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.

First rule of space exploration: Avoid the giant honeycomb structures

Mark Erickson is most well known for his castle scenes, but recently his builds in clearly superior sci-fi themes have been showing up some of the most experienced science fiction specialists. I love the facial expressions Mark has chosen for each of these intrepid explorers. The foremost astronaut — Captain Simon Lou — seems to be smiling nervously as he tries to persuade the Bug Beings that they mean them no harm, while the white astronaut seems to be yelling “I told you this wasn’t the right way!”.

The use of the red buckets in the honeycomb structures is perfect, and to top off this scene Mark has used a mist machine to create an eerie atmosphere. This build is another entry to the ABS Builder Challenge, so check out the Flickr group to see more builds using the red bucket seed part.

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Stand by for... Gundamfall?

I love LEGO mecha, and this one by Caleb L does not disappoint. The Aardwolf III main combat system is inspired by the Gundam Model mecha, with its human-like proportions, long and straight legs, and simple color blocking. I like the use of custom stickers to add extra detail and realism.

Caleb has even managed to fit a minifgure inside the chest area. I love it when builders do this – it looks great while adding some functionality to the build.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for June 4, 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 June 2017.

TBB SET NEWS: When it rains, it pours! This week we’ve gotten an early look at the new Old Fishing Store and Thor sets, along with availability of LEGO’s new Summer wave. Happy shopping!

LEGO Ideas 21310 Old Fishing Store revealed — The latest addition to the LEGO Ideas range is a stunning 2,049 brick set based on a design by Dutch builder Robert Bontenbal, and available September 1st.
Summer 2017 wave of new LEGO sets now available, including Star Wars, Saturn V, and more — Summer is here, and the floodgates of LEGO sets have opened with 55 new sets available this week.
LEGO Boost is now available for preorder — LEGO’s new coding and motorization toolkit is now also available for pre-order from the LEGO Shop, shipping August 1.
LEGO officially reveals sets for Thor: Raganarok — Some amazing new minifigures join the Marvel Super Hero lineup with two sets from the anticipated upcoming Thor movie.

Continue reading →

LEGO Corvette Stingray takes you back to the 60’s

I don’t think many people would disagree with me if I said that the original Corvette Stingray is one of the most beautiful cars ever created. It’s a huge undertaking for a builder to try and replicate it, but luckily Dave Slater is up to the job. This red 1963 Corvette Stingray is just about perfect. Look at those lines!

The superb shaping is obviously the most impressive part of the build, but zoom in and you’ll find more fine details. Shutter pieces used for the hood vents, the long rubber pointed piece completing the stripe down the middle, and the obscure roof pieces used for that iconic split window back are all used to great effect.

This also isn’t the first Stingray this builder has built, it’s the third! We’ve featured his yellow Z51 already, and there’s also his blue 427 that we never got the chance to show off. Here’s a group shot of the trio:

LEGO Star Wars 75167 Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike Battle Pack [Review]

Since before the dawn of time, bounty hunters have been some of the most popular side characters in the Star Wars franchise, with Boba Fett and his iconic Slave I leading the pack. In The Empire Strikes Back, Darth Vader assembles a motley crew of bounty hunters aboard his Star Destroyer, commissioning them to hunt down the Rebels. 75167 Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike Battle Pack brings together four of the six bounty hunters in a single set under $15.

If that’s not enough already to run out and buy this set, read on for our hands-on review.

Read the full review of 75167 Bounty Hunter Speeder Bike Battle Pack

Pale Man is the stuff of nightmares

I’m not exactly sure what Anthony Wilson was going for with this undeniably expressive piece of LEGO art, but if his plan was to instill terror, I’d say he nailed it. Just look at those eyes. The self-removed heart, exhibited neatly in a glass case, doesn’t comfort me at all about this fellow’s intentions. He looks like he’s in a bad mood and wants to tell you all about it. No doubt Pale Man will fit in nicely with my other nightmares about giant spiders and man-eating bears.

Malaysian cultural icons featured in exclusive mini-builds [News]

A collaboration between LEGO and the fan community in Malaysia has inspired brick-built versions of cultural icons representing everyday things that locals can identify and appreciate as something to remind them of home. The four builds come packaged very much like standard LEGO sets with instructions and a box, and are offered as part of a Gift With Purchase promotion in Malaysia for the month of June.

As part of the community engagement process, candidate fan designs were first shortlisted by LEGO, then the chosen builds received design input from Nicholas Foo, a LEGO Certified Professional based in Singapore, before finally going into production. Continue reading →

LEGO Star Wars 75178 Jakku Quadjumper [Revew]

In Star Wars: Episode VII: The Force Awakens, as Rey and Finn try to escape Jakku, they run toward a parked spacecraft with four enormous engines, only to have it blown up by First Order TIE fighters. The vehicle, a Subpro Quadrijet transfer space-tug (or “Quadjumper”), never leaves the ground and only appears in the film for about three seconds. Nevertheless, here we are 18 months after the release of the movie with the LEGO Star Wars set 75178 Jakku Quadjumper, which includes 457 pieces with 5 minifigs and retails for $49.99.

We first saw the LEGO Quadjumper in person at Toy Fair in New York back in February, and the set is part of the summer 2017 wave of LEGO Star Wars sets.

Read the full review of 75178 Jakku Quadjumper

What are the three rules of owning a LEGO Gizmo?

(1) Keep your Gizmo away from bright lights, (2) don’t let him get wet, and of course (3) never feed him after midnight …no matter how much he begs. If you can stick to these rules, then you might be ready to build your very own 1980’s furball. Or it might just be safer to admire John Toulouse‘s adorable LEGO Mogwai (complete with a stylish wooden box). Yeah, that’s probably your safest bet.

An exotic bird of a heavenly blue colour

There seems to be a persisting presence of bird builds in the LEGO community, more so than other animals. Now Paul Lee joins the fun with his recreation of a Hyacinth Macaw. It is one of my favourite kinds of parrots personally, but I never expected it to be the bird of choice for nearly anyone else. While the legs are simplistic (still realistic), the facial detail and feather texture more than make up for it.

Pirates and ninjas and... robots?

Considering how successful LEGO’s Ninjago line is – with sets, cartoons and soon even a feature film – there is a surprising lack of fan creations under this theme. James Zhan defies this stereotype with his latest build of a roadside battle. The temple walker is a very interesting build, with great technical, robotic details at the bottom, and just as carefully chosen pieces for the temple’s architectural decoration. But this is so much more than just a walker on a road, the excellent minifig action makes the scene look alive.

Hong Kong LEGO stores offer limited edition space-themed mini builds [News]

It’s great to see how collaboration between LEGO and the AFOL community can bear fruit. In conjunction with the Hong Kong LEGO User Group (HKLUG), LEGO has produced an instruction booklet and promotional giveaway models to coincide with the launch of the 21309 NASA Saturn V. Buyers of the Saturn V will receive the limited edition booklet and bricks to build of one of five designs contained within it.

See all of the Hong Kong mini-builds after the jump