Karashishi: Guardian of NPU (Nice Parts Usage)

We throw the acronym NPU around a lot here at The Brothers Brick and it usually occurs when we are impressed with the clever and unconventional use of LEGO bricks. I don’t think we have a term yet for when NPU reaches a point in which impressed becomes awestruck, bewildered, or even breathless. That’s kinda how I’m feeling in trying to convey this unprecedented Chinese lion dog by Woomy World. I can’t get over how radar dishes and teal horns constructed in such a way can covey a fluffy tail. The upper legs consist of shoulder armor pieces and (what I know to be) car fenders. The body utilizes large macaroni bits (or maxaroni as the builder calls them). You’d expect BURPs (Big Ugly Rock Pieces) in a stand likely placed vertically, but when situated sideways, the piece offers up textures that seem like jagged shale.

Karashishi

I’d be remiss not to provide a closeup shot of the face. White croissants and Minifig headbands make up aspects of the guardian’s eyebrows, nose, and muzzle. Gray macaroni bits as well as more aforementioned radar dishes and teal and red tentacles comprise the mane in a similar style to the tail. I can’t even fathom how it all is pieced together internally. It’s either extremely clever NPU or magic and, by this point, I’d believe either scenario equally. Please check out our Woomy World archive to see why we think this builder’s NPU magic reigns supreme.

Karashishi

An elegant spaceship for a more civilized age

You’d be forgiven if you couldn’t quite place where you’ve seen this distinctive vessel before. If you never played the Star Wars: The Old Republic massively multiplayer online roleplaying game or missed the official LEGO Star Wars version of the ship in 2013, you might not even recognize the hammerhead profile of a Defender-class light corvette. But it doesn’t take any familiarity with the source material to look at BobDeQuatre’s impressive model and hear a John Williams track or two in your head. The smooth hull, bold red-and-white color scheme, visible laser cannons, and subtle greebling at the equator are more than enough to evoke that quintessential Star Wars-ness that accompanies all the coolest spaceships.

UCS Jedi Defender Class Light Corvette

Grocery getters gone wild

A family station wagon having a wild personality is about as surprising as finding out your mom has a Tinder account. But that is what’s going on here with this newest LEGO creation by Taylor. The builder says they started with some magenta parts and the design flowed from there. There’s a bouncing lowrider stance, a bright, flamboyant paint job, blinged-out rims, and enough gold to sink a pirate ship. This wild ride is a real crowd-pleaser; just like my mom’s Tinder account.

Family Wagon

Feel the Force of Jedha’s sacred Temple of the Whills in LEGO

A lot of people are saying that hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster. I get it. I never set foot in an Outer Rim cantina without my trusty DL-44 either. But maybe there’s something to the old stories of wizards and their laser swords. Otherwise, why would the Empire be be so afraid of a backwater moon like Jedha? LEGO builder Ryan McBryde certainly has a soft spot for the “pilgrim moon” of Jedha, home of the Guardians of the Whills, spiritual site for the Jedi, and a source of the kyber crystals used in lightsabers. For the past 8 years, Ryan has been collaborating and iterating on an epic build of Jedha’s Temple of the Guardians of the Whills and the surrounding old city in conjunction with the Star Wars Factions role-playing project. In addition to the incredibly detailed building and interiors, which expands on brief glimpses of the site in the background of Rogue One, Ryan fleshed out the stories of locals and visiting pilgrims who bring the ancient site to life (at least until Grand Moff Tarkin showed up to test his fancy new superlaser).

Jedha City and Temple

Ryan’s project isn’t just an incredible accomplishment in LEGO construction, but a testement to the vitality of Star Wars as a collaborate story space.

Come along for a tour of LEGO Jedha’s holiest site!

New LEGO Icons 10334 Retro Radio announced and hits the airwaves in June [News]

We interrupt our regular programming to bring you this broadcast from LEGO. They have unveiled the latest set to be added to the 18+ Icons line, 10334 Retro Radio. It’s the second piece of vintage tech to see an official LEGO set in recent years, following LEGO Ideas 21327 Typewriter. Much like the typewriter, this radio includes functional controls that can activate a sound brick inside. But if you’d prefer to play your own shows on it, there is storage in the back for your smartphone as well. This 906-piece set will be available for US $99.99 | CAN $129.99 | UK £89.99 from June 4th, with LEGO Insiders getting early access from June 1st.

Click here to see more radio pictures and read LEGO’s press release!

This Weird LEGO polka face is bright and nerdy

True story, I’ve only seen “Weird Al” Yankovich at a concert once. He wasn’t on stage – it was a They Might Be Giants concert – but even headbanging to another band’s accordian songs, his joy was infectious. Joy really hits on what makes Weird Al such a beloved and enduring figure in the music world. His parody songs, exhuberant polka medlies, wild music videos, and countless cameo appearances are guaranteed to deliver smiles. Builder Moptoptrev captures that joy in his heartfealt LEGO tribute. The long, wavy locks, jutting chin, high cheekbones and kind smile click together in an unmistakeable portrait of the musical legend. The mosaic work captures Yankovich’s style and brings a great mix of color. Moptoptrev pairs the colorful bust with a brick-built version of the artist’s Roland accordian. It’s a lovely portrait of an artist who dares to be stupid with all of his generous and talented heart.

Weird Al Yankovic Lego Tribute

This X-ceptional LEGO scene rides into the Danger Room

As a super team, how do you make sure you’re in top fighting condition to take on anything from giant robots, to genetically engineered dinosaur people, to spineless alien gameshow hosts, to your teacher’s unborn twin? Lots and lots of practice. The X-Men’s Danger Room, here recreated in LEGO by Brickelangelo, is a mix of gymnasium and Star Trek holodeck that uses alien tech to create a full-sensory combat experience. Brickelangelo’s vignette supplements the official roster of X-Men minifigs with a few custom versions from (the big, as our mutant heroes train against Savage Land raptors and Tigertooth Sabertooth. The scene is packed with great details, like the rippling pixel effect as the slick tiled room transitions to holographic wilderness, the X-shaped door, and the signiture smoke poof as Nightcrawler teleports into position. Brickelangelo first shared his Danger Room a month ago but came back with improved photo staging to better appreciate the full model, which we much appreciate. With X-Men ’97 killing it on Disney Plus, Deadpool & Wolverine looking to crush summer box office, and LEGO’s return to the theme, Marvel’s mutants are having a moment. No doubt we’ll see more X-ceptional builds like Brickelangelo’s to add to our growing X-Men collection.

Lego X-Men: Danger Room

A Traveler’s Tribute to the Golden Temple

Seeing the talent and imagination displayed in models from world-class builders can be a major inspiration for LEGO fans, but where do those builders find their spark? For Danish AFOL (Adult Fan of LEGO) Lasse Vestergård, two enduring sources of inspiration are travel and faith. Lasse’s latest creation is a stunning model of the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the holiest site in Sikhism and an architectural marvel. The original building, the sacred pool surrounding it, and the holy texts within date back to the 16th century. Shifting empires and religious conflicts led to multiple waves of destruction and rebuilding, but the site’s significance and grandeur have endured, attracting both pilgrims and world travelers like Lasse. While he was inspired to recreate the temple after a visit in 2019, it took years before Lasse could find enough gold bricks to make that dream a reality. There looks to be nearly 200 golden bananas alone (I guess that qualifies it as a house of worSHIP).

The Golden Temple in Amritsar built of LEGO bricks

Lasse’s rendition isn’t just noteworthy in its scale, but for its ingenious detail while working within the constraints of white and gold elements. The white flower motif around the side entrances is especially effective. I also very much appreciate seeing so many turbans being used to celebrate a culture not often represented in LEGO.

The Golden Temple in Amritsar built of LEGO bricks

The Golden Temple is the second holy site from Lasse’s travels to be highlighted on this site, as we were also moved by his LEGO model of the Mir-i-Arab Madrasah in Bukhara, Uzbekistan. Lasse’s galleries feature many more temples and churches from the ancient and modern world and his native Denmark that are definitely worth a look.

A modular slice of Cyberpunk

Although only one facet of a larger collaborative build, Bart Marable’s first foray into LEGO cyberpunk provides much of the requisite detail to identify it’s overall theme. While most modular buildings have such a great facade, we are left wanting when viewing the sides and backs of the building. Bart, in a relatively small build, has provided 360-degree detail with images to prove his effort.

Let’s call the ‘Fan-side’ the facade. The use of both vivid and understated colors creates a facade that seems to have evolved and been enhanced over time fulfilling the goal of portraying a cyberpunk realm, in my opinion.

A Study in Cyberpunk

Let us have a look at the full effort here.

This sleek fighter jet will answer your need for speed

Fighter jet aerodynamics are tricky to render in brick form, but this LEGO F-14A Tomcat by our own Ralph Savelsberg pulls it off with a variety of sloped and angled elements, including the trans-clear bricks that form the cockpit.  The Tomcat’s characteristic swept-back wings are represented with meticulously chosen angled plates. Adding to the authenticity are the missiles stowed beneath the wings and the antenna pieces used for the airspeed sensor probe beneath the cockpit. Not pictured: a highway to the danger zone.

VF-41 Black Aces F-14A Tomcat with a few tweaks

Two new iconic LEGO sets announced, based on a pair of well-known European wonders [News]

LEGO has been inspired by the art in Paris, France with a duo of new LEGO Icons sets bound for release this year. From its home in the Louvre’s Salle des États, the Mona Lisa is by far the most well-known painting in the world, soon to be remade in brick and plate. LEGO Art 31213 Mona Lisa will be a little over 1:2 scale, coming in at 43 x 11.5 in (or 43 x 30 cm) and is comprised of 1,503 pieces. Moving over to the world of architecture, LEGO Architecture 21061 Notre-Dame de Paris is perhaps the best known cathedral in the world, its namesake standing tall since 1260. The LEGO version will still sit at an impressive 13 in tall (33 cm), with a removable roof and detailed interior. These popular Parisian LEGO productions will go on sale at the start of October and June, respectively. More details and pics of these new sets are below!

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A char-CUTE-erie board for you!

Boy, do we have a treat for you today folks! This LEGO build by Carter is an outstanding mix of the tasty and adorable. While the individual treats are not what you might find on a charcuterie board, their chubby cheeks and stubby arms might make up for that. That donut in the center is covered in smooth lavender-colored icing, with the macaroni-shaped pieces coming from a single set released in 2022. The thin seaweed layer around the sushi is made from 2×2 curved slopes. With food this cute, could you bring yourself to eat it?

Mini Snacks