When it comes to colorful and highly detailed microscale builds, Jeff Friesen stands out as a true master. He wrote the book (several, actually) on creating clean builds that capture cities, castles, and fantastic worlds in miniature. Jeff’s latest build started as a study of hedge gardens, like the one seen in the foreground. However, once he started adding a building to the background, his imagination took over, and it grew to become an amazing sprawling castle structure that reminds me of campuses like Harvard and Cambridge. One of my favorite tree builds is the upside-down eggshell used for what looks like a willow tree, and, of course, a green minifigure hairpiece makes the perfect shrub. A few tall pine trees provide a nice contrast to all of the much shorter trees and plants. The post No beating around the bush, this LEGO microscale hedge garden is stunning appeared first on...

Since we started spotlighting minifig creations again on Minifig Mondays, we’ve been introduced to so many talented AFOLs. After covering desert sands and dieselpunk in our last installments, maybe it’s time to welcome some cozier fig creations into the mix? Grab your knitting needles and garden shears, as we’re going to explore DIY minifig fashions!  The fist time the brothers brick featured minifigs wearing crocheted clothes was back in 2006! Sadly, that was the only time. Let’s fix this with a Minifig Monday dedicated to minfigs dressed in knitted and floral clothing! Because hobbies are better when you let them mingle. Kim Schol is a LEGO photographer from the Netherlands who sets her minifig subjects in dioramas that blend LEGO with nature and crafts. Kim dresses her minifig in a fantastically elegant skirt made of real flower petals. This fairy tale scene is one of my favorites in the way that...

The most recent Iron Builder competition just came to an end, providing the LEGO community with some truly excellent creations fueled by the creativity of two amazing AFOL talents: Tim Goddard and Bousker. For those who are not familiar with Iron Builder, it is a competition that puts two builders directly against each other in a two-week contest of creating models that incorporate a specific LEGO piece. In this instance, the Airplane Door in White. Fresh off an amazing run of 7 stellar creations, we sat down with Tim about his thoughts on competing for the Iron Builder crown. TBB: This whole kind of competition may be intimidating to many. Where do you start once you were given the seed piece? Tim: I found it intimidating, the idea of building under time pressure and being judged by my peers is a bit nerve-racking! Of course I had no idea what the...

Corey and Rebecca Maxfield travel the world together, sigfigs and kids in tow, but in between voyages they find time for original creations. Corey’s tribute to Singing in the Rain certainly puts a smile on my face as the brick-built figure sings a happy refrain. The travelling couple’s next stop? LEGO Masters Season 5. Just the other day Theo asked about the role that LEGO plays in peoples travels. No doubt Corey and Rebecca have plenty of stories to share about that playful combination! This is part of our series on MOCs of the Masters where we preview the work of the newest batch of LEGO Master contestants. Have a look at creations from other builders in the lineup. The post MOCs of the LEGO Masters: Travelling together, rain or shine appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jake Forbes (TBB Managing Editor)

Ever been at a LEGO convention and had to endure the awkwardness of meeting new AFOLs, with no idea of where to start the conversation? I know I sure have. OK, partly that’s because it was in Finland and my Finnish doesn’t go much further than ‘I like your LEGO model’. Still, if you’re looking for an ice-breaker question to get to know your fellow hobbyists a bit better, then take inspiration from our weekly TBB Asks feature! This week, TBB Asks if you have any favourite bits of LEGO memorabilia that aren’t LEGO bricks. Yes, even outside the world of bricks there is loads of LEGO swag to be had, some of it quite rare! Let’s see if any of our staff have anything special in their collection – or indeed, if our readers do. Let us know if you’ve got some cool collectibles in the comments! Kimberly: So my girl...

Niki has been working her way through the Harry Potter series with cinematic dioramas built in LEGO. My favorite is this twisty recreation from the first film with Ron trapped by the Devil’s Snare plant. The scale of the vines as they stretch across the enormous cobblestone floor makes for a striking contrast of chaos and ordered angles. For her next journey, Niki leans on a bond stronger than those forged at Hogwarts – the bond of sisterhood! – as she enters LEGO Masters Season 5 with her sister Brittain. As Dumbledore always says, may the odds be ever in your favor. This is part of our series on MOCs of the Masters where we preview the work of the newest batch of LEGO Master contestants. Have a look at creations from other builders in the lineup. The post MOCs of the LEGO Masters: Sisters bricks prepare to cast a spell...

In this house, we are big Pan Noda fans. And speaking of houses – normally, that’s precisely the kind of thing we’d be featuring from one of the best liminal LEGO space creators. But of late, Pan has been experimenting with other types of MOC, and we’re equally enthralled. We’ve got a couple of yellow mechs to feast our eyes on here, the first being the Banana-Automaton. There’s some clever parts use going on here: a yellow life-ring atop the head, chain-link treads to add some heft (and nice texture) to its limbs. Those treads appear in its bigger sibling, too. This is the Pinea-Automaton, which looks designed to carry a pilot. Despite their differences, the common design language makes it clear that these are from the same family of automata. A scout and a heavy, perhaps? Presumably those blade weapons aren’t for preparing a fruit salad… The post From liminal...

Have you ever tried following the instructions for an iconic LEGO set, only subbing in colors from your own collection? It’s a fun way to experience an iconic build while expressing your own artistic voice (and thanks to LEGO making instructions free to download, you can save money too!) That’s just what Marcella did with this alternate take on the Birch Books modular apartment unit. Marcella’s bright colors bring a funky San Francisco vibe and pair perfectly with the new artist resident. Marcella and her best friend Krista are bringing that free spirit to the new season of LEGO Masters. Best of luck, you two! This is part of our series on MOCs of the Masters where we preview the work of the newest batch of LEGO Master contestants. Have a look at creations from other builders in the lineup. The post MOCs of the LEGO Masters: Finding joy in friendship...

It’s getting harder and harder to keep track of the squadron colours in Star Wars. First it was just Red and Gold, then Green came along in Return of the Jedi, Blue appeared – and disappeared – in Rogue One… And that’s before we even get to LEGO-specific ones like Teal Squadron. Let’s just get them all out of the way at once, shall we? Over on Instagram, Mark (lego_coffee) has brought together as many colours as he can to craft some miniature monochrome x-wings. And by LEGO’s official colours naming scheme, we have Mid-Stone Gray Squadron, Flame Yellowish Orange Squadron, Reddish Brown Squadron, Bright Purple Squadron… The only criticism I can make is that such names don’t exactly roll off the tongue! The post Rainbow squadron, standing by! appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Theo Spencer

Minifigure fans are in for a treat when LEGO Icons 21358 Minifigure Vending Machine arrives this June. LEGO pulled out all the stops in celebrating popular themes from the past, including Fabuland, Paradisa, Pirate, Classic Space, and of course, Castle. Even the set’s fan designer gets the minifig treatment! The set contains 16 minifigures in total, some of which are duplicates, but I doubt many will mind as they’re the ones fans could vote on and are likely to be the most popular figures: Classic spacemen in teal and gold, and perhaps most excitingly, two new Castle Factions –  Kraken and Griffon factions. Of course you’re not just getting 16 figures with the set. Most of the 1,343 parts go towards the fully-functional retro vending machine in cherry red. It’s a very fancy Kraken Knight delivery device that no doubt many LEGO fans will have fun filling with custom gachapon prizes. LEGO...