Tag Archives: Reviews

Not sure which LEGO sets to pick up for yourself? Need ideas for that LEGO fan who already has more LEGO than he or she can possibly build with in a lifetime? Nervous about the quality of the custom accessories that tempted you at your last LEGO convention? Read our reviews of LEGO sets, books, accessories, and more right here on The Brothers Brick.

ChromeBricks review

We recently posted about a store where you can buy custom chromed LEGO elements. Here is a review of products from ChromeBricks.com.

To put things simply, the quality of the chrome elements are what you’d expect from LEGO’s chrome parts. The layer of chrome is the result of a procedure that industrially evaporates metal onto the brick, resulting in a very thin coating that doesn’t hinder the fit with other LEGO pieces. The chrome surfaces also resist scratching, which means they can handle a moderate amount of play while remaining in their pristine condition.

ChromeBricks currently offers three colors of chrome including gold, silver, and a new copper chrome. Consistency of color among the parts is flawless. When compared with chrome LEGO elements, the silver is also an exact match while the gold is darker than LEGO’s chrome gold (LEGO does not currently produce chrome copper bricks). The richer chrome gold color results from actual gold being used to coat the bricks!

On the flip side, ChromeBricks differs from LEGO bricks where most of the parts from the former are not coated on the interior or underside. This should not be a concern since the uncoated sections will not be visible in a LEGO creation.

Overall, I recommend ChromeBricks for their high quality of parts. The price of each piece can be on the expensive side, but the cost is justified (you can ask other custom vendors who have tried to chrome LEGO bricks). Shipping is relatively inexpensive and very fast (about a week to the US) while the parts are individually packed in separate baggies. If you want to make a few minifigs with chrome accessories, this is definitely the store for you. For those interested in customizing a car model with chrome bricks, you probably need more money than pocket change.

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New Arealight, BrickArms, & HAZEL items, + Minifig World stands [Review]

As my contacts on Flickr will already have noticed, I’ve been posting custom minifigs fairly regularly over the past few weeks, but haven’t posted anything about them here on The Brothers Brick.

That’s because I’m approaching our review of the latest custom accessories a bit differently from the reviews we’ve posted of BrickArms and BrickForge in the past.

Our past reviews have taken somewhat of a purist approach — using nothing but items from one custom accessory creator. But I believe that the accessories LEGO fans have created to work with LEGO are best when they’re used together, so that’s how I approached the minifigs in these photos.

You’ll also see accessories from vendors we’ve reviewed more recently:

Still, each custom accessory vendor deserves their own review, so read on for my take on all the recent minifig accessories from Arealight, BrickArms, HAZEL, and Minifig World.

Arealight

LEGO customizer Bluce Shu goes by Arealight online, and has been selling resin-cast accessories from his Bricklink store for some time.

I’d never seen any of Arealight’s items in person, but I hadn’t been impressed with the quality of the resin-cast stuff I’d seen from other customizers. When my batch of Arealight accessories arrived in the mail, though, I couldn’t have been more pleased.

True, some of Arealight’s accessories don’t have the same tolerance as official LEGO elements — the hair doesn’t fit quite as perfectly and the headlight tends to fall off my Roman Holiday Vespa unless I twist the clear piece just right. There are also minor imperfections that differ from item to item.

Surprisingly, I’m willing to dismiss these quality issues because they just give the accessories a charming, handmade feel.

And because Arealight creates accessories unlike all others — Ithorian heads, Mandalorian armor, Vespa scooters, wavy capes, and more — I haven’t had so much fun building custom minifigs in a very long time.

For more photos, see my full photoset of Arealight accessories on Flickr.

BrickArms

One reason we didn’t do the full review of 2009 BrickArms accessories we’d promised is that the quality of Will Chapman‘s prototypes has improved so much that many of the released items don’t differ substantially from the preview versions we’ve already highlighted here.

That’s a great thing, but it makes a review seem a bit redundant.

Nevertheless, the latest BrickArms weapons include the wonderfully designed Lewis gun and Bazooka, as well as the much-anticipated MGL and combat shotgun. The quality and playability are nothing less than we’ve come to expect from BrickArms.

As always, Will is cooking up new prototypes in his garage.

The “photon pistol” is lovely in the hands of my Star Trek minifigs, the buildable ammo chain has infinite uses, and the “buzz gun” looks awesome.

History buffs are sure to be pleased by the Browning Automatic Rifle.

See lots more photos of past, current, and future BrickArms accessories in the full photoset on Flickr.

Amazing Armory by HAZEL

Custom accessory creator HAZEL is fairly new to the LEGO scene, first posting custom samurai on Flickr less than a year ago.

It wasn’t until he posted a batch of minifigs decked out in armor and weapons inspired by Gears of War that the customization community really took notice. There was clearly demand for these items, and HAZEL soon had a Bricklink store up and running.

Unfortunately, HAZEL disappeared from the online world just around the time I thought I’d buy a few items to review for the blog. With a string of negative feedback on Bricklink, I looked elsewhere, and ended up buying my HAZEL accessories from Custom Minifig Shop in the UK. Prices were about the same as directly from HAZEL, and shipping to the US was also reasonable.

As it turns out, HAZEL was in a horrible motorcycle accident and has apparently been in the hospital for a while. He recently posted again to Flickr and promises to make good on his overdue orders.

Why is all this relevant to my review? Because it’s important to remember that you’re often buying from a single individual with a side business, not a big corporation.

The custom accessories themselves appear to be resin-cast like Arealight’s. The texture isn’t perfectly smooth, nor the black a perfect match with LEGO, making these ideal candidates for further customization through painting. Having no talent in that area, I prefer my own accessories ready to use. Still, HAZEL’s accessories are great fun and a nice match for mecha pilots, post-apocalyptic survivors, and other sci-fi characters.

Minifig World Stands

Unlike the weapons, headgear, and other accessories we’ve reviewed so far, Minifig World produces display stands for minifigs.

The stands have two studs for your little plastic friend’s feet, as well as holes on the underside for stackability.

Minifig World stands are excellent for showing off your minifigs, like that super-rare chrome-gold C-3PO.

Reviews of 2009 LEGO Indy sets: 7195 Ambush in Cairo, 7196 Chauchilla Cemetery Battle, 7197 Venice Canal Chase, 7199 The Temple of Doom

Eurobricks member svelte_corps has reviewed four of the upcoming Indiana Jones sets available mid-2009.

7195 Ambush in Cairo:

7196 Chauchilla Cemetery Battle:

7197 Venice Canal Chase:

7199 The Temple of Doom:

V&A Steamworks’ stovepipe hats make steampunk minifigs awesome [Review]

Guy Himber (V&A Steamworks) recently began applying his special effects artistry to his LEGO hobby by producing custom stovepipe hats.

The hats are like hilariously exaggerated versions of the official LEGO top hats, and are absolutely perfect for steampunk and Victorian fantasy minifigs.

Guy was kind enough to send along a couple of the hats for us to review, and they’re made extremely well. I put one on a minifig and couldn’t stop laughing for five minutes.

The hats are beautifully machined from Delrin plastic and have that perfect “LEGO fit” — they slide onto the minifig’s head without effort, hold well, and come off easily with that satisfying “pop!” you expect from official LEGO headgear.

The V&A Steamworks Stovepipe Hat is currently available in brown, black, and white. Click the lineup photo above for pricing info and how to order.

(The Brothers Brick has a small backlog of custom accessories to review, including all the new BrickArms items, HAZEL’s accessories from CustomMinifig.co.uk, minifig stands from Minifig World, new accessories from Arealight, and more. Please bear with us as we get caught up.)

2009 BrickForge accessories include stone tools and particle gun [Review]

As someone obsessed with archaeological LEGO, the new BrickForge accessories for 2009 make me happy.

The Tribal Spear works perfectly as a scalloped obsidian blade from the Neolithic — just the sort of weapon for cavemen to take down a mastodon or mammoth:

The Tribal Sword is designed to resemble the Aztec macahuitl, inspiring me to give my Aztec god minifigs some Aztec warriors:

Of course, not all of the new BrickForge accessories are stone implements.

The Plasma Blaster and Crowbar enable LEGO fans to build video game minifigs like Master Chief from Bungie’s Halo and Gordon Freeman from Valve’s Half-Life:

The Goblin Sword and Goblin Shield allowed me to update my Uruk Hai minifigs from Lord of the Rings. What horde of orc minifigs would be complete without a Saruman minifig? Saruman wields a Sorcerer Staff.

The new Nightstick (right) combines with the older Military Helmet and Round Shield to create a policeman in riot gear.

Finally, the Particle Gun and Particle Pack (below) work beautifully for Ghostbusters. With multiple connection points like the Megagun, both of these new BrickForge accessories can hook up hoses or whatever else you can think of:

I have quite the backlog of ideas for musical minifigs, so I couldn’t decide which one to highlight BrickForge’s microphone. I’ll get to that new accessory later…

With so many things to inspire interesting minifigs, this may be my favorite batch of BrickForge accessories so far. All of the new stuff is available in both black and gray (though I still prefer BrickForge’s black accessories over their gray).

See all of the new items (except the microphone) in my BrickForge photoset on Flickr, and check out the BrickForge website for the full line of custom accessories.

Review of 7752 Count Dooku’s Solar Sailer [Review]

In our first Brothers Brick exclusive review, we bring you a look at the newest LEGO Star Wars set: 7752 Count Dooku’s Solar Sailer, scheduled for release in February 2009. This limited edition set first appeared at a few Toys R Us stores this week, marked for sale at $59.99. It includes 385 pieces and 4 minifigures, most notably the new Count Dooku.

Oveview:
$60 for 385 pieces is a very steep price and will deter many from purchasing this set. However, the remarkably well-designed Count Dooku minifig and the set’s limited edition bearing will spur others to purchase it right away. In my following remarks, I will list the qualities of Count Dooku’s Solar Sailer pertinent to builders of all ages, collectors and sellers.

Building experience:
This is a simple and straightforward set to build without any awkward connections or fragile sections. Only a few Technic parts for the missle firing mechanism interrupt the entirely System-based build. Symmetry and repetition are displayed on the folding wings and basic SNOT techniques are used effectively to achieve the overall appearance, making the build slightly more fun the average set.

Play features:

Back panels open to unveil a removable speeder bike
Push mechanism fires two missles from each side of the ship
Four folding wings: two on top and two on bottom
Cockpit opens to reveal removable pilot droid

Overall, an average set of play features, nothing new or revolutionary. The push-fire missles are weak as usual.

Parts:
If you’re buying this set for parts, something is wrong. 7752 offers a very low parts per price ratio and do not contain notably unique pieces except for the two light bluish gray bubble windscreens. A few dark tan pieces and 1X6 tiles may be useful; there are no notably unique brown parts. In the end, I find the stickers to be the most interesting piece; their neutral bluish gray tones make them applicable on a variety of creations. An image of the parts list can be found here.

Collectibility:
Star Wars minifig collectors will be pouring over the new Count Dooku, and rightfully so since this unique minifig is likely to have its only appearance in this set. The pilot droid is also a unique minifig, but unlike the Count, it can be made with LEGO pieces from other sets, but I admit that the use of a skeleton leg for the head is pretty clever. The limited edition bearing marks this set as an exclusive to only the store that carries it (in this case Toys R Us) and LEGO stores/LEGO Shop at Home. In addition, this set may have a short lived production frame and may be sold out within a shorter time period than the average LEGO set. For collectors, keeping a new copy of the set may be a good investment.

Display:
As a set for display, the Solar Sailer lacks any dynamic visual appeal except when its wings are expanded, but in this position, the model cannot sit upright (the left side photo above makes use of a temporary support). Even in its collapsed-wing version, the model either tilts forward or backwards and is extremely difficult to balance as in this picture.

Resale value:
Not all of us are builders or even collectors, just ask the sellers on Bricklink and Ebay. This set may be sold in several forms, from MISB (mint in sealed box) to parted out with minifigs. The Count Dooku minifig will fetch a hefty sale price of at least $20 and possibly over $30 while the Magna droid guards currently go for about $10 each. Once the set is out of production, you can expect both its MISB value and minifig value to rise to more than 200% of the set’s retail price, talk about a lot of money!

Concluding remarks:
For a set with limited positive attributes, it sure has a lot of downers to discourage buyers. Most obvious is the heavy pricetag, but less so are the uninteresting selection of parts. Nevertheless, a few redeeming features like the unique Count Dooku minifig and decent collectibility value make this set more geared towards collectors than builders. Unless you really want the Solar Sailer, there are other sources to spent $60 of your income or allowance money.

For more pictures, see the full gallery here.

Box4Blox: Sorting made Easy [Review]

Recently Box4Blox sent us a couple sets of their sorting system to review. First off, if you aren’t familiar with Box4Blox, it is a series of stacking trays. Each tray has openings in the bottom, much like a seive. The openings in the trays get smaller as you continue down the stack. This has the effect of sorting your pieces by size.

As my kids have their own collections, I let them use one of the Box4Blox sets. It sorted their pieces by size and made it easier for them to find those small pieces that get lost in among the larger ones. They had a lot of fun with it and I was happy that it worked as advertised. But now was the time to try it out on my own collection.

I was intrigued to see if this system would be of use in my own, more complex, sorting arrangement. I started off with my bin of green plates. I use these a lot for landscaping but had never taken the time to sort them by size. I figured this would be a good initial test. At first I dumped the whole bin into the top tray. This clogged up the tray and it took a lot of shaking before the pieces began moving down. So I dumped it all back into my bin and I used a large Pick-a-Brick cup to dump smaller amounts into the tray. This sped up the process and I was able to run the entire bin throught the Box4Blox in sort order. As each tray filled up, I dumped them into seperate piles.

After I was done, I shuffled throught the piles and was happy to see that each pile was made up a distinct group of pieces. So, while the trays didn’t sort out the pieces into each individual kind, they did make the job much easier. I only had to sort out the 3 or 4 different kinds in each pile, instead of tackling the entire bin. That was most satisfying.

Next, I decided to give the Box4Blox a real workout. I have a large 18 gallon tub where I throw everything that needs sorted. I’d been lazy and hadn’t sorted it for quite a long time. The tub was almost full and the job was overwhelming. So I put in a movie and started dumping cupfulls of pieces into the trays. I did run into a couple of problems. Pieces that were long and thin tended to fall through to the bottom, but remain standing straight up. This blocked the flow but after I discovered this, I would grab those out before I dumped the pieces in. After that, I didn’t have much trouble and I made good progress. After about an hour, I hit bottom.

Unlike the plates, when the trays filled up I dumped them into plastic bags. I had stacked the full bags into seperate piles, based on which tray the pieces came from. After I was done, I took all the bags from one pile and I dumped them out on the table. I spread the pile out and could see that each of the bags had the same kinds of pieces in it. The Box4Blox basically pre-sorted my 18 gallon tub in a little over an hour and greatly simplified the rest of the job. Now, when I have some spare time, I can grab one of those bags and quickly sort it out. I don’t have to take on the whole heap and I know that each bag contains specific kinds of pieces.

Overall, Box4Blox easily surpassed my expectations. Not only is it a good product for keeping the kids’ bricks sorted, it also has a definite place in the Adult hobby as a pre-sorter. I recommend it.

4999 Vestas Windmill [Review]

Eurobricks member Lasse D has obtained and reviewed the 4999 Vestas Windmill. Although this exclusive promo set is only available to Vestas employees, we the general public can now see in greater detail what we are missing out on. :(

You can see a short video of the model to get a sense of the windmill’s size and functionality.

More BrickArms Prototypes: Longsword, Rapier, Paintball Marker and More! [Preview]

Here is our final installment of the incredible prototypes that we drooled over at BrickCon.

Being primarily a Castle fan, I was most excited by the Long Sword and Rapier:

Another historical weapon that should be popular with the Pirate fans is the bayonet, attached via an extremely versatile U-clip:

I also fell in love with the Sawed-Off Shotgun and the miniscule Derringer:

I know Andrew has already shown off the Derringer. But it’s so darn cute, I had to do it again!

Last, but not least, is another weapon that is close to my heart. The long-awaited Paintbal Marker:

New BrickArms prototypes: Bazooka, MGL, MG42, Colt, and more [Preview]

Will Chapman from BrickArms took the summer off from work to try focusing exclusively on custom minifig accessories.

Starting with BrickWorld 2008 in June, each LEGO convention has revealed more and more new products and prototypes.

Thanks to the extra time he has now, Will has been churning out more prototypes in his garage than we can count — particularly for those of you eager for World War II accessories.

For your Allied minifigs, the Bazooka M9 (with M6 rocket) will pack a serious punch:

On the Axis side, the German Panzerfaust 30 anti-tank weapon and MG42 machine gun will complement the MP40 SMG and C96 Mauser:

One of the most intriguing new prototypes is the U-clip (“U” for universal). The U-clip can connect any two objects that can fit into a minifig hand.

The potential applications seem infinite, such as attaching a bayonet (also a new BrickArms prototype) to your Lee-Enfield SMLE, a Combat Knife (again, new) to your M4 Carbine, or simulating an M203 grenade launcher with a black LEGO lightsaber handle:

Between our earlier coverage and the Zombie Apocafest, readers should already be familiar with the Lewis gun and Combat Shotgun:

The current Lewis gun prototype solves a minor issue with the earlier version (the drum tended to pop off fairly easily) by attaching the drum to the gun with a clip-like stud. This does make the drum more secure, but it resembles T-21 blaster from Star Wars a bit less with the drum removed.

A couple of the more unique new weapons include a game-inspired gunblade and a Derringer:

The MGL (multiple grenade launcher) will enable your minifigs to take on Decepticons and Predators alike with ease:

Finally, fans of Western movies get two iconic pistols — the Colt Navy 1861 revolver and the M1917 revolver (which looks a lot like the Colt Single Action Army “Peacemaker”):

For those of you wondering when we’ll see all this great stuff in production, here’s the final word from Will:

The next mold (in black and/or bley) will include the Combat Knife and Combat Shotgun for sure, and most likely the MGL, Lewis Gun, and Paintball Gun, but the lineup is still being decided. Look for that mold in early 2009, perhaps even by BrickFest 2009 in Portland!

The swords and Colt Navy will most likely be added to a silver mold, sometime soon as well. I’m still coordinating the layout for it. The other items may be limited-edition “garage releases”, as time permits. All will eventually see production.

Did he just say swords and paintball guns? Yes indeed. Look for a preview of those in the next few days from Josh. ;-)

LEGO Collector’s Guide review

On August 13, LEGO and the Fantasia Verlag publisher officialy released the book called LEGO Collector (aka LEGO® Collector’s Guide), which is a collector’s guide cataloging almost all LEGO sets from 1958-2008 in celebration of the 50th anniversay of the brick. The release features a standard edition and a premium edition (limited 3333 numbered copies) written in English and German, but both editions were released in Europe only, and there has not been news that the book will make its way to the shores of North America or the rest of the world.

Currently, the book may be purchased from the publisher (which includes an unworthwhile high shipping cost) or from Bricklink for much lower prices.

UPDATE (Oct. 24): LEGO® Collector’s Guide is now available in the U.S. from the LEGO Shop online.

While there has been a few reviews of the book on other websites, The Brothers Brick will feature a concise review covering content from cover to cover written by Jordan Schwartz with an accompanying gallery of photos.

The LEGO Premium Collector’s Guide is a compilation of almost all LEGO products from 1958 to 2008. The only difference in terms of the book between the regular version and the premium edition is the hard cover that binds the premium edition. In addition, the premium edition comes with exclusive elements, including a standard un-glued minifigure with the 50th Anniversary logo printed on the torso, a yellow 1 x 8 brick that has printing on both sides (“ANNO 1958” and “LEGO Fan”) and a chrome gold brick with black printing (“1958-2008”). The underside of the chrome brick is tan, so it is not chrome gold all the way around similar to the chrome C-3POs.

The book’s cover measures 8.5″ x 6″, so it is a rather small book but rich with 800 pages! The actual content begins with a one-page introductory letter to the reader followed by a one-page how-to guide, showing a sample catalog entry and indicating what information is represented. Each catalog entry features a picture of the set (with rare exceptions when the picture is not available). Additional information includes the set number, availability (in Europe, North-America, Australia, and Asia), the name of the set in both German and English, the piece count, timeframe (release year until end of production year), and indication whether the set is a campaign or promotional product. What I personally find most interesting is the “rating system” featuring six yellow bricks, in which the book quotes “the more yellow bricks there are colored in, the rarer the set is.”

Following the how-to guide is a brief two-page history of the company and a two-page evolution of the LEGO logos. Immediately after is the catalog that composes almost the entirety of the book. Starting from year 1958 to 2008, I thought I had seen everything there is to see when it comes to LEGO products since I browse online catalogs often; I was dead wrong. There are nine products per page with close to 750 pages dedicated to the catalog, so you do the math! Following the set catalog is another very great 40-page catalog featuring key chains, which I was surprised to find. After, there is a list of service packs (no pictures, though), and lastly there is the index which lists set numbers in ascending order and includes the page and year of the set. The back of the premium guide has the Premium Collector number printed. Mine is number 2154 of 3333 copies.

Overall, this is a fantastic guide put in rather simple terms that is much more than just a catalog! If you find one, I’d recommend you snatch it, as these will probably become scarce in the coming years. If you are unable to get a premium version, get the regular one. This is truly a must-have book for LEGO fans of all ages!

As an owner of the premium edition, I’d like to add some remarks to the review as well. First, the book is as its title suggests – it is a guide and a listing of LEGO sets. This is a good item to own for someone interested in owning a reference book. For other purposes, this book may fall short on expectations, since nothing more than basic info are contained in these pages. The rarity rating is interesting to look at, but it can be highly inaccurate. The earlier sets are automatically ranked higher in rarity than recent sets, while many sought-after sets such as the original AT-AT and Black Knight’s Castle, which are Bricklink’s most wanted items in their respective categories, are ranked on par with other lesser coveted sets from the same year. The rating system seems to be mostly based on the availability of the sets, which neglects the special subjective value inherent many of the more collectable sets.

The premium copy is clearly meant for collectors, since the extra content are directed towards collecting purposes. If you are a collector, the premium edition is a great product to own, since the limited numbered edition and its unique 50th anniversary appeal is bound to make the book a sought-after product in the future.

All that said, let us know if you think the Collector’s Guide is worth getting if it becomes available in the US. The standard edition may cost $35 while the premium edition may go for $60 (prices are estimates).

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LEGO Agents 8637 Volcano Base [Review]

Eurobricks member svelte_corps has posted a detailed photo review of the upcoming agents set: 8637 Volcano Base. Click on the photo to read all about this cool new set.