Every year since 2009, LEGO has released an addition to their Winter Village theme. Following last year’s 10259 Winter Village Station, LEGO has revealed that the model for 2018 will be another type of station —  a fire station! 10263 Winter Village Fire Station includes 1,166 pieces, six minifigures and a baby, a Dalmatian, red fire truck, frozen fountain and a Christmas tree.The set will retail for $99.99 starting on October 1, with LEGO VIP availability beginning on September 13.It has been six years since the yearly holiday set followed the loose Winter Village formula of a front-facing building that could be easily incorporated into a city street. 10229 Winter Village Cottage was the last set in that vein (excluding the re-release of 10249 Winter Toy Shop). Since then, the sets have been much more varied in size and shape represented by the carousel of the 10235 Winter Village Market, the angled...

Unlike building with LEGO, playing board games implies very specific elements of luck, strategy, and competition. It’s very hard to draw parallels between building with plastic pieces and spending hours over a board moving tokens back and forth. So when the two universes meet each other, the result can be absolutely unpredictable — just like 40198 LEGO Ludo Game, the new LEGO version of the famous Ludo board game. The set consists of 389 pieces, includes a small army of 16 minifigures and retails at $39.99/€39.99. And could I have imagined how much fun was hidden inside the box..? What is Ludo? Ludo is one of the simplest board games that came from medieval India, where it was known as Pachisi. Modern version of Ludo, also known variously as Pachisi, Parcheesi, Sorry!, Trouble, or Aggravation, is played by 2, 3, or 4 players on a square-shaped board consisting of a cross-shaped...

The Netflix original series Stanger Things was an instant cult classic, and has led to a number of LEGO creations inspired by some of its memorable cast of characters, including a tribute to Barb by our own Iain Heath. This latest creation by Casey McCoy features the older teens from the show and they are instantly recognizable versions of their on-screen inspirations. While fairly simple in construction, the models feature some nice techniques in the shaping of clothing and hair. I thought the purposeful miss-alignment of 1×1 bricks to create textured fabric for the pants was very effective. Want to see more from Stranger Things? Check out our previously covered full line-up ofBrickHeadz by the same builder. The post Stranger Things teen line-up appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel

When it comes to post-apocalyptic LEGO creations, there is a vast selection of sub-genres that builders are inspired by, from cyber-punk, to wasteland survival, to monster/zombie/alien-infested worlds… and so many more. This scene by LegoFin. is set in a world where massive flooding and pollution have forced survivors to carve out a life among the crumbling remains of cities. Aside from some very well-textured and very broken walls, I especially like the use of black bars throughout the structure for re-bar. This creates an even greater sense of danger and hostility in the environment. One missable detail is that the entire outpost is supported by a few small supports precariously balanced over the water. Then there’s all those utilitarian details like the radio tower, weather vane, and solar panels that complete the scene very nicely. The post Surviving the apocalypse is all about a well-provisioned outpost appeared first on The Brothers...

If you’re any kind of self-respecting Harry Potter fan, you know about the Mirror of Erised. Even more importantly, you know one of the most famous quotes of the entire series. As Dumbledore says, “It does not do to dwell on dreams, and forget to live.” These noble words that resonate with us all come at a pivotal point in the storyline. Now that scene has been masterfully re-created in LEGO stop-motion by Geertos13 who also voices the young wizard. The post An iconic Harry Potter scene, filmed in LEGO stop-motion [Video] appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Bre Burns

This charming little village is the home of an exotic mineral. At first glance you wouldn’t notice that this is where pearling is done. But as you look closer, you begin to see the story told by builder Ayrlego. As villagers go about their day, two women sit in the top corner, opening the clamshells. The rockwork and landscaping are nice, as well as the angles of the buildings, and the little scenes are simple but clever and cute. My favorite part is actually the fish racks at the bottom, using pirate hooks to hang them up for drying. Like this build? Ayrlego is a great storyteller, and we’ve covered several other creations that are even better! You’ll find the beauty in the fine details of this jaguar sighting, these navy barracks, and this research center. The post A humble village containing a luxurious treasure appeared first on The Brothers Brick....

We’ve been featuring the excellent LEGO models of Polish builder Jarek for more than ten years. While Jarek builds across many LEGO themes, he is perhaps best known for his highly detailed LEGO Star Wars vehicles, from the sleek A-wing back in 2008 and a 2-meter-long Imperial Star Destroyer to Darth Vader’s TIE Advanced just a few months ago. And yet, Jarek has never before built the iconic X-wing starfighter — until now. The Incom T-65 X-wing is a particularly challenging craft to render in LEGO due to its harsh angles and distinctive details. As one of the most recognizable vehicles in the Star Wars universe, as well as a frequent subject of official LEGO sets, like the recent 75218 X-wing Starfighter. As a result, even casual fans tend to catch even the smallest inconsistencies and inaccuracies. One key aspect of “real” X-wings is that they are actually gray, not white....

Amidst the summer heat, Josephine Monterosso’s brick-built grapes look quite refreshing, not to mention realistic. They look like they were just picked off the vine, right down to the green leaf hanging off the end of the stem (the leaf appears to be a green minifig cape). The grapes themselves are purple Technic ball joints, a part which has been around since 2001 but never appeared in dark purple until this year (you can find it in sets 76103 & 41342). A good part can be made even better with the proper technique, and I especially love how Josephine used plant pieces to create a very organic looking bunch of grapes. Bon appétit! The post Built it through the grapevine appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Matt Hocker

Back in 2016, Koen treated us to his magical take on Disney’s iconic Mouse. Two years later, in a response to LEGO’s own BrickHeadz versions, he’s redesigned his model of Mickey as well as adding Minnie to the mix. It just goes to show how much a year or two means in terms of the evolution of LEGO elements; Koen improving on the rounded shaping of the characters’ heads with new curved tiles as well as using the printed eyelash piece for Minnie’s eyes. The design of Minnie’s bow, with its single stud polka dots, and her brick-built shoes, demonstrate some seriously clever building too. The result: a brilliantly realised recreation of our favourite cartoon couple. The post Now we got ears it’s time for cheers appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: David Alexander Smith

LEGO’s fantasy RPG-lite board game series Heroica may not have seen all much success with adult gamers or builders, but I’d be willing to bet if the boards had looked more like this upgraded version by Kale Frost, there would have been a great deal more interest. With some lovely sculpting, Kale has created an interactive map that retains the checkerboard movement squares for the players, while adding fun micro-builds for the various locations. For details, the scattered trans light blue cheese slopes in the water add a nice bit of motion to the seas, while the robot arms make great bridge railings. Kale notes that he’s planning to expand the game board to make an even bigger playing area, so we can’t wait to see else is in store for these tiny adventurers! The post Heroica kicked up a notch appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Chris