Set Review - #40819-1: Up-Scaled Racing Driver Minifigure

If set #40649-1: Up-Scaled Minifigure wasn’t enough for you, then you can add to your collection with #40819-1: Up-Scaled Racing Driver Minifigure as another one to add to your collection. This set was released on 1 March 2025 and contains 694 pieces. It retails for $54.99 which works out to $0.079 per piece.

The front of the box spotlights the Octan uniformed racing minifigure standing while the back shows the minifigure sitting with another picture showing the dimensions and possible movement options.

The set contains eight numbered parts bags and an instruction booklet.

The build is pretty similar to the other up-scaled minifigures so don’t expect much difference beyond the colors. This one does have a few smaller differences so you can include the belt around the waist. Bag one creates the angle of the torso with some Technic pieces on the inside. Bag two finishes up the torso minus the arms. The front piece is printed with the zipper and racing logo. The belt is added on with some tiles and then a printed Octan part which is cool for those into the nostalgia of Lego and Octan.

Bag three adds the start of the legs and the Technic hardware that will hold the legs. Then bag four adds the right leg. Both builds are built using the same methods of the previous up-scaled minifigures.

The fifth bag adds the left leg. Not shown in the picture, but both legs have a dark green stripe of bricks up the side.

Bag six adds the arms and hands. The hands are gray as if the up-scaled minifigure is wearing gloves.

The seventh bag adds the head. Set #40649-1 had a command station for a standard sized minifigure to control the up-scaled minifigure below the hat. This one has a brick built motor in its head. At first, I wasn’t sure what we were building, but then I could tell it looked like a motor. It was definitely an awesome Easter Egg detail on the inside.

The eighth bag finishes the build with a red helmet. The helmet doesn’t come off like a normal minifigure helmet, but it looks close enough to what a minifigure’s helmet would look like.

Overall, it was a good set. The build is similar to other up-scaled minifigures, but it has some slight differences and the Octan details are great. I’m not sure you could mix up build techniques and still get the same outcome. The price is decent in terms of price per piece and it helps that this is not a licensed item or I’m sure it’d be even more expensive. It’ll be interesting to see if LEGO adds to the collection of up-scaled minifigures or not in the future. This set is exclusive to LEGO so the chances of a discount are slim. Look for opportunities to get a GWP or double Insiders Points to make a purchase of this one a better deal. If you’re a fan of these up-scaled minifigures, definitely grab this one as you won’t be disappointed. Otherwise, find another set to buy and build.

My kiddos and I put the group of up-scaled minifigures that I had together “holding hands.” I don’t have the LEGO House Exclusive Pirate, but I have the others. I still need to build the recent up-scaled Space Baby. It’s a fun bunch. I just need to figure out how to display them in my building space.

Happy building!

Set Review - #21061-1: Notre-Dame de Paris - Architecture

Some of you may remember in 2019 when it hit the news that the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France caught fire. The iconic landmark was severely damaged, but the pledge to rebuild happened. Work began right away and was just finished for a re-opening in December 2024. It’s fitting that LEGO released #21061-1: Notre-Dame de Paris on 1 June 2024. This Architecture set contains 4,383 pieces and retails for $229.99. This works out to $0.052 per piece which is a great price, but you also need to factor in that this set has a lot of smaller pieces.

The box shows the set on the front and then another view on the back. The back also shows dimensions of the set and then the four different builds based on the historical timeline of the build. The design and build of the set is done to match how it was built over many years. The instructions point out each step along the way which is a fun learning experience while you build.

The contents are 34 numbered parts bags. It starts off with a few bags and then a white box with more bags inside. Once you open the white box, you get the rest. Each number has one bag, but for some reason there are a few sections of the instructions that call for multiple numbers at once. Not sure why they didn’t just have fewer numbers, but in the end you get the same build so I guess it doesn’t matter much.

It’s a pretty thick instruction book with a lot of details about the actual building and the parts of the build itself. It was a good opportunity to learn about the building and its architecture along the way.

I’m going to do things a little differently for this review. Usually I write about each step but I’m not an expert at the architecture of Notre-Dame. I don’t want to just quote out of the instructions either. So instead, I am just putting the pictures in so you can see the progress if you want or you can just scroll down to the bottom of the review for my wrap up.

Bag 1

Bag 2

Bag 3

Bags 4, 5, and 6

Bag 7

Bag 8

Bag 9

Bag 10

Bag 11

Bag 12

Bag 13

Bag 14

Bag 15

Bag 16

Bag 17

Bag 18

Bag 19

Bag 20

Builds 21 and 22

Bag 21

Bag 22

Bag 23

Bag 24

Bag 25

Bag 26

Builds 27 28 and 29 30

Bags 27 and 28

Bags 29 and 30

Bags 31 and 32

Bags 33 and 34

Overall, it was a great build. I enjoyed some of the different techniques used to achieve the different representations of structures they were trying to capture. It really does look like a smaller scaled version of the building which is great! It’s a pretty expensive set at $230, but the price per piece is rather low. You need to factor in that there are a lot of smaller pieces though so that does come into play. You’re not getting a very large building, but instead a smaller, more detailed structure. No miifigures either, but that is standard for the Architecture line.

I’d recommend this set to fans of the Architecture line, those looking for a challenging build, or maybe those looking to capture an iconic structure from history. Avoid this one if you don’t like putting a lot of small pieces together or get sick of seeing a lot of tan pieces. Not sure if we’ll see this one on sale ever, but you can always catch it with double insider points or with a GWP.

Some final pictures of the set are below.

Happy building!

Set Review - #40649-1: Up-Scaled LEGO Minifigure

Do you like Up-Scaled minifigures? Did you like set #76393-1: Harry Potter™ and Hermione Granger™? Well, you’ll be pleased to see more of these Up-Scaled minifigures coming back. Set #40649-1: Up-Scaled LEGO Minifigure was released on 1 June 2023. It retails for $54.99 and contains 654 pieces which works out to $0.084 per piece. This one is fairly basic in that it is just a standard minifigure with little detail. Blue pants, red torso, old style yellow head, and then a blue hat. The box shows the set on the front and some of the details on the back.

The set contains eight numbered parts bags with three labeled number one, two labeled number two and then one each for three through five. There is also a blue half circle for the hat top and then the instruction booklet. Bag one contains an orange piece separator.

Bag one starts the torso with some Technic pieces internally for the arm attachments and then Technic pieces for the leg attachments. It also adds the spinning brick that will allow the head to turn later on. The outer part of the torso is fairly easy to build, but internally it is a number of Technic and SNOT techniques.

Bag two adds the legs. It’s great how they set up the legs to move with the same angles as a normal minifigure. The only odd part is on top of what would be feet/toes are studs versus a plate. I guess you can add on some blue tiles if you want.

Bag three adds both arms and hands. The arms and hands move like a minifigure and overall, it’s a decent design considering the angles in a normal arm. The hands rotate too and you can fit in bricks in the hands, but they do come apart fairly easy so not something large.

Bag four adds the head and keeps the shape (mostly). The neck isn’t completely round, but it’s close enough. The printed smile face is a nice addition to the set.

Bag five wraps up the build with a hat on top. The hat is not removeable like on a regular minifigure. It also doesn’t have the the same shape with a bit of a brim behind the head. This rear brim might be part of making sure the top can rotate up and you can have the awesome addition of a minifigure command center. There is a minifigure of the same look at the controls making it seem as if he is moving the Up-Scaled figure around like a mech. This is great and LEGO should incorporate the regular minifigures into sets like these into the future in some way.

Here’s the final set. I asked my kiddos to help be build it and then they added in a pose to take a picture of for this blog post. At $55, this set is a little pricy, but the price per piece isn’t too bad. Watch to see if it goes on sale before it retires, but given the exclusivity of this set (so far only at LEGO), it might not be discounted. Double insider points or with a cool GWP works too. It’s a good build with some different techniques and is a fun display or play piece in the end. I recommend it!

Happy building!

Set Review - #71049: F1® Collectible Race Cars - Collectible (not) Minifigures

I saw these little cars coming out with all of the other F1® related sets and just brushed them off. Then I realized these were being released instead of a set of Collectible Minifigures. WHAT!?!?!?! NO!!!! How can they do this???? Well, I at least had to give them a shot. So these 12 random vehicles (with codes on the boxes if you use a scanner app, were released on 1 May 2025. Like the minifigures, they retail for $4.99 each. There are some parts that seem new or at least new to me. The main frame of the car is new and then the 1x2 tile with the piece that holds the minifigure head and helmet along with the front part of the car. Each car comes with these parts and they are all built the same way. The only differences are the colors and prints. Thankfully, there are no stickers.

Here are all 12 vehicles. I ordered a bunch to get a GWP, but only had to open up 13 boxes to get all 12. My kids helped me build. They were disappointed to not get minifigures, but they had fun with the vehicles. It took me a bit to find the names of the various cars online, but I found them and added them in pictures below to make it easier for others searching for the same material.

Overall, I’m not a racing fan and don’t like the deviation from the minifigures. I’m sure LEGO was just experimenting and also wanted some cars at a lower price point. I look forward to getting back to minifigures. If you’re an F1® fan, then by all means pick them up. If you’re not, unless you are a die hard collector, I’d pass.

Happy building!

Red Bull

Mercedes

Ferrari

McLaren

Aston Martin

Alpine

Williams

Visa Cash App

Sauber

Haas

F1 Academy

F1 Generic Car

Registration for the BrickCon 2025 AFOL Convention Now Open!

Registration is now open online for BrickCon 2025. You can register for virtual or in person attendance here at this link. The convention will be 4 through 7 September 2025. It will be in Bellevue, WA at the Meydenbauer Center. There will also be a virtual version that I will be helping to run. In person tickets are $85 and virtual tickets are $25.

If you want more about the AFOL Convention, you can visit the BrickCon site here.

Hope to see you participating there on virtually!

Set Review - #10331-1: Kingfisher - Icons

We’ve had a number of Botanicals sets and this one seems to be a test into a line of nature themed sets. #10331-1: Kingfisher was released on 1 February 2024 in the US for $49.99. It contains 834 pieces which works out to $0.06 per piece. The set has a base and then shows a Kingfisher leaping back out of the water with a fish in its mouth. In the background are a few cat tails. It’ll be interesting to see if this set spurs further nature sets or not. Another point to note is that this set is at a much lower price point than many of the multi-hundred dollar sets designed for adults. I was able to get it on sale for $40 so it’s great to see options at lower price points that still have a good build experience and are geared towards adults.

The box shows the front of the set on the front and then the other side of the set on the back. The back also has a picture of it on display and then a computer drawing of it with dimensions.

The set contains six numbered parts bags and an instruction booklet.

Bag one starts to build the base using some Technic pieces mixed with bricks to get the round shape on the base. It’s slightly repetitive, but not too bad as you just have to repeat each half and then 4 of the sides of the circle (if you can say a circle has sides).

The second bag adds in some clear and translucent plates to get the water and then the shape of the water moving as the bird zooms out. You also add in the Technic parts that hold up the bird and the bottoms of the plants.

Bag three adds the legs of the bird and the bottom of its torso. You can see the Technic part holding it up, but it doesn’t take away from the rest of the build which is good. The mix of colors is great too with the lighter blue, dark blue, and then the… um… what color is it? Brownish-orange?

Bag four builds one of the wings. There is no possible movement in this set as the wing is fixed in place. The wing has a main section and then each of the outer feathers are attached separately. The connection to the main part of the body is pretty seamless and there aren’t any major gaps on the bottom.

Bag five adds the other wing. It’s a mirror image of the previous built side. I split the build up with my kiddos so it wasn’t too repetitive for me, but it could be if you build it yourself and don’t want to repeat similar steps. This one is locked in place as well so no movement, but you get the pose of the bird leaping out of the water.

Finally is bag six with the head and then plants in the back. The beak is a rubberized piece that might be from Jurassic Park sets… maybe? The fish inside the beak doesn’t exactly look like a fish, but by knowing what the build it, you get the idea. The head is also fixed in place so you have to live with it’s position or try to adjust it with different pieces. The plants in the back are a nice addition and it would be cool to add a whole scene on your own if you wanted to. As mentioned, I’ll be curious to see if we get more nature themed sets similar to this one in the future. I enjoyed this one and had fun building it with my kiddos. We have it on display in our house for now and it’s a cool little set to have out there. At the $40 price point I picked it up for, it wasn’t bad, but it’s also not a licensed product so I’m sure there’s plenty of profit baked in for LEGO.

What are your thoughts on this one? Do you want to see more like it? Or should LEGO just stick to Botanicals and leave the animals to the Creator 3-in-1 line?

Happy building!

Set Review - #60439-1: Space Science Lab - LEGO CITY - Space

I was a big M-Tron, Blacktron 2, Space Police, and Classic Space fan back in the day. It was fun to see a re-boot of the Space theme in the CITY line last year. I’ve been waiting for sales before jumping in. This one is #60439-1: Space Science Lab. It is a set that can be connected to others in the theme to make a larger space base. It was released on 1 April 2024 in the US for $34.99. It contains 560 pieces which works out to $0.062 per piece. I got it on sale at Target for just under $25 after sales tax so I can’t complain.

The box has the set on the front with the CITY and SPACE logos. The back shows that you can open it up, some play features and the potential connection between set #60434-1.

Sorry, I picked a bad place to take this picture. If you can see it with the rug in the background, there are four numbered parts bags and then a bag with the top dome window pieces. There is also an envelope with the instructions.

I’m not sure why, but there are four instruction booklets for this small set. Maybe it’s so kids/families can build together? Each booklet does not require the more than one parts bag to build it and they are all assembled at the end.

There is a small sticker sheet in this set. I’m not a fan of stickers, but I’m sure if the parts were printed, it would have made this set more expensive so we’ll live with them..

The build starts with a minifigure who is in a wheel chair. I question the realism of it in today’s world, but for a fictitious space world, this is great inclusivity. The minifigure has a small transport mechanism to roll up onto to get around.

Bag one also includes the first section of the lab’s wall. As shown, the outside includes one of the trans-purple “power packs” and then a printed 2x2 tile with the new space logo. This section also has a door that you can pull up to let a minifigure go in/out. There is no air lock so maybe it’s an emergency exit. The inside of this section is very plain. The walls have a 2x2 tile on either side with a sticker showing various made up screens. The top adds the translucent dome piece that is similar to the clear one found in #41757-1: Botanical Garden.

The second bag assembles another wall section. This one has an airlock piece and connects to the other space sets here. There is a door that goes over it if you’re keeping it separate. On the inside you assemble an alien plant form that grows inside the dome with some weird structures and some frog pieces.

The third bag adds another minifigure. This one is a female space minifigure. She comes with an air pack of sorts. The wall section build here has some living space with a bed, cabinet, cup for drinking beverages, a hoop for maybe hanging your… uh… brick towel, and then the wall by the bed has a 2x2 tile with a sticker showing a soccer match.

Bag four includes a fun little space alien. It’s like a space baby only slightly taller I think. It also has a helmet so maybe this science lab is on a planet that is not its home.

This portion of the structure looks like the science lab part with some research looking equipment. The wall also includes another air lock that could be used for connections to other structures and it has another power pack included.

Here is the final build. When all closed up, it is a structure that could fit on a planet, but you can open it up and spread it out to play inside each one of the areas. There aren’t a ton of details here which is disappointing, but it opens up possibilities if you plan to add in some of your own parts to beef up the lab.

Overall, the build isn’t too challenging, but there are some fun pieces and I enjoy the new orange color. I’m pleased with the discount I got and there are some good pieces for MOC builders… especially the dome pieces. If you were a fan of the old space sets, I think these versions are worth checking out. Look for another good sale and give it a shot. Worse case you get some fun pieces for MOCing and a little alien minifigure.

Happy building!

Set Review - #71048 - Series 27 - Collectible Minifigures

How are we already at Series 27? This series of Collectible Minifigures was released on 1 January 2027 and they retail for $4.99 each which is in line with the most of the recent sets. There are 12 minifigures in this series and this is another non-licensed theme so it’s good to get a variety. Here’s a quick rundown of the series.

Wolfpack Beastmaster has been a very popular among fans and resellers. Everyone seems to be looking for this one. We’ll see if the Wolfpack returns in another set in the future or not. I’ve seen the torso in Pick a Brick so maybe we’ll see more of them. The wolf is a great addition too.

Hamster Costume Fan is a a cute one with a small 1x1 round tile printed like a cucumber slice.

Jetpack Racer is an interesting once. Not pictured is a jet pack on the back and Octan printing on one of the legs. It’s a cool looking helmet design too.

Astronomer Kid is another space fan as we’ve seen a few in the past. This one has a telescope and a printed shirt with a rocket on it.

Plush Toy Collector was very popular with my kiddos. The little creatures are very fun.

Pterodactyl Costume Fan is another dinosaur costume minifigure to go along with some of the past dinosaur costumed figures.

Longboarder has a unique board, some cool green hair under a hat, and some fun printing on the torso and pants.

Bogeyman is not a costume character, but an actual monster. The head is fully molded and is not on top of a minifigure head. The book says “Boo” on the cover and inside is a printed tile with a picture of the monster on it.

Cupid has a regular face and us dual printed with a face with heart eyes. He has a red bow and arrow along with a red heart tile.

Pirate Quartermaster is another fun addition to the pirate lineup with a cool bird to go along with it.

Cat Lover comes with a cat, a ball of yarn, and then a cat sweater along with pants that are covered in cat hair. Very clever.

Steampunk Inventor is the first one I’ve seen in the Steampunk theme. I suspect we’ll see this minifigure show up in a number of MOCs in the future.

Rebuilding the Modulars

If you’ve followed the Bricks for Bricks blog for any length of time (it’s been going since 2014), you may have noticed that the location changed often. There’s been six different locations and I think we’re finally done. Whew! At least I hope so. With that means that all of those sets that have been kept in boxes for years can finally be set free. For years, I’ve been telling my kiddos about all of the modular buildings boxed away and that someday we’d rebuild all of them. Well it’s that someday…

I have some new sets that I want to build, but they are on hold while my kiddo and I spend time re-constructing modular buildings. We have 16 complete with two to go (the Police Station and Tudor Corner). Also, I don’t have the Green Grocer or Market Street so we’ll max out at 18.

It’s been a fun experience to re-live building the sets and my kiddo has enjoyed building them with me. As you can see, we set some road plates in front and he’s put his vehicles on them. Additionally, he enjoys rearranging the minifigures and rearranging the buildings. It seems like the buildings are in different places almost every time I walk by.

My kiddo thought the people in the modulars wanted food so he has a lot of his food trucks out and ready to serve the people. I like how he split up #10218-1: Pet Shop to have the Pet Shop building separate from the apartment. He also makes sure the buildings are in line with the size of the road plates so they line up okay.

It was the first time for me to get to use a corner building on a corner. My kiddo is mystified that the early modulars lack all of the details of the newer ones, but #10211-1: Grand Emporium is a cool looking building. We also added #80113-1: Family Reunion to the road just to have some builds on the other side of the street. Once we finish building, hopefully we can liven up the street scene a bit.

My kiddo added in his own modular building design next to #10224-1: Town Hall. He was very concerned with the difference in building heights, but I told him it was fine and he now has plans for more additions to the street. Not pictured, but next to it, he added a park as the wall goes the other direction and the modular buildings would look funny in that corner. He thought a park would help to make the corner work.

I also had never put two corner buildings next to each other, but I like how #10251-1: Brick Bank and #10232-1: Palace Cinema create a larger walkway for minifigures when placed next to each other.

The last two we finished were #10182-1: Cafe Corner and #10297-1: Boutique Hotel. My kiddo didn’t want two hotels together, but I put them there as I wanted to see what they looked like together. He’ll move them soon I’m sure. He couldn’t fathom that there were no interior details, but he’s added “furnishing the Cafe Corner” to our list of things to do.

Do you build with your kids? How do you build with them? Just sets? Creative building? Create scenes together?

However you build with your family, happy building!

Set Review - #80113-1: Family Reunion Celebration - The Spring Festival

Is it sad that I have a backlog of sets to build? #80113-1: Family Reunion Cerebration was released 25 December 2023 and retired a year later. If you want to find it, you’ll have to look on the secondary market. It retailed for $129.99 and contained 1,823 pieces. This worked out to $0.071 per piece. LEGO Shop @ Home had it on sale towards the end of the year in 2024 and I grabbed one then. I believe it was 20% off. I initially was a fan of this one as it had a modular building type style to it and it looks like it could easily fit into a LEGO city.

The box is below with the front showing the front of the build and the back showing the back of the build. It has the Spring Festival labeling and is bright red.

The contents of this set include 12 numbered parts bags, two instruction books, a sticker sheet, and 2 pieces that I picture later.

The sticker sheet is larger than I would have hoped with some bigger stickers. Often these sets have a lot of printed pieces, but not so with this set.

Additionally, the set comes with two… um… what is the technical name for this piece? It’s the strands used to hang the lights. I didn’t find them at first until I dumped out the box again. Whoops!

Onto the build… The first bag starts to build the base of the building. LEGO has gotten away from baseplates in recent years. They build more of the bases by assembling plates these days. I’m not opposed to it, but I’m sure there are some who would rather have base plates. This bag comes with a female minifigure with a selfie stick, and it builds a food cart.

The second bag builds a small, tight kitchen area. It has all of the necessary items, but it’s pretty crammed in considering the size of the restaurant. It’s hard to believe that they can serve the whole restaurant with this size of a kitchen. The minifigure is a chef. Not pictured, but there is a logo on the back of his shirt as well which is pretty cool. All of the restaurant staff have this back of torso printing.

Bag three assembles some stairs to the second level of the restaurant and adds some walls. It also comes with a female minifigure.

Bag four finishes up the front wall of the restaurant with doors and an aquarium. On the inside is a welcome stand for you to check into the restaurant. The minifigure included is a female girl.

Bag five tops off the first level and adds in some of the roof angles using angled plates with 1x2 bar tiles. Also, the wall behind the check-in stand is removable so you can get to the minifigure easily. The minifigure included is an older female on the restaurant staff with a tea pot.

Bag six adds in some details on the outside to include some awnings and a few stands selling items. The minifigure is an older female with some flowers.

Bag seven starts the second floor with the base, the start of the walls, and the stands where the table and chairs will go. The minifigure is a younger boy.

Bag eight adds in a bathroom. It’s nice that they thought of this for the restaurant. The minifigure is a male holding a karaoke machine microphone. You assemble the karaoke machine in the one corner and it has an extra microphone and a screen.

Bag nine builds up the wall with golden leaves and golden frogs for decoration. The windows are made using a golden fence on its slide. The minifigure is an older male with a camera.

Bag ten assembles the table and chairs. The chairs spin and so does the table. The table had a lot of food details which is a cool design idea. The outer roof design is included too which matches the first floor. The minifigure is a male waiter and he has a cart to serve food.

Bag 11 adds in the top floor with a table for 2, some flowers, and a heater. There are two minifigures who came for dinner together. The male has a scarf and flowers. The female has a winter hat on and is holding a smart phone.

Bag 12 finishes the set with food on the table, some fire crackers on the roof, lanterns hung up on the roof and on the front of the building, and then the restaurant sign on the corner of the building. The stickers on the sign are pretty big which wasn’t fun to put on. The minifigure is a dragon costume person.

Here’s the full set. It was a great build with a bunch of minifigures and some great parts. I’m a big fan and hope LEGO makes more like these. I’m not as big of a fan of the various decorative pieces they’ve done in recent years. My complaints on this one were too many stickers and numerous parts that don’t attach with studs. You just set them in a bowl or part.

We’ll see where LEGO takes this theme in the future. The 2025 sets have no minifigures. Will this be the trend?

Happy building!