Despite the great variety of LEGO tensegrity builds lately, almost all of them seem to have a few traits in common. In particular, most builders have “explained” the chains and string that connect the base to the hovering elements in similar ways. Either the connection is designed to look like it’s pulling the top section straight down, or it’s minimized to try and enhance the sense of gravity-defiance. What I like about this build by lokiloki29 is that the design of the connections implies obvious motion away from the center of the build. The 10-SGTY Racer feels like it’s trying to escape, and is being barely held in place by the tie downs. The result is a very dynamic build. It certainly doesn’t hurt that the racer stands alone as a quality spacecraft build. Technic panels and curved slopes in medium azure give a sleek bit of contrast to the bright-light-orange...

When I was younger, my mom gave me a framed poster of a mother giraffe with her lips pressed against the head of her newborn calf. The title read, “The First Kiss” and while it always meant a lot to me, it means even more now that she has passed away. Needless to say, this lovely LEGO sculpture by Joe Perez has a special place in my heart. And as a model, it is very well done. I’m constantly saying organic shapes are not easy, and the body of a giraffe has to be one of the hardest. I love their positioning, the clips for the mother’s mane, and the brooms for both their tails. If you’re interested in seeing more of Joe’s lovely builds, take a look at his majestic stag.  Or perhaps you’ll find these beautiful birds of prey inspiring. And maybe if you want to get wacky, check...

Having enough space to head out for an adventure to the LEGO store (gasp!) has always been a dream of mine. I like to calculate precisely the number of UCS Millennium Falcons, I could fit into any given area, measuring the exact width, height and depth and doing the math and volunteer that in my conversation as much as possible even when it’s wasn’t asked for. I don’t know how many of them I could fit here, but thanks to Andrea Lattanzio aka Norton74, I could at least calculate the number of LEGO miniature Millennium Falcons versions that could fit back there. You can now go an build one if you like, while I do the arithmetic. The 18-step instruction guide is laid out here. And the complete list of parts that you need to build the Classic Van all knolled so very neat with a hint of pleasure from the...

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 first week of May 2020. 26 projects have qualified for the latest round of LEGO Ideas. Keep reading our Brick Report to get all the details. TBB NEWS AND FEATURES: This week we take a look at the tensegrity craze, watch an interview with LEGO Designers Jamie Berard and Marcos Bessa, continue our feature series on LEGO storage methods and see the 26 projects that qualified for this round of LEGO Ideas! LEGO Designers Q&A featuring Marcos Bessa and Jamie Berard [Feature] – LEGO Designers Marcos Bessa and Jamie Berard had a fun time on a Live Instagram session with fans. We share the conversation they had with each other and also questions posed by the viewers.Storage...

Models don’t get much betta than this. This fintastic creation is by Marcel V who nails the avid fisherman look. Prominently featuring a plaid shirt, with two custom fly lures dangling from the pocket. Sideways treads make a sofishticated zipper. Getting really down into the accurate details, our intrepid fisherman’s chest hair is exposed (horns) and he’s sporting a chain necklace. And what’s a fisherman without a rod? Perfect use of the chakram piece along the length. The post Zip up your fly! appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Ryan Wood

Last month we took an early look at the latest wave of LEGO Collectible Minifigures, 71027 Series 20, with a full in-depth review. Our in-depth review should serve as a guide to help you figure out if you want to collect the whole series, or just a few specific characters that are most interesting to you, especially since the new series is priced at US $4.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £3.49, a new high price for non-licensed minifigures (though some retailers are selling them for less than LEGO’s MSRP). As always, we source our reviews from a full case which we sort by feel before opening any packs. This means that we can bring you one of the best feel guides on the internet, since we’ve compiled our Feel Guide through hands-on experience. 71027 Collectible Minifigures Series 20 are available now at LEGO.com for US $4.99 | CAN $4.99 |...

Builder ZiO Chao has given a us a beautiful rendition of a somewhat obscure character from the Mario Universe, Peachette. She made her first appearance in New Super Mario Bros. U Deluxe and is a unique form of another character but looks like Princess Peach. It’s all a bit confusing, but I digress. This figure contains a lot of nice parts use and clever build techniques. The petals on her dress make use of the 4X4 with Bow brick combined with a few other types of curved bricks and plates to create a pleasing shape. The arms and puffy sleeves are nicely constructed and the modeling of the face and hair is detailed and full of character. The attention to detail includes perfect recreations of her unusual crown and trademark bow using the 1×1 heart tile. The pose is wonderful and really captures Peachette’s essence, bringing the whole character to life....

I hear it all the time from would-be builders that they just don’t have enough pieces in their collections. “I can’t make anything cool,” they bemoan, as if having a billion LEGO elements at their disposal would make building easier. Now, in some respects, that is true; having more parts does expand the horizons of what you can build. But more importantly, building cool things comes from an eye for how to use the parts one has, rather than the parts one wishes one had, and a small collection is as good as a large one in that respect. Take this windmill by Inthert, for example. It’s not huge. It didn’t take a lot of parts. Granted, there are some specialty parts like the green palettes and the green feathers, but most of what is in the build could come from the collection of anyone who has a few sets. It’s...

During the war in Vietnam, the US Navy monitored the heart rates of some of their pilots. Flying though Hanoi’s air defenses understandably raised their pulse. However, their hearts went even faster at the end of the flight, when they had to land their jets on an aircraft carrier. These may be big for a ship, but they are very small for an airport. Unlike pilots, unmanned aircraft or ‘drones’ don’t have hearts and they are never tired. If a drone crashes or gets shot down, its pilot can’t get hurt or taken hostage. Instead, the operator is safely at his or her home base, in a comfortable chair in an air-conditioned container. So, it’s easy to see the attraction of unmanned aircraft. For the US Navy carrier landings remained a major hurdle, though. Enter the X-47B. Northrop Grumman built two of these weird-looking experimental jets, to demonstrate integrating unmanned combat...

King of Pop, Michael Jackson, is known all over the world for his unique style. From his outfits to his dancing to his unmistakable voice and catchy tunes. He was and still is an icon of popular culture. Today you’ll continue to find him all over the place, even in LEGO models. Taiwanese builder Vakaisme has paid tribute to the musician with one of his most famous dance moves. That moonwalk mechanism is indeed smooth! Wearing his iconic “Billie Jean” outfit, there’s no mistaking this character, even standing still. Want to see more MJ? We recently featured a tiny version of him wearing the same outfit. And even his Thriller getup has been recreated in LEGO! The post The master of smooth moves appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Bre Burns