Ever since LEGO introduced the minifigure, the tiny plastic characters have enthralled children and adults around the world. With hundreds of new figures each year, they’ve consistently proven to be one of LEGO’s most popular attractions, featuring prominently in most of LEGO’s products, and of course, they’ve spawned a whole theme just for themselves. Eight years from their inception, we’re now up to Minifigures Series 18 (71021), though of course there have been more than 18 series, with some special themes like The Simpsons or Team GB falling outside the numbering system. This wave of Collectible Minfigures (CMFs) features 17 unique characters and will retail for $3.99 USD. They should be available around April 1, though if previous series are any indication they may begin showing up in stores sooner. Let’s dive in and see what Series 18 is all about. (Hint: it’s a party!)
Tag Archives: Reviews
LEGO Speed Champions 75885 Ford Fiesta M-Sport WRC [Review]
We’re beginning to wind down our reviews of the first 2018 wave of LEGO Speed Champions, and today we take a closer look at another Ford racecar, 75885 Ford Fiesta M-Sport WRC. The Ford Fiesta retails for $14.99, with 203 pieces and a minifig driver.
The LEGO car depicts a 2017 Ford Fiesta kitted out for World Rally Championship racing, in M-Sport team livery.
Read our hands-on review of LEGO Speed Champions 75885 Ford Fiesta M-Sport WRC
LEGO Marvel Hulkbuster: Ultron Edition 76105 [Review]
LEGO Technic 42074 Racing Yacht [Review]
Unlike the charming LEGO Ideas 21313 Ship in a Bottle, the new LEGO Technic 42074 Racing Yacht, despite also being a ship, doesn’t come inside a brick-built bottle. Instead, this bright and vivid ship was designed for high-speed regattas. Even though its playability is rather limited, the set can give a young builder the very basic idea of a modern racing vessel’s mechanisms. The set is just 330-pieces big, but its retail price of £24.99/$39.99/29.99€ can make it a pretty good addition to your collection if you can deal with the model’s flaws…
Click here to read the full review…
LEGO Speed Champions 75889 Ferrari Ultimate Garage [Review]
The largest LEGO set in the first LEGO Speed Champions wave of 2018 is 75889 Ferrari Ultimate Garage, which includes 841 pieces and 7 minifigures. The set goes on sale for $99.99 beginning on March 1st, and LEGO sent us an early copy of the set so we could bring you this review on the day of its release.
75889 Ferrari Ultimate Garage showcases three iconic Ferrari racecars from three eras — the Ferrari 250 GTO from 1962, Ferrari 312 T4 from 1979, and current 488 GTE (the model one generation earlier than the racecar in 75886 Ferrari 488 GT3 “Scuderia Corsa”, which we reviewed earlier this week).
Read our complete, hands-on review of LEGO Speed Champions 75889 Ferrari Ultimate Garage
LEGO Speed Champions 75888: Porsche 911 RSR and 911 Turbo [Review]
2018 marks the fourth year for Speed Champions, LEGO’s minifigure-scale line of licensed vehicles. As with nearly all the previous lineups, the six sets in this year’s wave focus on sports and racing cars. We’re kicking off our reviews with set 75888 Porsche 911 RSR and 911 Turbo 3.0, which features new and classic versions of the iconic sports car that’s defined the luxury brand for more than half a century. The set also includes a tiny bit of trackway with a lap clock, along with drivers for each car and a support crewman. It includes 391 pieces and retails for $29.99 USD. Continue reading
Get a taste of Italy with the new LEGO Speed Champions 75886 Ferrari 488 GT3 “Scuderia Corsa” [Review]
With a dash of American muscle out of our system with the 75884 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback, we continue our look at the upcoming 2018 LEGO Speed Champions sets today with 75886 Ferrari 488 GT3 “Scuderia Corsa”. LEGO sent us an early copy of the set, which includes 179 pieces and will retail for $15.99 beginning on March 1st.
The Ferrari 488 GT3 is the latest endurance racecar variant of the 488 series, which builds on the legacy of the 458 produced between 2009 and 2015. The 488 is currently in production, and the GT3 has raced at Daytona and Le Mans. 75886 Ferrari 488 GT3 features the same model of current Ferrari racecar as 75889 Speed Champions Ferrari Ultimate Garage, allowing builders and collectors to pick up this contemporary racecar in two liveries at two different price points.
Read our complete, hands-on review of LEGO Speed Champions 75886 Ferrari 488 GT3 Scuderia Corsa
Hands on with the LEGO Speed Champions 75884 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback [Review]
Although LEGO didn’t showcase the new wave of 2018 LEGO Speed Champions last weekend at Toy Fair New York, the full assortment was waiting for us in Seattle upon our return, and we’ll be bringing you reviews of each set over this coming week, ahead of their release on March 1st. We’re kicking things off today with 75884 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback, which includes 183 pieces and will retail for $15.99 (USD) / £12.99 / 14.99€.
The Ford Mustang was first introduced in 1964, and quickly became a favorite among car enthusiasts for its excellent balance of speed, power, styling, and affordability. The “fastback” version is curved from the roof to the tail, and was particularly popular as the stock basis for racecars. This LEGO set depicts the classic 1968 Ford Mustang with curved fastback styling, kitted out in British racing green (complete with a white stripe along the side).
Read our complete, hands-on review of LEGO Speed Champions 75884 1968 Ford Mustang Fastback
LEGO BOOST 17101 Creative Toolbox [Review]
The 17101 BOOST Creative Toolbox represents the latest initiative from LEGO to introduce children to the worlds of engineering, robotics, and computer programming. LEGO recently expanded their range of supported devices, so we’re finally able to bring you a review without purchasing a brand new iPad. LEGO has targeted the 7- to 12-year-old age range for the BOOST product, one of the youngest demographics for a LEGO robotics kit. Unlike the MINDSTORMS series of products that features Technic, BOOST liberally incorporates LEGO SYSTEM brick (in addition to Technic) as the mechanical parts of the robots.
For this review, I engaged the services of an appropriate expert: my 6-year-old daughter, Artemis. Overall, she had few difficulties building the Vernie model, although she occasionally lacked the hand strength to push the Technic pins in holes (particularly when seating multiple pins at once).
Who has two thumbs, builds robots, and won’t eat broccoli? This girl!
Read our Boost review after the jump
Minifigure hairstyles – which styles were a cut above the rest in 2017? [Feature]
Looking back, it felt as though 2017 was a year full of minifigures sporting cool hairstyles. I imagine the release of The LEGO Ninjago Movie Collectible Minifigure Series had a key role in supplying these modern hairstyles, along with Batman and the odd Star Wars eclectic hairstyle. I thought it would be interesting to step inside LEGO’s minifigure hair salon to take a look back at some of the more interesting styles that LEGO introduced for our little friends last year.
LEGO Technic 42077 Rally Car [Review]
Cars are the very essence of the LEGO Technic philosophy. Supercars, buggies, Formula 1 cars or wild futuristic concepts — there’s no car you can’t build with LEGO Technic pieces. And it’s not just about the design, but also about the models’ functionality; any car can be equipped with a gear box or all-wheel drive. This season 42077 Rally Car hits the store shelves — an amazingly well-balanced set that can serve both as a brilliant display model or as a very clever choice for anyone who’s just getting to know the world of Technic mechanisms. The set consists of 1005 pieces and retails for $109.99 / 99.99€ / £89.99.
Click here to read our review of the set…
Easter Bunny Minifigure 5005249 [Review]
For a couple of years now, LEGO has been re-issuing some of the more popular minifigure characters as separate custom box sets. This began with the re-issue of the Chicken Suit Guy from Collectible Minifigure Series 9 and we later had the Gingerbread Man from Series 11 for Christmas. The most recent characters are a somewhat off-season Cave Man and Cave Woman similar to those from Series 1 and Series 5, respectively.
This year we get something a little different and unique altogether: 5005249 Easter Bunny Hut with a new character similar to the Bunny Suit Guy from Series 7. Make no mistake, the original Bunny Suit Guy is still one very hot collectible and sought after figure, so it’s quite interesting to see that this re-issue takes a different direction with new prints but keeping the same head accessory.
Click here for a closer look at the Easter Bunny