Other than having a dark sense of humor, why would I title an article about this LEGO gas station in such a way? The service station has a well-worn feel. There’s a couple of motorcycles and the patrons there seem friendly enough. But when you take a close look at this creation by Dan the Fan you begin to see several minifig torsos used in creative ways. There are two in gray holding up the shell sign and four in dark gray acting as the base for the water tower. Several more upside-down torsos comprise the trim design of the building while another two in red make up part of the gas pump. My favorite use of the minifig torso however is in the road sign, partially comprising the shape of Texas. Can you spot other uses for the minifig torso? (Other than the ones obviously used as minifig torsos.) The...

LEGO revealed their DOTS line and some folks reasoned it would be great for their little sisters but not for the likes of them. Vince Toulouse illustrates the error of their ways with this Ambassador of Grnx wearing a DOTS band as a sash. His staff makes use of Clickits connectors, another line some of youse thought was only appropriate for little sis. As if that wasn’t enough, Vince brings in another limited appeal line with the use of flame bits from the short-lived Ben 10 sets. It just goes to show that on the surface, some sets have limited appeal but in the hands of a builder like Vince, there is no limit to what can be used. The post The Ambassador of Grnx brings some odd parts usage appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Lino

How small can the dark lord get? This teeny, tiny tower of Barad-dûr from The Lord of the Rings was constructed by LEGO builder Hubba Blöoba, and it’s got all the right notes despite its diminutive size. A pair of grey bananas make the two spikes that ring the all-seeing eye, while clips and slopes make up the jagged tower itself. The atmospheric clouds elevate this little vignette further and give it an appropriate sense of foreboding. The post The tower of Barad-d’aww appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Chris (TBB Managing Editor)

We all love the Millennium Falcon and other ships from the Star Wars franchise but it’s neat when someone pays attention to the ships that were later inserted into the background in one special edition or another. My case in point, this LEGO YT-2400 Outrider built by Aido Kessler. It resembles the Millennium Falcon a bit in the sense that it’s saucer-shaped, has circular exhaust ports and pushes the whole asymmetrical cockpit motif to the Nth degree. From there this odd ship exudes its own personality. I love the complex curves along the leading edge as well as the turret cannon. Aido tells us this model comprises of more than four-thousand pieces and weighs eleven pounds (5kg). In some instances this heavy creation was pushed to a breaking point; a literal breaking point and needed to be restructured several times. The end result is breathtaking and we’re glad he was up...

LEGO has continued to diversify the products that it sources and launches via its LEGO Ideas platform, which for many years has been perceived as focusing on licensed themes like Ghostbusters, Doctor Who, Voltron, and so on. But increasingly, LEGO has approved wholly original designs, such as 21310 Old Fishing Store. Yesterday, LEGO officially revealed 21325 Medieval Blacksmith, an original design by LEGO fan designer Clemens Fiedler. The set includes 2,164 pieces with 4 minifigures, and will become available on February 1st, 2020 at a price of US $149.99 | CAN $199.99 | UK £134.99.. 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. The box, packaging, and printed parts Not counting the gorgeous 40448 Vintage Car gift with purchase from the first half of January, the blacksmith shop is the first...

George Panteleon brings us a car we’ve seen before. It’s the classic Mini. LEGO released the mini cooper set a couple of years ago. George’s rendition may or may not be a different version of the mini car. I couldn’t tell you because I am no expert when it comes to cars. I do know that I really like his rendition of the mini. LEGO released 4 sand colors (red, purple, green and blue) and then decided to not use them all that often. George proves that that is a shame by using sand green to make this lovely build. There are a lot of nice little details on this build. The car grill is made of the back side of the masonry bricks, the microphone utensil gets turned into direction indicator lights and the bar holder with handle gets turned into a side way mirror. Best thing about this has...

The Ninjago City modular sets are large, there’s no doubt about it. In fact, the latest set in the series, Ninjago City Gardens is one of the 10 largest LEGO sets ever released. When you line up the three sets together they take up quite a lot of space. Well, that’s not an issue with Adeel Zubair, who has built the latest city block in amazingly accurate details. The inverted brown flower stem makes great tree roots, and the hot dog makes a perfect bridge. One more detail that I love, is the teal corner tiles used for those fancy sloped parts used in the control tower. But the fun doesn’t stop there. Adeel has shrunk the entire series of Ninjago City blocks. The post Big Ninjago style in a little model appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel

One of my favorite things about San Francisco is its architecture. Though shops have closed and the streets are nearly empty, some of the city’s most vibrant buildings still stand. Just off Market Street, you’ll find the Castro Theatre, whose majesty has been translated into LEGO by Jonathan Lopes. Since 1922, the Castro Theatre has hosted everything from queer cinema to silent film festivals at the center of San Francisco’s vibrant arts scene and historic LGBTQ+ district. Like in Jonathan’s model, you can’t miss its iconic neon signage and stunning Spanish-Baroque facade. Jonathan adorns the theatre’s exterior with alternating studs and undersides of 1x plates. This “anti-stud” style of building is distinct in all of his builds, even in his earlier urban landscapes. Here, it works wonders for depicting ornate details of the building facade and its multicolored marquee. Up close we see the Milk posters of the 2008 biopic about...

Over the years Japanese car manufacturers have produced some iconic performance cars, such as the Impreza WRX, the Datsun 240Z or the Toyota AE86. However, unsurprisingly, most of their products are of a rather more practical nature. Few more so than so-called Kei cars or keijidōsha (軽自動車). This literally means light automobile. They are a special class of tiny cars, restricted to a width of 1.48 m, a length of 3.4 m and a height of 2 m (4.9 ft, 11.2 ft and 6.6 ft, respectively). Their engine displacement is at most 660 cc (40 cubic inches). For comparison, this is roughly the same as the displacement of a single cylinder of, say, a V8 Ford Mustang. So, why would you want one? Well, they’re relatively cheap to buy and run and owners pay less road tax. And more importantly, in densely populates cities such as Tokyo, owners need to prove...

LEGO Gift With Purchase (GWP) offers can be quite overwhelming if you’re not on top of things. Here’s a list of GWP eligibility based on item, price and region (the US|CAN|UK) based on today’s availability, 20 Jan 2021.  If you plan your purchases carefully, you’ll be eligible for 4 GWPs for US and Canada, leveraging the capability to stack the promotions. GWP promotions run out frequently and fast. All information is accurate based on the time at which this article is published. US and Canada LEGO Store Harry Potter 30628 The Monster Book of Monsters | 320 piecesValued at: US $19.99 | CAN $26.99Criteria: Spend over USD $75 | CAD $75Eligibility Period: 1st to 31st Jan (or while supplies last) The LEGO (5006293) Chariot | 127 piecesValued at: US $12.99 | CAN $16.99Criteria: Purchase of LEGO Colosseum  US $549.99 | CAN $649.99 , VIP MembershipEligibility Period: 04th to 31st Jan (or while supplies last)...