The last 2024 LEGO® DREAMZzz™ set we're reviewing is another great example of the quirky set design of this original theme: a witch's hut nested atop a gigantic raven. So far, I've been critical towards many sets of this wave due to unfocused and messy set design. I've associated this with the alternative builds. I like how these sets offer different designs using the same parts, emphasising the nature of this medium – but so far, it has deemed sacrifices on the design coherence.
13 December 2024
Review + MOC: 71478 The Never Witch's Midnight Raven from LEGO® DREAMZzz™
12 December 2024
Review: LEGO® 40702 Christmas Picture Frame gift with purchase
Still doing your Christmas shopping – or just starting? After midnight Friday 13 December 2024, the 40701 Ballerina & Nutcracker Scene is gone from LEGO.com, but a new Gift with Purchase (GwP) becomes available that isn't limited to LEGO® Insiders and has a lower threshold. Let's pull out those holiday snaps in readiness for 40702 Christmas Picture Frame.
06 December 2024
Review: 10342 Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet from LEGO® Botanicals
2025 is not here yet, but we're having an early start with the new element mega-party pack, LEGO® Botanicals 10342 Pretty Pink Flower Bouquet. The "Botanical Collection" no longer sits under the LEGO® Icons branding and instead becomes its own theme, so are these plant sets still worthy of adult hobbyists?
05 December 2024
Review: 40701 Ballerina & Nutcracker Scene gift with purchase
Starting midnight Friday December 6 2024, a new Gift with Purchase (GwP) becomes available to LEGO® Insiders... plus, LEGO® Insiders 2x Points are back too!
So let's get into the spirit of the holidays with 40701 Ballerina & Nutcracker Scene.
04 December 2024
Review: 10350 Tudor Corner from LEGO® Icons Modular Buildings Collection
The latest set in the LEGO® Modular Buildings Collection was announced yesterday as 10350 Tudor Corner. The set is a corner building which houses a restaurant, a haberdashery, a clockmaker’s workshop and an attic apartment.
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Let's take a look at the new elements and the eight minifigures first, before groundwork starts on the pub.
30 November 2024
Review: 10363 Leonardo Da Vinci's Flying Machine from LEGO® Icons
Humankind has been dreaming of taking to the skies ever since we saw birds and insects soaring. Many flying machines have been designed in the past, usually unsuccessful, and one of the most famous was sketched in the 15th century by all-round Renaissance genius Leonardo Da Vinci. Today, we’ll build a LEGO interpretation of his designs with LEGO® Icons set 10363 Leonardo Da Vinci’s Flying Machine.
28 November 2024
Review: 40729 Shackleton's Lifeboat GwP for LEGO® Black Friday
27 November 2024
Review: 40668 Captain America & Red Hulk from LEGO® BrickHeadz™ Super Heroes
LEGO® BrickHeadz™ 40668 Super Heroes Captain America & Red Hulk are tie-ins with the new Captain America: Brave New World movie due for release in February 2025.
These LEGO Brickheadz characters represent the Sam Wilson version of Captain America, portrayed by Anthony Mackie in the movies, and U.S. President Thaddeus Ross in his Red Hulk form, to be portrayed by Harrison Ford.
25 November 2024
Set review: 10335 The Endurance from LEGO® Icons
Black Friday falls this week, and the big release on the day is LEGO® Icons set 10335 The Endurance; a recreation of the ship used by Ernest Shackleton in his attempted expedition to cross the Antarctic.
After I examined what the LEGO Endurance is made of last week, let us now look at how she is built. In addition to that, I have a short historical overview about Ernest Shackleton and the real Endurance.
22 November 2024
Review: 40699 Retro Record Player GwP for Black Friday/Cyber Monday
21 November 2024
Review: 21350 Jaws from LEGO® Ideas
Growing up near many of the Massachusetts shooting locations for 1975's Jaws, my interest was understandably piqued when The LEGO Group announced development of a set based on the film. Now, just a year-and-a-half after that announcement, I'm excited to examine the final set and the parts it contains. Fortunately, almost all of these elements are now available for purchase via the LEGO® Pick a Brick service, if desired in quantity.
19 November 2024
Review: 40700 Winter Holiday Train GwP for Black Friday LEGO® Toy Deals 2024
Several Christmas-themed LEGO® trains, both big and small, have appeared over the years and this coming holiday season brings us 40700 Winter Holiday Train, a Gift with Purchase (GwP) available to LEGO® Insiders from midnight 29 November to 2 December 2024.
13 November 2024
Review: 71485 Mateo and Z-Blob the Knight Battle Mech from LEGO® DREAMZzz™
A big mech calls for a big name and 71485 Mateo and Z-Blob the Knight Battle Mech is certainly a long one for this 1333-piece set. Though I can't help but think simply going with Mateo and Z-Blob the Knight Mech would have been enough. Surely 'Knight' and 'Mech' suggests battling is a given, right? We might never know, but by reading this article you will know if this LEGO® DREAMZzz™ set is worthy of the Round Table of New Elementarian Knights.
07 November 2024
Review: 71814 Tournament Temple City from LEGO® NINJAGO®
71814 Temple Tournament City is the largest set in the 2024 LEGO® NINJAGO® lineup, and as a substantial set of 3489 pieces, it has plenty of interesting parts to talk about. Many of them are now available from LEGO® Pick a Brick (PaB), where you can buy them in bulk.
04 November 2024
Review: 76289 Thor vs. Surtur Construction Figure from LEGO® Marvel
76289 Thor vs. Surtur Construction Figure takes its cues from 2017's Thor: Ragnarok. The giant fire demon, Surtur was predicted to destroy Asgard and is depicted here as a large-ish construction figure.
From an initial look, the parts are pretty, but I'm not sure everything about this set is going to Ragna-rock my world!
31 October 2024
Review: Cerebro Gift with Purchase from LEGO® Marvel
From midnight Friday 1 November 2024, two new LEGO® sets come with their own Gifts with Purchase (GwP) only for LEGO® Insiders: set 21353 The Botanical Garden comes with 5009005 Entrance Gate, and set 76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion comes with the subject of today's review, 5009015 Cerebro.
Let's roll with Professor Charles Francis Xavier to find out if his mind-enhancing machine is a big ball of fun, or sends us into a coma.
30 October 2024
Review: 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 PROFESSIONAL Line from LEGO® Technic
LEGO® Technic is having a strong year, with loads and loads of cars to enjoy. We’ve had sportscars, racecars, supercars and F1 cars in various scales. All of these have one thing in common: they need tarmac to drive on. To go off trail, we need something special, and that’s where today’s set comes in. Set 42177 Mercedes-Benz G 500 PROFESSIONAL Line sure seems to have the right look, so let's take it for a drive.
27 October 2024
Review + MOC: 71481 Izzie's Dream Animals & 71483 The Never Witch's Nightmare Creatures from LEGO® DREAMZzz™
The first wave of LEGO® DREAMZzz™ underlined the building toy component of the theme by having different builds achieved through partial deconstruction of the first build and then adding to it with an alternate set of instructions. This idea is taken to the next level in the August 2024 wave with sets 71481 Izzie's Dream Animals and 71483 The Never Witch's Nightmare Creatures.
With these sets only a
minor part of the structure is shared between the alternative builds. Like in
LEGO® Creator sets, 3 designs are offered for the price of 1 (at least in
theory). How do these designs fare, what interesting parts do they
consist of and what did they inspire me to build?
23 October 2024
Review: 10370 Poinsettia from LEGO® Icons Botanical Collection
Charming festive display piece or stunning parts pack? LEGO® Icons Botanical Collection 10370 Poinsettia is both! One third of its 608 parts are rare or exclusive, all of which are integral to the plant's striking bracts, plentiful foliage and sturdy woven-basket flowerpot.
19 October 2024
Review: 76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion from LEGO® Marvel
LEGO® Marvel is taking us back to school in the next 18+ set 76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion. This highly anticipated set contains 3093 pieces and a host of new mutant minifigures. Read on to see if this LEGO version of Professor Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters makes the grade...