During the First World War, an explosion in the rate and range of weapons fire made field warfare a last resort. Trenches provided a modicum of safety for soldiers on the Western Front but at the cost of a drawn-out war of attrition. Historical builder The Halls of Montezuma honors the British soldiers who gave their lives in the Great War with a vignette of trench life in LEGO. The scene takes place near Ovillers in northern France, which Montezuma recreates with excellent brick-built terrain that mixes light tan and white bricks to depict the region’s chalky soil. Densely packed carrot tops make for beautiful grass, with snaking foliage in dark green giving extra texture to the scene. Military history buffs will find many models to appreciate in The Halls of Montezuma’s collection, as well as in TBB’s own WWI archive. The post Tommy in the trenches on the Western Front appeared...

As just an example of medieval architecture in LEGO, this castle model from builder Feanor001 would be worth heralding, but the creation is so much more. The round diorama tells a story in four acts, brought to life with motor functions and music. Here you can see the music box come alive, spinning on an ornate turntable as motorized minifigs tell the story of King’s fall and a kingdom’s rebirth. In the first act, the King sets out for glory with his army as crowds cheer them on. The castle is pristine with flowers in full bloom. The tile techniques for the Tudor-style half timbers are especially lovely. But things don’t stay sunny for long… With the King away, the Chancellor’s men pillage the castle and strip power from the queen and her newborn son. We see a transition from light to dark grey as the kingdom inters its shadow era. Years...

This year’s BrickCon, the longest-continuously running LEGO exhibition in the world, is happening September 7th and 8th in Bellevue, WA, and we’re going to be there with our The Brothers Botany collaboration. The Brothers Brick is a proud sponsor of BrickCon every year, and we’re pleased to continue that sponsorship with this year’s theme of Foundations. To celebrate this annual gathering of LEGO lovers in the Seattle area, we’re giving away four pairs of tickets for free entry to the public exhibition hours on Saturday and Sunday. The public exhibition happens at Meydenbauer Center from 10:00 AM to 4:00 PM on Saturday, September 7 and Sunday, September 8. To win, just tell us in a comment on this article why you’re looking forward to BrickCon 2024. Make sure to use a valid email address when commenting (we won’t use or share this email any other way), and we’ll draw winners soon...

If you’re ever in need of a emergency rescue, look no further than LEGO City’s finest as built here by Jordan Parmegiani! This firetruck is extremely well outfitted, with hatches containing a wide array of firefighting and rescue tools. Those hatches themselves are interesting. The large hatches were released in 1994 (making them just older than me) and were still in production in 2023, while the smaller hatches are originally from train sets released in 1991. Jordan has also made excellent use of official LEGO stickers in this build! The fire badge on the roof of the truck is lifted from a firetruck from 2013, and the large number 4 designation is from one from 2019. Even though this truck is called #4, I think it’s number 1 in our hearts! The post This build’s a barn burner! appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Simon Friesen

When I imagine the mythical land of Mount Olympus, home of the Greek gods, I picture dazzling gold and expansive vistas. But Joe seems to have a bit more of a down-to-earth vision in this microscale vignette. There is still a fair amount of gold details among the roofs and statues, but the dominant palette is tans and terra cotta nougat. The use of large curved slopes attached sideways creates some great rockwork with a grand scale while many small smooth tiles and slopes gives the landscape a weathered look you would expect high among the clouds. The post Microscale LEGO Mount Olympus is fit for the miniature gods appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel

Three years before Disneyland transported American families to fantasy worlds, Efteling park in the Netherlands brought fairy tales to life with European flare. Dutch builder Lucas Firestone makes his debut with a LEGO tribute to that theme park’s signature dark ride, Droomvlucht (Dream Flight), with his interpretation of the castle. Lucas does a great job capturing the castle’s dreamlike dimensions, with towers that jut out at gravity defying angles. Binoculars make for wonderful parapets. As much as we love the Disney Castle, it’s great to see other theme park landmarks in LEGO. The post A LEGO castle where dreams take flight appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jake Forbes

The Film Noir Detective from LEGO Collectible Minifig Series 25 appeared in shades of gray, but he came with a colorful accessory: an actual red herring. This clever vignette by ABrickDreamer makes masterful use of the same two-color motif to create an arresting crime scene (no pun intended). Each splash of red is dramatic and eye-catching, like the mysterious red-handed man watching through the window, the woman in the flowing red gown fleeing the scene, and the blood tricking into the river. But whodunnit? The answer to that question is a little less stark: Is it the man with the blood-red hands? Is it the fleeing woman? Are they accomplices? Or was it the snake all along? Hopefully, our intrepid detective can get to the bottom of it soon. The post This murder scene will have you seeing red appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Ryan Kunz

Every day we see incredible LEGO creations built from one person’s imagination and collection of bricks. When builders come together for collaborative LEGO builds, not only are we blessed with scenes of incredible scale, but the mix of builder styles harmonize to create to create something truly special. One such collaborative project debuted at BrickFair 2024. Organized by George Hawes and Michael Willhoit, the “Medinat Al Musawrah” collaboration depicts a fictional Middle Eastern walled megacity.  The other contributers are Brian O’Leary, Intense Potato, Detroitika, Evan M, Renobricks, Ryan K, Skooby C, and Zach Bean. This impressive scene captures the sort of 80s urban sprawl that inspired sci-fi works like Blade Runner. (Fittingly, many of the collaborators also participated in last year’s truly epic New Hashima cyberpunk collab at BrickWorld Chicago). But it’s real-world cities, like Cairo, Algiers, and Kowloon that inspire the grounded sense of place. The talent on display on display...

It’s the rare creation that can make you forget you’re looking at LEGO bricks while also making you love the LEGO medium even more. I know that the stunning “One Fell Swoop” from TBB alum Nannan Zhang is a LEGO model, but all I can see is a vibrant painting of an owl coming alive, so perfectly is the concept realized. The explosive creativity can literally not be contained! Looking closer at the technique on display, the owl’s feathers are the flashiest. Chima wings in earth blue, mech swords in gold, surfboards in minifig and mindoll scale in vibrant coral make for a striking mix of plumage, and the dark red ruff of chima armor plates is magic. I love the shape of the eyebrows and especially the addition of boomerangs for extra dimension.  The pale yellow eyes are a fun connection to the painting theme, sourced as they are from...

Electric and hybrid vehicles are all the rage at the moment, but frequent TBB builder LEGO 7 has something else in mind. This whimsical crab-boat fuels itself as it wanders the sea and shore. The crab portion of the build is full of great details, and the boat is simple but immediately recognizable. My favorite part, however, is the old fisherman. With so many small details like the hat, beard, and the little pink element used for the mouth. There is even a small rubber duck next to him. He reminds me of Ivar’s character from the restaurant chain where I used to get fish and chips with my family when I was a kid. The post This wandering LEGO amphibious vehicle is the ultimate in renewable energy transportation appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel