I still remember He-Man and the Masters of the Universe during the days when there were no on-demand streaming services and we actually had to plan and time ourselves to catch the next episode. Then there was the daily bombardment of commercials to mesmerise us with fantasy scenes that we would recreate if we could only get our hands on these tempting toys. Johan Alexanderson has masterfully recreated the Castle of Grayskull play-set together with tiny characters to represent the plastic figures — like a time machine to tease our nostalgic memories. The model built features the same concept as the original design from Mattel back in the 80s. It has the capability to swing the castle open and closed to reveal play features at the rear. Making their appearance as part of the now converted play-theme into LEGO bricks are the unforgettable Orko, Man-At-Arms, Skeletor, and many more in a...

Cut-away LEGO builds are sometimes difficult to do, and tough to make look right. Giving the illusion of a sneak peak into a building takes clever skill when also trying to maintain structural stability. But Carter Witz is one of those builders who has that talent. His Viking longhouse he built for the Summer Joust 2018 contest is sure to be a favorite! Real-life Viking longhouses were made using some combination of timber, stone, or peat bricks, and had thatched or turf roofs. They were also lined with bench-like platforms for sitting and sleeping, and occupants did everything in these structures. Privacy sure must have been scarce! Carter’s LEGO version comes complete with the customary central hearth where the family both cooked and did iron-work. I love all the little details, but one of my favorite parts is the cloaks hanging on the “clothesline”. The post A look inside a Viking...

Look out, the amphibious space invaders are coming! Far from piloting mysterious saucers, however, these toads have tech much more familiar, needing a massive rocket to break the planet’s gravity. As usual, the ever-prolific builder Karf Oohlu employs interesting elements at every turn. Two stand out among the lot, though, with minifigure hands deftly employed to create a stud-reversal beneath the cockpit, and light covers doing double duty as space helmets–an easy-to-miss detail of the landed astronauts. The post Amphibious space invaders appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Chris

This Friends-themed Star Wars diorama by Tyler Sky is simply delightful! I can’t imagine these mini-dolls preparing for a battle, but it’s pretty much a winner in my books anyway. It’s got a great theme, and the Friends sparkle isn’t overwhelming–just enough of a touch of the familiar colour palette to give it the feeling of a semi-serious scene from Heart Lake City. The mini-dolls sporting Rebel helmets are a perfect fit as the brave pilots. A closer look shows the typical slot where the Astromechs are seated is now co-piloted by favourite furries, with a transparent dome for protection. Theme aside, the construction of the Friendly Y-Wing is also quite well thought out. Clever uses of parts include a basketball net for the ion jet turbine exhausts and tread links to form the vectral rings at the very end of the engine pods. The post Heartlake City Central Base Station appeared first...

Sheep by Maxime Marion is a cute brickfilm about being true to yourself instead of following the flock. It is also a joyous celebration of the 1×1 round eye tile and its siblings the eyelash tile and the stink eye tile. Maxime creates a wide variety of emotions and expressions using various combinations of these three simple pieces. I would argue that these eye tiles are some of the most important parts added to the LEGO palette in the last decade. Just as the introduction of the minifigure led to a major shift in the scale of vehicles and buildings, the introduction of the eye tile has led to a huge increase in character-focused creations, both in official sets and in fan creations. I hope more brickfilmers follow Maxime’s award-winning example and start incorporating brick-built characters into their films. Watch Sheep below.   The post Don’t be sheepish [Video] appeared first...

Space and space exploration is also a very popular subject when it comes to LEGO creations. Valerie Roche and Matthew Nolan have designed a collection of SpaceX vehicles and put it on LEGO’s crowd-sourcing platform Ideas, where it’s already well on its way towards the needed 10,000 supporters. One of the coolest things about this project is that the designers have received input from people working on the real SpaceX program to help make the models even more accurate. When NASA announced the end of the space shuttle program, a lot of people started to wonder what was next for humanity’s space exploration future. Entrepreneur Elon Musk did more than wonder, however. In 2002, he founded Space Exploration Technologies Corp, or SpaceX as it is more commonly known. Ever since that day, the public has been thrilled to watch successful launch after launch of the next generation of space-faring vehicles and projects. Falcon 9...

Most people know that New Zealanders got their “Kiwi” nickname from their beloved national symbol, the Kiwi bird. But did you know that there is another iconic bird from that country that is just as important? Its name is actually Kākāpō, which means “owl parrot” and it really is quite unique! Flancrest Enterprises is so passionate about this bird, that they recreated it in LEGO, with posable wings! What makes the Kakapo so unique is that it’s not like any other parrot in the world. It is large, heavy, flightless, and nocturnal. Their wings and tail are quite short, and they have large feet for climbing and cruising around on the forest floor. In addition, one of their most interesting features is that they don’t form tight bonds. Males engage in “lekking” where they gather together to engage in competitive display and entice females. Males will then mate with multiple females,...

This shambling horror is brought to you courtesy of Leonid An, who sculpted the creature’s bony ridges from quite an odd collection of parts. Called Preta the Demon, stacked jawbones make his spiny shins, which somehow seems fitting. Meanwhile, an exposed kraata stands in for the unnerving brain in the middle of the demon’s split skull. Here’s hoping you don’t stumble upon this bit of LEGO in the darkness. The post A lurching demon from the beyond appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Chris

First announced as a forthcoming set nearly a year ago, LEGO is finally taking the wraps off its newest crowd-sourced kit, 21311 Voltron. Based on both the iconic 1980s animated television show of the same name and its subsequent modern-day reboot by DreamWorks, the set will feature five robotic lions who can combine into the super robot Voltron. With 2,321 pieces, the massive mech will be the largest Ideas set to date, easily outpacing the Old Fishing Store and NASA Apollo Saturn V. The set will be on sale briefly at San Diego Comic-Con next month, then will be available to LEGO VIP members beginning July 23, before being widely available August 1. Voltron will retail for $179.99 USD. Fan designer Leandro Tayag first submitted the project to the LEGO Ideas platform two years ago, where it achieved the requisite 10,000 votes from users within three weeks. The official model from Billund’s team...

Sometimes to create an awesome new design you just have to skillfully mix a couple of the most trendy things. Anthony Wilson picked up dinosaurs and Nexo Knights, and the Tyrannosaurus Nex was born. Fast on foot, this monster has no mercy on the enemies of the Nexo kingdom. What I love the most about this creation is that it’s not just a dinosaur covered with laser guns, but an actual two-legged robot designed as a fierce animal. The post Technology, uh, finds a way... appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Alexander