The Temple of Twin Monkeys by Caleb Saw has nice part usage, but also a hefty dollop of mystery. For example, just what are these twin guardians protecting? (My guess is the legendary great lost shipment of Blue Food Dye #2.) The use of grill tiles for fingers works really well, and I like how their use as toes melds into the pedestals. The repeated use of 2×2 dome-bottom bricks for mouth adds uniformity and a touch of sculptural feel to idols, too, while the eyes are some excellently used train wheels. The temple itself has some great details in the curved stonework at the base, and the lines and leafy overgrowth give things a sense of age and neglect. If you came across this temple, would you explore it? Or would it be better not to monkey around? For what it’s worth, there is an animal called a blue monkey,...

For fifteen years The Brothers Brick has been highlighting the finest LEGO creations, and while 2020 hasn’t been the year any of us might have expected, it has still seen the global community of builders put together some amazing models. To celebrate ongoing creativity during a challenging period, The Brothers Brick team has taken a look back over the last 12 months and pulled together our selection of the best LEGO creations of 2020 for our fifth annual LEGO Creation of the Year award. Take a look at the fantastic models we’ve shortlisted, and stay tuned for the announcement of our LEGO Creation of the Year 2020 on New Year’s Eve! Be sure to check out the LEGO Creation of the Year 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016 to see what honourable company this year’s nominations are keeping. We begin with the elements essential to any LEGO creation — a big pile...

Disney+ has done a phenomenal thing with Star Wars: The Mandalorian. They’ve satisfied seasoned fans while also bringing in younger viewers, a feat that the newest Skywalker saga movies struggled with. The driving force uniting viewers both young and old is sometimes called by the chronologically inaccurate moniker of “Baby Yoda”, though some go with “The Child”, and others go by his newly revealed and more spoiler-y name. Whatever you call him, Pascal Hetzel gives us what we’re all after with his latest LEGO creation. He’s taken the official set, 75318 The Child, and given it a Santa outfit. Add a festively ornamented Christmas tree with presents and you pretty much have the formula for success right there! From all of us at The Brothers Brick, here’s hoping your holiday season is as happy and bright as this little guy here. Before you go, be sure to check out Pascal’s other...

Happy holidays to all of our fellow LEGO builders! As is tradition, we at The Brothers Brick have been opening our advent calendars as we count down to Christmas, which is tomorrow! Today, we’re opening the final door, but we’ll be back once more when we’ll be showcasing a final roundup of the calendars tomorrow. Thank you to all those who have celebrated with us so far. Now, let’s open door 24! Drumroll, please! And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. From day 24 of the Harry Potter advent calendar, the Triwizard Cup! And from Star Wars, Santa Vader! Lino: Despite efforts to brighten his image, still no one is swiping right on Jeff’s Tinder profile photo. Bart: Ugly Christmas sweater!!! Benjamin: I always thought Sith holocrons were cooler than Jedi. CJ: So…I guess this last day’s item means something to Harry Potter fans. It looks cool, at least....

The use of minifigure accessories in spaceship builds is nothing new, but LEGO designer Chris Perron takes it to a new meta level by building a snazzy micro-fighter that uses retro Blacktron 2 jetpacks as key elements. The nice part usage doesn’t stop there, though. Check out the droid leg as a tail fin, and the white ingot and classic solar panel in the nose. If you like this little guy, be sure to check out Chris’ other spotlighted builds. My personal favorite is the giant Aquanauts Shark. What’s yours? The post This tiny spaceship has your back(pack) appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Chris Doyle

2020 has been a hard year for everyone, and some of us have put on a few extra quarantine pounds. Ian Hou’s LEGO Santa Claus is no exception, as evidenced by the quarter round bricks shaping his belly. It seems that Jolly ole Saint Nick misjudged how many milk and cookies he’d been eating. Now a previously comfortable slide down a chimney is a bit more than a tight squeeze! I think Santa jumped in pretty fast and built up some speed too because of the angle on those hinged bricks tell me chunks of that chimney are flying off pretty quickly. And I think he’s noticed too, the 1×3 arches forming his mouth look like his “Ho! Ho! Ho!” has turned into an “Oh! Ow! Ow!” The post Ho! Ho! Oh no! Santa is stuck! appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: David Guedes

The Nebulon B medical frigate was certainly one of the most unusually shaped ships in the rebel fleet, but the rebels weren’t the only group to fly this iconic vessel. The Empire had a model as well. In fact, the Nebulon B escort frigate, manufactured by Kuat Drive Yards was originally manufactured for the Empire. This LEGO model by Remco Rohaan measures almost 150 studs in length. If you look closely at the top of the ship, you’ll notice a docked Lambda-class shuttle. The model features some excellent lighting effects, particularly in the engines, to give the blue engine plumes the perfect glow. The post Imperial Nebulon cruiser is ready to take the fight to the Rebellion appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel

Happy holidays to all of our fellow LEGO builders! As is tradition, we at The Brothers Brick will be opening our advent calendars as we count down to Christmas. We’ll also be sharing commentary on each one, which will be both insightful and hilarious! This year we have new Harry Potter, Star Wars, City and Friends advent calendars to open. We will be sharing images of the new calendars every day through Christmas, and hope that you’ll join us! Let’s see what there is to open on Day 23. It’s not even Christmas yet and we’re opening presents of presents! The Harry Potter calendar gave us wrapped gifts, while Star Wars revealed a fantastic microscale Vader’s castle. CJ: THIS is what I wanted to see from the wrapped packages in the City/Friends calendars. Lots of them, and some clever hints as to what’s inside. I’m giving the Potter calendar five holiday...

The latest cool new Star Wars ship to fly right into our hearts is the iconic Razor Crest from the Disney+ series The Mandalorian. Here, this model by Boba-1980 has to be the smallest version I’ve seen so far (I know there was a smaller version in this year’s Star Wars advent calendar, but in my opinion, that one is pretty sad) Capturing the right details at this size is no easy task, but the Force is strong with Boba-1980. From the large engines to the extended landing gear, this model has it all. I liked the use of ice skates for the landing gear. The post This is the way, and this is the ship. appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel

Masters of LEGO Technic animations, builder duo Jason Allemann and Kristal (Collectively known as JK Brickworks) have unveiled an amazing animatronic archer. Styled after the Greek goddess of the hunt, Artemis, this charismatic sculpture features some lovely white drapery and an adorable deer in the background. You’d be forgiven if you thought the archer would “just” pull back on her bow and then reset back to a “getting ready to fire” pose in an endless loop. But this statue goes well beyond those expectations by actually launching that arrow! Totally freaked me out the first time I saw it happen. Want to know how it works? Check out the full video below to learn all about this creation and its construction! If you like this creation, you’ll be equally amazed at the other builds from JK Brickworks that we’ve spotlighted! The post A huge step up from those stud shooter “play...