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.

The top 10 best LEGO sets of 2017: What to buy the LEGO builder who really only wants more LEGO sets [News]

With the release of not one but two LEGO-themed movies in theaters, plus the re-release of two sought-after LEGO sets, 2017 has yielded a cornucopia of excellent LEGO sets across many themes. Here at The Brothers Brick, we reviewed nearly 70 of the sets LEGO released in 2017, which is still just a fraction of all the new sets that LEGO produced this year. As you wrap up your holiday shopping (perhaps complemented by more than just LEGO sets), here are our favorite LEGO sets among those we reviewed here on TBB in 2017.

#10: LEGO Architecture 21035 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum

The second incarnation in LEGO of the iconic Guggenheim Museum in New York City kicks off the list at #10. 21035 Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum increases the color palette for more realism, while adding innovative building techniques that take advantage of newer curved slopes. (744 pieces for $79.99, currently $63.99 from Amazon.)

#9: LEGO Star Wars 75172 Y-wing Starfighter

The best and most detailed LEGO Y-wing released since 1999 depicts a Blue Squadron starfighter from the Battle of Scarif in Rogue One. 75172 Y-wing Starfighter includes 691 pieces with 5 minifigs for $59.99, which was already a fantastic price for a Star Wars set, but is currently reduced further at $47.99 from Amazon.

See the rest of our top 10 best LEGO sets of 2017

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LEGO Star Wars: The Last Jedi 75204 Sandspeeder [Review]

UPDATE: Totally not from The Last Jedi! Still trying to figure out why LEGO made a set based on a 1980’s Kenner toy…

Today we are taking a close look at 75204 Sandspeeder. The set includes 278 pieces with two minifigures, and features a familiar-looking vehicle that will presumably be in The Last Jedi. Even though we just got the first official photos of this set a few days ago, beginning today it’s available from the LEGO Shop online for $29.99.

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Creator Expert 10256 Taj Mahal, LEGO’s 2nd biggest set ever [Review]

Last month we announced that LEGO is re-releasing the iconic 10189 Taj Mahal set as Creator Expert 10256 Taj Mahal. There was a mixture of surprise, pleasure and dismay at this announcement, depending on your ownership of the original 10189 and whether the re-release could affect your “investment” or your ability to finally afford this iconic set. Taj Mahal is the second-largest LEGO set of all time with 5,923 pieces, and is available beginning today in LEGO stores and from the LEGO Shop Online for $369.99 USD / £299.99. It is rated as 16+, reflecting the size and nature of the set as a display piece rather than any technical challenges when building.

In contrast to some recent re-releases like UCS Millennium Falcon 75192 or UCS Death Star 75159, this is not a re-modeled set but a pure re-release of the same set under a different set number. Let’s take a quick look at the two sets for comparison, as there are a couple of differences worth highlighting.

Continue reading our review

10259 Winter Village Station [Review]

With Christmas just around the corner, it is time to turn on some festive music and start decorating! For many LEGO fans, that means building the newest addition to the holiday line: 10259 Winter Village Station. The set includes 902 pieces and five minifigures, and retails for $79.99 USD.

The box

Similar in size to previous holiday sets, the Winter Village Station box shows a plethora of play functions as well as a photo of the 10254 Winter Holiday Train pulling into the station. It is immediately obvious the two sets were designed to complement each other, but we will have more thoughts about that later.

Click through to read our full review of this set…
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LEGO Shop Black Friday 2017 giveaway 40254 Nutcracker [Review]

Our friends at LEGO HQ are kind enough to send us each month’s freebies, but it’s not every month that we’re impressed enough with the giveaway set that we review it. This month’s giveaway is 40254 Nutcracker, which you can get for free with orders over $99. It’s available early to LEGO VIP Program members through today, and available more widely with purchases on Black Friday. We think it’s cool enough to take a closer look.

The set includes 230 pieces and LEGO says it has a $20 value, but again it’s free with a purchase over $99.

See more of this rather interesting freebie after the jump

21037 LEGO House [Review]

Every child knows how easy it is to build a house with LEGO bricks. It’s almost impossible to build a bad-looking one. And the concept of “house” is pretty universal: 4 walls, a door, a window, and a roof — any form, any type and any materials you want. But what happens when you build a house based on an actual building that was originally designed to look like it was built with LEGO bricks? This mind-boggling concept hides behind the most unique LEGO Architecture set to date — 21097 LEGO House. Like other Architecture sets, this model is based on a real building, but this time it’s the LEGO House in Billund, Denmark that opened in September 2017. The set is only available at the LEGO House gift shop for 449 DKK (~$70 USD).

The box art shows off the model and its wonderful colours. The back displays the main feature — a removable second floor revealing the House’s spacious interior. This is a rare play feature amongst the relatively small Architecture models.

Click through to read our full review of this interesting and unusual set…
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Powering the rollercoaster with LEGO 70922 The Joker Manor [Review]

LEGO has introduced an all new roller-coaster play system in 70922 The Joker Manor. We discussed it briefly in our review of the full set, but we felt the new roller-coaster rails were important enough to merit a post of their own. As one of TBB’s least Technic-centred members of staff, I found it was great fun attempting to add Power Functions to the rollercoaster and—health and safety aspects aside—it turns out it’s also rather simple.

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LEGO introduces new rollercoaster system with LEGO Batman 70922 The Joker Manor [Review]

It’s fairly rare and always noteworthy when LEGO introduces a completely new set of elements that work together as a sort of sub-system to the overall LEGO “System of Play.” With 70922 The Joker Manor, LEGO has introduced a new rollercoaster system. We’ll be taking a much closer look at the rollercoaster system and the parts in this new set with a second, parts-focused review, but first we’re taking a look at the new set on its own merits.

Joker Manor includes 3,444 pieces with 10 minifigs, making it the fifth largest LEGO set released in 2017 (after 75192 Millennium Falcon, 10256 Taj Mahal, 70620 Ninjago City, and 10255 Assembly Square). The set will retail for $269.99 and launches on Black Friday, November 24.

Read our full review of the LEGO Batman Movie’s 70922 The Joker Manor

New York Comi-Con exclusive 41498 Boba Fett & Han Solo in Carbonite BrickHeadz [Review & Editorial]

Over the last few years, LEGO has released a number of limited-run sets and sold them at non-LEGO events like San Diego Comic-Con. Invariably, the sets reflect highly collectable subject matter like Star Wars and Marvel super heroes. We reviewed Detention Block Rescue (the set LEGO sold at Star Wars Celebration earlier this year), and we recently purchased the New York Comic-Con exclusive 41498 Boba Fett & Han Solo in Carbonite BrickHeadz on eBay for $105 so we could bring our readers another review of a set you may not be able to get yourselves.

41498 Boba Fett & Han Solo in Carbonite includes 329 pieces, and while it was sold at the event for an already inflated $40, its original price during NYCC frankly doesn’t matter — it’s currently available ranging from $110 to $300 for Buy It Now listings on eBay and $112 to $145 for Amazon.com marketplace listings. This review, in addition to providing a vicarious build experience for those not privileged enough to attend NYCC or able to purchase the set on the secondary market, will discuss LEGO’s business practice of releasing limited-run products in ways that prevent most actual builders and LEGO fans from ever getting their hands on the set.

Click through to read our hands-on review of 41498 Boba Fett & Han Solo in Carbonite BrickHeadz

LEGO Ideas 21312 Women of Nasa [Review]

LEGO recently unveiled its latest LEGO Ideas set, 21312 Women of Nasa. The set includes four minifigures depicting women astronauts, scientists, and engineers from throughout the US space program’s history. LEGO sent The Brothers Brick an early review copy of the set, which is due out on November 1st.

While the minifigures are certainly the heroes of the set, the set also includes three mini-builds, with 231 pieces. When released, the set will retail for $24.99. Given the science-oriented, minifig-centric nature of both LEGO Ideas sets, comparisons to 21110 Research Institute will be inevitable among LEGO fans, and we’ll do our best to compare and contrast them along the way.

Click through to read our full review of LEGO Ideas 21312 Women of Nasa

Chris McVeigh’s My First Computer DOS Edition [Review]

Even if you’ve not heard of Chris McVeigh, you’ve probably seen his builds in one way or another, especially his iconic Classic Mac that’s been featured quite a bit across the media. As a brick artist, Chris specializes in capturing fragments of details in tiny builds that give maximum impact. The other great part about Chris’s builds is that all of his build guides are available free for download and all you need to do to enjoy his wonderful creations are to source the bricks from sites like Bricklink or gather what you have from your very own stash. Of course, there are those that may not have the time or knowledge of the secondary LEGO market to gather all those parts, which makes purchasing a custom kit directly from the artist becomes a great option. For those that do, there’s no detail spared in the experience. Trust me on this, I’m going to bet that you’ll be impressed by the level of care and detail that Chris puts into this.

Read the full review

Hands on with the new LEGO Star Wars 75192 UCS Millennium Falcon [Review]

When LEGO sends The Brothers Brick an early copy of a LEGO set to review, receiving it a few days before it’s widely available is generally not a problem. We just spend a couple evenings building, photographing, and writing up the review — no big deal. But when the new 75192 Ultimate Collector’s Millennium Falcon lands with a resounding “thump!” on our doorstep two days before it’s available to LEGO VIP Program members, that’s a bit of a different story. TBB Senior Editor Chris Malloy and I have spent literally every spare moment since last Monday (a week and a half ago) slaving at the brick to bring you our hands-on review of the largest LEGO set ever released.

The new UCS Millennium Falcon includes 7,541 pieces with 10 minifigs, and costs USD 799.99. That obviously makes it the most-expensive LEGO set ever released, and we’ll address the price later in the review.

Fair warning up front that this review will be as much about the subjective build experience and our Gestalt perspective on the completed model as it will be about details like parts, minifigs, and building techniques. We expect that many of our readers will not be able to afford an $800 set, and we want to give you as much vicarious insight as possible into the end-to-end experience. We’ll also do our best to compare this set with the earlier 10179 UCS Millennium Falcon from 2007.

Read our complete, hands-on review of the new LEGO Star Wars 75192 UCS Millennium Falcon