LEGO® Star Wars review & MOCs: 75253 Droid Commander

Victor Pruvost (leewanlego on Flickr) returns today with a fresh look at an unusual set from last year: LEGO® Star Wars BOOST 75253 Droid Commander. Plenty has been written about it already so Victor takes a deep dive into its parts before using some to create original models of his own. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

Today we’ll take a break from our 2020 set reviews by focusing on a set released a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away… Okay, not so long ago, actually, because we’ll be taking a look at 75253 Droid Commander, a 2019 Star Wars set containing 1177 parts, many of which are definitely worth taking a look at!

LEGO® Monkie Kid review & MOC: 80007 Iron Bull Tank

We turn to Inthert once again for our next LEGO® Monkie Kid review: 80007 Iron Bull Tank, and he has also reimagined the set by using it as a base to create his own version! The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

Just one of the many enemies the Monkie Kid & co. will encounter, the Iron Bull Tank consists of 470 parts, includes 4 minifigures (although one is rather large to be deemed ‘mini’ – no offence Sandy!) and is priced at £39.99 / $49.99 / 43.86€.

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

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.

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

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

LEGO® Arcade Pods: Aron Gerencser's Robot Lovers and Hermit Crab

Continuing our examination of the cruellest seed part ever, today's builder grappling with the arcade pod from LEGO® Ninjago is Aron Gerencser (Pohaturon on Flickr). He's a professional journalist from Hungary who joins the New E team as contributor and subeditor, so make him welcome!

They say couples who play together, stay together - and I guess if that applies to both LEGO® and video games, the buff stacks!

LEGO® Arcade Pods: Mansur Soeleman's Tank & Terribilis

Today, Mansur “Waffles” Soeleman (instagram.com/lamborghiniwafflesauce) reveals his LEGO® creations using the two specialised parts that comprise the 'Arcade Pod' from Ninjago. Back in April, Victor Pruvost analysed these new parts and created his own models, and we sent some to other builders to see what they could come up with. Some products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this. Let's see how Mansur got on!

It would be an understatement to say that building something with the main element from 71715 Jay Avatar Arcade Pod was a challenge. It is a large, clumsy LEGO® part with strange shapes and bits sticking out. The angles on the front were not the issue; it was the clips and plate on the sides that got in the way of using this part in the ways I wanted to.

LEGO® Hidden Side: Eli Willsea's creations using new parts from 70430 & 70432

We've discussed LEGO® Hidden Side sets quite a bit this year and now it is time for a different take. We sent the talented US builder Eli Willsea (ForlornEmpire on Flickr and Instagram) a copy of 70430 Newbury Subway and 70432 Haunted Fairground to see what original creations he could come up with, also using his own LEGO parts. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

First off let's take a look at some of the newest elements included in these sets that I used in my creations. There were several recolours of existing parts as well as a few new elements that immediately caught my eye.

Old Elementary: Insectoids eyes

The eyes have it! In his third and final examination of interesting LEGO® pieces introduced for the 1998 Space theme Insectoids, Duncan Lindbo (donutsftw) takes a 'look' at two parts comprising the aliens' eyes, and builds original creations of his own using them.

Today, we’re journeying back once again to the days of the late 1990s to cast our gaze upon some old LEGO® Insectoids parts. But these parts can gaze back! That’s because we’re looking at Cylinder Hemisphere 4x4 Multifaceted (30208) and Plate, Modified 1x2 with 4x4 Dish at 90° (30209), a pair of parts which were first introduced as ‘eyes’ in the Insectoids line.