5x5 fest: Tom Loftus' VIDIYO spaceship MOCs

Tom Loftus (@inthert.lego) continues to focus on new LEGO® VIDIYO elements in day 3 of his contributions to our 5x5 fest, incorporating them into original spaceship designs.

As a general rule the larger an element gets, the harder it is to integrate into a MOC, but also true is the fact that any part is a spaceship part. Let’s put that to the test shall we? 

Today I will be taking a closer look at two new elements introduced in the LEGO® VIDIYO theme - though in all honesty a closer look isn't strictly necessary because they’re both huge!

• Plate 4X5X5 1/3, W/ Hor. Fork in Black (6317524 | 65132)
• Box 8X8X2 in Bright Yellowish Green (6317519 | 65129)

Let’s start with that supersized bracket.

5x5 fest: Tom Loftus' VIDIYO canopy MOCs

Tom Loftus (@inthert.lego) continues his daily contributions to our 5x5 fest today, turning his attention to another highly specialised element from the LEGO® VIDIYO range.

Today we’ll taking a look at another element introduced for the LEGO® VIDIYO theme, Box Front 8x8x5 2/3 in Transparent (6317507 | 65128) or the Vidiyo canopy as I’ll call it from here on in.     

Devoid of studs, Technic holes, bars, clips, click hinges and anti-studs, this new mould instead features two previously unseen connection types: Firstly an extended base tab on each side featuring a trio of tiny rounded cutouts, and secondly, a pair of apertures that resemble supersized Technic axle holes. Both of which are intended only for use in conjunction with other Vidiyo elements. For a detailed look at how these work, see Caz Mockett’s review of the Vidiyo BeatBoxes.

5x5 fest: Tom Loftus' turntable snap MOCs

Tom Loftus (@inthert.lego) is our final 5x5 fest contributor, and instead of one long article he divided his creations up. So, to complete this festival of MOCs using new-for-2021 parts, we have an article from Tom every day for the next four days! Be sure to check in.

Turntable, Female, W/ Snap in White (6317514 | 65146) is one of the smallest elements introduced in the LEGO® VIDIYO™ theme.

It immediately struck me as a potentially useful detailing piece. The key word being ‘potentially’ because while it does belong to an existing element family, its system connection points are extremely limited and so remains a rather specialised entry in the LEGO parts catalogue. Today I’ll be proving this little part’s worth by discussing its closest relatives, exploring some unusual connections and combining the two in a micro-MOC.

Rubber Band Holders Parts Festival – Mitch Henry's MOCs

Mitch Henry (CZQ on Flickr) completes our Forbidden Elementary Parts Festival today which, as its seed parts, uses the 3 weird LEGO® pieces that rubber bands used to come on back in the 2000s.

Growing up, Bionicle was always my favorite LEGO® theme. The characters were fun, the world was mysterious and intriguing, and of course, the parts were unlike any other LEGO elements I’d seen before. My first Bionicle set was 8573 Nuhvok-Kal, part of the Bohrok-Kal subtheme. The Bohrok are considered by many to be the peak of Bionicle; appealing design and multiple play features made them very popular.

One play feature was pushing a lever on the back to flick its head forward. To make the head return to its resting position the sets included a rubber band. Naturally, this means each Bohrok came with a rubber band holder as well. When I was approached for this parts festival I had just picked up a lot with all 6 original Bohrok, so I was eager to participate.

LEGO® Disney review + MOC: 43189 Elsa and the Nokk Storybook Adventures

Eero Okkonen (@eerookkonen) takes a look inside LEGO® Disney 43189 Elsa and the Nokk Storybook Adventures, before using some of its new parts in an original creation. 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'. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.

LEGO® has recently shown interest in releasing sets that look like books, without actually being books. LEGO Ideas 21315 Pop-Up Book was released in 2018, and the first four Disney Storybook Adventures sets were introduced in early 2020. These lacked the advanced pop-up mechanism of the Ideas set, being simple cases fitting small playsets inside, easily closed for storage or travel.

These sets got a lone successor in January 2021 with 43189 Elsa and the Nokk Storybook Adventures. As the Frozen franchise is very popular, it is not surprising to see another storybook concerning it. I must warn you: the popularity of the franchise is the only thing I know about it!

5x5 fest: Thomas Jenkins' MOCs

Thomas Jenkins (@thomas_jenkins_bricks) is the penultimate contributor to our 5x5 fest, where we sent 5 LEGO® sets to 5 builders and asked them to use the new parts in interesting original creations.

We continue to be blessed with a wealth of interesting new LEGO® elements in 2021 and I’ve had a lot of fun investigating some of the recent new entries into the LEGO inventory in our 5x5 fest.

An overview of the common sets we used in our 5x5 fest can be found here. In addition to the 71746 Jungle Dragon, 43184 Sisu Dragon and VIDIYO Beatbox that the four other New E writers received, I was given 71740 Jay’s Electro Mech and 41931 Extra DOTS Series 4 to work with.

Rubber Band Holders Parts Festival – James Kavanagh's MOCs

James Kavanagh (JakTheMad on Flickr) joins our Forbidden Elementary Parts Festival today which for its seed parts uses the 3 weird LEGO® pieces that rubber bands came on in old sets. For an overview of the parts, check out last week's post by Aron Gerencsér.

Rubber band holders are a great relic from a different era of LEGO® sets. Sure, cardboard boxes may certainly be cheaper, more sustainable and take up less space, but there’s a lot of joy to be found in these old parts!

My focus with these builds was to work with the parts rather than just try and integrate them. The LEGO Technic sets that these rubber band holders came in were often a little 'janky', in a nostalgic way, so I tried to work with that design philosophy in mind.

5x5 fest: Aron Gerencsér's MOCs

Aron Gerencsér (@_pohaturon) not only kicked off our rubber band holder parts fest earlier this week, he also created MOCs for our 5x5 fest! Let's see what he came up with using a selection of interesting new parts released in 2021.

Recently I got the chance to team up with four other builders to dive into five new-ish LEGO® sets, dig into all the fancy new pieces and craft MOCs showcasing the most interesting specimens. 

Our subjects for this exercise are 43184 Raya and Sisu Dragon, 71746 Jungle Dragon, 71740 Jay’s Electro Mech and 43104 Alien DJ BeatBox. All sets from the first half of 2021, there are interesting - and fairly specialised - pieces to be found in them all. 

Rubber Band Holders Parts Festival – Aron Gerencsér's MOCs

Aron Gerencsér (@_pohaturon) has been busy organising another parts festival for you, featuring some guest builders, which we will be revealing to you every Tuesday for the next 3 weeks, starting today! And for the first time, the chosen seed parts are not new - in fact some people might not even class them as proper LEGO® parts. I guess that makes this our first ever Forbidden Elementary Parts Festival!

Throughout the decades, we’ve seen the LEGO® building system evolve in oftentimes unusual or unpredictable ways to accommodate new designs, new functions, new themes or even material and manufacturing changes in the company’s attempts to become more environmentally friendly. One of the most fascinating products of this evolution, to me, are those elements which service other elements –and not the set itself. 

My fellow New Elementarian Tom Loftus delved into a similar topic with the sticker sheet cardboard box a while ago, and back in 2018 Elspeth De Montes explored the plastic left over after detaching Harry Potter wands - however this time around, our subjects are neither packaging nor sprues. But sort of. Maybe? 

Old Elementary: Eero Okkonen's LEGO® tidbits

Eero Okkonen (on Instagram) continues his occasional series of articles today looking at LEGO® parts and their associated techniques which he likes to use in his own creations. Today's 2 selections are much squarer parts than his previous choices... however Eero is here to give you fresh insight into their potential usage!

Plate, Modified 2 x 2 with Pin Holes (2817)

Plate, Modified 2x2 with Pin Holes (2817) is one of those pieces most builders have dozens of, and they're waiting for a beautiful day to get used. They’re found in a great number of sets (more than 600) in 11 colours.

5x5 fest: Kev Levell's MOCs

Kev Levell (@kevlevell) is the next contributor to our 5x5 fest! We sent 5 LEGO® sets to 5 of our team and asked them to get creative with the parts. Be inspired every Friday!

As outlined in the 5x5 fest introductory article, each contributor was given two fixed sets, a Beatbox and a choice of up to two other sets. My five sets were 71476 Jungle Dragon, 43184 Raya and Sisu Dragon, 43107 Hip-Hop Robot BeatBox, 71740 Jay’s Electro Mech and 41921 Extra Dots Series 3.  I have not exclusively used parts from any of the sets in my MOCs, more is the case that I have used parts from all these sets in a haphazard fashion.

5x5 fest: Caz Mockett's MOCs

Caz Mockett (@cazmockett) is the first of the 5 contributors in our 5x5 fest! We sent her 5 LEGO® sets and asked her to use the new and interesting parts to create MOCs. Every Friday is 5x5 fest day for the next 5 weeks, so come back to see what our next AFOL built.

As a relative newbie to the New Elementary team, I have not been involved in a Parts Festival before, so I was eager to have a go this time. We each received a copy of LEGO® set 71746 Jungle Dragon from the Ninjago theme, 43184 Raya And Sisu Dragon from the Disney lineup, one of the eight VIDIYO™ BeatBoxes and up to two extra small sets of our choice, to use for our MOC festival. To save repetition, we covered the interesting new elements in the two largest sets in our 5x5 fest introductory article, and I took a comprehensive look at the new parts in all of the Beat Boxes previously. We were encouraged to look at the pieces in our sets as seed parts or to give inspiration, but we were quite at liberty to add additional pieces from our own collections to complete our builds.

Kev Levell's MOCs using LEGO® NINJAGO 71736 Boulder Blaster

Kev Levell (@kevlevell) creates his own models inspired by LEGO® NINJAGO 71736 Boulder Blaster after examining all its new and interesting parts. 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'. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.

Released in January 2021 as part of the LEGO® NINJAGO Legacy subtheme, it comes as no real surprise that this update of set 70747 from 2015 uses close to twice as many pieces. 71736 Boulder Blaster is beefed up, improved and generally just more impressive-looking.

LEGO® Friends review + MOC: 41449 Andrea's Family House

Eero Okkonen (@eerookkonen) casts his critical eye over the architecture of LEGO® Friends 41449 Andrea's Family House today, before creating a brand new model inspired by some of its parts. 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'. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.

41449 Andrea's Family House - released in January 2021 - adds a new building to the series of homes inhabited by the main characters of Friends. Let's analyse its architecture and interesting parts before getting creative with the parts.

LEGO® Creator review + alt builds: 31115 Space Mining Mech

Thorin Finch, who contributed to one of our parts festivals a couple of years back, returns with a guest review today of LEGO® Creator 3-in-1 31115 Space Mining Mech, as well as designing some alternate builds of his own. 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'. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.

With the recent success of NASA’s latest Mars exploration rover Perseverance (and the even more recent but less successful test of SpaceX’s SN10 rocket), the wonders and dangers of space exploration have been at the forefront of society’s collective consciousness. And, for anyone looking to extend their newfound interests in space exploration into LEGO®, a simple search for the keyword ‘space’ on the LEGO website produces, among other things, Creator 31115 Space Mining Mech. 

Old Elementary: Eero Okkonen's ball turret and deltoid

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.

LEGO® DOTS review + MOC: 41921 Extras Series 3

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.

Aron Gerencsér's MOCcing with Monkie Kid

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!

LEGO® DOTS review & MOCs: 41926 Creative Party Kit

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.

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

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.