A cottage lies deep in the forest

Builder Perterz doesn’t give a backstory for this weathered cottage surrounded by nature, but it makes me think of Sondheim’s musical Into the Woods with its lonely and slightly exaggerated look. The wide-ranging color palette encompasses pretty much every earth tone in LEGO’s catalog, and the multitude of flowers make the setting teem with life.

While none of the major techniques on display here are new, Perterz employs them excellently, from the highly textured roof to the tall tree made with olive green cheese slopes. I particularly love the detailed wooden door, with black minifigure hands as iron bands.

Olivia’s Get-Away

The post A cottage lies deep in the forest appeared first on The Brothers Brick.

Bat-rules are made to be broken

We all know Batman only builds in black, and sometimes in very, very dark grey. But it seems like he’s made an exception to his rule, and it turned out pretty sweet. We have to thank Lucas for giving the Batmobile from Dawn of Justice a new shade — even if the light grey sees it remains at the darker end of the spectrum. A little something special for Comish Gordon too — a redesigned Bat-Signal in the same hue.

A Darker Knight

The post Bat-rules are made to be broken appeared first on The Brothers Brick.

Life is like a box of chocolates

Remember that feeling when you open a brand new box of fresh chocolates and you can’t decide which one to try first? That was exactly my first impression when I came across John Snyder‘s box of LEGO sweets. Glossy tiles and dishes are coupled with thick white rubber bands, and the results really look like actual chocolate — from milk chocolate (in tan) through to rich dark bitter morsels (in dark brown). And best of all, the model has fabulous presentation — capturing the box on a dinner table with some sweets in a glass bowl.

Sumptuous Sweets

The post Life is like a box of chocolates appeared first on The Brothers Brick.

Remember, beauty is found within

The Beast’s rose by Anonymous Brick is not the first LEGO rose we’ve seen, and with recent release of the live-action version of Beauty and the Beast, I’m sure it won’t be the last. The flower’s petals, made from minifigure capes, are excellent and very natural looking, as is the nicely curved stalk. A great detail is the fallen petals, making the rose look unique. My only issue is with the model’s base, which may be a little too simple, but overall this is a beautiful LEGO creation.

Beast's Rose: Beauty and the Beast

The post Remember, beauty is found within appeared first on The Brothers Brick.

Mixing up the LEGO ingredients

Great LEGO building isn’t all spaceships and robots and Star Wars you know. Josiah N. cooks us up a beautiful domestic kitchen scene, which includes some excellent little touches. The rolling pin on the worktop, the white croissant as a curl of stray icing oozing from the pipe, and the classic design of the radio — all great. But the undoubted main attraction here is that mixer, and the clever use of an inverted knight’s helmet as the mixing bowl. Not just imaginative parts usage, it fits perfectly into the scene and looks fabulous.

A Baker's Dream

The post Mixing up the LEGO ingredients appeared first on The Brothers Brick.

The weather outside is frightful, but the microscale’s delightful

I don’t know about everywhere else, but this weekend saw winter begin to take hold in Scotland. Appropriately enough, along come two lovely little LEGO builds which perfectly capture the chill in the air. First up, IamKritch‘s cabin looks like a great place to sit out the blizzard. The trees and the frozen stream are smart, but it’s the simple use of a brown grille brick for the cabin’s log walls which grabs the attention.

A Cabin in Winter

And then there’s Brick Blue Wren‘s wonderful winter diorama. I like the variety of techniques used for the trees, and the curved backdrop and base evoking the shape of a snow globe. The color scheme properly pops off the page, particularly those hefty snowflakes against the blue sky. A few more models like this and I’ll be all set for Christmas.

LEGO Snow Globe

Retro design for a futuristic fighter

NoVVember, the annual celebration of Vic Viper spaceships has already brought us a Viper from an imaginary next-gen LEGO Space theme. Not to be outdone, Pascal takes his Vic Viper in a distinctly old school direction with this Classic Space-inspired design.

NCS Cobra

I love the understated greeble details down the ship’s flanks and around the engines, and all the key Classic Space elements are present and correct — red and green trans plates, yellow and black stripes, and a nice trans-yellow cockpit. Although this is a Vic Viper, it wouldn’t have looked out of place in the official LEGO Space sets from the early-80s. And I mean that in a good way!

Cry havoc and release the pachyderms of war

Mark of Falworth is on a roll. Fresh from wowing us with his LEGO medieval bazaar, now he brings us the latest thing in Castle-era artillery — monstrous ballistae mounted on the back of elephants. As well as the nicely-built seige engines, the beasties are equipped with armour and tusk-blades, creating a formidable war machine either at range or up close and personal. I’d hate to be on the receiving end of a barrage or charge from these bad boys.

(CCC14) Elephant Artillery

Vintage hot rod en route

Master car-builder Andrea Lattanzio‘s latest is a brilliant hot rod. The car itself is a great little model, but — as ever — any LEGO creation looks even cooler when a builder spends quality time on presentation. Andrea’s road scene is a cracker — custom signage and telegraph poles combine with classic desert elements like a cactus and cow skull to create a quintessential Route 66 diorama. Yep, this setup is packed with cliches, but who cares when it looks this good?

Route 66 and Ford "T" Roadster

Scenery aside, it’s worth taking a proper squint at the hot rod. Don’t miss the chromed exhaust pipes and the wiring around the exposed engine. Just looking at this thing makes me do vroom-vroom noises in my head.

'23 Ford Model T roadster pick up: from SoCal to Oslo.

Onward Comrades! For the Tiny Revolution!

P.B. spends his time building fabulous microscale walking tanks and artillery units. This one, in Jovian Regimental Colors no less, is a little cracker. The tank carries an impressive level of detail for such a small model — delivered through effective color blocking and a nice depth of texture. I love the use of bucket handles to add detail to the legs — I haven’t seen that before. But the undoubted stars of this show are the teeny-tiny figures — the crewman and the Commissar — effortlessly carrying off some Communist-era chic with their little red scarves. Well played Comrade PB, well played.

TU-138 with Commissar and Crewman