Ah, robots. Despite not being alive, somehow they manage to capture our hearts. Try hating WALL-E or R2-D2. Try it, I dare you. I knew you couldn’t. I suspect they’re just trying to soften us up for the impending AI overthrow of humanity, but in the meantime, it’s fun to think about helpful and friendly sentient robots. Take this one by Grant Masters; it’s inspired by the movie Elysium, and is here helping this child who broke his leg. Adorable, right? See the trust in that kid’s eyes? Any moment now the robot will rip his face off with those pincer hands and stomp on him with those grille and roller skate feet. The greebles and textures look perfect, and the contrast between the body plates in white and the technical stuff underneath in black makes for a sharp image. Almost as sharp as those pincer hands. The post The prelude...

Builder Koen Van Der Biest is a master of the brick built figure. His subjects are many and include a range of well-known video game and cartoon characters. This time he goes meta-LEGO with this collection of charming Fabuland characters. I’m a huge fan of Fabuland and these recreations are spot on from Walter Walrus’ anchor to the cat’s cute bow. The faces are nicely rendered and perfectly capture the original characters’ personalities. I, for one, would love to see LEGO bring this theme back. Maybe revamped with a collaboration with Nintendo for some future Animal Crossing sets? I would be first in line! The post Get fabulous with these brick-built Fabuland characters! appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Flynn

Did you know that some people hypothesize the name “walrus” originated from the Danish word “hvalros” meaning sea horse or cow? So naturally, walruses and Denmark-based LEGO would go hand in hand! (Or flipper in brick, I suppose.) And this lovely brick-built pinniped created by Andreas Lenander is as adorable as they come. Look at those little tusks! Speaking of tusks, part of their scientific name, Odobenus, means “tooth-walker” and refers to how they drag themselves out of the water by those giant canines. So now you know! If you would like to check out more animal builds, take a look at this lifesize-(ish) rat, an elegant buck, or a fishing grizzly bear. We’ve even featured the walrus’s vulnerable neighbor, the polar bear. The post The cutest of sea cows appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Bre Burns

LEGO Masters has aired its second episode, and the first team has been chosen to go home. The Brothers Brick had the opportunity to sit down with them and talk about their experience, what it was like to build under pressure, and what the reaction has been to appearing on the reality show. In the interview conducted jointly with BZPower and True North Bricks, the team talks about how it felt to change directions halfway into a challenge, what they would have done differently, and what advice they have for contestants on LEGO Masters Season 2. If you haven’t yet watched the episode, be warned that there will be some spoilers! If you’ve watched the episode, by now you’ll know we’re talking about the loveably quirky team of Kara and Jessie. What did you take from your experience on LEGO Masters and how will it help you move forward? Jesse: For...

I love it when builders follow a story through their LEGO creations over the course of years. One such story is the adventure of Jimmy and Bill, by Eli Willsea. Each build has a similar style and atmosphere, but works perfectly well as a standalone scene. The most recent one was featured here in 2017, but the first scene was built way back in 2015! Now that is dedication! The builder has titled this scene “Deeper” and his description only states; “further than ever before”. Indeed, Eli has gone further with his textures, details, composition and lighting. Notice the dark tan Bucket handles stuck into the bottoms of 1×2 bricks and the bars slotted in between two 1×2 bricks with center grooves, in particular. The composition really pops with the circular hole and with the waterfall flowing cleanly into it. This water was a topic of discussion between friends and me;...

Proving he’s no slacker when it comes to building posable LEGO figures, Eero Okkonen is at it again. This time he has conjured up a female warrior in stunning blue and gold armor. Her skirt is of particularly sweet part usage and her bright blue plume is four Bo Peep staffs found only in two sets. While everything is quite impressive, I’d like to call special attention to the morning star itself. The dangerous-looking flails are headless blue bats. That’s just…wow! You can find that part in only the Shimmer and Shine Sparkle Spa, a set that was wholly passed up by me because…I fancy myself more Team Jacob than Team Edward. Is there ever an inappropriate time for Twilight jokes? Probably not. But my guess is if you crack jokes of any kind around this warrior her morning star and plume of bright blue just might be the last things...

Love it or hate it, LEGO occasionally changes up their color palette. Personally, I’m in favor of having more color options. Okay, maybe I’m still bitter about the replacement of “grey” with “bluish grey” back in 2004. But otherwise, I’m good with it. If nothing else, it gives builders a reason to go back and tweak previous creations with an updated look. Bruce Lowell, for example, has applied a new skin to his 2012 version of Mr. Potato Head. While the older version’s body was perfectly adequate in dark tan, this new iteration uses medium nougat brick. This shade is a lot closer to the colors used by Playskool, and makes Bruce’s tribute even closer to the real thing. There are also improvements to the arms and hands, making use of new pieces like the 1×1 round tile with connection that was first introduced in 2015. I never thought I’d be...

Sometimes it’s easy to look at a LEGO model and over-complicate the build process. But this Mario Bros mystery cube isn’t tough to make, and designer Tiago Catarino is happy to show you how! As you follow along you’ll find that it’s actually pretty easy! Now imagine all the ways you can customize it to create other boxes, both inside and outside the Mario universe. Many builders have explored similar creations. Check out this awesome collection of cubes! Can’t get enough Mario Bros? Check out our archives of incredible builds! The post Building this Super Mario block is no mystery! [Instructions] appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Bre Burns

Maybe it’s because this retro shape was so commonly illustrated in children’s books but, when I was a child learning to draw, I’d put pencil (or crayon) to paper and all my airplanes turned out pretty much like this. Without even knowing its name, I seemed aware that this is what the quintessential airplane should look like. Luis Peña not only provides  me its name — Douglas DC-3C — but a stunning 1:40 scale LEGO model, which is much harder to build than to draw. A trip to the National Aeronautical and Space Museum in Santiago, Chile inspired this model. He tells us that LAN Chile bought several of these craft in 1946 after they were originally used as cargo planes during World War II, then refurbished them for a second life as passenger planes. This particular model measures 73 cm (28.74 in.) wide and 49 cm (19.29 in.) long. To...

Sixty-two years ago today on January 28, 1958, Godtfred Kirk Christiansen submitted a patent application for a toy building brick which was approved six months later. That patent for his “highly sophisticated inter-locking brick system” has since led to LEGO becoming one of the largest toy companies on the globe. The original Danish patent not only covered a single brick but an entire building system where multiple interlocking plastic building elements “could be put together in a great number of mutually different positions” including several early brick designs pictured below, courtesy of LEGO. So let’s celebrate our love of LEGO today by building a new set or seeing what LEGO was doing the decade we were born. Sort those parts you’ve needed to, create something new from scratch, or re-build that one LEGO set you loved as a kid. Play well, everyone. Want to know more about the history of LEGO...