Tag Archives: Reviews

Not sure which LEGO sets to pick up for yourself? Need ideas for that LEGO fan who already has more LEGO than he or she can possibly build with in a lifetime? Nervous about the quality of the custom accessories that tempted you at your last LEGO convention? Read our reviews of LEGO sets, books, accessories, and more right here on The Brothers Brick.

LEGO Ideas feels right at home in orbit with 21321 International Space Station [Review]

Many of us here at The Brothers Brick are space fans in one way or another, so we were pretty excited to see that the next LEGO Ideas set would be 21321 International Space Station when it was proclaimed the winner of the 10th-anniversary fan vote last summer. Now less than a year later, LEGO is revealing the final version of the set today, and we’ve got our hands on a copy to bring you a full review. Retailing for US $69.99 | CAN $99.99 | UK £64.99, the newest model from the LEGO Ideas crowdsourcing platform has 864 pieces and will be available starting Feb. 1.

Click to read the full, hands-on review

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LEGO Creator Expert 10272 Old Trafford-Manchester United [Review]

Soccer fans (or football fans as they’re called everywhere else) will get a kick out of the newest Creator Expert set, 10272 Old Trafford-Manchester United, a massive 3,898-piece model based on the Old Trafford soccer stadium in Greater Manchester, England, which serves as the home of Manchester United F.C.and over 76,000 of their closest friends. The 1:600 replica model is rated for 16+, clearly targeting an adult market, and is available now directly from LEGO for US $299 | CAD $349 | UK £249.99 for V.I.P. members — just in time for the stadium’s 110th anniversary this February.

Let’s open the box and see what’s inside!

Top 10 most popular LEGO set reviews of 2019 on the Brothers Brick [News]

In 2019, The Brothers Brick team reviewed a total of 68 sets of all piece counts and sizes. The signature sets of the year included those from familiar themes like LEGO Star Wars and Creator Expert. We also looked at a few other non-retail sets such as the Bricklink fan designed sets and even a Brickmania custom kit – did they make the cut?

Using view counts as a frame of reference, we’ve pulled together our most popular set reviews of 2019 that you, the fans, voted for with your clicks. Is there one set that stood out for you that you can clearly remember? Or are you rooting for a particular favourite of yours? Without further delay, let’s dive right into the list.

Click to reveal the 10 most popular reviews from 2019

Hands-on with LEGO BrickHeadz 40377 Donald Duck & 40378 Pluto & Goofy [Review]

Donald Duck, Pluto, and Goofy — famous and much-loved, and yet somehow always relegated to the second-division of Disney characters behind Mickey and Minnie Mouse. Sure, the Disney Empire is The-House-The-Mouse-Built, but personally I’ll take Donald’s edgier attitude over Mickey’s slightly bland wholesomeness any day of the week. As for Goofy, he’s a classic clown, good for causing chaos and taking a painful pratfall — he’s always been one of my favourite of the Disney gang. Along with Pluto, Mickey’s pet dog, these are the latest Disney-themed releases in the BrickHeadz line of blocky figures. This new pair of sets will allow Disney fans to put together a wider BrickHeadz family of their favourite characters alongside the previously released Mickey & Minnie.

Goofy and Pluto will be available on 1st February and will be priced at US $14.99 | CAN $19.99 | UK £13.49 while the single build Donald Duck will be going for US $9.99 | CAN $12.99 | UK £9.99

What did we think of this latest addition to the BrickHeadz range? Check out our full review…

Click to read the review and follow the building process

A new lease on learning with LEGO Education set 45678 SPIKE Prime [Review]

Way back in April of last year, LEGO Education announced the launch of 45678 SPIKE Prime, a new Scratch-based tool in classroom programming. After some delay from the original August 2019 release, it’s now available for purchase and we’ve been fortunate enough to receive a copy to review. We’re excited to see what we learn about this fascinating new set! LEGO Education 45678 SPIKE Prime is available now from the LEGO Education shop for $329.95 USD.

Additionally, with the 40th anniversary of LEGO Education this week, we’re also sharing loads of cool information about the history of the department and its contributions to STEAM learning (Covered over multiple articles). It’s not every day we get to dive deep into a set from a division of the company that has been mildly separated and not intended for general distribution. This division of LEGO is really getting into its stride lately, and the future holds exciting things!

Click to take a closer look at this cool set!

Meet the happy couple – LEGO BrickHeadz 40383 & 40384 – Bride and Groom [Review]

The LEGO BrickHeadz line introduced a wonderful way to build yourself, your siblings, or your friends, with the 41596 BrickHeadz Go Brick Me set. Now there’s another opportunity for depicting yourself or your chums in the brick — this time in celebration of a wedding. 40383 Bride and 40384 Groom allow you to build a happy couple to mark any upcoming nuptials. It’s a nice idea, and feels like it would make a great wedding gift for a LEGO-loving couple. But what are the sets actually like, and how many options are there for customising the figures?

The Brothers Brick are delighted to request the pleasure of your company at a wedding…

LEGO 40383 BrickHeadz Bride contains 306 pieces and is available now for US $12.99 | CAN $16.99 | UK £11.99. LEGO 40384 BrickHeadz Groom contains 255 pieces and is also available now for US $12.99 | CAN $16.99 | UK £11.99

Read our full hands-on review of the happy couple

LEGO 80104 Chinese New Year Lion Dance [Review]

Throughout Asia, the lion dance is a traditional event in which trained acrobatic performers impersonate the movements of a mythical Chinese lion. Of all the festivities in which the lion dance appears, the most significant is during Chinese New Year celebrations in which they are supposed to invite fortune and luck to businesses, events and festivals. This set was released alongside the 80105 Chinese New Year Temple Fair, both of which can be combined to create a larger atmosphere of a celebration. 80104 Lion Dance comes with 882 pieces, a new rat costume minifigure, and retails for US $79.99 | CAN $109.99 | UK £64.99. Let’s take a closer look at this set to see how it captures the spirit of such a unique event.

Read our entire review of this Chinese New Year set.

LEGO 80105 Spring Festival Chinese New Year Temple Fair [Review]

Last year, LEGO released sets 80101 Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner and 80102 Dragon Dance to celebrate the Chinese Spring Festival, also known as the Lunar New Year (or Chinese New Year). At the time, the sets were only sold in the Asia Pacific region, causing an uproar among fans elsewhere in the world who felt slighted by their regional exclusivity. The extent of this reaction was influential in LEGO’s decision to make this year’s Chinese New Year sets available worldwide. Today, we take a look at this year’s LEGO 80105 Chinese New Year Temple Fair to give you insight into a brick-built celebration filled with fun and beautiful details. The set has been available in the Asia Pacific region since December 26, 2019 but is being released worldwide today. It consists of 1664 pieces and retails for US $119.99 | CAN $159.99 | UK £89.99

Read the full review to learn more about this Chinese New Year exclusive.

LEGO Ninjago’s new people pack: 71708 Gamer’s Market [Review]

When I looked over the new 2020 wave of LEGO Ninjago sets, one immediately stuck out among the dragons, mechs, and other usual Ninjago fare. 71708 Gamer’s Market is a small set crammed with nine minifigures, along with three small booths. Other themes have long had people packs and army builders, with City and Star Wars providing the most well-known recent examples, but apart from blister packs of figures, Ninjago has always balanced minifigures with the brick-built parts of the set. With 218 pieces and nine minifigures, 71708 Gamer’s Market retails for US $29.99 | CAN $39.99 | UK £29.99 and is available now.

As any modern video gamer knows, microtransactions are where game publishers make the big bucks these days, and it’s no different for the new Tron-like digital world in which the latest season of Ninjago is set, so the Gamer’s Market is where you can outfit your character with all the latest gear, from katanas to hats.

Click to read the full hands-on review!

Trolls World Tour 41252 Poppy’s Hot Air Balloon Adventure [Review]

For me, one of the most surprising LEGO reveals from 2019 was the 2020 Trolls World Tour lineup. Back in 2017, Hasbro had the construction toy licensing rights to the Trolls film, and the torch has now been passed to LEGO for Trolls World Tour — These are indeed interesting times we live in. I had forgotten about the line until a last-minute holiday shopping trip to Wal-Mart on Christmas Eve, when I came across a LEGO Trolls World Tour display. While not on my list for this year’s desirable themes, something compelled me to pick up LEGO set 41252 Poppy’s Hot Air Balloon Adventure. This particular LEGO set consists of 250 pieces and, while the Trolls World Tour film won’t be out until April, the sets are currently available via LEGO’s online shop for $29.99 USD | $39.99 CAD | $29.99 GBP

Read entire review for more information.

LEGO Collectible Minifigures 71026 DC Super Heroes Feel Guide [Review]

A few weeks ago we took a look at the latest wave of Collectible Minifigures, 71026 DC Super Heroes, with a full in-depth review. That in-depth review will give you insight into which minifigures you want to pick up, especially given this series represents the new high-water mark in pricing for individual CMF packs, ringing in at US $4.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £3.49. As always, we source our reviews from a full case which we sort by feel before opening any packs. This means that we can also bring you one of the best feel guides on the internet, since we’ve handled each pack just like you would.

71026 Collectible Minifigures DC Super Heroes are available now at LEGO.com for US $4.99 | CAN $4.99 | UK £3.49, as well as from third-party sellers on Amazon and eBay.

Continue reading →

LEGO Ninjago Avatar Arcade Pods: 71714 Kai, 71715 Jay, and 71716 Lloyd [Review]

Each year LEGO’s homebrewed Ninjago theme finds a new setting for its cast of pseudo-ninja heroes, ranging from sky pirates to medieval fantasy. The theme has always reveled in a no-holds-barred approach to mixing and matching ancient bladed weapons, advanced technology, and outrageous antagonists. The 2020 lineup’s twist is a cyberpunk aesthetic set in a digital world via a videogame. All of the Ninjago heroes find themselves dueling in the cyber realms via their avatars, bringing a Ready Player One-like plotline to LEGO’s most successful in-house theme. Today we’re looking at a trio of small sets that serve as the entry points to theme both for the consumers and the characters in the world. These arcade cabinet boxes are the transformation portals wherein Kai, Jay, and Lloyd are transformed into their digital avatars. 71714 Kai Avatar – Arcade Pod (US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99), 71715 Jay Avatar – Arcade Pod (US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99), and 71716 Lloyd Avatar – Arcade Pod (US $9.99 | CAN $13.99 | UK £8.99) will be available starting January 1. They contain about 50 pieces each.

Click to read the full review