Set review: 10355 Blacktron Renegade remake by LEGO® Icons

Black and yellow designs and patterns have great visual impact. They're used effectively on hazard tape, warning signs and all manner of things that we should be wary of. That was part of the instant appeal of the original LEGO® Space Blacktron sets. They captured the eye and the imagination, and hinted at some unseen danger. Wild styling was also a feature of those first five sets back in 1987, and the wildest was arguably 6954 Renegade. 

Like a queen space wasp, the redesigned LEGO® Icons 10355 Blacktron Renegade has flown in rapidly on a stealthy mission, and hit me with a surprise attack! Those Blacktron spies have returned and I did not see them coming – they're obviously doing their job, so I guess it's time I did mine and inspected their new tech.

Parts review: 10355 Blacktron Renegade from LEGO® Icons

In 1987, LEGO® Space turned to the dark side. Blacktron was introduced, and suddenly we had villains in the void. They had the same enigmatic smiling faces that our good guys did, but that obviously made their scheming and spying all the more concerning.

The combination of black, yellow, trans-yellow and trans-red parts was highly effective in creating visual impact in the design of the original Blacktron sets. In 2025, the theme returns for a one-off LEGO® Icons nostalgic recreation – we're Back in Blacktron! – and almost all of the new parts in 10355 Blacktron Renegade come in that established colour palette.

Designer reveal: 10355 Blacktron Renegade from LEGO® Icons

They're back, they're bigger and they're more powerful than ever. Those pesky Blacktron folk have been playing a long game, and on 1 January 2025, it all comes to fruition as LEGO® Icons set 10355 Blacktron Renegade invades stores! 

Who better to introduce it than Jae Won Lee, Senior Designer at The LEGO Group, who has brought his own swoosh factor to this 1987 classic LEGO® Space set?

Review + MOC: 10359 Fountain Garden from LEGO® Icons

August 2023 saw the introduction of LEGO® Icons 10315 Tranquil Garden, a Japanese-inspired model which is a little bit larger than minifigure scale and features modular components to vary the garden layout. At the time, we assumed that this was a one-off.

However, set 10359 Fountain Garden, led by senior designer Henrik Saaby, will be released on 1 January 2025 under the new LEGO Icons sub-theme "Gardens of the World". Let's take a look at the parts and construction of the Fountain Garden to see what delights await.

Review: 10350 Tudor Corner from LEGO® Icons Modular Buildings Collection

The latest set in the LEGO® Modular Buildings Collection was announced yesterday as 10350 Tudor Corner.  The set is a corner building which houses a restaurant, a haberdashery, a clockmaker’s workshop and an attic apartment.

Let's take a look at the new elements and the eight minifigures first, before groundwork starts on the pub.

Designer interview: 10350 Tudor Corner with François Zapf and Ashwin Visser

Just revealed, the 2025 LEGO® Icons Modular Buildings Collection set is 10350 Tudor Corner! Our review is coming tomorrow, but first we have a rather special introduction with exclusive photos.

At Fan Media Days in Denmark in September 2024, I joined Andrew Becraft from The Brothers Brick to have the lead designer François Zapf (above right) and graphic designer Ashwin Visser (above left) talk us through the new Modular's features and development.

Review: 10363 Leonardo Da Vinci's Flying Machine from LEGO® Icons

Humankind has been dreaming of taking to the skies ever since we saw birds and insects soaring. Many flying machines have been designed in the past, usually unsuccessful, and one of the most famous was sketched in the 15th century by all-round Renaissance genius Leonardo Da Vinci. Today, we’ll build a LEGO interpretation of his designs with LEGO® Icons set 10363 Leonardo Da Vinci’s Flying Machine.

Interview: 10363 Leonardo Da Vinci's Flying Machine from LEGO® Icons

Coming 1 January 2025, LEGO® Icons set 10363 Leonardo Da Vinci's Flying Machine is quite unlike anything you've seen before from The LEGO Group! 

We were present at the reveal of the set at Fan Media Days in Denmark in September 2024, where Antica Bracanov, Senior Designer (above) and Nathan Davis, Graphic Designer spoke about the product they helped develop.

Set review: 10335 The Endurance from LEGO® Icons

Black Friday falls this week, and the big release on the day is LEGO® Icons set 10335 The Endurance; a recreation of the ship used by Ernest Shackleton in his attempted expedition to cross the Antarctic. 

After I examined what the LEGO Endurance is made of last week, let us now look at how she is built. In addition to that, I have a short historical overview about Ernest Shackleton and the real Endurance.

Parts review: 10335 Endurance from LEGO® Icons

Set sail and head towards the South Pole with LEGO® Icons 10335 Endurance. After the massive Titanic LEGO set in 2021, this is the next historical ship to release on a Black Friday. While significantly smaller and with fewer parts than its predecessor, it is a worthy contender for LEGO set of the year. In this first article, we are investigating the parts from which the Endurance is made.

Review: 10370 Poinsettia from LEGO® Icons Botanical Collection

Charming festive display piece or stunning parts pack? LEGO® Icons Botanical Collection 10370 Poinsettia is both! One third of its 608 parts are rare or exclusive, all of which are integral to the plant's striking bracts, plentiful foliage and sturdy woven-basket flowerpot.

Review: 10340 Wreath from LEGO® Botanical Collection

Even at a glance, it's clear 10340 Wreath aims to combat the winter blues with a whole forest of green and some zesty orange slices. Let's see what else the latest entry in the LEGO® Icons Botanical Collection has to offer.

Review: 10339 Santa's Post Office from LEGO® Icons Winter Village

New LEGO® elements are always at the top of our Christmas list here at New E! Let's see what goodies Santa has delivered us in this year's Winter Village installment, 10339 Santa's Post Office.

10391 Over the Moon, the LEGO® "Piece by Piece" set from Pharrell Williams

The LEGO® Pharrell Williams collaborative set 10391 Over the Moon has been revealed, in advance of the October release of the film Piece by Piece, which features LEGO animation. 

Pre-order available: 10340 Wreath and 10370 Poinsettia from the LEGO® Botanical Collection

The LEGO® Botanical Collection has revealed two new sets that make ideal Christmas presents. They're available from 1 October 2024, but you can pre-order right now. They have a bounty of new pieces to harvest, so let's take a look.

Review: 10368 Chrysanthemum & 10369 Plum Blossom from LEGO® Icons Botanical Collection

LEGO® Icons sets tend to be expensive; often priced in the triple digit spending realm. LEGO Icons Botanical Collection sets have been more affordable, with the most expensive to date, 10289 Bird of Paradise (review by Victor), breaking the 100 € ceiling in some countries. Outside of the Botanical Collection branding, LEGO has released smaller flower-themed sets within the price range of one or two dozen euros. 

Two new sets available in August 2024, 10368 Chrysanthemum and 10369 Plum Blossom, combine these two ideas – a low price point of about 30 € each, and lifestyle picture-worthy aesthetics and quality. How do they fare, and what are they made of?

Wheel 30.4 x 20 with 5 holes (part 5650) from set 10337 Lamborghini Countach

LEGO® Icons set 10337 Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole is available for LEGO® Insiders from midnight tonight (i.e. Monday 1 July 2024).

Although Kev Levell as already reviewed it for us thoroughly, we've learnt something more about one of the new moulds created for the set: Wheel 30.4 x 20 with 5 holes in Flat Silver (6481570 | 5650).

Revealed: sets 10368 Chrysanthemum and 10369 Plum Blossom from LEGO® Icons Botanical Collection

Coming 1 August 2024 are two stunning new additions to LEGO® Icons popular Botanical Collection: sets 10368 Chrysanthemum and 10369 Plum Blossom.

LEGO® Icons review + MOC: 10328 Bouquet of Roses

The Botanical Collection is a subtheme of LEGO® Icons that features relatively affordable sets. In reality, similar life-size botanical subjects have found their way to other LEGO themes, too, including LEGO® Creator and, surprisingly, LEGO® Disney Princess sets. For me, these sets appeal as beautiful models. However, I'm foremost a MOC maker, and they are very good material for own creations – they include usually many of the same pieces, often in bright colours and sleek, organic shapes. 

The Botanical Collection often features many species, with differing colours, but set 10328 Bouquet of Roses focuses on strong red romanticism. How does it score with a MOC builder like me, and what did its pieces inspire me to build?

LEGO® Icons 10337 Lamborghini Countach 5000 QV: review & designer interview

I've stripped down the parts in the LEGO® Icons set 10337 Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole, got myself revved up, and built it. Today I'm taking a look its clever construction, and speaking with its lead designer, Sven Franic. I even took it for a bit of a respray in the 'shop!