LEGO® MOVIE 2 review: 70840 Welcome to Apocalypseburg!

Coming 1 February 2019 (and already available for VIP members), LEGO® 70840 Welcome to Apocalypseburg!
 is the largest and arguably most thrilling set from THE LEGO MOVIE 2: The Second Part. But how do the parts stack up? Sven Franic takes a look inside this 3178-piece set and its plethora of Sand Green.

The flagship set for THE LEGO MOVIE 2: The Second Part focuses attention on the part of the film featuring the derelict remains of Bricksburg from the first film (which may have some resemblance to New York?). This is an opportunity to jump on the revived pop-culture trend of the post-apocalypse dystopia and a great way for adult fans to connect with what is probably the closest The LEGO Group will touch a certain Ozploitation trilogy from our childhoods. 

LEGO® Technic 42079 Heavy Duty Forklift

LEGO® Technic 42079 Heavy Duty Forklift retails at £54.99 / US$69.99 / 49.99€ but given this is a release from summer 2018 perhaps you'll now find it cheaper at Amazon USA or Amazon UK. However, is it worth forking out money to pick this one up? Ryan Welles investigates, without resorting to awful puns.

Forklifts were a popular subject for the LEGO® Technic line in the days were there were only studded building techniques. When the studless era began, forklifts became less common. There was a small one in 2003 (set number 8441), a rather impressive forklift in 2005 containing 729 pieces (set number 8416) and yet another mini-set ten years ago (set number 8290). But that's about it. It has been at least 15 years since a big or even medium sized forklift hit the shelves. With set 42079, the smallest of 2018's Technic summer wave line-up, the hiatus came to an end.

But does it make a good purchase for or is it better to save your money for the 2019 sets?


LEGO® Creator Expert 10268 Vestas Wind Turbine

LEGO® Creator Expert 10268 Vestas Wind Turbine is the latest set to get re-issued by The LEGO Group. How does this monster measure up? We tasked brainy builder Gary Davis with finding out... and managing to fit it all into one photograph.

I liked the 10268 Vestas Wind Turbine set form the moment I first saw it for real.  The completed model has great presence.  With one of its blades pointing straight up, it's nearly a metre tall, and what's more, it moves!  Unusually for a Creator Expert set, the Vestas Wind Turbine includes Power Functions lights and a motor to get those blades whizzing round.  (The model isn't quite as environmentally friendly as the real thing.)

This is a re-issue of the almost identical set (4999) from ten years ago.  That was a Limited Edition set only available to Vestas employees, but now it's available to us all.  There are some minor changes between the two sets, for example the Vestas branding has been updated and, reportedly, the mounting of the tower is now more stable. 

LEGO® Technic 42080 Forest Harvester

Ryan Welles is back, to review LEGO® Technic 42080 LEGO Technic Forest Harvester which is priced at £119.99 / $149.99 / 129.99€. It is available at Amazon USA.

There were times the LEGO® community dreaded the idea that the Technic Pneumatic system might disappear. The golden years of airtanks, valves, compressors and pumps and at least one set a year that contained Pneumatics seemed long gone. This fear grew with the arrival of Power Functions (which was hard to combine with air pressure) and linear actuators (that had functions similar to Pneumatics, more control over movement and a more challenging building experience). Between the years 2006 and 2009 none of the sets released had Pneumatics. In 2010 there was a revival with set 8049 Tractor with Log Loader, without any new parts. But part innovation was just around the corner.

LEGO® Technic 42082 Rough Terrain Crane

New sets from the LEGO® Technic range are available as of today, and first up Ryan Welles takes a look at the biggest of the bunch – 42082 Rough Terrain Crane. It's got 4,057 parts and retails for US$299.99 / £229.99 (at time of writing it is 12% off at Amazon UK).

Bigger, stronger, faster: these seem to be the adages of the LEGO® Technic design team for the past couple of years. Nearly every year, Technic sets get bigger and more impressive. Where once a 1,800 piece kit was considered a rather stellar feat, now a multitude of parts seems to be the rule rather than the exception with the product range's flagship models. Earlier this year, 42083 Bugatti Chiron was the second biggest set in piece count after 2016's 42055 Bucket Wheel Excavator. But hardly two months later, the number one position has been seized by this year's flagship model: 42082 Rough Terrain Crane.

The mere size of this crane urges the question: how much pressure and force can ABS actually take? And it holds up surprisingly well. There have been a number of large cranes produced over the years and this 2018 behemoth does not offer groundbreaking or original functions. What future lies ahead?

LEGO® 10262 James Bond Aston Martin DB5

Each summer the LEGO® Creator Expert theme release a large scale vehicle, such as last year's 10258 London Bus. This year, the subject remains frightfully British: today The LEGO Group revealed 10262 James Bond Aston Martin DB5. Sven Franic took an early look to find all the new parts and of course, to play with the gadgets!

The latest LEGO® Creator Expert car model is an acquired taste. To be fair, the slick Superleggera design is not easily translated to brick form. I learned to love this model through the building experience and it turned out to be one of the most ingenious LEGO model designs I have ever come across.

LEGO® Technic set review: 42083 Bugatti Chiron

Alexandre Campos has already examined all the new parts in the LEGO® Technic 42083 Bugatti Chiron and now turns his attention to the incredible build process.

As mentioned previously, 42083 Bugatti Chiron is divided into six numbered boxes, each with numbered bags, and this is a godsend. Having to search among 3599 parts at once would be maddening. Some instruction steps are also extra helpful with the build, especially when Earth Blue [TLG]/ Dark Blue [BL] elements are involved: a red outline marks newly-added elements. Still, make no mistake: this is an intricate and complicated build, and often it's hard to know what goes where, and easy to make mistakes.

Press conference for LEGO® Technic 42083 Bugatti Chiron

Last week, on the final day of the LEGO® Fan Media Days in Billund, a special press conference was held for the release of LEGO Technic set 42083 Bugatti Chiron with designers from both Bugatti and the LEGO Technic teams.

On the podium, from left to right, are:

• Jachin Schwalbe (JS), Head of Chassis Development, Bugatti
• Achim Anscheidt (AA), Bugatti Design Director

• Aurélien Rouffiange (AR), LEGO Designer

• Andrew Woodman (AW), LEGO Technic Senior Design Manager


AFOLs used this unique opportunity to ask some interesting questions about the design of both the car and the set, and Are J. Heiseldal has transcribed the most interesting responses for you here.

LEGO® Technic parts review: 42083 Bugatti Chiron

It's a beast in so many ways –  the LEGO® Technic 42083 Bugatti Chiron contains 3599 pieces and is priced at £329.99 / $349.99 / 369.99€. We're celebrating it at New Elementary with a series of three posts this week and to start, Alexandre Campos is opening the box and seeing what new and recoloured parts lie within.

After the success of the 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS, it was kind of expected that The LEGO Group would launch a second "Technic Expert" set. The 42056 raised the bar on size, complexity, and authenticity for LEGO Technic. Not to mention it introduced many new elements that would see wide usage across the rest of the Technic line, such as the Technic Steering Wheel Hub Holder with 2 Pin Holes and 2 Axle Holes (Design ID 23801), the Technic Axle Connector 3L (Design ID 26287), or the Technic Panel Curved 7 x 3 with 2 Pin Holes through Panel Surface (Design ID 24119).

After a period of secrecy and rumours, LEGO Technic set 42083 Bugatti Chiron was unveiled on 1st June 2018 at the LEGO House, with the presences of the top brass from TLG, Bugatti, and the LEGO fan community, plus a real-life Chiron.

LEGO® Fan Media Days 2018: What happened

Thanks to over 30 wonderful New Elementary readers who gave generously to our GoFundMe campaign, we were able to send Are J. Heiseldal to LEGO® Fan Media Days 2018 in Billund, Denmark this week.  In reverse chronological order, here's a taste of what happened and what interviews you can expect to read on New Elementary in the coming months!

LEGO TECHNIC 42083 Bugatti Chiron

On Friday the new Technic supercar for 2018 was announced in an exciting press event at LEGO House.

LEGO® Creator 10261 Roller Coaster

The fairground sub-theme of LEGO® Creator continues in 2018 with the thrilling 10261 Roller Coaster. Sven Franic has braved the ride to bring you info on all the new parts in this 4080-piece set, priced £299.99 / US$379.99 / 329.99€ and on general sale from 1 June 2018.

When the new roller coaster tracks were first introduced last autumn, I think we all knew TLG hadn’t made six new elements purely for the Joker Manor. It was just a matter of time before we saw the first ever official roller coaster set.

Even with specialized track and car elements, the 10261 Roller Coaster is a feat of mathematical LEGO engineering. All that geometry serving both structural and aesthetic functions had to be legal, which looks simpler than it actually is.  In terms of overall dimensions, I think this is the largest LEGO set ever. Besides, it is a sort of milestone in the LEGO System.




NEXOGON: Platform and Slugship

Duncan Lindbo (donutsftw on Flickr) has completed his initial creations using part 27255, the Combo Power Shield from LEGO® NEXO KNIGHTS™. Let's start with two of them today.

Normally, I get referred to as "the mecha guy", since giant robots tend to dominate my displays at public events... but I welcome the opportunity to flex my creative muscles, and the NEXOGON parts festival has given me the opportunity to do just that!

LEGO® BIONICLE® Team Interview

ALSO: Read our interview with LEGO Architecture designer Rok Žgalin Kobe

To conclude our farewell to LEGO® BIONICLE® “Generation 2”, we have an interview with three members of the team. This was actually recorded prior to the announcement that the theme would be ending, but of course these guys continue to make Constraction figures with The LEGO Group, so whilst BIONICLE is dead (or perhaps merely dormant), the elements live on!

Bravo Three One Eight

Questo articolo è disponibile anche in italiano su Old Bricks

I am sure that many people, upon seeing these models, would cite them as proof that LEGO® have lost their way "since I was a kid, when it was just bricks". Whilst these are indeed new parts, the fact is that the changes that brought them into the LEGO System occurred in the 1970s.

One for the bucket list

Now for our final review of the summer LEGO® Technic sets and Ryan Welles has saved the biggest until last: 42055 Bucket Wheel Excavator! It's now available, priced £179.99 / US$279.99 / €229.99.

This is the only LEGO Technic set released in the second half of 2016 which is not a model of a licensed property, and I also applaud the Danes for experimenting with something different to the countless number of regular excavators and other yellow construction vehicles. 42055 Bucket Wheel Excavator is also the biggest LEGO Technic set ever produced, not only in size but also in piece count. There is a natural limit to how big sets can be, considering the flexible qualities of Technic parts, and with this set this limit seems to be nearly reached...

Claas Act

Time to review another summer LEGO® Technic set: 42054 Claas Xerion 5000 TRAC VC. We have a new guest contributor too: Steve Jarratt is an editor and writer who has launched many gaming and technology magazines including Edge and T3. More importantly, he has been a LEGO fan since receiving 055 Basic Building Set as a kid.

Even though it’s been a while since LEGO Technic visited agricultural vehicles, tractors have played a key part in the line since its inception in 1977. The current trend seems to be that TLG is revisiting old sets and remaking them, only larger and with more sophisticated functions. As 2009’s 8258 Crane Truck is a forerunner to last year’s 42043 Mercedes Arocs, and the brilliant 42009 Mobile Crane II is a sequel to the 8053 Mobile Crane of 2010, so the Claas Xerion could be seen as an update of 8049 Tractor with Log Loader, also from 2010. But what an update…

Pump it real good

Time for another of the amazing new LEGO® Technic sets, so we turn to Ryan Welles (merman) to give us the run-down on what makes 42053 Volvo EW160E so different. The set is released on 1 August.

2016 already seems to be a record year when it comes to licensed Technic sets. Whereas one licensed set a year seemed to be the rule, in 2016 alone we have a staggering three sets involving some form of partnership. The smallest of these is 42053 Volvo EW160E, a wheeled excavator that the Swedish vehicle manufacturer introduced rather recently. The set contains 1166 parts, relies heavily on the new V2 pneumatic system that came with last year’s 42043 Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245 and retails for £69.99/US$119.99. Now, do we actually pay loads for the license or is this a pretty good deal... and is it an interesting build? Let’s find out.

A True Supercar?

I'm excited to have Ryan Welles (merman) return today to be one of the first to review a thrilling new LEGO® Technic set, 42056 Porsche 911 GT3 RS. It is available to buy online from today (June 1st), but in terms of physical stores, is exclusive to the thirteen German and Austrian LEGO stores for the whole of June and July.

For the past couple of years, the LEGO® Technic range has given the aficionados of gears, pins, axles and beams more than they could have possibly hoped for. Still, the adult community committed to this product line which was launched almost forty years ago, is among the most critical of all AFOLs. To most of them a perfect Technic set does not exist and there is always room for improvement. Perhaps that is the charm of being a Technic builder. In recent years, Technic has undergone a massive improvement in both set quality and parts count. But it comes with a price tag as well.

License to Thrill

Back today is Ryan W. (merman) with masses of Technic goodness for you... and it doesn't come any more massive and good than set 42043 Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245!

LEGO® and licenses are often an exciting combination, so it was no surprise the Billund people from Technic started to work closely with renowned companies. The first licensed Technic set (if you do not take the 800x-series Technic Star Wars sets that appeared in 2000 and 2001 into the equation) was the 8110 Mercedes-Benz Unimog. Not only did it mark the first official collaboration between the LEGO Group and the German car factory, with a piece count of 2,048 in 2011 it was also the biggest Technic set ever released. A second licensed set appeared last year, the 42030 Volvo L350F Wheel Loader and 8110’s record had been broken a year earlier with the arrival of 42009 Mobile Crane MK II, which had a total number of 2,606 parts.

Sky high

When Andrew Barnick suggested writing a review of the new spinning toy in the LEGO® NINJAGO range, I wasn't champing at the bit. The Chima Speedorz were interesting enough, although their potential never seemed to translate into MOCs to any great degree. Given Andrew's enthusiasm however, I figured, why not? I'm so glad I did - these look fascinating. The new parts really surprised me and the spinner system seems a big step closer to being a proper part of System. But I'll let Andrew explain!

When the LEGO fan community got our first look at this summer’s new LEGO sets at Toy Fair this year, some of the sets that excited me most were the new Ninjago “Airjitzu” spinners. That wasn’t just because I’m a diehard Ninjago fan, but also because I’m a sucker for functions and because as a long term Bionicle fan these flying spinners seemed like an evolution of the classic Bionicle “Rhotuka” spinners from 2005.

This past May, I was lucky enough to get a chance to participate on the LEGO Inside Tour. In addition to getting to meet with designers, engineers, and other high-profile LEGO employees, my brother and I got season passes for LEGOLAND Billund, and the shop there already had many of this summer’s new releases, including the Airjitzu sets. Over the course of the week we bought 70739 Airjitzu Kai Flyer, 70740 Airjitzu Jay Flyer, 70741 Airjitzu Cole Flyer, and 70742 Airjitzu Zane Flyer. On the last day of the tour, Nick Vas, a friend of mine and the designer responsible for the weapons in all six Airjitzu sets, showed up and gave us the last two Airjitzu sets (70743 Airjitzu Morro Flyer and 70744 Airjitzu Wrayth Flyer) as a gift from the LEGO Ninjago team. As a result, I’m happy to be able to review all six of these sets for New Elementary!