LEGO® Friends review: 41703 Friendship Tree House

TobyMac (@toby_mac83) reviews the LEGO® Friends 10th anniversary set, 41703 Friendship Tree House. 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 marked several theme anniversaries in recent years: LEGO Star Wars turned 20 in 2019, LEGO Harry Potter did the same in 2021 and LEGO Ninjago turned 10 that same year. For Star Wars there were promotional micro-builds and several remakes of older sets. Harry Potter celebrated with a relaunch of the Hogwarts modular sets and released golden minifigures of the main characters. Ninjago featured golden figures too, albeit with some added colours. With LEGO Friends turning 10 in 2022, I was looking forward to what LEGO will be doing to celebrate. Will there be golden minidolls? A remake of some classic sets? Or maybe a set packed with references?

When 41703 Friendship Tree House was announced as the 10th anniversary set, well, to be honest I was a bit underwhelmed. Yes, it’s big and looks great, but where are all the friends? Where are the 10 years of theme history? So it was not love at first sight. But I’ve been tricked by box art before; often sets look better in real life than in photos. So, eager to discover what I’m missing, I climb into the tree house.

LEGO® Ninjago review: 71766 Lloyd's Legendary Dragon

Áron Gerencsér (@_pohaturon) continues his LEGO® Ninjago 2022 analysis today with 71766 Lloyd's Legendary Dragon. 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.

The first wave of LEGO® Ninjago sets in 2022 are introducing the new 6+ EVO subline, but there are also “regular” sets for more advanced builders. Filling the obligatory slot of ‘medium-large dragon set’ that every Ninjago wave needs is 71766 Lloyd’s Legendary Dragon, and it sure lives up to the name even if it doesn’t inundate us with new parts. Between the surprising and engaging build experience and the satisfying end result, this is a suitably impressive set to represent the evolution of Ninjago dragon design. Let’s dive in!

LEGO® review: 10279 Volkswagen T2 Camper Van

Eero Okkonen (@eerookkonen) examines LEGO® 10279 Volkswagen T2 Camper Van. Buying this set, priced US$179.99/ £139.99/ AU$269.99? 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.

10279 Volkswagen T2 Camper Van is one of the over forty 18+ branded sets of 2021. It is designed by former New Elementary contributor Sven Franic, who displayed his MOCs alongside me in the LEGO® House Masterpiece Gallery back in 2019, so there's also a personal aspect to this review. Let's see what Sven and Billund's part designers have come up with for this classic vehicle, captured in a beautiful Medium Azure and White colour scheme. 

LEGO® City Stuntz review: 60297, 60298 & 60293

TobyMac (@toby_mac83) takes some of the Stuntz subtheme for a spin: LEGO® City 60298 Rocket Stunt Bike, 60297 Demolition Stunt Bike and 60293 Stunt Park. Buying these? Consider using our affiliate links, New Elementary may get a commission: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.

The October 2021 addition to the LEGO City Universe was a team of stunt-racers. These daredevils all have newly moulded bikes and ramps to perform the craziest stunts. I’ll be taking a closer look at these new moulds and figure out if this new series of sets are as entertaining as they sound. 

What new LEGO® pieces were released in January 2022?

TobyMac (on Rebrickable) has created a list showing all 1019 new LEGO® elements added in January 2022, with links to which sets they come in so you can check for the ones you might be interested in. And there is so much to be excited about here!

LEGO® Creator review + MOCs: 77940 and 77941 Mighty Dinos

Kev Levell (@kevlevell) plays with the brown and blue recolours of Mighty Dinos sets, LEGO® Creator 77940 and 77941, which were an experiment run in the UK market. He had two copies of each to work with. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.

There is something fascinating in seeing an official LEGO® set recoloured. Having built the original dinosaurs with my son numerous times, building the recoloured versions with him for this review was a real joy. Once again, I was struck by the versatility of the set, both as individual sets and as multiples.

The original green version, 31058 Mighty Dinosaurs, was designed by Mike Psiaki and the job of working out the recoloured versions was given to Morten Rauff. The concept of recolouring a set isn’t new, but it’s never been done by The LEGO Group as a product offering before.