Merry Christmas, everyone! Hopefully today is one of the best days of 2020 and that you unwrapped several LEGO sets from under the tree. We wanted to share a few more insights into this year’s LEGO advent calendars before the holiday season ended. These include leftover parts, minifigure collections and scenic displays that you can make with your advent calendar. Let’s jump in, shall we? The Harry Potter Advent Calendar was a huge success this year. With characters and individual builds being part of the Yule Ball segment from Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, it stood out as LEGO taking a new direction for its advent calendars. As our esteemed panelists below can tell you, we hope to see more comprehensive advent calendars like this one in the future. Adam: I’d go to this party! But seriously, what a clever idea to make this year’s Harry Potter theme be...

The Temple of Twin Monkeys by Caleb Saw has nice part usage, but also a hefty dollop of mystery. For example, just what are these twin guardians protecting? (My guess is the legendary great lost shipment of Blue Food Dye #2.) The use of grill tiles for fingers works really well, and I like how their use as toes melds into the pedestals. The repeated use of 2×2 dome-bottom bricks for mouth adds uniformity and a touch of sculptural feel to idols, too, while the eyes are some excellently used train wheels. The temple itself has some great details in the curved stonework at the base, and the lines and leafy overgrowth give things a sense of age and neglect. If you came across this temple, would you explore it? Or would it be better not to monkey around? For what it’s worth, there is an animal called a blue monkey,...

For fifteen years The Brothers Brick has been highlighting the finest LEGO creations, and while 2020 hasn’t been the year any of us might have expected, it has still seen the global community of builders put together some amazing models. To celebrate ongoing creativity during a challenging period, The Brothers Brick team has taken a look back over the last 12 months and pulled together our selection of the best LEGO creations of 2020 for our fifth annual LEGO Creation of the Year award. Take a look at the fantastic models we’ve shortlisted, and stay tuned for the announcement of our LEGO Creation of the Year 2020 on New Year’s Eve! Be sure to check out the LEGO Creation of the Year 2019, 2018, 2017 and 2016 to see what honourable company this year’s nominations are keeping. We begin with the elements essential to any LEGO creation — a big pile...

Disney+ has done a phenomenal thing with Star Wars: The Mandalorian. They’ve satisfied seasoned fans while also bringing in younger viewers, a feat that the newest Skywalker saga movies struggled with. The driving force uniting viewers both young and old is sometimes called by the chronologically inaccurate moniker of “Baby Yoda”, though some go with “The Child”, and others go by his newly revealed and more spoiler-y name. Whatever you call him, Pascal Hetzel gives us what we’re all after with his latest LEGO creation. He’s taken the official set, 75318 The Child, and given it a Santa outfit. Add a festively ornamented Christmas tree with presents and you pretty much have the formula for success right there! From all of us at The Brothers Brick, here’s hoping your holiday season is as happy and bright as this little guy here. Before you go, be sure to check out Pascal’s other...

Happy holidays to all of our fellow LEGO builders! As is tradition, we at The Brothers Brick have been opening our advent calendars as we count down to Christmas, which is tomorrow! Today, we’re opening the final door, but we’ll be back once more when we’ll be showcasing a final roundup of the calendars tomorrow. Thank you to all those who have celebrated with us so far. Now, let’s open door 24! Drumroll, please! And now, the moment you’ve all been waiting for. From day 24 of the Harry Potter advent calendar, the Triwizard Cup! And from Star Wars, Santa Vader! Lino: Despite efforts to brighten his image, still no one is swiping right on Jeff’s Tinder profile photo. Bart: Ugly Christmas sweater!!! Benjamin: I always thought Sith holocrons were cooler than Jedi. CJ: So…I guess this last day’s item means something to Harry Potter fans. It looks cool, at least....