One of many the things that that shapes the culture and cult-like following in LEGO is its unique bits of passion that’s imbued in every design made regardless of how small or large they may be. LEGO Designer George Gilliatt shared and Graphic Designer Matthew James Parsons recently shared insights (via Twitter) on their work and inspiration behind the LEGO 3-in-1 Cyber Drone Creator set ( US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99)
Click to discover the inspiration and secrets
LEGO has released a video showing off the new LEGO Ideas 21323 Grand Piano. In the video, LEGO Designer Chee Woon Tze tickles the ivory, so to speak, to show off how the piano is constructed and how it plays music. The video has constant piano music in the background but unfortunately does not include what the piano music created by the app will sound like. However, seeing the completed set next to the designer shows how massive the model is in context.
LEGO Ideas 21323 Grand Piano comes with 3,662 pieces to build the playable piano for US $349.99 | CA $449.99 | UK £319.99 with global availability beginning August 1st. Make sure to read our announcement and interview with the LEGO Ideas design team about the design effort that went into it.
Click to watch the LEGO Grand Piano designer video
LEGO Ideas has revealed its biggest set yet, 21323 Grand Piano. The massive musical model comes with 3,662 pieces that make up the 25-key keyboard, sleek black lid and body, working internal hammers, and even an original composition. The set will retail for US $349.99 | CA $449.99 | UK £319.99 beginning August 1st (becoming the most expensive LEGO Ideas set ever).
The Grand Piano comes with a motor, smart hub, and sensor used to connect to the LEGO Powered Up app which creates the sound. The piano can be played in either a “self-play” toy piano mode where hitting any key produces the next note in a selected song, or in an “auto-play” mode where the piano moves randomized keys while the app produces music like a player piano.
The Brothers Brick got an early preview of the Grand Piano from the LEGO Ideas design team, so we have included some interesting facts and quotes about the set throughout the article below.
Take a closer look at the LEGO Ideas Grand Piano.
LEGO Designer Pierre Normandin is no stranger to trains–he grew up loving them and has designed many of the LEGO City trains available the past few years. He recently shifted within LEGO to the Creator Expert team and had the chance to flex some building muscles by designing the recent Fiat 500 and now an even more detailed train! In this designer video, Pierre talks about his love of trains, why the Crocodile Locomotive is so iconic, and how the set started off larger and eventually grew to be 7 studs wide to include more detail.
10277 Crocodile Locomotive set comes with 1,271 pieces used to create the brown electric locomotive, a buildable display base, an informational placard, and two conductor minifigures. It is now available from LEGO for US $99.99 | CAN $149.99 | UK £89.99. Make sure to read our interview with LEGO Design Lead Jamie Berard about the creation of this LEGO train and the design effort that went into it.
Click to watch the LEGO Crocodile Locomotive designer video
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.
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.
Read our interview with LEGO Brick Sketches designer Chris McVeigh
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.
Familiar faces include LEGO designers Justin Ramsden (Hogwarts Castle, The Upside Down), Nick Vas (Ninjago City), Chris Perron (1989 Batmobile), Simon Lucas (Ninjago Movie), and more.
Click to see how LEGO Monkie Kid came to be
An adoring army of adventuring LEGO designers have donned their disguises to discuss the droves of delightful secrets hidden within the exhilarating new 10273 Haunted House.
In the video, they exude their love for the original Adventurers product line, show details from past LEGO sets that made it into Manor Von Barron, and make the free-fall ride nearly as tall as a person to see if it will still work.
Click to watch the video and see all the hidden secrets of the LEGO Haunted House
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 enters the semi-finals with a Star Wars challenge tonight, and ahead of the episode, we got to sit down with judges Amy Corbett and Jamie Berard to talk about the season so far. They reveal what have been both the best and hardest moments about being judges, if they always agreed on who should go home, and how they are currently handling working from home.
In the interview conducted jointly with Brickset, BZPower and True North Bricks, Amy and Jamie also talk about some of the challenges and what made them so difficult, if they will be back for season 2, and how they became LEGO designers.
Read our follow-up interview with LEGO Masters judges Amy Corbett and Jamie Berard
Ahoy, ye mateys and join the hearty crew of Barracuda Bay! The most recently revealed LEGO Ideas set, 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay, was officially revealed last week and we’ve already published our hands-on review and an interview with the design team. Today, LEGO designers Sam Johnson and Austin Carlson give us a tour of the massive shipwrecked island and show off some of the hidden secrets of the set.
The 2,545-piece set features a shipwreck island teeming with eight minifigures and can be re-built into a fully working pirate ship. 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay will retail for US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99 starting April 1st.
A few days ago LEGO took the wraps off the newest Ideas set, 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay, a massive shipwreck island that contains the wreckage of the infamous Black Seas Barracuda. And not only that, but the set can also be transformed to create the full, seaworthy sailing ship too, and it will be available April 1, 2020, for US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99. We got our hands on an early copy to bring you a full review, but we also had a chance to sit down (virtually) with the two LEGO designers behind the set, set Designer Milan Madge and minifigure Designer Austin William Carlson, to ask them a few more things we wanted to know about the set. You’ll definitely want to read our full review first, though.
Read the TBB review of 21322 Pirates of Barracuda Bay here.
First of all, let me say that I just finished building the set, and I absolutely love it. For people like me who grew up with the original Pirates theme, this set is loaded with nostalgia and is so much fun, plus it’s a great build. Have either of you worked on any pirates sets previously? And if so, which ones?
Milan: Thanks for the kind words! I think I speak for the whole team when I say that we are so pleased you like it. We worked really hard to try and deliver something that would take you back to your childhood, just as the theme does for Pablo, the fan designer, so I’m so glad it did. I’ve never had the pleasure to work on LEGO Pirates before, so this is new ground for me, but I spent an awful lot of time making huge pirate and castle dioramas as a kid.
