42179 Planet Earth and Moon in Orbit, part of the broader LEGO Space super-theme this year, is unique in a lot of ways. It’s a Technic set that does not recreate some sort of vehicle—a rarity when scanning through the roughly 500 Technic sets listed on Brickset. The mechanisms are really interesting, with five different motions from a single input. And it’s also a great teaching tool. The technical name for the set is an orrery, which is a mechanical device used to represent the movements of the planets in our solar system. The Oxford’s History of Science Museum has a beautiful example of an orrery. Now onto the build and the science behind the set! Solar Flare! Ok that’s really big scale wise, but a fun add As established before, I am a space nerd and was very excited about this set in particular. I built this set with my...

As intimidating as the Borg can be in Star Trek, the Next Generation, I still recommend lowering the shields for this gorgeous LEGO transmission by Pandis Pandus. It’s a stellar example of what we in the brick-building business call “greebling.” But unlike the Borg, don’t let this technical lingo scare you. Think of it as a “technical texture,” all pipes and tubes and grills serving some nondescript purpose on a spacecraft. And unlike the smooth exterior of a ship like the Enterprise, all these bumps and ridges don’t play nice with aerodynamics and the need to enter a planet’s atmosphere. On fact, you should use it on your next build -no, on EVERY build from now on. Assimilate. Assimilate. The post The Borg of Star Trek are never bourgeois appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Kyle Keller (TBB Managing Editor)

Sometimes great minds really do think alike, as evidenced by two rhyming vignettes created for the Summer Joust “Beast Masters” category. Each creation features a brick-built blue spellcaster and their over-sized corvid companion, but despite similar theming, the two models demonstrate very distinct approaches to setting a LEGO scene. First up we have “The Wizard and the Raven” by Ids de Jong. Another admirer described the build as having an “I Spy appeal,” which is a great way to put it, with so many fun elements from throughout the years decorating the scene. The human figure, for which Ids credits the style to Markus Rollbühler, is definitely bringing strong wizard energy with the clever beard technique utilizing Gandalf’s hair piece. I love the personality of of the crow with the nightmare eyes from LEGO Dreamzzz, a good friend who seems eager to deliver scrolls to distant lands. Next is “Rook and...

LEGO builder Kristel Whitaker is an absolute rebel! She’s not going to let something like a grid of studs keep her from crafting a spot-on remake of the LEGO Scala logo. With so many curved tiles, modified plates, and stud offsets, Kristel is able to trace out S-C-A-L-A in only two layers of red. It certainly pulled its weight for the Scala Murder Mystery Mansion at Brickworld Chicago a few weekends ago. The post LEGO lettering: a blessing and a cursive appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Kyle Keller (TBB Managing Editor)

In the world of LEGO Star Wars, it’s not often that we get a reference to the all-too-brief animated series Star Wars: Clone Wars by Genndy Tartakovsky. But builder r_t_zan is not ready to move on from the Cartoon Network piece in this scene from Chapters 14 through 16. Depicting the start of the Battle of Ilum, Jedi Luminara Unduli and Barriss Offee are surprised by Separatist droids attempting to destroy caverns on the ice planet of Ilum. Kyber crystals, shown in transparent greens and blues, are the power source for all lightsabers. So it goes without saying that keeping this cavern safe is a top priority for the Jedi. Color plays a big role in this creation, whether it’s using light aqua to add an icy blue tint to the snow, or the mix of old and current dark gray in the caverns below. While the display doesn’t contain much...