Optimus Prime is someone full of wise words of leadership, and he dishes them out frequently to his team of Autobots. It’s something that I’ve always liked about him besides his general cool factor. This excellent build of the Generation 1 series by Marco De Bon triggers some of those memories. I like how the ingot bars are used to create a very mechanical feeling at just the rights spots in the build. The post There’s a thin line between being a hero and being a memory appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Edwinder

All true spiders have eight legs, my friends. Unless, of course, they lose a couple to predators, which is fairly common, but I digress. Fortunately for those in the creative LEGO world, arachnids can have as many legs as they darn well please! And so a contest has been born. BBC contest №76 is dedicated to building spiders without eight legs, and this is an entry by Leonid An. This cyber-esque build caught our eye with its neat parts usage and great color scheme. The turquoise and purple pieces were popular in Technic and Bionicle sets from the late 90’s and early 2000’s. Leonid is a great builder who we’ve featured before. Check out his Horus and Set, as well as his eerie-looking “Sleuth” from a couple months ago. The post Not your average arachnid appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Bre Burns

If you’re a Ninjago fan, this vehicle may look familiar. After all, it was inspired by the official set 70654 Dieselnaut, which we covered in our news roundup of summer wave Ninjago sets. But there is a lot more to this steampunk behemoth by Mishima than a black paint job. Every detail from the official set has been re-built to fit the steampunk aesthetic, from brass and steel pipes throughout the tank, to the side and top mounted turrets. Even the crew have been custom fitted to the steampunk theme. Two smokestacks in front of the top turret look like they might have come straight off an old steam locomotive, along with the curved side panels that lift up to reveal more guns. The post Steampunk behemoth appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel

A little over a year ago, Hurricane Maria devastated the island of Puerto Rico, killing thousands of residents and leaving many more without power, water, and basic necessities for many months afterward. Contrary to the words and actions of some American politicians, Puerto Rico is no less a part of the United States than Washington, D.C. itself is, but recovery efforts have been hampered by racism, callous politics, and name-calling. LEGO builder Nathan C. lived through Hurrican Maria, and recently created a LEGO model that illustrates the fear, terror, and destruction he experienced as the storm passed over him. Not only does his detailed LEGO diorama capture the destruction that Hurricane Maria caused on the island, Nathan has animated his model with LEGO Power Functions — the tree and satellite TV dish sway in the wind, roof boards flap, and more. Also be sure to click through to the photo above...

With the immense popularity of the Stargate franchise in its golden age, one would imagine it penetrating deeper into the popular culture and consequently the LEGO fan community. However, it is very rare we see a creation like Rat Dude‘s Stargate SG 1 F304 Daedalus. The spaceship is a product of the later seasons of the Stargate: SG1, when the show matured into a classic sci-fi series instead of the earlier “soldiers versus aliens” approach. There is a wonderfully military aesthetic to the Daedalus’ design, which Rat Dude has captured perfectly. All sorts of angles still come together in a boxy utilitarian design, captured in LEGO with slopes and wedge plates. Even the numerous studs do not look out of place, adding a texture where most builders would try to hide them. My favourite part is the stripe down the middle-back segment, made out of inverted 1×1 bricks, creating a unique...

Baba Yaga is the enigmatic mistress of eastern-European folklore, haunting the forests and bestowing spells of good or ill on those bold enough to seek her out, or foolish enough to stumble upon her. Finding Baba Yaga’s home takes a striking amount of bad luck, though, as her home runs about on chicken legs. In Bricksom Parsom‘s LEGO scene, however, a small girl has done just that by wandering into a section of woods gone sour. The twisted trees and blackened plants are excellently wrought from a variety of elements, on the most interesting being the Nexo Knights mechanical spiders used as grey flowers and a flail as another. The rickety cottage also looks great, with a mix of round tiles for a sickly, bubbled roof. The post Baba Yaga’s black woods appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Chris

This whimsical fellow is the work of Oliver Becker, who was inspired by the original legend of storks delivering babies. He decided to add a twist to the story with a character whose beak was curved with the weight of carrying those little bundles of joy. Oliver also came up with a made-up discoverer of the creature: Erasmus Class van der Ailer. While the Curve-Billed Stork is not a real animal (living or extinct) it is indeed based off of real birds. The ibis, a cousin of the stork, is an interesting bird with a curved beak that it uses to probe the ground for food. I like this build because it has a lot of personality and some nifty parts usage. A couple months ago we featured another baby delivery bird which looked a bit like a pelican, but was just as fun! The post A stilted bird with a...

Donny Chen is a musician, piano teacher, and piano tuner. That would explain the epic mastery behind this phenomenal LEGO instrument. I’m a piano player myself, and grew up fascinated with the inner-workings of our own (life-size) grand piano. I must say, this little marvel is basically the complete package! While it doesn’t have all 88 keys that a real grand piano would have, it does have a very similar mechanism. The keys themselves can be removed after pulling pins from each side. The build also features working foot pedals, a soft-close fallboard, a cover that can be propped up, and a sheet music stand. There is even an adjustable bench! Undoubtedly, the best part is that this model is equipped with LEGO Power Functions that allow it to “play” itself. The only thing that would make it better would be to somehow enable it to really produce music. It’s currently...

Some LEGO contests begin with improbable premises, and in the case of Grid Wars, that means building a Star Wars vehicle in the TRON aesthetic. Many builders would struggle, but the theme plays to Shannon Sproule‘s strengths. I’ve followed his work for many years now, long ago falling in love with his ability to capture the complex, often asymmetric beauty, of classic 1970s science fiction illustration. In this case, his take on the Nebulon B escort Frigate results in a bold turquoise splash of abstract brilliance. Tapping into the original design’s unorthodox form, he imposes some dramatic angles and bold colours. Part spaceship, part Kandinsky painting, its an amazing testimony to what science fiction art can be. The post Star Wars meets Tron meets classic 70s sci-fi art in this awesome reinterpretation of the Nebulon B appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: David Alexander Smith

Sweden’s Andreas Lenander latest LEGO creation is a terrifying canoe ride right over the edge of a waterfall. These minifigures certainly appear as though they’re on an adventure they’re not likely to forget. I think what strikes me the most about this diorama is the palpable dynamic energy of the rushing water, free-floating figures, and tipping canoe as the river crests the edge of the cliff. You could argue that there’s nothing particularly innovative about the techniques on display, but what Andreas has achieved here with a few simple, repetitive pieces is really remarkable. It’s a strong exhibit of how purposeful prop placement (the minifigs, canoe, water) over background noise (plants, splashing water, textured rocks) can achieve a visually interesting composition. This was the winning entry in Swebrick‘s head-to-head elimination AFOL-vs-AFOL contest, which for 2018 was based on Adventure. We’ve also featured Andreas here recently for his lifelike cigarette smoking in an ashtray...