship of the Ring when the eponymous Fellowship takes the Anduin river past the towering Argonath, colossal statues that mark the ancient borders of Gondor. MorlornEmpire‘s fabulous microscale LEGO Argonath captures the moment in miniature. The (tiny) giant statues themselves are instantly recognizable, their outstretched arms captured with rounded tiles and plates, but it’s the tinier things (like the overturned 1×1 plate-with-tooth elements for boats or the lighter-blue SNOT plates for the boats’ wakes) that really make this build worthy of the great kings of old.

A post-human paradise in LEGO

Engaging with LEGO bricks can be an act of play, a hobby, fandom, even an investment, but for some builders, LEGO bricks are an artistic medium just like clay or oil paints. Mihai Marius Mihu is one of those creators who uses the brick to explore big ideas, with motifs that carry over across works and even transcend mediums. After a long building hiatus, Mihai is back to LEGO with “The Garden of the Goddess,” a diorama in silhouette that serves as a culmination of years of exploring this post-human future.

The “ash giant” humanoid figure climbing the hill first appeared in Mihai’s underworld-inspired LEGO vignettes a decade ago, seemingly representing a husk of humanity. The goddess on the left, with her three black orbs, is featured in numerous drawings over recent years. The statue of a face on the right is my favorite element, both for the startlingly lifelike human profile, and the effective use of Technic bricks to convey the geological timescales at play. It’s fascinating to see how Mihai’s ideas translated from sketch into LEGO model.

Mihai’s work often touches on the mythological afterlife, encounters with the unknowable, and human transmutation. It feels in conversation with fiction from Dan Simmons, Jeff Vandermeer, Octavia Butler and Ridley Scott. Work like Mihai’s doesn’t need to be explained. I’m just grateful that the artist allows us to follow his journey over the years, whether in pencil, music, or in brick.

A bonsai tree in the hand is worth two in the bush

Fans building LEGO bonsai trees is nothing new, but I do have to “hand” it to Thomas Jenkins for their genius use of several parts from the green Marvel Hulk figure, or “bigfig” as they are sometimes called. The smooth curves of the arm and the fist make great terrain for this miniature tree, but my favorite part is the lower jaw of a Star Wars dewback used in the lower-left corner. The gray tray is made from a variety of curved elements, and several attached to the build studs-down are another nice touch, with two little feet made from quarter circle tiles. Now I know what to do with all my Sandy bigfigs from Monkie Kid.

The Borg of Star Trek are never bourgeois

As intimidating as the Borg can be in Star Trek, the Next Generation, I still recommend lowering the shields for this gorgeous LEGO transmission by Pandis Pandus. It’s a stellar example of what we in the brick-building business call “greebling.” But unlike the Borg, don’t let this technical lingo scare you. Think of it as a “technical texture,” all pipes and tubes and grills serving some nondescript purpose on a spacecraft. And unlike the smooth exterior of a ship like the Enterprise, all these bumps and ridges don’t play nice with aerodynamics and the need to enter a planet’s atmosphere. On fact, you should use it on your next build -no, on EVERY build from now on. Assimilate. Assimilate.

Dueling wizard builds give us something to crow about

Sometimes great minds really do think alike, as evidenced by two rhyming vignettes created for the Summer Joust “Beast Masters” category. Each creation features a brick-built blue spellcaster and their over-sized corvid companion, but despite similar theming, the two models demonstrate very distinct approaches to setting a LEGO scene. First up we have “The Wizard and the Raven” by Ids de Jong. Another admirer described the build as having an “I Spy appeal,” which is a great way to put it, with so many fun elements from throughout the years decorating the scene. The human figure, for which Ids credits the style to Markus Rollbühler, is definitely bringing strong wizard energy with the clever beard technique utilizing Gandalf’s hair piece. I love the personality of of the crow with the nightmare eyes from LEGO Dreamzzz, a good friend who seems eager to deliver scrolls to distant lands.

Next is “Rook and Ruin” from builder Maxx Davidson (who’s been on a roll on the site lately with his whimsical creations!). Maxx’s vignette focuses a bit more on story as it captures the warlock mid-casting as his spell rips the ground asunder. I love the inspired use of a minifig arm for the warlock’s nose, the hand gripping a pair or roots to make the mustache. Nya’s Rising Dragon head makes for a wicked torso. The rook mixes smooth and spiky elements with a touch of pearlescent tiles to create some truly lovely plumage. Two mages, two crows, two magical builds!

LEGO lettering: a blessing and a cursive

LEGO builder Kristel Whitaker is an absolute rebel! She’s not going to let something like a grid of studs keep her from crafting a spot-on remake of the LEGO Scala logo. With so many curved tiles, modified plates, and stud offsets, Kristel is able to trace out S-C-A-L-A in only two layers of red. It certainly pulled its weight for the Scala Murder Mystery Mansion at Brickworld Chicago a few weekends ago.

Jedi master and padawan defend the kyber cave

In the world of LEGO Star Wars, it’s not often that we get a reference to the all-too-brief animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars by Genndy Tartakovsky. But builder r_t_zan is not ready to move on from the Cartoon Network piece in this scene from Chapters 14 through 16. Depicting the start of the Battle of Ilum, Jedi Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee are surprised by Separatist droids attempting to destroy caverns on the ice planet of Ilum. Kyber crystals, shown in transparent greens and blues, are the power source for all lightsabers. So it goes without saying that keeping this cavern safe is a top priority for the Jedi. Color plays a big role in this creation, whether it’s using light aqua to add an icy blue tint to the snow, or the mix of old and current dark gray in the caverns below. While the display doesn’t contain much action, it certainly puts LEGO texture on full display. Plus, this build is a great way to showcase and show off a couple of rarely-seen minifigures from a rarely-seen Star Wars source.

Just an itsy-bitsy taste of nostalgia

If you need a little more nostalgia in your life, you can get some teeny-tiny doses from these LEGO builds by Rick Brickham! Rick has taken on the challenge of miniaturizing a number of classic LEGO sets from years past. Not only are these great representations of the larger sets, they are examples of great building techniques in their own right. Let’s take a look at each build individually!

Click here for some close-ups!

Respect! Power! Banana (abs)!

Just the other day, I was singing the praises of Maxx Davidson‘s LEGO building skills courtesy of a yellow taxi-crab. However he’s raided the yellow parts bin again, and this time I don’t think I can be as complimentary. Now we’re no strangers to unsettling builds on The Brothers Brick; we’ve featured everything from Eldritch horrors to gory brick-built bloodbaths. After all that, I never expected a muscular Minion to be the thing to give me sleepless nights. I’ll admit, the bananas for chiseled abs are kinda neat. But I don’t like how seductively this guy is looking at me, particularly with that flex going on. Some things, once built, just can’t be unseen.

Maxx says he’s “truly sorry” about this one. We’ll go and cleanse our minds in our archives of Max’s less-disturbing LEGO builds, and consider it “apology accepted.”

Aerospace LEGO enthusiast nails hammerhead aircraft design

Capturing the subtle curves of an aircraft’s wings and fuselage in LEGO takes incredible skill. Seeing the lines in Damien Labrousse‘s “Shark Fighter” aircraft, one can’t help but sit up and take notice. The ever-so slight tapering from 6 studs wide at the cockpit to 10 at the rear is masterfully done. The wings and flaps are also top gun design. Damien based his model on a piece of concept art from E Wo Kaku Peter, and the results perfectly capture the inspiration’s silhouette, while making a few creative deviations that help the model shine in LEGO. In a fitting callback for this nautically named work, it shares the same registry number as the LEGO City Seaplane.