The best LEGO sets reviewed on TBB in 2015 [News]

The end of the year is only a few days away, which means it’s time for a few end-of-year best-of lists. In 2015 LEGO released almost 800 sets ranging from small polybags to the massive 2996 part SHIELD helicarrier. We’ve done our best to review the more interesting ones. This is our top ten most popular set reviews of 2015.

  1. Exclusive review of LEGO Ideas Wall•E set designed by Angus MacLane
    When Wall•E hit the big screen in 2008, it stole the hearts of cinema-goers. If movie critics had hearts, theirs would have been stolen too. Angus MacLane was Directing Animator for the movie and his LEGO version of the little robot is one of the LEGO Ideas sets released in 2015.

    21303 Wall•E (Review)

    We had one of these sets before it hit the stores. Andrew’s exclusive review can be summed-up in just a few words: It’s awesome. You loved it as well, as it’s our most popular review.

  1. LEGO Ideas The Big Bang Theory 21302 [Review]
    Watching The Big Bang Theory is one of my guilty pleasures and for fellow fans of the show, this is a must-have set, with great minifigures.

  2. LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens 75099 Rey’s Speeder [Review]
    The world has seemingly gone completely nuts over The Force Awakens and LEGO fans are not immune, as Andrew’s review of the rather oddly-shaped Rey’s Speeder has shot to number 3 in our list.

  3. LEGO Ideas 21304 Doctor Who set is bigger on the inside [Review]
    For some of my British friends, Christmas came early this year when LEGO released set 21304 in early December. The inside of the TARDIS isn’t actually larger than the outside, but its clever design does allow it to open up to a much larger space. Personally I am most excited about hinge plates new in dark blue.

  4. LEGO Star Wars 75140 Resistance Troop Transporter from The Force Awakens [Review]
    LEGO provided us with a copy of this set and we were allowed to review it just before the premiere of the movie, which goes some way towards explaining its popularity. That and the Carrie Fisher/ General Organa minifig. If you care enough about the movie to start complaining in the comments that this is a spoiler, I can’t believe you haven’t gone to see the movie yet!

  5. Collectible Minifigures Series 15 [Review]
    Recent series of collectible minifigs were either based on the Simpsons or on the LEGO movie. Series 15 is the first in a while with a more normal collection of wacky minifigures. The best part for most of you may not be a minifigure at all, but a flag with a Classic Space logo.

  6. LEGO 76042 SHIELD Helicarrier – Part 1 [Review]
    If this were my personal top ten instead of one based on page views, Iain’s video review of the SHIELD Helicarrier would hold the top spot. It is both in-depth and wildly over the top. Furthermore, at the end Iain courted controversy by providing the answer to the all-important question of whether it flies. No spoilers here; if you haven’t seen it yet, you’re going to have to watch it.

  7. LEGO Elves 41071 Aira’s Creative Workshop [Review]
    Caylin picked up two of the smaller sets in the The LEGO Elves range and I think it is refreshing to see both in this list.

  8. LEGO Elves 41076 Farran and the Crystal Hollow [Review]
    Caylin didn’t seem particularly impressed with the first of the Elves sets, but found the second one a much more rewarding build, with parts that may come in handy for City builders too.

  9. 70728 Battle for Ninjago City [Review]
    Last, but not least in our top 10 is one of the larger sets in the Ninjago range. It has lots of playability and figures, no fewer than 16 katanas and a mechanism that will allow you to dispose of lawyers. What more could you want?

Several other sets appeared too late in the year to make it to the top 10: Poe’s X-Wing and the new Millenium Falcon, both from The Force Awakens and the Zeppelin Raid from the 2016 Ninjago range.

LEGO seems to be doing a cracking job of catering to fans of pop-culture, with the majority of the popular reviews being licensed products based on a movie or TV show. Even some of the sets we reviewed that aren’t based on a TV show (the Elves sets and Ninjago) are associated with their own TV shows, but made on behalf of LEGO. I’m not sure whether this is something to be happy with or whether I’d rather see themes that leave more to our own (and childrens’) imaginations, but, regardless, their popularity will undoubtedly ensure that we’ll see more licensed sets in the future. We, at TBB, will keep reviewing them.