This time of year is exciting for a few reasons; one of which is the diversity of color that autumn brings. The other neat thing about September, (or should I say SHIPtember?) is the bevy of massive LEGO ships we get to feature here on The Brothers Brick. Take Nathan Proudlove’s HMY Seraphim, for example. Her Majesty’s Yacht, HMY Seraphim, the personal transport and diplomatic vessel for Her Imperial Majesty, Catherine De Marques, the Empress of the Holy Roman Galactic Empire is glorious in scale but apparently, Her Majesty also demands lots of color. Who am I to argue, for I am but a plebe? While I’m well aware that Nathan’s scope of influence is as vast as Her Majesty’s kingdom, in terms of color and pattern, I’m willing to bet a dollar that Nathan borrowed a little DNA from concept designer Chriss Foss for this one. Am I right? The...

Man, I really need to play the Horizon series of video games. Now that might seem like a bit of a random ramble from yours truly (hey, it’s what I do best). After all, Horizon: Forbidden West came out 18 months ago now. The reason it’s suddenly on my mind is down to this mean-looking machine that Nicola Stocchi has built from nearly 8,000 pieces. This elephant-like creature, called Tremortusk, is apparently designed “to cull the human population”. I’m glad I read that particular piece of information. Had I only heard the name I would’ve guessed Tremortusk was a Pokemon or something. Somehow, I doubt this thing will take kindly to a Pokeball being lobbed at its head. So now I know not to try that. Every day is a school day! This isn’t the first creature in Nicola’s Horizon menagerie either – have a look at some of the others....

Sometimes, good art requires patience. You may have a painting like Monet’s composed of thousands of little dots, or you might make Rubik’s cube mosaics. Or you’re Dicken Liu, and have turned a selection of LEGO bars and hinges into a beautiful black panther bust. I cannot imagine how long this must have taken to line everything up! We’ve seen similar builds in more two-dimensional mosaic form, but this is the first I can remember being a free-standing model. There’s all sorts of parts hidden within, including snakes, brooms, laser rifles, fishing rods, handlebars and more. And while I can appreciate the time this design must have taken, am I the only one who kinda wants to crush it to see how it deforms…? The post Be careful with this beautiful black panther bust appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Theo Spencer

Thanks to the Lego Ideas challenge: “Celebrate Japanese Culture” we’ve been seeing a lot of Japanese-inspired creations lately and we’re all for it. Oskar tells us this 2486-piece mosaic was built for that challenge and that eventide- 宵 (yoi) is a Kanji character symbolic of the hours of evening until midnight. It also signifies the eve of an event, particularly of festivals. In celebration of the many various flower festivals held in Japan, he chose to depict a flower motif blossoming from the warm orange glow of the setting sun – symbolizing the growing merriment on the eve of festivities. With this intention, he went with a blend of inspiration from traditional woodblock motifs and modern graphic design to offer a broader imagery of festive values both past and present in Japanese culture. I’m rather smitten by each petal; made from four triangular tiles. The post Eventide-In the hours of the...

If you’re like me, you didn’t know you’d go gaga over a LEGO pretzel spaceship flying over a character-strewn beach today, and yet here we are. Pretzels have been my lifelong favorite snack so naturally I’m glad to see that Pascal Hetzel and I are on the same wavelength. I must admit that even I didn’t expect to be cheering for Benny and his delicious spaceship today. It checks all the boxes of stuff I’d be into: beefy engines, sick exhaust pipes, tropical islands, Iron Man, The Mandalorian, Benny, sharks, Darth Vader, Batman, Santa Claus, and PRETZELS! Heck yes! What is it; my birthday? This piece begs the question; how can I love something but still not know what the heck is going on? That’s the story of my life, really. In case you haven’t yet experienced a delicious salty-good overload, here’s a close-up shot of the pretzel ship in action....

This past weekend, LEGO fans from all over the world converged on Skaerbaek, Denmark for the ultimate builder gathering (that also happens to be in LEGO HQ’s metaphorical backyard). Builder and LEGO designer Wes Talbott featured this fantastic horde of baddies at the Fan Weekend, about to pass through their nerco-powered portal to attack their sworn foe, the Moon Elves. The intricacies of the portal are spectacular, from the organics growing out of its side to the stone dragon heads sitting atop it. But my favorite part has got to be Wes’s integration of bones and skulls into the structure, using the 1×1 round plate with bar. The part really gives those skeletal minifig heads a jaunty slant, evoking the makeshift/natural/ritualistic nature of goblin magic. But don’t let the glowing green gateway distract you from the brilliantly-crafted army surrounding it. Specifically, that big, boney behemoth in the background is a masterclass...

Today we try to shake off our summer daydreams to return to the LEGO Dreamzzz theme with a look at the second-largest set released so far, 71461 Fantastical Tree House. This represents the heroes home base in the Dream World – their “dream landing” – and in addition to the alternate build choices core to the Dreamzzz building experience, the treehouse has lots of flexibility in how it’s arranged. Here’s our review of the set, which contains 1,257 pieces, 7+ characters, and is available now for US $109.99 | CAN $139.99 | UK £94.99. The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews. Unboxing the parts, instructions, and stickers The front of the box follows the template for this wave of Dreamzzz sets. It shows off the first of the two build...

LEGO builder João Eínon has been working on a series of Italian battleship models and his latest creation of the Andrea Doria in dazzle camouflage is absolutely stunning. The camouflage pattern is what caught my eye first, as it’s entirely brick-built and takes this scale model of the WWI and WWII battleship to a whole new level. It’s difficult enough to get decent shaping on a ship’s hull, but all the more so while building in an abstract pattern. But as impressive as the dazzle camo is, the rest of the ship’s details are also worth examining. Despite this model’s small scale, all of the turrets are faithfully recreated, and João’s ability to integrate interesting patterns gets more of a workout with the distinct red and white bow striping, a hallmark of Italy’s warships during WWII. The post Dazzle me with your Battleship skills appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original...

Say what you like about Darth Vader, but he sure has an eye for the dramatic. You’d expect nothing less from a guy who walks around in a cape. Remember when he stopped a laser bolt with his hand in The Empire Strikes Back? If you don’t, Nathan Smith is here to jog your memory with this superbly-framed scene. It makes you wonder how long Vader was waiting there. Was he waiting in that dramatic pose for hours before our heroes arrived? Maybe that’s why he was so sassy when they finally did show up. The Dark Lord of the Sith doesn’t take kindly to tardiness, it seems. The post I am altering your LEGO build. Pray I do not alter it further. appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Theo Spencer

Here we are at the end of September, about to dive head-first into the holiday blitz that happens at the end of every year. And LEGO has already started to prepare by releasing some of their new Christmas-themed sets for 2023. But of course the one we all hold our breath for is their annual addition to the Winter Village Collection, a tradition since 2009. This year, we’re treated to something with a bit more of a scenic feel: 10325 Alpine Lodge. But will this cozy B&B make for a dream vacation, or will it get absolutely roasted on TripAdvisor? You’ll have to read on to find out! Made of 1,517 pieces, and available on October 4 from LEGO stores and their website, the lodge will retail for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99. The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review....