The next time you are building a warehouse scene, home improvement store, or automobile repair shop, and you want a neat looking forklift, consider taking inspiration from de-marco, who has shared video instructions for this three-wheeled lifter of heavy things. The black protective cage and a transparent orange cone provide great details. The post Build your own plucky little forklift [Instructions] appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel

The summer 2020 Ninjago line contains a lot of big sets, but what if you’re on a budget? Coming in at 401 pieces, 71717 Journey to the Skull Dungeons is currently available, and pretty affordable at US $29.99 | CAN $39.99 | UK £24.99. Can it keep up with the excitement present in the rest this wave? Read on and see! Set Contents The box for this set fits in with the over-saturated and busy images shown on the rest of the main 2020 Ninjago line. Inside are three numbered part bags, a 92-page instruction booklet, and a sticker sheet. This set is part of the “Game Experience” group, so there’s also a flier to get you started playing. (For a more in-depth discussion of the game, check out our Skull Sorcerer’s Dungeons review.) The set itself consists of four minifigures and two pieces of “adventure path”. Each section of the...

No, this isn’t a product shot out of an IKEA catalog. This is a LEGO creation by Heikki M. If you’re like me, though, you had to look twice to be sure. The construction may be straight forward, but there are lots of details that really sell this as a human-scale object. The variation on the heights of the candlesticks, the well-chosen seams on the metal shelving, and even the hand-hold of the storage crate match what the eye expects to see. My particular favorite is the potted plant. Those are nested Technic wheels and 3-leaf plants. Recognizing those elements made me realize the smaller-than-actual-size scale of this build, which was a moment of mental adjustment. And let’s not neglect that abstract-art print. Ribbed 1×2 bricks create interesting textures, but still “read” as a flat image thanks to that tiled frame. It’s really clever building all around. This isn’t the first...

The nautilus is one of those amazing creatures both strange and beautiful. With a spiral shell that seems to be a natural manifestation of the golden mean. And when interpreted by Mitsuru Nikaido, this cephalopod takes on an even more usual form, as Mitsuru builds mechanical versions of living creatures. Aside from the many curved sections, and the sprouting tentacles, my favorite detail would have to be the Hero Factory chest piece for eyes. The post A most mysterious mechanical mollusc appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel

Master of brick-built characters Eero Okkonen has shaped this fanciful LEGO samurai, and true to his typical style, has kitted it out with splendid parts usages from top to bottom. While there are many clever building techniques that are worth highlighting, such as the lever bases around the flag on his chest, or the offset cascade of car slopes for the front of the red kusazuri (or skirt armor), in my opinion, the best technique is a very simple one that serves both form and function. The front of the Samurai’s feet are made with two red cheese slopes around a black lamp holder, and the color different would be a problem in most applications. But here it perfectly mimics the split-toed tabi (or socks) of traditional Japanese garb. You can read more about the samurai and how Eero designed it on his website, Cyclopic Bricks. The post The blood moon...

“The panda who shot up the restaurant” is a classic example used to illustrate the importance of punctuation — he “eats, shoots, and leaves.” But thankfully these beautiful LEGO pandas by Vincent Kiew don’t appear to be toting any weaponry. The bears are well-sculpted, and their faces are excellent. I also like their angled ears — a subtle touch that adds a lot to their realism and character. The bamboo stalks and tree are simple but effective, and offer the opportunity to show one of the bears in action-clambering-mode — something which happens for about 15 minutes in a day with real-world pandas! Vincent has been on a roll with the LEGO animals recently. In the past few weeks he’s given us an adorable LEGO hedgehog, and an impressive show-jumping LEGO horse. The post Eats shoots and leaves appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Rod

Builder Aiden.builds pulls plenty of feathers to create this beautiful LEGO model of a magpie in flight. I must admit to really loving LEGO bird models, especially seeing how builders treat the wings. This magpie has a beautiful wingspan using one of my favorite pieces, Shaft Ø3.2 Wing 9M inserted in a Bad Robot arm and clipped on to a flexi tube (Outercable 160Mm). The result is a lovely organic shape using a variety of thoughtful colors. The body is equally well done using quite a few different Technic fairings and the beak and eye are a perfect finisher. The post Like a bird on the wing appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Flynn

A recent excavation in Northern Scotland uncovered evidence of the fabled miniature Viking, remarkably preserved inside a clay gourd. Discovered by Nicolas Carlier, who has done a marvelous recreation of the tiny village, using a variety of curved bricks and slopes to recreate the terrain upon which they were commonly constructed. Trees created using inverted clip plates are a bold interpretation of these hardy conifers. If you enjoyed this miniature model, be sure to stop by Nicolas Carlier‘s Flickr site for more examples of diminutive domeciles. The post Anthropologists discover evidence of the elusive miniature viking culture appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel

In other news today The Elder Beast has escaped from a cosmic sea. LEGO builder Cody Avery has illustrated the unspeakable abomination from the cosmic depths and describes it as “…an entity of great strength. Its maw a mass of tendrils like that of an octopus.” He goes on to say; “Remnants of its imprisonment remain.” 2020 has proven to be a tumultuous year and The Elder Beast is added to a long list of cosmic anomalies that has already hit the fan. This is problematic as sources in the know tell us The Elder Beast was not scheduled to be unleashed until mid-July. The astral monstrosity is here to either put a damper on your weekend plans or devour your soul, depending on which news sources you follow. The post Elder Beast mode engaged appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Lino

In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders all over the world, The Brothers Brick brings you the best of LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the second week of June 2020. We talk race, inclusion and LEGO with artist Ekow Nimako. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details. TBB NEWS AND FEATURES: This week we continued our discussion on race and LEGO, saw the reveal of the first new Mindstorms set in seven years, reviewed three new sets including the Hidden Side Mystery Castle, and two different Brick Portrait sets and more. Race, inclusion & LEGO: An interview with Ekow Nimako [Feature] – We recently sat down with artist Ekow Nimako (@ekownimako) to discuss his experience as a Black artist working in LEGO.LEGO reveals new Mindstorms 51515 Robot Inventor, a 5-in-1 robotics and coding set – LEGO Mindstorms 51515 Robot...