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.

The knight’s triumphant return

Summer is a wonderful time of no obligations and worries for a school-age young adult such as myself. The past two years it has also meant entering the Summer Joust contest, which has just concluded. Last year I went small and built a microscale castle being attacked by a dragon, but with the addition of the “Immersive LEGO Scene” category this year (possibly my favorite type of LEGO creation) I knew I had give it a go. My first idea was to build a knight returning from battle, like we see in so many medieval movies and books, so I went with it, and this was the result:

Click through to see a behind the scenes shot (no pun intended)

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Statistical data says the Internet is 50% cats

And yet the LEGO side of the Internet seems to have a lower percentage of cats than average – not surprisingly, as the characteristic cat’s head and legs offer a significant challenge for builders and can be done wrong very quickly. The latest builder to pick up the challenge is that Russian jack-o- all-trades Timofey Tkachev.

This time Timofey tries a technique of staggered layered plates to achieve complicated natural curves, which has been used to create LEGO cats before, but what appears to be different here is the intensely detailed face, and that the cat seems to be partially poseable. The playful pose adds a lot to the presentation, as do the LEGO basket and ball (which is an official piece, by the way).

Officer responding, really quickly

Near-future police vehicles have a high standard to live up to. Sid Mead’s classic design for the Blade Runner Police Spinner remains a heavy influence on LEGO Cyberpunk builders. This police gyro-car by Angka Utama reminds me of a cross between the spinner and Kaneda’s bike from Akira — and that’s meant as a compliment. I love the simple lines and sharp colours on display here, and those chunky tyres would surely keep any responding officer glued to the mean streets.

Give me a call when you want to start taking things a little more seriously

“Here’s my card…” French builder Jimmy Fortel built a stylish LEGO take on The Joker as portrayed by the late Heath Ledger in The Dark Knight. I can just see the insanity in that face. One of my favorite details is the use of red wedge plates on his smile; the texture from the stud cutouts is perfect.

TBB cover photo: July 2017

Our cover photo for July is one for the petrol heads. André Pinto has crafted a convertible Alfa Romeo Spider in perfect detail using stylish dark red …apparently to the same scale as LEGO’s Ferrari F40 set judging by those wheels. Check out the full album to see some of it’s working features.

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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.”

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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