According to Japanese animist traditions, Kodoama are tree spirits, part of a rich and very real world of spirits that exist in the objects and phenomena all around us. Outside of Japan, they’re best recognized as the bobble-headed forest spirits seen by the hundreds in Princess Mononoke, the brutal and beautiful animated masterpiece from Hayao Miyazaki.  Builder Martin Klein pays tribute to Miyazaki’s take on Kodama with a “life-sized” LEGO model. Martin perfectly captures the pale spirit’s eerily asymmetrical face with just a trio of 1×1, 2×2, and 3×3 round tiles in black. I wonder if the head rattles when shaken? The Kodoma is paired with a leafy branch that buzzes with insect life. While Martin also photographed this lovely model in a studio setting, I think the Kodoma looks best in its natural forest habitat. The post Little LEGO spirit in the big forest appeared first on The Brothers Brick....

Fresh off her debut in the video game Star Wars Outlaws, Kay Vess and her commando droid associate ND-5 go LEGO courtesy of fan builder Fabian B. Building small poses big challenges, yet Fabian smuggles in a galaxy of adventure with just a few dozen parts. The “figbash” characters are spot on, but Kay’s speeder bike shines with clever techniques, especially those tiny handlebars made from box wrenches, hammers, and skeleton arms. The post A criminally good LEGO tribute to Star Wars Outlaws appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jake Forbes

With its sleek anti-gravity racers, pounding EDM soundtrack, and unmatched sense of speed, the Wipeout series remains one of the UK’s most beloved video game exports. Sebastian Arts brings the adrenaline rush to LEGO with his eminently cool Feisar FX250-300 racing ship. Everything about the presentation is ace, from the stellar color blocking to the custom stickers to the smaller- scale racers on the stand to the slick graphic design that frames the models. Up close you can better appreciate the color blocking, largely accomplished with 2×2 triangle tiles, expertly maintained across curves in the fuselage and wings. And let’s take a moment to appreciate the stickers, designed by Sebastian based on Feisar team branding and in-fiction sponsors like Icom and Ignition, and printed by Brick Sticker Shop. I appreciate the inclusion of a few Monkey Kid stickers to keep the LEGO connection. A view from behind shows a bit of...

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our Brick Report for the first two weeks of September 2024. TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS It’s been a couple weeks but did you catch our last Brick Report? This week we’re back with a vengeance with tons of LEGO news including set announcements and reviews, including some surprises! [NEWS] The LEGO Group and Amazon MGM Studios Unveil new ‘Wednesday’ sets — Chris explores Rivendell and shares whether you should join this epic Fellowship[NEWS] LEGO Ideas 21352 Magic of Disney unveiled — Sorcerer Mickey conjures a magical new IDEAS set filled with never-before-seen minifigures from across the Disney slate!![REVIEW] LEGO Fortnite 77073 Battle Bus – Is this a “one bus” problem? — Kyle gets crafty with one of the new LEGO Fortnite releases![REVIEW] LEGO Fortnite...

There’s two things I love in this world: great LEGO builds, and word-play. Philippe Moisan‘s latest build has both in spades! You might think it looks like an insect’s apartment – but in fact, this is a computer. Don’t believe me? Well for starters, there’s a literal computer – i.e. an object to compute or calculate – in form of an abacus. There’s a bunch of hard discs on the walls; a deck of (expansion) cards on the shelves; a mother (surf) board; some (integrated) chips; and of course the fan. But front and centre of it all is a problem. This PC’s got a bug! But as long as they still let you access The Brothers Brick, I think we can let them stay… The post Don’t bug me with your PC problems! appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Theo Spencer

If you ever wondered what goes on inside your speakers, have I got a LEGO build for you! This retro speaker cut-away by Martin K. spills the secrets of making minifigure music. In this scene, a singer and drummer are in the studio recording their new hit single as a producer and his adorable assistant manage the mixing console. Martin has done a fantastic job with that drum kit. They’re difficult to design authentically at this scale, but Martin makes it look easy! The drummer’s colors mean they side with the Space Police over the dastardly Blacktron, while the singer has ties to the Futuron faction. All I know for sure is they’ll have the out of this world sound of a space oddity! The post A Bohemian Brick-sody Bash appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Simon Friesen

Ever since the launch of LEGO 18+ sets marketed primarily toward adult builders and collectors, the category has produced a wide variety of models from typewriters to guitars intending to attract more customers who might otherwise pass the LEGO store by at the mall. One theme within the overall line, LEGO Art, has introduced some very iconic replicas of famous paintings, such as LEGO Ideas 21333 Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh and LEGO 31208 The Great Wave of Kanagawa by Hokusai. But one classic work of art was noticeably missing from the line-up… until now. The recently announced 31213 Mona Lisa brings Leonardo da Vinci’s famous portrait of a demure woman with a mysterious smile to life. The framed Mona Lisa comes with 1,503 pieces and is available starting on October 1st for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99 The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an...

The year is… sometime in the future. The passage of time has long been forgotten by the dust. And if you don’t have your wits about you, you, too, will be forgotten. This is the dystopian vision that Polish LEGO builder Marcin (bigfig2000) brings us. But for all its post-apocalyptic caution, it’s impossible to take your eyes off this huge diorama! It depicts what looks to be an outpost in the desert, an oasis of sorts among the chaos. That isn’t to say there’s no disorder here, though! It’s absolutely jam-packed with details, characters and little stories forming. Let’s start at the front, where this masked amputee catches the eye. Whether he’s a resident of this base or simply passing through, it’s clear the apocalypse has not been kind to him. (If the apocalypse is capable of kindness, that is.) The rout of civilisation clearly hasn’t dampened some people’s entrepreneurial spirit...

We’re big fans of LEGO’s Botanical Collection here at TBB; heck, it inspired a whole collaborative display at BrickCon recently. It seems to be popular with the public at large, too, as new sets keep popping up. One of the latest to be announced is LEGO Icons 10370 Poinsettia – a flower native to Mexico with, believe it or not, a link to the holiday season. With 608 pieces, it will retail for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99 from October 1st, although you can pre-order it now. (It may also be available from third-party sellers such as Amazon or eBay.) Now there’s loads of time until the festive season starts, but might this flowery offering be worth picking up before then? Read on to find out! The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees...

LEGO boxes often portray the finished model in action scenes, but the Agents theme took that to another level that Tom Cruise would be proud of. In this microscale scene by Bousker they have recreated the iconic box from LEGO Agents 8634 Mission 5 with amazing detail for such a small scale. The precarious cliff on either side is masterfully crafted in sections, and the gates blasted off their hinges by the agent’s escape still look like a movie. Those sculpted rocks in dark sand and light nougat are the winners for me. The only thing that would make this picture perfect are some action lines. The post Miniature LEGO agent makes a spectacular getaway appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel