I don’t know if this thrillifying LEGO scene from Wicked was built in one short day, but considering that Bousker created it on a tight deadline for the Iron Forge contest, it couldn’t have taken much longer. Bousker brings the Emerald City to life in every shade of LEGO green, employing Castle-style techniques in a refreshingly different palette. The starring piece in this build is the flower stem, used here as climbing vines and grass, but also incorporated into the emerald architecture. As much fun as the official Emerald City set is, Bousker’s swankified minifig-scale take has me longing for more Ozian builds. The post This wickedly good use of parts leaves us green with envy appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jake Forbes

Builder Jan Woźnica has a strong reputation in the world of LEGO space builds. Case in point, you may remember LEGO Ideas 21340 Tales of the Space Age, a set soon to retire from the slate of available sets on the LEGO site. While this isn’t as minimalist as those great pieces of art, this take on a Martian space elevator is stellar, featuring some forced perspective that’s out of this world! The post How to use forced perspective in space [Building Techniques] appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Kyle Keller (TBB Managing Editor)

Animatronic doll Young-Hee loves games! Especially Red Light, Green Light. The Squid Game icon just finished her encore in season 2 of the hit Netflix series, and now she makes her debut in LEGO courtesy of Finnish builder Jannis Mavrostomos. Jannis is a master at turning complex subjects into adorable brick packages, and his skills are on full display here. Using bananas for the doll’s out-turned hands is especially clever. It’s such a spot-on likeness, I know you want to sing along. Mugunghwa-kkochi pieot-seumniDA! The post LEGO Young-hee from Squid Game has her eye on you appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jake Forbes

Can you believe LEGO’s Architecture theme has been going for 17 years now? That would make it old enough to get a driving license in the UK! It’s testament to the diversity of the theme that in all those years, you can count the number of buildings to receive repeat sets on one hand. We can add another finger to that hand now, as 21062 Trevi Fountain re-visits one of Rome’s most famous landmarks. The first iteration of this set – 21020 – included 731 parts, but that number has now ballooned to 1,880 pieces in the 2025 version. It will release March 1st, but you can pre-order it from LEGO’s website now for US $159.99 | CAN $209.99 | UK £139.99. You may also be able to pick it up from eBay or Amazon, once it has released. The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this...

LEGO fan contests like Brickscalibur can push even the best builders to new creative heights through creative prompts, tight deadlines, and friendly competition. One builder whose creations consistently caught our eye during the latest competition goes by T-86 (Swe). What impresses with T-86’s builds isn’t just the stellar medieval brickwork, but the variety of approaches that capture the breadth of “castle” as a building theme. Let’s take a moment to celebrate each of T-86’s five submissions. First is “The Traitor,” submitted for the Perspective Matters category. This build is a showcase for brickwork in the modern castle aesthetic, creating walls that are deceptively simple at a glance, but upon closer inspection are a web of clever techniques. The arches on the right, capped with a jigsaw of  “cheese slopes” are a highlight, as is the door with its deep notches. By framing the shot with wall-to-wall LEGO bricks and simulating natural...

Few LEGO builders can deliver a sci-fi scene as well as the infamous Tim Goddard. And he delivers yet again in this beautiful scene set in the Star Wars universe. On a landing platform set out on the water, we spy a Shipwright-in-training testing out their new engine designed for propulsion in the air or water. With the crew observing an Emberfeather Crane, a sign of good luck on this final test flight. With so much detail in the scene, I think my favorite inclusion is the return of one of Tim’s builds from last year, standing tall in the background. The post One last engine test at the Shipwright Academy appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Kyle Keller (TBB Managing Editor)

On January 28th, toymaker Mattel announced a new brand for building kits called  Mattel Brick Shop with the first wave of sets appearing in May of this year. While details are light at this time, the newly launched website features graphics very similar to packaging on LEGO (sorry, “other name brands”) sets for 18+ builders. The press release states, “With Mattel’s trusted legacy and expertise, Mattel Brick Shop is designed to disrupt the status quo and elevate the building experience. Here, we bend the rules of construction with innovative features and materials that inspire builders to try something new.” As for what those innovations might be, the included image provides a possible clue, as the logo dimensions and orientation suggest a mobile phone. Perhaps app integration will feature heavily? Could the prominence of the word “shop” could indicate the ability to pick out bricks individually as one might from other name...

Okay, so maybe the ancient Greeks didn’t celebrate the Lunar New Year, but they certainly loved the Zodiac, and when it comes to snakes, who better to usher in the new year than everyone’s favorite gorgon, Medusa? James Zhan recreates this monster of myth with her writhing hair of snakes in LEGO as the figurehead of an ornate mirror, fusing whimsy and functionality. Perhaps it’s a warning not to get lost in your own reflection (or just a sly wink to Medusa’s fate in Clash of the Titans). James rounds out this beautiful and functional model with a microscale version of  Olympus above and a Greek city below. As a bonus, James created an alternate profile for Medusa with an open eye that can be swapped in should you dare to meet her gaze. The spikey vine works brilliantly in both orientations as Medusa’s eye lashes. The post Reflecting on Year...

Like the film that inspired it, Roland Grace’s LEGO model of Edward Scissorhands is an instant-classic. Every one of Edward’s characteristic traits is captured perfectly, from his wild hair and wary stare, to his ill-fitting borrowed clothes that betray just a glimpse of his “monstrous” true self. The build is exceptional, but the way Roldan has posed the impressive 20″+ figure is what really brings this iconic and misunderstood character to life. It’s rare today that such a well-loved and enduring piece of 90’s pop culture has not been serialized, sequel-ized, rebooted or otherwise rehashed, and I for one hope to see this film stay that way. But speaking as Roldan’s newest fan, I will be eagerly waiting his next release. The post This LEGO Edward Scissorhands model is a cut above appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Steve Barker

As a child growing up in a small town, LEGO made my world so much bigger. I could imagine life in space, the Middle Ages, or big cities because the act of building with bricks made history, science, and far-off places real. But it wasn’t until years later, thanks to communities like Brickshelf and sites like this one, that I came to understand how universal my experience was. One of my great joys in writing for this site has been the chance to learn from and be inspired by creations shared by talented builders around the world. Builders like Vooi Loon Low, a Chinese Malaysian AFOL living in Kuala Lumpur. A few years ago, Loon started sharing LEGO models of shops on Petaling Street, the heart of Kuala Lumpur’s historic Chinatown. Specifically, he’s been recreating the shops as they would have appeared in the 1950s. These buildings, sometimes paired with black...