Tag Archives: Western

LEGO released Western/Wild West sets in 1996 and 1997, complete with cowboys and Indians, robbers and lawmen. Despite its brevity, the LEGO Western theme has remained popular among LEGO fans, who long for its return. In the meantime, see what they’ve built and designed themselves.

It’s always sunny in Wild West

They say no one can survive in the Wild West without a gun and a fast horse. But what about sunscreen? I’m not sure whether the hero of this funny vignette by Megacolormix has enough sunscreen in his wagon, but the horse looks particularly excited for the journey. Actually, this is a perfect example of how emotions can be expressed through shape and posture. You don’t need that many different printed faces if you know how to place your characters in the shot. The scenery behind the wagon is a little piece of art; the forced perspective works perfectly here, creating a vast desert stretching to the horizon.

Wild West in sunny bricks!

Shopping in simpler times

These days when we go to the store, we’re typically faced with thousands of products. But back in the pioneer days – in the “Wild West” – sometimes only bulk essentials sat on shelves. Typically grocers lived in the same building as their store, and people paid in trades more often than cash. This LEGO trading post by Thomas Gion pays homage to that history. I’m a particular fan of the well, which is executed with a really authentic look, and even “pumps” when you spin the windmill.

Old West Trading Post

The little building is fully furnished on the inside with period furniture and wares from that time.

Old West Trading Post

This trading post is part of a series of western-style buildings, one of which we recently featured.

The quintessential pit stop on the old town road

There’s a new build in town and it’s got it all! This LEGO saloon and hotel by Thomas Gion features plenty of interior details, cool techniques, and some sweet brick-built signage. We have “SALOON” in the classic Modular theme font and “HOTEL” in a distinctively Western-style serif font, complete with embellishing and everything. On the facade, the sideways log brick technique works wonders as wood-paneled walls. Thomas also has a water trough made of a translucent blue glass window. There’s also a water pump made of a crowbar and bar holder connection on top of a Technic connector spout. In addition to the neat details at the front of this build, it is fully furnished on the inside.

Old West Saloon & Hotel

The floors and walls are detachable for maximum playability. The angled saloon doors look perfectly integrated into the build even with the upper floor removed, with the help of some wedge plates and triangular tiles. A SNOT tile technique is used for the wall frames, creating a very clean-cut appearance. I’m also impressed by the level of detail crammed into the hotel rooms, including ceiling to floor curtains and a mounted deer head.

Old West Saloon & Hotel

Here is an up-close look of the saloon furnishing, though it’s not quite the same without the hustle and bustle of its daily customers.

Old West Saloon & Hotel

Feeling the itch to go on a road trip? Take a ride through our archives for some more Western-inspired builds!

Eastwood’s lucky day

There’s never a shortage of Back to the Future and Back to the Future Part II nostalgia. However, for the 30th anniversary of Back to the Future Part III, the 1990 film gets its due respect in a LEGO remake of Doc Brown’s timely rescue of Marty McFly from Biff Tannen and his goons. Brick Grayson is the creator of this memorable western scene. The Hill Valley Courthouse (1885) is shown under construction with a wooden scaffold covering the facade. The Biff minifigure is holding the rope, while Marty (a.k.a. Eastwood), hangs at the other end. Standing near the top left of the construction site is what seems to be Marty’s great-great-grandfather Seamus McFly, wearing a derby hat. The Marty McFly from the future is wisely sourced using the cowboy torso from the series 18 CMF, along with the addition of pink arms to contrast the maroon-colored pants. The printed fringe shirt worn by Marty McFly also lines up pretty close to the LEGO version.

Check out Brick Grayson’s previous BTTF III scene from Marty’s wild west escape.

Iyo-Iyo-ooooh Wah Wah Wah

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly…that is some classic Western, right there! Just the first few bars of that catchy theme song is enough to conjure images of a barren desert, of tumbleweeds, and of Clint Eastwood squinting into the distance. This LEGO creation by Miro Dudas</a> is enough to conjure those images as well. You don’t even have to see Clint’s face to know he’s squinting. That’s the genius of Miro’s minimalist approach to some of his work. The forced perspective of the smaller figures are a stroke of brilliance. He even took this photo during sunset to give it just the right feel. We seem to like Western themes here at The Brothers-Brick. I know I do. Now that we got that tune stuck in your head here’s a different version that hopefully you have not heard yet.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

On legs of steel through the American southwest

It’s been many many years since we’ve seen any LEGO creations in the fan-created “Tech West” theme. The theme mashes up LEGO space and western, with a dash of steampunk, with a heavy dose of Serenity and Wild Wild West. Although builder captainsmog may label this “Colonial Futurist” but I’m personally transported back to 2004 rather than an alternate 1874. What I love most about the stagecoach is how the detailed robotic legs move just like horse legs. This is no horseless carriage — the horse is just mechanical. Similarly, notice how the front of the speeder bikes ridden by the marauding bandits are shaped like horses’ heads.

Robotic stagecoach

Jumping on board the Mexican bandwagon

Most Western-themed LEGO creations take their architectural inspiration from the single-street towns of the Gold Rush — clapperboard buildings, usually saloons and general stores. It makes for a pleasant change to see something a little more Southwestern in tone with Andrea Lattanzio‘s build of a classic whitewashed adobe flat-roofed house. And even better, there’s not a gunfighter in sight; instead, we’re treated to a mariachi band arriving in their wagon to serenade the farmer’s beautiful daughter. The house is a visual treat, covered with nice details, from the use of printed 1×1 round tiles on the protruding ends of the logs to the plant-covered arbors that provide shady spots on the flat roof. The use of woodgrain tiles above the windows and doors adds some welcome texture amongst the white. Bien hecho, Andrea!

LEGO Mariachi Band Mexican House Adobe Southwestern Architecture

Revisiting the LEGO Wild West Saloon set from Bricklink’s AFOL Designer Program [Review]

Over the last few months, we reviewed the Wild West Saloon and the popular Löwenstein Castle custom LEGO sets from Bricklink’s AFOL Designer Program (ADP). Since we received an early review copy, it arrived without the actual packaging and manuals. Bricklink has now generously sent us the actual packaging backers can expect to receive. With box-in-hand, we wanted to provide our readers with a quick revisit of the set, this time only focusing on the unboxing experience and instruction manual.

Click here to experience the full unboxing

LEGO Wild West Saloon set from Bricklink’s AFOL Designer Program [Review]

Last year Bricklink hosted its first AFOL Designer Program (ADP), a grand effort to make fan designs come alive and be available for purchase. If you’re unfamiliar with Bricklink, it’s an Amazon-like marketplace for purchasing current and discontinued LEGO products. This includes the sale of individual LEGO bricks for restoring sets or making original models known by many fans as My-Own-Creations, or MOCs for short. The Brothers Brick features fan-designed creations every day, and we often receive questions regarding instructions or if they can be purchased. While ready-made MOC kits are not a new concept, where Bricklink’s ADP program shines is in how it took the needed time to solicit builds from the community and used a Kickstarter-like system for fans to determine which sets would be produced for purchase. Best of all, the program received an endorsement from the LEGO Group.


As of now, all of the sets have been selected and are slated to ship this month to the proud supporters who funded them. Bricklink has provided an early copy of the Wild West Saloon by Jonas Kramm (aka Legopard) to the Brothers Brick. When it comes to the number of supporters, this design ranked second to the Löwenstein Castle we recently reviewed. This set comes with 1496 parts, is priced at US $149.99 before shipping, and does not come with any minifigures.

Click to read the full review of the Wild West Saloon designed by Jonas Kramm

No kidding, this fort is way too small for the both of us!

Do you remember that giant awesome LEGO set you always wanted as a kid but somehow never got for Christmas or your birthday? Well, it might not be that easy to get a sealed copy of that set now, but at least you can build an itsy-bitsy version of it! Letranger Absurde brings back the legendary LEGO Western 6769 Fort Legoredo from 1996. As a child I was fascinated by its wooden walls and I was sure it must take a thousand LEGO bricks to build such a massive fort. Now, this copy looks just as exciting with walls and towers made of some of the smallest LEGO pieces. And just when you notice an adorable micro cannon right outside the fort’s gates, you simply can’t help smiling at this tiny beauty.

6769 Fort Legoredo Microscale

Theres a new sheriff in town, and he means business

This wild west scene by captainsmog shows the transfer of a notorious prisoner to federal custody under the watchful eye of the local Sheriff. This is one bandit who won’t be rescued by his posse, hooking up a rope or chain to the side window and yanking the wall right off the jail. His only hope will be an ambush in Rattlesnake Gorge… if his henchmen can rustle up some dynamite, that is. The prison coach, while simple in construction, clearly looks sturdy enough to hold any bandit, and the use of log bricks is the perfect choice for the front office of this classic building.

sheriffs_office

It’s always nice to see a clever use of those parts that are somewhat specialized, and that many builders have in large supply. If you have ever purchased a collectible mini-figure, or 2, then you probably have a some of those 3×4 plates with studs down the middle. Used here to build a simple slat roof. The builder also created an undertaker’s office which features siding made from angled tiles. By far my favorite detail is the marvelous vultures fashioned from a minifig hairpiece and a hand for the head. There is something strangely spooky about carrion birds made from body parts…

Undertaker's office

Wild winter wanderland

Rockstar’s newest video game, Red Dead Redemption 2, has been a highly anticipated sequel for fans of the first. Maybe it’s the vast open wild west world, with so many ways to create a unique experience. For some players, the greatest appeal for an open world like this is wandering around the wilderness like in this scene by Tuxedo Greedo. The landscape is both peaceful, and hostile in its stark setting. Curved white elements smooth out what would otherwise be a lonely, rocky landscape. Transparent clear bricks in place of more traditional tiles is a great choice for the stream, and white flower elements make the perfect snow-covered blossoms. One more missable details is the quarter-circle tiles wedged between the studs on the pine tree to represent fungus.

Lego Red Dead Redemption 2 / search for prey