The Botanical Collection is a subtheme of LEGO® Icons that features relatively affordable sets. In reality, similar life-size botanical subjects have found their way to other LEGO themes, too, including LEGO® Creator and, surprisingly, LEGO® Disney Princess sets. For me, these sets appeal as beautiful models. However, I'm foremost a MOC maker, and they are very good material for own creations – they include usually many of the same pieces, often in bright colours and sleek, organic shapes.
Grab your sleeping bag, citronella candle and first aid kit; we're going camping! The June 2024 LEGO® Friends wave includes 4 sets that are situated out in the wild: 42622 Adventure Camp Archery Range, 42624 Adventure Camp Cozy Cabins, 42626 Adventure Camp Water Sports, and 42631 Adventure Camp Tree House. Will these sets bring us some much needed relaxation, or will the bugs and bears keep us up at night?
I was highly sceptical when the rumours of a LEGO® Optimus Prime first surfaced: two of the largest toy-making rivals cooperating? I'd certainly get hit in the face by a flying pig before that! It turned out set 10302 Optimus Prime was very real and I need to be on the lookout for airborne swine. Now lightning strikes twice and another famous Transformers character gets the LEGO treatment, namely 10338 Bumblebee. This means plenty of yellow elements to play with.
With more LEGO® Speed Champions sets having just been released on 1 June 2024, it's about time we take a look at the final entry in the March 2024 wave – 76919 McLaren Formula 1 Car – which comes in 'chrome' livery!
Sadly, not that kind of chrome. Nevertheless, having most of the new moulds introduced by the March wave, a few recolours and some lovely – yet specialised – printed elements, the set has much to offer. Let's drive in.
When you hear the word castle, most AFOLs will think of fortified walls, towers, drawbridges, moats, knights, archers and trebuchets... and of course grey, grey and grey. But despite having the word castle in its name, today’s set doesn’t fit that description at all.
Snuggle in for a cosy night and delicious morning as we stay at the new LEGO® Friends set 42638 Castle Bed and Breakfast.
LEGO® Creator is the odd-one-out of the evergreen themes: you never know what the next wave will entail. It seems that people generally like the sets, but a die-hard LEGO Creator fan is one of the rarest types of LEGO hobbyists. New Elementary features LEGO Creator sets infrequently, as they rarely have any new pieces. However in the esteemed January 2024 wave, set 31148 Retro Roller Skate caught my eye. To find out why, let's roll.
Hear ye, hear ye! The fan-favorite LEGO® Castle System has returned once again in the form of LEGO® Icons 10332 Medieval Town Square. The set was released at the start of March, and marketed as a reimagining of 2009's 10193 Medieval Market Village, and a companion set to 10305 Lion Knights' Castle.
Considering the excellence of these previous sets, we were eager to examine 10332 Medieval Town Square to see how it compares!
Today we cast our fiery eye over the new, massive LEGO® Barad-dûr. The 83cm-tall tower of Mordor is the next LEGO® Icons The Lord of the Rings set, and features not only detailed minifigures, but also some precious recolours and prints. As a huge LOTR fan, I will try my luck to simply walk into Mordor.
Today we take a look at 76920 Ford Mustang Dark Horse Sports Car. It may only have a few new moulds, but it remains the literal dark horse of the March 2024 LEGO® Speed Champions wave.
Long ago, in an era lost in time, before podcasts, Spotify and MP3s, people used magical boxes called "radios" to listen to music, the news and plays.
In 1957, a LEGO® set numbered 1309 was released, depicting a white church built in 1762. 56 years later, in 2013, a set named 21015 The Leaning Tower of Pisa joined it, depicting the belfry of the Pisa Cathedral – more well-known than the cathedral itself. Two years later, St. Mark's Basilica was featured in set 21026 Venice. The LEGO Group has shown in recent times that religious buildings are not "banned" in its products, as is commonly thought. They are only very rare.
It is not hard to understand why real-world religious themes are uncommon in LEGO products. Firstly, there is banality of making commerce from religion, and it can lead to protest by interest groups. Secondly, there is the argument of equality: is presenting only certain religions unfair, shouldn't they all be equally cherished... and monetised? Religion often intervenes with politics and human rights, and is a sensitive and personal subject in its own right, too.
71813 Wolf Mask Shadow Dojo is one of the larger sets in the March 2024 LEGO® NINJAGO® wave; part of Dragons Rising Season 2. The striking structure has some appealing colours, plenty of play features and 8 minifigures. Let's take a closer look at all the details.
Today we return to the March 2024 wave of LEGO® Speed Champions sets with a look at 76921 Audi S1 e-tron quattro Race Car.
In its tracks are a multitude of prints and a modest selection of new elements. We'll take a closer look at them first, before catching up with the finished car.
Space, the final frontier… wait, wrong context.
LEGO® Speed Champions returned in March 2024 with a trunkful of new elements. 76922 BMW M4 GT3 & BMW M Hybrid V8 Race Cars is the largest of the 4 new sets, and contains a total of 9 new moulds!
LEGO Speed Champions have a proven track record for impressive vehicles built with plenty of clever parts usage. Let's take this new set for a spin and see how it compares.
To boldly go where no mini-doll has gone before! Olivia has set out for the stars, as her next space-themed set has her exploring alien life beyond our solar system. Buckle up and join the ride with LEGO® Friends 42602 Space Research Rover.
