After weeks without elevenses or second breakfasts, with naught but Ent-draughts to sustain them, you can feel the joy when Merry and Pippen discover Saruman’s private food stash. MorlornEmpire (secondary account of Eli Willsea, aka ForlornEmpire) recreates the scene in a delicious LEGO vignette. The builder is no stranger to Lord of the Rings vignettes, and again he showcases his eye for screen detail with dynamic composition at miniature scale. The lattice roof is my favorite feature, providing a nice contrast from the color and textures on the stone walls. Look carefully and you’ll see that the floor is flooded, but not so high as to ruin those barrels of Old Toby. The scene was created for the Middle Earth LEGO Olympics 2024 for a final round duel against Isaiah Kepner, who ended up winning the competition with his tribute to Rohan’s Golden Hall feast. The post Meat and more are...

The Botanical Collection has been a great source of Nice Parts Use (NPU) by the standards of LEGO sets, and it’s inspired builders to find their own clever uses for unusual parts. The latest to dig around in their parts bin is Jaroslaw Walter. The result is not one, but two flowering plants, presented in a nice little pond. The lilypad plants make use of some minifigure headwear: a crown in the middle, and the Collectible Minifigure series 21 ladybug figure headdress. There’s another headpiece in the bigger plant too: Ahsoka’s montrals sit at the centre. But what really catches the eye are the pterodactyl wings used as leaves! It borrows some of the floral tech from 10280 Flower Bouquet. The post Heading off some flowery NPU appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Theo Spencer

The last time I rapped at y’all an interesting thing happened. Whether it be diverse representation in the Friends line, or the minifigures that come in LEGO Star Wars Microfighters sets, folks online sure have opinions about it. The consensus of said opinions on my last post, at least the ones that chose to share them anyway, was that they didn’t like me or the accompanying AI-generated image of me chitchatting and being as cool as a cucumber. As for not liking me, we did our own scientific research on the matter. We polled nearly a dozen people, and asked whether they’d prefer to encounter me in the forest or some rando dude from the internet. They unanimously chose me! However, I’m willing to acknowledge that our research may be biased because nearly a dozen people were all I could survey in the TBB hot tub last night. As for not...

While these days Nintendo’s F-Zero might be best known as providing a stage and combatant in Smash Bros, the franchise was once among the crown jewels of Nintendo platforms. Each game pushed the hardware limits of its generation to create a thrilling sense of speed, and the colorful hovercrafts and their alien racers added a layer of story and lore never before seen in a racing game. Nintendo super-fan Clément pays tribute to the intergalactic grand prix with a LEGO starting gate and three racers: the Wild Goose, Golden Fox, and Sonic Phantom. Clément nails the chunky aesthetics of the N64 era, when the franchise went 3D, witch each vehicle’s colors and silhouette instantly recognizable. If Clément’s take on Nintendo’s space racers has you feeling the need for speed, consider revisiting the Brothers Brick speeder circuit for other zippy hover vehicles. The post Start your plasma engines, the LEGO F-Zero GP is about...

When wandering through a LEGO landscape strewn with ruins, you would be advised to watch your step. Just ask Gus. who, as the cereator of this scene, probably has a good idea where it is safe to step to avoid the deep swamp water among the mushrooms. The whole scene is elevated, allowing fern fronds to barely emerge from the surface. With so many kinds of mushrooms you probably should also check your pocket guide to make sure you pick the right ones for your stew. The post A LEGO swamp full of stange mushrooms may hide a secret or two appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Daniel

Prolific builder Eero Okkonen is the Geppetto of the LEGO community, crafting detailed characters with such personality that they seem ready to come alive. His latest model of a blue fairy isn’t inspired by Pinocchio, however, but by a fairy tale from Eero’s native Finland, Pessi and Illusia. Eero employs his usual panache for NPU (nice parts usage), with the highlight perhaps the Queen’s Dragon heads used as Illusia’s skirt. As lovely as the fairy is, it’s Pessi the adorable toad who steals the show here, with those perfect saucer eyes and sporting a wonderful wicker basket of interwoven flex tubes. The scene is rounded out by delectable cloudberries on stems that incorporate foam leaves, appropriately enough, from the Belville Flower Fairy Party. The post Fairy and toad are friends appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jake Forbes

This year, 2024, marks the 25th anniversary of LEGO Star Wars, and builder “2mpaired” has created this Mos Espa pod race scene from the 1999 film The Phantom Menace to commemorate the occasion. The scene, with sand and rock formations spilling over the edges of the diorama base, brings the motion and excitement of the pod race to life. The pod racer builds for Anakin and Sebulba, the scene’s main characters, are among the best minifigure-scale models I have seen. If you’re not impressed, take a look at LEGO’s microscale model “75380: Mos Espa Podrace Diorama” to fully appreciate the detail in both landscape, minimal yet telling, and the racers themselves. The post Diorama base unable to contain the speed and excitement of a pod race! appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: John Trevino

If there’s one thing I’m a sucker for in LEGO creations of mystical worlds, it’s floating rocks. And had Mihał Ch (AKA BardJaskier) just shown us this serene scene of floating rocks and waterfalls, that would have scratched that particular itch. But he’s gone one further and thrown in another favourite of mine in the shape of a majestic jade dragon! I must confess that I first thought it was a Pokemon called Rayquaza – and in my defense, I think it does bear a passing resemblance. But its presence does lead to some questions; primarily, what is that mysterious figure at the top doing? Although he has a sword in hand, it all seems quite peaceful here, at least for now. Has he come to seek the dragon’s guidance, or challenge it? Or has he just stumbled across it by (mis)fortune? The post This jade dragon won’t leave you feeling...

I love me a bit of Asian food. Korean BBQ chicken, a nice bit of sushi, phad Thai, and you can’t beat some good pho. But right now, I’ve got a craving for some noodles done Chinese street-food style. And for that, I have Khang Huynh and his LEGO noodle cart to thank! For a build seemingly devoid of life, it’s very atmospheric. In part that’s helped by some judicious editing and lighting choices, but it’s as much down to the build. The little details like the soy sauce bottles or the stickers (borrowed from Monkie Kid and Lunar New Year sets, among others) really sell the scene. And there’s the juxtaposition of the old-fashioned cart with the very-much-20th century folding table and stools. I can practically smell the waft of fresh noodles from here… And it’s as good as this build looks! The post Chow down on some Chow Mein...

For the Geneva sisters Anna, Sarah, and Geneva (aka Three Little Mice, Tayaya, and Geneva D), creating with LEGO is a family affair. The three talented builders collaborated on a series of life-size swords to showcase at this year’s Brickworld, each forging a personal blade with its own personality. Geneva’s broadsword, dubbed Kalypso, is the largest of the three, requiring two hands to hold. Using brown and metallic silver (and a touch of Spinjitzu!) on the hilt for a studded leather look, this is clearly the blade of a warrior. She pairs the sword with the smaller and more play-friendly dagger, Acheron, which boasts a serrated blade and a menacing Hero Factory spiked ball on the hilt. Sarah achieves a more elegant look with a sleek blade and gold detailing on the hilt. Continuing the trend (inspired by this epic blade from Random Vector), a bit of chain built from “macaroni...