Category Archives: News

Stay current on the latest news and information about LEGO, from sales & deals to new set announcements. We also cover LEGO events and conventions all over the world.

A History of LEGO Education, Part 2: Path to Mindstorms [Feature]

LEGO Education is celebrating it’s 40th anniversary! As a birthday gift, we are commemorating the occasion with a three-part history feature on this special division of the LEGO Group. Part 1 provided an overview of the history of LEGO education from the 1980s through 1990s, but we left out an important component of the story. Part 2 picks up where we left off, covering the beginnings of LEGO’s programmable robots in the classroom and at home. These were the precursors of LEGO Mindstorms!

Learn more about the prestigious lineage of LEGO robotics platforms released before LEGO Mindstorms

The Brothers Brick is funded by our readers and the community. Articles may include affiliate links, and when you purchase products from those links, TBB may earn a commission that helps support the site.

LEGO announces new Fast & Furious license coming to Technic [News]

Today, LEGO announced a new licensing partnership with Universal Studios to create sets based on the mega-hit Fast & Furious franchise. With more than $6-billion in box-office revenue from the franchise already, Fast & Furious 9 is slated to hit theaters May 22. LEGO plans to release a tie-in set a month earlier on April 27, which will be a Technic kit with an age rating of 10+. LEGO has yet to confirm any further details about the set.

Jill Wilfert, Vice President of Inbound & Entertainment Licensing at the LEGO Group, had this to say about the partnership: “The LEGO Technic brand with its authenticity and attention to detail and the action packed Fast & Furious franchise are a great match. Both franchises are known for creativity and cool cars so we are really excited to work with Universal on this awesome product that both LEGO Technic and Fast & Furious fans are going to love to build!”

Happy 62nd International LEGO Day from The Brothers Brick [News]

Sixty-two years ago today on January 28, 1958, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen submitted a patent application for a toy building brick which was approved six months later. That patent for his “highly sophisticated inter-locking brick system” has since led to LEGO becoming one of the largest toy companies on the globe.

The original Danish patent not only covered a single brick but an entire building system where multiple interlocking plastic building elements “could be put together in a great number of mutually different positions” including several early brick designs pictured below, courtesy of LEGO.

So let’s celebrate our love of LEGO today by building a new set or seeing what LEGO was doing the decade we were born. Sort those parts you’ve needed to, create something new from scratch, or re-build that one LEGO set you loved as a kid. Play well, everyone.

Want to know more about the history of LEGO and the fan community? Check out The Brothers Brick LEGO History timeline.

LEGO Dots revealed: New arts and crafts theme puts emoji tiles front and center [News]

LEGO has officially revealed its long-rumored new product line, LEGO Dots. The initial wave of the 2D tile-based arts and crafts theme features bracelets, picture holders, a jewelry stand, a pencil pot, and the first in a series of “Extra Dots” emoji booster packs. Prices vary from US $3.99 to 19.99 with availability beginning on March 1st.

The spiritual successor to LEGO’s previous Clikits play-jewelry product line, the Dots theme centers on colorful 1×1 tiles (square, round, quarter-circle and new gem tiles) with bright colors and expressive prints including emojis, rainbows, glitter, animals, space, music, and more. (Keen-eyed readers will also note that several of the tiles have appeared previously in 21045 Trafalgar Square’s hidden art gallery.)

Take a closer look at the new LEGO Dots product line

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for January 25, 2020

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the fourth week of January 2020.

We launch into space with a review of the Ideas International Space Station set. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS: This week we saw the announcement of the LEGO Ideas International Space Station, took a look back at our most popular set reviews of 2019 and got some new interviews with the folks behind the upcoming LEGO Masters TV show on FOX.

- Top 10 most popular LEGO set reviews of 2019 on the Brothers Brick – Curious to know what were the most popular reviews on The Brothers Brick in 2019? Maybe one of your favourites made the top 10? Find out in our rundown of 2019’s most popular reviews.
- LEGO Ideas officially reveals 864-piece 21321 International Space Station – LEGO has just announced the final design of the fan-voted 21321 IDEAS International Space Station.
- LEGO wants you to choose one of the next Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series sets – Through January 30, you can submit your vote supporting one of three Star Wars spaceships. The winner will be turned into one of the next LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series sets.
- LEGO Ideas feels right at home in orbit with 21321 International Space Station – Less than a year after its announcement, LEGO is revealing the final version of this set today, and we’ve got our hands on a copy to bring you a full review.
- LEGO Creator Expert 10272 Old Trafford-Manchester United [Review] – Soccer fans (or football fans as they’re called everywhere else) will get a kick out of the newest Creator Expert set.
- Hands-on with LEGO BrickHeadz 40377 Donald Duck & 40378 Pluto & Goofy – What do we think of the latest Disney character additions to the LEGO BrickHeadz line-up?

TBB INSTRUCTIONS AND INTERVIEWS:

Building LEGO Masters: Exclusive interview with Brick Artist Nathan Sawaya – The Brothers Brick visited the LEGO Masters set and spoke with “brick artist in residence” Nathan Sawaya about building all the props for the show on such short deadlines.
Visiting LEGO Masters: Behind the scenes tour with Challenge Master Brent Benedetti – Join us for a behind-the-scenes tour of LEGO Masters and see how the show organized 3.3 million LEGO bricks. Will you be watching?
Make your own adventures with the Razor Crest from The Mandalorian [Instructions] – Razor Crest is The Mandalorian’s mode of transport and adventures with The Child. Isn’t it time you built your very own with these instructions from @Hachiroku92?
Build your own Stadium Truck Alternate Model [Instructions] – Do you have the official Land Rover Defender Technic set and about two hours of spare time? Then you can build this Stadium Truck alternate model. The Land Rover’s LEGO Designer Milan Reindl will show you how!

OTHER NEWS: There were quite a few other interesting LEGO news articles from around the web this week. Here are the best of the rest:

Alexa-powered Lego challenge winners include a game system and waffle iron, SyFy – Amazon and Lego have unveiled the winners of their Alexa-focused Mindstorms challenge, and they’re as clever and oddball as you’d hope.
Lego’s new studio wants to make ‘more poetic, artistic games’, The Verge – The small team at Light Brick is exploring the possibilities of play.
Toy Fair 2020: LEGO will “continue to evolve the construction toys category” with new launches this year, Toy News – Following what it has billed as a successful 2019, The LEGO Group is launching a new series of play innovations for the year ahead, as it looks to ‘continue to evolve the construction toys category.’

Visiting LEGO Masters: Behind the scenes tour with Challenge Master Brent Benedetti [News]

LEGO Masters arrives in the US in less than two weeks, and anticipation for the brick-building reality TV show is reaching a peak in the LEGO fan community. The Brothers Brick was invited to visit the LEGO Masters set when they were filming last month, and we got a behind-the-scenes tour of the studio.

Our day visiting LEGO Masters started early in the morning. Megan from Brickset and I headed to a non-descript studio located in a light-industrial area near Burbank, CA (apparently next to the building used for the exterior shots for the US television series The Office, we were told). Arriving at the studio by car, we provided our names to the security guard and were allowed onto the lot. The production staff excitedly greeted us and ushered us inside. After passing through a reception area, we stepped onto the massive set.

Click to read about and see photos of the LEGO Masters set

LEGO Ideas officially reveals 864-piece 21321 International Space Station [News]

LEGO has just announced the final design of the fan-voted 21321 IDEAS International Space Station. Catered for adult LEGO fans as a display piece with authentic ISS details including rotating joints and adjustable solar panels, the main build is accompanied by a buildable mini NASA space shuttle and cargo spacecraft. The 864-piece set will be available in LEGO stores and online on February 1st, 2020 retailing at US $69.99 | CAN $99.99 | UK £64.99. We’ve already got our hands on an early copy, so be sure to check out our review: 21321 LEGO Ideas International Space Station Review.

Click to see more images and the full details of the International Space Station

LEGO Ideas feels right at home in orbit with 21321 International Space Station [Review]

Many of us here at The Brothers Brick are space fans in one way or another, so we were pretty excited to see that the next LEGO Ideas set would be 21321 International Space Station when it was proclaimed the winner of the 10th-anniversary fan vote last summer. Now less than a year later, LEGO is revealing the final version of the set today, and we’ve got our hands on a copy to bring you a full review. Retailing for US $69.99 | CAN $99.99 | UK £64.99, the newest model from the LEGO Ideas crowdsourcing platform has 864 pieces and will be available starting Feb. 1.

Click to read the full, hands-on review

Building LEGO Masters: Exclusive interview with Brick Artist Nathan Sawaya [News]

Continuing our series of behind-the-scenes articles about LEGO Masters, we chatted with Brick Artist Nathan Sawaya in his California studio about how he built all the props for the show, what kind of deadlines he faced, and working with LEGO as a creative medium.

The first half of our interview (conducted jointly with Brickset) focuses on his work with LEGO Masters and serving as their “brick artist in residence.” The second half discusses his personal views on LEGO as a whole, his traveling LEGO installation “Art of the Brick,” and how he went from an NYC lawyer to an LA artist.

Read our interview with LEGO Masters brick artist in residence Nathan Sawaya

LEGO Creator Expert 10272 Old Trafford-Manchester United [Review]

Soccer fans (or football fans as they’re called everywhere else) will get a kick out of the newest Creator Expert set, 10272 Old Trafford-Manchester United, a massive 3,898-piece model based on the Old Trafford soccer stadium in Greater Manchester, England, which serves as the home of Manchester United F.C.and over 76,000 of their closest friends. The 1:600 replica model is rated for 16+, clearly targeting an adult market, and is available now directly from LEGO for US $299 | CAD $349 | UK £249.99 for V.I.P. members — just in time for the stadium’s 110th anniversary this February.

Let’s open the box and see what’s inside!

Top 10 most popular LEGO set reviews of 2019 on the Brothers Brick [News]

In 2019, The Brothers Brick team reviewed a total of 68 sets of all piece counts and sizes. The signature sets of the year included those from familiar themes like LEGO Star Wars and Creator Expert. We also looked at a few other non-retail sets such as the Bricklink fan designed sets and even a Brickmania custom kit – did they make the cut?

Using view counts as a frame of reference, we’ve pulled together our most popular set reviews of 2019 that you, the fans, voted for with your clicks. Is there one set that stood out for you that you can clearly remember? Or are you rooting for a particular favourite of yours? Without further delay, let’s dive right into the list.

Click to reveal the 10 most popular reviews from 2019

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for January 18, 2020

LEGO reveals a field of dreams with the new Old Trafford – Manchester United set. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details.

TBB NEWS AND FEATURES: This week we received some behind-the-scenes interviews about the upcoming LEGO Masters TV show, took a look at the early history of LEGO Education and reviewed three sets including the Chinese New Year Lion Dance!

LEGO BrickHeadz 40337 Donald Duck 40378 Pluto & Goofy revealed – More BrickHeadz to add to your collection with Donald, Goofy and Pluto.

LEGO Creator Expert 10272 Old Trafford – Manchester United on sale for VIP Members – The LEGO Creator Expert 10272 Old Trafford is now on sale for VIP Members and comes with a Gift With Purchase while supplies last.

A History of LEGO Education, Part 1: Strong Foundations [Feature] – Want to school yourself on the history of LEGO Education? Read part one to learn about the origins of LEGO Education along with some key milestones.

LEGO Education celebrates 40 years by launching SPIKE Prime engineering kit worldwide – LEGO Education is celebrating its 40th birthday with the worldwide launch of its newest educational tool — SPIKE Prime.

LEGO reveals Creator Expert football stadium 10272 Old Trafford – Manchester United – We can almost hear 700M football fans across the globe screaming for joy with LEGO’s announcement of the 1:600 scale model of the renowned Old Trafford – the home of Manchester United Football Club.

London children’s hospital built in 60,000 LEGO bricks – Fairy Bricks charity volunteer Gary Davis puts together a massive model of a London Children’s Hospital

TBB LEGO MASTERS INTERVIEWS:

Making LEGO Masters: Exclusive interview with executive producer Anthony Dominici – The Brothers Brick visited the LEGO Masters set and spoke with executive producer Anthony Dominici about how to make an exciting and feel-good reality TV show while keeping track of 3.3 million bricks.
Judging LEGO Masters: Exclusive interview with LEGO designers Jamie Berard and Amy Corbett – The Brothers Brick visited the LEGO Masters set and spoke with Jamie Berard and Amy Corbett about making the leap from LEGO designers to reality TV judges.
Hosting LEGO Masters: An interview with actor and entertainer Will Arnett – The Brothers Brick visited the LEGO Masters set and spoke with Will Arnett about hosting the upcoming show and if he wants to return for Season 2.

TBB REVIEWS:

LEGO 80104 Chinese New Year Lion Dance [Review] – There’s a lot of cultural history and meaning behind the lion dance, especially for celebrations during the Chinese New Year. Read our in-depth review to learn more about this set and if it’s one worth adding to your collection.
Meet the happy couple – LEGO BrickHeadz 40383 & 40384 – Bride and Groom [Review] – Will the new LEGO BrickHeadz Bride & Groom get your heart pumping? Read our hands-on review.
A new lease on learning with LEGO Education set 45678 SPIKE Prime [Review] – Take a deep dive with us into a review of LEGO Education’s new release, 45678 SPIKE Prime!

OTHER NEWS: There were quite a few other interesting LEGO news articles from around the web this week. Here are the best of the rest:

Lego sets its sights on a growing market: Stressed-out adults, Washington Post – The world’s largest toymaker is pitching its bricks as a form of mindfulness.
How LEGO Is Training The Scientists And Problem Solvers Of The Future, Forbes – The FIRST LEGO League provides an opportunity for teams of children, based throughout the United States and in 49 other countries, to use LEGO to solve STEM-related problems.
LEGO House shutters it’s fine dining restaurant, LEGO House – Management has made the decision to close the fine-dining restaurant, LE GOURMET.