Showing posts with label MOC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label MOC. Show all posts

12 July 2021

Old Elementary: Eero Okkonen's ball turret and deltoid

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Eero Okkonen (on Instagram) continues his occasional series of articles today looking at techniques using specialised LEGO® parts he likes to put in his own creations. In previous articles he examined Windscreen 9x3x1 2/3 Bubble Canopy and Wedge 4x3 Cut Back with Cutout; then Wedge 4x3 Open with Cutout and the two 3x4x1 2/3 Curved Vehicle Mudguards. Today's selections, dating from the 1990s and 2000s, have no particular similarity other than being the kind of LEGO part that some people complain about being too specialised!

Cylinder Hemisphere 2 x 2 Ball Turret Socket Base (part 44358) and Cylinder Hemisphere 3 x 3 Ball Turret (44359)


Cylinder Hemisphere 2 x 2 Ball Turret Socket Bases, introduced in 2002 LEGO® Star Wars Episode II sets, are a deceptively useful part. They’re currently available in 37 sets, used mostly as ball turrets as their name suggests, but also as eyes, catapult buckets and pots.

07 July 2021

LEGO® DOTS review + MOC: 41921 Extras Series 3

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Caz Mockett (@cazmockett) examines – and then creates her own model – using the parts from 2021 LEGO® DOTS set 41921 Extras Series 3. Buying this pack, priced £3.99 / US$3.99 / 3.99€? Consider using our affiliate links, New Elementary may get a commission: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop.


I liked the LEGO® DOTS Series 1 Extras when they were first released, but wasn’t as enamoured with Series 2. However, the Series 3 polybag caught my attention as it contains many elements in colours I enjoy. LEGO sent me five copies of the bag, and I added a sixth of my own for this review and MOC. I immediately cracked a packet open to see exactly what it contained.

05 July 2021

Aron Gerencsér's MOCcing with Monkie Kid

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Aron Gerencsér (@_pohaturon) reviewed LEGO® Monkie Kid sets 80018, 80019, 80020, 80021, 80022, 80023 & 80024 earlier this year and now, as promised, he presents MOCs he created inspired by the new elements in the range. If you're getting Monkie Kid sets from LEGO.com, please consider using our affiliate links, New Elementary may get a commission: USA | Australia | UK - for EU countries 'Change Region'. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.


I recently had the chance to review the first wave of LEGO® Monkie Kid sets released this year, which brought many new interesting recolours and a couple of new moulds to the table. While we took a closer look at the pieces themselves in the respective reviews, the best way to show off new bits is in action, so I’ve built a couple of MOCs to explore their utility!

26 June 2021

LEGO® DOTS review & MOCs: 41926 Creative Party Kit

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Caz Mockett (@cazmockett) gets creative with a 2021 LEGO® DOTS kit today: 41926 Creative Party Kit, which she analyses before designing her own models using the cupcake piece 72024. Buying this set from LEGO.com? Consider using our affiliate links, New Elementary may get a commission: UK | USA | Australia, for other countries 'Change Region'. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.


In this article, I take a look at the LEGO® DOTS Creative Party Kit, which was released in January 2021. The first thing I noticed was the box art, which I felt was perhaps a little misleading - you do get lots of lovely LEGO elements, but none of the other bits and pieces in the picture, such as the fluffy pompoms or ribbon. I know these were probably included to suggest a storage solution for party favours, but unwary parents who buy the kit for a birthday party on the basis of the box art may be a bit disappointed. It’s a minor thing, but one I felt I ought to mention.

20 June 2021

LEGO® Star Wars review & MOCs: 75300 Imperial Tie Fighter & 75301 Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing Fighter

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Kev Levell (@kevlevell) gives you double LEGO® Star Wars love today as he examines the parts in 75300 Imperial Tie Fighter & 75301 Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing Fighter before creating MOCs using both their parts. Buying these sets? Consider using our affiliate links, New Elementary may get a commission: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.


These two new iterations of iconic LEGO® Star Wars ships have been available for a little while now. There are a very small number of notable new parts and even dealing with both sets at once, it is a scant offering. However, both sets feature elements that I wanted to investigate. None of the parts are presented in very great numbers either, but their connections and geometry may reveal them to be slightly overlooked gems. I’m hoping they aren’t disappointing, unnecessary introductions into the inventory.

15 June 2021

LEGO® Icons review & MOC: 10282 Adidas Originals Superstar

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Zachary Hill (@zaxbrix) not only reviews the stunning new LEGO® 10282 Adidas Originals Superstar today, he also builds his own creation with some of its new elements! Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links, New Elementary may get a commission: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.

Adidas and The LEGO Group have established a solid working relationship with their Adidas x LEGO® collection of clothing. That partnership has birthed dozens of jackets, shorts, and of course sneakers. If you’re like me, all that new apparel just whizzed past you - what about those of us who don’t spring for the latest streetwear? How about the latest LEGO set? I’m no sneakerhead but LEGO Creator Expert 10282 Adidas Originals Superstar has enough ingenuity and new elements in its build to pique my interest. 


The first-ever Adidas-branded construction set comes with 731 pieces and is available on July 1 2021 for US$79.99/ CA$109.99/ €89.99/ £79.99/ AU$159.99.

07 June 2021

LEGO® Creator 31107 Space Rover Explorer: Professor's "One Set" MOCs

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The Professor (on Instagram) is back today with more of his excellent alternate builds, this time using the 2020 LEGO® Creator 3-in-1 set 31107 Space Rover Explorer. Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links, New Elementary may get a commission: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.


I’ve always liked the LEGO® Creator 3-in-1 sets as they’re often a good basis on which to create plenty of MOCs! 31107 Space Rover Explorer contains many pieces specific to the theme of Space. Let's take a quick look at its parts and 3 models, before I experiment with my own creations using only the parts in the set.

21 May 2021

(CW: HP) Jonas & Stefan's alt-builds of LEGO® Harry Potter 76386, 76387, 76388 & 76389

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Jonas Kramm (@jonaskramm) is joined by Stefan (@robo.block) today to create alternate models from 4 LEGO® Harry Potter sets coming in June 2021! Editorial note: Although views expressed by Harry Potter's creator do not align with that of New Elementary, we continue to cover some sets for their parts. Read about our stance here. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.

In the first part of the review we took a detailed look at the new moulds, and recolours of existing pieces. Today we take it a step further to see what else we can build with the pieces from upcoming LEGO® Harry Potter sets. To make this alt-build task a bit of a festival, I got help from Stefan who dropped by to contribute his own creative juices.

06 May 2021

LEGO® Creator review & alt-build: 31116 Safari Wildlife Tree House

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Alice Finch (@bippitybricks) returns as our guest reviewer again today, with LEGO® Creator 31116 Safari Wildlife Tree House in her sights. She examines each of the 3-in-1 models before designing a 4th of her own! Buying this £29.99 / US$29.99 / 29.99€ / AU$49.99 set? Consider using our affiliate links, New Elementary may get a commission: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. The products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

31116 Safari Wildlife Tree House is in the LEGO® Creator line and features an animal, a vehicle or structure, and at least one colourful bird in each of the three models. Seeing as most of us are still staying close to home, taking a trip on a LEGO safari is a welcome departure from the living room, office or wherever you have been spending the last year.

02 May 2021

(CW: HP) LEGO® BrickHeadz parts review + MOCs: 40495 & 40496

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Eero Okkonen examines the parts in LEGO® BrickHeadz sets 40495 & 40496, both released on 1 June 2021, before using some of them in his own creations. Note, this article does not cover the actual build of the models – please visit other fan sites for that, such as The Rambling Brick. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

The target audience for LEGO® BrickHeadz sets 40495 and 40496 are people who want to have simple, rectangular models of Harry Potter franchise characters on display. These two Brickheadz sets, each containing multiple characters, are not what I would call “essential New Elementary content”; they’re fairly basic models with only a few unique printed parts. Also their theme licence has its problems: New Elementary has a stance on Harry Potter sets following JK Rowling’s shocking and hurtful views on transgender people, which you can read here. I am aware that reviewing this merchandise might work as an advertisement, and JK Rowling might even profit from it. I don’t like it. 


So, why do we review such sets? Firstly, we do not always know what pre-release sets we’re getting from TLG, and secondly, it’s worth knowing that all sets are not new mold powerhouses; and such sets may have other qualities. Due to this issue, I have deliberately faded out the Potter aspect of this article, rather focusing on the parts and creating my own models. I will also return to this issue later on. 

24 April 2021

Si-MOCs vs. LEGO® Art

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Simon Liu (@si_mocs) is our welcome guest today! A stalwart of communities in Canada and online, including the wonderful Iron Builder, we knew Simon would take the ultimate MOCcing challenge in his stride. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

There are lots of LEGO® sites out there, targeted at different audiences, but for a builder like myself New Elementary has always been my go-to source for parts and building analysis. I’ve always said I’d jump if asked to do something for New Elementary.  Tim knew this, but Tim’s a funny guy; he asked me to do some seed-part building with some interesting new pieces... from LEGO Art 31200 The Sith. You read that right, dear reader, Tim asked me to do a deep dive build with pieces from a mosaic set.

21 April 2021

LEGO® Friends review & alt build: 41433 Party Boat

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Lee (@citysoncreation) designs his own alternate model from a 2020 LEGO® Friends set for you today: 41433 Party Boat, which is priced 79.99€/ US$$79.99/ £74.99/ AU$$159.99. Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | UK Amazon | USA LEGO Shop | USA Amazon | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.


It may be a 2020 set but there is no such thing as a bad time to build and review a LEGO® party boat, so let’s hop on with Andrea, Emma and Ethan to take a break as I examine for you the second-largest boat set in LEGO Friends yet: 41433 Party Boat. Then, I use its parts in my own creation!

13 April 2021

LEGO® NINJAGO® review + MOCs: 71719 Zane’s Mino Creature & 71721 Skull Sorcerer’s Dragon

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Aron Gerencsér (@_pohaturon) reviews two 2020 LEGO® NINJAGO® stes today as well as building his own models using some of their parts: 71719 Zane’s Mino Creature & 71721 Skull Sorcerer’s Dragon. Buying these sets? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

LEGO® NINJAGO® has been spinning for a decade, and over the course of ten years we’ve seen nearly twice that many subthemes, with the latest having been a dungeon crawling fantasy adventure inspired by tabletop RPGs. 71719 Zane’s Mino Creature & 71721 Skull Sorcerer’s Dragon are two of the bigger sets in the wave, both featuring the “game experience” gimmick prevalent in it. 


Rolling a party consisting solely of thief-sorcerer multiclasses is a bold move. Let’s see if it works out for the ninja or if they get wiped by the boss. 

02 April 2021

LEGO® City review: 60243 Police Helicopter Chase

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Tim Goddard (@tim_goddard928) reviews a 2020 LEGO® City set today with an interesting inclusion: magnets! Buying 60243 Police Helicopter Chase? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

Last time I looked at a brief history of LEGO® magnets, today I look at the 2020 return of the magnet and one of the two sets that these new offerings come in. But before the pull of the magnets overwhelms us, let us have a look at the rest of the set.

This is a fairly basic set, at least by New Elementary standards, and so something that AFOLs may easily overlook. It is the kind of set designed to appeal to younger children who might just be able to pester a parent into buying it for them during a trip to the supermarket. It offers good value for money and plenty of play value and I have often seen it available on discount.

20 March 2021

LEGO® Star Wars™ review & alt build: 75293 Resistance I-TS Transport

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Thomas Jenkins not only reviewed 2020 LEGO® Star Wars™set 75293 Resistance I-TS Transport, he also created an alternate build! Buying this $99.99/ £89.99 / 99.99€ set? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | UK Amazon | USA LEGO Shop | USA Amazon | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.


The I-TS Transport hails from Disneyland’s Star Wars-themed world, Batuu and although the vehicle shares a design similar to that of the Rebel frigates (like the Tantive IV blockade runner), this ship was unfamiliar to me. Given the relative obscurity of this vehicle, I imagine that this set went overlooked by most LEGO® fans in favour of the more recognisable vehicles and locations that made up the rest of the 2020 summer wave of sets. There are a few interesting parts and 2 exclusive minifigures to this set, which makes me hope this might be somewhat of a dark horse amongst last summer’s offering of Star Wars fare.

18 March 2021

Old Elementary: Eero Okkonen's LEGO® vehicle fronts

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Finnish LEGO® builder Eero Okkonen (on Instagram) continues his series of articles looking at unusual parts he likes to use in his MOCs, and today's article even includes a brand-new model. Last time he examined Windscreen 9 x 3 x 1 2/3 Bubble Canopy and Wedge 4 x 3 Cut Back with Cutout; today it is the turn of three more curved pieces intended for vehicles.

Cars are one of the evergreen subjects of LEGO® sets, and the parts specially designed for minifig-scale vehicles can be easily overlooked due to their everyday status, especially by builders who usually work at entirely different scales. I thought it might be interesting to briefly present several LEGO vehicle pieces I like to use in builds, along with examples of older MOCs of mine as well as this unpublished work: Jean of Emergent Dance.

12 March 2021

LEGO® 75551 Brick-Built Minions and Their Lair: Lee's alternate builds

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Lee (cityson on Flickr) creates MOCs for you today using only the parts from LEGO® 75551 Brick-Built Minions and Their Lair, a 2020 set containing many interesting new moulds. Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop (for other countries 'Change Region') or try UK Amazon | USA Amazon. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

Last October, Tim Johnson took quite a thorough look at all the interesting parts in the 2 released LEGO® Minions: The Rise of Gru sets. While fans are still waiting for the postponed movie and its tie-in sets to be released, I have taken some time to see what alternate models can be rebuilt from the lovely set 75551 Brick-Built Minions and Their Lair. 


Sadly, I found myself running into a classic creative block. On the bright side, the set has given me 3 Minions minifigures, so I decided to outsource my task to Kevin, Stuart and Bob and see what they can come up with instead.

26 February 2021

LEGO® Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith: Kev's alternate builds

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A month ago, Kev Levell (on Flickr) reviewed the parts and the build of LEGO® Ideas 21325 Medieval Blacksmith and today he presents a whole bunch of his own alternate models using only parts from the set and sticking with the set's theme. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

I love banging on about LEGO®, and beating something into shape using the elements found in one set. I've been forging ahead on a few ideas I had for MOCs inspired by the Medieval Blacksmith.


It hasn’t been either heavy, hard or hot work and no-one needed to do it, but I had fun in any case. Maybe I’ve hit on something that might interest you, I hope so.

22 February 2021

LEGO® City review & MOC: 60263 Ocean Mini-Submarine

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Tim Goddard (@tim_goddard928) gets inspired by a 2020 LEGO® City set today, 60263 Ocean Mini-Submarine – or rather, one of its massive parts: 44665. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.

The LEGO Group has a long and glorious history of underwater themes, whether fantastical like Aquazone or more contemporary – like a LEGO® City subtheme of sets. Indeed, in 2020 we once again journeyed underwater with the Deep Sea Explorers sets which have the tagline ‘Supporting National Geographic Explorers’.  This seems to mean some cool aquatic animals and a light-touch pro-environmental feel. LEGO Friends also took part in this collaboration in 2020 with some jungle themed sets which also came with some nice, somewhat cuter animals.


60263 Ocean Mini-Submarine is the smallest of the range and falls into the 4+ age mark, a bracket which used to be called Juniors and is designed for those who are ready to leave swallow-proof DUPLO behind and tentatively begin their System journey. 

17 February 2021

LEGO® Brick Sketches review: 40456 Mickey Mouse & 40457 Minnie Mouse

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Thomas Jenkins (on Instagram) reviews two upcoming LEGO® Brick Sketches today: 40456 Mickey Mouse and 40457 Minnie Mouse which will be released on 1 March 2021 priced £14.99/ US$16.99. Buying them? Consider using our affiliate links: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. New Elementary may get a commission. The products in this article were provided for free by LEGO; the author's opinions are not biased by this.


LEGO® designer Chris McVeigh is back with more delightful recreations of two iconic characters: Brick Sketches 40456 Mickey Mouse and 40457 Minnie Mouse. It’s interesting to see LEGO continue to expand their range of art-themed sets and offer something different from the typical building experience. I’m certainly intrigued to see how these sets stack up.