LEGO® Botanical Collection review: 10281 Bonsai Tree

Thomas Jenkins (@thomas_jenkins_bricks) has another LEGO® Botanical Collection review for you today; the 878-piece Bonsai Tree. Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

Much like building with LEGO® bricks, bonsai is the art of replicating its subject at a much smaller scale. As such, a LEGO bonsai tree is a match made in heaven.

It’s exciting to see the LEGO Group continue to branch out into the adult market. 10281 Bonsai Tree is one of two sets from the new Botanical Collection, a sub-theme of the Creator Expert series. The Bonsai will be released alongside 10280 Flower Bouquet (read our review here) on 1 January 2021 and will be priced at US$49.99/ €49.99/ £44.99/ AU$89.99/ 449.0 DKK/ CA$69.99.

LEGO® Botanical Collection review: 10280 Flower Bouquet

Thomas Jenkins (@thomas_jenkins_bricks) has been busy tending his LEGO® Botanical Collection sets, starting with the 756-piece Flower Bouquet Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission.

I’m not a fan of plastic flowers, but after a quick glance at the box of the new LEGO® Flower Bouquet I’m already starting to change my mind.

10280 Flower Bouquet sows the seed for the new Botanical Collection, which currently includes one other set, 10281 Bonsai Tree, which I have also reviewed. They're an exciting new addition to the 18+ range, offering something quite unique: non-licensed, non-minifig, real-world scale display pieces. Plus, at US$49.99/ €49.99/ £44.99/ AU$89.99/ 449.0 DKK/ CA$69.99 they're among the least expensive of the new adult-oriented sets.

LEGO® Super Mario Power-Up Pack reviews: 71384 Penguin Mario & 71385 Tanooki Mario

Tim Goddard (@tim_goddard928) returns with more LEGO® Super Mario reviews today by looking at the two Power-Up Packs for the Mario figure – which unfortunately he does not own! The products in this and our other 2021 LEGO Super Mario articles were provided free by LEGO (the author's opinions are not biased by this) and we weren't aware at time of acceptance that the range does not include the figure. Buying Mario sets? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | UK Amazon | USA LEGO Shop | USA Amazon | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. 

In this, the second wave of Super Mario sets, we get two new Power-Ups to upgrade our hero: 71384 Penguin Mario & 71385 Tanooki Mario, priced £8.99/ US$9.99/ 9.74€. There are new moulds and some recoloured hats and overalls to provide him with his new outfits. Mario’s body is not supplied with these two sets, which the packaging makes very clear, and is indeed at pains to point out that the starter course set 71360 Adventures with Mario with its barcodes is needed. I do not have that set and therefore no Mario to dress up, but no matter, I have a plan!

LEGO® Chinese Festival review: 80107 Spring Lantern Festival

Our LEGO® Chinese Traditional Festival set coverage continues today with 80107 Spring Lantern Festival, reviewed by Lee (cityson). It's available now priced US$119.99/ £89.99. Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

The second Chinese New Year set for 2021 is the larger 80107 Spring Lantern Festival, introducing LEGO® fans to this special day in traditional Chinese New Year celebrations with a stunning 1793-piece Chinese Garden display. As discussed in our preview article, this is another set filled with wonderful pieces, but does the building experience live up to the hype? 

LEGO® Chinese Festival review: 80106 Story of Nian

The LEGO® Chinese Traditional Festival sets quickly became popular with fans worldwide and now Lee (cityson) takes a detailed look at what's coming in 2021. Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

I was really excited when the two new Chinese Traditional Festival sets were revealed in November for their wonderful builds and parts, but are the actual products as exciting as the official pictures suggest? In this 3-part review series I will examine these sets closely, starting with the smaller set, 80106 Story of Nian. Since I have covered most of the new parts in the preview article, we will instead jump right into the models and take a more thorough look at the parts in my concluding article in a few days' time.

LEGO® CITY Review: 60292 Town Centre and 60306 Shopping Street

Caz Mockett returns today with two more 2021 LEGO® CITY sets. Buying from LEGO.com? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

Today I complete my reviews of five LEGO® CITY sets to be released on 1st January 2021. So far we looked at 60304 Road Plates and then 60290 Skate Park with 60291 Family Home, which leaves 60292 Town Centre and 60306 Shopping Street. So let's head into town for some shopping!

LEGO® CITY review: 60290 Skate Park & 60291 Family Home

Caz Mockett returns today with more 2021 LEGO® CITY reviews for you: 60290 Skate Park and 60291 Family Home. Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

On 1st January 2021, fans of the LEGO CITY theme will be treated to the release of five new sets to help them develop their LEGO metropolis, which I have received to review, namely 60290 Skate Park, 60291 Family Home, 60292 Town Centre, 60306 Shopping Street and 60304 Road Plates.

Of course, the first thing I did was build all five sets and put them together into a City layout to see what could be made from them. 

LEGO® Super Mario review: 71386 Character Packs – Series 2

We will be examining some 2021 LEGO® Super Mario sets over the coming weeks, starting today as Tim Goddard (@tim_goddard928) analyses the 10 blind bags of 71386 Character Packs Series 2, which are priced £3.49/ US$4.99/ 3.99€. Buying these when they are released on 1 January 2021? Consider using our affiliate links: USA LEGO Shop at Home|UK LEGO Shop at Home. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

I did not pick up any of the little Super Mario impulse polybags from Series 1 so I was not sure what to expect prior to reviewing the Character Packs from Series 2. Now that I have, it seems that I’ve been missing out!

I have been a casual Super Mario player in my time. I played a couple of games on the GameCube (showing my age there) and enjoyed some handheld adventures along with a bit of Mario Kart but I am not by any means a hardcore plumber nut. Even so, every bag I opened was a joy. A combination of nostalgia, great design and a flurry of interesting parts poured out of each one.

LEGO® Technic review: 42124 Off-Road Buggy

Our next 2021 LEGO® Technic review comes from Omid (@nwbricks) who takes 42124 Off-Road Buggy for a spin. Buying this set when it is released on 1 January 2021? Consider using our affiliate links: USA LEGO Shop at Home|UK LEGO Shop at Home. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

Hot on the wheels of 2019’s 42099 4x4 X-Treme Off Roader comes the equally extreme (but slightly less off-road) LEGO® Technic 42124 Off-Road Buggy. It contains 374 pieces, will set you back US$129.99/ £119.99, and you’ll need a smartphone and 6 AA batteries to run the Control+ hub. 

There’s a lot to digest here including plenty of new and unusual parts, Control+ elements and the accompanying app – so let’s get stuck in! 

LEGO® CITY Review & MOCs: 60304 Road Plates

Caz Mockett (aka BlockHeadUK) returns today to review LEGO® CITY 60304 Road Plates, which premieres the replacement for printed 32x32 baseplates that have graced city sets for over 40 years. Coming in 2021, it is priced £17.99 / $19.99 / 19.99€. Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

After months of rumour and speculation, the new LEGO® CITY Road Plate system has been finally unveiled. This review will examine the new elements in set 60304 and how they can be integrated with an existing City layout, either using regular baseplates or a modular system such as MILS.

In 2 future articles I will also look at the interesting elements in 4 other sets in this 2021 City release: 60290 Skate Park and 60291 Family House, 60292 Town Centre and 60306 Shopping Street.

LEGO® Friends review: 41430 Summer Fun Water Park

A new-for-2020 family of parts we've not yet examined are the large tubes. Inthert (on Flickr) rectifies that today by reviewing one of the sets containing them: LEGO® Friends 41430 Summer Fun Water Park. Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links: USA LEGO Shop at Home|UK LEGO Shop at Home. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

Friends sets are well known for their abundance of vibrant hues, spot-on colour blocking and innumerable details. 41430 Summer Fun Water Park is no exception. This bundle of joy has 1001 pieces, four Minidolls and is priced at US$99.99/ £89.99 / 97.47€.

LEGO® DOTS review: 41914 Creative Picture Frames

Andrew Barnick returns today with another LEGO® DOTS review, and it is quite a different one: 41914 Creative Picture Frames. Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links: USA LEGO Shop at Home|USA Amazon|UK LEGO Shop at Home|UK Amazon. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

LEGO® DOTS is best known for the colourful tiles and customisable bracelets, but that’s not all the theme has to offer. Today I’ll be reviewing 41914 Creative Picture Frames, one of the various “desk accessory” sets. This set comes in a larger sorting box than the Mega Pack or the desk accessories from the first half of the year, with a larger part count to match. As such, there’s a lot to look at, so let’s get started!

LEGO® ART review: 31202 Disney’s Mickey Mouse

We have another 2021 LEGO® Art set for you today: 31202 Disney’s Mickey Mouse, reviewed by Omid (@nwbricks). It has 2658 pieces and will be released 1 January 2021 priced 119.99€/ £114.99/ US$119.99/ CA$149.99/ AU$199.99/ 1099 DKK. Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links: USA LEGO Shop at Home|UK LEGO Shop at Home. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

If you’ve been following our articles recently you may have guessed this review was coming! TobyMac dived into LEGO® ART 31201 Harry Potter Hogwarts Crests which teed me up for a go at the slightly smaller but similarly impressive 31202 Disney’s Mickey Mouse. 

I must admit, when the first round of Art sets were revealed I wasn’t exactly blown away. That was due in equal parts to the subject matter and the inescapably sly marketing which requires you to spend upwards of £400 for a complete set of all four possible images. 

LEGO® Technic review: 42122 Jeep Wrangler

Alexandre Campos reviews our first 2021 LEGO® Technic set for you today: 42122 Jeep Wrangler. It contains 665 pieces and will be available from 1 January 2021 priced 49.99€/ US$49.99/ CA$69.99/ £44.99/ AU$89.99. Consider using our affiliate links when the time comes: USA LEGO Shop at Home|UK LEGO Shop at Home. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

The vast majority of licensed LEGO® vehicles tend to be sports cars or heavy machinery. 42122 Jeep Wrangler is a different case: a sports utility vehicle, or, more specifically, an “off-roader”. These kind of vehicles are appreciated for their versatility; let’s see if this pedigree permeates into this set’s inventory.

LEGO® Monkie Kid review & MOCs: 80015 Monkie Kid's Cloud Roadster

Today, Aron Gerencsér (on Flickr) reviews LEGO® 80015 Monkie Kid's Cloud Roadster and is inspired by its parts to create several MOCs. Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links: USA LEGO Shop at Home | UK LEGO Shop at Home. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

Arriving in the second wave of the new-ish Monkie Kid theme, alongside 80014 Sandy’s Speedboat and 80016 The Flaming Foundry, is the medium-sized 80015 Monkie Kid’s Cloud Roadster. With five minifigures and 659 pieces, this vehicle is the second-largest set of the wave and retails for £54.99 / $69.99 / 58.48€. With an interesting minifig lineup, a promise of useful parts in interesting colours and a smaller villainous side-build adding play value, this set seems like a good time for kids and AFOLs alike. Let’s see if it can soar through the clouds, or if it’s left in the dust!