30 August 2021

5x5 fest: Tom Loftus' Raya and Sisu Dragon MOCs

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Tom Loftus (@inthert.lego) completes our 5x5 fest today! Moving away from the LEGO® VIDIYO elements that have fascinated him so, today he bases his creations on the new parts to be found in a LEGO Disney set.

Today I’ll be showing you two MOCs inspired by elements from 43184 Raya and Sisu Dragon. Coincidentally, both concern liquids which is appropriate given Sisu’s affinity with water.


The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed there’s something missing from the set image. Well there’s a very good reason for that which will become clear as we discuss my first build.

29 August 2021

5x5 fest: Tom Loftus' VIDIYO spaceship MOCs

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Tom Loftus (@inthert.lego) continues to focus on new LEGO® VIDIYO elements in day 3 of his contributions to our 5x5 fest, incorporating them into original spaceship designs.

As a general rule the larger an element gets, the harder it is to integrate into a MOC, but also true is the fact that any part is a spaceship part. Let’s put that to the test shall we? 


Today I will be taking a closer look at two new elements introduced in the LEGO® VIDIYO theme - though in all honesty a closer look isn't strictly necessary because they’re both huge!

  • Plate 4X5X5 1/3, W/ Hor. Fork in Black (6317524 | 65132)
  • Box 8X8X2 in Bright Yellowish Green (6317519 | 65129)
Let’s start with that supersized bracket.

28 August 2021

5x5 fest: Tom Loftus' VIDIYO canopy MOCs

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Tom Loftus (@inthert.lego) continues his daily contributions to our 5x5 fest today, turning his attention to another highly specialised element from the LEGO® VIDIYO range.


Today we’ll taking a look at another element introduced for the LEGO® VIDIYO theme, Box Front 8x8x5 2/3 in Transparent (6317507 | 65128) or the Vidiyo canopy as I’ll call it from here on in.     

Devoid of studs, Technic holes, bars, clips, click hinges and anti-studs, this new mould instead features two previously unseen connection types: Firstly an extended base tab on each side featuring a trio of tiny rounded cutouts, and secondly, a pair of apertures that resemble supersized Technic axle holes. Both of which are intended only for use in conjunction with other Vidiyo elements. For a detailed look at how these work, see Caz Mockett’s review of the Vidiyo BeatBoxes.

27 August 2021

5x5 fest: Tom Loftus' turntable snap MOCs

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Tom Loftus (@inthert.lego) is our final 5x5 fest contributor, and instead of one long article he divided his creations up. So, to complete this festival of MOCs using new-for-2021 parts, we have an article from Tom every day for the next four days! Be sure to check in.


Turntable, Female, W/ Snap in White (6317514 | 65146) is one of the smallest elements introduced in the LEGO® VIDIYO™ theme.

It immediately struck me as a potentially useful detailing piece. The key word being ‘potentially’ because while it does belong to an existing element family, its system connection points are extremely limited and so remains a rather specialised entry in the LEGO parts catalogue. Today I’ll be proving this little part’s worth by discussing its closest relatives, exploring some unusual connections and combining the two in a micro-MOC.

24 August 2021

Rubber Band Holders Parts Festival – Mitch Henry's MOCs

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Mitch Henry (CZQ on Flickr) completes our Forbidden Elementary Parts Festival today which, as its seed parts, uses the 3 weird LEGO® pieces that rubber bands used to come on back in the 2000s.


Growing up, Bionicle was always my favorite LEGO® theme. The characters were fun, the world was mysterious and intriguing, and of course, the parts were unlike any other LEGO elements I’d seen before. My first Bionicle set was 8573 Nuhvok-Kal, part of the Bohrok-Kal subtheme. The Bohrok are considered by many to be the peak of Bionicle; appealing design and multiple play features made them very popular.

One play feature was pushing a lever on the back to flick its head forward. To make the head return to its resting position the sets included a rubber band. Naturally, this means each Bohrok came with a rubber band holder as well. When I was approached for this parts festival I had just picked up a lot with all 6 original Bohrok, so I was eager to participate.

22 August 2021

LEGO® Disney review + MOC: 43189 Elsa and the Nokk Storybook Adventures

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Eero Okkonen (@eerookkonen) takes a look inside LEGO® Disney 43189 Elsa and the Nokk Storybook Adventures, before using some of its new parts in an original creation. Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links, New Elementary may get a commission: USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop | UK LEGO Shop/for Europe 'Change region'. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.

LEGO® has recently shown interest in releasing sets that look like books, without actually being books. LEGO Ideas 21315 Pop-Up Book was released in 2018, and the first four Disney Storybook Adventures sets were introduced in early 2020. These lacked the advanced pop-up mechanism of the Ideas set, being simple cases fitting small playsets inside, easily closed for storage or travel.


These sets got a lone successor in January 2021 with 43189 Elsa and the Nokk Storybook Adventures. As the Frozen franchise is very popular, it is not surprising to see another storybook concerning it. I must warn you: the popularity of the franchise is the only thing I know about it!

20 August 2021

5x5 fest: Thomas Jenkins' MOCs

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Thomas Jenkins (@thomas_jenkins_bricks) is the penultimate contributor to our 5x5 fest, where we sent 5 LEGO® sets to 5 builders and asked them to use the new parts in interesting original creations.


We continue to be blessed with a wealth of interesting new LEGO® elements in 2021 and I’ve had a lot of fun investigating some of the recent new entries into the LEGO inventory in our 5x5 fest.

An overview of the common sets we used in our 5x5 fest can be found here. In addition to the 71746 Jungle Dragon, 43184 Sisu Dragon and VIDIYO Beatbox that the four other New E writers received, I was given 71740 Jay’s Electro Mech and 41931 Extra DOTS Series 4 to work with.

17 August 2021

Rubber Band Holders Parts Festival – James Kavanagh's MOCs

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James Kavanagh (JakTheMad on Flickr) joins our Forbidden Elementary Parts Festival today which for its seed parts uses the 3 weird LEGO® pieces that rubber bands came on in old sets. For an overview of the parts, check out last week's post by Aron Gerencsér.

Rubber band holders are a great relic from a different era of LEGO® sets. Sure, cardboard boxes may certainly be cheaper, more sustainable and take up less space, but there’s a lot of joy to be found in these old parts!


My focus with these builds was to work with the parts rather than just try and integrate them. The LEGO Technic sets that these rubber band holders came in were often a little 'janky', in a nostalgic way, so I tried to work with that design philosophy in mind.

16 August 2021

(CW: HP) LEGO® Harry Potter build review: 76391 Hogwarts Icons Collectors Edition

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Tom Loftus (@inthert.lego) completes his analysis of the upcoming LEGO® Harry Potter 76391 Hogwarts Icons Collectors Edition with a look the techniques used in the build. Editorial note: Although views expressed by Harry Potter's creator do not align with that of New Elementary, we continue to cover some sets for their parts. Read about our stance here. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.

We've already taken a look at the set's delightful elements in Part 1 of our review so today we'll be focusing on the build itself and gosh, what a stunning build it is.

Harry’s Belongings


We start off with a trio of standalone items: Harry’s glasses, wand and one tiny vial of liquid luck - the identifying sticker for which I opted not to apply because who knows when a glow in the dark cone could come in handy. I’d be shocked if anyone building this set can resist the urge to immediately place the glasses upon their own nose - I'm unashamed to admit I couldn't!

15 August 2021

(CW: HP) LEGO® Harry Potter parts review: 76391 Hogwarts Icons Collectors Edition

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Tom Loftus (@inthert.lego) takes a look at the new, recoloured and printed parts you'll get in the recently revealed LEGO® Harry Potter set, 76391 Hogwarts Icons Collectors Edition. Editorial note: Although views expressed by Harry Potter's creator do not align with that of New Elementary, we continue to cover some sets for their parts. Read about our stance here. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.

Launching 2 September 2021, LEGO® 76391 Hogwarts Icons Collectors Edition contains 3010 pieces, 3x 20th anniversary of LEGO Harry Potter minifigures and will cost €249.99/ US$249.99/ £229.99/ 1999 DKK/ AU$399.99/ ¥29980/ NZ$449.99/ CA$349.99. The age mark is 18+.

[EDIT: it will now launch on September 15th in the US, Canada, and Mexico, rather than September 2nd as originally planned due to a shipping delay in the US. The set will be available for online only pre-order at LEGO.com beginning September 2nd. The product will be available in LEGO Retail stores on September 15th. ]


We’ll get to the build in Part 2 of our review but for the moment, it’s all about the parts!

13 August 2021

5x5 fest: Aron Gerencsér's MOCs

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Aron Gerencsér (@_pohaturon) not only kicked off our rubber band holder parts fest earlier this week, he also created MOCs for our 5x5 fest! Let's see what he came up with using a selection of interesting new parts released in 2021.


Recently I got the chance to team up with four other builders to dive into five new-ish LEGO® sets, dig into all the fancy new pieces and craft MOCs showcasing the most interesting specimens. 

Our subjects for this exercise are 43184 Raya and Sisu Dragon, 71746 Jungle Dragon, 71740 Jay’s Electro Mech and 43104 Alien DJ BeatBox. All sets from the first half of 2021, there are interesting - and fairly specialised - pieces to be found in them all. 

10 August 2021

Rubber Band Holders Parts Festival – Aron Gerencsér's MOCs

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Aron Gerencsér (@_pohaturon) has been busy organising another parts festival for you, featuring some guest builders, which we will be revealing to you every Tuesday for the next 3 weeks, starting today! And for the first time, the chosen seed parts are not new - in fact some people might not even class them as proper LEGO® parts. I guess that makes this our first ever Forbidden Elementary Parts Festival!

New Elementary Parts Festival - Rubber band holders

Throughout the decades, we’ve seen the LEGO® building system evolve in oftentimes unusual or unpredictable ways to accommodate new designs, new functions, new themes or even material and manufacturing changes in the company’s attempts to become more environmentally friendly. One of the most fascinating products of this evolution, to me, are those elements which service other elements –and not the set itself. 

My fellow New Elementarian Tom Loftus delved into a similar topic with the sticker sheet cardboard box a while ago, and back in 2018 Elspeth De Montes explored the plastic left over after detaching Harry Potter wands - however this time around, our subjects are neither packaging nor sprues. But sort of. Maybe? 

08 August 2021

Old Elementary: Eero Okkonen's LEGO® tidbits

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Eero Okkonen (on Instagram) continues his occasional series of articles today looking at LEGO® parts and their associated techniques which he likes to use in his own creations. Today's 2 selections are much squarer parts than his previous choices... however Eero is here to give you fresh insight into their potential usage!

Plate, Modified 2 x 2 with Pin Holes (2817)


Plate, Modified 2x2 with Pin Holes (2817) is one of those pieces most builders have dozens of, and they're waiting for a beautiful day to get used. They’re found in a great number of sets (more than 600) in 11 colours.

06 August 2021

5x5 fest: Kev Levell's MOCs

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Kev Levell (@kevlevell) is the next contributor to our 5x5 fest! We sent 5 LEGO® sets to 5 of our team and asked them to get creative with the parts. Be inspired every Friday!


As outlined in the 5x5 fest introductory article, each contributor was given two fixed sets, a Beatbox and a choice of up to two other sets. My five sets were 71476 Jungle Dragon, 43184 Raya and Sisu Dragon, 43107 Hip-Hop Robot BeatBox, 71740 Jay’s Electro Mech and 41921 Extra Dots Series 3.  I have not exclusively used parts from any of the sets in my MOCs, more is the case that I have used parts from all these sets in a haphazard fashion.

03 August 2021

Which LEGO® sets have the most new parts? August 2021

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Following our list of new LEGO® parts from August 2021, today we list the most recent sets showing the quantity of new parts each of in them. Of course, many more sets are being released in North America so also check out our June/July list too.

Developed in partnership with TobyMac (from Rebrickable), our table shows both quantity as well as overall percentage of new elements. So if you like to buy sets knowing they'll contain stuff you don't yet own, you may like to use our table as one of your purchasing factors.

02 August 2021

What new LEGO® pieces were released in August 2021?

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TobyMac (on Rebrickable) has created a list showing all 320 new LEGO® elements added in August 2021, with links to which sets they come in so you can check for the ones you might be interested in. There are some very interesting new moulds! Those of you in North America may also wish to check our earlier lists, as many sets released elsewhere in June and July.