1 eye, 6 arms, and an eternity of imprisonment

Deep underground, a strange visitor from the sky is being held captive. This is Osdonn the Eternal, who is being slowly bled by his prisoners in strange rituals. But Osdonn’s chains are about to come loose (in fact, they’re push button operated) and he’ll rise up in anger, deploy his massive horns and take his revenge…

This is the story crafted by Mattia Careddu in a wonderful build that blends storytelling, creature creation, and play functions. The image of the chained Osdonn would be a solid enough build. The pillars and the base that hold Osdonn give a perfect sense of place and scale, and Osdonn himself is a marvel of clever technique. But when you factor in Osdonn’s horns and the chains popping free, it becomes something I don’t just want to admire from afar. I want it in my hands. I want to make monster noises and gobble up the villagers. In short, I want to play with it.

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Robot romantics

What is more romantic than an offering of plant matter? Clearly this robot suitor from Kelly Bartlett is well versed in human courtship rituals. Maybe you or I would have picked the purple flowers and left the dirty roots in the ground, but it’s the thought that counts. Kelly’s bots are a delight a wordless LEGO comic with big heart.

Building a community: An outsider’s guide to the history of NoVVember [Feature]

The team here at The Brothers Brick, like many of the builders we feature, live and breathe blocks and have been stewing in LEGO lore for so long that we’re more minifigure than man. But we recognize that not all of our readers are as fluent in the insider jargon and history of this hobby. With you in mind, I’ve prepared an outsider’s guide to help you understand an annual event with deep roots in these parts: NoVVember. This story showcases the importance of community, it speaks about a tragedy, and how we still honor age-old traditions.

You may have seen recent NoVVember entries such as this one but what does it all mean? And why the heck do y’all spell it that way, anyway? The double V in NoVVember stands for Vic Viper. This recent pair by Bradk918 perfectly demonstrates what a Vic Viper is; denoted by two wings or prongs that extend forward of a centralized cockpit and flares out at the rear of the craft and a central stabilizer fin. The style and term was taken from the Gradius video game series.

Creative examples from the community

Now that we’ve established the rather rigid rules that constitutes what a Vic Viper is, how does a builder go about being creative while still following the overall shape and guidelines? Last year, LEGO phenom Maxx Davidson prescribed the medicine-themed Sick Viper complete with syringes, pill pack wings and a central cockpit reminiscent of a two-color pill capsule. It’s good for whatever ails you.

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Hellboy will always look this good

Ron Perlman’s take on big red is one of the great on-screen superheroes – Hellboy fits him like a glove. But in comics, Hellboy’s form is a lot more malleable under the pen of creator Mike Mignola, who brings an expressionist approach to the hero. Sometimes he’s a hulking beast, other times he’s downright willowy, as in this haunting MOC from builder Jin Chen. Jin faithfully captures Mignola’s dramatic pose and Hellboy’s chiseled body. Excellent photography uses shadows to fill in detail, in Mignola fashion.

Jin had applied his LEGO artistry to Hellboy before with this smiling bust of the big guy.

Give thanks for the ultimate dessert: Baja Blast Pie!

Today is Thanksgiving in the United States, probably the biggest day of the year for pie consumption. Pumpkin and Pecan might be traditional flavors of the fall, but this year Taco Bell really captured the spirit of 2025 with a bold new pie flavor: Baja Blast! Sadly, the pie was only available at the start of the month, so no making a run for the border to save your family dinner. Let’s give thanks to Eli Willsea (via his Morlorn Empire side account) for capturing this memeable moment in LEGO. This is the build that teal bricks were made for! (Or is it the build that Mark Stafford foresaw and tried to kill?)

A month of daily mechs with ace AFOL Ivy [Interview]

From Febrovery to Frogust, the LEGO world is rich with events that challenge AFOLs to build under constraints to spark creativity and build community. Some of these, like the newly minted NovHENber, casually invite a single build during a month. The most rigorous challenges are those with a daily creation. Few have the time and stamina for that breakneck pace of building, and every builder who achieves this is an inspiration. Ivybrickss is one such builder who recently completed her second Mechtober – a month of LEGO mechs with mind-blowing variety in theme and function. We sat down with Ivy to talk about her amazing month.

Click to read our interview with Ivybrickss and see highlights of her 31 mechs

Legendary Xerneas makes a staggeringly cute LEGO Pokémon

As anticipation rises for official LEGO Pokémon sets in 2026, more builders than ever are creating their own Pocket Monster MOCs. The latest builder to try and catch ’em is Azurekingfisher, a builder with a distinctive style whose works are currently on display in LEGO House’s Masterpiece gallery. Azurekingfisher’s builds often focus on flowers, birds, and geometric patterns, so seeing a pop-culture creature on their page was quite a surprise. Somehow, the fairy-type Xerneas seems right at home amongst the builders’ works. It’s equal parts adorable and elegant.

The very private Japanese builder has been sharing pictures of their work since 2014. If you want to learn more about their work, BrickNerd just shared an excellent interview with Azurekingfisher.

A clean and classic Vic Viper isn’t just good, it’s Gradius!

NoVVemeber, the annual tradition of building “Vic Viper” inspired starfighters in November, may have been first inspired by classic video game Gradius, but over the past 17 years, builders have pushed the format to wild places, like a ship made from string or this VV made from medical supplies. The One and Only Mr. R (yes, that’s his handle) goes back to the source this month with a ship directly based on the Vic Viper of Gradius V, in player 2 red. While the inspiration isn’t revolutionary, the craftsmanship is of the highest caliber.

The geometry of the wings, the subtle recesses in the SNOT-built forward prongs, and the slick color blocking make this Vic Viper a dream from every angle.

Feeling nostalgic for Novvember? Check out our Vic Viper archives for dozens more ships in this iconic style.

From a heavy cement mixer spawns a lighter-than-air airship

In the skilled hands of LEGO extraordinaire Vincent Gachod a rugged Tipper Drum combined with some odd science bits to create an insect-like airship. The end result is like a fanciful blue beetle. He most certainly has a knack for figuring out how to use parts the rest of us don’t know what to do with. Based on these parts, he also has a knack for picking up rare sets: the science bits can only be found in four rare sets while the cement mixer resides in only one.

Ari “loafbuilds” Hytti defends Iron Builder title against challenger Ben Anderson

Today, the three judges of the venerable Iron Builder competition announced the results of the latest face-off between defending builder Ari “loafbuilds” Hytti against challenger Ben Anderson. While Ben came out on top in the number of builds (7 MOCs to Ari’s 4), it was Ari’s consistent highlighting of the seed part that gave the returning champion an edge, and the judges were unanimous in picking their winner. You can read the judge’s comments here.

The see part for this round was the wave rounded flame element in dark blue, which with its unusual connection points and irregular shape made for a true building challenge.

Now, let’s recap the builds, starting with the victor, Ari!

Shared on Halloween, Ari’s “Infernal Bargain” is one of the most impressive build I’ve seen come out of an Iron Builder competition, and one of the largest! The seed part is used to excellent effect for the demon’s hair, as well as for the quill pen’s feather. The other parts brought, from a Viking sail contrct, to dragon legs for brows, to the truly inspired mountain elements for the neck, boggle the mind.

Click to see the rest of Ari and Ben’s amazing Iron Builder creations

Gotta stack ‘em all, Pokémon!

LEGO Masters Germany winner Alex (Brix Tales) has been on a hot streak in recent months, participating in Habitat Challenges with some spectacular stacks that throw convention out the window. Traditionally, a habitat is an 8×8 base with two walls, built to house a minifig, and designed to interlock and stack. For this tribute to the Gameboy era of handheld gaming, Alex frames one familiar habitat with a pixelated explosion of Pokémon characters. I love how the build embraces the 2D source material and turns the pixel art into layered building blocks. All the starters are present and even a pair of Poké Balls make it into the mix. It’s not just a radical reinterpretation of the LEGO habitat stack – it’s one of the best tributes to 8-bit gaming I’ve seen in LEGO. Bravo.

Raging Raijin rises with thunderous applause

With a strike of lightning and an impressive thunder clap, Sakiya Watanabe (N.A.B.E_mocs) takes on Raijin, the Japanese God of Thunder in LEGO. With windblown hair and a dynamic pose, this creation has motion, even when sitting still; like I can almost see this beast-god blowing across the stormy sky as he beats the taiko drums that surround him.

Where would Raijin be without his windy counterpart Fujin? Well, thankfully Sakiya has already thought of that. You may recognize Fujin as we featured him back in August. Here they are posed together in all their Mongolian-fleet-destroying mythic demon glory. As fearsome and destructive as these two are when paired together, they also bring much needed rain and prosperity.