At The Brothers Brick, we tend to specialize in certain kinds of news, LEGO creations, and reviews, but thanks to our partnerships with other LEGO websites, we’re able to bring you more kinds of content. Please enjoy this excellent article that originally appeared on New Elementary. Here at New Elementary we usually talk about new shapes and colours of LEGO® elements but today we’re looking at a new material from which some botanical elements are now being made. By 2030, The LEGO Group (TLG) intend to use sustainable materials in all of their core products and packaging. This article is a collaboration between Are J. Heiseldal who met TLG employees Matt Whitby (Environmental Responsibility Engagement) and Bistra Andersen (Senior Materials Platform Manager) at LEGO Fan Media Days in Billund, Tim Johnson, and Elspeth De Montes who has her hands on the limited edition gift-with-purchase set, 40320 Plants from Plants. Thanks also...

“But live every minute for all that is in it, for the life of a pirate is short…” In celebration of pirate living, here comes Lego Fjotten‘s pirate-themed carnival float — featuring a rascally-looking crew attempting to evade the guns of an Imperial fort. The ship is simply done but perfectly shaped for this scale, whilst the fort is absolutely packed with detail and texture. Don’t miss the rockwork at its base, the construction of the palm tree, and the clever assortment of bricks used in the walls. Great use of the new Harry Potter wands as hinges on that front door too. Despite its tight footprint this model perfectly captures the fun and adventure that belong in a LEGO Pirates creation. All together now… “Aaaarrrr!” The post A pirate’s life is a wonderful life – filled with adventure and sport appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

The shining white utopian future — so popular with the science fiction writers and illustrators of the 1960s — may well have gone out of fashion, but this hasn’t stopped builder Klaus exploring the theme. Built in microscale, his series of architectural models of a future metropolis use predominately standard bricks, similar to those found in 21050 Studio set, in smart repetitive sequences. The bustling administration complex adds stacked mudguard elements to build its towers, whilst a cigarillo shaped blimp circles overhead. The aerospace port neatly matches a white half golf ball element to its whitewashed layout, suggesting hi-tech radar equipment; elsewhere a white technic beam provides a row of porthole windows. Meanwhile at the agricultural plant, stacks of single green studs happily grow under perspex domes. These and the other components of Klaus’s metropolis bring to mind that special kind of contemporary nostalgia, nostalgia for a future that never was....

Toys R Us, which is still operating in a number of countries despite its well-publicized bankruptcy in the United States, has today uploaded images of four new LEGO minifigure packs. These have traditionally been offered as part of Toys R Us’ annual Bricktober promotion, though unlike previous years, this year’s packages are devoid of any Toys R Us or Bricktober-specific branding. Consequently, we can’t confirm yet if these will be exclusive to Toys R Us, especially given the retailer’s drastically reduced market share. The four packs are each themed to a specific license, featuring Harry Potter, Jurassic World, Marvel Super Heroes, and Ninjago, and include a number of exclusive characters. Update: LEGO has confirmed on Twitter that these sets will be coming to Barnes & Noble in the United States, though likely with a different timeline than the Toys R Us packs in other parts of the world. Update 2: LEGO...

My head hurts in a good way while looking at this intriguing build by Sheo. There’s so much to look at more closely to figure out how the flooring tessellation effect was achieved. The walls are an especially enigmatic and puzzling construction with a smooth look that belies its complexity. What also makes this scene great is how the structured hard-edged build, which looks like it came out of a sci-fi world, is also laced with tentacles, and various other organic odds and ends such as claws to add some life to the scene. The backdrop certainly does steal the limelight, but the seemingly lost droids still deserve a callout for all the interesting parts they use blend in with the theme. See how many unusual elements you can identify in the droids. The post My sensors are not picking up anything. Where do we go now? appeared first on The Brothers...

The Final Fantasy video game franchise has been going strong for over thirty years, but of its many incarnations, the 1997 Playstation release of Final Fantasy VII continues to hold a special place in my heart. TBB regular Moko has reignited my nostalgia with a beautiful rendering of the game’s protagonist, Cloud Strife. What really makes this version of Cloud unique is Moko’s commitment to remaining faithful to the original in-game character design. Like his 32-bit counterpart, brick-built Cloud is a little blocky and rough around the edges but full of brilliant charm. I love that the figure is fully poseable, and Moko did an excellent job of capturing the character’s iconic golden, spiky hair. It would be great to see the game’s other characters recreated in this style. The post This brick-built Final Fantasy character takes it to the “limit break.” appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Matt...

There have been many entries in the continuing Isles of Aura saga, a series of floating islands creations, but I wanted to spend some time touring Isaac and John Snyder’s latest effort: the Town of Khevroa. We’ve previously featured models from the Isles after the concept’s genesis as Models Inspired by Music and later with Brother Stevens’ Sunset Slumber among others. However, this latest scene has some great examples of packing a lot of detail and building variety into one small town. The builders have thought of everything — the frosty village includes quite a selection of businesses and town staples such as an inn, apothecary, bakery, and even a laundromat. They have also utilized an impressive array of roofing techniques which should serve as an excellent tutorial for anyone looking to break into the castle-building scene. I particularly like the dark blue peaked top of the gazebo, which doesn’t use any...

Sometimes I wonder which would be the slower vehicle — the paver that lays asphalt on roads, or the Zamboni ice resurfacer. While I’m pondering over it, here’s a Zamboni build to add to your city ice skating rink for all minifigure inhabitants to enjoy a smooth slidin’ surface to skate on, courtesy of de-marco. And best yet, you can build it yourself with these video instructions. The post Is the Zamboni the slowest vehicle ever made? [Instructions] appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Edwinder

Prepare for action in hostile territory with Ben “Spaceship!” Smith’s phenomenal APC transport, the DT-92 Rigellian Dropship. Technically, I’ve led off this article with the money shot of the rear 3/4 of the ship, because I am enamored with Ben’s gorgeous engine arrangement. There are crisp lines to follow all over the ship and clean color blocking in its asymmetrical form. The dropship deviates from the predominantly aerodynamic characteristics of the spacecraft we’re used to seeing in TV and movies – which is a great subject to explore as we approach SHIPtember when many in the spaceship-loving LEGO community will put out massive plastic spacecraft in a tight timeframe. The dropship has some really fun bits scattered throughout the model but one of the features I think gets a little lost in the dramatic photo lighting is the VTOL engines that appear as if they would actually swivel on 2×2-stud turntables...

Sometimes the best designs come from constraints. When it comes to LEGO creations, builders are constrained by the size of their collection or the colors that LEGO elements are available in. In the case of this lovely model of a Bullfinch by Peter Ilmrud, one of the constraints is a glass dome from Ikea to keep his creations dust-free. If this looks familiar, there’s a good reason. We recently featured Peter’s Aladdin vignette also designed to fit under a glass dome. This Bullfinch, based on the LEGO Ideas Birds set 21301 fits perfectly atop a snow-covered branch, looking rather stately. I can almost hear chirping. The tree is skillfully constructed to fit inside the glass dome, without feeling too cramped, or too minimal. The curved wall at the base provides a nice anchor to the scene and the use of loosely poured ice-cream scoops as freshly fallen snow is perfect. The...