LEGO® Brickheadz review: 40442 Goldfish and 40443 Budgie

We have more LEGO® BrickHeadz for you today as TobyMac (on Rebrickable) examines the upcoming 40442 Goldfish and 40443 Budgie which will be released on 1 March 2021. Buying BrickHeadz? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop. 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 has introduced a new subtheme for BrickHeadz this year: BrickHeadz Pets. In January we saw 40440 German Shepherd and 40441 Shorthair Cats, which Victor Pruvost recently reviewed. The sets each have a grown-up and a baby version of the animal sitting on a joined display. We've seen similar displays before, for instance with seasonal BrickHeadz, but not for 2 figures together yet.

Today, I'll be looking at the upcoming 2 additions, 40442 Goldfish and 40443 Budgie, both priced 14,99€/ £13.49/ US$14.99.

Parts in LEGO 40442 Goldfish

40442 gives us 185 parts. Not surprisingly for a set depicting goldfish, we find a lot of Bright Orange/ Orange parts. The display brings some nice Dark Azure plates and tiles. In the image there seems to be a lot of Black as well, but those are mainly large plates.

There is only 1 recolour in this set. Plate, Modified 1 x 3 with 2 Studs (Double Jumper) appears for the first time in Flame Yellowish Orange/ Bright Light Orange (6307254 | 34103), bringing the available colours to 19. I was a bit surprised by the choice for Bright Light Orange here. The rest of the goldfish are Orange, so if you need to make a recolour, why not pick the most useful for this set? The most logical explanation would be that the element was already created for a future set, making it the best choice here.

Rare parts:

•  Plate 3 x 3 has been in 2 sets before in Bright Light Orange (6294582 | 11212).
• Plate 2 x 8 has been in 3 sets before in Spring Yellowish Green/ Yellowish Green (6216968 | 3034) with the last time being in 2019. The plate is completely hidden within the build, so I'm not sure why this colour was chosen.
• Slope, Curved 4 x 1 Double has been seen in Dark Azure (6282122 | 93273) in 4 sets before, of which only 1 is from before 2021.
• Plate 2 x 4 in Dark Azure (6210675 | 3020) is a borderline case. Before the January 2021 wave, there were only 3 sets with this part.

There are a couple of other things worth mentioning. The set comes with 25 Tile, Modified 1 x 1 Half Circle Extended (Stadium) in Transparent Bright Orange/ Trans-Orange (6249116 | 35398), the highest count ever for this element. Unusually (but not unknown) for a BrickHeadz: this set comes with a sticker sheet.

Parts in LEGO 40443 Budgie

40443 brings us 260 parts with 96 different elements. There are no recolours or new printed parts. There is a nice selection of Cool Yellow/ Bright Light Yellow and Bright Yellowish Green/ Lime, along with some larger Black and Brick Yellow/ Tan plates.

The most interesting are the Cool Yellow/ Bright Light Yellow elements. Most of these have only appeared in 10271 Fiat 500, so this is a cheap way to get a hold of them. From left to right:

• One Wedge Plate 4 x 2 Left (6296533 | 41770)
• One Wedge Plate 4 x 2 Right (6296528 | 41769)
• Two Slope Curved 4 x 1 No Studs [Stud Holder with Symmetric Ridges] (6296536 | 11153)
• One Slope Curved 2 x 1 with Stud Notch Right  (6296509 | 29119)
• One Slope Curved 2 x 1 with Stud Notch Left (6296500 | 29120)
• Two Slope Curved 2 x 2 x 2/3 (6296487 | 15068). This element also appeared in 2 2020 sets.

New in 2021 is the Brick Special 1 x 1 x 1 2/3 with Studs on 1 Side in Sand Green (6328131 | 32952), which also appears in the larger sets 10278 Police Station and 71741 NINJAGO City Gardens.

Plate 2 x 2 Corner in Medium Azure (6293739 | 2420) has been seen in only 2 other sets.

Like the other BrickHeadz Pets sets, budgies come with a small sticker sheet.

The build - 40442 Goldfish

The build is pretty straightforward and simple. The fishes are basically cubes with some decorations attached. Small thing that bugged me: every BrickHeadz has a Bright Pink brick somewhere, representing brains. Fry, the small fish, uses a standard 1 x 1 brick for the brains but the same part is used as filler as well. Petty thing to complain about, I know.

The finished fish. As you can see, the Bright Light Orange 1x3 jumper (34103) sticks out a bit. But with the Plate 3 x 3 also having the same colour, I'm wondering if maybe baby goldfish always have a lighter belly? I have to admit, my knowledge is a bit fishy.

Next up is the display. It's a simple box, with some underwater decoration. As you can see, the plate 2 x 8 in Yellowish Green stays out of sight. 

The set comes with 2 different stickers, each with his own part, so you don't have to peel off the old sticker when you want to switch them. I'm wondering why the designer chose to use 4x Plate 1 x 2 for the bottom of the pilar. For the end result, the 1-plate height difference isn't really noteworthy, and replacing it with a Brick 2 x 2 would reduce the element count.

The build - 40443 Budgie

Compared to the Goldfish, this set offers more build excitement.

It's not just a cube and there is some nice SNOT technique going on. I love to see how everything lines up. The back of the head seems to advertise the DOTS theme, but looks very good. The chick is less complicated but still nice to build.

I really love the look of these birds! 

The birds sit on a little branch. 

Like the Goldfish, there are 2 parts for the sticker options.

Conclusion

I must say, 40442 Goldfish looks rather nice. I'm not 100% sure I would pick this set up just for the design, as I have no interest in fish in general but I can see the appeal for people who do. Just a simple, quick build to put on a shelf next to your aquarium. 

In terms of the parts: with only one part Plate, Modified 1 x 3 with 2 Studs (Double Jumper) in the Bright Light Orange recolour, I'm not sure if this is the set to buy for just that part. There is a good amount of Orange and Dark Azure to be found in the set, along with some SNOT bricks and larger plates. In short: A decent build and depending on your needs it might be a good MOC-feeder.

Of the two sets I like 40443 Budgie the most. The build is more intriguing, and involves more than what can feel like decorating a cube. The result is very cute and this one will stay built on the shelf. As for the parts: unfortunately no recolours, but this is a cheap pick-up for the rare Bright Light Yellow elements. Just that alone makes it an interesting set.

40440 German Shepherd, 40443 Budgie, 40441 Shorthair Cats and 40442 Goldfish. ©2021 The LEGO Group

Regarding BrickHeadz Pets in general, I love the idea of creating a series of animal builds but I find it a lost opportunity they went with BrickHeadz. I would much rather see this idea being used for more realistic-looking animals. BrickHeadz are fun and all, and seeing I have over 20 over them I clearly see the appeal in the theme, but I see it more as caricature versions of characters from different franchises. It also works within the Seasonal sets, since the animals here are characters in some sense as well. They are also a lot simpler than these builds. With 'normal' animals, I'd rather go realistic. 

My wife agrees with me (always a good sign). She feels the animals don't really fit in the BrickHeadz theme, and don't fit in the displays. They are not builds she would place next to her own BrickHeadz collection. What are your thoughts on the sub-theme? 

40442 Goldfish and 40443 Budgie are released on 1 March 2021 priced 14,99€/ £13.49/ US$14.99. Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, New Elementary may get a commission. 

READ MORE: Also coming 1 March: Brick Sketches 40456 Mickey Mouse and 40457 Minnie Mouse

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