Malaysian toy retailer Mr Brick Hunt has just published the first official pictures of the upcoming 40499 Santa’s Sleigh Christmas set. According to the price tag, the set will cost RM269.90, which is about US $65. Piece count and availability are yet to be announced, but the pictures we have are more than enough to spot a lot of great details.
Despite the summer heat, LEGO builder Lukasz Wiktorowicz created a winter wonderland scene of carolers bringing seasonal joy to a lonely cottage. The tree almost steals the show, with leafless branches spindly pointing towards the sky. The use of brown minifigure hands to create additional branch points is fantastic and adds age to the tree. I also really dig the snow work, with clumps of snow slowly falling off the roof and much more piled on the ground.
Yet it’s the minor details that truly make this a wonderland of LEGO. Did you see the crosscut saw laying in the snow near the base of the tree? Or the wood hacked out of the trunk? Or the stump next to the house? Or the hinges on the cottage’s front door? You can’t fully appreciate what Lukasz has built without zooming in for a closer look. And that’s why we’re happy to showcase his creation here on The Brother’s Brick.
Earlier this year we had a partial look at the upcoming Marvel Advent Calendar 2021 countdown to Christmas. We now get a complete and detailed look at all the Minifigures and mini-builds that will be available later this year.
Are we late for the Christmas party? I imagine building toys is an all-year job and while many of us have already packed away our Christmas lights and decorations, Jake Hansen graces us with a late Christmas hurrah. When the LEGO build techniques are this good, it doesn’t matter what the calendar says, really. I mean, just look at that crooked door and those slightly askew windows and chimney. That is no easy feat in LEGO! The colors and thick snow are all holiday perfection. Jake seems to make awesome build techniques his regular thing. This makes me want to get festive all over again and try that expired egg nog in the back of the fridge. What’s the worst that can happen?
Besides, we could all use some bonus Christmas cheer this week, right?
T’was the night before Lifeday and all through the galaxy, not a creature was stirring, except…except…ah heck, nothing rhymes with galaxy! Andreas Lenander re-imagines the storybook scene set with a Star Wars twist, showing Lord Vader reading a heart-warming tale of the treacherous Rebellion, and that fateful night when they destroyed his favorite battle station.
Many of us know the story of the birth of Jesus. We’ve seen the Nativity scene possibly hundreds of times in our lives, whether it be in storybook illustrations, our own simple scene set up on a fireplace mantle, or an elaborate life-sized diorama adorned in lights. As familiar as this may be to some of us, we still get a kick out of it when someone does the scene justice in LEGO. This year a builder by the name of byMartin dazzles us with this well-detailed rendition featuring The Three Wisemen bringing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to the newborn king. I’m particularly loving the thatched roof of the manger cleverly constructed from tan Technic pins. This scene truly takes us back to over two-thousand years in Bethlehem. I can just about hear the camels braying and the sand rustling gently under their feet.
Regardless of which religion you may or may not follow, it is nice to be reminded occasionally that goodwill towards others is an important and beautiful thing. From all of us here at The Brothers Brick, we hope you have a joyous holiday season and a festive and fruitful new year.
Merry Christmas, everyone! Hopefully today is one of the best days of 2020 and that you unwrapped several LEGO sets from under the tree.
We wanted to share a few more insights into this year’s LEGO advent calendars before the holiday season ended. These include leftover parts, minifigure collections and scenic displays that you can make with your advent calendar. Let’s jump in, shall we?
Disney+ has done a phenomenal thing with Star Wars: The Mandalorian. They’ve satisfied seasoned fans while also bringing in younger viewers, a feat that the newest Skywalker saga movies struggled with. The driving force uniting viewers both young and old is sometimes called by the chronologically inaccurate moniker of “Baby Yoda”, though some go with “The Child”, and others go by his newly revealed and more spoiler-y name. Whatever you call him, Pascal Hetzel gives us what we’re all after with his latest LEGO creation. He’s taken the official set, 75318 The Child, and given it a Santa outfit. Add a festively ornamented Christmas tree with presents and you pretty much have the formula for success right there! From all of us at The Brothers Brick, here’s hoping your holiday season is as happy and bright as this little guy here.
Before you go, be sure to check out Pascal’s other work and our other Christmas posts in our archives.
Happy holidays to all of our fellow LEGO builders! As is tradition, we at The Brothers Brick have been opening our advent calendars as we count down to Christmas, which is tomorrow! Today, we’re opening the final door, but we’ll be back once more when we’ll be showcasing a final roundup of the calendars tomorrow.
Thank you to all those who have celebrated with us so far. Now, let’s open door 24!
2020 has been a hard year for everyone, and some of us have put on a few extra quarantine pounds. Ian Hou’s LEGO Santa Claus is no exception, as evidenced by the quarter round bricks shaping his belly. It seems that Jolly ole Saint Nick misjudged how many milk and cookies he’d been eating.
Now a previously comfortable slide down a chimney is a bit more than a tight squeeze! I think Santa jumped in pretty fast and built up some speed too because of the angle on those hinged bricks tell me chunks of that chimney are flying off pretty quickly. And I think he’s noticed too, the 1×3 arches forming his mouth look like his “Ho! Ho! Ho!” has turned into an “Oh! Ow! Ow!”
Happy holidays to all of our fellow LEGO builders! As is tradition, we at The Brothers Brick will be opening our advent calendars as we count down to Christmas. We’ll also be sharing commentary on each one, which will be both insightful and hilarious!
This year we have new Harry Potter, Star Wars, City and Friends advent calendars to open. We will be sharing images of the new calendars every day through Christmas, and hope that you’ll join us! Let’s see what there is to open on Day 23.
Happy holidays to all of our fellow LEGO builders! As is tradition, we at The Brothers Brick will be opening our advent calendars as we count down to Christmas. We’ll also be sharing commentary on each one, which will be both insightful and hilarious!
This year we have new Harry Potter, Star Wars, City and Friends advent calendars to open. We will be sharing images of the new calendars every day through Christmas, and hope that you’ll join us! Let’s see what there is to open on Day 22.
