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.

The Brothers Brick LEGO Creation of the Year 2022: Giffen Gardens by Kimberly Giffen [News]

If every LEGO creation is a journey, The Brothers Brick team of editors and contributors have made thousands of them during 2022. From bizarre distant planets to heartwarming personal stories, each build is its own world — yet build with the very same LEGO bricks. And when debating and voting on the most best creation, the most memorable one, our team unanimously found themselves longing for something serene, calm and restful. Among the brilliant eight creations on this year’s shortlist, it is Kimberly Giffen who stole our hearts. Her enchanting Giffen Gardens is The Brothers Brick LEGO Creation of the Year 2022.

Click to see more photos of the LEGO Creation of the Year 2022

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TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for December 31, 2022 [News]

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 4th week of December 2022.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS This week, we returned to Pandora with 2 reviews of sets from the sequel Avatar: The Way of Water. We got our hands on a gift with purchase inspired by the popular classic space theme Blacktron, and took our first look at the new 501st Clone Trooper battle pack. With the year coming to an end, we featured a few looks back over the year in LEGO, both official products, and fan creations featured on TBB this last year. Watch for more end-of-the-year features coming soon, and if you want even more news and reviews from December, check out last week’s Brick Report.

[REVIEW] LEGO Star Wars 501st Clone Troopers Battle Pack — Get ready to secure another batch of clones for your own clone army.
[REVIEW] LEGO 90 Years of Play 40580: Blacktron Cruiser — Classic Space is back in Blacktron
[REVIEW] LEGO Avatar 75578: Mako Submarine — A sleek submarine from the new Avatar movie.
[NEWS] Shortlist announced for The Brothers Brick LEGO Creation of the Year 2022 — It was so hard to choose, but we narrowed down our picks for best MOC of the year.
[REVIEW] LEGO Avatar 75579 – Payakan the Tulkun & Crabsuit — We reviewed another set from the new AVatar film, this time a massive whale and a cool crab sub.
[FEATURE] The Brothers Brick favorites: Best LEGO products of 2022 — We looked at some studs and duds from the year in LEGO products.
[REVIEW] DUPLO 30327 My First Duck polybag – A change of pace for the overwhelmed builder in you — Our last review from contributor CJ was super-chill. We’ll miss your clever wit and thorough reviews, Chris!

LEGO Star Wars 501st Clone Troopers Battle Pack [Review]

Today we’ll take a quick look at the last of three new LEGO Star Wars sets for January 2023. 75345 501^st Clone Troopers Battle Pack returns to the popular 501^st Legion, with their distinctive blue markings. In fact, the 501^st was the subject of the most recent battle-pack-like set to feature clone troopers, 501^st Clone Troopers. Let’s see if it’s a worthwhile return to the subject matter. The set comes with 119 pieces and 4 minifigures and will be available Jan 1st for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £17.99.

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 the full review

LEGO 90 Years of Play 40580: Blacktron Cruiser – Classic Space is back in Blacktron [Review]

To celebrate its 90th anniversary, LEGO released some updated versions of classic sets, such as 1978’s Galaxy Explorer. And it looks like the celebration is going to continue into year 91, because for a limited time beginning January 1, 2023, LEGO is offering another classic space update as a gift with qualifying purchases. This time it’s the 6894 Invader set from 1987 that’s getting an update (and a name change), in the form of 40580 Blacktron Cruiser. This 356-piece set will be available free with purchases of about US $190 | CAN $190 | UK £170 or more. Does this set capture the spirit of the original? Is it a fitting companion piece to the 10497 Galaxy Explorer? Let’s blast off and find out.

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.

Click to read the full, hands-on review

LEGO Avatar 75578: Mako Submarine [Review]

When James Cameron’s Avatar premiered in 2009 it set a new standard for movies, telling an original story with a visually stunning spectacle best experienced in IMAX. 13 years later the first of several planned sequels set on the colorful planet of Pandora aims to equal that ground-breaking feat. LEGO recently released a wave of sets from the first movie letting fans new and old return to Pandora in advance of the new movie Avatar: The Way of Water, and after announcing 5 new sets from the sequel, LEGO sent us a copy to review. The first set in our coverage is 75577: Mako Submarine, which includes 553 pieces and will be available on January 1, 2023, for US $59.99 | CAN $79.99 | UK £49.99

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 full review

LEGO Avatar 75579 – Payakan the Tulkun & Crabsuit [Review]

With the recent theatrical release of Avatar: The Way of Water, fans of the franchise are returning to Pandora. And with the recently announced wave of sets from the sequel, LEGO fans can return to Pandora as well, but in brick form. The LEGO Avatar sets are full of colorful plant and animal parts, as well as plenty of new molds for the creature heads. It’s a perfect blend of sci-fi and fantasy. The biggest creature set of the wave is LEGO Avatar 75579: Payakan the Tulkun & Crabsuit, which features a whale-like creature and a very cool crab-inspired submersible. The set includes 761 pieces and will be available on January 1, 2023 for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99

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 on for our full review

DUPLO 30327 My First Duck polybag – A change of pace for the overwhelmed builder in you [Review]

There’s no denying that LEGO can be a challenging hobby. Things have come a long way from the simple range of parts in the 1960’s – it seems every new set contains at least one new mold or color variation. Building techniques have expanded; you can’t open an instruction manual without being getting your fingers covered in SNOT. Then giant sets like the Icons 10307 Eiffel Tower empty your plastic-brick budget in seconds. It can all get to be a bit much. That’s why today we’re going to take a little bit of a breather. We’ll turn back the calendar to 2019 and visit a simple, inexpensive, and soothing model that makes the world a happier place. Yes, it’s time for us to retro-review DUPLO 30327 My First Duck polybag.

QUACK Click to read the full hands-on review QUACK

TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for December 24, 2022 [News]

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 third full week of December 2022.

TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS Did you catch last week’s Brick Report? This week we’ve got a bevy of reviews including Collectible Minifigures, the latest Creator Expert Modular, and a trio of Star Wars sets! Plus, another week of 5 different advent calendars to build and comment on!

[REVIEW] LEGO Icons 10312 Modular Buildings Collection – Jazz Club : A great night out on the town modular — Chris D reviews the 2023 modular building and decides whether it’s music to his ears or hits a sour note.
[REVIEW] LEGO Collectible Minifigures 71037 Series 24 – Nostalgia included — Chris M reviews the latest in LEGO’s long-lived and -loved blind bag series
[REVIEW] LEGO 75344 Boba Fett’s Starship Microfighter — Chuck helps you decide if this bounty is worth the hunt
[REVIEW] LEGO Star Wars 75347 TIE Bomber – a blast from the past — Chuck checks out the first TIE Bomber LEGO kit in 20 years. Was it worth the wait?
[REVIEW] LEGO Star Wars BrickHeadz 40615 Tusken Raider — Daniel delves into the Dune Sea to determine whether this set is worth your dollars.

SPOILERS AHEAD We also continued our annual review and commentary on all the LEGO advent calendars. We have five advent calendars this year, across the City, Friends, Star Wars, Marvel (specifically Guardians of the Galaxy), and Harry Potter themes. So if you missed it, build along with us to see how they all stack up. The end is nigh!

[Feature] 2022 LEGO Advent Calendars Day 24
[Feature] 2022 LEGO Advent Calendars Day 23
[Feature] 2022 LEGO Advent Calendars Day 22
[Feature] 2022 LEGO Advent Calendars Day 21
[Feature] 2022 LEGO Advent Calendars Day 20
[Feature] 2022 LEGO Advent Calendars Day 19
[Feature] 2022 LEGO Advent Calendars Day 18
[Feature] 2022 LEGO Advent Calendars Day 17

LEGO 75344 Boba Fett’s Starship Microfighter [Review]

In 2022, LEGO released one Microfighter featuring a Mandalorian, and in 2023, so far we know there will be … one Microfighter featuring a Mandalorian! 75344 Boba Fett’s Starship Microfighter is, surprisingly, the first Microfighter treatment for our favorite space western villain’s ride – either under its old name or this newer eponymous one. There’s another first with this set: it’s the first time a Microfighter pilot has been behind a canopy or otherwise “inside”! The set comes with 85 pieces and 1 minifigure and will be available Jan 1st for US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99. Let’s take a quick look at this bite-size build and see if Boba should keep the roof, or be out in the cold, err, January Tatooine rain?

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 the full review

LEGO Icons 10312 Modular Buildings Collection – Jazz Club : A great night out on the town modular [Review]

LEGO recently announced that it’s time to expand the Modular Buildings Collection with a new set of storefronts! The 2899 piece LEGO Icons 10312 Jazz Club will be available January 4th from the LEGO Shop Online for US $229.99 | CAN $299.99 | UK £199.99. This 18th set of buildings features not only the jazz club, but also a pizzeria, tailor’s shop, rooftop greenhouse, and eight exclusive minifigures. But is it a good fit for your neighborhood? Come along as we take a close look at this musical destination!

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.

Be Bopping right along

LEGO Star Wars 75347 TIE Bomber – a blast from the past [Review]

Today we take a look at one of the least-covered Original Trilogy vehicles left: the TIE/sa bomber! LEGO Star Wars fans have been anticipating the reappearance of this ship after its sole minifigure-scale version from twenty years ago. 75347 TIE Bomber nearly triples the piece count of the 2003 version and changes up the minifigures, introducing the very first LEGO version of Rae Sloane, a popular and important character who bridges the Original Trilogy all the way to the sequel movies and the First Order. The set comes with 625 pieces and 4 minifigures and will be available Jan 1st for US $64.99 | CAN $84.99 | UK £59.99. Is this new version on target? Let’s dive (bomb) in!

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 the full review

LEGO Collectible Minifigures 71037 Series 24 – Nostalgia included [Review]

The new year brings us a new series of LEGO’s long-running Collectible Minifigures, with Series 24 dropping January 1. In keeping with the last several series, this 24th numbered wave includes 12 unique characters in blind bags. The lineup this time doesn’t have a specific theme, unlike the prevalence of holiday-themed characters in 71034 Series 23, instead getting back to the basics with a variety of characters from a wide range of themes. 71037 Collectible Minifigures Series 24 will be available for US $4.99 | CAN $5.99 | UK £3.49.

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.

Click to read the full review