My wife and I are re-reading The Lord of the Rings together after having done so 22 years ago before the first Peter Jackson movie was released. By sheer coincidence, on the same day we read the chapter about the Battle of Pelennor Fields in The Return of the King, Kiwi builder Pieter Dennison shared the conclusion of a months-long project to recreate a Mûmak or Oliphaunt of the Haradrim in LEGO, based on how they appear in the movies. Pieter’s build features all the iconic details of the enormous beast, from its four tusks (built from a series of 2×2 round bricks presumably strung on something like flex-tube), each with spikes on the end, to the war tower on the monstrous beast’s back. A closer look at the war tower shows just how huge this LEGO build really is, with about a score of minifigs riding into battle against the...

The Pirates line was a seminal theme for LEGO, introducing hoards of new elements and many things we take for granted now, such as unique faces beyond the classic smiley head. One of the largest and most sought-after sets from the original theme was 6276 Eldorado Fortress, a colonial-style base of operations for the blue-coated Imperial Guards. 10320 Eldorado Fortress is a remake of that iconic set taking advantage of 34 years of advancement in parts and techniques since the original. LEGO has avoided straight re-releases in recent years (with some notable exceptions), opting instead to tribute classics for the company’s 90th anniversary in 2022, with 10497 Galaxy Explorer as a modern upgrade to the original set, while 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle pays homage to a whole generation of Castle. Although the anniversary has passed, I am excited that LEGO has continued that nostalgia trend, turning its eye now to my...

We get through all sorts of superlatives to describe LEGO builds here at The Brothers Brick, but there’s surely only one way to describe MySnailEatsPizza‘s Children of the Mountain: majestic. Isn’t it just? It’s reminiscent of the way monarchs were painted in the middle ages. The framing coupled with the forced perspective mountains make this look truly epic. We don’t know who this character is, or what their purpose is, or where they’re going; but that’s not necessary. All we know is that they’re doing it in style. The post The majesty of the Biocup appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Theo Spencer

The broad range of wonderful LEGO creations built for events like the annual BioCup often spark odd memories of my own life experiences. This beautiful Anomalocaris by Care Creations reminded me of Stephen Jay Gould’s 1989 book Wonderful Life, which first introduced me to the panoply of fantastic lifeforms that emerged during the Cambrian Explosion over half a billion years ago. The book changed my view of how life emerged and evolved on our planet, as well as how scientific understanding itself evolves — both mind-blowing to a young missionary kid. One of the strengths of Bionicle is the system’s ability to reproduce organic shapes, enabling talented builders to create much more than Toa. I love the minifigure hands on the ends of Anomalocaris’ tentacles, as well as all the smaller creatures the builder has included to give the impression of the early arthropod in its natural habitat. If you enjoyed...

I’ve said it before, but I love being able to travel vicariously through LEGO models. The Architecture series has a lot of the famous landmarks covered, but for the more day-to-day infrastructure, we need to turn to people like Justus M. Having visited the town of Bordeaux in south-western France, he took it upon himself to recreate some of the old architecture. Having been to France (albeit not to Bordeaux itself) quite a lot as a kid, I think I can say he’s nailed it! You can quite easily picture someone sitting outside with a coffee and a croissant. It’s enough to make me want to go back there. Magnifique, Justus! The post A trip in the brick to Bordeaux appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Theo Spencer

Please enjoy this LEGO-ized miniature Manny and super-small Sid from the Ice Age franchise, brought to you by Oliver Becker. His microscale scene depicts our two protagonists as they venture out at the end of the titular era. We even see Scrat in the foreground trying to hide his 1×1 round plate in the ice. The miniature scenery is quite nice, but the character builds are the real stars of the show. The tread links for Scrat’s arms and legs are brilliant, showing such ingenuity at this tiny scale. And the brickwork to emulate Sid’s triangular face is astounding! But of course, Manny has to put the “woolly” in woolly mammoth with the use of a minifig hair piece as his head. Much like with the movies, here’s hoping we get a sequel! The post A little LEGO “big thaw” from the Ice Age movies appeared first on The Brothers Brick....

The Brothers Brick alumni Nannan Zhang has a knack for creating innovative and breathtaking worlds in LEGO. His specialty seems to be mixing manmade devices with biological elements and this stunning The Last Wisteria is no exception. Let me rephrase that; it’s quite exceptional. His grasp for integrating shapes and colors demonstrates the abilities of a true artist. The tree’s roots intermingled among cold hexagonal tiles are truly awe-inspiring. Even the wisteria’s leaves have a neat order to them. As capable as I like to think I am, even my own words don’t do this piece justice so instead, we’ll let Nannan use his; Among rapid cybernetic hybridization, a thing of beauty flourishes above the metallic earth.. A thing of beauty, indeed. Check out our Nannan Zhang archives to see why sometimes we’re lost for words but we still try anyway. The post Behold The Last Wisteria appeared first on The...

This new LEGO creation by Sandro Quattrini and we’re all pretty thrilled, by golly. I’m loving the intricate details, the ape-like stance, and the fact that this thing resembles a walking airplane. I seriously want to live in this world for a little while. It turns out that you can as this is based on the work of famed concept artist Emerson Tung and his A6M-S Koumuri Jethead art . This isn’t the first time we’ve been impressed by Sandro’s work, in fact, he was named The Brothers Brick Builder of the Year in 2022. Nor is this the first time he has been inspired by Emerson’s work. Check out our Sandro Quattrini archives to see what I mean. This may be the most interesting thing I’ve seen all day and I’ve Googled potatoes and jelly. The post When Dieselpunk art imitates Dieselpunk art appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original...

Following massive hits of 10497 Galaxy Explorer and 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle, this summer LEGO revives yet another classic, spoiling fans with the new 10320 Eldorado Fortress set. A 2,509-piece diorama, fusing two iconic Pirates set together, will go on sale on July 4th (for LEGO VIP members) / July 7th for everyone else for US $214.99 | CAN $279.99 | UK £189.99. The new set brings the classic fort in the new, reworked design, along with tow boats: a larger ship with sails made of fabric, and a small boat. Eldorado Fortress is based on the old version of the fort, set 6276, which was released back in 1989. While the original model consisted of a little bit over 500 pieces, the new products is a massive 2,500 build. Though, the scale and the size of the structures is pretty much the same. It’s easy to notice that the original...

This new LEGO creation by Rubblemaker is called Symbiosis. If you recall your grade school science classes, symbiosis is where two organisms share a mutually beneficial relationship. I’m not entirely sure if this is mutually beneficial; that poor clod in the cockpit may or may not be this ship’s pilot but it is most definitely its fuel source. If this ship moves as fast as Voyager II, it would take this suffering fool 9.5 years to get to Uranus. Plus you couldn’t even land there because science journals, as well as my grade school self, will tell us that Uranus is a gaseous, smelly giant. It’s likely you’d have to keep going for another few decades to reach a land-able rock and even then it’s no guarantee the locals will be friendly. Space travel sucks! The post Strap in for a long, torturous ride appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original...