Showing posts with label Alternate build. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Alternate build. Show all posts

20 March 2021

LEGO® Star Wars™ review & alt build: 75293 Resistance I-TS Transport

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Thomas Jenkins not only reviewed 2020 LEGO® Star Wars™set 75293 Resistance I-TS Transport, he also created an alternate build! Buying this $99.99/ £89.99 / 99.99€ set? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | UK Amazon | USA LEGO Shop | USA Amazon | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.


The I-TS Transport hails from Disneyland’s Star Wars-themed world, Batuu and although the vehicle shares a design similar to that of the Rebel frigates (like the Tantive IV blockade runner), this ship was unfamiliar to me. Given the relative obscurity of this vehicle, I imagine that this set went overlooked by most LEGO® fans in favour of the more recognisable vehicles and locations that made up the rest of the 2020 summer wave of sets. There are a few interesting parts and 2 exclusive minifigures to this set, which makes me hope this might be somewhat of a dark horse amongst last summer’s offering of Star Wars fare.

12 March 2021

LEGO® 75551 Brick-Built Minions and Their Lair: Lee's alternate builds

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Lee (cityson on Flickr) creates MOCs for you today using only the parts from LEGO® 75551 Brick-Built Minions and Their Lair, a 2020 set containing many interesting new moulds. Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop (for other countries 'Change Region') or try UK Amazon | USA Amazon. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

Last October, Tim Johnson took quite a thorough look at all the interesting parts in the 2 released LEGO® Minions: The Rise of Gru sets. While fans are still waiting for the postponed movie and its tie-in sets to be released, I have taken some time to see what alternate models can be rebuilt from the lovely set 75551 Brick-Built Minions and Their Lair. 


Sadly, I found myself running into a classic creative block. On the bright side, the set has given me 3 Minions minifigures, so I decided to outsource my task to Kevin, Stuart and Bob and see what they can come up with instead.

26 February 2021

LEGO® Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith: Kev's alternate builds

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A month ago, Kev Levell (on Flickr) reviewed the parts and the build of LEGO® Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith and today he presents a whole bunch of his own alternate models using only parts from the set and sticking with the set's theme. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

I love banging on about LEGO®, and beating something into shape using the elements found in one set. I've been forging ahead on a few ideas I had for MOCs inspired by the Medieval Blacksmith.


It hasn’t been either heavy, hard or hot work and no-one needed to do it, but I had fun in any case. Maybe I’ve hit on something that might interest you, I hope so.

31 January 2021

(CW: HP) LEGO® 75979 Hedwig: Professor's "One Set" MOCs

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The Professor (on Instagram) is back today with more of his alternate builds of a LEGO® set: this time he creates 7 new models using only parts from Harry Potter 75979 Hedwig! The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this. Editorial note: Although views expressed by Harry Potter's creator do not align with that of New Elementary, we continue to cover HP sets. Read about our stance here.


75979 Hedwig immediately attracted me because it mixes classic LEGO® System elements with Technic. I have always liked these sets which combine the best of both worlds, especially when maintaining aesthetics while integrating movement. Before I show you my alternate builds let's take a brief look at the original model and what interesting pieces you get in it.

09 January 2021

LEGO® Chinese Festival 80106 & 80107: new parts & Lee's alternate builds

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Lee (cityson) finished his reviews of the 2021 LEGO® Chinese Traditional Festival lineup and got straight onto designing his own MOCs with the parts! Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.


After a close examination of sets 80106 Story of Nian and 80107 Spring Lantern Festival on their own, it is time to take them apart and make something new with the awesome selection of LEGO® parts - as the festive banner suggested, “Out with the old, in with the new” (辭舊迎新)! However, before diving into the MOCs I created, let’s have a comprehensive look at all the noteworthy parts in these two incredible sets.

16 November 2020

LEGO® Star Wars 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina: Thomas Jenkins' Alternate Build & MOCs

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Following his examination of its parts and review of the build, Thomas Jenkins (on Instagram) takes LEGO® Star Wars 75290 Mos Eisley Cantina in a different direction today with some original creations of his own! Plus, a look at the changes LEGO recently made to the click hinge family. Buying the Cantina? Consider using our affiliate links: USA | UK. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

From a Star Wars icon to more of a deep cut from the Star Wars universe…

Alternate build using parts in Mos Eisley Cantina

Tan Leader standing by!


My goal with creating an alternate build was to make something as different as I could from the original model.

27 October 2020

LEGO® Architecture review & MOCs: 21054 The White House

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We have not one but two authors today: Miller Keys (@miller.keys) and Kaitlyn Lee (@ktlynl_) who, you will be charmed to learn, became a couple after meeting as rival contestants on LEGO® Masters Australia. We sent them 21054 The White House for review with the additional challenge of creating alternate builds from this 1483-piece set, which retails for £89.99/ US$99.99/ 97.47€. If you're buying this set, consider using our affiliate links: USA LEGO Shop, USA Amazon, UK LEGO Shop, UK Amazon. New Elementary earn from qualifying purchases. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

LEGO® Architecture debuted onto the LEGO scene in 2008. Since then over 50 sets have been released, with two of those being models of The White House. The first – 21006 – in 2010, and more recently 21054 in 2020 which we are exploring today.

27 September 2020

LEGO® Monkie Kid review & alt-build: 80008 Monkie Kid's Cloud Jet

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Continuing our LEGO® Monkie Kid reviews, today we have Tim Goddard (on Instagram) examining 80008 Monkie Kid's Cloud Jet, as well as creating a couple of cute little alternate builds! The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

This is the second of two Monkie Kid sets that I have been sent to review and compared to the other, 80009 Pigsy’s Food Truck, this one is more to my liking. The Cloud Jet looks great, with interesting angles and vivid colours, and I found it to be much more interesting build-wise.


20 September 2020

LEGO® Iconic review & alt builds: 40424 Winter Snowball Fight

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Today we greet another new contributor:  Lee (city son on Flickr) who hails from Hong Kong. We sent Lee a copy of LEGO® Iconic 40424 Winter Snowball Fight to review, plus he also designed several creations of his own using only the parts in this small set. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

The LEGO Group has put out quite a lot of seasonal vignettes over the years, and they rarely disappoint me. With a low price point, a lovely model and a great selection of parts, 40424 Winter Snowball Fight easily won me over once again. Let’s take a look at what you can get out of this US$12.99/ CA$16.99 set

03 July 2020

LEGO® Monkie Kid review & alt build: 80009 Pigsy’s Food Truck

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Today we welcome back super-Spacer and co-creator of Lego Space: Building the Future (Amazon USA: affiliate link), Tim Goddard (on Instagram) for the first of our examinations of sets from LEGO® Monkie Kid. If you need an overview of this exciting new Asian theme check out our article, otherwise read on and see what new parts Tim found in 80009 Pigsy’s Food Truck – and enjoy his original creation, made from parts in the set!

Monkie Kid. It’s not just Ninjago with a lockdown haircut, apparently. Let’s see, shall we…


Pigsy’s food truck is a massive lump of a 10 module-wide food wagon. The scale is well off anything in the LEGO City range but you might get away with it put next to the new scale of Speed Champion sets. You will not get away with it next to a minifigure.

30 June 2020

LEGO® 40411 Creative Fun 12-in-1: Professor's "One Set" MOCs

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Today we welcome the Professor (on Instagram) for an altogether different kind of LEGO® review! He's a French engineer who loves LEGO Star Wars and Creator – especially the 3-in-1 sets, as he loves to create his own alternate models – which made him ideal to take on the new set 40411 Creative Fun 12-in-1. This is a gift-with-purchase in many parts of the world from July 1 to 26 with qualifying purchases over $85 / €85 / £85.  He added so many of his own builds, it's now a 50-in-1! 


According to me, LEGO is synonymous with infinite play. I love making several creations from just the parts of one set – what I call One Set MOC. This is the very essence of LEGO. Only limited by your imagination!

30 April 2020

LEGO® Trolls World Tour: Jonas Kramm's Temple of the Blue Sea

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Jonas Kramm returns today to reveal the alternate build he created using only sets from the controversial LEGO® Trolls World Tour theme!



My analysis of the new pieces in the LEGO® Trolls World Tour sets revealed many colourful elements so it’s no wonder that my alternative build turned out pretty flashy too. Let’s dive in and discover the Temple of the Blue Sea!

14 January 2020

Inthert's alternate build of LEGO® Overwatch 75976 Wrecking Ball

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Our little fiesta of LEGO® Overwatch 75976 Wrecking Ball finishes today with original alternate models designed by British builder Inhert, using only the pieces found in this set. The set is priced £17.99 / US$19.99 / 19.99€ although perhaps you may now be seeing it on sale. If you missed our Wrecking Ball review by Inthert and Jonas Kramm, check it out here.

Alternate builds are tricky enough with the majority of sets but with 75976 Overwatch Wreaking Ball containing only 227 parts, I was a little doubtful I could make anything half-decent without dipping into my existing collection. As a safeguard against that temptation, I decided to take this challenge on holiday! Four days in a log cabin with LEGO bricks seemed like the perfect setting, with plenty of time to come up with ideas - my thought being I could come up with one alternate build per day.

Day 1: Bipedal Mech



13 January 2020

Jonas Kramm's alternate build of LEGO® Overwatch 75976 Wrecking Ball

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Last time, LEGO® Overwatch 75976 Wrecking Ball was reviewed by both Jonas Kramm and Inthert but we had a further task for these two champion builders: create an alternate model using only the 227 pieces in the set! Here is Jonas' creation, and come back tomorrow for Inthert's. The set is priced £17.99 / US$19.99 / 19.99€ although perhaps you may now be seeing it on sale.

For my alternative creation with the pieces from the Wrecking Ball I started with the most prominent pieces: the dishes. I wanted to find a good and creative use for these. First thought was to build a motorcycle, but I couldn't find complimentary pieces to build the wheels. However the thought of building something to ride was still in my mind and so the idea of a hoverbike was born.