Tag Archives: Basketball

LEGO Nike 43008 Nike Dunk: does the swoosh swish? [Review]

Four years ago, our Alexander reviewed a thoroughly unusual set: a LEGO shoe. That set was among the first of a big push from LEGO into the world of brand tie-ins targeted at more than just AFOLs, and now, we have some more legendary footwear to contend with. This time, we’re shooting some hoops with LEGO Nike 43008 Nike Dunk! And it’s an altogether different vibe to the Adidas Original. With 1,180 pieces, this snazzy sneaker hits the court on July 1 for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99. You may also find it on third-party retail sites like eBay or Amazon. Is LEGO’s latest basketball collab a slam dunk? Or are brick fans about to get skunked? Let’s 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.

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When LEGO and basketball mix, it’s nothing but net!

You can keep your LEGO minifigures, because I’m an absolute sucker for brick-built people. And Cecilie Fritzvold provides two teams-worth with this homage to b-ball. In this first shot, we see a player going up for a dunk, with his outstretched arm palming the ball as he ascends upward over the defender. Bar and clip connections, angled parts, and ball joints are all employed to bring this scene to life. I can almost hear the labored mid-air shout followed by an inevitable crash of that outstretched hand as it grabs the rim.

But this is only one side of the court made by Cecilie. At the other hoop, we have a spirited game of 3-on-3. I love the unique takes on athletic wear and jerseys on all the players, each one sporting their own style. I also appreciate the intentional positioning of the players: the guy in black and yellow setting a pick, while the player in red calling for the ball down on the post. And all of this great action takes place in front of a gorgeous bit of wall art, spelling out “HOOPS” with an appropriately-themed double-O. Even the court is LEGO, utilizing an interesting technique to form the top of the key. Forgive me, but I can’t wrap up this post without calling this build an obligatory “slam dunk!”

The legendary big three – the ’96 Chicago Bulls

If you were growing up as a kid in the 90’s, without a doubt you had to be a fan of the Chicago Bulls, at least I felt that way during the time. Michael Jordan, Dennis Rodman, and Scottie Pippen weren’t just great basketball players, they were icons of the sport and the era. Takamichi Irie brings back some of the vibes of those days through his figural LEGO builds of the dream team.

Irie shapes the bodies of the big three completely out of bricks, with musculature utilizing sloped pieces. Smooth pieces such as tiling, slopes, and 2×2 round bottom plates also help in rendering the legs and arms of the figures while articulation is provided by 1×1 modified plates with clips. The Nike swoosh on a couple of the players’ shoes are portrayed by claw pieces. The heads of the players are given some definition with 1×1 tiles and cheese slope pieces. While the bodies are blocky, human figures are extraordinarily difficult to render using bricks, especially at this scale. I believe Irie’s combination and configuration of elements really produced the closest one can get to recreating these figures in LEGO at such a size. Looking at the build as a whole, I remember the glory days of the Bulls’ past, but I am also reminded that I need to check out the Netflix docuseries on the Chi-town bulls – The Last Dance, which may have inspired these awesome models

# 23

Despite a rich history of his country’s basketball players who played in the American NBA to draw upon for inspiration, players like… Detlef Schrempf, Uwe Blab and Dirk Nowitzki…for some strange reason Alex Jones (Orion Pax) is still fixated on Michael Jordan. So journey back with Alex and TBB, to the 1990’s when grunge music, Pokémon cards and MJ ruled the planet. #23 also comes complete with his pet bull, on which he rides about dispensing justice and expensive footwear with a flaming sword!.

I’m not sure what to say about Alex’s solution for MJ’s visage…I mean, what do you say about Tim Allen in blackface? For more photos, head over to Orion Pax Designs.