Flowerfest: Caz Mockett

Having introduced the sets that we have been using in our Flowerfest back in April, I've enjoyed seeing the MOCs built by my fellow contributors Eero Okkonen, Tom Loftus and Thomas Jenkins. It's now up to me to follow their fantastic articles and close our festival with some creations of my own.

Flowerfest: Thomas Jenkins

For our FlowerFest, we're analyzing and building with elements found in the 2023 LEGO® Botanical Collection sets: 40646 Daffodils, 10313 Wildflower Bouquet, and 10314 Dried Flower Centerpiece. Eero Okkonen and Tom Loftus have already treated us to some blooming wonderful creations; now it's my turn. 

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.

Flowerfest: Eero Okkonen

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.

Flowerfest: Introducing the elements

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?

For our latest series of posts exploring new uses for elements, Eero Okkonen, Tom Loftus, Thomas Jenkins and myself will be harvesting three 2023 sets for seed parts... which will blossom into our original creations for your perusal.

LEGO® Icons set review: 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell

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.

LEGO® element design interview: 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell

No single designer is ever wholly responsible for a LEGO® set, so to get a better understanding of the new elements in 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell, we spoke to four of them! Our very own ‘Council of Elements’ comprises three element designers: LEGO Senior Designer Mani Zamani, LEGO Senior Designer Gitte Thorsen and LEGO Design Master Yoel Mazur; as well as one of the model designers, LEGO Design Master Wes Talbott.

LEGO® Icons parts review: 10316 The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell

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. 

At 6167 parts, it's a massive set, and I was eager to embark on the quest of reviewing it.

LEGO® Icons 10312 Jazz Club: build and features review

Last week, New Elementary jumped into LEGO® Icons 10312 Jazz Club's new parts, along with designer insights. Now we're looking at the completed build and features of next year's musical Modular, which is released at midnight tonight. If you're buying it (or anything from LEGO.com) and have appreciated our work in 2022, please consider using our affiliate links. We may earn a small fee, or a medium one if you've really got a lot of sets to get your hands on! USA | UK | Australia (other countries can change region in the page footer).

At three stories tall and dressed in nearly the three primary colours, this Modular Building splits into four pieces. Just like mozzarella and basil, the combination of jazz club and pizzeria make a delicious pairing.

LEGO® Icons 10312 Jazz Club: New parts in the musical Modular

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.

LEGO® Icons review: 10304 Chevrolet Camaro Z28

The latest LEGO® Icons car pays homage to one of history's most influential American automobile designs. The 1969 Chevrolet Camaro oozes cool with its strong lines and powerful V8 engine and is still one of the manufacturer's most recognizable designs today.

10304 Chevrolet Camaro Z/28 1969 represents the other half of a generations-long "pony car" rivalry: this centerpiece of car culture is General Motors' answer to the Ford Mustang, which appeared as a Creator Expert car in 2019. Are you on team Chevy or team Ford? Either way, read on for the Camaro's new parts and smart building techniques, that are sure to appease both sides.

LEGO® Icons review: 10307 Eiffel Tower

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.

LEGO® 10307 Eiffel Tower: Designer interview with Rok Žgalin Kobe

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. 

LEGO® Icons set review: 10305 Lion Knights' Castle

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.

LEGO® Icons review: 10290 Pickup Truck

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! 

Its release last October was the third large-scale vehicle released in 2021 by the line formerly known as LEGO® Creator Expert (now LEGO® Icons), following 10295 Porsche 911 and 10279 Volkswagen T2 Camper Van.

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.

LEGO® Icons parts review: 10305 Lion Knights' Castle

To mark the occasion of their 90th corporate anniversary, The LEGO Group is releasing several sets this year which pay tribute to historical fan-favourite products. The largest of these anniversary sets is 10305 Lion Knights’ Castle, which will retail for £344.99 / US$399.99 / 399.99€ / AU$599.99 from 8 August 2022 / LEGO® VIP members 3 August. If you're buying or pre-ordering it, please consider using our affiliate links, New Elementary may get a commission: USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop | UK LEGO Shop/for Europe 'Change region'.

With 4514 pieces, this set review needs two articles! Today we begin by examining the new and interesting elements included. 

LEGO® Icons review: 10497 Galaxy Explorer

In 1979 The LEGO Group released a set which is still much loved by fans of the LEGO® Space theme, designed by the now-legendary Jens Nygård Knudsen. In the USA it was known as 497 Galaxy Explorer, while elsewhere it went by the name of 928 Space Cruiser And Moonbase. Nowadays, fans mostly refer to it as “Galaxy Explorer” or simply “928” since that was the number printed on the sides of both versions of the ship. 

Due for release on 1 August 2022 worldwide, the set will retail for £89.99 / US$99.99 / 99.99€ / AU$179.99 and contains 1254 pieces, giving a price to part value of 7.2p / 8.0c / 8.0c. If you are pre-ordering or buying this set, please consider using our affiliate links, New Elementary may get a commission: USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop | UK LEGO Shop/for Europe 'Change region'.

LEGO® review: 10300 Back To The Future Time Machine

Products in this article were provided by LEGO®; the author's opinions are their own.

Hold onto your hoverboard, we're heading back to 1985! err, then 1955, then 1985, 2015, 1985 again, revisiting 1955... oh, you get the idea! Available from 1 April 2022 is the LEGO® 10300 Back to the Future Time Machine, containing 1872 pieces and will retail for £149.99 GBP / $169.99 USD / 169.99€ EUR / $269.99 AUD / $219.99 CAD. Will you be 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'.

LEGO® Icons review + MOC: 77942 Fiat 500

Kev Levell (@kevlevell) dives into the blue of the colour-changed LEGO® Icons set, 77942 Fiat 500, and creates his own model too. Buying this UK-only set? Consider using our UK LEGO Shop affiliate link, New Elementary may get a commission. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.

The original LEGO® Creator Fiat 500 introduced a phenomenal number of recoloured elements; please see Tom Loftus’s comprehensive review of the lovely lemony Luigi. So, it is perhaps unsurprising that the contentious UK-exclusive baby blue cinquecento also comes with many recoloured elements too.

LEGO® Icons 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.