The people behind the fascinating LEGO models we feature here are just as interesting! Read interviews with notable LEGO builders, LEGO book authors, LEGO set designers, and many others right here on The Brothers Brick.
A while ago, we featured a set of comic panels that went viral across the social media platforms during the COVID lockdown period in some countries. A lot of us were able to relate to the situations and found great humour in them. It was our pleasure to have communicated with Primus Nair, Head of Creative, Asia Pacific from LEGO and based in Singapore to share a bit on the collaboration process, especially during the period where a lot of the industries were working online leverage remote tools instead of face to face meetings.
LEGO has officially revealed the latest 18+ train set for adults, 10277 Crocodile Locomotive. The Swiss train is made up of 1,271 pieces used to create the brown electric locomotive, a buildable display base, an informational placard, and two conductor minifigures. The set will be available from LEGO starting July 1st for US $99.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £89.99.
The Brothers Brick sat down with Jamie Berard, LEGO Senior Design Manager for Creator Expert and Architecture, who gave us a first look at the set and answered some of our questions about the new locomotive.
Due to the tragic murders of George Floyd, Manuel Ellis, Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor and far too many other African-Americans, racial injustices that Black people experience every day have come to the forefront of white consciousness once again. We’ve been examining how this very real-world issue affects the hobby we participate in, not just for a moment in time but on an ongoing basis. Earlier this week, we sat down with Canadian artist Ekow Nimako, whose LEGO work we’ve featured several times, including his stunning Flower Girl sculpture and wonderful Beasts from Bricks book.
Our conversation with Ekow covered his experience growing up playing with LEGO, interactions with the LEGO hobbyist community, the Afrocentric and Afrofuturist themes of his artwork, and how LEGO communities such as The Brothers Brick can operate more inclusively.
We ask you to watch the full video before reacting with comments. While the reaction from some quarters to recent statements we’ve made that Black Lives Matter has been dismissed as “political” and some reactions have been outright hateful, by and large the response from the LEGO hobbyist community has been empathetic and supportive. Nevertheless, there is much more to be done. A number of our readers have rightly pointed out The Brothers Brick’s own contributor list as one area where we can improve, asking us to work harder to recruit a more diverse team while highlighting more non-white builders and highlighting the LEGO creations of people of color. As I committed to during the video conversation with Ekow, one of our next steps will be to kick off a new round of contributor recruiting to improve our own diversity and better represent the community we are a part of.
Last week, we had a chance to talk to Chris McVeigh, the designer of the new Brick Sketches series. Chris developed the concept of Brick Sketches long before joining the LEGO Group last year. Now he tells us more about his first major release as a LEGO designer.
Earlier today, LEGO revealed Monkie Kid, a brand new theme based on the Chinese Monkey King fable. The new theme includes eight sets and an animated television series. Along with all the information about the new sets, LEGO also sent us a gallery of photos showing a behind-the-scenes look at the development process of the new product line.
On the 30th of April, LEGO hosted a live Instagram session where the LEGO community was able to interact and ask questions directly to two prominent LEGO Designers – Marcos Bessa, and Jamie Berard. With social distancing in place, this new feature is slated to be a weekly event and is a great way to learn more about LEGO and the insights into the mind of a designer. The session was insightful indeed, and we transcribed it here (as best we could) so that you can learn more interesting bits and facts about what LEGO designers do.
Earlier this month, LEGO revealed 75275 A-wing Starfighter as the latest Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series set in advance of the set’s release for the May the Fourth celebration, and normally we’d be bringing you an in-depth review of the set about now. However, like so many other areas of our lives these days, the coronavirus shutdowns have thrown a wrench into our plans, because LEGO hasn’t been able to get us an early review copy. So in the meantime, we caught up with the set’s designer, Hans Schlömer, to learn a bit more about the set.
I want to note up front that I usually conduct interviews after I’ve built the set and had a hands-on experience with it, but due to current events I don’t yet have it. So my apologies if a few of these questions would be obvious after building the set. But let’s start with learning a little about you. How did you become a LEGO designer?
Hans Schlömer: 12 years ago I was hired to design 3D models for a LEGO online game. Creating LEGO models in 3D was a hobby of mine for years. Little did I know that this would also be the perfect education and training for becoming a LEGO designer!
Take a sneak-peek at the newly announced LEGO Star Wars UCS 75275 A-wing Starfighter hosted by the designer who created it, Hans Schlömer. He gives us a tour of one of the fastest ships in the Star Wars galaxy and talks about the scale of the model, color choice, and minifigure design.
The 1,673 piece set is the first LEGO Star Wars UCS model of an A-wing and features pivoting laser cannons, a new cockpit element, and a new pilot minifigure. The set will retail for US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99 starting May 1st, just in time for May the Fourth celebrations.
LEGO Masters aired its finale last night where the top three teams were challenged to create anything they wanted. The Brick Masters then chose the first LEGO Masters champions in the U.S.
Beneath the jump, we have close-up photos of each build from the finale, an exclusive interview with the winning team, and a link to apply for LEGO Masters Season 2 if you so dare! (Spoilers ahead!)
LEGO Masters aired its ninth episode last week where contestants competed in the Star Wars challenge. We won’t reveal the outcome, but The Brothers Brick had the opportunity to sit down with all three teams to talk about their experiences on the whole show.
In our interview, we talk to “The Eccentrics” Sam and Jessica talk about how they went from the bottom to the top, what inspires them, and how having backgrounds as artists helped them in the competition.
LEGO Masters aired its ninth episode last week where contestants competed in the Star Wars challenge. We won’t reveal the outcome, but The Brothers Brick had the opportunity to sit down with all three teams to talk about their experiences on the whole show. We’ll publish our interviews with the other finalists in the coming days ahead of the finale on Wednesday.
In our interview, we talk to “The Bearded Builders” Mark and Boone about how they build so fast, where good ideas come from, and how it feels to be put on the spot and sing!
LEGO Masters aired its ninth episode last week where contestants competed in the Star Wars challenge. We won’t reveal the outcome, but The Brothers Brick had the opportunity to sit down with all three teams to talk about their experiences on the whole show. We’ll publish our interviews with the other finalists in the coming days ahead of the finale next Wednesday.
In our interview, we talk to “The Newlyweds” Tyler and Amy about how they came to be a team and prepared for the show, what their favorite moments were, and if they have continued building together since.
