Martin Sanders, LEGO’s Director of Innovation took the stage to showcase LEGO’s integration with Apple’s new revelation of ARKit 2 during the 2018 World Wide Developers Conference in San Jose earlier this week. ARKit 2 is a platform that allows developers like LEGO to integrate shared experiences, bringing together a virtual experienced tied to a physical play set. Martin showcased the physical Assembly Square Creator Modular Set as the main centrepiece. The ARKit featured integration into the LEGO Application detected the build and automagically built a virtual version of the Downtown Diner Modular and Brick Bank side by side with virtual sidewalks, grass and roads and other city accessories, combining the digital and physical set. The science behind it is about detecting and tracking where the real physical Assembly Square as a starting point and building everything else around with the capability to continuously track and update all players with the...

We’ve been pretty excited about the new Pleistocene megafauna (large, extinct Ice Age animals like mammoths and saber-toothed cats) in the LEGO City Arctic sets released on June 1st, particularly after we had a chance to play with them during the Fall 2018 Preview event in New York City a couple weeks ago. With the sets now on store shelves, we’re digging in to bring you an even closer look at the new vehicles and creatures, starting with 60195 Arctic Mobile Exploration Base, which includes 786 pieces, 6 minifigures, and a frozen mammoth and retails for $119.99 in the US (149.99 CAD in Canada | £84.99 in the UK). The box, instructions, & sticker sheet The large box (front and back photos are in the full gallery at the end of the review) includes six numbered bags, plus a large unnumbered bag with tires and the crane arm, with the mammoth...

Krzysztof Cytacki’s Technic version of a Landrover Defender is an excellent version of Great Britain’s gift to the world of 4×4 offroading. While the model itself is nice, the photography is what first attracted me to Cytacki’s work. By taking pictures of his Landrover in the wilderness, Cytacki perfectly captures the feeling of a televised auto ad. You can almost hear the roar of the engine and smell the earthy aroma of mud kicking back as the vehicle scales the rugged terrain. The natural setting does better justice to Cytacki’s model than a plain background could achieve. Those who are more TECHNICally inclined will be pleased to know the Landrover has an interior and chassis details… …including a fully functional suspension system. The post This is not a TV commercial for the Landrover Defender.... appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Matt Hocker

BrickHeadz is going under the sea, as today LEGO has published pictures of this new pair of characters from Disney’s The Little Mermaid. Ariel and Ursula are joining Beauty and the Beast in bringing classic Disney tales to the collectible figure theme. 41623 Ariel & Ursula will have 361 pieces and will be numbered 64 and 65 in the BrickHeadz series, and although there’s no definitive word yet on the pricing, we expect it to be on par with previous two-packs. LEGO’s also given us a better look at the new BrickHeadz from Frozen that we announced last week, now including the box art. Check it all out below. 41617 Ariel & Ursula | 361 pieces 41617 Elsa | 130 pieces 41618 Anna & Olaf | 201 pieces The post First look at the new Disney Little Mermaid BrickHeadz and more [News] appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Chris

Spanning the river Cher in the Loire Valley, Château de Chenonceau is one of the most charming castles of France. Built in the early 1500s the place have seen many owners. Today it belongs to the Menier family, who are famous for their signature chocolates. Last year we got acquainted with the chocolate box château thanks to a wonderful microscale model by Isaac Snyder. And now it’s Aaron Newman turn to wow us with an off the charts model of the castle. Full of the tiniest elements the building is much larger than one might think; the final model measures more than 12″ (31cm) tall, 17″ (44cm) deep, and 40″ (102cm) wide! The post Le Château de Chenonceau of the Loire Valley appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Alexander

Warner Bros. has released the first trailer for The LEGO Movie 2: The Second Part, the hit sequel to The LEGO Movie released in 2014.  Reprising their roles are Chris Pratt as Emmet, Elizabeth Banks as Lucy aka Wyldstyle, Will Arnett as Batman, Nick Offerman as Metal Beard, and Alison Brie as Unikitty. New characters that will join the lineup are Queen Watevra Wa-Nabi, Sweet Mayhem and Ice Cream Cone voiced by respectively Tiffany Haddish, Stephanie Beatriz, and Arturo Castro. It looks like the main villain is Sweet Mayhem to be voiced by Stephanie Beatriz. Stephanie is best known for her role in the FOX comedy series Brooklyn Nine-Nine playing Detective Rosa Diaz. The plot will revolve around LEGO Duplo invaders from space, and wrecking havoc and destruction faster than the good guys can rebuild. We see an introduction of Mini-dolls in this installation of the movie instead of the regular Minifigures...

LEGO Mechs come in all shapes and sizes and a well-designed mech is usually packed full of details and mind-boggling parts usage that can leave you wondering, just how does that fit together? This Seraphine II mech by Devid VII is a great example. Using the mech cockpit part featured in many LEGO Nexo Knights sets at its core, Devid VII has created a slender but battle-ready mech. One of my favorite details is the orange rollerskate part used as part of the mech’s jaw. The post Seraphine II Mech is ready for action appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel

We feature a lot of X-Wings, TIE Fighters, Star Destroyers, and other well-known ships from the Star Wars universe, but rarely do we see the CSS-1 Corellian Star Shuttle, beautifully constructed here in LEGO form by Gamabomb. You may have blinked and missed it, but this ship got a bit of screen time in Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace when it brought Chancellor Palpatine to Naboo following the defeat of the Trade Federation army. The builder has done an outstanding job capturing the shuttle’s smooth curves and rounded front end. The fact that it’s so rarely seen built from LEGO — unlike some other Star Wars ships — just makes it all the more awesome. The build features a luxurious interior, with tables, seating, and an office for the high-profile guests it may be transporting. It took some complex shaping to get the rounded cockpit section to look just...

LEGO Pirates have been sailing the seas for nearly 30 years. We’ve seen any number of impressive pirate vessel creations in that time, but only a handful where the sea itself has taken a starring role in the presentation of the model. Jerome Kloou‘s pirate ship is a good example of the genre — an attractive colour scheme, smart cloth sails, stacked barrels used for the masts, and an impressive array of minifigures making up the scurvy crew. But the main attraction here is surely the rolling swell of the sea — fashioned from innumerable stacks of transparent blue 1×1 round pieces. Whilst this must have been a nightmare to put together, the effect is undoubtedly worth it — providing a visually striking and dynamic base for the model. The post Waves are stacking up appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

In the last year or so, I have been steadily building a collection of classic US Navy aircraft. The latest addition is the A-3B Skywarrior, a twin-engined carrier-based jet bomber. Back in the late forties nuclear weapons were large and heavy. According to the US Navy, a jet built to deliver one over a meaningful distance would have to weigh about 45 tons and be the size of a small airliner. Given that they wanted to operate their nuclear bombers from aircraft carriers, where space is at a premium, this posed an obvious problem. To add insult to injury, the first of a new generation of super-large aircraft carriers intended to operate these bombers was cancelled within a week after its keel had been laid. So, when the brilliant designer Ed Heinemann, also known for the A-1 Skyraider, proposed that Douglas Aviation build a bomber of about 30 tons that could...