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.

HELP! The Brothers Brick needs a new cover photo

I knew hiring primates as interns would come back to bite us – literally. After following a bizarre trail of blue droppings through the Brothers Brick compound this morning, I discovered the Lemur had gone and eaten our Facebook cover photo! I checked our other websites too, and they’re all gone. At least he got a tummy ache, so hopefully this will be a learning experience for the pesky little fellow.

So this seems like a great time to revive the TBB Cover Photo Contest. We’re asking you, dear readers, to submit photos of your original LEGO creations to be featured across all Brothers Brick social media. At the start of each month we will pick one new image to use across our Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, Google+ and YouTube pages.

Find out how to enter →

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 movie theme tune performance generates some of the most memorable Oscar images [News]

Despite being snubbed for a nomination in the Best Animated Feature category, the creators of The LEGO Movie seized the day with an on-stage performance of the movie’s theme Everything Is Awesome – a performance that can only be described as totally bananas.

Highlights of the segment included a troupe of breakdancing Emmets, cameos by Will Arnett (as Batman) and Mark Mothersbaugh (from Devo), “visually illustrated” rapping, and the handing out of brick-built LEGO Oscar trophies to random celebrity guests.

The trophies (which are now the talk of the town) were the work of LEGO artist Nathan Sawaya, who also created Mothersbaugh’s signature Devo hat. Everything about this performance was awesome! If you missed it, watch it now:

Countdown to MocAthalon: 2015

With just over a week and a half left in February, builders from around the world are gearing up for the annual MocAthalon competition, where teams of 5 attempt to tackle 30 different build categories in a span of the month of March.

I competed in this contest in 2013 and it was certainly one of the more fun and challenging events I’ve done – there was a lot of great comradery among my team and animosity towards other teams that still exists to this day, and I would recommend people try it to flex their so called building muscles and build in some zany categories.

You can find out more details here and there’s still plenty of time to form a team, just head over to here if you’re looking for a few teammates.

LEGO Elves at New York Toy Fair 2015

It definitely looks like the LEGO Friends style minifig is here to stay. In addition to the Disney Princess sets, LEGO is now releasing yet another line based on this fig: LEGO Elves. LEGO is pushing Elves with a large model built for Toy Fair…

With a plethora of great colors and all-new hair sculpts, these sets look to have wide-ranging appeal. While the release date for these sets is March, according to our sources they’re already showing up in stores.

Continue reading →

An elegant vessel for a more civilized age

We see our fair share of big spaceships at the Brothers Brick, but the Crimson Pilgrim by Bob De Quatre is something special. Not only is it a beauty to behold, but it’s also built to minifig scale and fully playable, featuring a complete interior with living quarters and many other details.

But that’s not all, there’s even a cool back story to this creation: Bob has set his ship and its crew in the universe of the online game Star Wars: The Old Republic. And he’s chosen to make them Jedi Hunters, which I assume means they’re the bad guys (yeah!).

Check out the Flickr album for more images, including close-ups of the interior (which features some rather ‘Falcon-like’ details) and of course all that wonderful exterior sculpting:

The Scooby-Doo scoop at Toy Fair 2015

As alluded to earlier, LEGO unveiled the 2015 line of Scooby-Doo sets at Toy Fair today. They’re slated to be released in August. While most folks have already seen a few things from the line, this was a chance to see the box art and get close-ups of the Mystery Inc gang, as well as their sweet 70’s hair:

The $89.99 Mystery Mansion has six minifigs and Scooby-Doo but is missing Fred …though perhaps we’re not actually missing him, amirite?

Continue reading →

Brothers Brick at the New York Toy Fair [News]

Having never attended this event before, the Brothers Brick were unprepared for the mass chaos that greeted them upon arriving at the Javits Convention Center in New York at 0650 this morning…

Upon being escorted to the LEGO booth – a formidable high-walled yellow fortress in the middle of the showroom floor – scores of LEGO-related members of the press (including yours truly) descended upon the 2015 LEGO line, jostling for position and attempting to take photos of over 300 soon-to-be-released (or recently-released) sets. The focus of the show has already been revealed here – the new UCS TIE Fighter – but LEGO did have a few other surprises in store. After talking to LEGO lead designer (and friend of the blog) Erik Varszegi and being introduced to LEGO master model builder Paul Chrzan, we tried to focus on some of the most interesting new stuff: carbon fiber bricks, Jurassic World, Scooby-Doo …and Ant-Man!

The only disappointing part of the $19.99 Ant-Man set (to be released in June) is that it doesn’t come with micro versions of the three minifigs …but it’s definitely a really fun set.

We’ll probably post an entire sequence of Scooby-Doo photos later, but here’s something that will bring readers of a certain age back to their childhood …the Headless Horseman, depicted – as God intended – with a pumpkin where his head should be:

Continue reading →

LEGO unveils the Ultimate Collector Series TIE Fighter [News]

This morning at the New York Toy Fair, LEGO revealed its latest addition to the Ultimate Collector Series (UCS), the 75095 Star Wars TIE Fighter. The set will be available directly through LEGO via their online store beginning May 2015, and is expected to retail in the US for $199.99.

Here are some details, provided by LEGO:

“This large-scale LEGO-brick rendition of the classic Imperial starfighter has intricate detailing, as well as an opening top hatch and an exclusive TIE Fighter Pilot minifigure with a blaster pistol. And when you want to keep it safe from Rebel attack, mount the model on the display stand and keep yourself updated with all the key facts and figures on the included fact plaque. The Ultimate Collector Series TIE Fighter is the perfect addition to your Star Wars collection! The UCS TIE Fighter measures 18.5in (47cm) high, 12in (30.6cm) long and 12.2in (31cm) wide.”

And for an up-close and personal look at the set, here is the LEGO designer video:

Ask A Lemur – “Legos”, Tiles in Clips & Lemur Minifigs

Welcome to my abode, dearly esteemed Readers!

I’m very sorry for the delay in posting today. When I crawled out of my crate this morning, all the contributors were already up (a true rarity, let me tell you) and running amok. I was sternly informed that it was Andrew’s annual inspection and I had to rush about straightening and dusting all of their offices and suites. There were a lot of confusing references to Andrew and his white glove. Not entirely sure what it’s all about but I’ve been pretty busy, running from one rancid mess to another. It was almost enough to ruin my appetite. Almost.

Just now I decided that I deserved a break today, so I had a mango and peanut butter sandwich and sat down to answer your questions. I am a bit afraid that someone will come looking for me, so I’m writing from inside the vacuum-cleaner bag. No one uses it except for me, so they will never think to look here.

Off we go!

What is your stance on the word “Legos”?

This is a common question and it’s probably time to cover it again. Grammar police all throughout the hobby love to beat down people who refer to LEGO Bricks as “Legos”. The offender is generally someone new to the hobby and the enforcer gets to show off his or her superior knowledge. In all honesty, it’s not about being correct but usually about being a jerk. It doesn’t matter what you call our lovely little building elements. It’s about creativity and relationships. Don’t be a jerk.

And remember, in Denmark LEGO is pronounced “LEE-GO”. If you correct someone for saying “Legos” and insist the correct way is “Lay-go” without an ‘s’, you are just as wrong. There, now I’m a jerk too.

Continue reading →

Toy Fair New York 2015 preview [News]

This year’s Toy Fair will be from February 14th to 17th at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan and is, according to their website, “the largest toy and youth product marketplace in the Western Hemisphere.” And as suckers for things that are the largest in the Western Hemisphere (such as the Wheaton Metro Station escalators, the New River Gorge arch bridge, and Keith Goldman’s ego), we can’t help but go.

LEGO will be one of over 1,000 exhibitors at the annual showplace for what’s new in the toy business. It’s not open to the public–only industry professionals, buyers, and (of course) the press are invited. This year, for the first time, the Brothers Brick will be in attendance. Okay, it’s more like the Step-Brother Brick, but you get the idea.

So while you’re trying to decide which of your many valentines you should spend the day with, The Brothers Brick will be toiling away on February 14th at Toy Fair collecting news and photos of the true love of your life…the LEGO Group.

Official LEGO Doctor Who, Wall-E sets coming! [News]

LEGO Doctor Who and Wall-E sets have just been announced! LEGO Ideas has just released the results of the 2nd half 2014 review. LEGO Ideas is a crowd-sourcing platform for fan-designed sets. If a set gains 10,000 votes, LEGO will examine the ideas to potentially create a set. LEGO has just announced that both Doctor Who and Wall-E have passed the approval process, and the designs will now be further refined by master set designers at LEGO before being sold as official LEGO sets.

Doctor Who, designed by Andrew Clark.

Wall-E, by Angus MacLane. Angus is a Pixar animator and is known in the LEGO community for originating “Cube Dudes.”

Symphony of Construction contest

Symphony of Construction is a telephone game that alternates between the mediums of LEGO and music. Already 3 rounds have produced interesting results, and now it’s your turn show us your creativity of interpretation. Check out the Symphony of Construction contest, where you have until March 1st to build a creation inspired by a piece of music and possibly win one of four LEGO gift certificates donated by The Brothers Brick.

Take a look at a sample of the works from the most recent round: