Paul Hetherington seems on top of the world right now, so I reached out to see if he’d be game for an interview. He said, ”Hey, Lino, that would be amazing! It would be an honor to be interviewed by my favorite interviewer. Now that Barbara Walters is gone, we need more decisive journalism to clog up the internet.” With that said, let’s soften the lights and get our decisive journalism on. Sit back, relax- and you might want to mix yourself a good, strong Tiki drink for this one. TBB: (Lino) Thanks for being with us, Paul. Look how handsome you are! Your smile can light up an adult book store. We last interviewed you in 2017 when Kanye and Diddy were topping the charts. Since then, I’ve lost my hair and gained 15 lbs. and, well, Kanye and Diddy are facing their own challenges. How are you holding up?...

By now, you will have seen our shortlist for our annual Creation of the Year award. What?! You haven’t? Well head on over here to see it! It’s one thing to create one, year-defining build. It’s another thing entirely to consistently hit such heady heights in multiple builds over the course of a year. That’s what our Builder of the Year award celebrates! This might be someone whose builds were just too good not to feature over and over again (think last year’s winner, Maxx Davidson). They might have achieved success in other spheres, such as winning contests (Jonas Kramm won his Iron Builder round in 2017) or gaining LEGO Ideas sets (Sandro Quattrini, 2021). Or perhaps they showed growth, taking their builds to new heights like Dicken Liu did in 2023. What will set our 2025 winner apart? Take a look at our shortlist and cast your vote in the...

Ids de Jong had an incredible sci-fi heavy 2025 with daily rovers in February and a showstopping New Hashima topper, but with Brickscalibur calling, the builder rings out the year medieval style. The Eastern Gate is a masterful composition, melding architecture and landscaping in a compact footprint. A hexagonal tower makes good use of 1×2 round plates to break from the grid, while snot bricks and tiles add recessed color striping around the gate. As strong as the brickwork is, my favorite elements are the pebbly ground. From just this small slice of a wall, it’s easy to imagine the bustling Middle Eastern town on the other side, thanks to the abundant figures and trees jutting from the frame. The post Camels and cobblestones at the Eastern Gate appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jake Forbes (TBB Managing Editor)

Season 7, Round 8  of the prestigious Iron Builder competition with the seed part of flower bell in light blue has come to a close. In the building battle between defending champion Eann “Miscellanabuilds” McCurdy and challenger Drew “CRCT Productions” Cazenave-Tapie, the judges were split 2-1 in favor of Eann. Even though only one builder can claim the Iron Builder title this round, both participants shared incredible creations. In addition to sharing all of the entries from this round, we spoke with both builders about their experience. Drew Cazenave-Tapie (CRCT Productions) TBB:  First of all, congratulations on completing 6 incredible builds. You must be exhausted!After a quiet couple of years, you re-entered the scene in a big way this year with an incredible SHIP, awesome vignweek builds, and now you’re vying for the Iron Builder title. You seem to be at the top of your game. Care to comment? Drew:  LEGO...

We at the Brothers Brick got through quite a lot of LEGO this year. We had 81 reviews penned by both in-house and guest writers, and that’s not even counting the sets we bought of our own volition! As you know, we’re an opinionated bunch. We all have our favourites: LEGO kits that wowed us with new parts, interesting techniques, or just downright charm. On the other hand, you can’t win them all, and there were a fair few duds this year too. We’ve listed some of our picks for both categories below. Agree or disagree? Tell us in the comments! What were your most and least favourite sets from 2025? Let’s get the bad out the way first, shall we? Star Wars 75406 Kylo Ren’s Command Shuttle The best thing about Kylo Ren’s shuttle was Jake’s sub-heading for his review. (I thought it was funny, anyway!) And while not necessarily...

Over the years, David Roberts  has created a vast fleet of small LEGO spacecraft featuring bright colors and designs that evoke the sci-fi future of decades past. The builder’s latest is the Y Cranc starfighter, and it’s one of my favorites. The sturdy hull is all SNOT in primary blue and yellow with Technic struts giving the ship a crab-like silhouette. David was inspired by an illustration from @thisnorthernboy, with the colors swapped to work from the parts in his collection. As David says in his description, building within constraints can make LEGO fun, whatever the size of your collection, and I admire how much David continues to innovate without the need to keep up with the latest elements. The post The last starfighter post of 2025 is a swooshable David Roberts delight appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Jake Forbes (TBB Managing Editor)

Brickbot Studio here with a look at the smaller Star Wars playsets coming to stores on January 1st. 2025 had Star Wars fans debating whether LEGO could still deliver good value with its galactic offerings. In addition to a pair of midi-scale vehicles and a new brick-built BB-8, LEGO is releasing a quartet of sets priced between $10-$23 based on The Mandalorian and The Clone Wars. Will this budget wave of sets win us over? Let’s have a look! First up, we’re taking a look at TheMandalorian and Grogu’s Speeder Bike. This is a small and relatively inexpensive set, but one that clearly exists to get a pair of extremely popular characters back onto shelves in an accessible way. First Impressions At first glance, this set is fairly unimpressive. It’s small, simple, and not exactly packed with parts. That said, it does offer a cheap and easy way to pick up...

Christmas has come and gone, but odds are good you’re still gathered with family this weekend, looking to fill the time before you or your out-of-town guests travel home. And, if your family is anything like mine, that means a lot of card games. What I wouldn’t give to have this latest build from Dicken Liu on-hand to drop on my in-laws during a rousing game of Hearts. Using the LEGO Mona Lisa as a starting point, Dicken has crafted an incredible take on the iconic mirror imaged lady that has gotten me through so many family gatherings. Now, stop staring at your phone. It’s your turn to deal. The post This royal shuffle of the LEGO Mona Lisa ups the ante appeared first on The Brothers Brick. Original linkOriginal author: Norm Harper

At the Brothers Brick, we’re always on the lookout for fun builds that we think bring joy to a larger LEGO audience. During 2025, scarcely a week went by (or a day during peak holiday periods) when we weren’t delighted by a new creation from Trevor Pearson-Jones, who builds under the name moptoptrev. Trevor’s works take inspiration from the natural world, pop culture, and his home in the Great White North, all filtered through a kaleidoscope of color and whimsy. As one of our most featured builders this year, we couldn’t let 2025 slip away without getting to know more about what makes Trevor tick. TBB: Thanks so much for taking the time to chat with us! We’ve been big fans for the last 2 years, but this year you’ve been a true inspiration. Moptoptrev: No worries! I feel so lucky to have the opportunity to be featured once again in...

Nathan Don, aka Woomy, is a moc legend who created many unforgettable characters in LEGO in recent years and inspired countless other builders before joining the Billund mothership as a set designer. When alex_mocs wound up in the position of creating a Secret Santa build for Nathan, it must have felt both an honor and intimidating. What to build for the builder who can build anything? The resulting gift, a bird called Shirakaze (meaning “white wind”), is a brilliant tribute to Nathan’s past works and a showcase of Alex’s talents. For inspiration, Alex looked primarily at Nathan’s Boreal Vixen, Avian Bonsai, and The Wizard’s Emissary, synthesizing colors, elements, and themes from each. The feathering techniques used on the head are especially impressive, with elements recessed into the skull to hide connections and create a beautiful crest. The dark red foliage is an elegant toch that helps the bright bird pop even...