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.

My imagination is a monastery and I am its monk

Here is another beautiful build made for the Guilds of Historica by the always amazing John Snyder. His Katoren Monastery was built “just for fun to mess around with the dark blue / white color scheme”. The rock formation is very organic and the flora accents it beautifully. I love the angled cobbled path, patchwork rock walls, and the staging and design of the minifigs.

As well as another angle of the build showcasing the wonderful interiors and cheese slope mosaic walls, John has also included a little back story: “Located on the Eastern outskirts of Katoren, this monastery survived the Kaliphlin civil war better than most. A natural spring was the reason for the monastery’s location, and the spring continues to provide fresh water for all the inhabitants, as well as make the surrounding area very lush compared to much of the Kaliphlin landscape.”

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Ponies are cool, but LEGO ponies are about 20% cooler

If the rain clouds are still hovering overhead then it’s time to call the cavalry, otherwise known as Rainbow Dash. In the world of hit TV show My Little Pony this pugnacious pegasus maintains the weather and clears the skies of Ponyville. British builder Andrew Harvey used around 3700 LEGO bricks to capture Dash’s colourful likeness, even managing to give her a sense of movement in the process. This sculpture is cleverly made using a “studs out” technique for the head, body and wings – but those expressive eyes are my favourite part of this model.

There’s also a view of Rainbow Dash’s swishing tail as she makes her way back to Ponyville to kick away a few rain clouds. And if you’re in the vicinity of Manchester, England this weekend you can even marvel at this model in person at the Bricktastic LEGO show.

Not so soft now, am I?

Simon Liu has not only created an awesome mech that reminds me of ED-209 from Robocop in the best way, but it’s piloted by the cutest creature that has ever been strapped to a robot. The Commander Carrots Exosuit is operated by a DUPLO Rabbit plushie. This adorable ball of trouble even comes kitted out with matching red armor.

Looking past the hilarity of it all, this is an extremely solid build with a lot of great detailing. The liberal use of the Technic gear rack gives a lot of nice texture to the legs, and the little cage/cockpit area is simple but effective. Make sure you also check out this shot of the back of the build, which is full of even more detail. This build is a lot bigger than it seems, with plenty of greebles packed in. Oh – the rabbit has a jetpack too!

Take it to the bridge

Who’s that trip-trapping over my LEGO bridge? Well, according to Andreas Lenander, it’s the King and his Knights — one of whom has taken a tumble into the stream. The hapless swimmer injects some fun detail into the scene, but the undoubted highlight must be the arches on the bridge — fashioned from partly-connected 1×2 plates.

The LEGO community and the dark side of comments

The online LEGO community is an all-around friendly place and quite open to newcomers, with very few exceptions. What few realize is that this comes at a high price; the comments exchanged by builders are friendly and positive — and often that means only positive. And here lies a potential pitfall, because honest critiques and (seeming) negativity tend to be avoided for fear of creating awkward situations. Additionally, not all builders want to receive constructive feedback. The end result is that most creations gather a plethora of dry comments that do not really help the builders improve much. I have been passively raising awareness to this problem for years now, but never have I gone to such lengths as Aaron van Cleave, who has made a series of bad creations as a social experiment.

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LEGO Bento Box that actually made my stomach growl

This Fried Shrimp Bento Box literally made me hungry just looking at it. ABS chef Moko certainly knows how to make our taste buds tingle. As for me, I only know good food when I see it, but I’m going to give it a go and identify them – you can correct me out if I’m in wrong!

Top Left, clockwise – We have boiled pumpkin and some shiny cherry tomatoes, Next to that is cabbage for our daily intake of healthy greens, followed by the main serving of fried shrimp! At the bottom right corner, we’ve got what looks like a serving of meat, beef perhaps, and some asparagus and tamagoyaki (rolled omelet) and a lovely portion of chuka lidako (seasoned baby octopus). Finally, a healthy portion of Japanese rice topped with an Umeboshi (pickled plum)

If you still don’t hear your tummy growling after that, I suggest you take a closer look at the parts that were used to make ABS plastic so appetizing! I’m just going to call out that Umeboshi made from a minifigure helmet, and the baby octopus tentacles which are made from sausages! What else can you find? In the meantime, please excuse me as I have to head over to my favourite Japanese restaurant now.

LEGO Creator Expert 10258 London Bus is the latest addition to your London-themed LEGO collection [News]

Since the introduction of 10253 Big Ben, 10214 Tower Bridge and some LEGO Architecture sets, the LEGO Company seems to be on a mission to LEGO-ify London. Today, they’re adding more to the batch with a model of another hallmark of the British capital with the 10258 London Bus. This 1686 piece set will be an awesome addition to the LEGO Creator vehicle lineup as well, taking its place right next to another British icon, the 10242 Mini Cooper. The iconic red double-decker bus is an impressive copy of an AEC Routemaster, which first appeared on London streets in 1956 and ran till late 2005, becoming one of the world’s best-known public transportation vehicles.

If you want to be among the first fans to see 10258 London Bus in person, on July 1 you can visit one of 5 LEGO brand stores in London for an official unveiling of the set and the ability to purchase it early. For everyone else, however, if you want to buy one you’ll have to wait for the launch date of August 1, 2017, or get VIP early access on July 17. We’ve got the full press release, designer video, and all the images below.

The London Bus will retail for $139.99 in the USA and £109.99 and €119.99 in the UK and Germany, respectively.

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Find your inner LEGO peace on the mountain summit

There is something about this mountaintop temple by David Zambito that just makes me want to be there. Climbing the mountain for days to reach it, and then meditating for just as long. The serene environment is achieved by soft, earth-tone colours and a warm background. There are many great techniques used throughout, like jet engines as bells, and hair pieces and convex tiles as cobblestone walls. I am not sure whether I am supposed to imagine a larger temple behind the scene or not, but it works either way.

Bet he won’t reprimand his daughter

Every LEGO builder knows it’s better down where it’s wetter, but LEGO 7 takes it into uncharted depths of building skill with his rendition of King Triton and Princess Ariel. The Little Mermaid herself is immediately recognisable, but it’s the modeling of the Trident-wielding monarch which grabs all the attention in a fabulous combination of System and Hero Factory parts. That beard! That crown! Great stuff, but the best bit is the use of hot air balloon pieces for the tail. Genuinely inspired.

3 LEGO sets from DC’s upcoming Justice League movie revealed [News]

Today, LEGO has pulled the wraps off three upcoming tie-in sets for DC’s Superhero Justice League movie, which is due in theaters November 17. The LEGO sets will arrive earlier, hitting store shelves August 1. This will be the first time LEGO has produced a film-accurate Aquaman minifigure, while the Batman and Flash minifigures sport updated designs. Between the new sets for The LEGO Ninjago Movie, Thor: Ragnarok, and the inevitable slew of Star Wars sets, it seems much of LEGO’s offerings for the rest of the year that we’ve seen so far are tie-ins to the big screen.

See all the images below.

Super-Duper Duplo Mech

Who’s the King of the Toybox? Well, I think we can answer that now. nobu-tary‘s latest LEGO mechanoid/hardsuit creation is a typically beefy beast, but tricked-out in an atypical colour scheme, accented with the use of Duplo bricks. I like the air of comic menace this thing is lugging around.

Don’t miss the rear view, with the Collectible Minifigure retro-style rocket put to excellent use as a jetpack — a perfect fit for the overall aesthetic.

Whilst I love the model, can we maybe see LEGO mechs adopting a different pose? That whole “chin down, hips forward” stance thing is becoming something of a trope — the cyberpunk equivalent of steampunk’s brown.

New Elementary LEGO typography competition results [News]

Back in May we told you about the LEGO typography competition taking place over on the LEGO-elements-and-colours-obsessed blog New Elementary. Over 100 creative and ingenious font designs were submitted, making the judges’ job really tough. The final three winners can be seen below, but it’s worth seeing the lot!

Eduardo Moreira (Brazil):

Li Li (USA)

Jeffrey Kong, Artisan Bricks (Singapore):

You can read more about the entries and the judging process over on New Elementary.