Creative adobe suites in LEGO

The stacked adobe houses of Taos Pueblo are an architectural wonder whose living history goes back a thousand years. Brothers Brick alum Nannan Zhang takes inspiration from Taos for his breathtaking model The Enchanted Pueblo. While the pastel colors are much more vibrant the the walls of Taos Pueblo, they absoultely reflect the palette of a desert sunset and art of the region. The offset houses with their rounded roofs and exposed viga beams are unmistakeably pueblo, but serindipitously echo the architecture of LEGO House in Billund. There are so many lovely details with brilliant parts use, from the strings of dried chilis that hang by the doors, to the custom red soil base, to the incredible array of desert succulents (love that flowering yucca on the left!). If, like me, you’re wondering where those curvy pots that fit so well on the terraces come from, they’re sourced from old Scala flower pots.  Nannan estimates the build took 60 hours over 2 months to achieve, but the results are truly timeless.

Enchanted Pueblo

Le voyage dans Hyperspace Mountain

You don’t have to travel to Billund for LEGO-themed thrill rides. Skip the queues and visit Gregory Coquelz‘s Disney park mini-builds instead! Space Mountain was the second of Disney’s E-ticket mountains and unique among roller coasters for its fully enclosed light-and-sound experience. Four of the Disney parks followed the original 1975 design of a retro-futuristic white cone, but for Disneyland Paris, the Imagineers took a different approach, taking inspiration from Jules Verne and remaking the ride with a steampunk veneer. Gregory pays tribute to this incarnation, with a tan and azure roof and the signiture barrel of the space gun up the side (true to the Jules Verne roots, this ride launched visitors into space via good old-fashioned ballistics). I love the use of interlocked domes in dark red for the loading shute. The Verne theme extends to a micro Nautilus moored next to the “Mountain.” Should you visit Disneyland Paris today, you’ll find the shell of the mountain largely the same, but inside your coaster is accompanied by projected X-Wing fighters and TIE Fighters as part of a Star Wars retheming.

Space Mountain 1

To see more Disney Parks mini builds, check out Gregory’s Tower of Terror and Big Smol Thunder Mountain.

Trim and bear it

According to LEGO builder extraordinaire Cecilie Fritzvold, your once beloved toys get lonely once you cast them aside. That’s why Teddy here has learned the art of topiary trimming so that he can trim himself a new friend that he can care for, just as he was once cared for many years ago. Sweet moments like this make Cecilie one of our favorite builders lately.Check out our Cecilie Fritzvold archives to see what I mean. Maybe it’s time I phone up the ‘rents and have them send my childhood stuffed animals to me.

To be a teddy bear

Darkrai brings darkness to your Pokédex

In my household there is only one batch of laundry to do on laundry day; darks. Why bother with pretty pastels when your soul is as dark as a raven’s wing? That’s why I was so attracted to this LEGO Darkrei Pokémon built by Dan V. This shadow figure is known to infiltrate your dreams and turn them into nightmares, but not in any kind of malicious way. It doesn’t try to do that; it just does so because that is its nature. It has claw-like hands and skinny protuberances for legs and hair that cover one blue eye and leave the other exposed to peer into your soul. Everything I described above also can be said for the lead singer of my favorite Goth band so…there’s that.

Darkrai

Scan in the piece where you live

One of the great things about a fandom like LEGO is that it can accommodate and celebrate so many disparate special interests, from tractors to ancient Rome to ornithology. Builder voxel123 give the full otaku treatment to a subject I’ve never seen in LEGO before; radiology. Voxel has previously built medical scanners at minifig scale as well as BrickHeadz tributes to pioneering radiologists, but for his latest series of models, he works at a larger Miniland scale, using Belville dolls to staff the facilities. Each piece of machinery is part of a larger vignette where studless surfaces are crafted with the bright colors and geometric patterns you might see in a medical facility catering to children.

First, we have an open MRI system, a scanner that can accommodate those who might have trouble with the standard tunnel MRI machines, like children or claustrophobic patients.

Open MRI Suite Playset (Miniland Scale) - Scanner room

A waiting room puts younger patients at ease with a miniature MRI model and boxes of plush toys to scan. I especially like the quarter circle tile mosaics, balanced inside a transparent brick, a variation of a technique I first encountered in the Ninjago City Markets karaoke lounge.

Open MRI Suite Playset (Miniland Scale) - Waiting Room

But wait, there’s more medical imaging fun to be had!

New LEGO sets for May 2024 now available for purchase + May the 4th LEGO Star Wars sales & deals [News]

We’re on the precipice of a LEGO holiday of galactic proportions, with May 4th right around the corner! And in keeping with Star Wars Day, LEGO has debuted a host of new sets within this great theme, while placing a number of sets on sale (with a special LEGO Insiders code you redeem). The jewel in this crown of Jedi and Sith offerings has got to be LEGO Star Wars 75382 TIE Interceptor, available early on May 1st only to LEGO Insiders. But there’s other pop culture-based sets about to hit store shelves, with a lineup from the new Despicable Me 4 movie releasing today as well. If you’re interested in either offering, or maybe the new line of space-inspired minifigs in 71046 Collectible Minifigures Series 26 (also debuting today), be sure to get on over to the LEGO website (US | CAN | UK).

As always, a portion of proceeds from purchases you make when you buy online by clicking through from Brothers-Brick.com help keep our servers and other infrastructure running, along with providing funds for our sponsorships of conventions and other community activities for LEGO hobbyists around the world.

LEGO Star Wars

LEGO Star Wars 75382 TIE Interceptor | 1,931 Pieces | Available Now for LEGO Insiders | US $229.99 | CAN $299.99 | UK £199.99

We got our hands on the set early, so be sure to read up on Theo’s 75382 TIE Interceptor TBB review!

LEGO Star Wars 75381 Droideka | 583 Pieces | Available Now | US $64.99 | CAN $84.99 | UK £59.99

LEGO Star Wars 75380 Mos Espa Podrace Diorama | 718 Pieces | Available Now | US $79.99 | CAN $99.99 | UK £69.99

LEGO Star Wars 75383 Darth Maul’s Sith Infiltrator | 640 Pieces | Available Now | US $69.99 | CAN $89.99 | UK £59.99

Collectible Minifigures

LEGO CMF Series 26 – Space | 12 Minifigures | Available Now | US $4.99 | CAN $5.99 | UK £3.49

Despicable Me 4

Despicable Me 4 75583 Minions and Gru’s Family Mansion | 868 Pieces | Available Now | US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99

Be sure to check out Daniel’s TBB review of 75583 Minions and Gru’s Family Mansion!

Despicable Me 4 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions | 839 Pieces | Available Now | US $54.99 | CAN $69.99 | UK £49.99

Daniel was also able to give 75582 Brick-Built Gru and Minions a look before hit hit store shelves. Read on to see what he thought!

LEGO Star Wars May the 4th sales & deals

In addition to the new products launching today, LEGO is kicking off its May the 4th Star Wars festivities early by placing a number of LEGO Star Wars sets on sale via codes you can redeem through your personal LEGO Insiders page on LEGO.com. Discounts range from $15 to $35 (USD).

75357 Ghost & Phantom II ($30 USD discount) | 1,394 pieces | US $159.99 | CAN $209.99 | UK £149.99

75371 Chewbacca™ ($35 USD discount) | 2,319 pieces | US $199.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99

75352 Emperor’s Throne Room™ Diorama ($15 USD discount) | 807 pieces US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99

Plus, LEGO is offering quadruple (4x) LEGO Insiders points on the following sets:

Learning about Iberian freight trains through LEGO

Something I really like about the global LEGO community is when builders take inspiration from their local surroundings for their creations. Sérgio Batista, for instance, has crafted this nice freighy convoy with a train from his native Portugal. Now I can’t confess to being a train expert, at least not where south-western Europe is concerned, but having seen Sérgio’s model, I’ve now gone down a bit of a Wikipedia rabbit hole reading about the history of railways in Portugal. So I can say with a modicum authority that this is a CP4700 series locomotive, with an attractive brick-built livery!

Just a Lego containers train

And you know what’s better than one great scale model of a Portuguese freight train? Two scale models of a Portuguese freight train! Here’s another slightly less modern consist, with the so-called ‘Nez-Cassée’ 2620 series built by Alsthom. Fun fact: ‘nez cassé’ means broken nose in French, and the stubby cab front is where they get this nickname from. Thanks for the educational trip, Sérgio!

Just a Lego freight train

Sculpting Legends: Inside the Fantasy World of ‘Guilds of Historica’

Builder Mathijs Dubbeldam gives us a glimpse into the LEGO medieval fantasy world created by Eurobricks, known as ‘Guilds of Historica’. The build, titled ‘Sculptor’, is presented with a prompt, “. . . a large order from the King. His majesty wants an enormous statue . . .” inviting us to delve deeper into the layout and characters within the scene. Despite the prompt, the concept of a sculptor diligently working to unveil a statue of significance is readily apparent. Additionally, the presence of a green-skinned character immediately indicates that this is no ordinary medieval scene, but likely one from a fantastical world.

[Rockwail] Sculptor

In the second image, a close-up reveals how the rockwork, or brickwork, as it were, has been carefully designed and thought out, offering us a glimpse into the ongoing formation of a legendary dwarf warrior. The ‘messy’ hair on the sculptor gives the impression this artist has been hard at work with no rest. I imagine his hands – do we call them hands for LEGO minifigures? – are calloused from his past and current sculpting endeavors.

[Rockwail] Sculptor

What happens when you cross a vulture and a dinosaur?

Joss Woodyard has a thing for creative LEGO creature designs (just look at what he’s got in our archives). But since 2024 is the year of the dragon, what better excuse than to get some awesome dragons out of him? April’s entry takes inspiration from birds both ancient and present for a striking feathered fiend. It’s part bearded vulture, part Archaeopteryx – the feathered flying dinosaur from the Jurassic period. And the feathers are what really make this build stand out, using a variety of pieces from the Bionicle and Chima lines of years gone by.

Draconis Gypaetus

This space cruiser was built in a ZNAP!

Even though it’s not September, we can still enjoy a LEGO SHIP when we have the space-time! This LEGO model by space_e has nostalgia built into its bones, with the skeleton of this behemoth built out of LEGO ZNAP parts. There really is a lot of nostalgia packed into this massive space ship; the windscreens are two different styles in trans-dark blue – including one with an Alpha Team logo! There’s also a few of that old type of Technic panel used on the main body, helping to round out the star cruiser. So climb aboard, and lets blast off into the retro-future!

Hyperspectral Cruiser

Here’s a different angle to help show how incredibly massive this beast is! And be sure to hit up space_e’s Flickr page for some WIP pictures and zoom-ins on the details.

HC - Vertical Side View

This LEGO Schloss is definitely boss!

While it’s hard not to fall in love with the LEGO Icons 10305 Lion Knights Castle, it still has its roots in imagined lore. But what about a real castle? An honest-to-goodness fortification built in 1882 by a German baron, Schloss Drachenburg has had quite the history through several owners, two world wars, near-demolition, and finally attaining “monument” status in 1986. Builder -Brixe brings the castle to life in this stunning LEGO model, featuring a combination of microscale techniques of the verdant and architectural varieties. I particularly like the ingenious use of a dark orange 2×2 brick with grooves on all sides. You can see its underside under one of the dark nougat arches in the build. Original architects for the project Leo von Abbema, Bernhard Tüshaus, and Wilhelm Hoffmann would be proud!

Schloss Drachenburg

Don’t scan so close to me, LEGO police drone

Gareth Edwards’ sci-fi epic The Creator recieved a mixed reception when it released last year. But whatever your thoughts about the film’s take on foreign wars and AI sentience, one thing’s certain: it features some of the most striking sci-fi imagery in recent cinema, from many of the same artists who contributed to Rogue One. I’m actually surpised we haven’t seen more LEGO models based on the film. Builder Tom Studs and friends have been correcting this with an Instagram Creator collaboration series, and Tom’s latest addition is a stunningly-recreated police transport. The insect-like vehicle has such an distinctive silhouette, with its bulbous helm and those menacing probe arms, here tipped with LEGO katanas. I love Tom’s mix of dark and medium azure to give the vehicle a weathered look.

Police vehicles from 'The Creator'

Believe it or not, this is Tom’s first spaceship build, a change from his inspiring fantasy works (like this library vignette that floored us last year). We certainly hope it’s not his last dip into the future!