In a tradition old as time, Iron Builder competitions see two top builders in the LEGO community face off with a serious of dueling creations based around a “seed part” that must be featured in each build. As summer 2024 comes to an end, two fresh-faced challengers vie for the title of Iron Builder in “Battle Red Cauldron.” After coming out swinging with a cool Harley Quinn, Eann “Miscellanabuilds” McCurdy turns up the heat with slice of backyard life. Cauldrons are cleverly employed as a propane tank for the grill, while also appearing as chimney and dogfood dish. It’s the brick-built pets who steal the show. Their personality, combined with the slick studs-free setting, evoke a stop-action cartoon more than a LEGO model. Maven of microscale Geneva D ripostes by doubling down on the dog – hot dog, that is – with a life-size frank made from interlocking cauldrons. Minifig arms...

Since its premiere in 1993, Tim Burton’s Disney animated film The Nightmare Before Christmas, directed by Henry Selick (who went on to direct other stop-motion classics such as James and the Giant Peach and Coraline), has been a favorite holiday tradition for families and children-at-heart worldwide. LEGO fans have been eager for an official set and had their appetites whetted somewhat by the release of collectible minifigures for Jack and Sally as part of the second Disney CMF series. The LEGO Ideas platform has had several projects inspired by the film submitted over the years but they have never been approved to become official sets… until now. LEGO Ideas 21351 Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas comes with 2,193 pieces and will be available starting on September 3rd for LEGO insiders and September 6th for everyone else for US $199.99 | CAN $TBD | UK £189.99. The LEGO Group provided...

LEGO builder Beat Felber is well known for his enormous models of industrial vehicles (exhibit A: our Beat Felber archives). But he’s ringing the changes with his latest model! It’s smaller than his usual fare, of military rather than industrial nature, and more at home in the air than on the ground. The only thing that hasn’t changed is the flawless attention to detail. This plane – and its loadout – is based on a real Dassault Mirage, on display in Beat’s native Switzerland. With the help of some custom decals, it compares very favourably! It wouldn’t be a Beat Felber model without a bit of functionality as well: on here, the landing gear retracts into the undercarriage. You can see what it looks like in flight on this very smart display stand! The post A detailed LEGO plane that’s no mirage... Or is it? appeared first on The Brothers Brick....

Grab your friendship bracelets, Swifties, because the queen herself has arrived. Taylor Swift’s Eras tour has stunned audiences across the world, and now it makes a stunning LEGO diorama, too. The biggest challenge, says artist Paul Hetherington (aka “brickbaron”), was coming up with a design that could represent the entire tour in a single scene. So he focused on the Lover House, a symbol of Taylor’s extensive career and body of work. Panning down from the giant representations of Taylor on screen (each of a gorgeous work of art in its own right), here’s a better look at the pop star herself, represented with style by a custom minifig. The rooms of the Lover House are chock full of detail, with nary a blank space to be seen. We’ll start with the room representing Red, the iconic breakup album, complete with the burgundy armchairs from her music video. The ribbed 1×2...

Originally introduced in the Phantom Menace, the Multi-Troop Transport (MTT) has seen several LEGO iterations in official Star Wars sets. But none of them have shown the vehicle in the blue-and-grey CIS livery seen in the Clone Wars animated series. The Minikit Guy has also previously built an MTT in Trade Federation brown – but they have updated it to its Separatist colours! And what a model it is, made up of either 10,000 or 11,000 pieces. Hang on – 10 or 11 thousand? Why the difference? The different part counts come from the model’s flagship play feature: the famous retractable droid racks! If you’ve only seen the saga films, you’ll be familiar with the MTT’s role as a Battle Droid carrier… …But since that film, the Separatists had developed Super Battle Droids, and so this transport must be made capable of carrying these too! You can see a bit more...