Last year, 10 builders came together to build a fictional city inspired by cities of the Middle East and North Africa called “Medina Al Musawrah.” It was one of TBB’s favorite LEGO projects of last year, and you can read our interview with the organizers of this remarkable collaboration here. At last month’s BrickFair NoVa, Continue reading →
Vignweek continues! Day 2’s theme is “Monochrome,” challenging builders to make a vignette using just one LEGO color. Here’s just a sampling of the amazing creativity born from this challenging constraint. Thanks to @rebellug for hosting the event and congratulations to all of the incredible builders on turning around these inspiring models in under 24 hours. Color us impressed!
Maxx Davidson (@mrmaxxwell) declares Frogust a thing and invites you to hop to the frog side.
LEGO islands trade by sea.
The Princess Bride has it all: Fencing, fighting, torture, revenge, giants, monsters, chases, escapes, true love, miracles… It’s a wonder we don’t see more tributes in LEGO. Thankfully, FS Leinad (@princessbridelego) has stepped up with a fabulous build of Westley and Buttercup fleeing through the Fire Swamps. There’s a lot to love in this compact model, from the dense forest of dark grey tree trunks full of odd parts like Bionicle joints and jackhammers, to the evocative flames made of carefully twisted trans-orange chains to the spot-on minifigs. Having escaped the Lightning Sands and figured out how to avoid the Fire Spurts, the only other hazard these true lovers need worry about is the R.O.U.S.es. But the Rodents of Unusual Size? I don’t think they exist.
Vignweek is an annual competition hosted by RebelLUG that challenges builders to assemble a vignette around a daily theme. 5 weekday builds and a weekend build, for a total of 6 builds in 7 days. It’s a marathon and a spring for some incredibly talented LEGO creators! The contest kicked off on Monday with “Archaeology” as the theme. Here are some of our favorite creations from day 1.
Over three seasons, Dana Terrace’s The Owl House cemented itself as maybe the best stories ever told about a misfit from the mundane world finding family and purpose in a magical world. It has school drama, magical team sports, sorting into your ordained role, complicated families, fantastic creatures, and some of the best wizard duels to ever hit the screen. It also won a Peabody, each season was nominated for a GLAAD award, and the creator never punches down. Builder @timofey_tkachev recreated the series’ most iconic location, the titular Owl House, home of Eda “the owl lady” Clawthorne, out of over 4000 LEGO bricks. Timofey adeptly captures the house’s unusual angles but it’s the stunning stained glass window that really catches the eye. You can find instructions for Timofey’s version on Rebrickable.
Four years after its debut, LEGO 40516 Everyone Is Awesome is still available in LEGO stores. Upon its release, LEGO VP of Design and set creator Matthew Ashton said, “I wanted to create a model that symbolizes inclusivity and celebrates everyone, no matter how they identify or who they love.” The message remains even more essential today. If you haven’t picked up the set, now’s the perfect time. With an impressive 11 minifigs, you won’t find a better battle pack for the struggles that matter.
@dw_mocs whisks us to the Philippines with this exotic upscaled Summer Joust Farms and Fields entry.
LEGO will soon be venturing into the Marvel Spider-verse for the next line of Collectible Minifigs, but you don’t need to wait until August to find weird and wonderful fig creations of the arachnid (and arachnid adjacent) variety. Today on Minifig Monday we’re catching a bevy of bug and spider flavored figs and mini builds Continue reading →
The line between toy and advertisement has long been blurry. From Howdy Doody to He-Man to Paw Patrol, children’s programming is often a thinly veiled commercial for products. Over the past few decades, fandom has morphed from a community-driven passion into corporate cultivation and exploitation of IP. Now fandom has evolved from selling products to Continue reading →
Contrary to what you may have seen in popular films and TV, pirates wouldn’t sail under black sails. They’d more likely rig their ships with sails like the ones in this incredible tall ship from Luke (@cathedralofbricks). Luke has been building with typhoon intensity these past few months, but so far all of his works have been castles (as he shared with us in our interview last month). For a change of pace, he tests out new waters and rekindles an old love for the golden age of piracy. Luke proves every bit as adept at sea as he is with gothic stonework. While incorporating many modern elements and techniques, some elements, like the hull pieces and the mast over the stern are straight from vintage LEGO Pirate ships. Having just finished building the One Piece Going Merry, I feel a powerful nostalgia for these dedicated nautical pieces from LEGO’s past.