LEGO TOKYO is a special collaboration between Aurélien Mathieu (better known online as Shobrick) and Cole Blaq. To be precise, it’s really Shobrick’s swan song from the LEGO scene–and what better way to make a grand exit but with a monumental partnership to release four epic scenes that were put together by professional set designers and talented artists. The story begins with Shobrick, who has been planning for some time to take an indefinite break from LEGO to focus on his pursuit of being a film director and wanted to create a few amazing pieces before setting aside his bricks. Over two years ago, he reached out to Cole Blaq to provide the settings and the right vibes for his vision of a scene he had in mind: a futuristic battlefield in Neo Tokyo with a Mecha antagonist. After multiple variations, Cole introduced his vision of the build and sent it...

Every superhero needs a top-notch ride. While Batman has to choose among all of his Batmobiles, other heroes, like firefighters, have a lot to show, too. Steven Asbury, an expert in the sphere of city fire safety, is constantly upgrading the city department’s engines. Here’s the new Arrow XT platform with a ton of things to spy: a dozen of compartments, flashing lights, switches, and some skillfully designed custom stickers. And on a quiet day, this truck is still a finest jewel of the modern LEGO city. The post A proper vehicle for the true heroes of the city appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Alexander

One of the most fun games I play with friends is Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, a tactical multiplayer game of attack and defend resolving bomb defusal or hostage situations. In the attack phase, I like playing as French GIGN operator Twitch, who is equipped with her own hand-crafted camera drone outfitted with a taser. To show some love for this game, I built the Shock Drone with LEGO in 1:1 scale. The bulky design of the Shock Drone compared to other operators’ standard camera drones allowed enough room internally for Power Functions. Each front wheel is powered by a motor and controlled by SBrick, which, just like in Siege, allows me to control the drone with my phone. You can see it in action, as well as a glimpse at the internals and a gameplay comparison for those unfamiliar with Siege, in the video below. The post Take control of...

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 first week of November 2018.TBB NEWS: LEGO Overwatch made a splash announcing surprise pre-orders while the LEGO Ideas Pop-Up Book went on sale. LEGO Overwatch sets unveiled at BlizzCon, available for pre-order now – Theline contains six sets that are available for pre-order immediately, shipping on  January 1st.9-foot tall LEGO Overwatch D.Va and her mech tower over BlizzCon – The gigantic build uses more than 43,000 pink bricks to create the iconic character from Overwatch.LEGO Ideas Pop-Up Book and Xtra Accessory Bags now available  – New LEGO sets for November include the LEGO Ideas Pop-Up Book and new Xtra Accessory Bags. TBB FEATURES, REVIEWS & INSTRUCTIONS: We have a variety of content for you this week from an...

I’m fascinated by Mihai Marius Mihu’s latest Cthulhu themed creation. Featuring a red shrimp-like ‘old one’, whose beady white eyes and muscular torso resonates a sense of otherworldly grandeur. It’s a unique monster design that utilises some excellent modelling skills to creepy effect. The composition sees the demon towering over the diorama’s micro scale fortress, again hinting at an inhuman scale suited to its Lovecraftian subject matter. Working like a latter day Hieronymus Bossch, Mihai’s art shows us the uncanny potential of the LEGO brick. The post An inhuman horror from another time appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: David Alexander Smith

It wasn’t very long ago that we featured an interview with superb Japanese builder Takamichi Irie. We’ve also covered a number of his builds on this site. So if you’re having deja vu about seeing this lovely animal before, you’re not crazy! The sleek scorpion is back as one of Takamichi’s signature automata. Using only brick-built cogs and simple mechanics, he’s breathing new life into this automaton and other eye-catching builds. In the latest version, the turn of a crank makes the kinetic sculpture come to life. The pincers go up and down, and the tail flicks dangerously. The scorpion is also accompanied by an adorable little grasshopper, doing his best to hop away. Do you remember Takamichi’s Rosalia batesi? He turned that one into a kinetic sculpture as well! It essentially has an identical mechanism to the Stag Beetle Automata that we mentioned in our interview with Takamichi. But it...

One of the things I love about Alan Boar’s LEGO creations is the amount of time he takes to research his subjects. In this case it’s the Taikoo Ropeway, an early cable car system built in 1891 to link Hong Kong’s Taikoo Dockyard to the Taikoo Sugar Refinery. The finished diorama, built in collaboration with his wife and son, is rendered in an aesthetic reminiscent of Chinese landscape painting. Designed in monochrome, the Mount Parker setting is wonderfully accented with stylised brick clouds. In front of the clouds, a grey building frames the predominately white ropeway scene, helping to highlight a host of fascinating features. The post Take a cable car to the clouds appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: David Alexander Smith

To celebrate the release of the new Fantastic Beasts movie this month, LEGO is releasing 40289 Diagon Alley as a giveaway on LEGO Shop purchases over $99. LEGO sent us an early copy of the set to review. The microscale set is built to the same scale as 71043 Hogwarts Castle, and includes 374 pieces along with a minifigure of wand shop owner Mr. Ollivander. The packaging & instructions Diagon Alley comes in a small box, tightly packed with two sets of numbered bags. The instruction booklet is folded inside, with 62 steps spanning 72 pages. A single 2×14 plate hangs out by itself loose in the box. The back of the box features a closeup of the street scene, with callouts explaining what each structure represents. The build & parts Small freebie sets like this tend to feature pretty basic building techniques and standard parts, resulting in a quick build....

Route 66 is the mother of all highways in the USA, cutting across the nation from coast to coast through small towns and scenic vistas. Though it’s since been eclipsed by the interstate highway system, it’s captured a special place in history for making the trans-American highway a reality. LEGO builder hachiroku24 brings us back to Route 66’s glory days with an awesome rendition of the highway marker sign, part mosaic and part sculpture. The excellent use of the 4×4 quarter-circle macaroni tiles lends both the numbers and shield outline just the perfect curves. The post It’s a long road ahead appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Chris

Halloween has come and gone, but it should not be the only day of the year when we get to see dark and moody themes. Tymothy Shortell would agree, having built castle ruins that look perfect for the season yet apropriate throughout the year. All the colours, or lack thereof, make for a great atmosphere, mostly facilitated by the dark gray of the castle wall. While the castle is my favourite part, the landscape is very important too. The whole scene is a round shape, with natural flowing transitions between rocks and grass. The editing and photography are what takes the build to a higher level though, especially a dim orange light shining through a window. The post Who stokes the fire in the long-forgotten castle? appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Luka