Set Reviews

A Place Where Minifigures Can Go to Drink Adult Beverages

Or maybe this post title should have been: Set Review - BrickCon 2022 - Convention Model - The Wooden Duck

If you scroll back in the blog a bit, you can see my posts about attending BrickCon 2022 virtually. As a virtual attendee, I was able to order SWAG and a convention model just like they physical attendees. My order arrived quickly after the event was over. You can see more on the SWAG here.

I ordered the convention model from 2020 as well and you can see that review here.

“The Wooden Duck” was the name of this model and it contains 346 pieces. You can see my write up about a talk Chris Malloy did at BrickCon 2022 here. I tried to summarize the process he went through without typing it out word for word. I don’t remember how much I paid for the model. Maybe $30? I thought the cost was reasonable and BrickCon mentioned that they don’t make a profit on the model. It’s assembled by volunteers and they just pass along the cost to us.

The box has a distinct look to it with a design also made by Chris of the model. The front also has the BrickCon logo and the number of pieces. The back has the BrickCon logo and the year. My box got crushed during shipping and the seal came undone. Not a big deal for me as I intended to build it and not keep it sealed or sell it.

One side of the box has Chris’s name on it. Another had a hand written number stating that I purchased #184 of 250 total models. I’m not sure I've ever owned such a rare product.

The contents were a plastic bag with parts in it and then the instruction booklet. BrickCon used the LUGBulk program to source the parts and then the volunteers went through and helped to put the parts in each bag. The instructions are printed which is nice, but there are a lot of steps crammed into each section. BrickCon assumes the buyers of these models are AFOLs who build regularly so this won’t be a big deal. It probably wouldn’t be great for kids or newer builders.

The set comes with one minifigure who is a bartender. He has a glass and what has been used as a cast, but is being used as a cloth. His face has two prints. The side I took the picture of and then a laughing face. I like the torso with the suspenders and tie.

The set comes with 3 printed tiles. One is an art piece from #10297-1: Boutique Hotel. One is a mirror from… um… I’m not sure. Then the last one is a custom tile, unique to this set. It has the infamous wooden duck, a reference to the 90th anniversary of LEGO and its start in 1932, and finally the number 21 in reference to the 21st BrickCon.

Onto the final build… this design is jam packed with a ton of details considering the size and piece count. Plus, it was designed knowing a lot of great pieces would be used for AFOLs who want to take it apart for MOCs. The brick red color along with the sand green pieces are two colors that aren’t super popular and they’re great to see. The various items used as bottles are very creative and it really looks like how you’d picture a bar. The balls used as lights hanging on the top are all glow in the dark pieces which is cool and one of the bottles glows in the dark too.

Chris threw in a squirrel. I’m guessing it was so you had another opportunity to get a squirrel. I’m not sure why there would be one at the bar. Maybe it’s eating the pretzel?

Overall, it’s a great build. I like the piece usage and the cost was very reasonable considering what you get. There is some play functionality in that you can add more minifigures or add the bar to another scene. If I attend BrickCon again, I hope to have the ability to get the convention model. Nice job Chris!

Set Review - #10311-1: Orchid - Botanicals - 18+

2021 saw the release of #10280-1 Flower Bouquet and since then the Botanicals Collection line has been pretty popular. In 2022 we saw two more sets in the theme get released. The first one is #10311-1: Orchid. This one was released in the US on 15 April 2022 for $49.99. It contains 608 pieces which works out to $0.082 per piece. The good news is that at the time of this post, a few retailers in the US have had it on sale as of late. I purchased it from Target and was able to get the VIP point offering from LEGO too. It’s not as many VIP points as buying direct from LEGO, but it’s better than nothing and the set was on sale.

The box looks similar to the Flower Bouquet with the black coloring and and 18+ greebling. The front shows the front side of the set. The back gives another view, dimensions of the flowers, a picture of the actual flowers, and a few close up shots.

The set comes with four numbered parts bags, two longer Technic axles, and an instruction booklet. Bag one contains a piece separator.

The first bag builds the internals of the pot for the plant. It is a good example of how to make something round out of bricks that are typically square. You build an internal structure using plates and then connect the outside with Technic beams and pins.

The second bag adds the design to the outside of the pot. I’m not sure of the official name of the blue color, but I like the shade of blue. If you end up not liking the set, getting some of this blue color is a decent perk. Repeating the step a bunch of times isn’t exactly fun, but my NLS and I built it together so we shared the load.

The third bag builds some leaves, stems, and roots. Like the flower bouquet, this one has little blurbs in the instructions that explain what you are building or where a piece came from in the LEGO world. The instructions can be challenging to follow all of the angles of the stems, but in the end it doesn’t matter a whole lot as you can have the stems grow in whichever way you want them to grow.

Here’s the final build. The last bag builds 6 flowers and then 2 of the smaller ones. The design of the larger ones is pretty cool. I especially like the frog piece that is mixed in. You can place the flowers wherever you want on the stems, but we did our best to follow the instructions.

Definitely a fan of this one. It looks pretty realistic and my NLS was even willing to set in the house as she was glad to not have to water it (still have to dust it).

Definitely look to pick this set up on sale. I’ve seen it a few places for $41 at the time of this posting. Maybe it’ll go down further for Black Friday sales.

In the meantime, happy building!

Set Review - #910023-1: Venetian Houses - Bricklink Designer Program

The 2021 Bricklink Designer Program Round 2 sets made it a little while back and I finally got to put one together.. I was most excited about #910023-1: Venetian Houses. It contains 3,470 pieces and retailed for $289.99 in the US. That works out to $0.084 per piece. While this is a hefty price to pay, you are getting two 32x32 base plates with buildings. Or said another way, you are getting two modular buildings in one set.

Part of my inspiration came from seeing some Venetian styled houses back at a show in Germany in 2019 (scroll down a bit to find them if you go to the link). I have so many ideas of sets I’d like to expand upon and here is yet another one.

I don’t have one of these available in my store (sorry), but I have a few others if you are looking for the Bricklink Designer Program sets. You can see them at the Bricks for Bricks Bricklink store here.

Onto the review…

The box is similar in design to the Round 1 sets. It’s all white with the BrickLink logo on it. The front does give credit to the fan designer so that’s a nice perk for them. Also the Bricklink silver seals are on the box along with the standard LEGO seals.

This set came with a bunch of parts bags and then another box of parts bags. When it’s all done, you get 17 sets of numbered bags, two 32x32 base plates, two 16x16 plates, and an unnumbered bag. Similar to previous sets, there are no printed instructions. You can download a PDF version from the BrickLink site or use the LEGO Builder app. I did both and it worked okay, but I still prefer building without having to stare at a screen.

The first set of bags follows the build of a traditional modular building by laying out the sidewalk area and then for this one, some of the canal. You also get started on a bridge over the canal.

Bag 2 finishes up the bridge by installing antennas as the railings. You also build up a dock area with some barrels and then the floor of the first building. The build starts on some of the walls and a door.

Bag 3 continues work on the first floor. Two walls are built up with a similar pattern used throughout the build that gets a little old, but works for the design. The door isn’t exactly flush with the frame so there is a slight gap, but it’s not overly glaring based on how an outside arch is added in. Inside the building there are works of brick art. I assume it is some sort of art gallery. Additionally you add in a set of stairs built as a spiral staircase. It looks cool, but I’m not sure how practical it is for a minifigure to climb up.

Build 4 wraps up the first floor. It adds in some windows in a nice design which gets a bit old by the end of the build as the same design is used for each set of windows. While I complain, it does look like what I would think a building in Venice would look like. The bag comes with 4 minifigures, but more on them later.

Unlike most LEGO sets, the end of the bag doesn’t end with the floor. Instead, you start on the second floor before finishing up this bag.

The fifth bag continues the second floor. It adds some walls and then inside a tiled floor (single color), a bed, an old fashioned phone, and a small desk and chair. Maybe it’s not an art gallery, but the home to a painter or someone who just likes brick art?

The sixth bag finishes up the second floor by installing the walls, adding a tiled top so you can connect another layer, and adding a few details like the rain spout.

The seventh set of bags adds the roof. This is built by using curved slope pieces. While the walls are all very white, it is nice to have a bit of color variation in the roof with the orange, nougat color, and darker tan-ish color (I know, not the official color names). The roof has a nice gentle slope and I think it goes well with the building.

The eighth set of bags starts the second building on the second baseplate. Similar to the last one, you build out the sidewalk and canal way. Then you get started on the walls.

The ninth set of bags continues work on the first floor. The walls and windows are built similar to the previous building. The door again isn’t flush with the frame, but it works here. Inside, I initially thought it was a hotel with a reception desk, but it ends up being a book store. In this bag, you build the cashier stand, a book shelf, and a table with some chairs for people to sit at. The minifigure who works there comes in this bag.

The tenth set of bags adds more wall. This set comes with a lot of the brick design textured bricks so if you’re a big fan of those, you’ll be pleased with this set as there are a lot.

Internally to this build, there are a few more book shelves added in and a reading area in one of the corners. You get a few printed tiles that are added in as newspapers. The “books” help to break up the build with some additional color. This bag comes with 2 more minifigures. An adult female and a boy who is reading a book about half his size.

Bag 11 mostly finishes up the first floor with walls and windows. You install a door on the back of the building which can be used for people on boats to stop into the shop. Lots more brick textured bricks are used.

Bag 12 is split between two floors so we’ll start with this floor. You wrap up the first floor by topping off the walls with tiles and a few studs so the upper floor will fit on. You also add in the small dock area for a boat to pull up to drop someone off. Then you build a gondola. This includes 2 more minfigures.

As mentioned the other part of bag 12 is the next floor shown in the first picture. Bag 13 then starts to build up the walls and windows with similar techniques from the other floor and building.

Bag 14 adds more of the walls and you get more brick textured pieces.

The inside of this floor isn’t fully furnished, but it is meant to be some sort of music studio. Here you get a minifigure scaled piano along with a piano player.

Bag 15 finishes up the walls and adds a music stand and saxaphone player. I forget where the break was, but you add the tiles on top for modular building stacking purposes too.

Bags 16 and 17 finish up the roof. It is built in a similar style only this one has a chimney and a small window. You also get 2 sea gulls bringing the total that you get with this set to 3. The roof is color similar to the other building which helps to make it stand out from the white and tan of the rest of the building.

13 minifigures total is pretty good for a modular building type set. You get a decent mix of genders, ages, and parts so no complaints there. Many of them have dual printed heads so even better.

$290 for a modular building set is quite a bit, but it’s somewhat in line with #10255-1: Assembly Square. Although Assembly Square comes with more pieces, this set wasn’t as mass produced so maybe it’s tough to do a direct comparison. Either way, I’m a big fan. I think the set was a great build and I look forward to adding it to a city of modular buildings (some day). Some of the structure techniques were a bit repetitive, but in the end, they look great and in the style of a Venetian building.

This is the part where I normally recommend whether you should buy the set or not, but it’s not available from LEGO so you’ll by it on Bricklink or eBay or elsewhere for quite a bit more. The good news is that you can get the instructions online for free and can try to purchase the pieces on your own or use your own collection. I’m not sure which would be cheaper, but it’s an option.

Did anyone else get this set? What did you think?

Happy building!

Set Review: #71034 - Series 23 Collectible Minifigures

We’re at the last collectible minifigure series of the year. #71034: Series 23 contains 12 new minifigures and they were released in the US staring on 26 July 2022. They still retail for $4.99 per bag. This series contains 8 costumed minifigures which is quite high compared to past offerings. Not saying that’s a bad thing, just different from the past. There are also a number of holiday themed minifigures as this series will take us through the end of the calendar year and past Thanksgiving and Christmas LEGO Shop @ Home still gave an initial cap of 16 bags and 2 boxes for 28 minifigures total. We’ll see if that remains or if they end the cap later. I’ve been able to purchase collectible minifigure series offerings from Target and Walmart online with caps on individual orders, but no overall cap.

I don’t see the price changing anytime soon, but of note, I saw Series 22 on sale at Target and Best Buy before it retired so perhaps if you wait, you may see Series 23 go on sale in December closer to when it will come off the shelves.

My comments on the individual minifigures is below. Happy building!

Green Dragon Costume Guy comes with a dragon tail, the wings, a head piece and two horns on top. I think it’s a pretty cool looking minifigure.

Ferry Captain is fun with the giant boat that he’s wearing, but I think the red smoke stack is slightly in the way. I guess you could just remove the one in front of him if you wanted.

Next is two Christmas themed minifigures with Reindeer Costume Girl and a female Christmas Elf. They both come with some extra accessories which is good. The elf is a new torso and hair piece from any of the previous ones so that is a nice addition for anyone looking to add to their Winter Village themed layouts.

Wolf Costume Guy comes with a bag and is licking his lips so he just ate something or maybe hopes to eat something. This one is reminiscent to Series 19’s Fox Costume Girl with the sack and looking for food.

Knight of the Yellow Castle is the name Brickset.com and Bricklink.com list for this one. I’m guessing this is a reference tot he yellow castle of old, but I find it odd that it is colored pink. Wouldn’t it be yellow?

Cardboard Costume girl flashes back to some of the minifigure robots we’ve had in past series. This time, it’s a costumed minifigure.

Popcorn Costume guy has shown up in a lot of great MOCs on line with Series 17’s Corn Cob guy.

Oddly, the Snowman was the hardest one for me to find. I eventually got it and then another so who knows. This one is actually a costumed minifigure. There is a minifigure head underneath the snowman head. Interesting that they chose that option versus just molding a solid snowman head.

Turkey Costume guy is the first Thanksgiving reference we’ve seen in a CMF series, right? This one is pretty fun and comes with a pumpkin.

Lastly we get Sugar Fairy girl. This one is very similar to Series 17’s Butterfly Girl in terms of size and the wings. This one comes with a tutu, candy cane, and a tiara.

Finally, the Nutcracker comes with a sword and a 1x1 round tile printed nut to crack. This figure looks similar to some of the Pirate themed soldiers from the past. You might be able to mix him into a MOC without anyone spotting it.

Set Review - #10497-1: Galaxy Explorer - Icons

About a year ago, LEGO ran a vote for the favorite theme to bring back for the 90th anniversary of the company. The votes were tallied and Castle ended up winning. The #10305-1: Lion Knight Castle was the resulting set from the vote. As a bonus to fans, we also got this set which is #10497-1: Galaxy Explorer. This set is a remake of 1979’s set #497: Galaxy Explorer. The original set had 338 pieces and retailed for $32. The new set contains 1,254 pieces and retails for $99.99 in the US. This works out to $0.08 per piece. The set was released on 20 June 2022 in the US and it is still out at the time of this post. I purchased the set on pre-order straight from LEGO Shop @ Home, but Walmart has had the set on sale for $75 for the past week or so. I’m not sure how long that sale will last, but it’s crazy to see a new set discounted so quickly after it’s release. It makes me wonder if the set isn’t selling as well as LEGO had hoped.

The box is designed after the old box style and is similar to #21322-1: Pirates of Barracuda Bay. It has the 90th anniversary logo on the bottom right on the front and a few other changes like the “18 years and up” for the age versus sets from the 1970s and 1980s. The back of the set shows some of the various play features of the set.

The contents of the set are 9 parts bags, an 8x16 black tile, the instructions (in a sealed bag), and a sheet telling you that some day LEGO will switch over to paper parts bags, but in the meantime you can keep throwing out your single use plastic bags.

The build starts with some inner substructure made of mostly Technic elements. You also build what will become the landing legs that extend down and then retract.

I failed to add it in the picture, but you get a space minifigure in a red suit here as well as a brick separator.

The second bag starts to give the ship it’s shape and adds some of the crew compartment. It’s great to see the printed tiles and bricks from the past return. From the bottom view, you can see the three landing legs. Each of them have a piece that is flat on the bottom and then has studs on top to connect with the rest of the ship. I’m not sure if this is a new piece or not, but it’s a cool use of this part.

Builds three and four help to create more of the shape of the ship. The use of LEGO geometry to create the angles is impressive. Not only are plates used, but the various leading and trailing edges of the ship still match the angles with very little gaps. Well done LEGO design team!

I found the build to be a bit fragile as I was putting it together. There were a lot of parts that kept coming off. This was rectified by the end, but just a note to be careful as you assemble the set.

Throughout the instructions, LEGO included various fun tidbits about the set which were nice to include. You’ll notice the use of colors. The designers only used colors available back in 1979 except for the light gray which was slightly different back then.

Bag three adds another space minifigure. This time it is in white.

Build 5 adds more detail to include the “shooters” on the front, some colored tiles on the top, and the start of the crew compartment. Initially, you attach an assembly of parts to the main structure of the ship with a Technic pin. For a while it just looks awkward as it sits at a weird angle and looks out of place. As you go further, you see that it fits right in and matches the angles perfectly. The fifth bag also includes another red colored space minifigure.

The sixth bag adds more detail to include additions to the crew compartment (beds that support leaving your oxygen tank on), storage for gear, the rear storage section for the space buggy with a ramp that folds out, and the start to where the engines connect.

Build 7 includes a white space minifigure and finishes off the crew compartment. You get additional control panels to add into the back compartment. You also add in the two yellow windscreens. I heard numerous complaints about these screens being scratched, but I didn’t have any issues. The set also comes with more printed parts to include the Classic Space logo and the numbers on the side.

Build 8 completes the rear tail, storage compartment, maneuvering thrusters, and the functionality that lets the rear compartment flip open to let the vehicle out.

This set comes with 4 space minifigures. While we didn’t get any new colors from the past, it’s still great to have additional space suited minifigures to add to the crew. Also included is a robot/droid. It wasn’t in the original set, but was in some of the other Classic Space sets. This one can carry coffee mugs which is fun considering they are in space and the coffee wouldn’t actually stay in the cups.

Here’s the final set. The ninth bag adds the engines. Two are on the sides in the back and two are attached to the back. The two on the sides can be removed and you can stick a minifigure on top to ride them. The ninth bag also adds the space buggy. You can open the rear of the ship, pull out the ramp, and it slides out. This is another cool addition to the set.

I highlighted the landing gear earlier and I took a picture of it extended here. The new piece is great and I like how it extends out to land and then folds up and tucks into the ship to allow it to swoosh away.

Overall, it’s a great set. I think it’s priced well and $75 is an even better deal if you grab it from Walmart. As a Classic Space fan as a kid, I was pumped to see space return and I appreciate the addition of this set to the line. Side note, I voted for the M-Tron theme to return…

I recommend this set for fans into the nostalgia of older LEGO sets as well as new fans. My 5 year old enjoyed playing with the space buggy and minifigures and I’m sure others as well. Also, it’s a great way to get into the 90th Anniversary sets without dropping $400 on the Castle.

Happy building!

Set Review: #42143-1: Ferrari Daytona SP3 - Technic

The LEGO Group has me hooked on a few of their product lines and one of them is the Technic Supercar series or now referred to as the LEGO Technic Ultimate Car Concept series. You can see my reviews of the previous cars here. This one is #42143-1: Ferrari Daytona SP3. It was released in the US on 2 June 2022 and contains 3,778 pieces. The initial retail price was $399.99 which worked out to $0.106 per piece. Then the LEGO Group raised prices on a bunch of sets to adjust for their input costs and it now retails for $449.99 which works out to $0.119 per piece. Yikes! I thankfully picked it up prior to the price increase and I cashed in a bunch of VIP points to make the purchase not as bad. However, it hurt and these suckers keep getting more expensive. I can’t wait to see what the 2024 car is going to retail for… or not.

The shipping box for this one is much different from the previous three. It is a smaller box and it showed up with the set in a box only in one box versus the set box being inside a box which is inside another box. My set came with a May 2022 production date on it so not bad considering the June release.

Here’s the set box with the build on multiple sides, the Ferrari logo on top, and the bottom has tire tracks that you can’t see in my photo.

Opening the box reveals three boxes that contain the parts and look like the rear of the vehicle which is some pretty cool packaging.

The first box contains the two instruction books on the top and some parts bags on the bottom. I’m not going to dive into the instruction books, but they have some information about Ferrari, the model, the design process, and then some pictures of cars and designs.

Box two is all parts and box three is parts, the wheels, and the hub caps.

The first build is labeled as the gearbox and engine in the instruction manual. This is one of the more challenging sections of the build. There’s a lot to pay attention to in order to make sure all of the gears, pins, and axles are in the right spot. It’s a lot of work for a transmission that is buried within the car. You can see the transmission from the bottom though so it’s not for nothing. Also, you will be able to lift the rear up so you can see the engine.

I don’t remember the previous cars well enough to know how similar this build is to the others, but I didn’t feel like I was building the previous cars all over again.

The second set of bags builds the suspension. You add in the front of the car frame, the front axle, and the steering system. To me, it’s amazing how all of this comes together to see how it looks now and how it looks at the end.

The third set of bags is the car frame/chassis. Here you install the start of the seats, the steering wheel, the pieces that will allow the doors to open and close later on, and a few other parts. The choice of blue and black for the seats is interesting as it’s a red car, but it works.

The fourth set of bags builds the front of the car. Thankfully, there are no stickers to install so the Ferrari logo on the hood, steering wheel, seats, and elsewhere are all printed. Yay! There is a trunk space in this car, but it does not come with a luggage bag like some of the earlier cars which is fine by me.

I like the use of System pieces to add detail to the car. The use of offset stacked plates on the bumper is a cool technique to replicate the shape on the actual car. It’s a nice touch here.

The fifth set of bags builds the rear hood. It also adds the front “windscreen” and some of the roof. Like the previous vehicles, there isn’t an actual windscreen and that’s okay.

The rear hood was a challenge for me to build as I had a hard time following what the instructions wanted me to do on some of it. I figured it out in the end. Note that there are a few errors in the instruction books. I went online and found some good articles highlighting them. Some I caught without looking them up, but a few required me to see why I had extra pieces left over at the end of a section.

The rear hood can be raised which is a nice addition. You can get a good look at the engine instead of burying it like in the last two cars. It doesn’t stay up well as it’s heavy, but I got it to stay long enough to take a few photos.

One part of the build that intrigued me was the use of rubber tubing to hold on some of the structure and give it a curved shape over the rear wheels. I wasn’t sure what the instructions were getting at initially, but when I saw the pieces installed, it’s cool to see how the shape was created with Technic pieces.

The sixth set of bags builds the doors and seats. I failed to get separate pictures of them. The doors swing up in the actual car and the Technic version does the same. The doors were a challenge for me to assemble as the instructions show you connecting pieces, but don’t always show where. One picture will show you assembling a section and the next will tell you to install it. Either I missed something or you have to be smart enough to figure out how to install it.

The seventh set of bags is the final part of the build. It completes the rear of the vehicle, adds the wheels, and the display plate. The rear of the vehicle uses a lot of System pieces to achieve the detail similar to the front. I like the look and the offset plates. There is another error in this section where the instructions don’t have a few parts listed, but I found them online and got it squared away. The wheels are a similar size as previous vehicles, but the rims are a silver color. The 1x1 round tile with the Ferrari logo on the rim is a nice touch.

The Lamborghini had a display plate, although much smaller, and the Ferrari has one as well only this one is larger. The plate is printed so I’m thankful to not have a sticker, but I’m not sure it really adds to the model. I could have done without the plate if it saved a few dollars in production costs and on the final set price.

Overall, it’s a very sleek vehicle. The build was great and it challenged me throughout. I enjoyed putting it together. I’m not a Technic fan or MOC builder so I’m not sure if I’d use the pieces elsewhere, but there are a lot to pick from. The price is high and I can only imagine the price going up for future vehicles so get ready. VIP points are the only way I purchased this one. I highly recommend this one if you’re into the Technic vehicle line or if you’re a System builder and you’re looking for a challenge outside of your building comfort zone. Look for ways to save on this one whether it is double VIP points, cool GWPs, or some other method.

Here are the 4 vehicles. My NLS has let me display them in the house as they are up high and out of the way. I’m sure she can’t wait for me to have a LEGO room of my own some day to contain the spread of ABS. This is a pretty cool line up in my opinion. I wonder what car will be next?

Happy building!

Set Review - #21333-1: Vincent Van Gogh - The Starry Night - Ideas (#41)

Set #21333-1: Vincent Van Gogh - The Starry Night was released in the US on 28 May 2022. I’ve had the set for a bit, but it took a while to put together as my NLS wanted to help and doesn’t dedicate as much time to brick building as I do. It’s finished now and I’m happy to review it as this one is completely out of the ordinary from any set we’ve seen in the past in my opinion. It contains 2,316 pieces and retails for $169.99 in the US. That works out to $0.073 per piece which isn’t too bad.

We’ve seen a lot of designs hit the 10K votes mark on the Ideas platform and this was one that when it hit 10K, I really hoped it would become a set. It was selected and I think the designers did a great job sticking to the original design while making it better. I usually wait until the end to give my overall impressions, but I’ll give it up front for this one. This set is incredible! The colors and how the original work of art is portrayed in brick form are amazing. It was a fun build and it’s quickly recognizable as to what it is. I understand that it might not be something everyone will like, but if you have the slightest interest in this set, I recommend giving it a shot. You won’t be disappointed in my opinion.

The box shows the set on the front and then the back shows it on display, a comparison to the actual painting, and then the minifigure feature where you can put it on a stand as if it is painting while looking at the larger set.

The contents are 20 parts bags labeled one through nine, two loose plates, and then the instruction manual comes wrapped.

I got this note in my set. I have yet to see a set without any of the single use plastic packaging. Looking forward to it though.

The first bag builds the Van Gogh minifigure with a small easel to paint on. The minifigure comes with a brush and painting palette. Thankfully, there are no stickers and everything is printed.

You then start the build with some mostly sub structure underneath to support the village and the rest of the build.

The second bag starts some of the microbuild of the village. Even if you’re not a fan of the set, you still get some great parts in some cool colors. This build has a lot of plate usage so get ready for that if you decide to jump in.

The third bag builds a separate section of the painting that is attached later. We did a lot of double checking the instructions and making sure it was all done right after each layer. It helped having two people as we could check work and hunt for pieces to make the build go smoother. With that being said, we still made a bunch of mistakes during the build.

The fourth set of bags completes the separate build and attaches it to the main build. The interlay of colors and staggering of the plates looks fantastic. I like the micro build houses and the church in the center is cool.

The challenge we found was when you go to attach pieces or try to press parts together, various pieces would fall off since it is a SNOT build. I recommend being careful in how you hold it and where you apply pressure so it doesn’t fall apart.

The fifth set of bags builds the sky background. There was a definite bonus here to team building as one person grabbed plates while the other attached plates. We did our best to match the instructions, but could have been slightly off somewhere. I’m not sure it really matters as in the end, the goal is to build the sky and I’m pretty sure no one is going to sit next to your build and figure out whether it matches the instructions perfectly or not. For this section, you also attach some of the connections on the front for the stars as well as the piece on the back to hang the set up on a wall. This is the same piece used with the LEGO Art sets so I’m guessing it works fine, but I haven’t tried to hang it up yet.

Here’s a close up of the village area with the sky background and then some of the extra pieces. Most sets will have a few one by one plates or tiles left over, but this section had a larger number of plates left. I assume this was because you would have made a mistake and the designers understood how painful it would be to tear down the whole sky to grab a specific plate or two. Good thinking!

The sixth set of bags adds the frame. Don’t be intimidated by all the black pieces. It wasn’t too hard to assemble and I think it looks great and helps to make the set pop out versus just having the set on its own. It also includes a Technic pin on the bottom in the front right side that you can use to help the set stand up vertically on its own if you don’t hang it on a wall.

Number seven adds in some of the stars and then more of the sky just on the horizon. The printed disc/saucer pieces are a nice touch to the set and I think are an improvement from the fan build.

The eighth set of bags adds the… um… not an art history buff here… swirl? I’m not sure what it is, but it’s a cool add and I like how the designers created the curves and angles using the various pieces.

The ninth set of bags adds the big tree in the front, a few buildings, and then the Technic element to allow the minifig to “paint” in front of the set. I really enjoy how parts are added on top to show depth and to give it a three dimensional feel. The tree especially has a more realistic look on top of the “painting” as it is built on in layers of pieces.

It was great build, you get a lot of great pieces, and I think it looks amazing. This won’t go on sale anytime soon so wait for double VIP points or a cool GWP to snag this set. I highly recommend this one.

Happy building!

Set Review - #71033: The Muppets - Collectible Minifigures

Lego sucked me into Collectible Minifigures back in Series 10 which was back in May of 2013. Here I am almost 10 years later still trying to collect them all. This series is The Muppets, which is a first for LEGO from what I can recall. It was released on 1 May 2022 in the US for $4.99 each. You can also buy boxes of six minifigures for $29.94 from LEGO while numerous other retailers sell them for $29.99. Gotta make that extra nickel of profit!

There are 12 minifigures in total. LEGO Shop @ Home will let you buy 16 individual packages and then three of the boxes of six for 18 meaning you can buy 34 in total. I did this and really hoped to get all 12. I only got eight… LEGO Customer Service will tell you that it is all random and that’s how it works, but I say they need to do a better job randomizing. I sell collectible minifigures in my BrickLink store and do my best to load up on each series knowing that they are only out for three to four months at a time. I placed another order through Walmart and received two boxes of six each. With 46 now, I was at nine total. Definitely a good profit item for LEGO and something I would definitely not do unless I had a BrickLink store.

So here is my review on the first few and I’ll add to it as I go. Overall, I like the minifigures in this series and I think LEGO did a great job capturing the likeness of each one. If only I could collect each one…

Here is what the boxes look like that give you six minifigures each.

I have not counted yet, but I think these first two were the most prevalent in my purchases. Miss Piggy comes in a printed dress and holding a printed tile of one of her glamor shots. I wonder what the decision was to go printed versus the cloth dress versus a skirt piece that fits over the legs or using a slope piece as a dress

Kermit the Frog looks pretty good other than being a little bigger scale wise. He comes with his banjo/ukulele (which is it?) and a tile of a rainbow.

I got a bunch of these two as well. Our two favorite hecklers, Waldorf and Statler join this series. Waldorf has a tea cup and saucer along with a tile to hold up with ZZZZs on it. Statler has a laptop with a connection to Scooter over a video connection app. Both seem to match their Muppet likenesses really well in my opinion.

Fozzie Bear comes with his usual get up of hat and scarf item around his neck. He comes holding a banana as part of a joke maybe and then has a microphone on a stand.

Animal comes with a brick built drum set and uses two Harry Potter wands as his drum sticks. I’m a big fan of this one. The minifigure looks like he is doing his famous laugh… “Ha Ha Ha Ha!”

Dr. Bunsen Honeydew is next with a conical flask for his next experiment.

Gonzo comes with printed pants and a Hawaiian style shirt with Chile peppers on it. He comes with a chicken who we can only assume is Camilla.

So I did get Rowlf the Dog, but will wait to add a picture until I get another minifigure to put next to him.. Rowlf comes with a sheet of music and a bust of a composer. The bust comes with a minifigure head with two expressions and a hair piece.

Beaker… finally got this one. You don’t want to know how many I went through until I got it. Beaker looks pretty accurate with this blank stare and the mouth open. He’s holding a control switch to start an experiment or blow something up.

Janice matches the character well with the hair and red lips. She’s got a guitar which is similar to others in shape, but has different printing on it.

The Swedish Chef also looks great. I like how they did his facial hair. He’s got a whisk and is holding one of the Muppet vegetables which is made up of a minifigure head with some greenery on top. This minifigure is great! It stinks that I only got one after all of the purchases I made. Thanks for the “randomness” LEGO!

#76398-1: Hogwarts Hospital Wing - Harry Potter

Harry Potter themed sets have been arriving in the summer time in the US. Set #76398-1: Hogwarts Hospital Wing has bucked the trend and was released on 1 March 2022 in the US. It doesn’t have the anniversary logos on it, but it still contains two of the collectible tiles. The set contains 510 pieces and retails for $49.99. This works out to $0.098 per piece. I picked this set up at Target. They had a buy one get one 40% off sale. So if you buy two sets at the same price, it’s like 20% off each. Keep on the look out for sales like that one in the future if you want to pick this set up.

To my knowledge, LEGO has not done the Hospital Wing yet or at least in the recent past so it’s good to see something new. The set has four minifigures and comes with Technic pins and holes so you can connect it to other sets from 2021 and we can assume to the summer 2022 wave.

The box is pretty standard. It has the full set on the front with the Harry Potter logo, pictures of the actors from the movie, and a highlight of the included minifigures. The back shows some of the play details.

The contents are four numbered parts bags and an instruction booklet. As I got through the build it asked for a sticker and I didn’t see a sheet. Could LEGO have forgotten the sticker sheet? I went back to the box and the width of the box is about the size of the sticker sheet so it was stuck in the corner of the side I didn’t open. Whew! You get three stickers, which isn’t too bad.

The first bag starts the infirmary area. You connect three 8x8 plates with grates using hinges. Then you build up some of the wall section and add windows. On the inside you build three beds.

The minifigure in bag one is Ron. He comes with a wand and a cane. His legs are two different colors to reflect the cast on one leg which is a change from the usual matching legs.

The second bag finishes up most of the walls for this level on the build. There isn’t much detail on the inside, but the outside is in line with previous Potter sets.

The minifigure in this bag is Madam Poppy Pomfrey. I’ve seen the movies and didn’t know that was her name so don’t feel bad. This is the first appearance of this minifigure. She comes with a wand and a medical chart.

The third bag finishes out the details on the first floor with some candles, night stands with lamps by the beds, a cart near Ron’s bed with some of the well wishes he received, a divider for privacy, a chair, a trunk, a lamp, some medicine/potion, and a box of jelly beans (1x1 brick with printing). Harry and Hermione come in this bag. Hermione has her wand, a bandage around her arm, and her time turner (printed 1x1 round tile). There is also a grey owl in this bag.

The bag starts the second floor. You’ll see it better in the next set of pictures.

The fourth bag finishes up the set. You finish up the second floor which really is just the roof and clock tower. The roof build doesn’t have much to it, but the clock tower has some technic functions where you can spin the steeple on the top and it spins the clock. This is a fun play function of the set and while simple to build for experienced builders, adds a bit of challenge for younger builders.

You also get two of the collectible tiles in this set. I think this will be the last set where you can get these, but I’m not 100% sure. I got two of the same (Rowena Ravenclaw) which also happened to be a tile I already had. Anyone want to trade? I’m looking for Albus Dumbledore with the gold frame and Seraphina Picquery.

Here are the four minifigues to wrap things up. It’s the main three yet again only with different outfits. They are a bit beat up/dirty so I guess that is something different. There are some different accessories as well. Madam Pomfrey is new so that is a bonus. The different legs on Ron are a nice change that I suspect we’ll see more of in the future.

Overall, not a bad set. It’s 8+ so you have to cage your expectations, but good to see LEGO capturing a different part of Hogwarts besides the usual. I’m glad I found it at a discount and I recommend you wait for it to go on sale as well. If Target put it on sale, I suspect it will go on sale again at other retailers. Maybe around Christmas time?

Happy building!

Set Review: #910010-1: Great Fishing Boat - Bricklink Designer Program

Here’s another set from Round 1 of the 2021 BrickLink Designer Program. This one is #910010-1: Great Fishing Boat. It contains 1,609 pieces and retailed for $129.99 during the crowd funding round. This works out to $0.081 per piece.

Similar to #910028-1: Pursuit of Flight, this set has a white box that has the BrickLink logo as well as the LEGO logo. I like the 18+ white branding over the black branding, but just a personal opinion there. This set was designed by EdouardClo. He is a fan from France and you can read an interview of him here.

The box opens to reveal the parts bag and the card stating you have to get the instructions online. The set contains nine numbered sets of parts bags and then an unnumbered bag. I used the app to build #910028-1: Pursuit of Flight. I found the .pdf instructions for this set on BrickLink’s site and built using them to see if it was a better option.

The first set of bags builds the base of the boat (or maybe the proper term is hull). This part is mostly stacking plates and tiles on top of each other. Nothing too out of the ordinary here.

The second set of bags adds to the hull. It also adds a small crew compartment with two beds, some beverage containers, and some greenery.

Here are some closer pictures from the second set of bags. You add in a propeller and rudder at the stern (right term?) of the boat. The propeller spins and can you can adjust the rudder as desired. I also added a closer look at the crew compartment.

And then I finished the instructions for the second set of bags and had these pieces leftover. I went back and checked multiple times to see where I missed them and couldn’t figure it out. Typically the extra pieces you get are like 1x1 tiles or cheese slopes. I have never had a 1x8 plate as an extra piece.

Despite the pieces leftover from the second set of bags, I pressed onto the third set of bags. And wouldn’t you know, those pieces got used up during the instructions for the third set. I haven’t had this happen before with a Lego set so I wasn’t quite sure what to do, but I went with it.

The third set of bags finishes up more structure for the hull and then puts the decking on the boat.

In the picture of the plastic tray/container you’ll see the pieces I had left at the end of the third build instructions. Exclude the pieces in the top right slot as those are from the bag without a number. After seeing this, I just went with it. Not sure why they made this choice, but okay.

I used the .pdf instructions posted online. I wonder if the app gives you a different building experience without pieces leftover when finishing up a set of bags?

The fourth and fifth sets of bags build the sides of the hull. You mix in the leftover pieces from the third set of bags too. There was a section here that isn’t exactly the strongest to stay together, but it holds. I guess that’s the difference between a BrickLink fan designed set and a Lego designed set.

The sixth set of bags builds all of the sides of the hull in the front and the back that require curves. While the techniques used create some gaps between the pieces, overall it achieves the effect. You build a section, clip it to the next section and then after you have a few sections built, you clip them to the hull. The stern wasn’t too bad and it all fit on pretty easily. I had a challenge with the bow sections as the .pdf instructions don’t allow you to see the sizes of pieces well (in my opinion). I put some Technic pieces on incorrectly which caused some errors. For the bow, you attach the sections for each side that come to a point by sliding some Technic pieces onto the long axle you added in build 1. Then the two connect to each other. After I found my error, it worked okay. It’s definitely a fragile section of the build and it’s not a good idea to hold the boat there.

The last thing to do here is add in the anchor and chain. I would have put the chain on before I attached the top part of the hull as the instructions have you placing the chain through the slot between the pieces. This wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but I figured it out. The instructions have you adding the anchor piece on later, but it was in this bag so I just added it now.

The bags numbered seven and eight build the… is it the bridge? I don’t know. It’s the compartment where you control the boat. The seventh set of bags starts it off and then the eighth finishes it. I had the partial picture and the insides, but must have deleted it somewhere in the process before building my post here. Sorry. The inside has a wheel to steer the boat, a compass, a phone, and a tile as a screen for (maybe) radar. Behind the control area on the inside, you have a few boxes where you store printed tiles with food.

The outside of the compartment has a funnel on the back, three fishing poles that can be attached to each side, lights for fishing at night, and some various gear like a radar, a horn, and possibly an antenna or something for a communication system. The roof detaches pretty easily so you can put a minifigure inside as desired.

This set comes with three minifigures. All of them are adult males. None of the parts seem new to me and they all have faces with facial hair. All of the minifigures have only one expression which is fine by me.

The last bag builds out some rigging, a crab trap with a crab still in it, some crates of fish, adds a few fish to put on the deck that the crew just caught, adds a front part to the bow, and a small crane with a hook that you can move the boxes around with on the deck.

I wasn’t so sure about the rigging at first, but it seems to work. There are some strings used, but it is mostly the thin plastic tubing. It seems to hold up pretty well so I can’t complain.

Overall, it’s a cool set. It’s something out of the ordinary that we have not seen from Lego before. The fan design is not as structurally sound as a Lego produced set would be, but it’s fine for an 18+ set. The price wasn’t too bad, but now it’s at least twice as much or higher on the secondary market. I haven’t looked to see what it would cost to source the parts from BrickLink or elsewhere.

I am not a fan of electronic instructions. I’ve used the app and the .pdf versions and I can say I much prefer the paper instructions. To me, it is easier to see the steps and easier to assemble the Technic parts (you can line up axles to ensure sizing). I’m sure it is a function of cost for these sets, but would prefer instruction books going forward. Plus, I use building as an opportunity to not stare at a screen.

In the meantime, I’m looking forward to the round 2 sets.

Happy building!