Tag Archives: Animals

TBB cover photo for March 2021: Lifelike Koi Fish

This group of life-sized koi fish by Ian Hou of DOGOD Brick Design has awed us before, but we had to return to it for this month’s cover photo. Not only is this model lifelike from looks alone, it also evokes a feeling of zen associated with koi ponds. Looking at Ian’s photography, these look so good on display, like true sculptures. I would love to have these adorn my home to put me at ease when I’m stressing about building. Hopefully, this cover photo will offer the same feeling of calm for our readers. Once you’ve taken in this work of art, check more of Ian’s creations here.

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LEGO BrickHeadz 40466 Panda and cubs [Review]

The BrickHeadz theme has continued to branch out over the years to bring us everything from heroes and villains of the Marvel and DC universe to holiday characters, and most recently, a new sub-theme Pets. Today we’re taking a look at what I hope to see many more of, wild animal parents and their babies, LEGO BrickHeadz 40466 the Panda, and two cubs. The 249 piece set retails 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

The Nettledrake hides in plain flight

Thank you for joining us again for another edition of The Brothers Brick’s nature documentary series, Planet Brick. Today we’ve spotted Joss Woodyard’s well-camouflaged Nettledrake. Made up of many LEGO pieces you’d traditionally think to use for plant life, this magnificent beast is naturally hidden. If you happen to come across one in the wild yourself, it’s best to observe from a distance and see it spread its wings and take flight. Don’t be drawn in by its pretty pink spots or tail. If you get too close, you might get stung by the vicious beast’s teeth or talons. Thanks for stopping by and discovering another beautiful creature inhabiting Planet Brick.

Cable Clip Chameleon

Builder Joss Woodyard has made a chameleon out of LEGO and it’s simply a small work of art. There are a lot of axle connectors used in this build for the tail and the spine of the creature. I love that it manages to stay true to the color scheme of an actual chameleon. White wedge plate create gaps that resemble the mouth and there is great part use with the pumpkin part used to portray the characteristic eyes which bulge out the side of their head and appear to swivel about in all directions.

Look closely at the coral and spot a seahorse

Welcome back to the Brothers Brick’s LEGO nature documentary series, Planet Brick. Here you can see, hidden among the coral atop a 1×1 brick, a tiny little pygmy seahorse. Yes, James Zhan’s creation is well hidden, away from the mouths of crabs, rays, or fish looking for a little snack. The pink and red specks of this pygmy’s pigment help it to blend in with the vibrant colours of the coral, home to a number of other tiny camouflaged sea creatures. If a predator gets too close and the tiny little seahorse and tip the LEGO brick below it over and hide inside. A truly remarkable little creature to find on the reef. Stay tuned for our next episode as we explore other brick built flora and fauna inhabiting Planet Brick.

It’s always time for adventure with the new LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31116 Safari Wildlife Tree House! [Review]

A couple months ago some marketing material put out by the LEGO Group seemingly, accidentally teased an image of an unknown new set. Gasps ensued. An adorable giraffe?! Where can I get that?! Well folks, now it’s here. The new Creator 3-in-1 set 31116 Wildlife Safari Tree House is coming to shelves near you! This kit will be available March 1st, and will retail for US $29.99 | CAN $39.99 | UK £29.99. Join us as we don our safari vests and tour this fun new addition to the LEGO Creator line.

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.

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The bird is the word, but also a nerd.

Of course the bird is the word, but the bird is also the nerd as evidenced by wise old owls and the fact that little birds have a tendency to provide information to people. The cerebral nature of the species is also captured in Isaac Snyder’s brick-built avian critters sporting some stylish specs.

The pair of fowls here appear to be around the size of an average brickheadz model and they are crafted out of bricks and tiling as well as slopes which allow for curvy avian features. Both builds utilize two 1×1 cheese slopes to fashion beaks and 1×2 plates to minimally render their feet. The penguin and the owl also feature the squinting eye 1×1 round tiles, but each bird has their own distinctive eyewear – the penguin with its round frame and the owl with a square one. While simple and compact, these builds are still certainly a hoot!

That’s a lot of bull

2021 is the Year of the Ox, and to help us celebrate, LEGO builders are constructing a breadth of bricky bovines. Pistash challenged himself to use only pearl gold elements, and the result is this mechanical bull that’s actually not very brickish at all. With a mess of bars and ornamentation pieces surrounding a core frame of fence gates, this golden calf is one of the odder creations I’ve seen recently, and I am loving every bit of it.

Check out other LEGO Year of the Ox creations in our archives.

This build is bananas, and that’s no bull. No, wait, that is a bull.

Forced perspective and clever part usage makes this bullfight from KitKat1414 stand out in a crowded bunch. Get it? Bunch? Because of the LEGO banana seed part from the latest round of Iron Forge? C’mon, work with me here. The bull makes great use of them in the horns, but did you also spot them in the gate in the background? How about in the pile of kicked up sand behind the bull’s hoof? I also like the multicolored 1×1 round plate serving as the crowd in the background. Good stuff.

If bullfights aren’t your thing, you can always check out some other animal related creations and find something that suits you better!

It’s a cat-love-dog world?

In our current apocalyptical-like times, I’m sure most of us could use some feel-good imagery or stories in our lives. Here’s a sweet little LEGO vignette by Sebastian Arts, involving an amicable relationship between natural enemies – a cat and dog.

The main portion of the build is a fractured architectural setting with a post-apocalyptical feel to it. The drab grey color-scheme is made interesting by the sharp forms Sebastian shapes using mostly plates, slopes, tiles, and even blades. Some rounder elements are also incorporated, including 1×1 cylinders, 2×2 ridged cylinders, 1×1 cones, rounded sticks, and my favorite piece here – the technic bearing plate which is utilized in multiples to create a small roof. The focal point of the model is definitely the red 3×3 heart plate with a red 2×2 circular tile suspended over the orange striped cat and grey and white husky dog, all of which add a splash of color within the monochrome built environment. What can I say? This model just warms the heart but is also aesthetically quite pleasing.

You, too, can fill your zoo with over 20 adorable animals!

As someone obsessed with animals and animal builds, I’m pleased to share some exciting news! TBB’s 2020 Creation of the Year builder, Koen Zwanenburg, is providing instructions for his collection of cute and cuddly LEGO critters! These cartoon-ish creations are some of my all-time favorite animal builds. Just look at that walrus’ flippers – genius! The size and style lend themselves perfectly to repeating the techniques with all sorts of characters. And now, you can build them and collect them all yourself.

While you’re here, be sure to check out some of Koen’s other builds! In addition to many other completely different creations, he’s also used this technique for both Super Mario and Christmas characters.

Tweet tweet tweet! Goes the robin

Life size (or near life size) birds have long been a popular subject matter for LEGO creations. While many previous birds have featured some pretty cool parts usage, KitKat1414 uses a pretty innovative technique for this Robin’s face. It’s just one piece, but a red minifigure torso managed to accomplish so many different things.

The first thing that jumps out at you is the arm holes as eyes. The size is just perfect. Second, you’ll see the neck as the bird’s beak. Sure it’s round where a real beak should be conical, but it very clearly represents and communicates that piece of the bird’s anatomy. Finally, the not to be overlooked, subtle design feature the torso lends to this bird is the angle it gives the face. I can’t think of any other single LEGO piece, or even pair of pieces that could accomplish as much as this one, incredibly common, often overlooked element does.