The Near-Future LEGO Starfighter contest is prompting the creation of some lovely realistic-looking space vehicles. This entry from xiei22 is a cracker — all angled shielding, sharp colour blocking, and nice functional touches. Good photo editing too, depicting the ship in its role as a Martian patrol vehicle. You can see even more of the model’s fine details in this cool schematic image. It’s worth zooming-in for a closer look, especially of the cockpit interior and those chunky-looking railguns… The post Mars Defends! appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

What better way to explore the see the sights of Victorian London than aboard the latest in steam-driven LEGO transportation? This contraption, cobbled together by Revan New, has room for only one passenger, but makes up for its limited capacity with speed. Capable of reaching the dizzying speed of 6 miles per hour, gentlefolk of a nervous disposition are advised to ride with caution. The model has a nice level of texture and detail, as does the base. The woven basket and streetlamp are relatively simple, but add a sense of place and period. The only bit I’m unconvinced by is the use of a white droid arm as a plume of steam — I think it would look better with round white plates or stacked ice cream pieces. However, that’s a minor nitpick at a smart little steampunk vignette. The post A very handsome hansom appeared first on The Brothers...

While the rest of us toil away at day jobs and try to squeeze in a bit of LEGO building in the evenings and weekends, Dan Siskind runs Brickmania full time, continuing to lead his company’s LEGO design team even while he brings on other great designers. Dan’s latest personal design project has been a full-size minifig-scale version of John F. Kennedy’s World War II torpedo boat, PT-109. Dan’s model includes over 4,000 pieces and measures 27 inches (over 68 cm) long, with a crew of thirteen custom-printed minifigures. The deck has all the necessary battle stations to fend off Japanese aircraft in the South Pacific, with anti-aircraft guns hand-injected by Will Chapman of BrickArms. The interior under the top deck is also fully detailed, with bunks and heads. I’m really impressed with the design of the engine room, with a pair of Packard engines driving the propellors. As with Dan’s...

The somewhat obscure new hexagonal NEXO Knights piece, appropriately named the “Nexogon”, keeps inspiring people to use it in all manner of creative ways, an effort supported by New Elementary’s Nexagon Festival. Lisqr joins the fun with a very charismatic space-themed microscale city scene. There is much lovable texture throughout the build, but the best thing must be the masterfuly limited colour pallete. Light blue and translucent light blue accent the gray very well, making the creation pleasing to look at, an effect that is enhanced by the photography. Another point of interest is that the “Nexogon” is not the only hexagonal element of the build; the central tower achieves this shape with the use of 1×2 30-degree slope pieces. The post A city of grey, blue and hexagons appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Luka

Builder Brandon wyc has put together a wonderful LEGO café — a tranquil oasis in the middle of a bustling city scene. The lighting adds to the atmosphere, but what’s most impressive are the details depicting everyday life both inside and outside. The café itself features a kitchen with a bakery, and pretty much everything you need for the business to run all day, including cosy corners for a quiet book read, or a simple dinner date for two. The pedestrian and vehicular traffic around the junction is all nicely-placed, giving the scene a real sense of activity. The post Relax at the end of a long day with a visit to Modular Café appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Edwinder

Every gentleman needs a smart little place in town, and Emil Lidé‘s microscale LEGO townhouse definitely fits the bill. With the elaborate stonework of the frontage, the elegant bushes flanking the entrance, the crest above the door, and the nicely-executed Mansard roof, this lovely little building has all the trappings of a desirable residence in one of the better parts of town. Emil has made good use of textured bricks, grille tiles, and scroll pieces, giving a real depth of detail — the key to the best microscale building. I’d love to see Emil build the rest of the stylish boulevard which this building surely calls home. The post A smart little place in town appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

Newt Scamander’s little pet plant might not appear the easiest of creatures to sculpt from LEGO pieces. However, Jonas Kramm has taken up the leafy challenge and come out a winner — his selection of rubbery and leafy green pieces come together wonderfully. The organic and twisted vine look is excellent, prompting one of those “Is that really LEGO?” moments. The post LEGO Pickett will grow on you appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

In addition to the best LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick also brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the third week of May 2017. TBB NEWS, REVIEWS & INSTRUCTIONS: It was a quiet week, but we still got the official word on the largest Minecraft set ever made and instructions for a cool retro concept car. Largest ever LEGO Minecraft set announced: 21137 The Mountain Cave — With 2,863 pieces and a price of $249.99, this set is a massive addition to your Minecraft village.An interview with Monorail champion and brick outlaw Randy Sluder —  Purists look away now, as we learn about ways to get the perfect look, including drilling, cutting and sanding!Instructions to build the iconic Flintstone’s foot powered car — Builder hichiroku24 shares the means for constructing your very own earth friendly, zero emission, instantly recognizable two-seater from...

The Brothers Brick’s own Patrick Massey has created this beautiful mosque after a short hiatus from LEGO master building. He shared some insider tricks he implemented to save time and bricks, and the most interesting is that he created the model purely for photographing. In other words, there is no back to this incredible build! Patrick has been reading a book about Ottoman history called Osman’s Dream, which contains a lot of descriptions of the various styles of Ottoman architecture. Petrea Central Mosque hasn’t been modeled on any particular mosque, but it is very reminiscent of the Imperial Ottoman style of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. The post An Ottoman dream in green and gold appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jonathan

LEGO gaming builder ZaziNombies adds to his brick built arsenal of Overwatch weapons with defense hero Torbjörn’s level 2 turret and repair hammer. Smooth shaping on the red paneling throughout and gun barrels match the game’s aesthetic well. See an overview of ZaziNombies’s LEGO turret and hammer, as well as a discussion of the build process, in the video below. The post Build up and break down a LEGO Overwatch Torbjörn’s turret appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Nick