LEGO® BrickHeadz: Fall 2018 Retrospective

Aside from being super-popular collectibles, LEGO® BrickHeadz and notable for their excellent printed pieces and new recolours of parts that don't always seem to appear in other sets. We asked Chris McVeigh (powerpig) to scour the whole range released in the second half of 2018 to just highlight all these great parts for you, in case you need them in your MOCs! Chris looked at 41624 Mickey Mouse, 41625 Minnie Mouse, 41626 Groot & Rocket, 41627 Luke Skywalker & Yoda, 41628 Princess Leia and 41629 Boba Fett as well as having a quick look at what's new in 41630 Jack Skellington & Sally, 41631 Newt Scamander & Gellert Grindelwald and 41632 Homer Simpson & Krusty the Clown.

BrickHeadz are well-regarded among parts enthusiasts for introducing new elements, including rarer elements in good quantities, and offering a wealth of printed parts (and all at a great price). So how do the new sets released in fall 2018 stack up? We’ll take a close look at each one, starting with August’s Mickey Mouse.

41624 Mickey Mouse

Mickey is notable for being almost entirely brick-built. He includes only one recolour: Dish Ø24  in Black (Element ID: 6236780 | Design ID: 6256), two of which are used for his perfectly round ears. There’s also one new printed part: a Bright Red [TLG] / Red [BL] 1x4 brick printed with white buttons (6245176 | 42119). This brick is simple enough in design to be used in other creations, perhaps as eyes or drawers.

41625 Minnie Mouse

Minnie uses the same black dish recolour (6236780 | 6256) for her ears and, like Mickey, does not include any other recolours. However, Minnie is particularly interesting because she comes with a complete set of red polka-dotted bricks: four 2x2 45º corner slopes (6245200 | 42046); two 1x4 bricks (6245194 | 42208); two 1x3 double-inverted slopes (6245180 | 42201) and one 2x2 45º slope (6245197 | 42211). The dot pattern on the slopes perfectly lines up, and it’s clear that these bricks can be used imaginatively for many different things.

Minnie includes one additional print: a Brick Yellow [TLG] / Tan [BL] 1x4 tile with an eyelash pattern. It’s perhaps less flexible than the polka-dot printed bricks, but will surely find use in custom BrickHeadz.

41626 Groot & Rocket 

This two-character pack fittingly has two recolours. A single Sand Yellow [TLG] / Dark Tan [BL] 2x2 corner tile with 45º cut (6232141 | 27263) is used to shape Groot’s forehead, while two Reddish Brown 1x1 plates with horizontal clip (6236779 | 61252) are used for Rocket’s hands. (Ok, the latter recolour isn’t entirely new. It appears in ultra-rare Miniland-scale Han Solo on Tauntaun set from 2011 that has a minimum asking price of US$1100 on BrickLink!)

The new printed parts in this set are impressive. Two Sand Yellow 1x4 bricks with distinct bark patterning make up Groot’s chest (6245930 | 42626; 6245944 |42661). There’s also seven Sand Yellow 1x2 tiles with a simple bark pattern (6245941 | 42652), which will certainly find their way into castle walls and similar creations. Rocket includes an Earth Blue [TLG] / Dark Blue [BL] 1x3 brick that adds detail to his doublet, and Groot carries a Transparent [TLG] / Trans-Clear 1x2 tile with a handheld game print.

Groot & Rocket also pack in a few hard-to-find parts. There’s a 1x1 brick in Bright Bluish Green [TLG] / Dark Turquoise [BL] (6236772 | 3005) and a 1x1 barrel in Light Royal Blue [TLG] / Bright Light Blue [BL] (6215387 | 3062), both of which have appeared only once before. It also includes two 1x4 tiles in Sand Yellow, a part which appears in single quantities in just three other sets.

41627 Luke Skywalker & Yoda

This set has just one recolour and three new printed parts. Luke’s tousled hair uses five 1/4 circle tiles in Sand Yellow (6242238 | 27269). Details of his iconic jacket are provided by two printed bricks, also in Sand Yellow: 1x4 brick with a collar and pockets (6247059 | 42801), and a 1x2 brick with a belt buckle (6247089 | 42802). And a Brick Yellow 1x2x2 brick with a simple crossover print adds detail to Yoda’s robe (6246041 | 42674). All three of the printed parts are rather specific to these characters, making them more of a challenge to repurpose in other creations.

On the upside, this set includes a number of rare parts. The new 1x1 lower bracket in Reddish Brown (6238874 | 36840) makes its second appearance in this set, two of which are used to add detail to Luke’s belt. The set also uses two 1x1 plates with horizontal clip in Sand Green (6227077 | 61252) for Yoda’s hands, and two 1x1 plates with tooth in Sand Green (6186079 | 49668) for his ears. And there’s a couple of recently reissued parts, too: seven 1x1 plates in Sand Green (6099189 | 3024) and a single 1x1 tile in Sand Green (6223913 | 3070).

41628 Princess Leia

Princess Leia has predominantly brick-built details aside from her belt. The set has a single recolour: a 1x1 lower bracket in White (6242241 | 36840) which debuted simultaneously in 75230 Porg and has since appeared in several sets. Three of these small parts are used to add a flare to the arms of her gown. Her belt consists of two unique printed parts: a White 1x2 brick with a silver buckle (6247096 | 42804) and two Medium Stone Grey [TLG] / Light Bluish Gray [BL] 1x1 plates with a silver belt detail on the side. The prints are simple and decorative, greatly expanding the possibilities for reuse. It’s easy to imagine them being used to add ornate details to walls or a high-tech element to control panels.

The set also includes a rare part in good quantity: six 2x2 corner tiles in Reddish Brown (6221608 | 14719). The only other set this part has appeared in is 75952 Newt's Case of Magical Creatures.

41629 Boba Fett

Boba Fett is definitely one of the most detailed BrickHeadz to date. This is accomplished through clever building techniques and the set’s six unique printed parts:

• One 1x2 cheese wedge with Mandalorian crest in Flame Yellowish Orange [TLG] / Bright Light Orange [BL] (6224535 | 38408) 
• One 1x4 tile with a visor artwork in Dark Red (6247102 | 42807)
• Two 2x2 triangle tiles with helmet contour artwork in Dark Red (6247106 | 42809)
• One 1x4 tile with utility belt artwork in Reddish Brown (6247100 | 42805)
• One 2x2 curved slope with helmet dent artwork in Sand Green (6224529 | 38406)
• One 2x4 tile with helmet grille pattern in Sand Green (6224839 | 38409)

Most prints are generic enough to be repurposed for other builds (except perhaps the arm crest). In particular, I can see the Sand Green tile with yellow grille being used to add a bit of detail to industrial machinery.

The printed parts may draw the most attention, but there are great two recolours: a 2x2 left wedge plate in Sand Green (6247894 | 24299), and its counterpart, a 2x2 right wedge plate in Sand Green (6247895 | 24307). The set is also notable for including two Plate 1X1 Round W/ Horizontal 3.2 Shaft (6227897 | 32828) in Medium Stone Grey, previously only available in 21311 Voltron and 10262 James Bond Aston Martin DB5 but now appearing in many sets.

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Note: Although The LEGO Group did not provide us with the following double packs, we felt it important to include an overview of them in this article... and to buy some of the parts anyway!

41631 Newt Scamander & Gellert Grindelwald

Although this double-pack has just one recolour, it’s notable for also bringing back a long-dormant element. 

New is a Medium Nougat [TLG] / Medium Dark Flesh [BL] 1/4 circle tile (6248536 | 25269), seven of which are used to add curls to Newt’s hair. Returning after a 14-year slumber is a Sand Blue 1x2 plate (6198156 | 3023). The set includes six, and they help shape Newt’s upper body.

There are four new printed parts in this double-pack. Two of them are 1x2x2 bricks with waistcoat and collar detail: Newt’s (6248544 | 44109) and Gellert’s (6245021 | 42192). Gellert is also outfitted with a Brick Yellow 1x4 tile with a white moustache print, and a Dark Stone Grey [TLG] / Dark Bluish Gray [BL] variant of the standard BrickHeadz eye tile (6245198 | 42209). These prints have a somewhat narrow usage, but they’ll surely pop-up in custom BrickHeadz.

It’s also worth mentioning that Newt’s Medium Nougat hair is made up of many newer parts, including four 2x4 plates (6093494 | 3020) and two Brick w. Arch 1x1x1 1/3 (6167645 | 6091).

41630 Jack Skellington & Sally

Jack and Sally are a gorgeous pair of BrickHeadz with almost as much print detail as Boba Fett. Jack’s black pinstripe suit is made up of three unique printed parts: four 1x1 bricks with pinstripe pattern (6245341 | 42217), two 1x4 bricks with pinstripe pattern (6245346 | 42219) and one 1x4 brick with a collar and tie detail. ( 6245344 | 42218). His White face is also created with printed parts, including a 1x4 tile with eye print (6245334 | 42214) and a 1x4 tile with mouth pattern (6245337 | 42215). (The standard eye tiles were likely eschewed because Jack’s eyes are literally holes.)

Sally’s Aqua [TLG] / Light Aqua [BL] face relies on two printed tiles. There’s a 2x4 tile with corner stitch pattern used for her forehead (6245351 | 42230) and a 1x4 tile with stitched mouth (6245360 | 42240). She also uses a beautiful 1x4 brick with a patchwork print for her blouse (6245348 | 42220).

Many of these printed parts are specific to these characters (or at the very least, the BrickHeadz aesthetic). On the other hand, the pinstripe bricks are so basic they can be used to add nuance to just about any creation.

Although the printed parts in this double-pack steal the show, there are three recolours. Sally’s hands consist of two Aqua 1x2 plates with horizontal clip (6242253 | 11476), now also available as part of the 4+ range of LEGO Friends sets in 41360 Emma's Mobile Veterinary Clinic. Her dress is also made up of two different left-facing wedges plates: two 2x3 left wedge plates in Nougat [TLG] / Medium Flesh [BL] (6240643 | 43723) and two 2x2 left wedge plates in Earth Green [TLG] / Dark Green [BL] (6222411 | 24299). It’s great to see these parts in new colours (especially one as rare as Nougat), and hopefully we’ll see their right-facing counterparts soon.

41632 Homer Simpson & Krusty the Clown

Printed parts for this double-pack are very simple in design. Bright Yellow [TLG] / Yellow [BL] tiles with zigzag patterns add a hair detail to Homer’s head; the 2x4 (6245183 | 42202) and 2x2 (6245178 | 42198), and a single Lavender 1x4 brick with a bowtie print (6245190 | 42206) adds a finishing touch to Krusty.

Krusty’s teal hair brings us three new elements in Bright Bluish Green [TLG] / Dark Turquoise [BL]. There’s two 1x1 upper brackets (6242488 | 36841); two Brick w. Arch 1x1x1 1/3 (6213785 | 6091), and two 1x2 inverted bows (6242486 | 24201). The set also includes a few other rare parts in Bright Bluish Green, including a 1x4 tile (6236770 | 2431) and two 1x2 cheese wedges (6228967 | 85984).

Headz Up

Last fall’s BrickHeadz offer a healthy does of recolours and some welcome reissues. They’re also chockfull of interesting printed parts, many that can be repurposed for MOCs. And perhaps most importantly, they remain a thrifty way to sample exciting new elements!

READ MORE: Our insightful interview with BrickHeadz lead designer Marcos Bessa

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