Earlier today, a district court in China ruled against four companies for infringing multiple LEGO copyrights by producing and distributing LEPIN-branded imitation products. The companies were ordered to “immediately cease producing, selling, exhibiting or in any way promoting the infringing products” and to pay LEGO 4.5 million RMB in damages (about $650,000 US). The four companies, including Shantou Meizhi Model Co. among others, were held liable by the Guangzhou Yuexiu District Court for copying 18 specific LEGO sets and multiple minifigures in addition to “carrying out unfair competitive acts.” Niels B. Christiansen, CEO of the LEGO Group commented that the rulings “send a clear warning message to other companies who may be copying LEGO products,” and that the company will continue to “take all necessary legal actions to protect our intellectual property rights.” The ruling is another significant legal victory for LEGO as the company continues to battle imitators in China....

Sometimes the most effective LEGO creations are those that skillfully employ a sparse economy of parts. This creepy figure from Cezium does exactly that–building genuine character from a handful of pieces. Whilst this (blind?) old lady appears to be only gathering herbs, her eyeless visage and the skull-bearing staff create a real sense of unease. I suspect there’s nothing but a frame beneath the cloth habit, but it doesn’t matter, as what is visible is well done. The face (built from an upside down Raptor body no less!) and the skull are excellent, and the use of spider leg parts for the staff’s tips is perfect. Couple the model-building with atmospheric photography and you have a wonderfully unsettling LEGO creation. The post Unsettling figure will haunt your dreams appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

LEGO TOKYO is a special collaboration between Aurélien Mathieu (better known online as Shobrick) and Cole Blaq. To be precise, it’s really Shobrick’s swan song from the LEGO scene–and what better way to make a grand exit but with a monumental partnership to release four epic scenes that were put together by professional set designers and talented artists. The story begins with Shobrick, who has been planning for some time to take an indefinite break from LEGO to focus on his pursuit of being a film director and wanted to create a few amazing pieces before setting aside his bricks. Over two years ago, he reached out to Cole Blaq to provide the settings and the right vibes for his vision of a scene he had in mind: a futuristic battlefield in Neo Tokyo with a Mecha antagonist. After multiple variations, Cole introduced his vision of the build and sent it...

Every superhero needs a top-notch ride. While Batman has to choose among all of his Batmobiles, other heroes, like firefighters, have a lot to show, too. Steven Asbury, an expert in the sphere of city fire safety, is constantly upgrading the city department’s engines. Here’s the new Arrow XT platform with a ton of things to spy: a dozen of compartments, flashing lights, switches, and some skillfully designed custom stickers. And on a quiet day, this truck is still a finest jewel of the modern LEGO city. The post A proper vehicle for the true heroes of the city appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Alexander

One of the most fun games I play with friends is Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege, a tactical multiplayer game of attack and defend resolving bomb defusal or hostage situations. In the attack phase, I like playing as French GIGN operator Twitch, who is equipped with her own hand-crafted camera drone outfitted with a taser. To show some love for this game, I built the Shock Drone with LEGO in 1:1 scale. The bulky design of the Shock Drone compared to other operators’ standard camera drones allowed enough room internally for Power Functions. Each front wheel is powered by a motor and controlled by SBrick, which, just like in Siege, allows me to control the drone with my phone. You can see it in action, as well as a glimpse at the internals and a gameplay comparison for those unfamiliar with Siege, in the video below. The post Take control of...