The cherry tree in blossom has a particular significance in Japanese culture, acting as a metaphor for the Buddhist idea of the transience of life. As a result, Ayerlego’s choice to showcase the vibrant pink blooms in his LEGO recreation of an elegant Japanese garden adds an extra level of authenticity to his build. The tree is expertly constructed, carefully arranging its multiple flower stem elements to create the symbolically significant firework-like burst of colour. Setting it against well-selected additions such as the ornamental fish statuettes at the bridgehead, and kimono girl mini-figure completes an aesthetically pleasing display of traditional Japanese life. The post Under the cherry blossoms appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: David Alexander Smith

Are you ready to rock? That’s what David Liu is asking with his latest LEGO creation — a selection of excellent brick-built musical instruments. There’s a classic Flying-V electric guitar and amp, a synth, a full drum kit, and an acoustic guitar. Now the band might be lacking a little in the bass department, but this is still an impressive line-up of gear. The guitars show nice shaping for the scale employed, and the keyboard is packed with details — don’t miss those black keys, raised and correctly spaced! The full line-up of instruments is great, but the highlight for me is that drum kit. Worthy of a closer look, especially the sweet parts use for the tripods and drum kit legs… The post New York, London, Paris, Munich, everybody talk about block music appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

A brief video teaser featuring the Blizzard’s Overwatch game’s lead designer, Jeff Kaplan, assembling a LEGO Tracer minifigure has just been published via the developer’s official social media channels. This appears to be the first official look at the upcoming LEGO Overwatch sets since Activision-Blizzard’s announcement of the licensing back in May. Unfortunately, no official release date has been given yet, but we can’t wait to see all the new LEGO sets! Watch the teaser below: The post LEGO Overwatch building set teaser reveals Tracer minifigure [News] appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Nick

Prolific model builder Aaron Newman is back with another foray into the (LEGO) Wizarding World. This microscale scene is itself an homage to builder Aaron’s own minifigure scale Tale of the Three Brothers from back in April of this year. The pieces Aaron’s chosen to replicate his own work in a smaller scale are spot-on: bullwhips replacing flex tubing, statuettes replacing minifigures, and perhaps the funniest and most appropriate detail is the microscale Elderwand represented by a minifig-scale wand now grasped by the formerly-larger-than-life figure of Death. I suppose the only question I’m left with is whether Aaron will attempt this scene in yet another scale in the future? This LEGO model was built as an entry for TBB’s Microscale Magic contest. Coverage on TBB of an entry will not be taken into consideration during judging, and will have no effect on its ability to win, either positively or negatively. The...

Do you ever get the feeling we are living in a simulation? One of the greatest cinema moments of the nineties has been brought to life in LEGO by Douglas Hughes in this scene from The Matrix where Neo asks, puzzled, “I know Kung Fu?” Morpheus looks at him quizzically and challenges, “Show me.” Douglas has captured the simple complexity of the dojo beautifully, adding special lighting for the sword racks. With its stark lines and contrasting colours, Neo deftly dodges one of Morpheus’s relentless attacks. The post Come on, stop trying to hit me and hit me! appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jonathan

There are a bunch of classy LEGO microscale building techniques on display in this island castle put together by Henjin_Quilones. The island’s rockwork and sparse greenery are neatly-done, but don’t miss the sandwiched grille tiles creating tiny windows in the rock face, the Technic “weapon barrel” wheels to give texture to the larger round towers, and the clever use of half-plate gaps to create arrow slit style openings. The highlight for me is the use of angled grille bricks to provide the steps up from the little jetty — it’s a microscale technique we’ve seen before, but placing it front and centre adds a touch of detail at a scale which makes the whole creation feel much bigger than it really is. The post The castle is small, but it’s perfectly formed appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

LEGO has announced it is going green with the re-release of an old fan-favorite set currently owned by very few: the 10268 Vestas Wind Turbine. The original set (numbered 4999) was released a decade ago as a limited production run for Vestas, a sustainable energy company, and never saw wider availability. That changes on Black Friday. Following in the path of the last year’s re-released 10256 Taj Mahal, LEGO is “opening the vault” once again with a slightly updated rendition of the Creator Expert Vestas Wind Turbine. The set comes with 826 pieces (11 more than the first version), three minifigures, a dog, and Power Functions motor and lights, as well as the first spruce tree element made from plants available in a retail set. https://www.brothers-brick.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/10168-Vestas-Wind-Turbine-Spin.mp4 The set is slightly more than three feet tall (one meter) and will retail at $199.99 USD from LEGO (coming in at $249.99 CA and...

As the month of September draws closer to an end, so too, the month-long annual epic that is SHIPtember. The challenge of building a spacecraft that measures at least 100 studs in any direction (AKA a SHIP) in a single month is no easy accomplishment. One of the most critical aspects of a good SHIP is its structural frame, requiring careful crafting to keep the vessel from falling apart under its own weight without looking too bulky or boxy. This ship by Chris Perron is a great example of this balance, combining form with industrial function. Another hallmark of the SHIPtember shipyard comes from making use of parts not typically thought of as spaceship parts, like the trapezoidal orange dump truck ends so expertly used by Chris to form the hexagonal sections along the fuselage. Another great detail are the flat gold flanges in front formed by angled tiles. The post...

Chun Li was the first female character to appear in a beat-em-up, bursting onto arcade and console screens in Street Fighter II in 1991. John Cheng has built a cool chibi-styled LEGO version of the character. The outfit and stance make the model immediately recognisable, with all the signature elements present and correct — the white boots, the split skirt, the gold embroidery on the bodice, and the buns in the hair. Put that attention to detail together with a supercute big-headed anime styling and you’ve got a cracking LEGO creation. Spinning helicopter kick for the win — KO! The post Chun Li – Queen of Fighters appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

Prominent video game-inspired LEGO builder Marius Herrmann from Germany is back with another remarkable brick bot, this time in collaboration with developer/publisher Konami. Say hello to Jehuty, a mechanical Orbital Frame suit piloted by the protagonists of the Zone of the Enders video game saga. There is an amazing amount of articulation to be found across multiple joints and accessories. Newer parts like the bar w/ round plate hollow stud make an appearance in the wingtips and hands, and some larger, sleek “constraction” pieces in key positions on the arms and inner thighs provide a nice contrast to the more piece-intensive torso and limbs. For comparison, here’s some art of the original Jehuty: This model comes with the added bonus of instructions and a parts list and you can see a timelapse video of the build as well! The post Build your own LEGO Jehuty from Zone of the Enders [Instructions]...