We all know that shopping for that perfect gift can be a real nightmare. Sure, shopping online has made things a lot nicer. But sometimes you still have to go out into the crowds and fight hand-to-hand for those discounted LEGO sets that you a loved one really wants. It can be hazardous, particularly if someone else tries to shove you out of the way. So why not take some precautions? For example, you could don the wearable Roman Centurion armor that Amado Canlas Pinlac created.Built from an interlocking mesh of ball-jointed plates, it’s the rich colors and decoration that really make this a stand-out piece of art. Dark red 2×2 tiles resonate well with a myriad of gold elements. There are plant stems, rounded tiles, and even carriage wheels.Repeated blocks of curved slopes feature heavily on the shoulders and back. Golden window lattices and minifigure weapons help define geometric patterns on...

The most important part of an Imperial Star Destroyer is the bridge. Thus, any LEGO build of it deserves incredible detail, which is exactly what JS_Ninjnerd has done here. This highly-detailed model includes the essentials for what we’ve seen in the Star Wars movies. Triangular windows and the crew pits are immediately eye-catching, but upon closer inspection you can see the computer panels, angled sloped pieces, and color consistency that give this build a clean, smooth Imperial look. Another aspect that I like is the amount of Imperial personnel in the display: nine crew members and officers, three stormtroopers and Lord Vader. Any scene featuring the might and technological prowess of the Empire would need to include figures like these. The post A bridge too far appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Adam Jacobs

Welcome to Day 15 of our LEGO Advent Calendar countdown. Each day, we’ll reveal the four mini-builds from the LEGO Harry Potter, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Friends, and LEGO City 2019 advent calendars along with commentary from The Brothers Brick team. If you’re opening one (or more) of these advent calendars along with us, we’ve made sure the pictures and commentary on each day’s models will be behind a jump so we don’t accidentally ruin the surprise. Will we be thrilled with what we build on Day 15? For Day 15, we have a wizard snowman from Harry Potter and a Battle Droid from Star Wars. Dave: That is another great way to do a snowman! LEGO is really turning a new leaf when it comes to snowmen… maybe it is all in the hats and scarves like from the City Advent Day 9. The inclusion of a battle droid feels like...

With a bit more than a week left until Christmas, Santa will need to up his game if he wants to deliver toys to all the good children of the world (except, of course, those who don’t have Santa in their holiday traditions). Thankfully Ian Ying has a solution with this extra blingy Rudolf Hot Rod. It has all the horsepower (or deer-power) needed to get the job done and there is enough custom and official LEGO pieces in shiny chrome to make any hot rod enthusiast’s heart go pitter-patter. The red-nosed deer skull hood ornament offers a clue as to what became of Rudolf. Good riddance, I say! I just wish it had more trunk space. I don’t know about you but the list of toys I want is quite long and I’ve been such a good boy this year…at least on the books anyway. Also it seems this Santa...

The last of the US Navy’s Tomcat fighters — the plane of Top Gun fame — made its final flight more than a decade ago. However, Tomcats continue to soldier on in one other military: the Islamic Republic of Iran Air Force. Given its strained relation with the US, it may seem strange for Iran to have some of these iconic jets, but it is due to a quirk of history. Prior to the 1979 Islamic revolution, Mohammad Reza Shah ruled Iran. His rule became increasingly autocratic over time, but he was pro-Western and eager to modernize his country and its military. Iran was also a useful buffer between the Soviet Union and the other oil-rich states surrounding the Persian Gulf, so the US was willing to sell the Shah 80 Tomcats, as well as hundreds of long-range AIM-54 Phoenix air-to-air missiles. My latest LEGO model represents one of these Persian...