Set Review - #21327-1: Typewriter - Ideas

#21327-1: Typewriter is the 35th Ideas set to come out to date. This one was released on 17 June 2021. I’ve actually had this one for a few months, but my NLS wanted to build it with me. It took us longer to put it together since she doesn’t dedicate as much of her time to building as I do.

If you’ve been looking for this on Shop @ Home, it’s been sold out since Christmas time 2021 (as of the time of this post). The retail price is $199.99 in the US and with 2,079 pieces it works out to $0.096 per piece.

The box is pretty stylish. The front shows the full set with the 18+ branding. The back shows some of the features of the set along with dimensions. If you do a quick look, it looks pretty realistic. A relative came to visit, saw the finished set, and asked my NLS where we got the typewriter from. My NLS responded “from LEGO.”

The box contains 19 parts bags. 18 of the bags are numbered while one has some larger parts. The instructions come wrapped along with the booklet of paper with a letter to attach to the typewriter available in multiple languages.

The instruction booklet includes some information about the fan designer and LEGO designers.

The set comes with only two stickers. They are chrome so I guess it would be hard to print them on bricks like this. Two isn’t bad so I can’t complain too much.

The letter you can add to your typewriter comes in a booklet where you can tear out the letter you want. It comes in more languages than I was expecting.

The first set of bags builds some Technic hardware. A word of warning for this set, if you don’t like Technic builds, you won’t like this set. It has a lot of Technic pieces to build the mechanical functionality. My NLS was not familiar with Technic builds and found it very challenging. Often she passed those sections off to me. If you are used to System builds, then Technic builds can get challenging, but I didn’t think it was too bad. You just have to pay attention to where various pins go.

For the second set of bags, you attach all of those Technic builds from bag 1 together using long Technic axles that are similar to the long axles from #10280-1: Flower Bouquet. This part isn’t too challenging, but you really need to focus on the build and where you are putting each part.

The third bag adds the keys to make the keyboard. Thankfully, these are all printed and they look great since I didn’t have to put stickers on each one. Also, here’s your chance to set up the keyboard the way you want to. I used the standard QWERTY keyboard from the instructions, but you can use what you want and change it fairly easily.

The fourth set of bags adds some of the sand green bricks around the keyboard to build up the outer covering.

Next up you build more of the back of the typewriter and more of the Technic functionality. I made a mistake somewhere in here. I’m not sure if it shows on this picture or not. Thankfully it was an easy fix, but I didn’t realize it until I hit a key and the typewriter didn’t function as it should.

The sixth bag adds in more of the back along with the main hammer that moves when you press a key. Some of the fan media postings I have seen on this set mentions that the same hammer moves no matter what key you press and how they didn’t like that. I say, that would be hard to do with LEGO and the scale of the set so I can’t complain. I’m good with the one hammer moving. If you don’t like it, figure out how to re-mechanize it given the space constraints on your own.

The seventh bag adds more of the sand green case and then starts to build the section that will end up holding the paper. This part got a bit complicated with all the gears you need to add.

Onto bag eight… You cover up all that hard work you did connecting Technic pieces together. The more I look at it, the more I like the choice of color. The brick work on the top looks good with with the curved pieces in front of the spot where the type hammer piece is located. Also a few studs are showing so you still know it’s LEGO, but not a ton where it doesn’t look like a typewriter.

You also add in the switch that allows you to switch from black to red ink. The functionality doesn’t actually work, but the detail is there.

The ninth bag starts to assemble the section that holds the paper. The shiny chrome sticker really pops here and looks good on the sand green.

Bag 10 finishes the paper holder up and you attach it to the typewriter. The tires are an awesome touch and then the barrel half on the end is cool. There are a bunch of silver pieces and tiles for those of you who build MOCs who weren’t excited about all the sand green pieces.

In case you haven’t seen any other reviews, this section will move when you “type.” Once you hit the end, you can then push it back so you can type another row. It’s impressive that they were able to figure out how to make the typewriter function using Technic and System pieces.

#11 wraps everything up. You add in a handle for the paper holder. The instructions warn you that it is not strong enough to actually function like the real thing. You need to push it at the base of the handle and not at the top edge where it will just snap off. You also add in the ink ribbon and the rolls where the ink goes. Finally, you add in some additional hammers which help to make the typewriter look realistic, but don’t actually function.

Wow! This set is impressive. I enjoyed the build. The mix of Technic pieces to add functionality along with System pieces for detail make this set a winner. There are a lot of great pieces if you intend to tear this down for a MOC and not a ton of stickers. The set is on the expensive end at $200, but I thought it was worth it. Definitely look for sales at some of the retailers or use VIP points through LEGO stores or Shop @ Home if you want a discount. I highly recommend this one and hope we get more in the Ideas line or other lines similar to this one.

Happy building!

Set Review: #80109-1: Lunar New Year Ice Festival - Chinese Festival Special Edition

LEGO started the Chinese Festival Special Edition sets for everyone back in 2019 (it actually started sooner, but that was only for Asia). The theme continued in 2022 with two more sets. #80109-1: Lunar New Year Ice Festival was released on 10 January 2022 in the US. It is one of two sets. The theme has had a smaller set around $80 each and then a larger set around $120 each. This one retails in the US for $119.99 and contains 1,519 pieces. That works out to $0.079 per piece which isn’t too bad.

This one is a big scene with a lot of minifigures. You get a full 13 in this set. It’s a great play set, but unlike #80107-1, it has many fewer pieces. It also doesn’t use Technic pins to hook into others which is disappointing to me, but isn’t a hard challenge to fix if you want to link this up to another set.

The box is pretty standard. The front shows the full scene with all of the usual logos. The back shows some of the details.

The contents are 13 numbered parts bags, 2 16x16 white plates, and the instructions which are wrapped along with the plastic piece used as the photo board.

The first bag starts the base. To the left of the base is an odd set up which didn’t become apparent until later in the build so I won’t spoil it. One fun bit is you add a smart phone to the base which ends up being a phone that someone dropped into the water and the ice froze over. A humorous little detail which is fun to see.

This bag comes with two minifigures. There is a kid with a winter hat, glasses and gloves/mittens. He can ride in the little cart which the adult minifigure can push around while on skates.

The second bag finishes up the base. Not too much overly interesting here other than laying down plates and connecting them with plates, tiles, and bricks.

The third bag starts to put the layer of “ice” on top for skating. Most of the large window screen pieces used for the ice are a newer color that seem to be a white with a slight sparkle to it. I’m sure there is a technical term for the color, but it’s cool. There is also one of the light blue translucent pieces for where the ice fishing hole goes.

You add edges to the ice rink throughout the build. While this is okay, it continually makes the rink smaller. I’d rather have a larger skating area given the number of minifigures. I guess you can modify the set later to get rid of some of the edging that takes away that space.

Bag four finishes up the “ice.” You can see that you place a few LEGO fish pieces underneath the ice to “swim” around. Maybe one will find the phone.

This bag comes with a minifigure ready to play hockey. He has a hockey stick and it comes with a few round 1x1 tiles for pucks. This face has two sides which both look beat up from playing. He needs a helmet with face shield.

The fifth bag adds more edging around the ice.

You also get an older female minifigure who sits on a chair with skates.

The sixth bag finishes up a lot of the edging. You get the base of the sales hut in the upper left corner of the picture, a number of tiles and round 1x1 plates as stone paths, and then just some white plates as snowy areas to walk over.

This bag comes with a female minifigure holding a chain saw. There’s a translucent blue penguin which you can assume was carved out of ice using the chain saw. There are a few translucent blue cheese slopes on the ground nearby which you can assume are pieces of ice that she sawed off.

The seventh bag builds the walls to the small store that sells/rents gear for the ice. It’s a simple build, but has some fun colors and details as well as a small sign out front. It comes with a male minifigure as the shop worker. Inside is a skate sharpening machine, some skates, some hockey sticks, a cash register, and some trophies.

The eighth bag adds the roof to the hut and some red lanterns out front of the hut. I like how they added some snow still on the roof while keeping the shape of the roof.

The ninth bag adds in a spot where minifigures can pose behind a picture with cutouts for their faces. To do this, you build two brick built posts for a frame and then you slide in a plastic card with the cut outs.

This bag comes with three minifigures. There’s a boy, a man with a camera, and then a woman with a cart selling… um… I’m not sure what it is…

Here’s a closer look of the plastic piece for the minifigures to pose behind.

The tenth bag adds a few more details. There’s a vending machine near the building that is added in. Then there is an ice fishing hole with a minifigure fishing in it. Finally, there’s some fencing and plants added in for decoration.

The eleventh bag begins the build of the ice sculpture in the back of the set. It comes with a bunch of clear and translucent blue pieces to form a ramp for skating down maybe and then an arch. There are also two flags added in.

The costumed tiger minifigure comes with this bag.

The twelfth bag finishes the ice sculpture. I’m sure it’s designed after something, but I don’t know what it is. On either side of the ice sculpture is a pole with some decorations. There are two lanterns and then a sign on the top with some… not sure if it is calligraphy or just a design.

This bag comes with a girl minifigure.

Bag 13 wraps up the build. You add in a few more details to the build. This includes the snow covered tree on the left side, another sign with lights hanging down, and you finally make use of the drawer underneath the rental hut. You fill the drawer with some extra skates, snow shoes, hockey gear, and ski poles, A pair of skis are added on the outside of the hut near the vending machine. This is a handy feature to keep all of the extra gear with the set. In the very front of the set, you add a sign. It’s a picture of two minifigures running or skating maybe. One has a red flag. There’s also a thermometer showing it is cold and then a map of the area (maybe). I’m super thankful this was printed on and there are no stickers at all in this set. Win!

The 13 minifigures you get with this set really make it. Without them, the set would be boring and dull. You really need them to pose them and have them do different things around the scene in order to make it worthwhile.

Here’s the final build. For those of you that like to build, this isn’t the greatest set although there are some great pieces for MOC builders to use. However, this is a great play set with lots of minifigures to do different things with. With a bit of work and some modification, you could connect this to the other Chinese Festival Themed sets. You could also add this to a Winter Village themed build.

The price for the larger set remained the same, but it has less pieces. However, it did come with a lot more minifigures. Definitely check around to see if you can pick it up at a discount.

I recommend this set if you collect this theme or like to learn about the Asian culture. Stay away if you are a builder and don’t want a play set with lots of minifigures.

Happy building!

Set Review: Series 22 Collectible Minifigures - #71032

I’m actually getting to review some Collectible Minifigures before they retire. That’s a first. Series 22 or #71032 was released in the US on 1 January 2022. I‘ve seen March and April retirement dates, but it probably just depends on stock levels. LEGO Shop @ Home will only let you purchase 16. Walmart.com (as of this post) will only let you get 2. I found Target.com would only let me buy boxes of 6 (shown below) and didn’t have a cap. The minifigures are $4.99 per bag and if you buy a box of 6 it is very slightly more As with previous sets, this one comes with 12 now versus the higher numbers of the past.

Maybe it’s just me, but this time I felt like they were more evenly dispersed. I’m used to getting a lot of a character I don’t want and then there’s that one hard to find figure that I can’t get. I’m sure it’s just me.

Overall, I found this to be a good set. I like the mix of minifigures and have always been a fan of the creative series versus the licensed series. If you collect these, I recommend this series although $5 a bag still seems ridiculous to me.

Here’s a picture of the box that comes with six minifigures in it. For a company looking to decrease its impact on the environment, adding packaging to a product doesn’t seem to fit the bill there. I guess the boxes can be recycled so maybe it’s not as bad?

Not in any particular order…

The Robot Repair Tech comes with a small robot and some tools. The arm of the tech has a tool hand versus the standard minifigure hand. This is something you don’t often see. I wonder if we’ll see this more?

Chili Costume Fan comes with the costume and some red hair. She also had a little container of milk to help with the burning sensation in your mouth after eating a chili. The costumed miniifigures seem to be very popular so I’m sure we’ll continue to see more of these in the future.

The Snow Guardian looks like it could the the star of a cool new fantasy theme in the LEGO world. It happened with the Monkey King and series 20. You never know. This minifigure comes with a husky dog to add to your LEGO dog collection.

Troubadour… I had to search what this one was… comes with a lyre and some coins. Could be a fun addition to a castle MOC.

Horse and Groom is the next one. This one comes with a pony sized horse as compared to the larger versions seen in Castle sets in the past. The minifigure has a carrot and a hat with hair attached. I like the green plaid shirt.

Figure Skating Champion comes with a trophy and skates. It also has one of the posable pieces included so you can have the skater going into a jump or spin. Not exactly my favorite one of the bunch, but the timing works with the Winter Olympics going on during the release of this series.

The Night Protector is interesting. Another figure from a fantasy world. I guess either you can create the world or maybe they’ll come out with this world in the future. The translucent purple sword is fun. My picture is pretty bad, but the shield is also translucent purple and it has a design on it.

The Forest Elf is pretty fun with the acorn hat, cape, walking stick, and the smiling mushroom. As a bonus, the bag comes with a second smiling mushroom top so you can expand your creepy forest.

The Raccoon Costume Fan has the costume, a trash can, a trash bag, and then some hair for when the minifigure decides to take the headpiece off. I like how the grey hair matches the color of the raccoon.

The Bird-Watcher comes equipped with binoculars and a small bag. The bird included is a toucan which is a fun new addition to the LEGO world.

The Space Creature has become pretty popular among Classic Space fans. Now with the purple shirt, you can find purple pants and a purple helmet to make a purple figure. Apparently the purple oxygen tank hasn’t been made yet.

Last up is the Wheelchair Racer. This one includes the racing wheel chair, a helmet, and a medal.

Combining the 2021 Harry Potter sets

In case you haven’t read the set reviews I did for the 2021 Harry Potter LEGO sets, they are built to connect together with Technic pins and studs.

By the way, you can see all of the previous reviews of the sets that link together at the following places:

#40452-1: HOGWARTS™ GRYFFINDOR DORMS

#76386-1: HOGWARTS™: POLYJUICE POTION MISTAKE

#76387-1: HOGWARTS™ FLUFFY ENCOUNTER

#76389-1: HOGWARTS CHAMBER OF SECRETS

#76395-1: HOGWARTS: FIRST FLYING LESSON

Okay, now that you’ve dug into the rest of my opinions, here is my picture of the front of the combination of those sets. Please note that there are no instructions on how to do this. I connected the sets how I wanted to, but you could do it however you wanted.

Overall, I think the front side looks good. It could be a fun item to display on a longer shelf or a good start to building your own full up, minifigure scale Hogwarts. I’m not sure the #76395-1: HOGWARTS: FIRST FLYING LESSON fits well there. I’d have to go back to the movies and see where they place it. I also think it would have been cool to add corners to the building so it’s not just one flat side of a building. To be fair, it wouldn’t be too hard to put corners into the buildings and connect them.

A big criticism on this side is that the entrance to the Chamber of Secrets is on the outside of the building. I the movie it is clearly somewhere underneath the castle in a cave. As it is constructed, it is just below a floor that has a roof section. If you were to update these sets, I would look to adjust the placement of the entrance to the Chamber so it is more internal to the castle.

Here is what the inside looks like. You can place them how you like, but I tired to make them match up as realistic as possible. So I was able to put #76387-1: HOGWARTS™ FLUFFY ENCOUNTER so that the entrance to the location where the sorcerer’s stone is hidden can be placed appropriately. Also, I was able to properly line up the entrance to the #76389-1: HOGWARTS CHAMBER OF SECRETS using the #76386-1: HOGWARTS™: POLYJUICE POTION MISTAKE to have the entrance be the bathroom.

There are a few that I wasn’t exactly sure where to place, but I tried my best. In the end it probably doesn’t really matter where they are, but you can try and line them up appropriately.

Overall, I can’t complain about the inside, but it does open up the opportunity to make your own adjustments with your own pieces. I haven’t tried this yet, but can see a few ways to add to the set up so it is more three dimensional and/or accurate.

So should you get all the sets to connect them together? It probably depends on how big of a Harry Potter fan you are (and how much funding you have). If you are looking to make a bigger MOC, it’s a good start to the Potter world and you’ll get a bunch of accessories like minifigures and other items. However, you’ll have to do some work on the internal sections and some of the roof parts aren’t exactly common. For those who just want a play set, this definitely fits the bill.

Any other thoughts on this one?

Happy building!

It's an expensive wooden LEGO picture frame, but where's the rest?

I recently purchased the 1x4x6 wooden frame. The box says it is Element Design #40289. The price in the US is listed as $89.99. Yikes! Quite a bit for a frame. Given the “only the best is good enough” slogan, I assumed it would be worth the price. My plan was to add this to the wall near my Brick Sanctum along with some of the other decorations I have. I figured I could print out a picture from my visit to the LEGO® House.

Here’s the box that arrived after I placed my order with LEGO Shop@Home. It’s consistent with the brand’s packaging. It looks professional and they highlight how you can stack these picture frames on top of each other if you want to spend a few hundred dollars on them. One of the side views notes that I purchased the “oak soap treated” version. I have no idea what oak soap is, but this frame is $10 cheaper than a darker stained frame also for sale.

Opening the box, you are greeted with a bunch of printed bricks and the word “Imagination.” There isn’t any packaging or covers to remove which didn’t seem to be an issue. The frame fits in the box snuggly and the box isn’t taped so you can use a tab to re-close the box if you need to transport or store the frame.

The front and back of the frame appear to be in good shape. It isn’t beat up or damaged in a way that I can see. There aren’t major gaps or cracks between the wood. On the back, there are two slots to hook the frame into nails so you can affix it to a wall.

As mentioned, you can connect frames together when you hang them on a wall. This probably will involve a lot of measuring to line up the nails just right so they match up. In order to do that, you use clutch power, but in wood form. The studs on top are a nice touch and I like the LEGO branding on each stud despite the fact that once you hang it on a wall, you probably won’t see the logo. The bottom looks like the bottom of a brick, but I don’t have another frame to verify how well it connects or doesn’t connect.

Okay, so I got to this part of the frame… the side has a slot where you pull out a cardboard like sheet. You put the picture in the sheet and then slide it back into the slot and you’re all set. Just hang it up on the wall.

Um… where’s the glass or plexiglass to protect the picture from the elements? What about having a backing so that it presses the picture against the glass to keep it flat? In my opinion, this is where LEGO went wrong. Now I’m not going to take the time to put a nice picture in the frame as I know it’ll start to warp with humidity and I’ll just have to print another one. Or maybe I print a picture out and laminate it before putting it in the cardboard sleeve?

My recommendation is not to buy this frame. The quality and design are good, but $90 before tax and you don’t get what would normally be a standard part of a picture frame. I recommend you go to your local big box store and pick up a real frame at a much lower cost. Then you’ll have more funds leftover to buy plastic bricks, which LEGO seems to do much better at than this frame.

Set Review: #76392-1: Hogwarts Wizard's Chess - Harry Potter

It’s finally the last of the 2021 Harry Potter sets… or at least the last one I’m going to review. I decided not to purchase/review the Harry Potter Moments sets. This one is #76392-1: Hogwarts Wizard’s Chess. It was released on 18 April 2021 in the US. It retails for $59.99 and contains 876 pieces. This works out to $0.068 per piece. This is a pretty decent ratio, but a lot of the pieces are pretty small so that could be part of the reason why it looks so good. The set depicts the part of the first book/movie where our three main characters have to play Wizard’s Chess in order to continue on the path to reach the sorcerer’s stone.

The front of the box shows the full set with all of the minifigures, chess pieces, and the playing board. It has the standard Harry Potter set branding along with the 20th anniversary logos. The back shows a closer detail on each of the playing pieces and highlights the random collectible tiles that you get.

The set comes with eight parts bags. They are numbered one through five. You get two unnumbered bags as well with some larger pieces. Then the instruction booklet is separate. It is not in a bag or anything, but mine wasn’t jammed in too badly.

The first set of bags builds the board. I took a picture of one of the earlier steps so you could see the structure underneath. The picture just shows some of the substructure. You add some more pieces in the areas between the long plates so it is pretty sturdy and the board doesn’t bow in. The board gets covered up with alternating pairs of black and white tiles. Along the outside you attach some small pieces to re-create the torches seen in the movie.

This set of bags comes with the Harry Potter minifigure and then the 20th anniversary golden minifigure for Professor Snape.

The second bag builds all of the black pawn pieces. If you’re not into repetitive building, then you won’t like building eight of these followed by eight of the white ones. I didn’t think it was that bad as it’s a pretty simple build. I like the helmets and how they used the LEGO miner helmets only put them on in reverse.

The third bag builds the remainder of the black chess pieces and the Hermione minifigure. I didn’t go back to watch the movie and see how well the minifigure scaled versions match the movie versions, but they seem pretty accurate. If you are familiar with chess, you can tell what most of the pieces are without having to look them up.

The fourth bag builds the white pawns and the Ron minifigure. It’s the same design as the black ones, as you’d expect, but only using white pieces.

The final bag builds the remainder of the white playing pieces. No differences in design here.

Here’s the final set with all of the pieces lined up. Not only can you re-create the scene from the movie, you can also play a real game of chess. I guess you can dismember your pieces after your opponent knocks them out too. Within the LEGO system, there is also a lot of potential to modify this board. You could use different minifigure heads on the different pieces, add in different colors to the playing pieces, mix up the board so it is different colored tiles, I’m curious to see if anyone customizes their board.

If you’re a Harry Potter fan or collector of these sets, you’ll probably want to grab one of these. Hopefully they go on sale at some point.

And now for a break on Harry Potter sets…

Happy building!

Set Review - #76389-1: Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets - Harry Potter

Believe it or not, this isn’t the last of the Harry Potter 2021 sets. If I don’t hurry up, all of the 2022 sets will be out. This one is #76389-1: Hogwarts Chamber of Secrets. It was released on 5 June 2021 in the US. It contains 1,176 pieces and retails for $129.99. That works out to $0.111 per piece. There are 11 minifigures in this set which makes it a decent, though expensive minifigure pack. It also is one of the centerpiece sets if you plan to connect all of the other 2021 sets together.

Nothing extraordinary about the box. The front shows the set, has the Harry Potter logos, shows all the minifigures, and it is still the 20th anniversary of LEGO creating Harry Potter sets. The back goes into a bunch of detail on various sections, shows the back side once you connect everything, and shows how you can connect the sections.

The set contents are nine numbered parts bags, two 8x16 tan plates, and then the instructions and stickers come wrapped in plastic.

Here’s a closer look at the sticker sheet. There are a bunch of them!

The first bag builds the top of the astronomy tower which was just done in 2020’s #75969-1: Hogwart’s Astronomy Tower. This one is just the very top of the tower and a telescope.

You also get the basilisk in this build. I’m not sure if it is to scale or not, but for a 9+ play set, it works.

There are three minifigures in bag 1. You get Harry with the Sword of Gryffindor, Colin Creevey (the photographer, you build a camera for him too), and Professor Sinisitra. I had no idea who the last one was. A quick Google search says she was an astronomy professor.

Lastly, you get a brick separator in this bag.

The second build is a section of building which appears to be part of Professor Gilderoy’s classroom based on the sticker you attach. There are two desks and a small table. The table has a minifigure printed skull on it. There’s also a candelabra. The outside seems to fit the architectural style of Hogwart’s and there’s a shield with the school crest.

This set contains Luna Lovegood which was somewhat surprising to me as I don’t remember her being in that movie. If she was, she didn’t have a big part. You also get two Pixies and then a book.

Bag three builds Professor Gilderoy’s office and of course comes with his minifigure. His office is covered in pictures of him, has a minifigure head with a wig, and then pictures for him to autograph. The stickers are a bit of a pain, but that’s just my opinion.

The fourth bag builds the Great Hall which is not to be confused with 2018’s #75954-1 Hogwart’s Great Hall. It’s definitely a much scaled down version of the Great Hall, but considering the spacing available, it works.

This bag comes with two minifigures, Dumbledore and Justin Finch. You also get a small green snake.

Bag five adds the roof over the great hall. The inside adds in the Hogwarts crest on a banner. The minifigure in this bag is a glow in the dark Nearly Headless Nick.

Bag six has the initial room to the chamber of secrets where they slide down from the girl’s bathroom. Conveniently, you can purchase #76389-1: Hogwarts: Polyjuice Potion Mistake and open the entrance in the bathroom to slide your minifigures down.

This bag comes with a minifigure for Ginny Weasley and your very own copy of Tom Riddle’s diary. The sticker you put in it includes the holes Harry adds with the basilisk fang so you can re-create the scene at the end of the book/movie (hopefully not a spoiler by now).

The seventh bag builds the actual entrance to the chamber of secrets. The door they designed does a pretty good job at capturing what the actual door looked like in the movie. You can open and close it as well which is a nice feature. The only thing I’m not sure about is the steeple above the entrance. I thought the chamber of secrets was underground. I’m not sure why they have a roof section above it.

No minifigures here, but you do get a fun owl to add to your LEGO owl collection.

The eighth bag builds the main structural feature where the basilisk lives in the chamber of secrets. With the help of a sticker, the designers did a good job capturing the weird face carved into the rock wall.

You also get a Tom Riddle minifigure in this bag.

The ninth and final bag finishes up the set. You finish building the chamber and some of the accessories. The mouth of the “stone” face opens up so you can have the basilisk come out. Then there are two small snake heads on stands that can be removed and placed along the… I’m not sure what it’s called… in the movie there’s a long pathway leading up to the place where the basilisk comes out.

The opposing side of the build has two torches and some stone structures made of BURPs. We have no way of knowing whether the chamber is right next to the outside of the castle or buried deep within underneath the castle so maybe this is how it was.

The last minifigure is the 20th anniversary golden minifigure of the set. You get Voldemort. He’s not the most exciting one to get, but I understand how he fits in.

Here are the 11 minifigures, the basilisk, two books, to Pixies, a snake, and a camera.

Here’s what the final set looks like when you connect it all together. As a standalone, it’s not too bad. In a future post, I’ll show what it looks like to have all of the 2021 sets connected together. The front side looks pretty cool and is definitely a good start if you’re looking to make a full up, minifigure scaled Hogwarts on your own. The back side doesn’t quite make sense without the other sets such as the entrance to the chamber not having the bathroom above it.

This set is definitely a play set or minifigure collector’s set. I don’t recommend this one for adult fans unless you are super into the Harry Potter theme. At $130, it’s pretty expensive considering what you get. I haven’t seen it on sale yet. We’ll have to see if that happens as it approaches the end of its retail life.

Happy building!

Set Review - #10293-1: Santa's Visit - Winter Village

As per usual, Christmas is over and here I am finally getting to review the Winter Village themed set released for Christmas. Better late than never I guess. This one is #10293-1: Santa’s Visit. It was released on 17 September 2021 in the US. It contains 1,445 pieces and retails for $99.99. This works out to $0.069 per piece which isn’t that bad.

The box is in the 18+ branding and while the background is dark, it does look like they tried to brighten up the set so all of the features stand out. The box is pretty standard. The front shows the full set and the front of the house you build. The back shows the back/inside of the house and then some of the features of the house.

This set contains nine numbered parts bags and two instruction booklets wrapped up with the stickers. The first and smaller booklet covers bag one and all of the accessories not attached to the main structure. In theory, if you were building with someone else, you could hand off that one while you worked on the house. I suspect they will finish first, but I like the concept.

Here are the instruction booklets. The inside has some details on the set and on the builder, Chris McVeigh who also designed last year’s Winter Village themed set #10275-1: Elf Club House.

Only four stickers with this set. Not too bad I guess.

The first bag builds what I loosely refer to as the accessories, but mainly it is parts not connected to the main structure. There is a small fence section with a mail box and an entrance large enough for a minifigure. For whatever reason, the designers decided this piece should be separate so if you want it linked to the house, you need to use your own pieces. The same goes for the fence, unless you want the fence to highlight the entrance to the walkway that you also need to build with your own pieces. The mailbox is a simple build that easily gets across what it is and there is a post with a lamp on it and some greenery.

There are also a bunch of gifts you build to put under the tree. Some are just boxes with decorations, but there are a few actual items to include a small rocket and a trumpet. The girl’s room has some space themed decorations so you can assume the rocket is for her. The trumpet looks pretty good considering its size, but would be quite large for a minifigure to play. For it to be more realistic, you’d need a molded element similar to the saxophone that has shown up a few times in the past.

Lastly comes the tree. The designers continue to come up with new methods to build trees. This one is no different. The tree has a light brick on the bottom and is built on top of the brick. It is built in a way that when you push down on the top of the tree, the light brick turns on, but it is not heavy enough to keep the light brick on all the time.. There are clear plates throughout so that the light from the brick shows through the tree. This is a fun technique to use and I like how it was done. Bonus points to the designers!

The second bag builds the base for the house. As has been the recent trend, instead of just using a base plate, the designers attached a bunch of plates together. The good part about this is it allows them to get some different shapes besides just making everything square.

A few interesting parts of this bag… you build the fire in the fireplace. The fire appears to be a gas fire as it comes from burners versus a log type design. The burners pivot which I believe allows Santa to come down the chimney and not get burned. Although the “fire” stays lit so the house burns up when it tilts over. The other fun part is the present that you build and place on the floor. Later, you build a chair that goes in front of the gift. This is supposed to be the parents hiding gifts for the kid, but any kid would find that gift in seconds so not really a good hiding spot.

Bag three builds up some of the outer wall. This includes some greenery decorations made of claw type pieces. There is also a lot of snow that has fallen off the house or been shoveled into the areas. There is also a small white bird perched on a window sill.

I didn’t take a picture of the inside, but the kitchen is built up with a sink, some counters, an oven, drawers, a kitchen mixer, and a loaf of bread on the counter.

Bag four finishes most of the first floor. You build up the walls, add the windows, and install the door. On the inside, there are a few additions like a flower, the wood pile, and more of the chimney.

The fifth bag builds up the living room area of the house. This includes adding a chair, with a coffee table, and then decorations on the fire place. The fire place decorations include stockings, some candles, a clock, and a family picture. It also builds up the chimney and some of the wall of the house.

The sixth bag adds a dining room table with four chairs. The table has a red table runner and a candle on some greenery.

It also has you build the girl’s room. This includes a bed, a desk and chair, a picture on the wall (focused on space exploration), and the Christmas list on her desk. There are no stairs to the upstairs as usual, but no complaints considering the piece count and price of the set.

On the outside, there is a roof portion added over the kitchen area with some decorations. The bell decorations are a cool addition.

This bag also adds the girl minifigure. She is in pajamas which I don’t think have been done before. Her face has smiling on one side and then eyes closed and sleeping on the other.

Bag seven finishes off the chimney and adds on most of the roof. A different method is used to attach the roof that hasn’t been used previously. Nothing overly complicated, just different.

Bag eight adds the center section of the house along with the roof. It doesn’t add an additional floor, just a wall section, but there’s more greenery, some bells, and a window.

Bag nine, the last one, adds a bunch of different small details around the house. You finish off the chimney with some snow around the edges. Additionally, you add a tree on the ground near the chimney. The stem and branches are brown, but the smaller branches are all white as if it had just snowed. And because I put it in the picture, you get a Santa minifigure in this bag. He comes with a sack.

The next part as seen in the picture is a small snowman. In the past, they have used minifigure parts, but this one is all white and just uses round bricks.

The last addition to the house is some roofing on the back over the girl’s bedroom and a brick build decoration of a planet with rings to go with her enjoyment of space exploration.

This set comes with four minifigures. To me, it looks like a lot of new torso parts we haven’t seen before. Is that true? Both the mother and father have smiling faces and then laughing with eyes closed on the other side. The daughter has eyes open and mouth open and then sleeping. Santa has a big hat and beard so you wouldn’t be able to tell if the face had another side (it doesn’t).

Here’s the final build. To be honest, it’s nothing that really screamed out to me that it was awesome. It had some good building techniques and it uses some fun pieces, but other than that, it was just a house. The light up Christmas tree is a nice addition to the set as compared to light up houses and fire places in the past. Other than that, it’s okay. If you’re into this theme, then definitely get the set. It’s been sold out on LEGO.com since before Christmas 2021, but I did see it listed on Walmart. Check around for it, but good luck if you can find a sale. Hopefully you can get a good gift with purchase or double VIP points to go with it.

Happy building!

Set Review - #76391-1: Hogwarts Icons - Collectors Edition - Harry Potter

For the 20th year anniversary of LEGO producing Harry Potter themed sets, the company went big. #76391-1: Hogwarts Icons - Collectors Edition contains 3,010 pieces. It was released on 3 September 2021 in the US for $249.99. This works out to $0.083 per piece which isn’t bad for a licensed theme, but should be expected when you have a set at such a high price point.

I suspect those familiar with the Potter world will recognize the items you build. If you are not familiar, hopefully you are impressed by the large snowy owl named Hedwig from the series. Set #75979-1: Hedwig was the last larger (than minifigure scale) Hedwig, but this one took larger to a whole new level. It will be interesting to see if LEGO designers decide to add more larger animal creations to the lineup. Any interest in a theme like that?

Back to this set… the box is quite large as you’d expect. The front shows the full set built and contains the 18+ branding. The back shows the back view of the set and some details of the set. It also points out that you get more of the golden minifigures along with a stand. I threw in a picture of an edge that has some potion bottles on it and part of the printed piece that becomes the “welcome to Hogwarts” letter..

Once you open the set there are a bunch of parts bags and a white box with more parts bags inside. In total, you get 22 numbered bags, the three large tiles for the letter, and the instruction book wrapped up.

Here are the instructions. The inside has a write up in the beginning and then throughout the build, there are different notes about the items you are building related to the movie filming or the set itself.

There are stickers in this set. They all go to the potion bottles. I guess it would be tough to print on the curved, clear pieces. Thankfully, this is it which is great considering the scale of the set and how many stickers they could have provided.

The first bag builds three different items. These include Harry’s glasses, a wand, and a potion bottle. The glasses have a new Technic piece for the lens holder (no lens of course) and you can actually (try) to wear them. They don’t stay on quite well, but they aren’t designed to either. The wand looks fairly realistic. I’ve seen some complaints that LEGO could have done better and some builders who have updated it. I’m good with how it is built. Some have complained about the ball joint that sticks out. That is so you can connect it to the rest of the build and could be replaced with a piece from your collection if you don’t want it there. The potion bottle is from book/movie number 6 - “Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince.” It is “Liquid Luck.” The small bottle/flask is a cool shape and the pieces glow in the dark. I don’t recall that happening in the movie, but cool to have the pieces do that with the set.

Bags two and three start to build the base of the set and the first book. The base and the stand that will hold up Hedwig are constructed with a bunch of Technic pieces. This keeps it pretty sturdy to handle the weight. For those not into Technic builds, I didn’t find this portion overly complicated and you mix in enough System elements to keep it interesting. The designers used different colored pieces on the insides so you could keep track of where everything goes versus using the same colors and getting lost on the direction sheets.

Bags four and five wrap up the first book on the bottom of the stand. The book is open and has a few pieces to connect the next book sticking up. To me, the most impressive part of this build was the page edges. I had never seen the technique before, but the designers slid 1x3x1 and 1x4x1 “wall” pieces into a slot on top of each other to create the effect. I had to stare at it a bit before moving on to take in the awesomeness of the idea.

Bags six and seven build the next book. Bag six does the outer shell of the book and bag seven finishes it up so you can place it on top. 1x2 bricks with texture are used to achieve the look of the pages. The only challenge is that the texture is only on two sides of the brick. When you get to a corner, the page effect goes flat. Not a major issue here, but the challenge with building with LEGO bricks I guess.

Bags eight and nine build another book for the stack. This one is dark red in color.

Build ten builds a small basket like item on top of the books. You can place some of the potions built later in there. Perhaps there is an actual Potter reference to this build?

Build eleven adds Hedwig’s claws and the bottom portion of her legs. The build is set up so you can clip the welcome letter in and then wrap the claws around it as if she is holding the letter for you.

Bags 11 and 12 start to build Hedwig. This was a really cool build. Lots of interesting techniques and not just stacking bricks and plates on top of each other. You start with the tail section. I like how some different black plates and tiles were sprinkled in to achieve the color scheme of a snowy white owl. The designers captured the curves pretty well and there aren’t a ton of gaps in the build.

Bag 14 adds parts of both wings. The wings aren’t moveable in that you can’t adjust them so they are at Hedwig’s side as if she’s perched somewhere. You can see from this picture that many of the feathers to be added are hooked in with ball joints and Technic axles so you can adjust them slightly, but not by much.

Bag 15 builds the head minus the face. I didn’t take any pictures of the bottom part, but it connects via a piece that allows you to rotate the head so you can pose which way Hedwig is looking.

Bag 16 has multiple parts. The first one is building the face and attaching it. The face section attaches as one piece and then you connect the head to the body. The eyes have a print so thankfully you do not have to try and put a sticker on a curved piece.

The rest of bag 16 is more wing feathers. If I knew enough about birds, I could tell you what they are, but I don’t so for now, I’ll just say you add four sections to each wing.

The last part of bag 16 is adding Hedwig to the stand. I took pictures on and off the stand. The instructions have you attach the wing pieces after you hook on Hedwig, but I removed her to try and get some better pictures.

Bag 17 adds more feathers and you are close to finishing Hedwig.

Bag 18 finishes Hedwig and she looks awesome! The size is just impressive to me and it really looks like she is coming in for a landing. Props to the design team on this one. It’s definitely something LEGO hasn’t done before and I think it came out great for a first iteration.

The last part of bag 18 is a golden snitch. For being a small object and round, I think the designers did a good job capturing it in brick form. I’m not sure how else I would have tried to make a round, golden object. It’s not perfectly round, but pretty close. The wings are large pieces that were in… a Friends set? I think maybe as a hot air balloon or something, but in different colors.

The snitch attaches to the stand via a Technic axle. If you get in close, you can see it and it looks odd, but when you step back, it fits right into the build.

Bag 19 builds the various potions. Each small jar is built the same. They have different stickers which my NLS put on as she was helping me build. She did a great job and much better than I ever would have. After building the lower section of each jar, you dump in various pieces. Not hard except some of the 1x1 round plates are mixed in with other colors. You just have to separate before you dump.

As I recall, the designers added in a bunch of personal references here with the various numbers and letters on the stickers. You’ll have to do some searching to find the meanings.

Bag 20 builds a scarf to attach to the book. The build comes with enough pieces to build the scarf in the colors of each of the four houses at Hogwarts. We picked Gryffindor for no real reason and assembled the plate built scarf. My complaint is on the coloring and the use of the brighter red versus the brick red. If you look at the movies, they wear more of a darker red or maroon color. The color doesn’t seem to match and could have been switched to the brick red to more closely resemble the house colors.

Bag 20 also builds one of the stands for the golden minifigures. This one has a printed plate on the front (yay no stickers!). It also comes with the golden minifigure for Professor McGonagall.

Bag 21 has the build for the chocolate frog. The frog build is pretty creative and I think the designers accurately represented what a chocolate frog would look like in brick form. There is some interesting use of pieces in this build and you can move the legs around due to the various hinges and joints installed.

We found an error in the instructions with our set. Between steps 12 and 13, there are extra parts shown on the model, but there are no instructions to connect those pieces. There are two plates that are not shown in steps 11 and 12, but magically appear in step 13 without a call out to attach them. After looking at the instructions for a bit, we figured it out and added the two pieces in. If your instructions match ours, keep that in mind. Otherwise, you may have a weird looking frog and a few extra pieces at the end.

Bag 22 finishes up the set. You finish off the minifigure stands, build a Hagrid, built a Dumbledore, and build the Dumbledore “card” that he fits into. The card can then be placed on the stand.

I didn’t take a separate picture of it until the end, but you add in the “Welcome to Hogwarts” letter here as well. You connect the large plates with various connector pieces in angles that work out nicely when it connects to the set. The letter is attached where Hedwig’s claws are so it looks like Hedwig is carrying the letter to you.

Here’s what the stand looks like with all of the golden minifigures. It stinks that you have to buy all the sets or buy the minifigures on places like Bricklink. LEGO is a business so I understand they want to make money, but it’s a pretty big spend if you want all the anniversary golden minifigs.

On the plus side, I do think it’s good that they included this stand so you have a way to display your minifigures. $250 is a bit pricy for a minifigure stand, but you do get a lot more in this set so no complaints there I guess.

Here’s the final set. As a casual Potter fan, I was very impressed. I enjoyed the build, some of the creative techniques the designers used, and look forward to having this as a display piece. Despite the piece count, this set is very pricy at $250. I used a gift card I had received and then VIP points so it didn’t hurt as much. If you can stomach it or have some VIP points I highly recommend this set for Potter fans. If you are not a Potter fan, but enjoy building, the Hedwig build is very impressive and worth it in my opinion. Lots of great pieces for future MOCs as well and you can always sell the golden minifigures to people to help recoup some of your spend. Not sure if we’ll ever see this set go on sale, but keep your eyes open for opportunities to get it at a discount.

Happy building!

Set Review - #31120-1: Medieval Castle - Creator 3-in-1

The LEGO Group has made it clear that they don’t want to re-start old themes like Castle, Pirates, or Classic Space as stand alone themes. The fan base keeps asking for them so LEGO seems to find ways to bring back the themes without a stand alone theme. The Castle theme was recently seen in Ideas with #21325-1: Medieval Blacksmith which was released in February of 2021. On 2 August 2021, #31120-1: Medieval Castle was released in the US. It contains 1,426 pieces and retails for $99.99. That works out to $0.07 per piece which isn’t too bad.

The set is branded with the Black Falcon sub-theme from the original Castle line. You get 3 minifigures in the sub-theme and then a few shields with the logo. This is a win for all of the Castle fans out there.

When #31109-1: Pirate ship came out, I reviewed all three versions (here, here, and here). I decided not to do that here as I really like the main version and wanted to keep it. It’s one of those sets that I’ve added to my list of sets I would like to modify and add to some day.

The box highlights the main build on the front with the two other builds on the side. Then the back shows some of the play features and things you can do with the different builds. Unlike most sets, the minifigures aren’t front and center with a special call out. It’s nice to have the focus be on the build versus the minifigures.

The contents are nine parts bags labeled one through seven. There is also an 8x16 tan plate. The instructions come wrapped in plastic to keep them from damage. Bag one contains a piece separator.

The first bag starts the main section of the castle. You get the start to the draw bridge and then the wall structures. Some of the wall is made of grays while some is tan and various green colors to show that the castle is built into a section of elevated ground. A small tree grows out of it on the side.

This bag comes with one minifigure holding a bow and arrow.

The next bag adds another layer to the walls and the arch over the draw bridge. I had not looked at any reviews for this set prior to building and was not expecting a functioning draw bridge. Technic elements are used to allow you to turn a crank on the outside of the castle to raise and lower the bridge. There is also a part you can use to lock the bridge in place. This is a great feature in this set and isn’t overly a Technic build for those not into that system.

The third bag finishes off the front section. The detailing on the front is pretty impressive with two torches, one on either side of the draw bridge. There are two banners for the castle on either side of the draw bridge as well. The Black Falcon shield is placed centered above the draw bridge. I did see a post mentioning that you could add more texture to the walls of this build, but I didn’t think it was overly necessary. The designers added in a bunch of different bricks which helps to give the set a castle look versus just a building made of bricks.

I don’t know the technical term for the tops of each tower, but the use of gray Nexo Knight shields was a great addition. It’s a simple touch, but a cool look.

Not too much inside this castle section nor is there a lot of space to add many details. I guess that part is on you.

Minifigure number two is in this bag. It has a spear and another shield.

The fourth bag builds one of the back sides of the castle. From the front, they added hinges for you to connect other pieces of the castle and this is one of them. This section has an outer wall along the water. Like the front, there is some gray and some green.

Inside has a small armory with some armor and a forge to sharpen your sword which adds the functionality of being able to hammer the sword to sharpen it. There are some stairs up to the section above the armory. This bag comes with a minifigure not in the Black Flacon outfit. He looks more like he could fit in a Pirate themed set. He could be a squire or maybe he’s just on a break from wearing the armor set up nearby.

The fifth bag finishes up this section of the build. To go with the pictures I posted, you get a moveable water wheel on the outside and then a room above the first floor you built in the last step.

On the back side of the build are three brick built chickens/roosters along with a target for bow and archery practice.

The inside is the second floor area with a small chair and a mini fireplace. A lot of details here considering it is a Creator 3-in-1 set.

The sixth bag starts the last back corner/side of the castle. Inside, you get a small market stall with some food in a basket. Next to it is a jail cell with a skeleton minifigure inside (sorry, forgot to get a picture of it). I would like liked to have seen a ghost minifigure return, but we’ll take a skeleton. .

Not attached to the structure, is a small well that can go in the center of the castle or elsewhere. The well has a small green frog sitting on the edge.

The outside fits the style of the rest of the build. There is some greenery outside the wall here, but it is not going up the side.

The last bag adds in a tower above the section built with bag six. The tower is brown and yellow versus the gray similar to some of the other higher sections. I assume this is to show that this section would be made from wood versus stone.

Additionally, there’s a brick built dragon. Considering the size and piece count of the set, the dragon has a lot of detail. The head has horns, teeth, and fire coming out of the mouth. The wings are a bit lacking in my opinion, but they do okay. The body, legs, and tail are decent as well.

Here’s the final build from all slides. Overall, I think it’s a great journey back to the old Castle theme through Creator 3-in-1. There are a lot of great pieces, some fun details, and the minifigures are decent considering it is a Creator 3-in-1 set not known for minifigures.

I wasn’t a Castle fan as a kid, but I think this set is a nice venture into the theme for someone who wasn’t a fan back in the day. I recommend this one. If the price is a bit much, wait to see if it goes on sale. I haven’t seen this one on sale yet, but will keep watching for a discount later in 2022.

What are your thoughts on this one?

Happy building!