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.

Beauty of decay in the shape of a castle wall

Modern LEGO castle building trends call for intensely textured walls, with the texture achieved with use of many small tiles and plates. While it is quite impressive, it makes me wonder why all LEGO castles look like nobody is caring for them. This wall segment by Jonatan Svenning does not have this awkward situation, as it is meant to look decreipt and abandoned. It does the job incredibly well, with wall segments tilting and breaking apart.

While I wonder if a chain could hold a cobblestone tower, it certainly looks nice. But what sets this old wall from the rest is the overgrowth on and around the wall – from moss growing everywhere to the flowers and trees (including one utilizing large figure armor parts as a tree trunk) around the wall. The best plantal element however, has to be the tree growing straight out of the wall, crumbling it in the process.

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The sea was angry that day, my friends!

Like an old man trying to send back soup in a deli… No. It was like four unfortunate fishermen losing sight of the shore and falling prey to the whims of a fickle leviathan. You know, THAT old story. Strange isn’t it? This LEGO scene by Andrew JN is full of impending doom, but it’s actually quite lovely. The icy water has a beautiful texture and it’s almost as if you can feel the mist on your face. As for the source material, Andrew says his build was inspired by a rubbery kracken and a sinking LEGO ship.

Quiet on the set

It’s unclear what movie is being filmed on Aaron Newman‘s LEGO soundstage (though my money’s on Forest Gump). What is clear, however, is that Aaron has created a still life that perfectly captures a slice of “behind the scenes” movie magic. The small details like the clapboard and messy tangle of wires make this scene look like the real thing. And the camera dolly on the rails, the director’s chair, and the heavy duty lighting are masterfully built.

Quarter of a million brick LEGO McLaren 720S goes from zero to ABS in 2000 hours

Founded in the nineteen-sixties by Kiwi racecar designer, driver, engineer, inventor and all-around legend Bruce McLaren, the McLaren company is one of the most successful in Formula One championship history, winning a total of 8 constructors’ world championships and 12 drivers’ world championships. This year, McLaren released their latest car in the Super Series lineup, the gorgeous 720S, and this incredible LEGO replica is the centerpiece of McLaren’s stand at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. Built by the team at Bright Bricks, the model comprises a staggering 280,000 bricks and took a team of six builders over 2000 hours.

The real car is powered by a 4.0 twin turbo V8 and can go from 0-60 mph in a mere 2.8 seconds and up to 124 mph in 7.8 seconds, with a top speed of 212 mph! However, the 1:1 scale model arrived at the Goodwood stand a bit more slowly, as festival visitors will help complete the model. They will need to place orange McLaren bricks in designated parts of the car, with the 720S reaching completion at the end of the Festival of Speed.

Duncan Titmarsh, the UK’s only LEGO Certified Professional and part of Bright Bricks, led the 720S build. The LEGO version weighs approximately 200kg more than the actual 720S, coming in at around 1.6 tonnes (1.8 US tons). The build features real wheels and a steel base but is otherwise almost entirely made of LEGO, including the brake pads, windscreen wipers, and windscreen. Some additional details like the badge and license plate have been provided by McLaren to finish the build nicely.

The LEGO 720s will go on tour to other marketing events once it has been finished, so you may get a chance to see it in person.

As American as apple pie

Four score and twenty.. No wait. The only thing we have to fear is… Uhhhm. Mister Gorbachev tear down this… Hang on. Ok, got it: Associate with men of good quality if you esteem your own reputation; for it is better to be alone than in bad company – George Washington. And George seems to be in pretty good company in this collection of busts by Tyler Clites depicting the Founding Fathers. WISHING OUR STATE-SIDE READERS A HAPPY AND SAFE INDEPENDENCE DAY FILLED WITH FIREWORKS, FRANKFURTERS, AND FREEDOM!

The village and its gatehouse

Gatehouses are quite a popular theme in LEGO castle builds, but this port village gatehouse by Titus Verelst still manages to bring something new to the table, surrounding the gatehouse with a village suspended on logs. It makes a nice composition with the rooftops and curved path, adding just enough minifig action to bring the scene to life, despite the bleak colour scheme. I do wish the builder had added water around the village, or at least used some clever digital tricks or blue paper as a stand in.

Mechas come and go, but Mazinger Z stands the test of time

It’s quite amazing to pause and appreciate that Mazinger Z was first introduced to the world almost 45 years ago, and it still stands the test of time, finding relevance to fans even today, and mecha master Kelvin Low brings us a great Mazinger Z. One cool thing to note is that this design is a rebuild of a previous version that employed a central frame from the Hero Factory system, and now Kevin’s overhauled it to a regular brick-based build. What difference does that make? Building with the classic system elements gives a cleaner look that matches the anime, but at the cost of building to a smaller footprint as it becomes heavier with regular bricks.

Many unikitties were sacrificed for Marilyn

At one tail per Unikitty, many Unikitties had to be sacrificed for this Brickheadz to come to life. The effort paid off for Krzysztof J as the effect it provides for Marilyn’s curly headlocks is almost ideal. A few other stylistic standouts include the infamous mole, which is ingeniously made with the negative space of a 1×1 brick with a single knob, and the clever use of minifigure hairpieces that make up the upper section of the corset.

Keep an eye out for black, white and dark red in the sky above

After a long break, German builder Sylon-tw is back into his assembly hall proving that his futuristic airplanes are still dominating LEGO skies. Instead of the dieselpunk go-to colors of grey, dark blue, bright red, or reddish brown, Thomas goes for bold black on the body and elegant decorations of white and dark red stripes. Combined with short droid bodies, the dinosaur flippers work perfectly as propeller blades. And in a nice change from convention, the aircraft has a fetching female pilot.

Only some secrets are well-kept on Coruscant.

The beautiful XB-5 Speeder looks like it could appear on the cover of a copy of “What’s my Speeder?” magazine in any doctor’s waiting room in Coruscant. At first glance, it almost looks like a beautiful render, but rest assured Ordo (Fabian B.) has sculpted this Narglatch AirTech-produced speeder out of genuine ABS. A bit bulkier and heavier than a racing model, it is meant for folks wanting a bit more comfort while flying across the city-planet’s skyline. The fantastic azure blues accent the dark grey well. With seats made from Batha-leather, controls designed by the finest artists of Naboo and state of the art holographic displays – this high-class speeder must be worth a small fortune.

Love is what makes a house a home ...but a fully furnished one helps too!

If this is home, I’m sure it’s always going to be where I’m going to spend most of my time. A three-storey modular with a single color tone of tan bricks, but with excellent build features bring out the best in this grand looking architectural build. The beauty of this home does not end there, as builder Vincent Kiew invites you to explore the heart of what makes a building a home. While most modular builds may feature the external facade, I have a soft spot for builds that take the extra effort to imagine what life would have been like for a minifigure family.

Click to see more of the inside of the home

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for July 2, 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 July 2017.

TBB NEWS: This was the week of the British invasion with the new London Bus alongside a few sets revealed from another summer blockbuster.

LEGO Creator Expert 10258 London Bus revealed — This 1,686 piece set will be an awesome addition to the LEGO Creator vehicle lineup, taking its place right next to another British icon, the 10242 Mini Cooper, and the spectacular 10253 Big Ben.
3 LEGO sets from DC’s upcoming Justice League movie revealed — This year is finally the year for all the big DC superheroes to get together, and LEGO has announced the first three sets from the theme.
New Elementary LEGO typography competition results — Back in May we told you about the LEGO typography competition taking place over on the LEGO-elements-and-colors-obsessed blog New Elementary. The stunningly creative results are in!
LEGO Space: ICE Titan – exclusive free download and interview — The Brothers Brick enjoyed the book LEGO Space: Building The Future, and now we have some exclusive content and an interview with the creators.

OTHER LEGO NEWS: This week had a few other interesting LEGO-related news articles, so here are the best of the rest.

Spider-Man and Venom LEGO BrickHeadz Swinging in to Comic-Con, Hollywood Reporter — Behold the latest exclusive Comic-con sets you’ll have a very hard time getting!
Building a Statue of Liberty out of LEGO, USA Today — After a mere 292 hours and 125 pounds of plastic bricks, the Smithsonian National Museum of American History in Washington, D.C., has a new Statue of Liberty in its lobby.
‘They Love Freedom’: Ai Weiwei On His LEGO Portraits Of Fellow Activists, NPR — Listen to this interview with Chinese artist Ai Weiwei about his LEGO portraits of activism now on display at the Hirshhorn Museum in Washington, D.C.
A Brief History of LEGO Hair, Racked — Read how the term “LEGO hair” has affected popular culture and became an entry on the Urban Dictionary.
20 Years After the Great Lego Spill, They’re Still Washing Ashore, Inverse — Twenty years later and millions of LEGO pieces are still washing ashore in England.