Set Review - #40860-1: Toy Story - Brickheadz

Disney Pixar’s Toy Story has had numerous sets over the years, but now we get some of the characters in Brickheadz form. #40860-1: Toy Story was released on 1 June 2026. It retails for $39.99 and contains 528 pieces. This works out to $0.076 per piece which isn’t too bad, but it is creeping higher considering it’s a Brickheadz set. There are five characters in this set which isn’t bad, but two of them are the smaller aliens so it’s hard to say that you really get five.

The box is similar to others. The front has the Brickheadz logo, the Disney Pixar Toy Story logo, and the figure names. They are numbered as 310 - Alien 1, 311 - Alien 2, 312 - Jessie, 313 - Woody, and 314 - Buzz Lightyear. The back shows the figures in some different positions and shows that you can put the figures on the plate stands.

The set contains six numbered parts bags and the instructions are in a paper bag.

There are four instruction booklets. Woody is bags one and two. Buzz is bag three. Jessie is bags four and five. The two aliens are in bag six.

The first bag starts to build Woody. Inside, you add a few ice cream pieces that I believe are supposed to be the stuffing inside Woody. You also add his belt buckle, Sherriff’s badge, and his arms.

The second bag finishes Woody. On the back, he’s got a hoop to look like the voice string. You also add the hat.

The third bag builds Buzz Lightyear. He has a 2x4 printed plate for his chest which is cool, but there’s a lot that’s missing. He could have his helmet or the wings, but he is wing-less and helmet-less. I’m sure this was a pricing decision as more parts would make it even more expensive.

Bag four starts to build Jessie. She doesn’t have anything special at this point, but she also has the pieces inside for “stuffing” like Woody does.

Bag five finishes up Jessie. The most detail is with her hat and hair. The ponytail in the back is a cool design and is different from most Brickheadz.

The sixth bag builds the two aliens. They are both follow the same set of instructions with the same pieces. The three eyes and the printed logo on the front are fun. However, I feel like the aliens could be a little squattier and fatter to match what is in Toy Story. You can tell what they are supposed to be, but they could be a little more accurate.

Here are the final Brickheadz. I’ll give my standard Brickheads set closing. If you’re a Brickheadz fan or a Toy Story fan, then grab this set. If not, there probably isn’t a good reason to get this unless it goes on a very steep discount at Lego someday.

Happy building!

I Could Have Sold This LEGO Set For Over $500

This is actually a set review for #910027-1: Mountain View Observatory which is part of the Bricklink Designer Program. It was originally released in 2023 and I hadn’t built it since then, but also didn’t put it in the store. It contains 3,876 pieces and originally retailed for $249.99. This worked out to $0.064 per piece, but now good luck getting it for under $500 in new in sealed box condition. I had it new and my kiddo said “hey, let’s build this one.” So I caved and we built it.

The front of the box shows the full built set while the back shows the different levels of the observatory.

The set contains 25 numbered parts bags with some having more than one bag per number. There are three bags without numbers containing larger pieces. There is a sticker sheet, but no printed instructions. To be honest, that’s why it takes me a while to get to the Bricklink Designer Program sets. I have a few that I’ve been holding for a bit, but I don’t enjoy building with a screen. I like the opportunity to be off of a screen when I’m building.

Here is the sticker sheet. There are quite a few. They look okay and help with the design, but it would have been better to assemble without stickers (as always).

The first bag assembles the base using plates instead of a baseplate and then the start to the walls of the first floor. The structure of the build is not that exciting. Lots of stacking bricks and building walls at 90 degree angles. It’s the details on the inside that make the build exciting. Bag one has two minifigues. One is a female worker and one is a male worker.

Bag two adds some of the interior details. The office items are fun and the giant screen system for controlling the telescope looks cool.

Bag three adds to some of the outer structure to make it seem like the observatory is built into a mountain. Bag four finishes up the walls for the ground level. I like the mechanical room with some of the different controls and storage.

To complain more about the build, there is a lot of stacking of bricks. In bag three, you create the item on the right three separate times. Then I grabbed a gray one from my collection (on the left) and realized you are just recreating a BURP! What!?!?!? Really???? It seems as though this was built using a digital design program and the builder just did a copy and paste to add the detail. Maybe I’m wrong, but if you were free building this, I don’t see you repeating that design three times. That’s my opinion anyways…

Bags five and six add to the exterior details with lots of cheese slopes and then a water feature. There’s also a walkway into the building built as stairs over the water.

Bag seven finishes up the ground level section while bag eight constructs a separate section to connect to the base.

Bag nine adds a tree to the outside with some frogs in it. You also get two more minifigures.

Bag ten starts the second level. The floor is made of plates and then the walls start with bricks being stacked.

Bag 11 continues to build the wall while bag 12 adds details on the inside. There are some great items in here to include a display shelf with various space items, a soda machine, a space suit, a model rocket, and a worker’s desk.

Bag 13 adds more details with a small rover and spaceship model. There’s also another space suit on display.

Bag 14 finishes up the floor with walls and three minifigures (to include a baby). You can see one of the large stickers on the outside of the wall.

Bag 15 adds a colorful tree out the exterior which adds some nice color to the set. There are more frogs in this tree.

Bag 16 begins the next level.

Bags 17 and 18 build up the section where the telescope will be located. Again, lots of stacking of bricks and repeat patterns. Not super interesting here, but thankfully, not a lengthy part of the build.

Bag 19 finishes up this level. It’s pretty much just a walkway to the stairs to the telescope. You also get two more minifigures and a display stand with a sticker for the workers to explain the solar system.

Bag 20 begins to build the section where the telescope is located. The base is made of plates and then bricks are used to make the rounded dome. There is also a light brick here to light up the telescope area.

Bags 21 and 22 continue with the dome build and add some details inside. The telescope is built on a Technic system to angle it up and down which is a fun play feature.

Bags 23 and 24 continue with the use of bricks, plates, and cheese slopes to get the rounded shape of the dome.

Bag 25 finishes up the dome. The outer pieces can be moved to close the dome up if it’s raining in your LEGO city. Also, the dome rotates freely 360 degrees so you have two fun play features to add to the telescope movement in the building.

The set comes with six adult minifigures, two kid minifigures, and a baby. Additionally, there is a blue spaceman and a white astronaut on the second level, but they do not come with faces, just solid colored head pieces. Nothing rare or original, but a decent amount to set up around the building and on the outside areas.

Here’s the final build. The exterior walls weren’t fun and I didn’t enjoy the landscaping builds on the outside. The interior details were fun to assemble with a lot of great details. Overall, it wasn’t my most favorite build, but I’m not complaining. Should I have sold it? Too late now. It doesn’t fit with the modular buildings, but with enough BURPs and other pieces, you could really get this looking like it was on a mountain.

Which Bricklink Designer Program set should I build next? And how long should I wait to build it?

Happy building!

Set Review - #40820-1: Up-Scaled Santa Minifigure

The up-scaled minifigures continue! This one is #40820-1: Up-Scaled Santa Minifigure. It contains 761 pieces and retails for $59.99. This works out to $0.079 per piece which is okay, but could be better considering this is not a licensed theme. This set was released on 2 October 2025. This set is similar to the other up-scaled minifigures, but of course is of Santa.

The box is similar sized as the other up-scaled minifigure sets and shows the full minifigure on the front. On the back is the minifigure sitting and then a picture showing the dimensions and that the arms move like a regular minifigure.

The set contains seven numbered parts bags and an instruction booklet. The bags were the new paper kind that you can recycle. The instructions don’t have the QR code you can scan for insider points which stinks.

Not to disappoint you, but the build is very similar to the other up-scaled minifigures. If you are looking for an exciting or different build, this isn’t the set for you. Bag one starts the torso with the Technic internals so the arms move. Bag two adds a printed panel on the front with Santa’s belt and belly.

Bag three adds the legs which move in the same way that a regular minifigure moves. Bag four adds the arms and hands.

Bag five starts the head. There is a small build in the head like the other up-scaled minifigure sets. I won’t spoil it, but emphasis on small. The face part is printed and not a sticker so that’s good.

Bag six adds the beard which is a difference between this set and some of the others.

And bag seven wraps it up with Santa’s hat.

There you have it. Another up-scaled minifigure. If you’re a fan of these sets, then definitely pick it up. If not, then this one is an avoid. We’ll see if this one goes on sale before retirement or not. Could be a good set to get a GWP if you are looking to get an order above a certain limit.

Happy building!

LEGOLAND NEW YORK - Summer 2026

I had never been to a LEGOLAND anywhere and a recent family trip took us by Goshen, NY so we figured, why not plan to visit LEGOLAND New York for a day. I had a lot of Insider Points so I used them for the tickets (despite tickets in the US being double the number of points over tickets at other LEGOLANDs not in the US). Tickets are listed as $49 each if you get them online in advance. We opted not to stay at the hotel attached to the park as that was more than we wanted to spend. We found a hotel that was about 20 minutes away and the price was reasonable.

Traveling to the park was easy. It’s not in a busy area of the state and the traffic was not bad. We arrived before the park opened and there was no line for parking. Of note, we went while schools in NY were still in session, but PA schools had already been out for a few weeks. That may have helped with the crowds. There are two large parking lots. The closest lot to the park is $55 a day before tax and the further lot is $38 a day before tax. We opted to walk a couple extra minutes to save $17.

Entry was easy. I had the tickets on my phone and we were scanned in and ready to go. The park entrance pictures are below.

LEGOLAND New York is on a hill, but it does have a gondola that will take you from close to the entrance to near the Pirate section of the park. We took the gondola right away thinking everyone else would start at the front and work back and we’d do the opposite. Each gondola car has a different minifigure theme and it was fun to watch the different minifigures on each one as they went by.

We started in the CITY area with the large minifigure of the Statue of Liberty to welcome you (as seen below). We started with some cars kids could drive around a road system. There was no wait and most of the cars were empty so my kids had only a handful of other drivers to deal with. My kids had fun, but my older one was almost too tall to fit in the car.

Next was a LEGO fire truck ride where you had to pump a handle to get the truck to move from one end of the lot to the other. Then you had to get out and use another pump to spray water at a building facade. The windows had screens with smoke and fire on them. You had to put out the fire and then get back into the truck and drive back. It was a short experience, but fun and no line.

There were other activities and some additional things you could pay for, but we decided to move on.

Throughout the park, there are some great decorations made of brick or just painted/printed on walls. This wall had numerous minifigures on it. Some of them were set up so you could stand in front and have wings like the fairy wings on the right. I didn’t take pictures of every display, but between the builds or random large scale LEGO flowers, and decorations, it still made you feel you were in LEGOLAND and not some random amusement park.

We hit the pirate section next. My kids and Non-LEGO Spouse (NLS) road the ride pictured below. You’re on a boat with water cannons that you can pump to shoot at the various targets or at people not on the ride. The fun part is that if you’re not on the ride, you can also shoot water at the people on the ride. Unfortunately, most of the water cannons not on the ride were broken which was a trend seen through a lot of the park with items not kept up for whatever reason.

Mini Land is a fun section of the park with lots of great builds. The builds are placed in with real and fake plants so it’s not 100% brick. Some of the builds have movement, sound, or lights. While I get that the builds are out in the elements, there were a lot of sections with parts missing or broken functions. I was surprised that they didn’t replace things or at least find something to cover up areas where a display had broken.

The first section we stopped in was LEGOWOOD with a action scene built in that you could trigger while a movie producer watched.

San Francisco was next with a Golden Gate Bridge. I won’t spoil them, but there are a lot of Easter Eggs hidden in the builds so really pay attention if you ever go to see what things they mix into the builds. My favorite here was the Sea Lion that was a Lion.

Las Vegas was next with the Strip and Downtown mixed in. Next to it was a southwestern scene which I assume was meant to be Arizona.

A replica of the Bellagio hotel (minus the branding). Sadly the fountains didn’t function.

The next picture is of Mount Rushmore which was a mix of LEGO bricks and some sort of sculpting material. The heads sang a bad rendition of “Yankee Doodle” when you hit a button. Also, you can see a soccer ball with the World Cup approaching, you had to count the number of soccer balls hidden throughout Miniland. I didn’t get any pictures of them, but there were a few activities you could do related to the world cup and a few builds. My kids tried to kick a soccer ball into a net being blocked by a large minifigure. The minifigure was on a rotating stand that I was allowed to control. I didn’t do so well.

The Washington DC area was detailed with some impressive builds of the structures there.

The New York City area was also very detailed and it had a lot of fun Easter Eggs. Here are just a few pictures of what we saw.

The Knicks had recently won the NBA Championships and they included the celebration parade which was a fun way to add in some relevant current events into Miniland.

Also, yet another Statue of Liberty, but this one is of the actual statue instead of a minifigure.

I skipped over our visits to the Castle area with a few rides and a build area as I didn’t get any pictures there. I decided to enjoy my time there instead of taking loads of pictures to add to a blog post later.

One thing I will point out is that food there is expensive and from what I’ve read, not that good. A bonus for the park is that you can get a stamp, leave the park, and come back in the same day. We had a cooler in the car, bought some sandwiches and snacks at a grocery store that morning, and ate lunch in our car. It was much cheaper and we ate what we wanted.

After lunch, we stopped at one of the build areas. One of the buildings has spaces to build with large rubber bricks, Duplo, and LEGO. My family stuck to the LEGO and built cars to race down tall ramps or a ramp where you could compete with others. You could get a set of wheels and a minifigure, but you had to sign them out from a worker at the front desk. I thought that was kind of lame, but I’m sure people try and take minifigures. We enjoyed building cars, but it was tough to use the racing ramp as kids were going wild while their parents doom scrolled on their phones at nearby benches.

In another area of the building were some of the master builders who create the builds for the park. They had some of their builds on display in a window which was cool to see. You could go watch them build and talk with them if you wanted.

The area with the master builders also had a LEGO Masters build on display. The picture isn’t the greatest as it has the reflection from the case around it, but you get the idea.

Also in this room was a large bin with red, yellow, and blue 2x4 bricks. You could build whatever you wanted and then put them on a table next to it for display. We all did this and then displayed our builds. A worker was there to grab random items and take them apart to replenish the bin of bricks.

One thing I will note is that the bricks were sticky. I assume it’s from whatever solution is used to clean the bricks. Also many of them were well worn from either heavy use or too many cleanings. My hands were pretty gross after anytime we built, but thankfully there were plenty of restrooms around to go and wash your hands off. This was different from the LEGO House in Billund where the bricks seemed to be in great condition and definitely were not sticky.

Here’s a shot of some of the master builders at work.

Another area we want to was the Ferrari experience which was a temporary event at the park. When you walked in, you were greeted by a large LEGO brick built Ferrari that you could sit in. We didn’t sit in it, but I did get a picture.

The rest of the area was a build experience. You got a wheel base from a worker and then there were numerous pits of parts in Ferrari colors to build your own car. Then you could test it on various ramps, race it against others, try to get it over a jump, or enter it into a digital race. My kids both tried the digital race. You scanned a car you built and then could race it using some preset buttons for speed around a track. It didn’t always work as advertised, but they still had fun. You could also pick a pre-made design from one of the Speed Champions sets to race. Once you were done, you could enter your physical build onto a conveyer belt where a LEGO brick built crowd cheered as the car went by. At the end, you car falls into a bucket for the workers to take apart. We saw a few kids who were sad they couldn’t get their car back and didn’t realize what would happen. Overall it was a fun experience and one of the better build areas at the park in my opinion.

There were a lot of big builds at the park and I didn’t get pictures of each of them. Here are just two. While rides are great and all, if you go, try to spend some time looking at some of the big builds as they are impressive at such a big size.

Before I get to the store, there is a ride where you go through a fictional process of how sets are made. At the end of this ride is where you can visit the pick-a-brick wall. We didn’t pick-a-brick at the park, but know that it’s an option and it’s not at the store.

In front of one of the store entrances were two minifigures holding boxes with retired modular building sets. If only they still sold those. The store itself is pretty big. It had the majority of the sets in LEGO’s catalog at the time and the prices were mostly the same. Collectible minifigures were $2 more then retail which was a notable exception. The store also sells some of the exclusive LEGOLAND sets that you can only get at LEGOLAND (or the LEGOLAND online store). On a positive note, you can make your purchases at the start of the day and pick them up at the store before you leave.

The store had some fun brick-built mosaics inside which was fun to see. We went at the end of the day so it was pretty crowded. They had plenty of workers so no line at check out which was nice. You can also use Insider Points or earn additional points with purchases.

Overall, we had fun. The rides were decent although some had more time with safety checks than actual time on the ride, but whatever. We went on a good day where it wasn’t super busy and the weather was nice. The mix of building, rides, and looking at builds was fun. At no time did anyone say they were bored so that was good.

I was disappointed in the upkeep of the park with broken sections of Miniland and various rides. The park is only five years old and it’s already showing its age. Come on LEGO! Step up and follow the motto of only the best is good enough.

Would I go back? I’m not sure I would anytime soon. We did it once and we’re good for a while. Maybe in a few years or if they put in a lot of new things?

Have you ever been to LEGOLAND NY? What were your thoughts?

Happy building!

Set Review - #40878-1: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Figures - Brickheadz

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are back in LEGO form. This time however they are in Brickheadz form. Set #40878-1: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Figures includes all four of the pizza eating characters. This set was released on 1 April 2026 and contains 567 pieces. At $39.99 it works out to $0.071 per piece. This isn’t bad, but considering there are lots of small pieces and only a few small printed pieces, it could be better.

The box shows the four characters on the front and the back. Both show the Brickheadz logo and the TMNT logo. The front identifies these figures as numbers 301 to 304.

The set contains four parts bags numbered one through four and then an unnumbered bag with the plates for the base of each character. The instructions are included in a paper bag.

There are four instruction booklets with one for each character.

The first bag includes a brick separator and builds Leonardo. I only included the final build of each character, but each one has a 2x2 round tile in the stomach area because it is a pizza print. This was a fun Easter Egg for the set. All four figures are mostly the same, but with some slight variation on the mask around the head, weapons holders, the shade of the color green used, and a 1x1 round printed tile with their first initial on the belt. Leonardo is built in the first bag. He has the two katana swords and his belt holds a sword holder (that doesn’t actually hold swords).

The second bag builds Raphael. He is a lighter shade of green and is holding his sai weapons. You’ll notice a few slight differences in his belt and mask, but otherwise, the build is similar.

The third bag builds Michelangelo in a teal green color. I don’t recall there being that much variation in color of the four, but I guess it helps to mix things up for the set. He has his two nunchucks and they have a small chain so they swing like one would expect.

Last is Donatello with his bo staff and a pizza tile in his other hand. Donatello is built with a much lighter green color, but is still mostly the same as the others.

Here are the four. I think the proportions of their faces are off. I would have put a stud of space between the eyes and the mouth area. It looks like they have very large foreheads.

Other than that, if you are a Brickheadz collector, a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fan, or you like pizza tiles, then grab this set. For those not into any of those things, I’d pass.

Happy building!

Set Review - #10337-1: Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole - Icons

I picked up another overpriced Icons car. This one is #10337-1: Lamborghini Countach 5000 Quattrovalvole. It was released on 1 July 2024 and contains 1,506 pieces. It retails for $179.99 which works out to $0.12 per piece. I got a GWP in the process so I guess that lessened the blow, but was it worth it?

The box shows the car on the front and then the back shows some of the features and a picture of the actual vehicle. The dark red on the box with the white car makes the box look sharp. It’s also a cool touch with the interior of the build being the same brick red color.

The set contains 11 numbered parts bags, one unnumbered bag, some wheels, and then the windscreen and instructions are in a paper package.

Here are the instructions and the windshield. The instructions have a few pages of information on the actual vehicle for those of you that enjoy reading about what you are building.

As expected, the first bag starts with the frame of the car and installs a few axles. The second bag continues to build this up and adds some of the brick red colored interior. It also includes the shifter or at least what represents that part.

Bag three adds in the front axle and the ability for the wheels to turn. It’s not a huge angle, but it’s enough to get the vehicle to turn.

Bag four adds in the seats to the vehicle. They are built in the brick red color as well.

Bag five adds in the doors that rotate up instead of out. I had to look it up, but I guess they also call these scissor doors.

Bag six adds an engine in the back. It uses claw pieces for the 12 cylinders. There are two red whips on the side which are clipped on. I lost a clip for the one side in this picture so it looks a bit off. I had a spare clip and added it on later.

Bag seven starts to build out the white body of the vehicle and starts in the back with part of the roof.

Bag eight adds wheel covers over the front and part of the front bumper and lights. I was super excited that there were no stickers and the Lamborghini logo is printed on a white cheese slope in the front..

Bag nine adds in the front trunk, headlight covers, and the rest of the front of the vehicle. The headlight covers are built in an interesting way using SNOT techniques.

Bag ten adds the brake lights in the back and creates the interesting angles in the back. I think the designers did a great job here creating the angles without a lot of gaps between pieces.. It looks really good! It also adds in the tail pipes.

Bag 11 wraps up the build with the final parts of the body, the rear spoiler, side mirrors, and the wheels. There are actually two wheels on each side in the back (one smaller and one larger) while there is one wheel on each side in the front. Also the wheels are installed in different directions so the hubcaps look slightly different between the front and back.

Overall, I enjoyed this build. There were some great building techniques, no stickers, and the vehicle looks pretty slick! This vehicle is way overpriced though. I know it’s a Lamborghini and so there are licensing fees, but come on!

I guess it’s your call. Do you like building these vehicles and you can find a deal or get a GWP? Or is it too expensive and you wait to see if it goes on sale before retirement?

Happy building!

Set Review - #71052: Series 29 Collectible Minifigures

Another round of non-licensed Collectible Minifigures. YAY! Series 29 was released on 1 May 2026. The price remains at $4.99 each and the packs of six are still available. This one should be around until September unless they sell out first. Overall, I’m a fan of this bunch. There are some creative and different minifigures along with a few to add to the various costumed themed minifigures.

Robot T.Rex: There are a bunch of dinosaur costumed minifigures and this one is along that theme only a robotic version. This one comes with a battery.

Marine Biologist: We’ve had swimmers and scuba divers in the past, but this one comes with a clown fish and a trans-pink leaf/coral piece. There is a 2x2 tile with a drawing of a fish and the number 106 on it.

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BIONICLE Cosplayer: I’m not a BIONICLE fan, but for those that are, they will enjoy this one. Otherwise, this is just another attempt to please BIONICLE fans I guess.

Monster Hunter: This one is pretty creative and could go with multiple themes. I think it would work great in a Steampunk theme which would be fun for some builders.

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Boba Cup Fan: I have never had boba tea, but this is a fun minifigure. I like the use of the unicorn horn for the straw tip.

Trash Monster: For some reason this one was the hardest for me to find. It’s got some interesting features with a 2x2 tile decorated as a rotten pizza box, a fish skeleton with a 1x1 round tile with a fly on it, and then the head is a rotting jack-o-lantern head.

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Chocolatier: This one goes great with one of the recent Bricklink Designer sets (#910039-1: The Art of Chocolate). The chocolate dragon is a fun piece and the minifigure’s face expression goes great with the simple design for the chocolate tool.

Tuba Player: The timing of this one goes with the recent #11371-1: Shopping Street modular building that has a music shop in it.

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Football Goalkeeper: Great timing with the World Cup starting soon. We had a referee recently and now the goalkeeper.

Cute Witch: Is the gray animal a cat? I think so. I like how they printed cats on each one of the legs.

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Unicorn Elf: The minifigure isn’t all that exciting or different, but the unicorn is a fun addition which actually uses the unicorn horn piece as a unicorn horn.

Mysterious Ronin: Why can’t we just call this a Ninjago minifigure?

Set Review - #10357-1: Shelby Cobra 427 S/C - Icons

If you’re a fan of LEGO, you know that they have a lot of car sets in a lot of themes. The Icons theme has a lot of cars to include this one, #10357-1: Shelby Cobra 427 S/C. It was released on 1 July 2025 for $159.99. It contains 1,241 pieces which works out to a pretty terrible $0.129 per piece. Sadly, the higher prices seem to be a trend across LEGO themes.

The box has the standard Icons look with the front showing the built set along with the Shelby Cobra logo. The bottom has the Icons greebling as usual. The back shows a rear view of the car, some close up details, and it has a schematic with the dimensions.

The set contains eight parts bags that are numbered and two bags without numbers. One unnumbered bag, which I forgot to include in the picture, has the windscreen. There’s an instruction book and a small sticker sheet.

Bag one assembles the base of the vehicle. It includes the front axles, the start of the steering column, and the start to the seats. It also adds in the pedals made with small spoons.

Bag two adds in the engine, steering wheel, and the start to the dashboard. There’s a note in the instructions about a bet that a passenger couldn’t catch a $100 bill off of the dashboard when you accelerate the Shelby Cobra.

Bags three and four add the doors to each side. This was a challenging part of the build that is built using some different techniques instead of just stacking bricks. When I first started it, I couldn’t tell what I was building until the end. This part was great!

Bag five adds the hood and windscreen.

Bag six finishes off the front bumper and headlights.

Bag seven adds in some of the back of the car and trunk. It also adds in the seats.

Bag eight wraps up the build with the trunk, a trophy, and a tool box. The wheels are added as well.

Here are the pictures of the final build. The doors open, front hood opens, and back trunk opens. The wheels can turn left and right as well. Overall, I really enjoyed this build. It was a challenging build with some great techniques. It almost made up for the set being overpriced, but not really. I think the car looks great, but the price detracts from the great build and look of the set. I grabbed it with a GWP so that helped somewhat. If you want to buy it, look for double insider points, GWPs, or other opportunities to add value. Or just avoid it…

Happy building!

Set Review - #21358-1: Minifigure Vending Machine

There are a lot of themes that seem to repeat items in LEGO… vehicles, buildings, castles… and then there’s the Ideas theme where we get some pretty interesting, one off sets we never thought possible. This one is one of them. #21358-1: Minifigure Vending Machine was released on 1 June 2025 and it contains 1,343 pieces. At $179.99 this works out to a ridiculously high $0.134 per piece. Some people will claim there are bigger pieces and 16 minifigures so that justifies the higher price. I think it’s just LEGO pushing for higher prices, but that’s just me. Onto the review…

The front of the box shows the full set with a fun logo and highlights that this is LEGO Ideas set #66. One of the balls is open with a teal spaceman assembled holding a coffee mug and a donut printed 1x1 round tile. The back shows some additional minifigures assembled along with explaining how the vending mechanism works. There’s also a schematic highlighting the height and width.

The set includes 11 numbered parts bags and two paper bags containing the clear window pieces. There’s also an instruction book.

Bag one builds the base of the machine. The first ball is a male minifigure holding a 5 cent printed tile and a mini vending machine. It also contains a brick separator. The instructions show how you can use a brick separator to separate the minifigure balls.

Bag two builds up the bottom rim of the machine with some rounded pieces. It also finalizes the ramp where the balls will roll out to. This bag contains a teal spaceman and a female pirate minifigure with a map and pistol.

Bag three adds more of the structure for the lower part of the machine. There is a curved ramp that will be where the selected ball drops down on. This bag adds a Kraken Warrior which is considered a new castle theme.

Bag four builds up more of the bottom section of the machine. This one includes a gold spaceman and a Paradisa minifigure with a parrot.

Bag five adds the mechanism which connects the crank, coin slot, and the mechanism to distribute the balls. This part is made with Technic pieces and it is pretty complicated to assemble. If you’re not an experienced builder, get ready for a challenging assembly. This bag contains a Griffin Knight which is another new castle them.

Bag six adds some parts to cover the Technic mechanisms. This one contains a Fabuland minifigure and another Kraken Warrior.

Bag seven adds the outer covering of the crank section and the handle for the crank. It also adds the first 10 cent coin to use to get a minifigure. It also adds a section that is made with mostly plates that rotates around when the crank is turned. There is a gap in the plate to allow for a minifigure ball to drop down. Very clever! This bag adds another Paradisa minifigure.

Bag eight adds the outside of the bottom of the machine with mostly tiles and some slope pieces. There is another Griffin knight in this bag.

Bag nine finishes off the bottom portion of the machine and includes a male pirate minifigure.

Bag ten uses the large amount of clear panels to create the bin for the minifigure balls. That bag includes another Fabuland minifigure and another gold spaceman.

Bag 11 completes the build with a top to the vending machine. It includes a LEGO Ideas designer as the minifigure,

Overall, it’s a great looking set. The red curves really make the machine stand out and there are just enough studs showing to remind you that it is LEGO and not an actual machine. The minifigure selection is great and opens it up for you to add your own minifigures to sweeten the deal (Star Wars or Marvel maybe). It’s a good build that uses some interesting techniques to make the machine functional and there are some decent pieces if you are a MOC builder.

The price is… ugh… not good. I got a GWP with it when I made the purchase so that helped some I guess, but this one is expensive. I realize there are 16 minifigures and the new ball pieces along with all of the clear panels, but there aren’t any licenses or anything to worry about so what’s up with the high prices?

If you can somehow find a deal on this set, pick it up. Or wait for a good GWP or double insider points. Otherwise, maybe you should hold off one this one unless you are okay with the price.

Happy building!

Set Review - #11371-1: Shopping Street - Icons - Modular Building

Another year and another modular building that I was sucked into buying. This one is #11371-1: Shopping Street. It was released on 1 January 2026 and contains 3,456 pieces. It retails for $249.99 which works out to $0.072 per piece. The price keeps going up, but the piece count is high too. However, there are a lot of smaller pieces too so that mixes into the cost equation. This set is different from the others in that the buildings are not just square or rectangular, but built at random shapes and angles.

The box front shows the full set with the title of the set in the top right and then the 18+ branding on the bottom. The back shows what it would look like next to the two most recent modular buildings. It also shows the dimensions and some of the additional details and features of this set.

The set contains 24 numbered bags with one bag per number. The instructions and base plate are in paper protective packaging.

Here is the instruction book and the green baseplate.

Bag one starts off by adding tiles for the sidewalk outside of the building. It includes some of the new-ish tiles where two parts are bit off. I’m not sure what it’s called, but there are then spaces to add some of the quarter round tiles of different colors to build patterns. Also, there are some trans-blue pieces for what is described as a leak in a pipe for the plumber minifigure who comes later to fix. Speaking of minifigures, this bag includes a female minifigure with a cane.

Bag two finishes up most of the tiles and adds a few of the bricks for the walls to include the outer walls with the Technic pins and holes to connect to other buildings.

Bags three and four build up the music shop. I like the use of the rounded 1x2 plates to get the angles right. Bag three includes a male minifigure who is the shop owner. Bag four adds a girl minifigure. This one and another one later is billed as twins and the first set to include twins. Bag four also adds some instruments for sale which look fun in brick form.

Bag five finishes up the music shop with the last wall section. There is an instrument out front to advertise the store.

Bag six starts to build the chair shop next door with a few examples of chairs inside for sale. This bag includes the male minifigure who is the plumber. He comes with a tool kit. This bag also builds the walkway between the two buildings and this is where you build the faucet that is leaking.

Bags seven and eight finish up the chair shop and also adds some final pieces onto the music shop.

Bags nine and 10 start to build the second floor. Bag nine connects the floor plates over the music shop. Bag 10 adds the floor plates above the chair shop.

Bag 11 adds some stairs and walls to the second floor along with some additional musical instruments to include drums. Bag 12 adds more walls and the other twin girl minifigure.

Bag 13 starts to build the wood working area and includes a female who works there. In the back corner is an assembly of pieces that is meant to represent the original LEGO wooden duck.

Bag 14 adds in some work tables and tools along with more walls and some front windows.

Bag 15 finishes up the wood shop area and finalizes the second floor with tiles on top of the walls.

Bag 16 starts the third floor section. This is the section that goes above the music shop.

Bag 17 adds furniture to the small apartment. There’s a chair next to a radio, a bed, a lamp, and a plant.

Bag 18 adds more to the walls and adds in a small bathroom. As my kiddo pointed out, the room is full of windows so we’re not sure who would want to use the bathroom for the LEGO world to see.

Bag 19 finishes this section of the floor. It adds in some windows and a door which will lead to the roof area.

Bag 20 starts to build the roof over the small apartment.

Bags 21 and 22 finalizes the roof over the top of the apartment. Bag 21 includes a small room that is for the rat/mouse and it’s piece of cheese. Bag 22 puts the finishing touches on the roof. I like how the microfigures are used in the tower above the rat’s room.

Bag 23 builds the roof over the furniture store and wood shop. There are some plants, a small ladder, and a spigot for water. This also includes a minifigure with a cart to move the chairs around.

Bag 24 finalizes the build with a small bird house with the new pigeon pieces and a small cat. There is also a watering can as well.

I’ve already been roped into modulars so do I really have anything bad to say? The price is high might be the big one and I don’t see modulars dropping in price anytime soon. Other than that, it was a great build and the different geometric shapes of the buildings made it fun. There were a lot of great details and some fun pieces. I’d definitely pick this one up if you can. Look for opportunities to get double insider points and/or gifts with purchase to lessen the blow to your wallet.

Some final pictures of the build are below from all four sides.

Happy building!