Showing posts with label Set review. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Set review. Show all posts

22 December 2024

Set review: 10355 Blacktron Renegade remake by LEGO® Icons

Posted by Kev Levell
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. 

Set 10355 Blacktron Renegade superimposed on a recreation of the classic 1980s Lego Space background with grid

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.

16 December 2024

Review: 10343 Mini Orchid and 10344 Lucky Bamboo from LEGO® Botanicals

Posted by Eero

In July, I reviewed LEGO® Botanicals sets 10368 Chrysanthemum & 10369 Plum Blossom. They were pronounced to be two of the Four Gentlemen: a set of traditional plants in East Asian culture. The remaining two are bamboo and orchid. Those flowers are less straightforward to make into LEGO sets: orchid because it already appeared in sets 10311 Orchid and 43237 Isabela's Flowerpot (review of 43237 by me, again), and bamboo because it's basically some sticks, and thus not interesting… or so we thought. 

closeup of lego bamboo and orchid

On 1 January 2025, sets 10343 Mini Orchid and 10344 Lucky Bamboo will be available, and today I am going to see if they are worthy successors to the first pair – both of which got good marks from me.

15 December 2024

Review + MOC: 10359 Fountain Garden from LEGO® Icons

Posted by Caz Mockett

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.

Lego set 10359 Fountain Garden on display

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.

13 December 2024

Review + MOC: 71478 The Never Witch's Midnight Raven from LEGO® DREAMZzz™

Posted by Eero

The last 2024 LEGO® DREAMZzz™ set we're reviewing is another great example of the quirky set design of this original theme: a witch's hut nested atop a gigantic raven. So far, I've been critical towards many sets of this wave due to unfocused and messy set design. I've associated this with the alternative builds. I like how these sets offer different designs using the same parts, emphasising the nature of this medium – but so far, it has deemed sacrifices on the design coherence.

Side view of Lego Dreams set 71478 The Never Witch's Midnight Raven

Obviously, it's much easier to make one focused set design with a specific set of parts. In this respect, 71478 The Never Witch's Midnight Raven is closer to the original August 2023 wave. There is a distinct B-Model, but it shares about 85% of the structure with the main model while still supporting very different play patterns. How does the raven fare?

12 December 2024

Review: LEGO® 40702 Christmas Picture Frame gift with purchase

Posted by tobymac

Still doing your Christmas shopping – or just starting? After midnight Friday 13 December 2024, the 40701 Ballerina & Nutcracker Scene is gone from LEGO.com, but a new Gift with Purchase (GwP) becomes available that isn't limited to LEGO® Insiders and has a lower threshold. Let's pull out those holiday snaps in readiness for 40702 Christmas Picture Frame

completed lego gwp 40702 Christmas Picture Frame



06 December 2024

Review: 10342 Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet from LEGO® Botanicals

Posted by Eero

2025 is not here yet, but we're having an early start with the new element mega-party pack, LEGO® Botanicals 10342 Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet. The "Botanical Collection" no longer sits under the LEGO® Icons branding and instead becomes its own theme, so are these plant sets still worthy of adult hobbyists?

close up of set 10342 Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet from Lego Botanicals

05 December 2024

Review: 40701 Ballerina & Nutcracker Scene gift with purchase

Posted by tobymac

Starting midnight Friday December 6 2024, a new Gift with Purchase (GwP) becomes available to LEGO® Insiders... plus, LEGO® Insiders 2x Points are back too! 

lego model 40701 Ballerina & Nutcracker Scene. 2x Insiders points are also available.

So let's get into the spirit of the holidays with 40701 Ballerina & Nutcracker Scene.


04 December 2024

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

Posted by Elspeth De Montes

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.

Lego Tudor Corner modular building surrounded by new parts from the set

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

30 November 2024

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

Posted by tobymac

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.

LEGO Leonardo Da Vinci minifig looking at his plans for building his flying machine, which is all around him in pieces

28 November 2024

Review: 40729 Shackleton's Lifeboat GwP for LEGO® Black Friday

Posted by Kevin J. Walter

Lego minifigs of Ernest Shackleton and photographer Frank Hurley with lifeboat James Caird making camp on the polar ice

A tie-in gift with purchase (GwP) of the Brick Friday 2024 release 10335 The Endurance, which I reviewed earlier this week, LEGO® Icons 40729 Shackleton’s Lifeboat is a minifigure-scale replica of the James Caird – which is the lifeboat that Shackleton used to save his crew, as we will see in the second half of this review.

Unlike the LEGO Endurance it comes with minifigures, making it a highly desirable gift with purchase for LEGO Insiders purchasing set 10335 from Friday 28 November to Monday 2 December... if stocks last that long!

27 November 2024

Review: 40668 Captain America & Red Hulk from LEGO® BrickHeadz™ Super Heroes

Posted by Elspeth De Montes

LEGO® BrickHeadz™ 40668 Super Heroes Captain America & Red Hulk are tie-ins with the new Captain America: Brave New World movie due for release in February 2025.

lego brickheads red hullk and some loose pieces from the set

These LEGO Brickheadz characters represent the Sam Wilson version of Captain America, portrayed by Anthony Mackie in the movies, and U.S. President Thaddeus Ross in his Red Hulk form, to be portrayed by Harrison Ford.

25 November 2024

Set review: 10335 The Endurance from LEGO® Icons

Posted by Kevin J. Walter

10335, The Endurance Lego set, surrounded by some additional Lego pieces representing ice

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.

22 November 2024

Review: 40699 Retro Record Player GwP for Black Friday/Cyber Monday

Posted by Elspeth De Montes

As well as 40700 Winter Holiday Train which I reviewed earlier, the Black Friday/ Cyber Monday weekend includes a second Gift with Purchase (GwP) with a higher threshold. 40699 Retro Record Player is available to LEGO Insiders from midnight 29 November to 2 December 2024.

21 November 2024

Review: 21350 Jaws from LEGO® Ideas

Posted by Ben Davies
Many lego pieces loose on a table, including printed pieces related to the Jaws movie

Growing up near many of the Massachusetts shooting locations for 1975's Jaws, my interest was understandably piqued when The LEGO Group announced development of a set based on the film. Now, just a year-and-a-half after that announcement, I'm excited to examine the final set and the parts it contains. Fortunately, almost all of these elements are now available for purchase via the LEGO® Pick a Brick service, if desired in quantity.

19 November 2024

Review: 40700 Winter Holiday Train GwP for Black Friday LEGO® Toy Deals 2024

Posted by Elspeth De Montes

Several Christmas-themed LEGO® trains, both big and small, have appeared over the years and this coming holiday season brings us 40700 Winter Holiday Train, a Gift with Purchase (GwP) available to LEGO® Insiders from midnight 29 November to 2 December 2024.

A mini scale green Christmas train with red and pearl gold accents appearing on a red background


13 November 2024

Review: 71485 Mateo and Z-Blob the Knight Battle Mech from LEGO® DREAMZzz™

Posted by Eero

A big mech calls for a big name and 71485 Mateo and Z-Blob the Knight Battle Mech is certainly a long one for this 1333-piece set. Though I can't help but think simply going with Mateo and Z-Blob the Knight Mech would have been enough. Surely 'Knight' and 'Mech' suggests battling is a given, right? We might never know, but by reading this article you will know if this LEGO® DREAMZzz™ set is worthy of the Round Table of New Elementarian Knights. 

closeup of Knight Battle Mech from lego set 71485

07 November 2024

Review: 71814 Tournament Temple City from LEGO® NINJAGO®

Posted by Caz Mockett
Various loose pieces from the Tournament Temple City lego ninjago set

71814 Temple Tournament City is the largest set in the 2024 LEGO® NINJAGO® lineup, and as a substantial set of 3489 pieces, it has plenty of interesting parts to talk about. Many of them are now available from LEGO® Pick a Brick (PaB), where you can buy them in bulk.

04 November 2024

Review: 76289 Thor vs. Surtur Construction Figure from LEGO® Marvel

Posted by Kev Levell
Various loose pieces from Thor vs. Surtur Construction Figure Lego set

76289 Thor vs. Surtur Construction Figure takes its cues from 2017's Thor: Ragnarok. The giant fire demon, Surtur was predicted to destroy Asgard and is depicted here as a large-ish construction figure.

From an initial look, the parts are pretty, but I'm not sure everything about this set is going to Ragna-rock my world!

31 October 2024

Review: Cerebro Gift with Purchase from LEGO® Marvel

Posted by Tim Johnson

From midnight Friday 1 November 2024, two new LEGO® sets come with their own Gifts with Purchase (GwP) only for LEGO® Insiders: set 21353 The Botanical Garden comes with 5009005 Entrance Gate, and set 76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion comes with the subject of today's review, 5009015 Cerebro.  

completed model of Cerebro Gift with Purchase from LEGO® Marvel with Professor X minfig

Let's roll with Professor Charles Francis Xavier to find out if his mind-enhancing machine is a big ball of fun, or sends us into a coma.

30 October 2024

Review: 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 PROFESSIONAL Line from LEGO® Technic

Posted by tobymac

LEGO® Technic is having a strong year, with loads and loads of cars to enjoy. We’ve had sportscars, racecars, supercars and F1 cars in various scales. All of these have one thing in common: they need tarmac to drive on. To go off trail, we need something special, and that’s where today’s set comes in. Set 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 PROFESSIONAL Line sure seems to have the right look, so let's take it for a drive.

Many loose lego pieces, most are reddish orange