Back in January, we featured a tiny LEGO upright piano with instructions, built by Tiago Catarino. Now he brings us another mini masterpiece: a baby grand! While they’re both adorable, I have to say, this one is my favorite. He captures the shape perfectly. As he often does, Tiago has shared instructions and a video tutorial so you, too, can compose this sweet little instrument. If you’d like to try out more of Tiago’s instructions, we feature many here. Or you can check out other music-inspired masterpieces in our archives. The post How to build the baby-est of baby grand pianos [Instructions] appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Bre Burns

Sometimes it feels like every spaceship I see out there in the LEGO building community is either a single-seat starfighter or a giant capital ship. Sometimes the fighters are tiny, sometimes they themselves are giant, and some of the capital ships are minifig scale and others are microscale. But wouldn’t it be nice to see something else with more frequency? Like, what about the civilian ships, or even the military support vessels? Someone has to move the supplies from Planet A to Planet B, right? Well, thankfully we have Blake Foster, who has made us a small, minifig scale Neo-Classic Space (NCS) cargo shuttle. Called the Blue Lobster because it grips two containers at a time in its mechanical claws and it’s blue, it is the ship you hire for small jobs, when you don’t want to spend an entire nation’s GDP to move a few crates. The coherent color scheme...

Early last year, I wrote an article about a pair of LEGO meerkats and mentioned the species’ vigilance and protectiveness. And it’s true, these little guys are one of the most family-oriented animals in the world. It’s the job of every member to take a fearless rotation as babysitter or sentry, and when there’s danger they act as one “mob” to defend themselves. Quite impressive! When I saw this build by Felix Jaensch, I swore I had seen it before. But maybe that’s just because he’s such an incredible artist of lifelike LEGO art. While these guys are certainly impressive, I wouldn’t even say this is his best build. We’ve featured many more, including a rabbit, macaque, red panda, hamster, kestrel, and blue and gold macaw. The post The strength of family appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Bre Burns

We have all known that person at some point. The one who says something and all you can do is silently give them that judging gaze. Sometimes they’re even a friend. And you love them, but man are they weird. This build by Gregory Coquelz, inspired by the writings of author China Miéville, perfectly captures that moment. Maybe it’s the slurping in the middle of a very serious Dungeons and Dragons quest. Whatever thought bubbles you give the scene, the characters and their outfits tell a great story. You can see more of Gregory’s work by visiting our archives. The post The classic side-eye appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Bre Burns

Ludwig van Beethoven is known across the world as one of the greatest composers who ever lived. He ranks among the most famous and influential musicians of all time. So naturally, there are plenty of busts of his form in colleges, museums, and concert halls all over the globe. But how many are made with LEGO? Steven Howard has expertly rendered one, complete with note-studded parchment. The stern face, flowing locks, large collar, and ascot make Ludwig instantly recognizable. But one of the best aspects of this creation are the expressive eyebrows, shaped using Wampa horns. There are a lot of musical builds coming together for a LEGO Ideas contest right now. You might want to try your hand! If you’d just like to see other musical masterpieces, keep an eye out for more cool content, or visit our music archives. The post A bust-y composition appeared first on The Brothers Brick....

LEGO has revealed the Technic 42111 Dom’s Dodge Charger, a 1,077-piece set depicting the iconic car driven by Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) in the Fast & Furious film franchise. The 1:13 scale model features details from its on-screen inspiration like a V8 engine, double-wishbone suspension, a wheelie bar and a few extra nitro bottles in the trunk. The set announcement comes only a mere two months after we first reported that LEGO had entered into a partnership with the Fast & Furious film franchise. Dom’s Dodge Charger will retail for US $99.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £89.99 with pre-orders available immediately. The sets will become globally available on April 27th. LEGO TECHNIC GOES FULL THROTTLE WITH DOM’S DODGE CHARGER SET FROM THE FAST & FURIOUS FRANCHISE 30 March 2020, Billund: Muscle car lovers and Fast & Furious fans are getting set for the ultimate thrill. Today, the LEGO Group and...

While stuck at home in quarantine or self-isolation, people need fun activities to pass the time. One popular activity is building LEGO sets and designing new creations. If you don’t have LEGO to build with, you can still appreciate other people’s creations online, like Mihai Marius Mihu’s wise owl. And once you’re done appreciating it, this LEGO owl has a new activity for you, read a book! Well, assuming you can get it out from under his sharp talons. I absolutely love the use of 1×2 slopes as the plumage. The waves they’re arranged in makes the owls chest look especially fluffy. The post Be wise like the owl, read a book appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: David Guedes

In the non-LEGO “real” world, I work in innovation, developing ideas for new products, mostly in the world of drinks. Doing work like this, you come across multiple techniques for enhancing creativity and improving idea generation. In my experience, one of the most effective is the setting of constraints and rules around what you’re trying to do. Although it seems counterintuitive, the narrowing of possibility, the scaling-back of the intimidating blank canvas, gives more permission and opportunity for creativity. That’s where my recent Hover Car Racer models came from. In a bid to get past a bout of “builders’ block,” I set myself some constraints — a handful of key elements which would be common across the models, but beyond those, each racer could vary in design. The “rules” I set myself: bold color styling, a whiff of a muscle car, elements of asymmetry, and an enclosed cockpit. I’m really pleased...

Two brightly-coloured wagons are home to a band of travelling folk in Andrea Lattanzio‘s latest LEGO model. Life on the road has never looked so inviting, with the bold colors of the mobile homes enhanced with bursts of flowers, and the scene stuffed with functional-looking details. I love the hanging tassels, the little chimney stacks, and the clutter of bags and lanterns and buckets. Don’t miss the use of minifigure hats as flower-pots, and the catapults used for the legs on the fortune teller’s table. The post Life on the road appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

We see lots of LEGO buildings and battles, from sci-fi through to fantasy scenes. What we don’t see as often are brick-built “special effects” which capture the dynamism and danger of an explosion as well as in Joseph Zawada‘s siege scene. Chunks of masonry and minifigures go flying in different directions, and trans-red and yellow projectile bars effectively create a feeling of energy and heat as the blast tears the castle wall to pieces. The wall and castle gate sport a gnarly level of texture and some smart arches to break up the expanse of grey, and the wider landscaping provides an effective backdrop for the combat action. But it’s the explosion which catches the eye and makes this feel like a still from some epic movie. I feel sorry for the castle’s defenders — it looks like there’s another boom coming with that trebuchet unleashing the next bombardment. The post...