“Dashing through the snow, on a rocket powered board. O’er the slopes he’ll go, with his elven horde. Jingle build! Jingle build! Jingle all the way! LEGO 7‘s clever Santa makes us shout ‘Hooray!'” With the singing out of the way, I love this unconventional portrayal of old Saint Nick. Santa’s pose captures the spirit of snowboarding, right down to the jumper plate representing his mouth shouting “woo!” His white beard flowing in the wind conveys a sense of speed. Hidden underneath the snow-covered hillside is a workshop for Santa’s elves. They are hard at work while Santa’s having all the fun. The elves’ humble workshop may be tiny, but is cute and packed with plenty of detail. The post Snow’s up, dude! appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Matt Hocker

Building realistic-looking home decor is a niche that Heikki M has been a master of for years. The use of scale, colors, lighting and the absence of LEGO minifigures all factor into the illusion that you are looking at a real-world space. This latest model is directly inspired by furniture website photograph. LEGO bricks have never looked so comfortable. The post A splash of red appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel

Tartar sauce… Steve Hillenburg, the creator of the long-running Nickelodeon show SpongeBob SquarePants, has passed away from complications of ALS. He was 57. It’s amazing to think this show has been on the air since 1999, and hard to think of a cartoon character as ingrained into 21st century popular culture as Mr SquarePants, who has appeared in everything from the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade to LEGO sets to my favorite pair of yellow pyjamas. So long Steve, and thanks for all the fish. The post RIP Steve Hillenburg, creator of SpongeBob SquarePants appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Iain

It is the mark of great talent when a LEGO creator can build something that rises above the simple bricks and other elements to be easily mistaken for a mass-produced plastic model. I have been a great fan of FLAVIO‘s WIFFY series of cute and capable drones for years. These incredibly intricate and detailed robots are built around a signature part, the soccer helmet, which reminds me of old-fashioned football helmets from the 1920’s. This well-armed WIFFY also features a number of the new espresso handles, bar holders, and bar holders with clips. Another great detail are the binoculars tucked in under those red eyes. The post Another pint-sized drone that packs a punch appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel

The possibilities of the LEGO BrickHeadz format seem to be truly unlimited. These funny characters can make any story better, even a beloved one, as proved by Cindy Su with her recent recreation of the most heart-piercing scene from Titanic. And once you have wiped tears away, you will notice a very unusual upgrade to the figures: movable arms. These are made with some pretty rare arm elements from space themes of the 90s, but fit amazingly well into the modern BrickHeadz style. The post And my brick will go on and on... appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Alexander

Now that we’re closing in on December, it’s time to release the Christmas builds! I’ve been anxiously anticipating another seasonal kinetic sculpture by Jason Allemann, and he hasn’t disappointed. These elves at their workbench are cute enough alone, but of course, there’s more! Jason’s latest creation uses a nifty mechanism to give it an assembly line feel. Routinely, Jason’s little mechanical marvels make me kick myself for not quite having thought of it on my own. He’s done several seasonal models, including an egg-pooping Easter Bunny! And if you’re unfamiliar, he is the creator of the 21305 LEGO Ideas Maze, as well as co-creator of the new 21315 LEGO Ideas Pop-Up Book. Also check out our recent interview with Jason and co-creator Grant Davis.   The post Busy in Santa’s workshop... [Video] appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Bre Burns

During the late 70s and early 80s The Specials made some of the most innovative and iconic singles to ever grace the British music charts. Not only did they mix ska, punk and rocksteady beats to raucous effect, they married it with a two tone fashion sense that set them apart from their peers. Red 2 has caught the band at the height of their powers, as they appeared in the music video for their 1979 hit A Message to You Rudy. The LEGO version of the group perfectly capturing their tonic suits, and my favourite part of the build, pork pie hats made form small dishes and domes. It’s no small feat to build all nine members, but it pays off with each posed in mid-swagger, capturing the very essence of their musical style. The post Building in the two tone style appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal...

By now, LEGO bricks’ place among other art media should be obvious, but it still seems to be more of an exception than the rule for builders to express their emotions through bricks. But some times, builders do feel the need to express themselves, as in the case of Malin Kylinger in her latest build. Malin states that the dual theme of the creation represents a range of emotions she went through in the recent times. What at first glance looks like a simple struggle between good and evil hides countless possible interpretation. Is this a chaotic whirlwind of changing emotion or is it a fine balance? Or maybe there is no struggle, just coexistence of light and dark? Whatever the interpretation, there is no getting around the fact this is a great build. The face is technically a somewhat flat build, but from the photos, it looks very realistic. The...

The LEGO Shop’s Black Friday and Cyber Monday sales and deals are happening this week, with UK sales already underway and US & Canadian sales starting at midnight Eastern Time on Friday, November 23rd (that’s Thanksgiving night at 9 PM for our readers on the west coast). Various LEGO sets are 20-30% off or more, and the holiday promotion this year is a Buildable Holiday Present set with purchases over $99/£85. LEGO sent us an early copy of the promotional set, and it’s a lovely little set with 301 pieces that opens up, reminding us of both 75952 Newt’s Case and 21315 Pop-up Book. We’ll update this article with specific deals we find, but in the meantime, you can click through to the US sales and deals page from the images above. Each day this week, the UK LEGO Shop is heavily discounting one large set: Thursday 22 Nov: 76112 App-Controlled...

There’s a new product in the increasingly crowded third-party custom brick world. Mbriks are a way to bring new life to your LEGO (and compatible brands) building bricks by adding additional dimension and display options. These custom magnetic bricks have shown a lot of promise in the professionally produced videos and other promotional material during the month-long Kickstarter campaign ending this week, but we wanted to weigh in ourselves. [Note: We received a pre-production version of Mbriks, and we now understand that some of the issues highlighted in this review may have been resolved in the final production version that will be shipped to Kickstarter backers.] A brief history of LEGO and magnets LEGO has a long and evolving history with magnetic bricks. As new and stricter consumer protection laws have arisen to address the dangers of ever-stronger magnets, LEGO has introduced a range of different magnet products. The changes along...