Thorsten Bonsch, our favorite prolific German builder of Lord of the Rings LEGO scenes, concludes his 5-year epic journey there and back again with this thorough rendition of that famous Hobbit hole, Bag End. It seems fitting that Thorsten saved his most accurate, winding creation for last as he packs every tiny detail into the cozy Bagginses residence of the Shire. Notable rooms include the study where Bilbo journals his adventures (check out the chair that includes sausages, and the intricate cheese slope floor design), the incredibly well-stocked pantry (did you know LEGO made that many different pastry-printed 1×1 round tiles?), and of course the dining room where he entertains many a dwarf before the eventual adventure that would set him on a collision course with Gollum and the One Ring. Be sure to click through to his Flickr stream for even more of the amazing artistry on display in this...

You can keep your Blacktrons, Futurons and Classic Spaces; the space theme that stole my heart growing up was LEGO’s Life on Mars theme. These days, it’s perhaps most notable as a source for the retired sand-red and sand-purple colours. But the set design wasn’t half bad either if you ask me, or Duncan Lindbo, for that matter. He’s seen fit to revamp 7311 Red Planet Cruiser for Mechtober. (It’s like October, but for building mecha.) And it looks great! A one-legged mech is an unusual concept, and Duncan has made some nice upgrades. The best one is the discs on either side, turned into what look like sensors or transmitting equipment, rather than… Whatever they were before. Wings, maybe. As much as I do like the Life on Mars line, I have to admit they only ever looked this good in my imagination! The post A radical redux from the...

Builder Josh Parkinson has become quite the LEGO master of juxtaposing the near and far. I was wowed by his technique in the Doctor Strange vignette he made last year. And his powers of forced perspective have only grown since then, as is evident in this beautiful North Pole scene. Josh continues to astound with his ability to make minifigure habitats, six of them in total making up the two interiors seen here. But I’m also quite impressed with his snow layering on the roofs, trees, and distant hills. When combined with the backlighting at the build’s horizon, the whole scene pops, giving “the luster of midday to objects below.” The post Forcing new LEGO perspectives on Christmas appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Kyle Keller

Today’s guest article comes from Canadian AFOL Justin Speers who has previously shared his experience on BrickNerd about building modular buildings. Today he shares about a special anniversary for SortLUG. A good portion of BrickNerd’s readers have probably heard of SortLUG, maybe through mentions in various articles or experiencing it themselves. Well, it has now been three years since SortLUG’s formation! Happy Anniversary! The ‘standard’ SORTLug logo. But how did SortLUG begin and how has it lasted so long in a post-pandemic world? Do we really just sort LEGO all the time? Born After BrickCon Organized by Jenn Cavin (aka The Brick Chick), it is generally agreed that SortLUG started their first weekly Zoom meeting on the second Friday/Saturday of October—and we have met every Friday since then. Back in October of 2020, the world was very much in the thick of “the Pandemic” (cue ominous music). By then, many people...

LEGO has put up the product page for the upcoming LEGO Creator Scary Pirate Island (40597) gift with purchase set on the LEGO Shop. The 214 piece set features an island of a shark head with a cave inside the mouth along with a small castle ruin on the side. The official details on when and how to get it are still unknown at this time but a Thai advertisement shows that it’ll be from October 13-22 so it should be around that time. If so, it’ll also run alongside the Double Points Event which runs from October 10-15. LEGO® fans can celebrate Halloween by staging their own adventures on Scary Pirate Island (40597). The island features a shark’s head with a cave inside its open jaws, plus a creepy castle ruin with a staircase. Explorers can find a treasure chestfull of gold and jewelry, a skull and a bat. Paddling...