In this article, I’m going to take a break from the technical topics of motors and train power systems and talk about some thoughts I’ve had about trains and building style! Over the past few years, I’ve been thinking about the “conflict” between the two key attributes of LEGO train rolling stock: Appearance - Aspects such as prototype fidelity, details, and scale define how the model looks Practicality - Aspects such as robustness, reliability, parts consumption, and buildability define how easy a wagon is to build, how well it runs and whether is it just a nudge away from falling to bits! Why have I been thinking about this topic? The key reason is that I often publicly exhibit LEGO train layouts with the expectation (both mine and the viewing public!) that the trains keep moving. Keeping LEGO trains on the move makes demands on things like battery endurance, available rolling...

A nice easter egg from the designers. Some time ago, a good friend of mine (Richard from The Rambling Brick) pointed out that the Collectible Minifigure newspaper kid is holding a newspaper with a front-page article on the original classic town police officer. What’s more, though, is that the headline, judging by the ascenders and descenders of the heavily obscured text, appears to read Happy Birthday! In this installment of Behind the Design, I take a look at the iconic LEGO minifigure smile to reveal its design secrets, learn how it has evolved, and show examples of how it has been utilized over the decades. In The Beginning The original LEGO minifigure designed by the late Jens Nygaard Knudsen has remained an icon in the toy world since its inception in 1978. But if you look closely, the original 1977 patent and indeed the earliest sets depict an ever so slightly...

J. R. R. Tolkien imagined Bilbo Baggins’ door as a circular construction, green and impressive in size (for a hobbit). Peter Jackson ran with the description and the gently rustic feel of the Shire and created an organic-and-tudor style mix that Gus has wonderfully captured here in the blocky medium of LEGO. There are so many details to love in this scene; the fence is made from a pair of whips, while the circular window to the right of the door is a bicycle tire! The organic side of the hobbit style is on full display as Gus has achieved both a cobbled circle for the windmill tower, and a smooth roof-line mimicking the slope of the of the hill – not to mention the striking red of the wood slats in the door. With all of this excellent building on display only one question remains; are these two folks Bagginses...

“Carcinisation”; a very fancy word that means “some animals tend to look more like crabs over time”. This build by Djokson demonstrates what might happen if even our tanks turn into crabs! Djokson has tone a fantastic job of creating a round rolling shape for the tank using unusual parts. The Crab-Tank’s forehead is made from a handful of rubber handles from the short-lived Vidiyo line, the yellow disks on either side of the body come from the old X-Pod line (oh the nostalgia!), and the little warrior in the cockpit is sporting a old technic helmet for protection. I don’t know about you, but I’d feel crabby if I had to square up against that thing! The post Imagine a bowling ball, but angrier appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Simon Friesen

Built of a bevy of LEGO Bionicle bits, this phoenix by Dan V is quite the fiery triumph! All the trans-orange flames play well in the backlit model, highlighting the fringes of the bird’s wings, as well as sufficiently obscuring the model’s base. In fact, quite a bit of the design here is hidden from view, with so many dark red spiked panels at work hiding the skeleton of the wings and body. There’s certainly a bit of sorrow for the dark figure at the base of the flames, but clearly this mythical beast has got nothing but rebirth on its mind. The post From the ashes, a LEGO build arises appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Kyle Keller (TBB Managing Editor)