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? 

Well, often the elements they contain inspire new MOCs! Today, Eero Okkonen shares his projects inspired by some of the elements he received over the past year in New E. review sets.

Our contest winners: Construction Constructions

It's time to announce the winners of our Construction Constructions contest, where we asked our readers to use construction-themed LEGO® elements to build something non-construction industry related.

You can check out all entries in our gallery, or carry on just to see the winners here!

Review: 40762 Mixed Flowerpot GwP from LEGO® Botanicals

It's proving to be quite the year for LEGO® Botanicals! They've become their own line with their own logo, released some stunning sets with new moulds, taken over LEGO® House and had their first ever Gift with Purchase (GwP) – and now, here is their second already.

40762 Mixed Flowerpot, now available worldwide, is a gorgeous model featuring a range of stunning LEGO flowers. If you are a fan of the LEGO Botanicals theme, you simply cannot miss out from adding this to your collection. If you have never built one, this is the perfect taster set to find out what all the fuss is about! 

LEGO® House: the LEGO® Botanicals takeover

There’s never a bad time for some botanical building! That is clearly the ethos at LEGO® House in Denmark in 2025, because when they were closed over January, the LEGO florists moved in. 

I visited recently to discover their new displays, and was met in LEGO Square at a new big flower wall by none other than the blooming LEGO House Master Builder himself, Stuart Harris who personally guided me around the areas where the the LEGO® Botanicals have taken root. 

2019 Parts Fest #2: Eero Okkonen's Herald and Shepherd

Returning now to our Parts Festival, the next participant is Finnish builder Eero Okkonen. Eero is best known for his character builds and he is currently displaying some of his work within the Masterpiece Gallery at LEGO® House. Eero took part in the infamous Iron Builder with Duplo Grass as the seed part, so this Parts Festival should be a breeze by comparison! You can read more about Eero and his builds on his blog.

Herald of the Carp Speeder

I like bright colours, so I find some of the more vibrant seed parts the most inspiring. Among the seed parts there was a bag of small sea creatures from Friends marine-themed line.

Old Elementary: Eero Okkonen's LEGO® tidbits

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.

Old Elementary: Eero Okkonen's gentle LEGO® curves

Finnish LEGO® builder Eero Okkonen (now on Instagram!) kicks off his new series of articles with us today where he will look at unusual parts he likes to use in his models and reveals some techniques.

I thought it might be interesting to briefly present several LEGO® pieces I like to use in builds that are not necessarily rare but are maybe a bit forgotten, along with examples of older MOCs of mine. To kick things off, two parts from the early 2000s that sport gentle curves: Windscreen 9 x 3 x 1 2/3 Bubble Canopy and Wedge 4 x 3 Cut Back with Cutout.

Old Elementary: Eero Okkonen's LEGO® vehicle fronts

Finnish LEGO® builder Eero Okkonen (on Instagram) continues his series of articles looking at unusual parts he likes to use in his MOCs, and today's article even includes a brand-new model. Last time he examined Windscreen 9 x 3 x 1 2/3 Bubble Canopy and Wedge 4 x 3 Cut Back with Cutout; today it is the turn of three more curved pieces intended for vehicles.

Cars are one of the evergreen subjects of LEGO® sets, and the parts specially designed for minifig-scale vehicles can be easily overlooked due to their everyday status, especially by builders who usually work at entirely different scales. I thought it might be interesting to briefly present several LEGO vehicle pieces I like to use in builds, along with examples of older MOCs of mine as well as this unpublished work: Jean of Emergent Dance.

LEGO® Element Development: the Candelabra – Interview with Henrik Skallebæk

Eero Okkonen (@eerookkonen) resumes our series of Element Developer Q&As today as we speak to Henrik Skallebæk, Senior Mechanical Engineer at the LEGO Group, about the LEGO® Candelabra piece (73117). Then, Eero presents an original MOC using this new element. Transcripts were edited for clarity, readability and narrative flow.

The 3-armed candlestick was specifically designed for the LEGO® version of candlewax-and-brass character Lumiere, from Disney's animated film Beauty and the Beast. However, the piece made its debut in the LEGO Harry Potter theme.

Tipper Ends: Eero Okkonen's Aurora Sievert & Hurricane III

Yesterday, Eero Okkonen examined in great detail the history and geometry of the 'Tipper End Family' of LEGO® pieces, especially Vehicle, Tipper End Flat with Pins (Design ID 3145) and Vehicle, Tipper End Sloped (3436). Today he reveals this never-before-published model he built in February using tipper ends, but first he takes us through earlier models where he utilised these unusual parts that were introduced five decades ago.  

Previous Builds

A more mathematical approach to tipper ends is a new and exciting world to me, but I’ve used them few times before, mostly as armour shells or clothing, something akin to Constraction shells.

2019 Parts Fest #2: Eero Okkonen's trio of characters

Well it's been our biggest, longest Parts Festival to date but today our LEGO® building fiesta comes to an end with not one, not two but three incredible characters designed by Eero Okkonen featuring the new 2019 pieces we sent him. You can also see his earlier parts fest builds here and follow his builds on his blog.

Gwathlo of Order of Morning Star

Flowerfest: Tom Loftus

Last week, New Elementary's Flowerfest kicked off with an impressive line-up of character builds by Eero Okkonen. A Sontaran built from rose petals is a tough act to follow, but I'm ready to do my best! I'll be analyzing two recent arrivals to the LEGO® Botanical Collection - 40646 Daffodils and 10313 Wildflower Bouquet - and sharing MOCs inspired by their parts.

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?

LEGO® DREAMZzz™: new parts for August 2024

It has been a year since LEGO® DREAMZzz™ was introduced, and on 1 August 2024 its third wave will be released. This theme has been filled with unique and unconventional models, and those require unique and unconventional elements. So, grab your pillow and join me in the Dream World.

LEGO has kindly sent us all 8 sets for an early peek. Before we build the models, I’ve gathered all new elements found across the whole wave into an overview for you.

Review: sets 42652, 42662 & 42663 from LEGO® Friends

We have reached my final blog post covering the LEGO® Friends sets from the January 2025 wave. The last three sets have us building a treehouse, stylin' a new coif, and setting out on a camping trip. And of course, all these adventures will provide us with new elements.

Updated LEGO® colours: 427 Cool Yellow & 426 White

January 2025 LEGO® Marvel set 76313 MARVEL Logo & Minifigures, and March 2025 sets LEGO® Art 31215 Vincent van Gogh – Sunflowers and LEGO® Architecture 21062 Trevi Fountain have introduced two new colours to the LEGO colour palette. Did you spot them?

While we did notice there had been a change in shade of Bright Light Yellow (TLG name Cool Yellow), we missed the new White, until LEGO colour guru Rylie Howerter brought the updates to our attention. Read on to find out more about these "new" colours.

LEGO® part 3172: Plate Special 1 x 2 with Pin Hole On Side

Plate Special 1 x 2 with Pin Hole On Side (Design ID 3172; not to be confused with set number 3172 which is well worth a search if you need a laugh) is an intriguing addition to the LEGO® parts inventory. It slots neatly into the existing family of plates with a Technic hole, but what can it do that its older siblings can’t? Today the New E team and I aim to find out, using eye candy – I mean, tablescraps! 

2019 Parts Fest #2 : Eero's Fig-barf

Minifigures are not something you see an awful lot of on New Elementary but for his next Parts Festival submission, Finnish builder Eero Okkonen used the seed parts to create some awesome outfits and accessories!

I used to make lot of custom minifigures, usually in so-called 'barfs' of four to six figs but I last made one in August 2016, over three years ago.  Some of seed parts seemed useful at minifig scale, so I began fiddling. At first these figs were going to be on the bridge scene which developed into the creation called Frost Serpent Arises but they didn’t work in that context. In a way, this is a special gift to anyone who has asked me to make another barf or wondered why I ever stopped.

(CW: HP) LEGO® BrickHeadz parts review + MOCs: 40495 & 40496

Eero Okkonen examines the parts in LEGO® BrickHeadz sets 40495 & 40496, both released on 1 June 2021, before using some of them in his own creations. Note, this article does not cover the actual build of the models – please visit other fan sites for that, such as The Rambling Brick. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

The target audience for LEGO® BrickHeadz sets 40495 and 40496 are people who want to have simple, rectangular models of Harry Potter franchise characters on display. These two Brickheadz sets, each containing multiple characters, are not what I would call “essential New Elementary content”; they’re fairly basic models with only a few unique printed parts. Also their theme licence has its problems: New Elementary has a stance on Harry Potter sets following JK Rowling’s shocking and hurtful views on transgender people, which you can read here. I am aware that reviewing this merchandise might work as an advertisement, and JK Rowling might even profit from it. I don’t like it. 

So, why do we review such sets? Firstly, we do not always know what pre-release sets we’re getting from TLG, and secondly, it’s worth knowing that all sets are not new mold powerhouses; and such sets may have other qualities. Due to this issue, I have deliberately faded out the Potter aspect of this article, rather focusing on the parts and creating my own models. I will also return to this issue later on. 

January 2025 LEGO® sets and their best new parts

I'm sure none of us are truly ready for 2025... so let's take it day by day! Is your LEGO® shopping list ready for 1 January? We've heard estimates of the number of new products going online at midnight that range from 150 to 225 SKUs! So New Year's Eve is a great day to research your first-day purchases.

The New Elementary team have been wildly busy over the last few weeks – months actually! –  reviewing 2025's themes, sets, and more importantly: the gorgeous new parts within. Here is our handy summary of what we have covered so far, highlighting some of the best new parts coming on New Year's Day.