The Microsoft Flight Simulator new free update featuring the Nordic region has added details from the home of LEGO in Denmark. The update according to Microsoft includes detailed landscapes, regional architectures and 78 carefully selected points of interest. A treat for LEGO fans, we’re glad that the LEGO House made it into this update.
The LEGO Nintendo/ Mario craze has started thanks to the recent releases to plunder our wallets dry. Full disclosure, the person writing this article has never (ever) had the chance to play Super Mario during his younger years, but surely knows of how famous he is thanks to popular culture permeating all forms of media. First things first, this is a superb representation of Mario mid-flight by Lee Chi Wing (city son) that I’m familiar with, especially with the level of flexibility engineered into a brick-built character.
We recently featured a pinball machine with a modular play field. I’m not sure why there is a sudden uptick in pinball builds, but I am totally on board! Bring them on, pin-wizards! I have to say, you may have a tough time competing with this one, created by Nachapon Lego. I’ve seen a few multi-tiered LEGO machines, but this is probably executed the best. The physics behind pinball can be complicated. The size of the field coupled with the size and weight of the ball, plus the angles of the obstacles, all make for a tricky design process. Then you bring LEGO into the mix and the constraints take on another level of difficulty.
The Star Wars theme will be popular for many of you, but if that’s not your thing, the builder made a sister-table. The obstacles are the same, but this one has a creative and colorful adventure motif as a tribute to the vast possibilities of LEGO. The game-play video below will have you wishing you could have a go at it yourself! I particularly like the ball-saving that can be done by kicking it back to the main level once it drains.
If you haven’t already, definitely take a peak at some of our other featured pinball articles! You’ll find my own Classic Space pinball machine, along with a few others that will get you excited about making one too!
This brings back so many memories of a time where there were no such things as digital devices to distract us from actually engaging with family and having fun! Connect 4 is a classic game that many can relate to and I bet that’s exactly why builder Tiago Catarino put this together.
LEGO has revealed LEGO Star Wars Battles, a mobile game coming in 2020 to Apple and Android devices. The game will combine elements of tower building, tower defense, character collecting and of course, good old fashioned player vs. player combat.
Characters, vehicles and locations will be drawn from across the extensive Star Wars universe so you can finally watch Yoda take down Kylo Ren on Scarif in a podracer, if you really wanted to. No word on a release date just yet, but hopefully it will come soon enough to help fill the gap before LEGO Star Wars: The Skywalker Saga hits consoles next year.
If you’ve spent any time in arcades, you’ve likely been tempted by those crane games where you can win a handful of candy (or sometimes bigger prizes). H.Y. Leung has taken that temptation to the extreme by making their own working version from LEGO bricks.
The base of this build is 80×64 studs (roughly 64×51 centimeters); pretty close to 1:1 scale to a real-world crane game. The arm design comes from LEGO set 42043, the Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245, with a modified claw. The first control on the left side rotates the arm left and right, moving it through a 200-degree arc. The next three switches handle positioning of the boom and outrigger and opening and closing the claw. To the right of the controls is a slot that accepts tokens, and a switch to activate a pneumatically-controlled horizontal security bar, intended to keep people from reaching up and into the game when it’s not in use.
This claw-machine creation incorporates just a touch of non-LEGO parts in the custom plexiglass, external air compressor, and edible treats. I personally would have liked to see this machine filled with LEGO parts, but I suspect bulk candy is a lot cheaper to refill it with.
Speaking of arcade games, the colors are inspired by the prize machine in the mobile game Crossy Road. Not familiar with that machine? Happily, H.Y. has also recreated a LEGO version to add some context. I like the inversion of the red/yellow styling between the two games.
LEGO and Gameloft have unveiled a new mobile game, “LEGO Legacy: Heroes Unboxed” which promises to bring together minifigures from the past 40 years of LEGO sets into a team-Battle RPG. The game will challenge players to collect classic and modern LEGO minifigures and sets in digital form, then create a team and engage in battles and adventures. The development team even visited the LEGO Vault in Billund, Denmark to research classic sets, minifigures and instructions to help them faithfully recreate them within the game.
“LEGO Legacy: Heroes Unboxed” will be available this fall on Apple and Android devices, though Brickworld Chicago attendees will get an early preview next month. We’ve included the launch trailer and press release after the jump.
Click to see the LEGO Legacy: Heroes Unboxed announcement trailer.
I’ve always wondered who came up with the idea that paper beats rock in “Rock, Paper, Scissors.” According to Adam Dodge it must be a fixed match, and I’d have to agree! Especially when it comes to Big Ugly Rock Pieces (BURPS); they’re practically indestructible! How does Paper have a chance? Apparently he’s a “danger between the sheets,” as Adam says.
Of course, we all know what the result would be if Scissors stepped into the ring with Paper. The winner of that bout is pretty cut and dry… Puns aside, this clever build is pretty hilarious. I just wish I had thought of it first!
Adam is a witty guy, but he’s also an exceptional builder. For example, check out his rainbow landscape or his Dr. Who chess set.
Adult fans of LEGO sometimes have skills that go beyond building masterpieces with bricks. Once in a while, we discover great gems that showcase a different talent combined with the love for LEGO, like the amazing handcrafted wooden LEGO we recently featured. Not too long ago, while scouring the web for great creations to feature here at The Brothers Brick, I came across something that didn’t strike me as worth exploring at first glance. But something compelled me to take a closer look, and I’m glad I did! The effort behind the creation of what I uncovered is astounding! Over 400 pages of programming and 2 years in the making, LEGO enthusiast Johan Alexanderson coded a full-blown game in honor of the LEGO Classic Space theme in retro-classic gaming styles from the 80s.
Johan Alexanderson (who also goes by the online handle LegoJalex) will be familiar to readers of The Brothers Brick — we’ve showcased more than a few of his excellent builds in the past (including his E.T Phone Home movie classic), and we featured an exclusive interview with him about his his LEGO creations. This article continues from where our last interview ended, when Johan mentioned a programming project to be revealed later. Before we speak to him again on his 2-year journey creating “Classic Space Adventures,” let’s take a quick look at the game itself.
Dutch builder Vladimir van Hoek has created a fully functional pinball machine from LEGO, inspired by J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Lord of the Rings trilogy. The table includes scenes from all three books and movies, from Hobbiton above the ball shooter to Mount Doom in the opposite corner. Every element of the pinball machine is built from LEGO, including the targets, lanes, and flippers. Official minifigures from the Lord of the Rings sets add character to the scenes, but the microscale buildings and landscaping are excellent in their own right.
See more photos and the LEGO Lord of the Rings pinball machine in action
Wire loop games are a common sight at carnivals. Sad Brick has combined this classic childhood staple with another, namely LEGO. Sitting on top of a very clean base is the loop itself with the hoop taking centre stage as a very clever little build. It even uses the official LEGO rope and winch as the wire. Next to that for a little added flair is a bit of circuitry, mostly for show, that makes good use of gold chrome pieces and transparent pieces.
With the latest round of Iron Builder underway, expect to see a flurry of LEGO creations featuring the Friends balloon piece, as we noted a few days ago with the lovely LEGO lotus blossom. Contestant Grant Davis is cranking out something new just about every day — and sometimes more than one new creation a day. One of my favorites so far is this Whack-a-Mole machine. The ill-fated victims of whackage peeking with their single eyes out of their holes are also the tips of the bulbous balloon piece, and I just love their adorable little hats.
