Tag Archives: History

We stand with Ukraine

In this time of strife pressing on the chest of the world, making it hard for all of us to breathe, there are people fighting for their lives and their land. Digital LEGO builder Chris Yu has joined countless others in showing support for the people of Ukraine as they fight off Putin’s mindless assault. The Brothers Brick staff stand with Chris in this testament of support. Simple color-blocking within the parts building this blue and yellow fist of power illustrates the strength of the Ukrainian people.

Major events like this make waves, and those waves wend their way through creative communities where expression of opinion and emotion reign. People inspired by the events of the world, like Chris Yu and others, make wonderful art worth sharing, not only for its message but also for the artistry in its execution. Our hearts go out to the Ukrainian and Russian families affected by this unfolding tragedy. We see your strength. May peace come swiftly to the hearts and minds of you all so that you may begin to move on with your lives as you wish.

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The real casualties of a real war

This new LEGO creation by a historian who goes by the name of Benjamin acts as a stark reminder that there are currently real-world actions with real-world consequences. Here we see a Ukrainian civilian discovering possibly a loved one among a heap of rubble. Benjamin provides a passage in German that, while you are free to translate it yourself, the gist is that this is not a war of tanks and soldiers but rather of mothers, fathers, sons, daughters, brothers, and sisters, as well as kindergartens, schools, town halls, shopping malls, universities, factories, and homes. When we feature things like this we predictably get a slew of comments on social media that state something to the effect of; keep your world view out of LEGO. Or I come to this site to not see this kind of thing so stop doing it. The truth is that something as big and consequential as one country invading another cannot go unnoticed and cannot go unheard, even among us adults who enjoy building with LEGO. At the very least it has us worrying about our Ukrainian and Russian friends, family, and colleagues, but the impact of these actions span far wider than that.

Keeping silent or purposefully misinformed about such things is how wars like this get started in the first place. It’s how they can go on indefinitely. This is why we at The Brothers Brick will stand with our brethren of builders and feature articles such as this one. While we haven’t shied away from real-world problems before, this is the first you’ve seen depicting the conflict in Ukraine. I can assure you that this will likely be the first of many because alas real-world actions like this are too important to go unheard.

A Roman border tower keeps an eye on them goats

Whether it be the great natural color scheme, fantastic textures or intricate shapes, there’s a lot to love about this Roman border tower built by Ben Tritschler. But the star of the show, to me anyway, has to be those goats. Clearly I’m not the only TBB contributor thrilled by goats. However, I do seem to be the most vocal about it. What can I say? Goats are pretty much the formula for success around here. Even when they’re scary as hell. I may consider also going gaga for those sheep. They are not without their charm. As a LEGO builder, Ben is also not without his charm. Check out our archives to see what I mean.

A really cool tree next to a nice house

Yes, the building is a work of art but have you seen this incredible tree? LEGO builder Ayrlego shared a recent creation with us, the Villa. Plant life, thy name is beauty. Just look at that tree! It might take the cake as the most realistic LEGO deciduous tree I’ve ever seen. The vine work is also fantastic with the way it crawls across the roof. I also admire the small potted plants and the garden shrubbery. It’s all a testament to Ayrlego’s skill with bricks.

Of course, where would this creation be without the villa itself? I mentioned that it’s a work of art because it truly is, incorporating styles from American Colonial to Spanish Mission. Though the lore behind Ayrlego’s creation is fantasy, one could easily see such a villa existing somewhere in the early days of North American settlement.

Anansi the trickster and god of all knowledge comes to life in an astounding LEGO sculpture

When I first saw this magnificent LEGO sculpture by Ekow Nimako, I knew it had to be his. The elegant, all-black theme is his trademark. But what I didn’t realize is that this is much more than a beautiful fictitious character. This is Anansi, an important deity in West African mythos. Ekow has a wonderful talent for pulling you in and inspiring you to look further, both literally and figuratively. So I’m here to share the gift of what I learned… and you might want to zoom in.

Click to see more pictures and learn about Anansi

Battle of the Crusaders

I’m a big fan of seeing historical events recreated in LEGO form. Today’s moment from history is the Siege of Jerusalem, shown here by builder Marco den Besten.

In the year 1187, the armies of Saladin laid siege to the Crusader stronghold of Jerusalem. At the point of the attack depicted above, the walls of the city have been breached. Marco’s use of dark and sand-colored bricks helps establish the Middle Eastern look of the setting. I also admire his woodwork on the siege towers and battering ram tunnel.

The walls are equally impressive, with various bricks serving as weathered stone that has stood through the ages. The arrowslits are well-designed. I like how there are two different versions of them.

As brave as these Crusaders might be, I don’t think they stand a chance against Saladin’s forces.

Building the Mighty Bismarck!

The most infamous battleship of all time is the German warship Bismarck, as seen here in a masterfully-built drydock. Builder Admiral_Plackbar held nothing back when constructing this floating colossus.

Named after the former German chancellor, Otto von Bismarck, this warship put terror into the hearts of Allied sailors on both sides of the Atlantic Ocean during the Second World War. First, put to sea by Germany in 1939, the Bismarck was one the largest battleships in the world and the largest fielded in the Atlantic. However, the Bismarck only lasted for two years. The ship was lost during a battle against Britain’s Royal Navy in 1941.

Crafted in LEGO by Admiral_Plackbar at 1:155 scale, the brick Bismarck can take on any LEGO pirate ship on the high seas. The detail seen here is incredibly accurate to the real warship, from the gun emplacements to the cranes ready to launch the lifeboats. You can tell that a lot of research went into making this.

And let’s not forget about the drydock! This too is very accurate for the 1930s-40s time era. I especially like the train cars, using a vintage European design of passenger coaches and steam engines. The drydock cranes are also to scale, enabling swift delivery of munitions from the railway to the warship. Everything has a functional purpose.

Admiral_Plackbar stated on Flickr that he is open using the drydock and Bismarck model as part of a larger modular display. I can’t wait to see if that happens!

LEGO celebrates 25th anniversary of LEGO video games with 10-part Bits N’ Bricks podcast [News]

December 2020 marks the 25th anniversary since the LEGO company’s first video game released. To celebrate the milestone, the company has produced a 10-part podcast series called Bits N’ Bricks that walk through the history of the plastic brick company’s foray into digital games, from Minecraft to LEGO Island and the LEGO Star Wars games, and everything in between. LEGO says they’ve been working on the show for more than a year, and have interviewed at least 120 people and researched more than 50 games in the course of production. The podcasts will be released weekly, with the inaugural episode launching today. The first episode is actually a teaser that’s not part of the main 10-part series, and along with a Christmas special in a few weeks, means the whole series will run for 12 weeks.

The podcast will be hosted by journalist Brian Crecente and documentarian Ethan Vincent. Crecente has a long history with video game journalism, having founded Kotaku and co-founded Polygon, and Vincent likewise has an impressive resume as an Emmy Award-winning documentary director for PBS.

Check out the timeline below to double-check your own LEGO video games knowledge, and you can read the whole press release and check out a gallery of images from classic LEGO games. Most of us probably thought LEGO Island was the first video game with the LEGO logo, but actually the original LEGO video game, released in 1995, was an educational game produced by SEGA for the Japanese market called Fun to Build. It was followed two years later by the much better known LEGO Island. Continue reading →

LEGO’s next book will be “The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks” [News]

Last month, fans of LEGO were invited to vote on one of three titles for the next book the company will publish. The votes are in, and “The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks” took the top spot. The book is targeted at Adult Fans of LEGO (AFOLs) and will be published by the LEGO Group’s publishing partners Unbound and AMEET. The book will be crowdfunded starting today with expected availability in Spring 2022.

“The Secret Life of LEGO Bricks” will feature interviews with the designers, managers and technicians who brought them to life. The book will be written by Daniel Konstanski, the US Editor for Blocks Magazine. Of note, the press release also mentions rewards for crowdfunding backers including a print of the original LEGO wooden duck and several retired LEGO sets with specifics to be revealed soon.

Read the official announcement about

A new perspective on a Leonardo da Vinci masterpiece

It’s 1496 in Milan, Italy and the renowned artist and inventor Leonardo da Vinci is finishing up his latest commission, a fresco spanning the wall of the Convent of Santa Maria delle Grazie. Over the years, “The Last Supper” has become a symbol of the Renaissance art movement. More recently, it has been recreated as a LEGO vignette by Joe (jnj_bricks). In this stunning rendition of da Vinci’s masterpiece, Joe creates the appearance of a two-dimensional fresco with the illusion of three-dimensionality using three-dimensional LEGO bricks– it’s mind-boggling!

Let’s take a look at some of Joe’s illusionistic building techniques in “The Last Supper”. First, the floor in the fresco is built slanting upwards. This creates a deep shadow underneath the table, reminiscent of da Vinci’s chiaroscuro technique of contrasting light and shadow in his oil paintings. Next, the walls of the room within the fresco are built using slope bricks instead of standard 1x bricks, making the “back wall” appear to be much farther away than it actually is. Finally, the bordering brick “window” that frames the fresco completes the composition. Early illusionistic wall paintings that date back to ancient Rome would also use this technique to portray a vista into another world.

All of these techniques enhance the forced perspective in the overall build, creating a convincing replica of the real-life fresco. With the amount of realistic details and artistic techniques packed in this build, it’s hard to believe Joe hasn’t apprenticed for the Renaissance master builders!

Self-isolation means more build time

This time of social distancing and self-isolation is the perfect time to build new LEGO creations. James Pegrum took this time to build a small scene from the Spanish Flu pandemic of 1918-1920. While there isn’t a whole lot going on in the picture, there are some nice little designs for rafters, hanging sheets, and early hospital beds. Aside from the build itself, the subject matter is what’s important today. The patient here is doing what the nurse is telling him to do. We all need to do the same. We’re going to get through this by listening to public health officials. One of the loudest messages I’ve heard is to stay home if you can, which is the perfect time to come up with more amazing LEGO creations!

A History of LEGO Education, Part 3: Mindstorms over matter [Feature]

LEGO Education is celebrating its 40th anniversary, and we are exploring the history of this unique division of the LEGO Group. Part 1 presented an early history of LEGO Education, while Part 2 outlined the development of the first LEGO robotics platforms. In our 3rd and final installment, we dive into the story behind the game-changing release of LEGO Mindstorms.

Click to learn more about the historic launch of LEGO Mindstorms