Set Review - #21316-1: The Flintstones - LEGO® Ideas

The 24th LEGO® Ideas set was released on 2 March 2019. It is “The Flintstones” and was made by fan designer Andrew Clark. The set has 748 pieces and retails in the US for $59.99. This works out to $0.08/piece which isn’t too bad. Amazon.com has had it on sale for 20% off at the time of this post for a few weeks now. I waited for this one to go on sale as it interested me, but not enough to buy it right away at full price. So let’s see if it was worth the wait.

Like most sets, the front shows the whole set built with the back showing some of the features to include the removal of the roof, the bowling set, the car and the rack of ribs, and some of the inside furniture.

The contents are 6 bags with an instruction book. There is a piece separator in bag one. Excitedly, there are no stickers! WOOHOO!!!!!

Here is the instruction book. It is not wrapped in a separate package like some of the more expensive sets. It does have a few pages about the set to include the fan designer and LEGO designers (as shown). There are also some pages on The Flintstones show itself.

Bag 1 builds the car, rack of ribs, and minifigures for Fred and Wilma. The car has the look of the Flintstones car, but I have 2 complaints. First is the roof is a bit flimsy. There isn’t much structure to it and it fell apart on me while I was building it. To be fair, I don’t have a better solution. The second is the wheels. They are held together by two round plates which is fine on one side where the studs face in, but on the side where the studs face out, they rub against the frame of the car. Not badly, but could a tile piece have been used there? On the plus side, I like the use of the 2x2 round tile that is printed to look like a cut log as the axle.

The second bag starts to build the house (sorry for the background change, I had to switch building areas). Nothing overly exciting here. The back of the house is attached with hinge pieces for access and play I assume.

The third bag finishes most of the wall structure. Outer detail is added later. Also, the windows are in place and space for the door.

The fourth bag adds some detail on the outer walls. From my picture you can see it better on the instruction sheet. The opposite side of the house has it as well as a chimney. I like the palm tree used in the set. It is reminiscent of the one used in Pirate themed sets back in the day.

Bag 5 adds some inner details to include curtains on the windows, a TV (with a printed tile brick for the screen), a couch, coffee table, lamp, a small cupboard, a door, and a container with the bowling set. Besides the TV tile, there is also a picture on the wall and the curtains are printed. YAY no stickers! I like the house details. Not over the top, but enough to look like the inside of the house from the cartoon.

This bag also completes the minifigures with Barney and Betty.

The sixth bag completes the set with a roof that is easily removable, some plants along the outside of the house, and a mailbox with a printed piece for the Flintstone name. I like how they made the roof angle versus making it flat.

Here are the minifigures. Betty and Wilma have two faces while Fred and Barney just have one expression. The response I saw from the fan media was not being impressed by these. They wanted molded heads versus the standard minifigure shape. I agree that the standard head doesn’t look as realistic, but I still think they captured the look of the Flintstones characters. I am also glad that the legs are printed versus having to add a cloth piece as the pants/dresses.

There has also been some debate about who to include. Where are Pebbles and Bam-Bam? What about Dino? My opinion is this set was not designed to capture the whole show or to be the start of a Flintstones line of sets. It is a one off that highlights the show and LEGO captured the main characters. I am good with just the four.

Overalll, it’s a good set. There are some decent pieces and it captures the theme well. The build is not overly challenging and there are no stickers (YES!). I’m glad I picked the set up at 20% off versus full price. It didn’t really seem like a $60 set to me. There is nothing that really jumps out at you other than the nostalgia for the theme. I’d put this set down as middle of the road.

What are your thoughts?

Set Review - #10265-1: Ford Mustang - Creator Expert

If you’ve been paying attention, #10265-1: Ford Mustang has been out in the US since 1 March 2019. I just got it and built it recently. I caught it on a double VIP point period so I paid the full $149.99 price, but got the added bonus of more VIP points. It has 1,471 pieces which works out to $0.102 per piece.

There are a lot of Blogs, YouTube channels, and other social media sites that race to be the first to review a set. Sites like the BrickBlogger claim to not be the first, but to be the most thorough. My goal is to do neither. I want to review sets where I have found a way to get them at a discount or to take advantage of some sort of deal like double VIP points or special edition free offers. That’s why this review is coming out over six months after the set was released in the US.

Onto the review…

The front of the box shows a picture of the car with its non-customized build. The set is listed for ages 16 and up and the Ford Mustang logo is there as well. The back shows the model with some of its customized options installed as well as some of the movable/removable parts.

The set contains 6 sets of parts bags. Some have 2 bags per number while some have one. There’s also an instruction book that is wrapped in plastic along with a sticker sheet. Thankfully, the stickers are mainly license plates. There are only 6 that go on the actual model.

Similar to #10266-1: NASA Apollo Lunar Lander, the instruction book contains information about the set. This one gives some background on the Ford Mustang (in English, French, and Spanish) and then gives facts throughout the build on the various pages. The picture below is one of the information pages at the beginning with a bright red Mustang pictured.

The first bag includes a piece separator as many of the larger sets do. The initial build is the main frame and base of the car. There are a good number of Technic pieces used to build the axles, steering, and the lift function that we will see later.

The second set of bags includes the start of the front fender/bumper, some of the engine, the steering column and wheel, some of the interior to include the gear shift, and the rear axle. Of note, the steering column actually turns the wheels, the wheels spin, the rear wheels can be raised or lowered, but the shifter does not actually change anything. It moves, but is not connected with the rest of the car like #42083-1: Bugatti Chiron.

The third set of bags includes the seats, some of the side paneling, part of the doors, and some of the structure that will support various parts of the car added later. Both seats are the same design and have good use of SNOT techniques.

The fourth set of bags adds the front and rear windshield, the frame to hold the roof and trunk, the side paneling in the back, and the rear bumper to include the brake lights and the Mustang logo. I added a few other pictures so you could get a look at the other sides of the car.

I’m a failure of a blogger or maybe I was just too into the build, but I skipped taking pictures after the fifth set of bags were added to the build. I’ll go with being too into the build. Sorry…

This section adds the front bumper, headlights, front grill, front side body, remainder of engine, and remainder of doors (top and mirrors).

The last set of bags adds the hood, roof, trunk, and wheels. I like the white stripes going across the vehicle. I think it is a nice touch versus just using one color for the whole vehicle. It also has the license plates and then the custom pieces.

This car has a number of movable parts to include the hood, both doors, the trunk, steering wheel and front wheels, and the roof can be removed. This adds to the play factor, gives you some more options for display, and adds a bit of realism to the model.

I have yet to decide which plates I would like to use. You get 5 options. In the picture below, I believe the ones on the top left are Australian. The bottom left are UK plates (fun fact, the one plate is yellow so they can better take a picture of your plate with speed cameras at night). The 2 sets of plates in the center are both from the US with the top being from Michigan and the bottom from California. The plates on the right appear to be from Germany (the one with the 2 round logos goes on the back… that’s your registration).

The inside has a steering wheel and 2 dials on the driver’s side. There’s a radio in the center along with the shifter. The passenger doesn’t get any fun details. Not pictured, but one of the stickers is a rear view mirror with a car in view. I think the car has the right amount of internal details without over doing it or making the model too large and the price too high.

The instruction book talks about how the Mustang was made to be customized. The instructions list six different ways to customize this set. The first is the adjustable rear suspension. I don’t have it pictured, but underneath the back of the car is a piece that you can spin to raise or lower the back of the car. Next is the “shorty exhaust headers” on either side of the car. I have the driver’s side set pictured below. The next two are the “supercharger with scoop intake” and “front splitter” that I have shown in the same picture. Finally, there is the “real spoiler” and then the “nitrous oxide tank” in the trunk. You can choose to put some, none, or all of these options into the model. The build is made in such a way that you aren’t prevented from doing any of them. There are minimal pieces to remove in order to add the customized options in. Between these features and the different license plates, this is a pretty cool option to have with the car.

Supercharger with Scoop Intake
Front Splitter

Rear Spoiler

Shorty Exhaust Headers

Nitrous Oxide Tank

Overall, I’m a fan of this set. If you have read some of my past reviews, I talk about the combination of System and Technic pieces in a build. I am personally not good at combining the two, but I enjoy building using both. Having the functionality offered by Technic and the detail that comes with System is awesome and this set gives you that. Unlike the Technic cars, this one is more detail than functionality, but I think LEGO achieved a good balance between detail and functionality in this set.

The price is on the borderline of being a bit high. The Creator Expert sets don’t often go on sale and usually they don’t until their end of life. Getting a discount now will most likely involve using VIP points or catching some other sale. If you find it cheaper or use some other method to get a discount, let me know in the comments below.

What are your thoughts on this set?

Happy building!

Set Review - #80103-1: Dragon Boat Race

If you actively track the LEGO world, then you might be familiar with this set and how it came to be. If not, here’s the short history. LEGO released #80101-1: Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner, then #80102-1: Dragon Dance, and then this set #80103-1:Dragon Boat Race in 2019. These sets were only available for purchase in the Asia Pacific region of the world. These sets along with a few others that had various exclusivity tie ins, like only available at Target or Walmart, caused a lot of fans of the brick to be upset that they missed out or to pay a lot on the secondary market. LEGO listened and set a date where they would offer exclusive sets for a 3-6 month period everywhere after the initial run at the region intended.

The first set to be released everywhere (to my knowledge) is #80103-1: Dragon Boat Race. It was released on 1 July 2019 in the US. The cost is $49.99 for 643 pieces and 15 minifigures. It works out to $0.078/piece which is pretty good if you ask me.

The front of the box shows the full set. In the upper right corner is a logo with some characters that I am unable to read. In English on the logo it says “The Dragon Boat Festival” and “Chinese Festival Special Edition.” Like most sets, the back shows the various features of the set and that the boats have wheels so you can push them on a floor or table.

The contents are 5 parts bags, a sticker sheet (which got folded up in the box), and an instruction book.

The first bag starts off with the red boat and 4 minifigures. The boat is pretty simple to build and there are stickers along the edges that my picture doesn’t capture. There is also a course marker in the form of a flag for the water. The minifigures are all in similar uniforms and a few have 2 facial expressions.

Bag 2 finishes off the red boat with the dragon face and the tail. It also adds the drummer to help the rowers keep pace. I really like how the designers made the cranium and tail of the dragon. The piece usage is pretty simple, but very clever. My favorite is the red croissant piece on the nose.

Additionally, this bag comes with part of the dock which has a noodle seller and a potential buyer/dragon boat race spectator. The stickers for the decorations really add to the set in my opinion and there are some cheese slopes with printed noodles on them.

And yes, I forgot to add on the bar across the front until after I took the picture (in case you were looking that close).

The third bag starts the green boat. The build is very similar to the red boat and the 4 rowers are included in this bag. The minifigures have orange torsos and white pants. Similar to the other boat crew only a few have dual faces.

Bag 4 completes the dragon boat and includes the drummer to keep the pace. The dragon’s head is just as clever as the red boat. I like how the minifigure flippers are ears and the telephone piece help make the nostrils.

This bag also includes an addition to the dock area started in bag 2. There’s a viewing area with 2 minifigures. The minifigures have flags to wave and one got some noodles to eat while watching. The dock doesn’t have much to it in terms of design and there are steps that will go to the stand in bag 5.

Bag 5 finishes the build with the construction of a viewing stand where we assume the race judge minifigure views the race. He also keeps track of the trophy for the winners. The stand has some great details to help it fit the culture. The brick design on the top with brick hot dogs is actually a pretty cool design. The flags in front with the stickers showing two dragons racing is also a cool design. That’s right, I just said stickers were good.

Below the dock in the water is some plant life and a frog hanging out. The water is created with clear tiles on top of blue plates

Here’s the whole set once you are done. There are some mixed reviews out there, but personally I am positive on this set. It is something different and opens up a whole new realm of possibility for LEGO. To have cultural builds and to sell them everywhere could help expose the rest of the world to new things. The age range is listed as 8+. If a kid builds this, they may want to know more about that culture and what is being presented. It could be an opportunity to do some internet searches and show what it is all about. When I lived in Alabama, they actually had an annual dragon boat race so maybe there is something nearby that you can go see.

The set price and price per brick isn’t too bad and the assortment of pieces is actually pretty decent. Plus the amount of minifigures you get in this set is a bonus. I’m a fan overall and I look forward to seeing how people add this set to their CITY scenes.

What other cultural builds should LEGO take on?

Happy building!

Set Review - #BL19003: Skyline Express - BrickLink AFOL Designer Program

I reviewed the first set I received (Bikes!) from the BrickLink AFOL Designer Program here. This is the second one that I ordered. It is BL19003: Skyline Express. It arrived similar to the first one in a box with the BrickLink logo on it. The first picture is the outer box. Inside that box was the second box. I was glad to see it was well protected.

Here’s the set. It was $139.99 for 1,365 pieces. That works out to $0.103 per piece. The front of the box shows the set, the BrickLink logo, the 60th anniversary logo, and the hand written set number (#981). The back shows the opposite side of the set.

The other picture I posted shows that the set designer uses the name jazlecraz and he’s from Australia.

Much like the last set, this set has a cover on the box that comes off. The inside of the box cover is a printed photo that can be used as a background for the set. This one is of Sydney, Australia.

The box inside the cover is similar to the last set. It’s a black box. The top has the word “BrickLink” and the back has information about the AFOL Designer Program.

Much like the last set, there’s a seal on the box. When you open the seal, it says “void.” So if you’re planning to hold onto it or re-sell it, definitely don’t mess with that sticker. The inside looks like it was packed by hand with a card on top that has a “thank you” from LEGO and BrickLink.

The contents were 15 parts bags numbered one through four. There is a 16th bag with the special anniversary brick. There are 2 dark tan 16x16 plates as well. There is also the instruction booklet and the card which shows all of the sets on the opposite side of the “thank" you.”

In the instruction book is a note from Jared Le Cres, the designer of the set. He mentions that he has a video that shows how to install a motor into the train. You can watch the video here. It’s not a smooth integration. You need to buy a bunch of parts if you don’t already have them on hand and you obviously need a motor and battery box. The design itself looks a bit bulky too as the motor pops out of one of the cars. To top it off, you need to raise the roof of the station to make sure the train fits. As I haven’t tried to motorize it myself, I won’t complain or be negative. Just a word of warning if you want to follow the designer’s plan.

Additionally, inside the instruction booklet is a quick write up on the set.

The first set of bags starts the station. build From left to right there are stairs going to the upper level, ticket machines and a schedule board, and then a Juice bar titled “Jüs.” I can’t say I have seen those stairs before, but they are an interesting piece. In a lot of the modular builds, they build curving stairs with bricks so this is a first. Maybe it is from a Friend’s set? The Juice Bar is pretty simple, but it fits right into the scene with some stools to sit on and a wide counter.

The supports for the upper level are not the sturdiest things, but then again it is an AFOL set. They get the job done, but LEGO would have made them stronger. I had no problems with them, but it made it a challenge when I went to transport it around.

The second set of bags finishes the upper floor. There is another set of stairs to get all the way to the top platform. Then there’s another schedule screen and some seats for minifigures to use while waiting for trains. With the station complete the use of colors hits you. The juice bar really stands out with its orange and the blue also contrasts with the white. If I were to put this in a large CITY scene, I would want this by some more modern buildings or maybe skyscrapers. The top is finished off with a small roof made of trans blue clear windows to let in light.

The juice bar also has some glasses, brick fruit, and some bowls. Forgot to mention that previously.

The third set of bags is the track. The track is all raised and it is held up by supports connected on the bottom with white plates used in the collectible minifigure sets. There is a good mix of straight and curved pieces and you can adjust the track a bit or buy other sets with track to expand what you have. I have not tried to motorize the train yet, but from what I’ve been told it is a challenge to have it go up hill so you’ll have to stick to the flat track for now until a better solution is found.

The last portion is the train and minifigures. I’ll get to the minifigures in a bit, but the train to me is a little weak. While the minifigures can fit inside, there are no seats or doors. You have to take the cars apart if you want to put minifigures in or out. I think I will look to modify the train at some point in the future.

I also found that it derails rather easily when I try to move it along the track. Maybe it will do better when it has its own motor. We’ll see I guess. For now, it slips often when I pull or push it.

The set comes with six minifigures. There is a good variety in my opinion. I like the differing torsos and there is even an extra hair piece. I also like that there’s a female minifigure with a ball cap on. I don’t think that is seen often, but maybe I’m missing something. It’s a good selection of minifigures. Well done!

The train wasn’t enough to curb my enthusiasm for this set. I’m a big fan of what the designer did and while LEGO will probably never bring back the original monorail, this type of monorail works for me. It’s a bit pricey, but if you consider that the track and supports are probably a bit more expensive, that’s most likely where it came from. I look forward to adding this set to my CITY sometime in the future and hopefully motorizing and adding some track on.

Has anyone motorized a train like this yet? Any thoughts on how it works?

In the meantime, happy building!

Set Review - #4000026-1: LEGO House Tree of Creativity

Here’s the final review of the LEGO® House sets. There was #21037: LEGO® House and #40366-1: LEGO® House Dinosaurs. Now there’s #4000026-1: LEGO® House Tree of Creativity. These three sets are only available at the LEGO® Brand Store in the LEGO® House in Billund, Denmark. This set was released in 2018. I couldn’t find the exact date and I’m not sure how long it will be out.

The set contains 837 pieces and is priced at 599 DKK. The day I went, the exchange rate made it $89.63 total. That’s $0.107 per piece so a bit on the high end in my opinion. Keep in mind that the price includes 25% Value Added Tax (think sales tax in the US) so if you buy it with the VAT form that you can take to the airport then it will be cheaper. I didn’t have that option since I was just driving back to Germany so I ate the tax.

Keep in mind when you go that there is a limit of three per family. As mentioned in other reviews, I didn’t try and play any games and have my NLS buy some too. I did have a car so it made bringing back the extra sets much easier than trying to get them on a plane or shipping them back to the US.

Onto the review…

The box is not a normal size that I recognize from other sets. Or maybe it is and I just can’t tell the difference. The front shows the set with the minifigure included nearby. The back gives some information on the LEGO House and the actual Tree of Creativity. I also included a picture from the side of the box of the LEGO® House logo and then some stats on the actual model.

The set comes with six parts bags that are not numbered and includes a piece separator. The instructions are not wrapped, but they were not jammed in the box. No stickers!

The build doesn’t have any natural break points where you open new bags or switch to a new instruction book so I just took pictures as I went. The build starts off with the base of the tree. The actual base is a 3 foot high or so barrier and the bottom is filled with various green parts. Obviously the trunk of the tree starts there too.

The tree is built around a square pattern with various pieces thrown in to mix up the shape and made it non-uniform. The middle of the trunk is filled with two Technic parts that hook in throughout the tree with pins. This occurs throughout the build as you’ll see and helps to make it more structurally sound. On the actual tree trunk are various designs. The set has the wooden duck toy built in similar to how the actual tree has the wooden duck built in.

Continuing on is the first branch with a castle on it to represent the castle theme. You can also see the Technic parts continuing their journey upwards.

Continuing on with the trunk rising up around the Technic parts. Another branch is added with a fire truck resting on it.

As the build continues, there is a branch with a train, a train station, and a building. The train is one of the larger mini-builds on top of a branch. A few of the branches are added on without any items on top. If you go to the actual Tree of Creativity, you can see that the LEGO® House builds new things across time to remain permanent or to just be part time additions. During my trip, there were some monkeys hanging out on the various branches.

Instruction #162… this includes a branch with a rocket on top. Up to #192 includes some branches with nothing on top and a branch with a bulldozer on it.

Topping off the build is a crane with a new part of the tree to attach. The tree is meant to be a story of the LEGO® Company’s journey and the crane shows how it will continue to grow. It will be interesting to see if over the years they add new branches and new sections.

This set comes with one minifigure. It’s a male minifigure with blond-ish colored hair in a LEGO® House shirt. The LEGO® Store there has other figures with this shirt, but they all appear to be key chains. So unless there is another way, this is your only option to get one like this. In my opinion, it would be nice to build your own figure with the shirt or if the set had multiple versions and you could pick which one you wanted based on the minifigure it had. That would probably be harder to produce so I’m sure the set would be more expensive it they did that.

A few extra items that I haven’t highlighted… on one side of the tree is a brick built wood pecker. Considering the scale, I think the designers did a good job capturing a bird.

Also, I included another shot so you can get a closer look at the train station, rocket, and bulldozer.

We’ve reached the end of the build. Overall, it’s a good set and captures the real model pretty accurately. The build uses some good techniques and there are some decent pieces in the set. In my opinion though, I would pick one of the other LEGO® House exclusive sets over this one if I was limited in luggage space or funds. The other 2 are better display pieces. This one doesn’t fit as much as it looks weird as a stand alone tree. The actual tree in the building fits the architecture right by the stairwell. It doesn’t look as thin because it is surrounded by the stairs and then approaches the top of the building. Additionally, it is a bit pricey for what you get. ~$90 for 837 pieces and the pieces aren’t all that big. As a collector, I’m glad I got it, but that’s really the only audience it applies to. What are your thoughts?

Set Review - #10266-1: NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander - Creator Expert

It’s the 50th anniversary of the first moon landing and LEGO decided to put out a set to recognize the event. This one has received a lot of press on the fan media so there probably isn’t a whole lot I can say about this set that people haven’t heard so I’ll focus on the review. The basics are that it was released 12 June 2019 in the US. The price is $99.99 for 1087 pieces. This works out to $0.092 per piece. You can see the official LEGO Designer video here. You can see my review of #21309-1: NASA Apollo 11 Saturn V Ideas set here.

Onto the review…

The front of the box shows the set on a lunar surface with the Earth in the background. The back shows the assembled set with close ups on some of the details.

The contents are 8 parts bags with 7 of them being numbered and one of them containing larger pieces. The instruction book is in a plastic sleeve and the stickers are there as well to make sure they are protected. Bag 1 includes a part separator.

While I am not a big fan of stickers, I like how these stickers provide a chrome look to the set to re-create the heat shield. So maybe they’re not all that bad. I still hate applying them though. I never seem to be able to line them up right.

The instruction book starts off with an interesting introduction that repeats in Spanish and French. Throughout the book, there are various references to the design and what part of the actual lunar lander it relates to.

Bag 1 completes the base of the model. It is very similar to an Architecture theme build with the black tiles around the outside and the printed tile with the name of the set. While Apollo 11 actually landed on a much smoother surface, the designer tried to replicate his version of the lunar surface. The minifigure footprints are a nice touch.

Along the corners are where the landing gear of the model sit which helps you to display the model itself.

Bag 1 includes one of the minifigures. Not sure which astronaut it is, but that’s okay. There’s also a US flag (sticker) to attach to the surface of the moon.

The second bag starts the construction of the actual lunar module. The initial build includes some of the main structure to include the start of the heat shield. It also includes the oxidizer (white) and fuel (red) tanks. The first 2 pictures I posted show the one heat shield folding down to reveal a camera. As I understand it, this is the camera that recorded the astronauts as they reached the surface of the moon and walked around.

The next 2 pictures show the other side. This includes one of the shields that folds down to reveal one of the laser reflectors. The “laser reflector” is a separate assembly that you can remove and place on your lunar surface if you want. Fun fact… they still use the laser reflectors to this day for experiments.

Here is a top view of the build after bag 2. The build is not your normal build of stacking bricks as you would expect from a Creator Expert set and includes some good building techniques.

Bag 3 adds on the landing gear and finishes the heat shield. When initially building the landing gear, they seemed pretty flimsy to me. Once they were finished, they are actually pretty sturdy. In looking at pictures, the designer did a good job recreating the actual gear. I have said this before, but I’m a fan of mixing System and Technic parts into a model. This set is no exception to that statement.

The gold colored pieces help to match the coloring of the heat shield. Even if you don’t like the model when you are done, getting so many of this color in a set is pretty rare so there are lots of opportunities to use the gold color in MOCs elsewhere.

Bag 4 completes the crew compartment or Ascent Stage. The outside contains various antennas as well as some of the thrusters for maneuvering. The inside doesn’t have a lot of space for minifigures, but then again I don’t think it was designed for play. There are some details inside to include some stickers that I assume are the various control panels, but the 2 minifigures with their gear on will definitely have to squeeze in here. As you can see from my pictures, the designer built it so you can take a side off to see inside or put a minifigure in.

There’s a lot of SNOT use on this section and it is a pretty fun part to build in my opinion. I like the techniques used to capture the design of the actual section of the craft.

This section snaps into place onto the Decent Stage of the lander. Thankfully it snaps in easily and you don’t have to force it in or yank it out. I didn’t break the set while attaching or removing these parts.

Here’s the final model. Overall it was a fun build with some challenging techniques, but it went pretty quickly. I believe the designer captured the design of the original system well and still added some features that you would expect in a LEGO set like being able to disconnect the stages and being able to see inside the crew compartment. Someday when I have a nerd cave, this set will definitely go on display next to my Saturn V rocket.

The price isn’t too bad. I bought when the patch and #40335-1: Space Rocket Ride were being offered so that helped. If you’re looking for a better price, wait for double VIP points or maybe towards the end of its life we’ll see discounts on Amazon or at Walmart. Have fun building this one if you buy it!

Set Review - #71024-1: Disney Minifigures, Series 2 - Collectible Minifigures

The Disney Series 2 minifigures were released back on 1 May 2019. While most the the big fan sites have covered these a long time ago, I am a normal fan and it took a while to get all 18. I finally got them all and here is my review. So sorry it’s late, but I don’t get a free shipment from LEGO or go out and buy them right away to have the first review out there.

As mentioned previously, LEGO has limited the purchases you can make from Shop @ Home to 18. With that being said, you can go to a LEGO Brand Store and buy as many as they have in stock. The retail price is $3.99 per bag. I purchased mine from Amazon and they were $3.92 at a time. In checking today, they are listed at $2.99 each. I’m not sure if it’s an ongoing sale or a permanent drop in price, but sweet! Walmart shows the same $2.99 price as well. Hopefully this will become a trend and you can take advantage of waiting to get the minifigures by getting them at lower prices.

The bag size matches the larger size used for #71023-1: LEGO Movie 2 Minifigures.

Onto the review…

Next up is Hercules and Hades from the cartoon movie “Hercules.” Unlike Ursula from series 1, Hades has a bottom half and top half versus a larger bottom piece that the torso fits in. Another change is that Hades hair piece is permanently attached to the head piece. I initially was shocked that the hair was attached and thought it somehow became assembled during shipment. Then I realized it was permanent. Odd… Hades was one of the lease popular in the orders I made.

I had to make sure I got it right. Chip has a brown nose and Dale has the red nose. These weren’t as popular in my purchases. I think I got one extra of Dale only.

Series 1 Disney had Genie and Aladdin. This series includes Jafar and Jasmine.

The last bunch are Scrooge McDuck, Dewey (blue), Huey (red), and Louie (green). I had to look them up to verify I got them all right. These were the least popular in the orders I made and I was concerned I wouldn’t get any. It did bring back some good memories of watching “Duck Tales” as a kid. Anyone else remember that cartoon?

I have never seen “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” but this series includes Sally and
Jack Skellington. Sally comes with two black flowers and Jack comes with a gift with 1x1 round tile snowflakes inside. In my purchases, these were not hard to find, but I did not get a lot of extras.

The LEGO Ideas set has some that are slightly different than Vintage Mickey and Vintage Minnie. I think the steering wheel is a bit too big and the life raft looks more like how I see it used regularly… as a toilet seat. There were a lot of extras of both of these minifigures in my purchases.

I don’t think they could get away without doing Anna and Elsa from “Frozen.” They already appear in the Disney sets, but these are the first in true minifigure form. These minifigures were very popular in the purchases that I made and I got a lot of extras.

The last series had Mr. Incredible and Syndrome. This one includes Edna Mode and Frozone. Edna is my favorite in this series. I like how they did the giant glasses that make her eyes look bigger. It’s a great representation of the movie character in my opinion.

Overall this is a decent series. The representations of the actual characters in minifigure form were done well. In my opinion, it’s a good mix of characters from the Disney universe and I’m sure in a year or two we’ll see Series 3 with even more if the license with Disney continues.

If you’re a sucker for collecting these sets like me, the lesson learned here is to have patience and wait for better pricing. Hopefully this will become the trend and companies like Amazon and Walmart will cut the price to $2.99 or lower after a while. If you are going to buy them, you might as well wait for them to be at a better price than go through LEGO and their higher pricing. When the LEGO Movie 2 minifigures were discounted on Shop @ Home, they were only $3.19 so still a better deal to get them elsewhere.

Should there be a Series 3 or should they just move on? I’m hoping we can have more original minifigures versus licensed ones, but the licensed ones probably sell better. What are your thoughts on this series?

Set Review - #21037-1: LEGO® House - Architecture

Onto the second of the three LEGO® House exclusive sets I picked up while in Billund. This one is #21037-1: LEGO® House from the Architecture theme. It was released in 2017 and is still available today. The brief history behind this set is that #4000010-1: LEGO® House - Architecture available back in March 2014 was the first round. It was in all white and was released prior to the opening of the LEGO® House in Billund. This set was released after the LEGO® House opened.

This set has 774 pieces and retails for 449 DKK. I was at the LEGO® House for two days and I bought sets on each of the days (2 and then 1). I paid $67.19 and $67.27 when translated. I don’t think the US Dollar to Danish Kroner exchange rate fluctuates a great deal so my guess is you can expect to pay about the same amount. The sign at the store says you are limited to three sets per family. I bought three and didn’t try to scam the Brand Store there over by having my NLS buy some or buying without my VIP account.

Onto the review…

The box looks like a standard architecture set. The biggest difference is that this one is very colorful while most of the sets are usually full of grays, tans, and whites. It’s a nice change to have some color.

The contents are 6 parts bags, an instruction booklet, and four 6x12 dark gray plates. Like most architecture sets, the bags are not numbered. The instructions have a section about the LEGO® House, its development, information on the architecture firm, and some facts throughout the instructions.

Like most architecture sets, the bags aren’t numbered so there aren’t good break points for a review. I just picked a few points I thought to be useful to discuss the build.

The base of the building is completed at step 15. It’s just the dark gray plates with black plates underneath to hold them together. The edge is completed with black tiles to include one that is printed with the “LEGO® House” name on it.

Step 33 of the instructions completes the first layer of plates on the base. It is made up of light gray for the sidewalks and tan for the floor inside the LEGO® House. There are a few spots where there are no plates and then a few colored tiles for where the stepped portions of the house begin.

My next stopping point is the completion of the first floor or layer. The first floor includes some windows along with the yellow and blue steps on the two opposite ends of the building. The inside of the house includes a plant to represent one of the plants in the house and then the steps leading up into the house along with the tree of creativity. They don’t include all of the detail, but given the limited space, I can understand why.

Onto the second level… each of the sections fit in just so to create the various upper sections of the house. So far I’m impressed with the build and how it is arranged.

The top level with the masterpiece gallery is easily removable and does not attach with clutch to the other layers of the house. This feature is nice as you can view the “inside” of the house. The very top includes the 8 clear windows that look like the studs of a 2x4 brick.

Here’s the final build. I think they did a great job representing the LEGO® House given the scale of the architecture theme. I’m a big fan of this set and recommend picking it up if you are able to visit the LEGO® House. To be fair, I might be biased since I was actually there. I wonder if I would have the same opinions if I hadn’t actually been there.

Does anyone else have this one? What are your thoughts?

In the meantime, happy building!

Set Review - #BL19012: Bikes! - BrickLink AFOL Designer Program

I did a few posts on the BrickLink AFOL designer back in March and April 2019. You can see the first one here and the update here. As mentioned, I ordered two sets and the first one arrived a few weeks back. I finally got done with my LEGO® House and Billund, Denmark posts so this post is next in the cue.

The first one to arrive was #BL19012: Bikes! by designer MDT.Maikel from the Netherlands. The cost was $49.99 for 519 pieces or $0.096 per piece. I bought it during the pre-order period so it was free shipping. I don’t live in California so no sales tax either. Woohoo!!

Onto the review…

When you buy from LEGO® Shop at Home, the boxes that arrive are very plain and do not have a LEGO logo on them anywhere. The shipping label says LRI I believe. BrickLink wants you to be sure you know what’s in the box when you get it. As you can see, the logo is proudly displayed on the box.

The box inside has a printed covering on it. The front of the set has the BrickLink logo, the 60th anniversary logo, and the printed numbering (my set was #617). The back shows another view of the set. The side of the box has the designer info, the total pieces, and the total unique pieces.

The inside of the box cover can be set up as a backdrop for the set. I didn’t straighten it out or hang it up so it still has the folds, but it’s a cool idea. I didn’t see anywhere that said where exactly the picture was taken, but I would guess in the Netherlands somewhere. Does anyone know?

Inside the covering is the box with the goods. The top has the BrickLink logo and the bottom has some information about the AFOL Designer Program. I took a picture of the BrickLink logo on the side just because and then the box has a seal for when you open it. Once you pull the sticker away, it says “void” and you can’t try and re-sell or scam someone into saying it’s a new build for purchase.

The box was actually a bit big considering the contents. The contents are 3 parts bags, the instructions, and 2 cards. This is what it looked like when I opened the box. Everything was well organized and you can tell it was hand packed versus machine stuffed.

The first card as you open the set has a note from BrickLink and from LEGO. Happy reading!

The second card has pictures of all of the sets that were selected as finalists in the program.

Inside the instruction booklet is a note from the AFOL designer. His name is Maikel de Vries and it’s cool that they let him plug some of his other work.

The instructions are similar to what you would find in an official LEGO set other than they skip a lot of steps and details. They get that adults are building these and they don’t need to get into every little detail. If you want to follow the instructions, then it’s on you.

The contents were 3 parts bags labeled 1A, 2A, and 2B. The instructions are set up so that you open bag 1 and then bags 2A and 2B at the same time. My guess is that BrickLink did a lot of this by hand versus using LEGO’s giant automated systems so the 2A and 2B helped people realize that they were separate. Don’t quote me on this one… does anyone have any insight into this?

Additionally, you get an Exclusive Element. It is the Technic, Brick 2x4 with 3 axle holes. I didn’t grab a picture of it, but the side of the brick has the 60 Year logo on it.

Onto the build…

The first bag completes the stand where you pick up your bike. It comes with 3 bikes and 6 slots for bikes. There are 6 light blue bikes that come with the set in total so that makes sense. The one side of the stand has a register for renting the bike and the other has an air pump (I think). The base has the “Bikes!” logo on it made out of lime green tiles. The roof is held on by a Technic parts design that is pretty cool. Unlike an official LEGO set, this stand is not very solidly constructed. If you’re used to just picking up an official set and moving it, don’t try it with this one. The roof part disconnects very easily. It’s not a bad thing… just a difference to be aware of in my opinion.

The second set of bags builds the truck, 2 minifigures, and a bike with a cart in front that carries some brick food. The truck isn’t too detailed other than the design in the back uses some SNOT techniques to have the mirror image “Bikes!” sign on both sides. The bike with cart is a cool idea… definitely something I saw a lot when I went to Amsterdam. It’s not a very stable build with the basket being held on by one small stud, but as it’s not meant for a kid to play with, They can get away with it for this set.

The minifigures are rather plain and come with the 2 dots and a smiley face. If BrickLink repeats this effort, I’d work with LEGO to expand the available minifigures. If I were to have a complain about anything from this set, I think the minifigures would be it.

Here’s the final build with the 3 extra bike wheels. There were a few small extra parts too.

Overall, I like how BrickLink and LEGO handled this and the finished product. The packaging was high quality and the set build was on par with what I’d expect from an AFOL build. Having ordered back in late March, they thankfully didn’t charge me until the set shipped in June. I have one other set on the way and have not been charged for it yet which is good. I think that’s a reasonable way to run the program. BrickLink has done a good job getting me updates on the status of my orders. Not charging me until it ships is good. I have done a brick related gofundme type program before. I paid up front and ended up not getting the final product as the effort was delayed substantially. I contacted the folks running the effort and still didn’t get anything.

Back on track though… this was well executed and the final product is great. I’m on board with BrickLink doing this again. It would be great to see more AFOL models come through the pipeline. Maybe some of the rejected IDEAS sets?

Well done BrickLink!

Set Review - #40366-1: LEGO House Dinosaurs

If you’ve been reading my blog, you’ve seen my posts about my trip to the LEGO® House in Billund, Denmark. I hinted that I would be reviewing the exclusive sets and now here I am with the the first of three. Starting with the newest one first, #40366-1: LEGO House Dinosaurs was released on 1 May 2019 (I believe… someone correct me if that is wrong). It is only available at the LEGO® House in the Brand Store there. There is a sign by the set along with the other exclusive sets saying that you are limited to three per family. I assume they track by your VIP points and I didn’t try to scam them by buying more on the second day without my VIP points number. The joy of driving to Billund was that I had a car and didn’t have to cram my haul into suit cases. So I got 3. The set has 864 pieces and retails for 599 DKK. I bought 2 sets on day one and 1 on day 2. The first day I paid around $89.63 and the second day was around $89.73 with the exchange rate. That works about to about $0.104 per piece. So right around the average for a set if you assume 10 cents per piece is the going rate.

Keep in mind that this includes VAT or Value Added Tax. In the US, you pay sales tax which is factored in above the listed price. In Europe, VAT is already in there. So really, on day 1 I paid $22.41 in tax and the set was only $67.22. The Brand Store at the LEGO® House says you can do VAT free shopping. It means you get a form and take your receipt and form to a stand that is usually at the airport. They process it and then magically you get a refund on your credit card a few months later. Since I live in Germany right now, that wasn’t an option for me, but had I flown back to the US, I could have done that. So something to consider if you fly from the US to Billund.

Onto the review… The front shows the set build in a digital recreation of the Masterpiece Gallery. It also shows the LEGO® House logo. The back provides some background on the LEGO® House Dinosaurs and shows a picture of the actual models. It also had a small write up about the LEGO® House itself.

The box contains 9 parts bags, a bag of white flex rods, and 3 instruction books packaged up with a sticker sheet. Bag one contains a teal colored piece separator.

The first bag begins the DUPLO® T-Rex. You start by building the arms, tail, and body. There are a few stickers on this one, but nothing too major.

Without the legs it almost looks like it could be a sea monster…

The third bag adds the display stand found at the LEGO® House. The stand includes 2 eggs, which as of this year, one has hatched. This model is of the original design when the LEGO® House first opened. The stand has a spot for you to attach the feet so it doesn’t fall over.

Bag 5 wraps up the System brick dinosaur. The head is built in a somewhat similar method with the teeth and eyes looking similar to the DUPLO® version. The legs are built differently. It still stands up on its own well once you balance it.

The seventh bag starts the Technic parts built dinosaur. Like bags 1 and 4, this one builds the body, arms, and tail. As to be expected, it is heavy on the use of Technic parts.

And the ninth bag is a stand that is similar to the other 2.

The second bag finishes the DUPLO® dinosaur. The head and legs are finished. I like how they did the teeth and it includes a tongue too. The use of the ball joints for eyes is also a nice touch. The brick flower pieces do a good job replicating the flowers found on the actual build.

With the weight being distributed around, it is easy to get the dinosaur to stand up on its own without falling over.

The fourth bag starts the System bricks dinosaur. Like bag one, this bag builds the tail, arms, and body of the dinosaur with some slight changes. There are fewer stickers here to apply which is good in my opinion.

The sixth bag builds the stand for this dino. Like the DUPLO® version, this one has a spot for you to attach the feet. This allows you to change the position and not worry about it falling over if it isn’t balanced.

The eighth bag finishes up the Technic T-Rex. It uses a lot of Technic pieces, but the main construction is with system bricks and the Technic pieces are strapped on the outside. Only 2 stickers on this one so not bad. The head is built slightly different than the other 2, but it still has similar eyes and teeth.

Here are all three together as a completed set. Overall, I’m a big fan. I think they did a great job capturing the big models at a smaller scale. The builds are somewhat similar, but each have small changes that make the build more interesting. They are a good display set and they have some play features too.

The price is a bit high, but that’s what you get for an exclusive set sold at one place only. Maybe when I re-open my Bricklink store, I will sell the other 2 I bought to help make up for the cost.

Here’s the set next to a picture I took during my visit in May 2019. Obviously not exactly alike, but I think they are close considering it’s only a few hundred pieces for 3 versus many hundreds of thousands of bricks for the real ones.

Has anyone else built this set yet? What are your thoughts?