The Hotel Transylvania films are a masterclass in physical comedy thanks to the stewardship of animation legend Genndy Tartakovsky. Monster bodies ooze, bend, and emote with a freedom of movement Disney/Pixar and Dreamworks rarely approach. Elias Hübner captures this madcap energy in LEGO with a tribute to the second film featuring Drac and pals piled on an entirely too-small scooter. Oversized Frank and pudgy mummy Murray are standout builds, their cartoony curves perfectly captured in bricks, and their faces so expressive from minimal parts. Hotel Transylvania could have made for some fun sets as a successor to Monster Fighters. While the animated franchise is on ice, it’s only a matter of time before it gets a live-action remake, so maybe LEGO could spook up an official set someday.
Winging it with a LEGO Sopwith Camel
No one else builds and photographs vintage vehicles in LEGO like Calin Bors. His designs are compact and efficient, distilling the essence of the inspiration into toy-like proportions. Calin’s latest build is a fresh take on the Sopwith Camel, the WWI biplane beloved by flying Aces, both human and beagle. Always on the lookout for new parts to integrate into antique inspirations, Calin incorporates the new Mario Kart wheel as an engine cover. The build comes alive with custom stickers for the livery and a bath of warm light. Red Baron beware!
Bringing the magnificent mechs of Lancer to the tabletop in LEGO [Feature]
Lancer is a tabletop RPG about piloting mechs that focuses on human-scale stories in a distant future. Builder Dane Erland has given the distinctive mechs the LEGO treatment with a mix of scales and factions to capture the deep lore of the gaming sourcebook. First up is the IPS-Northstar “Tortuga.” Dane does a fine job capturing the hyper-dense armor of the source, with excellent color blocking to break up the dark grey tiles. The Technic pin shotgun shells on the ground are a nice touch.
The IPS-N “Blackbeard” is a Berserker-type melee unit. I love the contrast of the spindly limbs and a massive two-handed sword. Dane has an innovative solution for the nimble fingers, using minfigure hand to add an extra joint. Battle Droid heads look great on the mech’s feet.
Read on for more amazing mech models from the Lancer world
TBB Weekly Brick Report: LEGO news roundup for March 22, 2025 [News]
In addition to the amazing LEGO models created by builders worldwide, The Brothers Brick brings you the best LEGO news and reviews. This is our weekly Brick Report for the 3rd week of March 2025
TBB NEWS AND REVIEWS While there may not have been much news this week, what we got was HUGE… with the announcement that LEGO is launching a new partnership with Pokemon, having wrested the license from Mega. The fan community has gone wild with speculation of what LEGO will come up with, and we’ll have to wait until 2026 to find out.
- [REVIEW] LEGO Ideas 21356 River Steamboat – A brick-built voyage — Bre sets out on a river cruise with a review of the largest LEGO Ideas set ever released.
- [NEWS] LEGO announces Pokémon partnership, sets coming in 2026 — LEGO fans will have a new theme to obsess over in 2026… Gotta catch ’em all!
- [Feature] – Trains and Graffiti tags — We interview Portuguese builder Sérgio Batista about his LEGO models and a new technique for adding beauty to urban grit.
- [Feature] – Belated Happy Miku Day! — On March 9th, builders celebrated the Vocaloid diva with diverse builds inspired by music. Jake rounds up the creations.
OTHER NEWS
- Second 2024 LEGO Ideas Review results announced – [LEGO Ideas Blog] — The final round of projects to be approved from 2024 were recently announced.
- Lego thief arrested after $10,000 heist at toy store in University Place – [KOMO News] — Seattle-area LEGO thief gets justice more painful than stepping on a brick.
- Lego FanExpo coming to the Central Coast – [KSBW News] — Residents of the greater Santa Barbara area can soon enjoy the arrival of the BrickUniverse 2025 traveling exhibit.
Submerse yourself in a journey of discovery
I’ve been fascinated with the lost island nation of Atlantis since I’ve seen depictions of it painted on the covers of lurid pulpy paperbacks when I was a kid. LEGO builder bartsbrickworks just might be attuned to my same watery wavelength as evidenced by this neat steampunk submersible. Dark green and gold give this streamlined submarine just the right look. If I’m not mistaken, the webbed fin is the sailfin from the Baby Dimetrodon set from 2001. That takes me back to a time when, while technically an adult, the fascination for Atlantis (and dinosaurs) had never left me. I suppose an adult with an entire LEGO room and no kids in sight may still garner a love for all things adventurous. Thanks for the fond memories, Bart!
This spectactular Snoopy is a matter of perspective [Building Techniques]
Good grief, that’s some Nice Parts Usage! In this tiny build, Ian Summers captures the silhouette of beloved Peanuts pooch Snoopy in just 8 elements through the perfect mix of parts and clever use of perspective. Two of those parts are hats – a white baseball cap for the belly and a black cap for an ear – and for Snoopy’s muzzle and nose, I spy a Mixels eye. Pal Woodstock is unmistakable from just two tiny yellow elements. By framing the pieces from just the right angle, Ian gets the most from every piece in matching the shapes of the comic strip inspirations.
Ian’s builds are, as his handle suggests, bricktacular. A member of LEGO Ideas’ 10K club, Ian’s Jumanji board is currently under review to become an official set and probably won’t unleash rhinos in your living room.
Calming tea to go from this adorable shop
When you look at this cute corner shop with a cherry tree in full blossom by JakobKaiserMOCs the attention to detail stands out, from the scattering of pink flower elements as fallen blossoms to the balcony on the second floor with a small bird perched on the railing. I think my favorite detail is the roof pattern, made using baseplates from the Dungeons and Dragons collectible minifigure series.
Jakob built this model live on camera, which you can go back and watch to learn about the techniques or find zen.
This Week in LEGO Bricks – March miniature madness [Feature]
It’s Friday, which means it’s time for another roundup of notable MOCs and must-see stories from the LEGO community courtesy of our friend ABrickDreamer. This week’s biggest trend is thinking small – amazing microscale builds connected to the Marchitecture competition, and the first rounds of the Rogue Olympics with its strict 101 piece count. Also featured are some fabulous brick-built food, BrickLink Designer Program series 7 analysis, and a deep dive into the tricky new suspension mount element in the latest wave of F1 cars.
Lord of the Wings
Sometimes the inception of an original creation comes from a single LEGO part, whether by looking at it in a new way or, as doubtless was the case for this Lord of the Rings tribute by builder Stefan Johansson, by making the absolute most of an apparently natural application. Stefan sets the bar sky high (and crosses fantasy franchises) with this use of the Thunderbird head element from Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them, fleshing it out into a perfectly proportioned Great Eagle of Tolkien’s Middle-earth. The texture achieved by combining a wide variety of tiles across the wingspan really elevates this creation (beautiful plumage, innit?) and the restrained lighting both hides the model’s single transparent support and captures the mood of one of the film’s memorable scenes where Frodo and Sam hail a lift home after an epic guys’ night out. (What happens in Mordor stays in Mordor, am I right?)
The Great Eagle follows Stefan’s majestic dragon Smaug. Can we expect an oliphant next?
LEGO Ideas 21356 River Steamboat – A brick-built voyage [Review]
The LEGO Ideas line has been churning out sets at a record pace! There are lots of fun models coming down the pipeline. However, speed is not the focus of the latest edition to the collection. Quite the contrary, we’re headed for a relaxing, serene paddle downstream. The LEGO Ideas 21356 River Steamboat arrives on the scene as the largest Ideas set ever produced, coming in at 4090 parts. Based on the winning submission by fan designer Aaron Hall, and made a reality by LEGO designer Marina Stampoli, this model is quite the sight to behold. But does it sink or float (metaphorically – it’s definitely too heavy to actually float)? Join us on a voyage of discovery as we take a closer look! It will be available to LEGO Insiders April 7th and everyone else April 10th, retailing for US $329.99 | CAN $429.99 | UK £289.99.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Out of this world aerospace engineering in LEGO
When I started building spaceships as a kid and teen, I assumed the only possible angles were the ones found on sloped bricks and wing plates. Seeing the smooth curves that builders like MWBricks can coax out of LEGO is nothing short of miraculous. The builder calls this flying beast the Yelets LOng RangeD Exploder, part of the Goznian Psycho Navy. With a raised cockpit and a recon jet docked and ready, the Yelets owns the unfriendly skies.
MWBricks works with Studio and physical bricks when designing ships like the Yelets. Some of the tricks the builder has come up with to achieve the perfect angle are equal parts impressive and anxiety-inducing, using friction and rubber bands when stud connections aren’t enough. I can’t help but wonder what this ship would look like in cross-section.
Welcome to the pawn parade
What are the advantages to being a pawn on a chessboard? Well, you’ll have a lot of friends who look just like you. According to this LEGO creation by Care Creations you can also play dress-up when you win a game and celebrate with a nice parade. These creative pawns have even disguised themselves as other chess pieces; we have a knight, a rook, a bishop and a queen. There is even a pawn painting his friend white to infiltrate the other team. Now that I think about it, this clever cosplay plan could be the reason for their victory. Check and mate!
