Doesn’t he just look…friendly? Those big eyes and that toothy smile just set your mind at ease, right? This model of B.A.R.R.Y. the hungry alien by LEGO Masters contestant Caleb Campion is a grotesque balance between friendly and frightening. His delicately sculpted head has a Grendel-like appearance that only a mother could love, not to mention the cursed Jar-Jar Binks heads that Caleb used as hands. The red cape from the Monkey King mech gave him a bit of a challenge but the final result blends well into the red tentacles swarming out from beneath B.A.R.R.Y.’s body. The bright red stands out well against the stark background and perfectly frames the mess of exposed innards in the creature’s chest. If I had landed my craft and been greeted by this, I’d be hightailing out of the atmosphere already. B.A.R.R.Y.’s ready for his close-up! This creepy face might be the last thing...

Taking its name from the Aztec or Nahuatl word for strength, the Chikautok Jr-2 by Flickr builder Oskar certainly has a strong design. This spacecraft features some powerfully contrasting color blocking to break up the otherwise smoothly flowing body. Various Bionicle elements work their way into the engine and wing sections, adding texture and a technological feel to the build. White rubber bands blend in with the triangular engine/wing combos, serving a functional purpose with a design flair. The red canopy for the cockpit flows smoothly from one side of the craft to the other while blending in almost seemingly with the red stripe along the center of the craft. Pop off the canopy and you get a look at the interior of not only the cockpit but also the area surrounding it. The detailed components running along the body could be life support and sensor elements that could use regular maintenance....

The longest-running LEGO fan convention is gearing up for another epic year, with BrickCon returning this fall with a blackjack theme for its 21st year. Held in Seattle, BrickCon hosts a 4-day convention Thur-Sun, Sept. 29 – Oct. 2, for adult builders and fans with games, presentations, display opportunities, prizes, and more. BrickCon is continuing the successful hybrid model it pioneered last year to allow virtual attendees for those who cannot make it to Seattle in person, with special activities for online participants. Registration for the 4-day adult builder convention are $85 in-person, and $25 to attend online, available now on BrickCon.org. This year BrickCon’s keynote speaker is Angus MacLane, an avid LEGO fan and builder who is best known as the director of movies like Finding Dory and Lightyear. Angus joked recently on twitter that the yellow canopy on Buzz Lightyear’s spaceship was because he wanted more LEGO trans-yellow windscreens,...

I’m not much of a video game player, so when a BD droid showed up in The Book of Boba Fett and the internet lost its collective mind, I was playing catch-up. The droid was cute, sure, but what was the big deal? It turns out these adorable chicken-legged droids are a major part of the Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order game. BD-1, in particular, is an explorer droid who serves the Jedi Master Eno Cordova during the Galactic Republic. And now he can serve as a display piece in your home thanks to LEGO’s 75335 BD-1, a 1,062-piece set arriving August 1st for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99 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 BD-1 comes packaged in a large,...

Over the years we’ve seen the LEGO banana being used in various creative ways. The part was originally designed for LEGO Belville, so it’s a bit out of scale when it comes to LEGO minifigures. Fans love using it for claws, teeth, horns, fangs and yes bananas. Thanks to themarkstudios_84 we can now also add motion effects to that list. The Pork Grind figure is looking very sleek and the inclusion of motion graphics makes these figures look like they popped right out of a comic book. Pork Grind and Spider-Ham appear to be running. The bananas represent the movement of the legs. Adding the tasmanian devil swirl tile is a very nice touch. And the difference between the ice cream scoops and the Monkey Kid cloud also indicates the difference in height between the two running minifigures. The thought cloud adds to the comic book feel, same goes for the...

Ivan Martynov is a master of creature construction. His latest digital build is a monster that channels corrosive liquids through his arms to leave his Bionicle foes reduced to a puddle of goo. But, with those massive bendy arms, I bet he gives some pretty good hugs, too. Has anyone tried giving him a hug? Maybe that’s all he needs. Did the Toa ever think of that? I bet not. The post This dangerous Dissolver melts our hearts appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Norm Harper

Dicken Liu has added another life-sized weapon to their collection, following on from the lightsaber that we featured a few weeks ago. While this one still comes from a long time ago, though, it does come from a galaxy that isn’t so far, far away, even if it exists mainly in legend. In fact, you could be forgiven for thinking this is just your average very good LEGO sword. But since it’s embedded in a rock, there’s no mistaking it: this is the legendary Excalibur. As a piece, this looks excellent – the gold highlights and green foliage add some visual interest to the black and greys of the rest. But hang on… There do some to be a few holes in this particular stone… What’s going on here? The holes and gold highlights hint at a hidden kingdom inside the rock! Both sides depict parts of King Arthur’s story. The...

We’ve seen some real ups and downs in the quality of  “Collectible” VIP rewards from LEGO.  Yet, for some reason, I keep spending my points on all of them. My latest acquisition is LEGO VIP 5007093 – 1950’s Logo Spinning Keychain.  It’s available now for 950 points from the VIP rewards center (US | CAN | UK ). Keep reading for the details of this bit of bling! Unboxing. (Unsleeving? Is that even a word?) The keychain arrives in a 3″/7.6cm  paper envelope. The front has the LEGO and VIP logos, and the product name. The back has a UPC code, a spooky warning (Ages 3+ only, and please retain for future reference) and manufacturer info. It was made by RDP Ltd, the same company behind the collectible coins and tins. Inside the envelope is (GASP) the keychain. Unlike the coins and other RDP products, there’s no tissue paper to cushion...

From The Hobbit: Desolation of Smaug comes a scene of fiery wrath by W. Navarre. This build exists for the Middle-earth LEGO Olympics, bringing an iconic scene from the movie to life. Bard the Bowman pauses a moment as his home is set ablaze by the vengeful dragon Smaug, his determination to save his family and fellow townsfolk set by the heat. The fire illuminates some wonderfully crafted LEGO building and buildings. The homes have great details and features, though those sconces are no longer necessary with Smaug’s flames lighting the place. Some of the roofs have printed tiles, but others have the textures of Technic tread pieces. Of course, the town isn’t the only cool thing in the scene–the ice floating in the water is pretty neat too. The ice is brick-built sideways with slopes and wedges to give it those angles and edges. Though, I think most of it...

There were few LEGO sets as a child that were precious to me, but one that was just perfect was the Black Falcon Fortress, and in this miniaturised digital form, ZiO Chao has realised a favourite set of mine that I needed to share! In building this in a miniature scale, ZiO hasn’t compromised on detail at all. Everything that made Black Falcon’s Fortress a great build can be found here too. From the drawbridge to the stone detail of the turrets and on to the design of the battlements of the castle themselves, this diminutive version of the castle captures all the highlights of the set. I love that this reimagining of the set retains the hinged wall to open up this citadel and explore the courtyard and its decorated yellow timber building. But a castle is not without its inhabitants, and ZiO has captured the essence of all the...