LEGO is releasing a second series of sets from its BrickLink Designer Program, including a fungal cottage, a pirate fortress, a modular train station, and a coastal villa. LEGO sent us an advance copy of Logging Railway by fan designer and LEGO train enthusiast Ties van Asseldonk. With pre-orders for BDP Series 2 coming up on June 6th (for $209.99 USD), read on to find out what we thought of this inventive take on LEGO locomotion. LEGO sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews. The build, part 1: The train Just like with our Series 1 review, we don’t have instructions or a box to show off, as none of that exists yet. We’ll show off all the parts as we progress through the build, section by section. But one inclusion is worth noting...

Summer is upon us, and what better way to spend time cooling off than by building a LEGO set in the comfort of your home? This month, we see a continued resurgence of the much-loved Icons theme with the release of The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr and some highly anticipated new dinosaur molds from the Jurassic World theme like 76966 Dinosaur Missions: Allosaurus Transport Truck. Let’s take a look at some highlights releasing this month. For the best view of everything available, both old and new, be sure to visit the LEGO website (LEGO US | LEGO CAN | LEGO UK). LEGO Icons 10333 The Lord of the Rings: Barad-dûr | 5,471 Pieces | Available Now for Insiders | US $459.99 | CAN $599.99 | UK £399.99 And starting June 1st (for Insiders) there will be a Gift With Purchase (GWP) when purchasing this set (while supplies last), The Lord of the Rings: Fell...

In LEGO’s latest wave of Disney sets, there hasn’t been a ton of wow-power, but there have been a few that struck our eye. One of those sets is LEGO Disney 43252 Moana’s Flowerpot. Our initial impression was that it was a unique marriage with the Botanical line. Join us as we take a closer look at the 619-piece set, which will be available tomorrow, June 1st, and retail for US $39.99 | CAN $49.99 | UK £39.99. The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick a copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews. Unboxing the parts, instructions, and sticker sheet In this case, we have a pretty standard, smaller, thumb-punch box, featuring the closed flower pot on the front and opened flower pot on the back. Inside the box are polybags numbered 1-6. There is also a single instruction booklet...

Creating a screen-accurate minifig-scale LEGO X-wing isn’t as easy as bulls-eyeing womp rats in your T-16 back home. Builder Joel Short takes his best shot at getting everything right—and it looks like that particular proton torpedo hits home. The long, tapered fuselage is notoriously tricky to capture (you could argue that many of LEGO’s official models have struggled to hit the mark) but Joel nails the angles. Here’s a side view, where you can see the wealth of tiny pieces used to shape the fuselage. You can also make out a few more instances where attention to detail went above and beyond, like the intricacy of the landing gear or the shoulder armor on the laser cannons. Stepping inside for a moment, here’s the cockpit detailing, including a seat and the control knob. This rear view (AKA the view from the cockpit of the TIE coming up on your tail) reveals...

Whispers about a LEGO version of Maleficent as a dragon have been floating around for several months now. There was a lot of hype about what LEGO Disney 43240 Maleficent’s Dragon Form might look like. But despite The Sleeping Beauty being a Disney Princess film, it was still somewhat surprising to get this model in the form of a minidoll set. Is it a sleeper or is there more to it? Join us as we find out! This kit, which contains 583 pieces, will be available tomorrow, June 1st, and retail for  US $69.99 | CAN $89.99 | UK £59.99. The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick a copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews. Unboxing the parts, instructions, and sticker sheet The thumb-punch box is on the smaller side, featuring Maleficent attacking Princess Aurora and Prince Phillip on the...

“They’ve heard rumours of strange folk from the east and the west, new words and new gods and bright steel. They hope to be left in peace in their cold northern home but the watchfires have already been lit on the hills.” So begins builder Eero Okkonen‘s description of this amazing LEGO diorama, and those words are already way cooler than anything I managed to write about it. And speaking of cool, the build looks downright freezing. Good thing our lone warrior is properly dressed for the ordeal, with heavy mittens, a fur hat, and a thick beard made out of plant stalks. The star of the show, however, might be all that drifting snow, including probably the best use of a windscreen outside of a cockpit I’ve ever seen. Brrr! The post Stalking in a winter wonderland appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Ryan Kunz

What’s better than seeing your star sign in LEGO? How about all twelve zodiac signs stunningly assembled by some of the brightest stars in the building community? Two years ago, builder Woomy World created a zodiac-themed “Libra Dragon” for the BioCup competition. Fellow builder Ezreel was inspired and pitched a collaboration for all 12 Zodiac signs to the community. Those invited to participate could claim their own star sign or swap if they had a strong idea, and soon the list was full. But with so many builds to coordinate and busy lives and creative blocks complicating things, some folk dropped out, others came on board, and time was ticking by. Finally, a deadline was set, and the final lineup of builders set to work on their chosen sign. To maintain thematic cohesion, the group agreed that every Zodiac sign would be depicted as a creature, which for some signs meant...

Being a Jedi seems swell and all, but all we ever see them do is fight, train, or fly around causing havoc. We never see them doing anything mundane, like the housework or taking the younglings to school. Josh (Sergeant Chipmunk)’s LEGO Jedi is partaking in that favourite pastime of the space-wizard: meditating. But instead of pondering the state of the cosmic Force, he should ponder the state of that floor! Those houseplants have gone completely out of control. You can’t take a step without tripping over one of the roots! Admittedly, the effect is incredibly cool when made out of LEGO bricks. But with this many trip-hazards in the Jedi Temple, OSHA would have a field day. Maybe best we keep the lightsabers hidden on their next visit… The post Who needs garden shears when you have a lightsaber? appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Theo Spencer

The recent LEGO Icons Botanical 10329 Tiny Plants set has inspired many builders to create their own plants to go along with the tiny pots. LEGO 7 has gone to the world of Harry Potter for inspiration, building an adorable mandrake root at the perfect scale to sit on the pot, dangling it’s tiny root legs over ths side. The long leafy sprouts on the head use the new frond element while the feet and hands are small branches arranged just right… and that poutty face… Here’s another view of the little mandrake just waking up and stretching out to the sunlight. The post LEGO mandrake root seeks sunlight and occasional watering appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel

Following in the footsteps of Animal Crossing and Super Mario, LEGO has today announced another tie-in with video game company Nintendo. Much requested and long awaited, the Legend of Zelda series sees its first incarnation in brick form in the shape of 77092 Great Deku Tree 2-in-1 Set. As the name suggests, two versions of this venerable tree can be created using the 2,500 included pieces — one from Ocarina of Time and the other from Breath of the Wild. No fewer than three Link minifigures are included, as well as the titular Princess Zelda. General availability starts from September 1st, or you can pre-order the set now for US $299.99 | CAN $389.99 | UK £259.99. LEGO The Legend of Zelda 77092 Great Deku Tree 2-in-1 Set | 2,500 Pieces | Available for Pre-Order Now (Shipping from September 1) | US $299.99 | CAN $389.99 | UK £259.99 For the...