German builder Robert Heim has recreated the classic king nutcracker in LEGO, complete with gold crown, upturned mustache, and a mouth that opens with a lever on his back. But my favorite detail in Robert’s creation is the trio of pieces lying next to the tall nutcracker — perfect use of a LEGO globe and brown minifig head.
The holiday season is underway, and for many LEGO fans that means it’s time to crack open the first door on their official LEGO Advent calendars. This year LEGO once again offers the choice of three calendar themes: Town, Friends, and Star Wars. The Brothers Brick will even be joining in the fun, as each day we reveal the daily mini-models from all three sets.
If you could wish for any LEGO Advent calendar theme, what would it be? Ninjago? Space? Wild West? Well, we’d like to know. But we don’t want to you just tell us, we want you to show us in The Brothers Brick “Create-a-calendar” Contest. Simply choose your dream theme for an Advent calendar, and build some example mini-models to illustrate it. The contest runs from now through December 17th, and we’ll announce the winners on Christmas Day.
Click here to learn more about the contest
The Brothers Brick would like to wish our American readership a very happy Thanksgiving! And like LEGO builder SPARKART!, we hope that all of you will be honoring that most sacred of Thanksgiving traditions, the Mystery Science Theater 3000 Turkey Day marathon. Tune in now! It’s what the Pilgrims would have wanted.
I do hope you enjoyed carving your pumpkins this Halloween, as the mecha Pumpkin King is out for tribute. This adorable mechanized squash from LEGO 7 is bright, angry, and makes excellent use of the great little pyramid tile pieces from Nexo Knights. The use of black wings as a swishing cloak is a nice touch; I particularly like the use of Ghost Rider’s head as a scepter.
Bow down, mortals!
Are you ready for a trip to Halloween Town? We posted a fantastic minifig-scale scene with Jack Skellington and the Mayor earlier, and have more to show you from The Nightmare Before Christmas. Let’s get this party started!
First up is a great pair of custom minifigs from Yong Hoon Yoon. His minifig scale Jack and Sally are just wonderful; Sally is spot on.
Even LEGO bricks like to dress up for Halloween. Well, that’s what Chris Maddison would have us believe anyway. His most recent build feature five characters that are simply adorable. I love how the ghost’s sheet is just a little too long, the zombie’s internal organs are exposed, and that the vampire’s collar on his cloak is perfectly popped.
“Creatures crawl in search of blood, to terrorize Nick Sweetman‘s neighborhood. And whosoever shall be found without the soul for getting down must stand and face the hounds of hell and rot inside a corpse’s shell. The foulest stench is in the air. The funk of forty thousand years. And grizzly ghouls from every tomb are closing in to seal your doom. And though you fight to stay alive, your body starts to shiver. For no mere mortal can resist, the evil of the thriller…”
It’s Friday before Halloween, and all good ghouls and ghosts are starting their haunts. Can you hear it now? The creaking iron door, the thunder clashing? Can you see the dusty, dilapidated mansion? I can. It’s time for Tales from the Crypt. Jason Allemann has given us a spooky Halloween version of his pop-up book, with an appropriately spooky gate inside. Step inside, if you dare!
The new LEGO Star Wars sets from Rogue One are now available on the LEGO Shop online, along with the new Death Star and other October releases. And as an extra bonus, LEGO VIP program members earn double points right now.
I’m in the middle of building 75155 Rebel U-Wing Fighter at BrickCon, and enjoying the fun minifigs and cool play features — we’ll have a full review soon.
75154 TIE Striker includes 543 pieces and 4 minifigs for $70.
75152 Imperial Assault Hovertank includes the mysterious Chirrut Îmwe, and is quite an excellent deal at 385 pieces for $30.
See more of the new LEGO Star Wars sets
Every year LEGO releases a large holiday exclusive set, and this year you can prepare to ride the rails with 10254 Winter Holiday Train. Although last year’s holiday exclusive, 10249 Winter Toy Shop, was a rerelease of a previous year’s winter village set, this year’s Winter Holiday Train is definitely a completely new set from the 2006 Holiday Train set. The train has 734 pieces, and will retail for $99.99 USD when it goes on sale Oct. 1. Let us know in the comments what you think!
Check out the full press release and details below.
Click to read the press release and see more images
Finnish builder Eero Okkonen admits that he’s not sure why he built this Chinese dragon dance scene (several months after the Lunar New Year), but I for one am very glad he did. With stellar use of transparent Bionicle flame pieces and a Ninjago “Dragon God” banner tile, I can almost hear the firecrackers and smell the smoke.
You can read more from the builder himself on his blog, Cyclopic Bricks.
Dutch builder Koen has created a set of beautiful Faberge-style jewelled eggs. What better way to celebrate Easter weekend with your favourite construction system?
These creations are packed with nice parts usage to get the details and sparkling metallic effects. Check out the stands too — great stuff. We’ve previously featured the beautiful red egg in the center; the green and blue ones are being featured here for the first time.
Even better, the eggs open up to reveal appropriate minifigs for each egg’s theme: Spring, Love, and Ice…
