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.

Thales Orbital Defence Orcinus Class PAD Gunboat

Immersed in and inspired by a broad range of innovative source materials in sci-fi — from novels and short stories to TV and video games — builders of LEGO space creations have no boundaries to their creativity. Tromas proves this by not only building a chunky, believable starfighter but also giving it a chunky, believable name with a chunky, believable backstory. This gunboat sports a massive quad cannon toward the rear, with lovely orange stripes on a white hull. The reclined cockpit configuration has a viewport built from a transparent hexagonal wing piece integrated among wedge plates. But what really draws the eye are all the little technical details around the edge — not your usual gray greebles, but hyper-realistic black and gold thrust nozzles, white sensor arrays, spots of sand green, and more.

The rear includes no less detail, with primary engines that match the color scheme of the small directional nozzles.

Check out more pictures of this great spaceship after the jump

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Begun, the LEGO Clone War has

KW_Vauban captured the Geonosian Petranaki Arena scene from Attack of the Clones rather well with LEGO bricks. The builder’s use of dark orange bricks on detailed and accurately constructed Geonosian architecture was a smart choice. In particular, I like the construction of the main gate with the CIS overlook above.

Dozens of Geonosians line the arena, while Battle Droids and Jedi fight below.

Click to see more of the Geonosian Arena

See the sights of Bespin in your very own Twin-Pod Cloud Car [Instructions]

Last week we brought you instructions on how to build a terrifically cute GONK droid, and this week we’re excited about the brand new trailer for Star Wars: The Last Jedi, so we’re revisiting the Star Wars universe for one of the more unusual ships. Although only seen in a few quick shots in The Empire Strikes Back, the little Storm IV Twin-Pod “Cloud Car” struck a chord with fans, including LEGO builder hachiroku24, who’s built an awesome minifigure-scale version. LEGO produced a single minifigure-scale set of the tiny two-seater craft back in 2002, but not only was it the wrong color, it wasn’t particularly detailed. This version is much improved, adding cool details like the engine intake between the pods and smoother curves.

Best yet, the builder also gives us instructions for it in this handy video walkthrough, so you can build your own Bespin security ship.

Hop a ride on the Imperial Carousel

The Imperial forces from Star Wars sure do know how to have fun when they’re off-screen not fighting the rebels. At least that’s what Star Wars fan Handoko Setyawan imagined by taking the design of 10196 LEGO Creator Carousel, recoloring it, making a few mods, and throwing in some Micro Fighters to create what he calls the Imperial Carousel.

According to Handoko, the original design of LEGO’s carousel had to be structurally enhanced to accommodate the heavier Micro Fighter vehicles, which also required some tweaking. I love the various replacement motifs (such as the Storm Trooper helmets) as well as the muted Imperial grey theme.

The build really stands out once you see it running, as shown in the video below:

Remastered LEGO City Undercover now available on the Switch, Wii, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One [News]

Four years ago, Chase McCain embarked on a journey through LEGO City (one of the most crime-ridden cities that has ever existed, based on the abundance of police sets) to uncover plots and solve perplexing puzzles. Now, he is back and better than ever, remastered for the Switch, Wii, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One.

In the game, Chase is a loose-cannon cop patrolling the city and tasked with ending a citywide crime spree orchestrated by underworld boss Rex Fury. He uses his humor, wit and building ability to find clues, fight thugs, and even build himself an array of vehicles superheroes would lust after. Of all the LEGO open-world-type games, this one is used most effectively, and the game has a strong accompanying storyline as well.

The game is full of LEGO humor and cameos from other famous detectives, and even plays at times like a PG-rated Grand Theft Auto, showing that both kids and adults can enjoy this game on different levels. Chase McCain is also coming to LEGO Dimensions later this year in a scaled-down world, so it will be fun to see him interact with the likes of Batman, Voldemort, and Sonic the Hedgehog.

A place to observe the stars

Unfortunately, Madrid now suffers from too much light pollution to be a good spot for observing the stars and planets. The Real Observatorio de Madrid remains the seat of the Spanish National Astronomical Observatory and houses historic scientific equipment, including a 25-foot reflecting telescope from the 18th Century. Víctor M. Nouvilas has built a fantastic LEGO version of the Observatory in the style of LEGO’s own Architecture theme. Victor has captured the neoclassical style of the building with its clean lines and, in particular, the dramatic columns of the main entrance and the circular temple-like dome on top.

We are lost in the nowhere

I haven’t read Tunnels by Roderick Gordon and Brian Williams but this massive LEGO creation by Caleb Schilling makes me think that I need to pick up a copy of the book right now. I mean, nobody would build a 5 1/2 foot tall LEGO creation based on a book that wasn’t worth reading, right?

According to Caleb, this LEGO creation weighs 80 pounds and separates into multiple sections. I can’t get over the sheer size of this thing. And it’s not just impressive because it’s huge, it’s also incredibly detailed! Each layer has a unique feel. The base features nicely-done brick-built versions of the first two book covers. I love the rockwork on the first subterranean layer and the creepy tan layer (called the “Pore”), and the train, and the underground city… ugh. I’ve got to read this book.

For more photos of Caleb’s incredible creation, check out Flickr and for those visiting Brickworld Chicago this year, you’ll be able to see this behemoth in person!

Crouching tiger, hidden cannon

Tigers have the reputation for being fearsome beasts at the best of times, but turn a tiger into a mecha tiger with some hidden weaponry and you have created a whole new level of danger. Christian Lintan has created a mecha tiger that almost looks like a statue with only white LEGO parts used. The crouching stance is spot on, a pose that can be recognised in domestic felines as well as their bigger cousins. Powerful legs, robust torso and a muscular neck are all nicely defined by a mix of curved slopes and wedges.

And if those sharp claws and bared teeth are not enough to frighten off any would-be attacker, the deployment of this tiger’s cannon should do the trick.

The more things change, the more they stay the same

Last year Chris McVeigh kicked it old-school with a superbly recreated retro computer desk that made us nostalgic for floppy disks. And since reboots, remixes, and reinvention are all the rage these days, I’m inclined to forgive Chris for creating a remix of his own model. Besides, unlike certain unnamed failed reboots of recent decades, he has improved on an already excellent idea. The highlight for me is the inclusion of my all time favorite computer – the Amiga 500 – complete with joystick, floppy, and disk caddy.

Chris has also captured a standard blue office chair perfectly with some very cool techniques. And the desk makes my inner grumpy old man think “they don’t make things like they used to”. It even includes working drawers! I also love the inclusion of a trusty calculator and cassette tape. All that is missing is a pencil for rewinding the damn thing …ok, maybe some things are better now than they used to be.

Rebellions are built on the hope... of beating your high score

As his final entry for a building contest run by German fan site Imperium Der Steine, builder Ben Tritschler has crafted something extraordinary: a working Rogue One themed pinball machine! It features elements from many scenes in the movie, such as Jedha, Darth Vader’s castle on Mustafar,
the Battle of Scarif and the final Star Destroyer “ballet”.

In some ways the choice of a pinball machine makes perfect sense; these were everywhere right before the original Star Wars movie A New Hope came out (since video games were still relatively new back then) and Rogue One takes place shortly before the events of A New Hope.

Ben demonstrates the play features of his machine in the video above. With it’s working plunger and flippers, this thing looks like more fun than bulls-eyeing womp rats in a T-16 (whoops, wrong movie). Just keep your fingers moving, or the balls will be slipping past you faster than star systems through Tarkin’s fingers (ok, I’ll stop now).

Nana, do little boys and girls go to heaven when they die?

Limbo is an indie video game about a young boy wandering in an intimidating forest, that was first released in 2011. Since then the game has been praised for its unique atmosphere made up of visuals, sound, and gameplay. German builder grubaluk has managed to balance these three fundamental components as perfectly as in the game — not with code, but with LEGO bricks.

The best thing about this work’s presentation is that only one picture is needed. The boy, the grass in the foreground, and spooky trees in the background look exactly as in the game. You really do have to double-check each piece just to make sure that the whole build is a small masterpiece somewhere between a children’s toy and an iconic story of a child.

Our browsers can’t repel cuteness of that magnitude!

Gial Ackbar is the Rebellion’s most famous admiral. Or as builder Djokson says, he’s the “screaming fish man from that one space movie”. Large aquatic eyes lend Ackbar an innate adorableness, and this version by does a fantastic job of rendering Ackbar’s stupified expression with the help of an upturned Hero Factory mask for the long forehead. I also love the simplicity of the uniform, which perfectly distils the Rebel coat using just a few elements.