More than three years ago Arjan Oudekotte started design work on a new ship model. He then got side-tracked for a bit, building a few other things such as a lovely American themed harbour and a large excavator, while the unfinished ship gathered dust. He still has to add a few small details, but he has now finally posted pictures that show the model in its entirety. The ship, named Guardian in 2016, is chartered on behalf of the Netherlands Coast Guard for emergency towing operations on the North Sea. This mostly shallow sea has some of the busiest shipping lanes in the world, leading to the hubs such as the Port of Rotterdam. It is also dotted with offshore wind farms and oil and gas installations, so if a ship were to lose steering in those waters, there is a high risk of a collision. The Guardian normally sets out to sea...

The battle scene from Crait from Star Wars The Last Jedi was most memorable for its distinctive blood-red dust plumes that billow from the wake of the Resistance Ski Speeders in their feeble attempt to bring down the First Order. Their target was the modified canon protected by the First Order Heavy Assault Walkers (AT-M6) that towered over the battlefield. Builder Irwan Prabowo miniaturised the scene with a diorama that perfectly captures the tense moment. We love the cracked planet surface texturing approach Irwan used. If you take a closer look, the tiny Ski Speeders use minifigure skates to complete the look (albeit on the outrigger, not the ski). How appropriate! The post The Battle of Crait diorama in bite size appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Edwinder

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 final week of April 2018. TBB NEWS: It’s a week of summer fun for LEGO fans, with not one but two brand new roller coaster sets revealed, along with several other new sets such as the long-awaited City Hospital and an outdoor-themed people pack. LEGO Creator Expert 10261 Roller Coaster announced – Here’s the set we’ve been waiting for since we first saw LEGO’s new roller coaster system in the Joker Manor. With over 4,000 pieces and 10 minifigures, this is one we’re eager to review.LEGO Creator 31084 Pirate Rollercoaster revealed – If the Creator Expert Roller Coaster isn’t enough, check out this smaller pirate-themed track.LEGO City 60204 Hospital first look – It’s been a long time since the last LEGO City...

The League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen movie received mixed reviews — a shame if you were a fan of the comic series on which it was (loosely) based. However, the production design was a definite highlight, with some amazing steampunk-styled creations popping off the screen. Martin Redfern has taken inspiration from the film’s rendition of Captain Nemo’s automobile to create this stunning car. Sleek retro lines are complemented with neat golden trim and some impressive grunt up front — all coming together in stylish steampunk fabulousness… The opening doors allow for a good view of the car’s interior. There isn’t a detail missing here, with gearstick, door handles, and dashboard instrumentation all present and correct. There are even seat adjusters on the plush-looking front seats! To top it all, Martin has included a fantastic-looking engine lurking beneath that elongated bonnet. By my count, this is a V-24! More than enough horsepower to...

May the Fourth or “Star Wars Day” is right around the corner, and LEGO has sent us an early copy of the free promotional set, 40288 BB-8. The set will be available May 4th through 6th (or until supplies run out) with LEGO Star Wars purchases over $75. We’ll bring you more details on the May the Fourth sales and deals later this week, so check back soon for more updates. This buildable character joins the large-scale 75187 BB-8 released in 2017, and is about the same size as last year’s buildable R2-D2, so let’s dig in and see how this new droid compares. The polybag includes all 48 of the parts to build the plucky droid from the new Star Wars trilogy, along with the single-sheet instructions. The set includes six printed pieces — five identical radar dishes with orange printing on white, plus a 4×4 dome for his head....

We all love Star Wars, but why should only the spaceships and battle scenes get all the love? How about some Jawas? This is what I imagine could have gone through Jacob Sadovich‘s mind when starting this build. This Jawa is so realistic, I just want to sell all my scrap copper to it! What I really like about this build is that it is 100% LEGO, including the cloth. We have seen large Jawa figures in LEGO before, even life-sized ones, but most of them cheated at least a little. There is more to Jacob’s interpretation than just the robes, of course. The eyes light up and the belts with pouches are ironicaly made out of pouches with belts. The little blowtorch the little guy is holding in his hand also adds a lot to the character, as does the Technic-lined base. The post This little dude has all the...

At the far end of Bagshot Row at number 10 is the house of Fredregar “Fatty” Bolger, the son of Odovacar Bolger and Rosamunda Took. Patrick B. has captured Fatty with his wife and a furry friend outside his beautiful house at Bag End — another Shire creation for his “ExploringTheShire” project he started a year ago. Like many a member of the online LEGO community, Patrick has credited fellow builders in the comments on Flickr to acknowledge where he has “borrowed” Jonas Kramm’s cobble design and appropriated the watering can design from Simon NH. I love how the online LEGO community reminds me very much of Hobbiton in more than a few regards. The post In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jonathan

In case it wasn’t obvious from previous features, we here at TBB love BrickHeadz, and the recent release of 41597 Go Brick Me has fueled the fire even more. Since we already published a full review of Go Brick Me, I decided to take an alternate approach with my own early copy and focus on putting the versatility of the included parts to the test. As mentioned in the full review, the most amazing aspect of this set is the ability to personalize your BrickHeadz character to truly reflect your own unique appearance and personality. The set comes with basic parts for building a standard BrickHeadz body in a variety of bright and common colors. My only issue (I wouldn’t even call it a complaint) was that these parts were a bit limited as to what you could make with them. The set uses stickers like hoodie pockets, for details, which makes...

Larger LEGO sets always have enough pieces to make a decent alternate build — after all, that’s what LEGO bricks are meant to be, an unlimited configuration for limitless creations. This offroad vehicle was made by Nathanael Kuipers from the 10252 Volkswagen Beetle, and the colour scheme likely gave it away at the very first glance. I find it pretty interesting how the Round Corner 5 x 5 x 1 without Studs element usually reserved for the shaping of the wheels is now used for the shaping of the engine hood compartment. And of course, no vehicle can run without an engine block — the only mystery is that we just don’t know what the brick power is that keeps it running. My guess is a single H-block engine 4 studs wide! The post Transformation from a classic Beetle to an Off-road adventure appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal...

One of the joys of building in microscale is the challenge of doing more with less. In “The Bull Girls,” flickr user Letranger Absurde has proven adept in the art of micro-building. The entire scene has a Mediterranean flair to it. In particular, the microfigure with the red dress reminds me of a Spanish flamenco dancer. You can even find a piece of a flamenco dancer in the thatched-roof building…literally! The curtain over the entrance is actually the dress from the Series 6 collectible minifigures flamenco dancer. It’s amazing what one specific part can do bring a little LEGO creation to life, and this model is packed full of fun details. The use of the black wizard beard for hair is brilliant, and I’m a big fan of the roller skates & cupcake holders that make up the microfigures’ dresses. The curved tree trunk also adds a lot of character. My...