Every week readers of the The Brothers Brick Telegram channel choose the Creation of the Week: one project that impressed all of us the most. Neither a Pokemon, nor a fancy Fabuland starfither could crush a charming lost temple by Jake Hansen and Eli Willsea during our last week’s vote! Congratulations!
Meanwhile, the new vote is already on! Join our Telegram channel to follow all the best LEGO creations, latest news, and, of course, vote for your favorites. See you there!
In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the end of May 2023.
TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS This last week was a big week for DC, Marvel and Harry Potter, and a big week for fans of classic arcade games with reviews and news, and a classic LEGO icon gets sized up like Hank Pym’s tank keychain.
OTHER NEWS
LEGO has just launched the product page for a new lifesize version of the iconic shield carried by Captain America. 76262 Captain America’s Shield will go on sale August 1st for US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99, although it’s available for pre-order starting today.
The set includes 3128 pieces and a Captain America minifig. The shield’s face appears to be made mostly from plates and wedges (Sadly, LEGO has not yet begun producing vibranium bricks). The video provided features a 360-degree spin and thus reveals that the backside of the model is a complex network of plates and Technic beams but alas the shield cannot be held or worn as part of a costume without some custom rigging.
More than the 2×4 brick, since their introduction, LEGO minifigures have always been the embodiment of the company. And in recent history, LEGO has realized there is a major fascination with, and demand for, giant replicas of the little characters that have made them famous. Come along as we meet the latest of these maxi-figs, the 654-piece LEGO Iconic 40649 Up-Scaled LEGO Minifigure. This set is available starting today, June 1st, and retails for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99.
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Fans of the DC franchise have been waiting years for a Batcave worthy to sit alongside Marvel’s 76178 Daily Bugle and Sanctum Sanctorum. With the announcement of the Batcave Shadowbox, some fans may finally get their wish. Although the nature of this display set may turn out to be as divisive as the 1992 sequel to Tim Burton’s 1989 Batman film, there is no denying that this Batcave is the largest Batcave set so far. LEGO DC 76252 Batcave Shadowbox includes a whopping 3,981 pieces and it goes on sale with VIP early access on June 5th and broad availability on June 8th for US $399.99 | CAN $519.99 | UK £344.99
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
In 1980, Bandai Namco Entertainment Inc. released a little arcade game revolving around a pizza-shaped character eating his way through a maze, being chased by ghosts. They knew they had a good thing going, but they probably didn’t realize it would be one of the most beloved games of all time and a pop-culture icon. Now, over 40 years later, they teamed up with The LEGO Group to bring us an epic tribute to the original game. Join us as we chomp our way through the 2651-piece LEGO Icons 10323 PAC-MAN Arcade, which will be available June 4th and retail for US $269.99 | CAN $349.99 | UK £229.99.
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
LEGO has given us large-format winged creatures from the Harry Potter series, each with an integrated flapping mechanism, and with 76414 Expecto Patronum, the series continues at least somewhat in spirit. There is no movement mechanism, but the “Expecto Patronum” is similar to the name plates on the winged creatures. And in a bit of a surprise, it’s a 2-in-1 set, offering the option of building either Harry’s stag patronus or Remus Lupin’s wolf. Here’s our review of the set, which contains 754 pieces and 2 minifigures, and is available now for US $69.99 | CAN $89.99 | UK £62.99.
This set is based on a license The LEGO Group has with the Warner Brothers films, not J.K. Rowling directly. The transphobic views expressed by Rowling do not reflect the values of The Brothers Brick or, indeed, those of The LEGO Group. The magical world Rowling created, in which many who felt a bit different could see themselves, meant a great deal to so many people, including those that Rowling now demeans. TBB affirms each individual LEGO fan’s choice to claim a piece of the world for themselves, or to reject it entirely.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the fourth week of May 2023.
TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS Did you catch our last Brick Report? Check it out and then join us as we review the past two weeks of news, which included multiple set reveals, blockbuster reviews, two Creations of the Week, and other news from the wider world of LEGO.
Thanks to retailer Rakuten.jp, a new LEGO set featuring female soccer superstars has been revealed. 40634 Icons of Play includes 15 minifigures and a variety of soccer stadium elements and features famed footballers Megan Rapinoe, Yuki Nagasato, Asisat Oshoala, and Sam Kerr. According to the retailer, the set has 899 pieces and will be available June 6. The pricing has yet to be confirmed but it is expected to retail for US $99.99 | CAN $TBD | UK £89.99.
LEGO and Disney have a supercharged set lineup this year for Disney’s 100th anniversary, and LEGO 43227 Villain Icons is the second 18+ set targeted at adults after the Royal Clamshell. The “Adults Welcome” range is much more about who the set is aimed at and marketed to than about LEGO’s traditional age ranges. We concluded that 76391 Hogwarts Icons set was a great introduction to the LEGO hobby for new adult builders. This set is obviously similar, and Disney is one of the few fandoms that significantly outnumbers Harry Potter, so it’s reasonable to guess this will be a big hit. Does it rise to that potential? LEGO 43227 Villain Icons, with 1,540 pieces and 4 villainous minifigures, will be available starting June 1st for US $129.99 | CAN $169.99 | UK £124.99.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Read our hands-on review of LEGO Ideas 21337 Table Football
With summer comes another new wave of sets from the popular Monkie Kid theme, based on the Chinese folktale Journey to the West. Like many previous waves, it includes vehicles, a mech, and a large building, this time in the form of the underwater palace home to the human form of the Dragon of the East. The subsea structure is based on the location from the third season where the team takes refuge, and ends up leaving with a souped-up new team truck (featured in a previous round of sets). This is where the Monkey King originally got his versatile staff, and the scene features a large brick-built version that hides a surprise. LEGO Monkie Kid 80049 Dragon of the East Palace comes with 2,364 pieces and will be available on June 1st for US $189.99 | CAN $249.99 | UK £169.99.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Today LEGO has officially revealed the latest set based on real-life spacecraft with the LEGO Technic 42158 NASA Mars Rover Perseverance, a 1,132-piece model of the NASA Jet Propulsion Lab’s newest red planet vehicle, including its flying companion, the Ingenuity Helicopter. The 12.5-inch long model (32cm) features all-new wheel elements with working steering and articulated suspension, as well as with a moveable arm. Although the model is not motorized, there is a companion augmented reality (AR) app that can show the model on a Mars-like surface and allow users to check the weather on Mars or learn other facts about the fourth planet from the sun. The set will be available starting June 1 for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £84.99.
