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.

A media empire under one LEGO roof

Manhattan bustles with the edifices of American enterprise, towering symbols of capitalism whose many styles span New York City’s distinct historical periods. Past, present, and future often lie within the same block, Art Deco and Modern architecture mingling to reflect the city’s status as a permanent symbol of capitalism. One building which exemplifies this mix of old and new is the Hearst Tower, painstakingly recreated here in LEGO form by Daniel Stoffler.

Built for and named after the famous American publisher William Randolph Hearst, the building claims a spot as the headquarters for one of the world’s largest media corporations, Hearst Communications, with ownership of numerous newspapers and publications including Esquire, Harper’s Bazaar and Cosmopolitan. The builder took on a daunting challenge recreating Hearst Tower, but the effort paid off with this accurate and realistically detailed model – which includes the original six-story base as well as the 40-story glass tower finished in 2006, here accomplished perfectly with triangular road sign elements. This makes for an interesting mix of architecture and an extremely impressive LEGO model.

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Secrets abound in a hidden jungle temple

Inside the jungle, where few venture, are secrets so hidden they remain forgotten to all but time. Occasionally, through a mix of determination and plain luck, those secrets will reveal themselves. That moment of discovery is caputured brilliantly in this jungle temple scene by master castle builder Jonas Wide.

Built for the Brethern of the Brick Seas collaborative role-playing project on Eurobricks, this scene is reminiscent of the discoveries made by conquistadores such as Pedro de Alvarado or Diego Velazquez de Cuellar during those early days of exploration in the New World. One can feel the mix of excitement and trepidation as Jonas’ explorers make their way up the stairs of this forgotten temple. The cautious stance of the lead explorer, musket at the ready, hints that discovery always includes an element of danger. Although the temple’s abandonment is evidenced by its crumbling stonework and jungle overgrowth, there is a sense that these explorers are not alone. Maybe this temple was abandoned on purpose, its secrets never meant to be found. In the blank spaces on earth, perhaps some things are better left undiscovered.

3,000 piece custom minifigure-scale Guardians of the Galaxy Milano

Many of you have probably seen the official LEGO Milano 76081 from the new Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2, or maybe even read our review of the microscale Milano which LEGO is currently giving away. Tyler Clites liked the ship so much, he made his own custom 3000 piece minifig-scale version with full interior! At 2 feet wide and a foot long, Tyler has recreated the unique shapes and curves of the craft with some very clever building techniques; the “beak” of the ship looks fantastic, and he has captured the swept back wings and feathered ailerons with style.

Tyler also teamed up with The Brick Show to show off all the details in his model:

https://youtu.be/cnMKd_RzSb0

I. Am. Cute.

We assume everyone is feeling the love for Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 2. However, if you’re dead inside and remain unconvinced then just take a look at this life-size LEGO rendition of Baby Groot — it’ll melt your heart and dance its way into your dreams. Stephen Juby has done an excellent job of capturing Baby Groot’s supercute expression, and the red jumpsuit is really nicely done, particularly the zipper. The plain baseplate is a bit of a distraction in the image, but when the main model is this cool we’re not going to worry too much.

It’s dangerous to go alone – take bricks

Hyrulean creatures and tufts of grass will prove no match for Julius von Brunk’s cleverly-built LEGO version of Young Link from The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time. Thee construction of the Deku Shield and Link’s facial expression are particularly good. A cute and instantly recognisable model.

DF-47 “Hawk” Starfighter

The DF-47 Hawk is a “polyvalent starfighter” designed by BobDeQuatre for the Mars Conglomerate. Built to patrol the borders and escort freighters, the fighter compensates for its lack of armor with excellent maneuverability. Another brilliant entry into the Real World +200 Starfighter Contest, this stud-less LEGO starfighter looks lighting-fast in white and red. Bob has done well to achieve the varied angles for the nose and wings. The light touch of blue in the radome, and the clever detailing with LEGO’s new curved and quarter circle tiles, all add to the allure of this awesome spacecraft.

Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue

I love it when builders pay homage to classic space – there’s something about the gray and blue livery that immediately reminds me of my childhood. Tim Goddard has used the novel Nexo Knight “Nexogon” piece to create the wonderful triangular shaped engines of this small space shuttle.

Nary a stud in sight, this sleek creation looks superb, especially the highly detailed greebling of the underbelly and engines. The rear hatch and cargo area look great, and I love the shaping of the nose with the clever use of the trans-yellow X-Wing canopy. For more details of the build and information on how Tim achieved those wonderful shapes check out his article over at New Elementary.

Stepping up from Kragle to drilling, cutting, and sanding – a chat with Randy Sluder [Interview]

Purists look away now, as we go inside the mind of self-proclaimed LEGO outlaw Randy Sluder and see some of the innovative building he is doing around the LEGO monorail system. Randy calls himself an outlaw because he’s not afraid to cut, drill, sand, and glue to create shapes LEGO never made. However, even he has lines he won’t cross — he only uses genuine LEGO bricks and the same glue LEGO themselves use on their large display models!

TBB: So Randy, tell us a little about yourself…

Randy: I’m a graphic artist by trade and have always liked the Art Deco style, so I gravitated to the Streamliner period of trains between 1935-1955. It was a time when “form follows function” wasn’t in vogue, the emphasis was on great design. And many people don’t know that Art Deco train design was as important to the movement as the architecture.

TBB: Where does your interest in monorail trains come from?

Randy: All my life I’ve been able to hear the sound of a train, at night, no matter where I’ve lived, and because I’m a wannabe “rail fan”, and a LEGO geek! What started as a fun project for the grandkids has blossomed into a cottage industry. In building a track for them I thought it would be nice to have a few more monorails. In researching LEGO monorail designs I found most were childish, block-type designs with the better ones made from current LEGO train bodies. Nobody was designing alternate vehicles for the LEGO monorail system. So after a lot of interesting research, I started creating trains for the monorail track.

Click to read the rest of the interview

Freezing temperatures and flesh-eating monsters? These minifigs might not survive the night

These two brave souls have certainly been put through the wringer by Graham Gidman. A horde of undead creatures is swarming their camp and they’ve buried two of their own. And given the lack of snow on those graves, I’d say those deaths were recent. Emotions have to be running high. In spite of the horror depicted, Graham’s LEGO scene is actually quite lovely. The texture on the bridge looks crumbly and the icy river makes my teeth chatter just looking at it.

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for May 14, 2017 [News]

In addition to some of 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 second week of May 2017. (Shout-out to all the moms out there!)

TBB NEWS, REVIEWS & INSTRUCTIONS: This week we reviewed a massive rocket, got a sneak peek at some upcoming sets, and learned that no one keeps Unikitty in a corner.

LEGO Ideas 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V Review —The Saturn V is the largest Ideas set produced to date, clocking in at a massive 1,969 pieces in an homage to Apollo 11. When countdown ends and the rocket set launches on June 1, 2017, it will retail for $119.99.
LEGO Star Wars summer 2017 wave official set images revealed — Rathtars, Quadjumpers and Freemakers, oh my! Check out the new Star Wars sets, including a new crisp Anakin!
Summer 2017 LEGO City sets revealed — LEGO City is going beyond the borders of the town to explore the depths of the jungle, the deep sea and a few beaches.
LEGO Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 The Milano 30449 mini set review — From now until May 19, if you buy over $35 of LEGO from the LEGO Shop Online or a LEGO store, you’ll get the nifty little mini set 30449 The Milano as a free bonus.
Build your own build your own mini AT-AT — Miro Dudas created a fantastic mini AT-AT with clean lines and almost no visible studs, and we are sharing the instructions to build it!
Unikitty show coming to Cartoon Network — Cartoon Network and Warner Brothers have now officially announced that The LEGO Movie’s Unikitty is getting her own animated TV show.

OTHER LEGO NEWS: Besides a couple of noticeable pieces of news, this week was pretty uneventful in the LEGO themed part of the web. Here are the best of the rest.

From concept art to store shelves: How Lego creates its ‘Star Wars’ toys, CNBC — Get an inside look at how a set like Rey’s speeder goes from a drawing to a set.
LEGO announces interactive “World of Creativity” experience tour — You are in luck if you living in Savannah GA, Albuquerque NM, Tacoma WA, Boise ID, or Madison WI. This summer LEGO is taking some of it’s fun on the road.
This LEGO mech suit guy is basically a superhero, Popular Mechanics — Gerry Burrows devoted four months to building a lifesize Lego mech suit out of 30,000 bricks.

Home is where the hearthstone is

Actually a more exact title would be that home is where one’s hearthstone is set to, but I digress. For those not in the know, the hearthstone is an item in World of Warcraft that returns its user to their home. It’s also the icon of the digital card game Hearthstone. I be planning to build this iconic little pebble for a few years now, but it was always at the bottom of the list, until I decided to make it as a concept build for my LUG.

There should be instructions available at one point, though I can’t say when. Any purists bothered by the sticky tape over the light-up spiral can be at ease, as it is only meant for support in transport and handling by less than careful hands. Oh, and it also lights up!

Face your fear, where screams never end

It’s quite rare to see a fully functioning roller coaster, especially one this large and complex and using 100% off-the-shelf LEGO elements. It does a look a little fragile at times, with the whole structure wobbling away in the high speed turns, but I’m pretty sure builder Hoezer2 has got it all figured out and it’s gonna hold up. The construction not only has the look and feel of a real roller coaster, but the turns and runs actually have a top speed of 10.3 kmh (6.4 mph) thanks to the use of Mindstorms EV3 motors and sensors.

I still can’t quite grasp how those carriages stay fixed to the tracks, which has always been my number one fear of roller coasters. But in the world of LEGO, minifigures don’t feel pain so it’s all good if they have to endure the occasional derailment.