J. R. R. Tolkien’s fantasy world of Middle-earth, best known from The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit books and films, has shaped much of modern fantasy. Indeed, LEGO builders have been finding inspiration there for a very long time, in the recent years even more so with the support of the official LEGO themes based on the movies. Over the years, we’ve seen multiple collaborative projects appear both as online galleries and convention displays; however, we think this latest initiative is among the most impressive. The massive collaborative project includes 10 builders and 13 creations depicting different locations and events of the Third Age of the Sun. The project consists of dioramas of varying sizes and styles, although modern castle-themed builds tend to have moderately standardized techniques and styles in the fan community. This makes for a very consistent group project, while still letting each builder’s individual style shine...

There’s only 1 week remaining to build an entry for our Microscale Magic contest and have a chance to win the biggest Harry Potter set of them all, the massive 6,000-piece 71043 Hogwarts Castle! There are some great entries already, but we think our readers might have a few more excellent scenes up their sleeves, or maybe even still in your imaginations. So don’t delay, as the contest ends before the stroke of midnight Sept. 30. We have two categories for you to enter with big or small creations, each with their own awesome prizes. And the person who builds best in both categories will get their very own 71043 Hogwarts Castle, the largest LEGO Harry Potter set ever. BIG category award: 75954 Hogwarts Great Hall + 41615 HP BrickHeadz (prize worth $115 and donated by TBB)SMALL category award: 75953 Hogwarts Whomping Willow + 41615 HP BrickHeadz (prize worth $85 and donated by TBB)MASTER...

LEGO builder bbchai brings a bit of old-school class to the scene, to the tune of a lovely violin and bow paired with a bust of the famous musician Mozart. This wonderful composition would look great on any music lover’s desk. The clips which make up the embroidery on Mozart’s jacket are a superbly simple technique that works perfectly, and the lightsaber handles for the wig’s white curls are similarly great. The violin and bow are masterpieces as well, with the plate 1×2 with handle making for excellent F-holes. Of course, they have a nifty little stand to hold them with the care they deserve.  The post A note from the maestro appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Chris

Kass, the Rito minstrel from Zelda: Breath of the Wild is captured perfectly in this neat LEGO bust by Markus Rollbühler. The model makes great use of dark turquoise amongst more regular LEGO colours to capture the character’s bright plumage, and it looks like there’s a complex structure underneath it all to deliver the shaping, with bricks and tiles facing in multiple directions. The printed eye tile is a perfect choice, rotated out of it’s usual “frown” position, to evoke Kass’ cheerful disposition. Surely the challenge now is for Markus to build the rest of the character, accordion and all. Come on Markus, don’t let us down! The post I happen to know a song about the ancient hero... appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

This article is the third and final installment in a series. Read about the LEGO Grumman E-1 Tracer Part 1 and Part 2 here. In the last four weeks, I have been building a LEGO scale model of a Grumman E-1 Tracer aircraft. Part 1 described how I planned the build, and Part 2 dealt with how I built some of the difficult bits; in this, the third and final part, I explain how I built the last bits, and present the finished model. For weeks this build seemed to progress really slowly. I know that for some builders September means building huge spaceships. It took me most of this month to build just the radome, the nose, the wings and the engine nacelles. When I started building the fuselage, however, it felt like I had reached the home stretch. All of a sudden things went really quickly. Building the final parts wasn’t...

We recently featured some terrific turn-of-the-century LEGO steam cars by Krzysztof Pusz. He’s back again, this time with some excellent steampunk vehicles. My absolute favorite is the monowheel, which puts the otherwise bulky Ninjago Airjitzu Flyer propeller blades to excellent use. I love how the internal mechanics are visible within the blades, and the side-mounted periscope solves the problem of “driving blind.” I’m not sure what the significance of the baby bunny is, but I like it. Krzysztof has supplemented his steampunk universe with two other delightful models, one of which is his plane named the Golden Arrow. Incorporating Bionicle elements into the front end of the body looks appropriate for the subject matter. It also looks like the pilot has a hamster friend….I’m starting to notice a theme here. Last but not least is the Bulbulator. It’s bulky form almost reminds me of military transport, which is probably why we...

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the fourth week of September 2018. TBB NEWS & REVIEWS: Christmas is coming early with a few holiday themed sets as well as other news, sales and some instructions. Review of LEGO Creator 10263 Winter Village Fire Station – With 1,166 pieces for $99.99 USD, is this newest set going to be a new holiday tradition?LEGO Christmas Holiday BrickHeadz revealed – Mr. and Mrs. Claus are coming to town in BrickHeadz form a few months before the holiday.LEGO Cube revealed, the first ever open-world, sandbox LEGO game for mobile – Designed for mobile platforms, the game is in partnership with Chinese company Tencent.Citizen Brick Day 5.5 brings short-run prototypes and other rare minifigs – A couple times a year, Citizen Brick...

Angry Carrot is out for vengeance. It looks like Bunny is in a whole heap of trouble in this fun creation by Tyler Clites. The carrot is nicely shaped, and immediately recognisable with its burst of green leaves. Ball and socket Mixel joints give the mutant vegetable’s limbs some good poseability, but it’s the facial expressions which steal the show here. The half-strangled rabbit looks more than a little distressed with its protruding tongue and bulging eyes, and the carrot’s features are perfect — the curve of that eyebrow is the perfect addition to the asymmetrical eyes, creating a tonne of character with just a handful of pieces. The post The vegetable’s revenge appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

It really shows when a builder knows their subject, and that is absolutely the case here! According to Luis Peña his 1:200 scale LEGO model of a Type 23 frigate in Chilean Navy service was built with the aim of reproducing as many of its details and equipment as possible. Every aspect of the build, form the various surveillance and control radar to the ship’s 4.5 inch Mark 8 naval gun is a miniature replica of its real world counterpart. My personal favourite features, though, have to be the microscale Cougar SH32 helicopter perched on its landing pad, and the Sea Wolf anti-air missiles’ vertical launching system, which Luis has built in epic mid-launch. The post A fabulous frigate full of fantastic features appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: David Alexander Smith

Patty Rau has launched Cinderella into space aboard the FGP When You Wish Upon A Star. There’s a lot to love about this LEGO spaceship. The bulbous midsection is a great nod to the vehicle’s origin as a pumpkin. The ship also contains elements from all three minidoll-scale versions of Cinderella’s carriage: printed inverse slopes from Cinderella’s Carriage (2016), printed curved slopes from Cinderella’s Dream Carriage (2014), and gold filagrees from Cinderella’s Enchanted Evening. It seems like Patty is doing a series of Disney Princess spaceships, as she has also created one for Aurora from Sleeping Beauty. Apparently Sweet Mayhem isn’t the only minidoll with a spaceship. The post Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boldly Go Where No Princess Has Gone Before appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: David Pickett