Tag Archives: 1:1 Scale

Lifesize props that will have you asking “Is it LEGO?”

Lord of the Rings foosball: 1st team to 5 points wins the One Ring!

Hot on the heels of Jonas’s pinball machine comes another amazing Lord of the Rings themed game. But this time it’s tabletop football! (Or as we call it in my house, foosball). Balbo, a long-time builder of Lord of the Rings themed LEGO creations, says that he was inspired by the Iron Builder to make a tabletop game of his own. If you look closely, you’ll see that each player is a different character from the film and that the “turf” has mosaics of Bag End, the Black Gate, and the Eye of Sauron.

My only concerns with this awesome build would be its durability (foosball games can get pretty heated and I’d hate to see LEGO pieces flying across the room) and the amount of space between characters (especially over the Eye) which could lead to frequent dead balls. But still, I’d love nothing more than seeing Lord Elrond slip a soccer ball past Saruman to end the War of the Ring.

You can check out the rest of Balbo’s awesome LEGO creations on Flickr.

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Incredible PC motherboards made entirely of LEGO

As modern video games become more and more demanding in terms of hardware, no wonder getting the cutting edge component parts is a pressing problem. Recently, dueling LEGO builders produced a couple of brilliant microchips, and now it’s high time to get a proper motherboard for your high-end gaming station. Depending on your ambitions and budget, you can either go for the popular and reliable GIGABYTE G4M-XPZ by Tim Schwalfenberg…

…or opt for Jonas’ ultimate ASUS P9X79-E WS, which can be upgraded with up to 64 GB of RAM.

Functioning LEGO pinball machine bounces you from the Shire to Mordor [Video + Interview]

We’ve posted several impressive LEGO-built games over the years (including LEGO versions of Settlers of Catan, Trench, Go, and even a LEGO Star Wars pinball machine), but Jonas‘s Lord of the Rings-themed game is truly jaw-dropping. This one hundred percent LEGO, fully functioning pinball machine includes microscale scenes from all your favorite Middle Earth locations, including Hobbiton (the ball shooter lane), Helms Deep, Ortanc, Weathertop (a bumper), Fangorn, Minas Tirith, and even the Black Gates of Mordor (each gate is a flipper!)

The machine is over two feet long and a foot wide and tall (or 62cm x 32cm x 36cm to be precise) and Jonas says it took him twelve straight hours of work and more than 2000 pieces to create this arcade masterpiece.

Watch the video below to check out the game in action and remember, no shaking or nudging allowed!

Click to read the interview with Jonas

Look at me still talking when there’s science to be done

Some say LEGO is art, but others say it’s a science. This brick-built microscope from Josiah N. lends credence to the latter supposition. So start doing some LEGO science!

Wondering what a LEGO microscope could possibly show you? Well, Josiah’s got us covered there too, with a view through his microscope of a human cell. It’s incredible seeing the mitochondria in such detail.

The big LEGO book of Grimm’s Fairy Tales

Markus Rollbühler opens up a new page on LEGO building by presenting Grimm’s Fairy Tales in book form. We’ve seen literature depicted in LEGO through an artistic representation of a book before, but I here I particularly love Markus’ use of the pages forming gnarled tree silhouettes to add depth to the scenes. Markus says that there are references to six of the Brothers Grimm’s fairy tales depicted here: see if you can spot them all.

Clicking bricks and clacking keys

I appreciate and love to see LEGO models presented in life size. It’s all about creating an illusion; can you build with LEGO something that doesn’t look like LEGO? Jonas succeeds with a 1:1 scale Underwood Typewriter built from the beloved brick. From the mechanical details to the elegant frame, his replica is dang near flawless.

Who wants smoothies?

Continuing the series of we can’t believe no one thought to incorporate that container piece into a build before, newcomer Caleb Flutur shows us how to use those tall Pick-a-Brick cups for something other than storing your extra long plates and technic pins. Amazingly, this blender is one-hundred-percent LEGO. The handle is held in place by LEGO magnets, the cord is made of hinge cylinders, and there’s even a rubber seal inside to prevent smoothie splash back.

I know, I know. We just told you that if you want to be blogged on The Brothers Brick, please do not to take your photos on your kitchen table or against the wall. What gives? Well, Caleb’s photo is an obvious exception to that rule because placing this blender on a kitchen counter tricked me into thinking, at first glance, that it was real. If you want to be blogged, always remember to use our “three easy steps” and your best judgment when photographing your builds. And most importantly have fun!

Wishing you a happy Valentine’s Day

Regardless of your opinion on the merits of February 14, I would like to present you this lovely bouquet of roses. I know I would certainly love to receive a bouquet like this. Simon Pickard‘s done a lovely job designing the vase and flowers. I love the detail of the greenery with the delicate white flower buds.

One of the best things about this particular dozen red roses is that you’ll never have to worry about thorns!

Should you need something more than roses, then I suggest you take advantage of kosbrick‘s gorgeous box of gourmet chocolates.

54-inch LEGO Nornfang Sniper Rifle from Halo 5

Of all the new weapon variants introduced in Halo 5: Guardians, Nornfang, Spartan Linda-058’s custom sniper rifle, is my favorite. The camouflage and lone wolf designs applied to the classic Halo sniper body was inspiration enough to get building. My LEGO replica of Nornfang measures 54″ long (that’s 171 LEGO studs), weighs 9 pounds, and features a moving trigger, sliding bolt/charging handle, and removable box magazine.

See more photos on my flickr page.

The Bricks Awaken with these life-size LEGO Star Wars figures made from 83,364 pieces [News]

If minifigs just aren’t big enough for you, LEGO has created three life-size sculptures celebrating Star Wars: The Force Awakens. Poe stands 67.3 inches tall, weighs 112 pounds, and took builders 195 hours to place all 22,736 bricks. Finn also weighs 112 pounds, but took builders 205 hours to place all 23,072 bricks in his 68.9 inch stature. And true to the movie, Captain Phasma is huge at 81.5 inches tall, and weighs 185 pounds. She took builders 275 hours and 37,556 bricks to construct.

Click through to see more images

Orchid

While observing an orchid plant, I realized how much the flower petals resemble a Lego armor piece found in the new Star Wars figures such as the First Order Stormtrooper. I then started building based on this simple idea and am happy to share the results.

4.5 foot LEGO No Land Beyond rifle from Destiny

Destiny has an amazing diversity to the designs of its exotic tier weapons. They range from the elegance of Hawkmoon, to the futuristic sleekness of SUROS Regime. LEGO weapon builder ZaziNombies built another design further defining the varied exotic arsenal. His replica No Land Beyond, a sniper rifle inspired by the Russian rifle Mosin-Nagant in appearance and name, captures the wooden rifle body, long barrel, and iron sights well with approximately 1400 pieces. Watch him demonstrate his LEGO prop and compare it to the in-game model in this video.