In the depths of the Medina, behind the bazaar, the Sultan sneaks incognito through the arcade. Andrew JN evokes the architecture of the Middle East, and creates a nice sense of mystery and intrigue, in a LEGO diorama with a tiny 8×8 footprint. I love the restrained use of colour and the clean building style on display here. The use of turntable bases around the bottom is particularly effective, the layered archways are excellent, and the mosaic floor inside the arcade is nice touch. The post Sultans of sneak appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

It’s a long-standing policy that LEGO will not develop any models containing religious elements. I’ve always thought that’s a shame for the Castle theme in particular, where churches and cathedrals would have been some of the most important buildings. Thankfully LEGO fans have stepped in to fill the void, and this hilltop church by Simon NH is a great example. The landscaping is done well, with a nice mix of earthy colours, a few trees, and a couple of gravestones to break things up. But the main attraction is clearly the church itself. It’s well-shaped, with diverse colours that still hang together as a cohesive whole, and the roof and steeple are excellent. The steeple also has some nice parts usage going on — don’t miss the boat hulls creating arched windows, and the lovely little cross on top. The post LEGO church worthy of your worship appeared first on The...

The Brothers Brick were fortunate enough to spend some time talking with LEGO Designer Jens Kronvold Frederiksen who is the Design director for Star Wars theme, and Jurgen who is a LEGO graphic designer within the Star Wars theme. Jens has designed sets for the Star Wars theme for 18 out of the 19 years he has been working for LEGO—an unusual situation, he admits, but one he is very happy with. Right at the beginning back in 1998, when Jens heard that LEGO and Star Wars were going to be collaborating, he felt it was a perfect combination of a fantasy universe with sets and vehicles that would work well with LEGO along with a strong storyline about good versus evil. Jens Kronvold Frederiksen is famous for designing the UCS Millenium Falcon, a product he created back in 2006. Designing the biggest LEGO set at that time under the Star...

For the enjoyment of his fellow military aviation buffs, builder ama77what has beautifully reverse-engineered this microscale A-10 “Warthog” fighter jet from a knock-off brand of building block, recreating it using bona-fide LEGO pieces and presenting it in the form of this handy single-page building guide. There really is nothing more to say here than go build it and SWOOOSH it! The post Microscale A-10 Warthog [Instructions] appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Iain

British builder Spencer Stone has cunningly repurposed the portal beast from 76060 Doctor Strange’s Sanctum Sanctorum (which we reviewed here last year) as the focus of this neat little dungeon scene. By placing the beast in a corner and shooting the build up close from the warrior’s level, Spencer creates an almost expressionist image that puts the viewer right inside the action. A few carefully placed dungeon accoutrements and wall features beautfully round out the scene. All that remains now is for the Dungeon Master to figure out whether our cowardly protagonist earned any experience points from this encounter. But suffice to say that he’s probably in the market for a new +1 battle axe. The post He who adventures and runs away lives to adventure another day appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Iain

Master of the mechanized build Jason Allemann does it again, this time taking the new LEGO Ideas set 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V and incorporating lights and sounds using the PFx Brick, as well giving it a custom launch pad. Jason’s other ingenious creations include an ever-toiling sculpture of Sisyphus, and the LEGO Ideas set 21305 Maze, which we interviewed him about last year. The post Let’s light this candle appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jonathan

How did Captain Morgan die? Was he dragged to the depths by a loose cannon? Was he struck down by the kraken? Or did Poseidon himself drag the captain’s ship into his realm? All we know is that the last time Captain Morgan was seen, he was on the forecastle of his sinking ship, the Queen Annetta’s Revenge, according to builder Jacob Nion. The scene was built for a story on the Eurobricks forum. The build itself is very dynamic, with excellent broken masts and just enough flotsam to represent convincing traces of a legendary battle. The ship itself is very good, with Jacob giving us an undamaged view. The post Sleep forever in the ocean’s cold, dark embrace appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Luka

The last few years, the inhabitants of LEGO City have been on quite the adventure, exploring the ocean, the arctic, and erupting volcanoes; this year is no exception, as they’re diving deep into the jungle. We picked up a copy of the largest set to explore for ourselves, since we wanted to check out the new pieces (jaguar!), as well as experience the new setting for one of LEGO’s longest running themes. 60161 Jungle Exploration Site has 813 pieces, and retails for $119.99 The box The box itself is standard fare, though we don’t really expect it to live up to special sets like the 21309 Saturn V. It’s got a picture of the set with a generic jungle scene behind. The parts inside are in nine bags, with the instructions and stickers in a separate bag. I prefer when instructions are packaged this way, since they don’t end up weirdly curled and the...

If you haven’t seen Disney’s charming Moana, you may not recognize Hei Hei, the Pacific Island princess’s dim-witted and comical but seaworthy companion. I love how LEGO 7 has captured the quizzical head tilt of the plucky brave. The colorful design staged against the pale blue looks exquisite. Take note of the minifig flippers for the plucky poultry’s wattle and the dark green round corner elements as tender chicken wings, although I am sure Maui would probably still say he needs fattening up. The post Moana’s pet rooster Hei Hei struts his stuff appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jonathan

The Odeon of Herodes Atticus is a theater on the Acropolis in Athens, which still hosts concerts, plays, and other events today. George Panteleon has recreated this ancient Greek structure in LEGO, with a central stage, a ring of seating, and the original backdrop against which both modern and ancient artists wowed the crowd. The technique George used for the sloped seating is quite interesting, and worth a closer look. Clips connect slopes set on their side to achieve the classic bowl shape of theaters. The post Catch Yanni or Vangelis at the Odeon of Herodes Atticus appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Andrew