If you’re a 90’s kid like me, then The Muppet Christmas Carol was a likely staple of the holidays during your childhood. And builder Josh Parkinson has channeled all the energy of that 1992 classic into this beautiful wintertime LEGO mosaic of Kermit the Frog. I love the shifting shades of green, red, and brown on the main figure, creating pockets of shadow and depth using quarter tiles. And the feather pieces used in Kermit’s scarf are a great touch of texture. But the best part usage in the build has got to be the inventive lighting of the streetlamp, putting a 4×4 dish from the Starry Night set to work. Be sure to check out the rest of Josh’s tributes to the Muppets and more in our archives. The post A festive Muppet mosaic made of LEGO appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Kyle Keller

It’s the holiday season, and the mall is total chaos. But your kids need to find those latest Friends and Ninjago sets under the tree. Well, LEGO has a holiday present for you because they’re offering up two holiday themed gifts with purchase to make the shopping worth it. 40603 Wintertime Carriage Ride and 40604 Christmas Décor Set will be available this December with qualifying purchases. Let’s unwrap things a little early and have a sneak peak at these sets. The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews. Unboxing the parts and instructions Both sets come in boxes with a holiday appropriate green theme and a Limited Edition band running along the bottom. The Wintertime Carriage Ride shows the included minifigure couple taking a carriage ride. Were this a City set,...

One of the great things about art (and yes, LEGO building is an art form!) is that people can draw on their own experiences and environments to find new meaning in a creation. Illia Zubashev came up with an in-depth backstory to this teetering tower. Apparently it’s the abode of a maverick scientist and inventor, which should come as no surprise – I mean, just look at it! As interesting as the description is, though, I didn’t register any of that when I first saw this. What popped into my head was the video game Sable. It’s completely unrelated, but it just has the same sort of vibe. So sorry I didn’t heed your fascinating description, Illia. At least I can appreciate what a good build this is! The post This LEGO tower evokes mad scientists, crazy experiments, and, er, video games appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author:...

While many people recognize Sonic from video games, and even from a fairly awful movie or two, there are lots of great characters from the Sonic the Hedgehog franchise, including Shadow, who, according to Wikipedia, is an artificial creation, and an occasional antihero of the franchise. The set features a glass holding cell where Shadow is created/captured, a small duck in a rhino-shaped vehicle, and a chopper. LEGO Sonic the Hedgehog 76995: Shadow’s Escape includes 196 parts and will be available on December 1st for US $19.99 | CAN $24.99 | UK £18.99 The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews. Unboxing the parts and instructions The set comes in a fairly small thumb-punch box with Sonic the Hedgehog branding, and a graphic of Sonic running through a gold ring at...

When I was 4 years-old, my Castle Grayskull playset felt gigantic in my hands, but when I found it packed away in the garage in my teens, I was surprised by how small it felt. Grantmasters has triggered that memory with a miniscule Grayskull so small that the in-scale Battle Cat and Panthor are mostly just a collection of minifigure hands. But the hands aren’t the only creatively used minifigure parts. A ring of minifigure legs make up the top of the tallest tower, and the castle’s namesake skull is making use of some arms. It’s some NPU that totally has the power. The post Honey, I Shrunk the Grayskull appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Norm Harper

Ah, the Vic Viper. A spaceship design that has seen so many LEGO iterations, and yet every single year we get new and fresh ones for Novvember. Aside from inspiring a slightly forced alliterative title, there’s a lot to love about Tommy Frost‘s take on the subject. For one, it’s a super clean design. Those curves and tiles coupled with the new trans-black windscreen are silky smooth – there’s not a stud to be seen. And there’s juuust enough greebling to keep the “sci” in sci-fi. Vic Vipers are inherently swooshable, but this one looks especially so. The post Vanadinite Vic Viper is a victory for void-voyaging vessels appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Theo Spencer

You can tell it’s once again Brickscalibur season when Markus Rollbühler is showing off his enviable LEGO trophy-building skills. Until January 15th, builders will be submitting their best Castle-adjacent creations for a chance at a prize. This devilish warlock seen mid-scrying spell is the trophy for the Medieval Micro category, and it’s an astounding creation! Markus’s ability to make the plastic bricks appear to be flowing cloth is superb, as are all the accoutrements to the spellcaster like the candlesticks and pile of papers. But enough talk – I need to get building if I’m going to have a shot at taking this home! Check out the Brickscalibur website for all the categories and rules if you’re interested. The post Scrying on your LEGO competition in the Brickscalibur contest appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Kyle Keller

Sky islands have been a favorite subject for many a LEGO creation. And it follows from logic that when all the rocks are floating up in the air, then so, too, are all the precious metals and minerals contained therein. Builder John Snyder shows us what a mining operation might look like suspended amongst the clouds with this glorious bit of steampunk-ery. The outpost is abuzz with gears, vents, winches, and pipes. And located right at the center of the whole shebang is the furnace, about to smelt another load of aerially-harvested lode. It was no-doubt uncovered in one of the neighboring rocks using that hot air balloon/drill combo. It’s one of the most ingenious uses of the LEGO ornament bulb I’ve ever seen! The post Come mine the LEGO skies! appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Kyle Keller

It’s never too late to learn a new way to connect these LEGO bricks! And Maxim Baybakov shows us how it’s done with this North Tower creation. Fully embracing the half-stud measurement (the most important unit of measure in LEGO building, in my opinion), this tower slowly converges into a tight square of 10×10 studs using a brilliant studs-out technique that I’ve never seen put into practice like this. The finished model looks clean, with the only exposed studs included for effect. There’s even room for such great details as that adorable brick-built front door! Maxim gives us a peek at the interior technique with the graphic below. Such a complex means of generating that half-plate indent while ascending up the fortification, employing SNOT (studs not on top) with bar and clip connections to bring the tower into being. I’m definitely going to give this a try on my own as...

Every once in a while, you come across a LEGO creation on Flickr that just makes you stop and say “Wow!” That’s exactly what happened when I spied this exquisite ladder truck by Dan Nguyen. It’s an impossibly-realistic design, from bucket all the way back to to the rear step. I certainly appreciate the array of compartments, typical of a fire truck. And each is filled with the tools of the trade. Vehicles remain one of my (many) weaknesses when it comes to my own designs, so I’m in constant awe of those able to bring real-world transports like this to life. The post A LEGO fire engine that’s rungs above the rest! appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Kyle Keller