LEGO® Ninjago review + MOCs: 70686 Spinjitzu Burst – Kai

A rather odd LEGO® Ninjago element caught our eye this year, so we sent it to two members of our team to review and build MOCs with. First up: Inthert (on Flickr) reviews 70686 Spinjitzu Burst – Kai. If you're buying this set, consider using our affiliate links: USA LEGO Shop at Home, USA Amazon, UK LEGO Shop at Home, 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.

Ninjago has always been known for introducing new elements, but the latest mini-wave of Spinjizu Burst sets have raised the bar – or should that be levelled the bar? More on that later but first let’s take a look at the build of one of the three Burst sets currently available: 70686 Spinjitzu Burst – Kai.

Forbidden Elementary: Sticker sheet cardboard box

Inthert (on Instagram) returns today with a wholly (and holey) different idea for a New Elementary post. Welcome to Forbidden Elementary, where we look at elements that aren't elements. Heresy!

Designed to withstand even the most enthusiastic play, the average LEGO® brick doesn’t typically require individual protective packaging. However, some of the more fragile, non-standard elements like rubber bands, string and cloth pieces need exactly that and so are placed in small cardboard boxes to keep them safe from factory to consumer.

This particular specimen comes from the Speed Champions polybag 30342 Lamborghini Huracán Super Trofeo Evo which was available for free with qualifying purchases from LEGO in June and August 2020. Unusually, it does not contain one of the vulnerable element types listed above; instead it protects the tiny sticker sheet from getting crumpled in the bag. Before diving deeper into the wonderful potential of cardboard LEGO elements, let’s take a brief look at the model itself because without it, I wouldn’t have embarked on this bizarre endeavour.

LEGO® Architecture review & MOCs: 21054 The White House

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.

LEGO® Hidden Side Review & MOCs: 70437 Mystery Castle

Today we welcome new contributor Caz Mockett (BlockHeadUK), well-known for her Micropolis builds that have even graced the Masterpiece Gallery of LEGO House. Her first New E assignment is well-timed for the spooky week ahead! She examines LEGO® Hidden Side 70437 Mystery Castle before using some of its parts to create MOCs. If you're buying this set, consider using our affiliate links: USA LEGO Shop at Home, USA Amazon, UK LEGO Shop at Home, 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.

70437 Mystery Castle is the largest set in the current LEGO® Hidden Side releases for 2020. The castle is approximately 31cm wide, 27cm deep and 33cm tall in its closed configuration and 45.5cm wide by 26cm deep in its open position. It contains 6 minifigures, 1033 parts and is priced at £89.99/ US$99.99/ €97.47. The price per part is reasonable value at 8.7p/ 9.7c/ 9.4c respectively, especially when you consider that quite a few of the parts are quite large pieces such as corner panels, windscreens and moulded roof elements.

New moulds & MOCs: LEGO® 75551 Brick-Built Minions and Their Lair & 75549 Unstoppable Bike Chase

Today some important new-for-2020 moulds are examined as Tim Johnson reviews LEGO® Minions 75551 Brick-Built Minions and Their Lair (£44.99/ $49.99/ 48.73€) as well as 75549 Unstoppable Bike Chase (£17.99 / $19.99 / 19.49€) with some additional creative investigation courtesy of Kevin Levell. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

When the movie Minions: The Rise of Gru was postponed until 2021, several of the planned LEGO® tie-in sets met with the same fate. Two sets did however get released in April, which is good as there is much of interest to be found... in one of them. 

Unless you’re a bike fan or interested in the Minion minifigures, 75549 Unstoppable Bike Chase (shown on the right) doesn’t offer much to adult builders but 75551 Brick-Built Minions and Their Lair has thrilling new moulds – and is a hilarious build. Even if you hate these little yellow pipsqueaks, don’t you want to build silly giant mech versions of them?

Let’s discover what LEGO Minions are made of, starting with the new-for-2020 LEGO parts that comprise the giant Minions found in 75551.

LEGO® Trolls World Tour: Grantmasters' MOCs

We sent trolls to New Zealand! The incredible Grantmasters (on Flickr) agreed to take a bunch of LEGO® Trolls World Tour sets to use as ‘seed parts’ for original creations using his own collection. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

The sets arrived and my kids said to me, "Good luck with that!" – so figured perhaps I had my work cut out for me? Indeed they proved to be a bit of a test of my creativity. Included were 41251 Poppy’s Pod, 41255 Pop Village Celebration and two copies of both 41252 Poppy’s Hot Air Balloon Adventure and 41253 Lonesome Flats Raft Adventure.

I started by emptying all of the sets out and seeing which parts I thought were interesting.

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.