19 November 2024
After-Party Fest: Kev Levell's MOCs
15 November 2024
2024 Skærbæk workshop and After-Party Fest: introducing the elements
New Elementary ran a building workshop at Skærbæk Fan Weekend in September 2024. During the event, attendees were tasked with making something using 10 elements released in the last 12 months as seed parts; we will show you some of the results in due course, but first up, it's our turn! We rounded up some of the reclaimed seed parts from the workshop to run one of our "parts festivals", and dispatched them to a couple of our regular contributors: Kev Levell and Caz Mockett, and one of the workshop attendees, Nathan Don as a guest builder.
So, welcome to After-PartyFest! For our first instalment, Tom Loftus introduces all 10 elements and to take a closer look at those that have escaped New Elementary's analytical eye so far.
27 October 2024
Review + MOC: 71481 Izzie's Dream Animals & 71483 The Never Witch's Nightmare Creatures from LEGO® DREAMZzz™
The first wave of LEGO® DREAMZzz™ underlined the building toy component of the theme by having different builds achieved through partial deconstruction of the first build and then adding to it with an alternate set of instructions. This idea is taken to the next level in the August 2024 wave with sets 71481 Izzie's Dream Animals and 71483 The Never Witch's Nightmare Creatures.
With these sets only a
minor part of the structure is shared between the alternative builds. Like in
LEGO® Creator sets, 3 designs are offered for the price of 1 (at least in
theory). How do these designs fare, what interesting parts do they
consist of and what did they inspire me to build?
23 October 2024
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.
17 October 2024
Review: 76290 The Avengers vs. The Leviathan from LEGO® Marvel
We are reviewing another August LEGO® Marvel release today, 76290 The Avengers vs. The Leviathan. The set features a foe of furiously fantastic proportions to fight, and of course a couple of superheroes from the Marvel universe ready to do battle!
04 October 2024
Review + MOC: 71480 Logan the Mighty Panda & 71479 Zoey's Cat Motorcycle from LEGO® DREAMZzz™
Do you remember the ancient fable about a race between a cat and a panda? The one where the cat could turn into a motorcycle but the panda with bamboo guns was nevertheless still faster? No? Well may this LEGO® DREAMZzz™ review will shed some light on their story.
18 September 2024
Review: 76924 Mercedes-AMG G 63 & SL 63 from LEGO® Speed Champions
LEGO® Speed Champions 76924 Mercedes-AMG G 63 & Mercedes-AMG SL 63 comes with several recolours, exclusive prints and two builds that couldn't be more different from each other – aside from the fact they're both cars, of course!
16 September 2024
Review + MOC: 43247 Young Simba the Lion King from LEGO® Disney™
The June 2024 LEGO® Disney™ set 43247 Young Simba the Lion King is another example of an adult-oriented product based on a children's character. In addition to being a large model of the cartoon lion cub, this set is a treasure trove of Bright Light Orange pieces, also known as Flame Yellowish Orange, or Keetorange as I like to say. So what is this set worth to a builder who has never seen The Lion King?
06 September 2024
Review: 80058 Celestial Pagoda from LEGO® Monkie Kid™
80058 Celestial Pagoda is the largest set in the June 2024 wave of releases for the LEGO® Monkie Kid™ theme. It's a good-looking building with some decent architectural features, and comes with seven minifigures plus Baby Mo the cat. Let's take a closer look at the unique and unusual elements which are included.
25 August 2024
Review & MOC: 76925 Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car & AMR23 from LEGO® Speed Champions
LEGO® Speed Champions has long been in pole position as a theme, bringing us great-looking cars put together with brilliant building techniques and useful new elements. It seems 76925 Aston Martin Vantage Safety Car & AMR23 is another winner...
25 June 2024
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.
29 May 2024
LEGO® Creator set review + MOC: 31148 Retro Roller Skate
LEGO® Creator is the odd-one-out of the evergreen themes: you never know what the next wave will entail. It seems that people generally like the sets, but a die-hard LEGO Creator fan is one of the rarest types of LEGO hobbyists. New Elementary features LEGO Creator sets infrequently, as they rarely have any new pieces. However in the esteemed January 2024 wave, set 31148 Retro Roller Skate caught my eye. To find out why, let's roll.
24 May 2024
Moko's MOCs with set 76414 Expecto Patronum
Parts wizard Moko is back with some more MOCs for New Elementary. This time he has been working his magic with the elements found in the 2023 LEGO® Harry Potter™ set 76414 Expecto Patronum.
06 May 2024
LEGO® NINJAGO® review & MOC: 71813 Wolf Mask Shadow Dojo
71813 Wolf Mask Shadow Dojo is one of the larger sets in the March 2024 LEGO® NINJAGO® wave; part of Dragons Rising Season 2. The striking structure has some appealing colours, plenty of play features and 8 minifigures. Let's take a closer look at all the details.
18 April 2024
LEGO® Speed Champions review and MOC: 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 Race Cars
LEGO® Speed Champions returned in March 2024 with a trunkful of new elements. 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 Race Cars is the largest of the 4 new sets, and contains a total of 9 new moulds!
LEGO Speed Champions have a proven track record for impressive vehicles built with plenty of clever parts usage. Let's take this new set for a spin and see how it compares.
13 April 2024
Tamara Dadswell's MOCs with LEGO® Art 31211 Macaw Parrots
The final contributor to our week of guest builders is Tamara Dadswell from Canberra, Australia. Seeing Tamara's creations at Melbourne's Brickvention show is always thrilling, and her range of LEGO high heels for 2024's event was certainly original!
11 April 2024
Moko's MOC with LEGO® DREAMZzz™ 71457 Flying Pegasus Horse
Moko is no stranger to New Elementary or indeed the LEGO building community, so for this week of showcasing MOCs, we just had to invite him back!
We sent Moko a copy of one of last year's LEGO® DREAMZzz™ sets, 71457 Pegasus Flying Horse to see what he could dream up for us.
10 April 2024
Jason Cichon's MOC with LEGO® Marvel™ set 76282 Rocket & Baby Groot
We're having a week of showcasing MOCs at New Elementary, and today we're pleased to welcome a new guest builder, Jason Cichon. Originally from Adelaide, South Australia, this year Jason wowed us at Melbourne's annual mega-event Brickvention with his folding model, The Boxed Arcadia.
We sent Jason a copy of LEGO® Marvel™ 76282 Rocket & Baby Groot, but invited him to create his own model. Keep reading to see how he went!
08 April 2024
Eero's MOCs using parts from New Elementary review sets
What happens to all the sets that New Elementary contributors receive after they are done reviewing them?
17 January 2024
Christopher Hoffmann's Ma.K MOC using 42156 PEUGEOT 9X8 24H Le Mans Hybrid Hypercar
We invited Christopher Hoffmann to choose a LEGO® set with inspiring new parts to add to his collection and create his own MOC. Today he reveals his work, with a masterclass insight into the creative process, and the elements and techniques he used.
As I thumbed through the catalogue of sets to review, my inspiration was immediate and specific. It was September 2023 and the most wonderful time of the year, Ma.Ktoberfest, was just around the corner. Set 42156 PEUGEOT 9X8 24H Le Mans Hybrid Hypercar, released 4 months prior, beckoned to me with the perfect ingredients for the theme: a range of new Technic panels in dark stone grey.