When I first glanced at this design, I thought it was a retake on the 2023 Concorde set (10318). But Kurt’s MOCs has done better than that with the North American XB-70 Valkyrie, a supersonic bomber from the Cold War era. Only two Valkyries were produced as it was only a prototype from the arms race for faster and higher flight. Kurt displays a strong skill with digital LEGO work on this minifig-scale design. Kurt’s renders of military jets come highly researched and immaculately detailed and are always accompanied by in-depth facts and history that make his digital LEGO creations an excellent resource for aviation buffs. The post The supersonic Valkyrie takes flight in LEGO Studio appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Nathan Schroeder

It would be an understatement to say that LEGO Star Wars 75419 Death Star has been a Force Lightning rod for controversy since it was formally revealed last week. As you can tell from our review, the hands-on experience left us feeling as fried as Luke after his encounter with the Emperor. Surprisingly, the accompanying gift with purchase 40771 TIE Fighter with Imperial Hangar Rack, has generated almost as much attention, mostly negative. A lot of this stems from LEGO’s publicity photos showing the TIE Fighter with the set, despite it being a limited-time exclusive, garnering the label “DLC” after video games that seemingly lock off part of a complete game under a paywall. Even if that wasn’t the intent, it’s not a good look, especially when this “missing piece” is part of LEGO’s most expensive set yet. Questionable marketing aside, how does the bonus set hold up? And how does...

Longtime readers of The Brothers Brick will definitely be familiar with the builds of Jordan Jivkov, better known as Dan Ko, one of the most prolific builders of recent years, who specializes in small models that are packed with personality and wit. He honed his skills as an Iron Builder and continues to show up in LEGO challenges like Brickscalibur and the Rogue Olympics. It’s no surprise he’s been featured here dozens of times since 2020. In addition to sharing his models, Dan has also been generous with sharing ad-hoc instructions for his most popular builds. This month Dan is starting a new venture: a website where Dan can release free digital instructions every week for delightful builds that can be made from a modest collection of parts. We thought this would be the perfect time to catch up with Dan on his site, his journey as a builder, and the...

Mediterranean architecture — like Mediterranean living — has a unique flavor to it, sun-kissed and rooted in tradition. Andrew Tate has captured a beautiful slice of it with his latest modular-style creation. While Andrew mentioned some of the really difficult connections (the SNOT shutters offset ever so slightly), so much of this building is very “normal” LEGO. Relax and take in those pleasing right angles! Even with new LEGO elements that come out every season, never underestimate the beautiful work that can be done with a standard LEGO brick. For an extra old-world touch, rather than use tiles for the sidewalk, Andrew uses the brick-embossed brick for the entire base…or as we call it in our house, the “brick-brick.” The post Cafe and pizza, Mediterranean-style, in a towering LEGO modular appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Nathan Schroeder

Which is the best retro LEGO theme – Classic Space or Classic Castle? Richard Young (IamKritch on Flickr) dares to suggest, “why not both?” with the amazing Wolftron theme. Created for the Eurobricks Summer Faction Festival, Richard starts with a reimagining of the icond 6075 Wolfpack Tower, sticking with the retro colors to imagine a bold new future for the notorious scoundrels. (For those familiar with unreleased LEGO themes, you may see a resemblance to the “Greytron” designs.) Of course, no LEGO space faction is complete without a roster of minfigs. The Wolftrons sport a mix of classic space accessories as well as some thematically-appropriate helmets. In addition to the brick-built robot, the faction includes an actual wolf. (What wouldn’t we have given for that wolf mold back when the Wolf Pack first debuted!) For the updated Wolftron Tower, Richard sticks to mostly retro elements, like the radar dish and thruster nozzles,...

For minifig fans, there are few themes as enduring as the medieval knight. Classic castle themes brought the age of chivalry to LEGO back in 1978, and the factions introduced since then continue to grow to this day (you can even invent your own, like the chicken knights, with the Minifigure Factory). Today we’re taking another look at knights with a special focus on customized weapons and armor made from 100% LEGO parts. Many minifig creators these days are inspired by the dark gothic settings of FromSoftware’s games.  Natashia (motherofcatdragons) pays tribute to Elden Ring’s Night’s Cavalry, armed with a perfect flail. Sandman_BrickStudio is a new face on the custom minifig scene but already creating some incredible characters. This helmet crest technique is brilliant, as is the truly epic two-handed sword design. Red Impala repurposes a fencing helmet to equip this holy crusader. The ayers of cloth on the armor are...

As a LEGO set designer for Elves, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, Zelda, and Wicked, it’s fair to say that Wes Talbott knows a thing or two about bringing fantasy to life at minifig scale. Last year, the builder’s Fire Breathing Fortress reimagining with Chris Perron took our breath away. Now Wes is back with a trio of vignettes titled Dungeon Dangers. The first scene stars a hideous slime made from trans green macaroni tubes from the Dreamszzz sets. My favorite technique is the spiral columns decorated with thorny vines in metallic silver. Wes was so pleased with the vignette design of a hexagonal base framed with three columns that he kept the pattern across the full serries. The crystalline spider sparkles, but again its the corners that capture my eye with an innovative technique for stalagnate columns. Apparently Wes came up with the concept a few years ago but...

LEGO has launched Rebuild the Galaxy, and builder lego_m.art has answered the call with a Blacktron version of the Star Wars snow speeder. Classic Space meets classic Star Wars using the new trans-yellow windscreen. The test pilot may look nervous, but the build is solid. I particularly love the classic space substitute for the rear harpoon. The post A Blacktron test flight appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Nathan Schroeder

If you’re a fan of LEGO and Transformers, then it’s almost inconceivable you wouldn’t know who Alex Jones is. His portfolio includes brick-built Autobots and Decepticons who turn into cars, trucks, planes, beasts, and some that even combine together! But for all he’s accomplished, Alex still had one building challenge he hadn’t faced – the Decepticon ninja warrior Sixshot, capable of transforming into six different modes! Robot Tank Starfighter Laser Pistol Armored Car Wolf Obviously two decades of engineering LEGO Transformers has served him well. All six modes are executed just as well as they were on the original toy, and in some cases even better. The added elbow, knee, and hip articulation helps both the robot and wolf modes really shine! To take a look at our coverage of some of Alex’s past Transformers and his other pop-culture passions, be sure and visit our archives. The post A massive meanie...

A long time ago, in the galaxy of Denmark, LEGO created a Christmas-themed X-Wing fighter as an employee-exclusive gift set. This year, LEGO is letting everyone get in on the holiday fun with LEGO Star Wars 40806 Gingerbread AT-AT, an irresistible set we never saw coming. Over the summer, Star Wars LEGO sets rankled many fans with steep prices on underwhelming sets (excellent UCS Slave-1 aside). Containing roughly 700 pieces for $60, this holiday remix of one of the galaxy’s most popular vehicles offers welcome value. True, there look to be any printed parts or new molds, the concept and execution are a true delight and Gingerbread Vader looks ready to jingle all the way to the Hoth system. What do you think? Will you be picking up the Gingerbread AT-AT when it releases on October 1? LEGO Star Wars 40806 Gingerbread AT-AT | 697 Pieces | Available October 1  |US...