“In a world of floating islands, Elias . . . knew every lever, every pipe, and every sound it made. But his eyes often wandered atop the workshop, where his air balloon stood, waiting to lift off.” That’s how Gus (aka Faëbricks) begins the tale surrounding this tall vignette called “Sogno di Volare,” and personally, he had me at “floating islands.” The model has clear industrial, steampunk vibes from the brick foundation to the moored airship—and speaking of that airship, how cute is that thing? It’s a compact, one-seater model perfect for gallivanting around those floating islands. As Gus continues: “One day, he promised himself, he’d set his balloon free, leaving the steam and noise behind, and float into the wide, open sky.” Here’s hoping our little engineer gets his chance.   The post Steam on! appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Ryan Kunz

The artful LEGO creations of Mattia Careddu are more than they first appear to be. Two forms stand on opposite sites of a mirror – an elegant robot and a black fantasy monstrosity. Which is truth and which an illusion? Mattia’s build is striking, both as three separate models and as an evocatively staged tableau. I love the retro robot with a slight tip to its head. The mirror frame is simple but effective, especially at this large scale. But it’s that shocking red background contrasting with the sand green and inky black that turns the scene into dreamy technicolor phantasmagoria. The post LEGO seen through a glass, darkly appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jake Forbes

For many LEGO fans, each new series of Collectible Minifigures is a creativity prompt to assemble minifig habitats to house each character, and one of the most prolific and inspired of these builders is ABrickDreamer.  The latest Dungeons and Dragons series of minifigs is arguably the hottest set to date, with each character bringing deep lore and delightful accessories to inspire habitat builders. Let’s take a look at ABrickDreamer’s take with 12 fantastic habitats! The Dragonborn Paladin lead the pack housed in an elegant castle courtyard with a lovely double archway. The Dwarf Barbarian camps atop a mountain pass, joined by a goat to match her gruff demeanor. The Mind Flayer and its Intellect Devourers suck life from a deep dungeon. Minifig habitats follow a few basic rules – the base should be 8×8 studs,and the walls 8 bricks high, offset halfway by a stud to help them interlock. Often the...

November has arrived which means BrickNerd is celebrating Nerdvember! It is a month where we get EXCEPTIONALLY nerdy (well… nerdier than normal) and dive even deeper into LEGO topics, techniques, themes, history, lore, MOCs and more. But it also means we host our annual contest where you can reimagine our mascot Nerdly to win some amazing prizes! So what’s the contest theme this year? We’ve done a high fantasy theme and a survival theme. This year we are feeling a bit more… energetic. Welcome to Nerdvember 2024: Animation Edition! Animated Excitement Yes indeed, animation in all its forms is the theme of the contest. We want you to get creative with our mascot Nerdly (here are basic instructions as a PDF download) and customize it to an animated character of your choosing. We’re looking for the best that animation has to offer! Will you make something classic from Disney or Pixar?...

It’s time to do some trick or treating, but while it might be Halloween today, it’s also time for our monthly LEGO community round-up! So sit back in that cozy chair of yours, take a sip of your pumpkin-spiced latte (or your preferred choice of warm drink), and enjoy this month’s potpourri of interesting articles, deep drives and insightful features from all across the LEGO community! We are lucky to have this many outlets and channels that keep creating incredible content, and these are the best of the month. Here at BrickNerd we built a vampire and a thing, talked about breaking builder’s block and rekindling the love of LEGO, how to move your sets and making minifig stacks. We went to space and the racetrack, explored characters and colors, and even took a deep dive into LEGO Inside Tour sets and medical representation within LEGO Friends. In fact, we’ve published...