I must admit I am quite a fan of the latest creation by Grant Davis. Built for the Iron Builder competition on Flickr, Grant has used the 4x4x13 curved panel seed part to great effect here, blowing everyone away with unique part usage. The fan’s cage made out of pneumatic tube and bars is fantastic, as is the very realistic base. Added on top of that, the builder spices up the scene with a brick-built pen and notebook. But the best part is that it works! Grants provides us with a hypnotic video of the fan in action. The post When things get hot, a master builder knows what to do appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Luka

Gamabomb has been on a red suitcase rampage lately, and I love it. His most recent build in the series is a police SWAT drone reminiscent of concept art designs by Theo Stylianides. The builder uses a combination of System and Bionicle parts to achieve some amazing shapes and mechanical detailing. Rather than using the Scala suitcase as he did with his two previous creations, the head of this drone is actually a Playmobil part. I have no beef with non-LEGO parts, and have used a couple myself, as long as it looks good — which is definitely the case here. And the custom stickers add an additional level of realism to an already great build. Be sure to check out his other suitcase-headed builds Botdog and Wanzer Sixfive. The post Some robots can be such head cases appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Peter

There’s a gentle wave lapping at the shore as you gaze out over the panoramic deep blue ocean. Swedish builder Magnus has chosen to maximise the view by building his beach house on stilts. Although the focus of the build is the beach house, my own favourite part is the use of the minifigure lifeguard float as a dingy sitting by the dock. The palm tree is also a nice touch, with clever use of the 4-leaf plant part to bring a touch of tropical flora to the scene. I hope those foundations are deep, as we all know what happened to the man who built his house upon the sand… The post A beach scene that will float your boat appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Elspeth De Montes

Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been fascinated with creepy crawlies, but dragonflies were always a favorite. I love how they’d appear to defy gravity as they hovered above the rippling water. Takamichi Irie has recreated this iconic insect with a ‘handful’ of minifig parts (note all the minifigure hands used as connectors on the wings), some flex tube and a sprinkling of blue and black elements. With some sharp photography and clever use of lighting, it even appears to be hovering; all that is missing is the water. The post Like a dragonfly skimming the surface of the water, touch on something without going into it deeply appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jonathan

Soundwave was always one of my favourite Decepticons as he was unusually cool-sounding and had additional tiny transformers stored inside himself in cassette form. One un-glamourous thing was his alternate mode — he turned into a boombox of all things! Your superpower is to blend in to very unique situations! Thankfully, he spent most of his time in ‘bot’ mode. This incredible transformable build by Moko really is quite a feat. Not only does it morph into the boombox, but it comes complete with Ravage, Rumble, Buzzsaw, and Frenzy. And yes, eagle-eyed fans will notice that if you ever need extra juice, there are some energon cubes to grab as loot! The post Autobots inferior, Soundwave superior! appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Edwinder

I’m certain there’s a bit of the off-road enthusiast in all of us. Who couldn’t possibly enjoy the chance to escape the trappings of urban life and explore the countryside in a rugged 4×4? If it’s something you’ve never thought of before, than you’re sure to develop an interest after seeing this awesome collection of classic 4×4 vehicles by Pixel Fox: From the Mercedes Unimog and Land Cruiser J70 to the Land Rover Defender and Jeep Cherokee XJ, the builder’s collection has spanned some of the most well-known and capable trail rigs. According to the builder, it all started from inspiration sparked by the wheel fenders included in the LEGO Stunt Truck released earlier this year (you’ll see the part replicated to great effect throughout this series). The mix of LEGO elements and environmental photography combines for a fantastic presentation, though purists are sure to balk. Plus, some of the scenes...

I’ve spent a lot of time in the swamps and bayous of the southern United States fishing, hunting, photographing wildlife and generally avoiding venomous snakes and hungry alligators. The bottoms – as we affectionally call them down here – are also one of my favorite sources of inspiration for LEGO building. I recently completed this bayou-related build, my dream house set in the swamps: Perhaps the scene feels a little lifeless but I purposefully chose not to include minifigs in this creation as I thought they would detract from the overall aesthetics. Using a fog machine and some LED lights I was able to create a creepy though strangely alluring atmosphere in this shot: A fog machine can be a lot of fun to create mood in a LEGO scene, as can well-placed lighting. For outdoor scenes like this, I find it helpful to shoot outside at dusk with a single...

With the latest round of Iron Builder underway, expect to see a flurry of LEGO creations featuring the Friends balloon piece, as we noted a few days ago with the lovely LEGO lotus blossom. Contestant Grant Davis is cranking out something new just about every day — and sometimes more than one new creation a day. One of my favorites so far is this Whack-a-Mole machine. The ill-fated victims of whackage peeking with their single eyes out of their holes are also the tips of the bulbous balloon piece, and I just love their adorable little hats. The post Whack some moles at the Iron Arcade appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Andrew

We’re huge fans of Chris McVeigh here at The Brothers Brick, and I’ve enjoyed each of the custom LEGO kits I’ve bought from his online store — custom kits that I can only describe as artisanal LEGO kits, with beautifully printed packaging lovingly arranged in the shipping box with tissue paper. We featured Chris’s LEGO Macintosh desktop last year (which I bought for myself last Christmas and love, love, love!) and his LEGO Amiga 500 last month, and now Chris has posted the final design for his DOS desk kit, which will be available on his website soon. The desk drawers are fully functional, with a bunch of accessories to make you more productive — or keep you distracted during the workday. One of the things that makes us love Chris and his designs all the more is that he puts his detailed instructions online for free. Yes, you can buy...

It’s easy to get over-excited while constructing mecha, since it’s easy to over-greeble details to the point that it becomes too complicated and loses its humanoid look. Khairul Nizam’s build stands out as it has good proportions and great flexibility in poses. That huge rotary canon-like weapon looks like it could do some major harm if someone gets upset. What makes this build stand out is that even thought it’s built in shades of grey and black, you still get a great visual which sometimes can be hard to pull off with a minimal use of colors to separate one section of the build from another. The post Stand down! The slightest movement may risk you being disintegrated appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Edwinder