LEGO® pieces, new set reviews, building techniques and brick model ideas
Jumping straight to the build of this sleek, meter-long aircraft was very tempting, however, LEGO® ICONS™ 10318 Concorde comes with two exclusive new curved pieces and a brand new slope, so a closer look at these amazing elements, with some insight from the LEGO element design team, must come first!
When we first saw images of the latest LEGO® ICONS™ set, 10315 Tranquil Garden, we were excited to see new elements, recolours and creative parts use all wrapped up in the aesthetics of a traditional Japanese garden scene.
The set was created in collaboration with Hoichi Kurisu, a landscape designer famous for his tranquil gardens across the world. As they say in the instruction booklet, it's time to "make yourself at home, relax and be one with nature for a moment. Or stay as long as you like."
Come this way...
After some off-road adventures in the very British Land Rover Classic Defender 90, courtesy of Zach Hill’s review, today we take a look at a true icon of American automobile history. The release of LEGO® ICONS™ 10321 Chevrolet Corvette celebrates the car’s 75th birthday, and there is indeed much to celebrate, with new moulds, recolours, and prints.
Pirates beware! The legendary Eldorado Fortress from 1989 returns on 4 July 2023 as a LEGO® ICONS™ set, so we got our telescope out to scan for new elements on the horizon. What has changed since the original LEGO® Pirates version came out 24 years ago, and how does the set look placed next to the Blackseas Barracuda from 2020?
Renowned for its aid in off-road adventures, scientific expeditions, or even just pulling stumps from farmers' estates, the Land Rover Defender is one of the world's most iconic four-wheel-drive vehicles. For the off-roader's 75th birthday, The LEGO Group and Land Rover are celebrating with a new LEGO® ICONS™ vehicle: 10317 Land Rover Classic Defender 90.
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.
.jpg)
After we took a look at the new and rare parts in the 2023 LEGO® Icons Botanical Collection sets a week ago, I am now kicking off our Flowerfest! Over the next few weeks, my New Elementary colleagues and I will reveal what we created with these beautiful elements.
I received two LEGO® Icons Botanical Collection sets, 40646 Daffodils and 10314 Dried Flower Centrepiece. As usual, these floral bricks and pieces inspired me to build flowing hair and elegant clothes… Well, mostly. I also turned a rose into Sontaran.
Here at New Elementary, we love a good Parts Festival! But we also love to push boundaries. So how about a Parts Festival containing no new moulds?
In a previous article, I took a careful look at the numerous new element designs, decorations, and recolours that appear in the forthcoming 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell set from the LEGO® ICONS™ theme. Today, I'll be expanding upon that by taking a look at the building process and finished model, with additional insight from Senior Graphic Designer, Ashwin Visser, who New Elementary spoke to at Recognized LEGO Fan Media Days in September 2022.
When details first emerged of the LEGO Group revisiting The Lord of the Rings franchise some ten years after the discontinuation of the original theme, as a Tolkien fan my interest was understandably piqued. Following the release of three sets under the LEGO BrickHeadz banner earlier this year, we're about to receive a set under the LEGO® ICONS™ theme, in the form of 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell.
The LEGO Group's 2023 Modular Building is 10312 Jazz Club and New Elementary has already scoured the three-story venue for new and rare parts. Brickmaster Jamie Berard, creative lead of the LEGO® ICONS™ team, joins us in this euphonious examination to share insights on its design, which was led by Anderson Ward Grubb.
The LEGO® ICONS™ set 10307 Eiffel Tower comes with 10,001 parts, and is the tallest LEGO model to date. With previous Eiffel Tower sets counting 320 and 3428 parts, I’ve been given the task to find out if bigger is better.
The next LEGO® ICONS™set will be the tallest LEGO set to date: a new version of that most iconic of landmarks, the Eiffel Tower. We got to speak with LEGO Senior Designer Rok Žgalin Kobe at Fan Media Days in Billund, Denmark in September. Rok discusses their approach, and the challenges of designing such a huge set.
Last week we examined the numerous new and rare elements that appear in the upcoming 10305 Lion Knights' Castle. Today, we'll be taking a look at the final model and some of the innovative building techniques that bring it to life.
Kevin J. Walter returns as a guest author today with a 2021 set that is so gorgeous we really felt it needed to be reviewed, better late than never! Products in this article were provided by LEGO®; the author's opinions are their own.
When I first saw the announcement
of the LEGO® Pickup Truck in August 2021, images of rural American farm life
came into my mind. Old MacDonald had a ride!
The set contains 1,677 parts divided over 8 bags and has a nice little collection of props accompanying the pickup truck. Before we take a closer look at the build itself, let’s explore the new parts in this set.