Set Review - #10356-1: USS Enterprise - NCC-1701D - Star Trek: The Next Generation

SPACESHIP!!!!!!!!!!!! No, not that kind of spaceship. This one is different. And just to start… LEGO, I hate you! How did you know that I was a Trekkie as a kid and that this set would appeal to me. I don’t normally do this, but yes, I did buy this set on release day which was 28 November 2025. Yes, I paid the $399.99 for 3,600 pieces which works out to $0.111 per piece (yikes)! I did get the Shuttle Pod GWP and I may sell it so that could help lessen the price (maybe).

The box is pretty sizeable with the full build on the front along with the set name and Star Trek logo. The back shows the set, minifigures, stand, sign, dimensions, and the ability to split the ship into sections. The top of the box shows the nine minifigures and Data’s cat.

The box contains 30 numbered parts bags, a parts bag that is not numbered, two long tubes, two instruction books, and a smaller sticker sheet.

The set comes with two instruction books. The first book builds the engineering sections with the engine nacelles. The second book is for the saucer section.

There is a small sticker sheet which is mixed in with some printed pieces. I’d prefer no stickers, but these weren’t too bad to install.

Bag one builds the minifigure stand and the first minifigure which is Dr. Crusher. It also starts to assemble the engineering section. Bag two continues this section.

Bag three continues the engine section. Bag four starts to look like a half of the engine section. You can start to tell at this point how the designer achieved the different curves of the ship. This bag adds in a young Wesley Crusher.

Bags five and six start to assemble the other half of the engine section which is a mirror of the other half of the engine section.

Bag seven connects the two sections and it really starts to come together as looking like the USS Enterprise. Bag eight adds in some curves on the bottom of the section and you can see the slots where the stand is connected.

Bag nine adds in the blue dish on the front and the reddish-orange impulse engine on the back. This bag adds in Commander Riker and his trombone.

Bags 10 and 11 assemble the stand. It is a mix of Technic pieces and System pieces and despite its size and the overall size of the ship, it holds up quite well at the end and keeps the ship stable.

Bag 12 begins to build the engine nacelles by starting with the top covers. Additionally, it adds Geordi La Forge, the ship’s engineer.

Bag 13 adds the blue color of the nacelles with trans-blue pieces. The picture shows how the designer used SNOT techniques to enable the connections between the top and what will eventually be the bottom pieces.

Bag 14 adds the bottom connection sections and you can see how it clips onto the rest of the ship. Bag 15 adds the red fronts to the nacelles and connects the final nacelles to the engine section.

Bag 16 switches to the saucer section and the second instruction book. At this early stage, you can’t tell what parts you are building

Bag 17 adds more pieces and in the picture, the right side in the picture will become the back of the saucer.

Bag 18 adds more to include what will be a shuttle bay and one of the shuttles (or at least a miniature version of a shuttle).

Bag 19 adds in some of the internal connections that will connect to the pieces that enable the curved shape. Additionally this bag comes with Data and his cat Spot.

Bags 20 and 21 build out the main supports on the left and right of the saucer section. Bag 22 adds in plates and tiles in the center part of the saucer.

Bag 23 continues to build out the saucer section and adds the Captain Piccard minifigure. Most importantly here is the bridge section is built and you add in a great printed piece with the ship’s name and number..

Bag 24 then begins to fill in the gaps that exist in the saucer section. Each section is pretty similar and it clips into the subsection that was built previously.

Bag 25 continues to fill in the saucer section and adds the Counselor Troy minifigure. Almost done by bag 26.

Bag 27 finishes up filling in the gaps of the saucer section. Bag 28 adds the additional impulse engines on the saucer section. The Worf minifigure comes in this bag, but I failed to include it in this picture.

Bag 29 adds some details on the bottom of the saucer. Finally bag 30 wraps up the build by adding the windows on the edge of the ship. The instructions note that they were black originally until the show’s creator’s changed the model so that it could be lit inside to have lights in the windows. The last bag includes Guinan and makes reference to the 10 Forward gathering area.

The last bag also builds a placard for the ship. It is printed. YAY!!!!

Nine unique minifigures and a stand to put them on with a sticker logo. As a Trekkie, I can’t complain here. I’m sure these will be popular. Were there others that should have been added? Maybe. I think this is a good representation and it captures the main characters well.

Here’s the final build. I think it looks great! I made the comment to someone that it’s a good thing it came out now instead of when I was a kid as I would have been bugging my parents like crazy to get this as a LEGO fan and Star Trek: The Next Generation fan. Lots of great pieces and the build was fun, but the price… ouch! The GWPs helped, but still it’s a lot. Not sure it will ever go on sale, but look for opportunities to get double VIP points, GWPs, or any other bonuses you can to lessen the pain if you have to get it.

Happy building!

Engage!

Set Review - #76417-1: Gringotts Wizarding Bank - Harry Potter

I’m embarrassed to say how long I’ve had this set waiting to build it. I finally got it together and now here’s the review. This is set #76417-1: Gringotts Wizarding Bank. It was released on 1 September 2023 and contains 4,803 pieces. It retails for $429.99 which works out to $0.09 per piece. This one connects with #75978-1: Diagon Alley which was released back in 2020 and is now retired. The difference is this set has the building and then the section underneath where the vaults are located.

The front of the box shows the full set with a Gringotts logo and the 18+ branding on the bottom. The back shows some of the play features as well as set dimensions and how the set looks with the Diagon Alley set. The top of the box shows all of the minifigures.

The set contains 31 numbered parts bags with one or two bags per number. There is one bag with the track, a box with the dragon wings, a dark gray base plate, and the instruction books in two paperboard envelopes.

The set contains four instruction books and then three sticker sheets. There are a lot of stickers which stinks, but they do add some nice detail. I would have preferred more printed pieces, but I can’t imagine the cost for printing all of these.

The first two bags start the underground vault area. You build one T section and then a second and put them together to make the vault area which also works as a stand to hold the bank building.

Bags three and four continue the first part of the stand which includes the first vault. This vault belongs to Bellatrix Lestrange. It has a fun function where you can store a number of cups and have them fall out when you grab one to replicate what happens when they go into the vault to look for the horcrux.

Bag five finishes the first stand and bag six starts the second stand section.

Bag seven continues the second stand and by bag eight, the two are connected together as a full stand.

Bag nine includes Harry’s vault from the first movie where he can get funds and then the vault with the Sorcerer’s Stone in it. There’s also the waterfall from the last movie where they go under it and it gets rid of spells.

The picture below adds the rails.

Bag 10 wraps up the vault area with doors on the vaults and some additional details like the bell device to scare the dragon. This section is more of a play feature, but isn’t as great as a display piece due to size and that it doesn’t look like the movie. The good part is that it can be easily separated if you just want to display or connect it to Diagon Alley.

Bags 11 and 12 build the dragon that guards the vault. It is built to have some places where minifigures can hold on so you can recreate the escape from the vaults like the three characters did in the last movie.

Build 13 starts the bank and adds the early Hagrid and Harry minifigures from the first movie. Bag 14 continues the build by adding in more of the flooring.

Bag 15 adds more to the frame of the building to include where the goblin desks will be. It also has a few hidden items to include a frog and some gold pieces.

Bag 16 starts to build up the walls. The walls use mostly headlight bricks as tiles will be connected later to create the outer wall design. Also there is a door that doesn’t open. It along with a lot of the other doors and windows added later to the set are just stickers. This bag also comes with a guard minifigure.

Bag 17 adds another wall and the front entrance. The front entrance has a different design where it looks like the front columns are angled to hold up the roof. They really aren’t structural pieces, but it’s a an interesting design to make it look that way. My kiddo put the sticker on so there is a gap if you center them. We didn’t discuss trying to line the stickers up closer so there wouldn’t be as much of a gap.

Bag 18 finishes up the back wall section of the bank.

Bag 19 adds a wall that connects to the back of the bank and extends out into Diagon Alley. There’s an opening for minifigures to pass under to get to the rest of the shops. This bag comes with a goblin minifigure.

Bag 20 adds in the desks where the goblins work to include the main desk made famous in the last book and pair of movies. You can see the larger windows which are more sticker pieces. I appreciate the design, but it’s a bit overboard on the stickers. It’s hard to see, but there are clear tiles on the floor to show where the dragon breaks through the glass to leave.

Bag 21 adds one of the stores outside of the bank.

Bag 22 builds the bank higher with more windows covered in stickers. This bag comes with another goblin minifigure.

Bag 23 adds a bit of the ceiling to the bank and then a balcony on the top of the entrance. It uses the same design as the ground floor with the supports angled.

Bag 24 continues to build the bank walls to match the front section height.

Bag 25 adds some height to the building next door to the bank with some more sticker usage. It also includes a death eater minifigure

Bag 26 adds a small work area on the upper level with a desk, some pictures on the wall and some gold stacked on the floor. The opposite side has more gold stacks and a treasure chest.

Bags 27 and 28 add another layer to the bank. Bag 28 adds another balcony with the same angled columns as the other two layers on the front. It also adds another security guard minifigure.

Bag 29 attaches the white tiling to the outside of the upper floor on both sides.

Bag 30 adds the top to the small building next to the bank and then a top office above the balconies.

Bag 31 finishes the build with a roof above the bank, a dome above the balcony area, some clear sections where there are broken areas where the dragon broke out. The last goblin comes with this bag.

There are also a few smaller things to include an owl carrying a letter, a flag outside of the small outer building, some items for sale outside of the small outer building, and some lamps on the walls

The set contains 13 minifigures. From the top, left to right, two guards, a goblin, Hermione, Ron and Harry (from the last movies), and then the bottom row, a death eater, four goblins (to include Grip Hook), and then Harry and Hagrid from the first movie.

The set also comes with three gold tile coins that the instructions say to add to set #76391-1: Hogwarts Icons.

Here are some photos of the final set. It’s cool that it has the option to have the bank on top of the vaults area and then to remove the bank and have it separate. I enjoyed the build and there are some great pieces so a bonus there. In terms of price, it is just under $0.10 per piece so not too bad. There are a mix of small and large pieces so I think it’s reasonably priced. I’d recommend it… if it was still around. As mentioned, it apparently retired in the US, but will be available in other countries a bit longer.

Here’s the bank attached to #75978-1: Diagon Alley. The connection between the builds looks great to me. I’m glad that they used the modular connections to make sure this could happen. What do you think?

Happy building!

Set Review - #60446-1: Galactic Spaceship - CITY

Continuing (and finalizing) the CITY Space sets review is #60446-1: Galactic Spaceship. This set was released on 1 January 2025 and retired on 31 December 2025 so it’s already gone (except for the overpriced secondary market). I grabbed it right before it retired in mid-December. This set contained 717 pieces and retailed for $79.99. This worked out to $0.112 per piece. I saw this one go on sale briefly for roughly 20% off and sadly did not pick it up on sale. I did get it with a GWP from LEGO Shop @ Home so that helped some. I found it odd that this set never went on sale a lot while the other ones always seemed to be at least 20% off.

The box front shows the full set while the back shows some of the play features to include the modular parts and some of the internals of the set.

The set contained six numbered parts bags, three instruction booklets, a small sticker sheet, and the front screen piece was separate.

The first bag starts to build the front section of the ship which is the main control/navigation area of the ship. The front includes a space for a minifigure to sit at the controls along with an alien next to it. Immediately behind the control section is another section for a minifigure to sleep. Behind this section is what appears to be a small motor. This bag includes the first space minifigure. It comes with the space helmet and a hair piece for when the minifigure is in the spaceship and doesn’t need the helmet.

The second bag finishes the front craft of the ship. It adds the top to the ship, additional booster engines on each side, and adds a battery pack on each side. This section looks pretty similar to #60430-1: Interstellar Spaceship. It includes a female minifigure with a jet pack and hair piece and then an alien minifigure.

The third bag builds a modular section to go behind the front spacecraft. It is open space except for some tools. There is a jumper plate that can be used to store a robot built later. As with previous CITY Space sets, the modular attachments don’t actually have doors or connections so a minifigure can’t pass through. The play feature is that the roof opens up so you can access the module and put in minifigures and gear as desired. This bag comes with another space minifigure.

The fourth bag adds some storage containers that can attached and removed as needed. These containers contain translucent purple gem type pieces inside. It also includes two rock type pieces that open up and a small mining robot.

The fifth bag builds starts to build the rear section of the ship which includes a larger working section. As you can see from this build, it includes an eating area with drinks and a pizza. It also adds a medical section for treating astronauts. This section comes with a female space minifigure.

The last bag finishes the set with the eating area, a plant, and some science equipment. The trans clear/black roof section is held on by some pieces that rotate on to keep it in place.

It’s a great set if you were able to pick it up in time. Lots of play features and options to change the modules around. My kiddo had a blast swooshing it around. Sadly, it was overpriced and it was sad to see that it didn’t go on sale as often as I’d hoped.

I think the space sets were great with the ability to connect them together for play fun. It was also great to see sets across the price range from small polybags to larger sets like this one. I hope we can get more themes or subthemes like this again.

Happy building!

Set Review - #60433-1: Modular Space Station - CITY

I grabbed another of the CITY Space sets. This one is #60433-1: Modular Space Station. It was released on 1 January 2024 for $109.99. It contains 1,097 pieces so that works out to $0.10 per piece which is right on the dot of the average some fan created and everyone seems to go with. I picked this up on sale for around $68 so while it’s getting ready to retire, there are some good sales still if you look for them.

The front of the box shows the full set with the CITY and Space logos. The back shows the play features in that you can detach the modules from the ring and then attach them together to make a modular looking space vehicle. It also highlights some of the insides of the various modules.

The set contains nine numbered parts bags and one unnumbered bag with the large pieces that make up the ring.

There are six instruction booklets so this is definitely a set you can build with multiple people if you split up the bags and instructions correctly. There is a small sticker sheet. I can’t complain too much as they were pretty easy to apply.

The first bag assembles what can be used as a command vehicle for the modules. You can use this as an attachment to the ring or as a front to the assembled modules. Not sure why there are little winglets as it’s in space, but it’s a nice touch I guess. This bag comes with one space minifigure.

The second bag starts to assemble the ring. It’s a mix of Technic and system pieces and in my opinion it’s quite a lot of Technic pieces for an age 7+ set.

The third bag wraps up the ring with all of the various attachment points for the various modules. It’s a pretty sturdy build and is hard to take apart which is good if this is a play set for kids enjoying space exploration play.

The fourth bag assembles a module that is used as sleeping quarters. There is a small bed and a hat the minifigure can wear when inside. You open a translucent piece on the top connected with a hinge to get inside. While this makes it easier to play with, this doesn’t make sense from a space functionality standpoint. The airlocks don’t actually open or close so the minifigure would have to suit up and go out the top which would vent any air inside the compartment. I’m sure most kids wouldn’t think of this, but it does make for some interesting thoughts on how it would work. One space minifigure in this bag.

The fifth bag assembles a few items. There is a module for growing plants in space. It includes a pumpkin, some tomatoes (maybe), and a few other plants. Same dilemma… you have to open the hinged clear bubble to get inside which would kill the plants.

You also assemble a solar panel array and an antenna for communications. This connects to the ring in the same way as the other modules.

Finally, there is a little robot that can work outside or inside the modules as needed.

Bag six assembles a module with some tools inside and you put a sticker on a tile which shows some details of the ship. Not a lot of detail in this module which makes it seem a bit plain, but you can beef it up if you need to using your own pieces. This bag comes with a yellow space minifigure.

Bag seven builds another module and this one is for science experiments. There is a power pack, a screen to look at some sort of microbe and then a blob of some sort made of an ice cream piece. This bag comes with a minifigure wearing a jet pack and solar panels. The minifigure is able to stand inside the module with all the gear on despite the solar panels attached so the module is decently sized.

Bag eight assembles a small landing platform that attaches to the ring. You then assemble a small space vehicle that can take the included blue space minifigure around. I assume it can be for maintenance or for short journeys to other space vehicles nearby.

Bag nine assembles the last module which is an eating area. It includes a sandwich, a coffee maker, and a small bottle of something. Not a lot of food for all the space minifigures, but maybe there is more in storage somewhere. One last green space minifigure in this bag.

Here is the final build assembled in ring form with all of the modules attached. You get six minifigures and a little robot. This one exceeded my expectations and it helped that I got it on sale. The play features are great and the ability to attach the modules to each other or to other sets in the line is a cool function. Lots of minifigures to do things with options to expand or do other things with your own pieces. I know it’s not for everyone and not every adult is into the kid lines, but as a LEGO Space fan, I think this CITY line did a great job in keeping with past themes.

It has some fun parts, lots of minifigures and if you can grab it on sale, the pricing isn’t bad. I recommend it to kids (and adults) into the LEGO Space themes.

Happy building!

Set Review - #21357-1: Luxo Jr. - LEGO Ideas

I’m usually not a fan of Disney themed sets, but this one is outside of the ordinary cartoon characters or representations. #21357-1: Luxo Jr. is a recreation of the famous ball playing desk lamp from the early Pixar days. This one was released on 1 June 2025 and contains 613 pieces. It retails for $69.99 which works out to $0.114 per piece. I picked it up for $56 so still a bit pricy, but better than the $70 list price.

The set was shipped to me in a padded envelope so the box I have got was beat up a bit. The front shows the lamp with the ball. The back shows the full set, provides dimensions, and shows some of the moveable features the set has.

The box contains four numbered parts bags, an instruction booklet, and the two lamp shade pieces. This is my first set with the recyclable paper bags. It was so great to be able to recycle the bags when I was done instead of throwing the plastic bags into the trash. Thank you LEGO!!!

The first bag assembles Luxo Jr’s ball. The inside is a cube with SNOT bricks. There are a number of colored pieces assembled together to resemble characters in various Pixar movies. Then there are a number of printed round pieces to make the ball round and are printed with the stripe and stars. In-between those round pieces are some triangle pieces to fill in the spaces.

The second bag assembles the lamp base. It is mostly white pieces with some Technic parts to hold up the rest of the lamp.

Bag three assembles the arm that holds up the lamp. The piece usage here is great to make it look like an actual adjustable arm. I like the mix of white pieces and silver round 1x1 plates as fasteners. This section of the build required paying attention to how pieces were aligned in the instructions. It’s fairly complicated despite being a relatively small build.

The fourth bag adds the lamp, a base (to attach the flattened ball to), and finishes the arm of the lamp. The lamp itself includes the lamp cover and the bulb. Inside the bulb piece is a mini build from another Pixar movie (no spoilers here). The base piece is a small square with a place to hold the ball when you remove two of the round pieces to make it look like Luxo Jr. is jumping on top of the ball. Then the arm is finished with two rubber bands that connect some pin pieces and are covered by a rubber piece that looks like it could be metal or maybe a spring.

Here are some final pictures of Luxo Jr. and the ball. The build was great with some interesting piece usage to create a very realistic looking lamp. The cost is a bit steep so look for a sale like I did. I don’t believe it’s retiring soon so you have some time to wait for a good sale. The lamp has numerous poseable functions and can be adjusted without falling over or rotating with gravity. Great job design team!

This set is good for fans of Pixar, but can also work for those interested in a fun display piece and want a lamp for an office or desk. Also, it’s great to see LEGO Ideas still out there with #65 in the line.

Happy building!

Set Review - #42172-1: McLaren P1 Hypercar - Technic

Car number five in the LEGO Technic supercar line was released on 1 August 2024. This one is #42172-1: McLaren P1 Hypercar and it retails for $449.99. It contains 3,893 pieces which works out to $0.116 per piece. This is actually slightly lower than the last car #42143-1: Ferrari Daytona SP3 which was $0.119 per piece. The Ferrari also had 3,778 pieces so this one has slightly over 100 more pieces. Overall this one seems to be in line with the others, but at $450, it’s quite expensive. I used a large amount of Lego Insider Points to pick this one up at a discount and grabbed a GWP as well in the process.

The packaging is very impressive much like some of the previous cars. The imagery on the box is very sleek with the set shown on one side while the other side shows the image of the real car with a P1 logo.

When you open the box, there is an image of the actual car using flaps. Opening these flaps shows a few other images of the actual car and then an image of the LEGO car which is created with the assembly of the three boxes that contain the parts bags.

When the parts boxes are removed, the very bottom of the box include the two instruction books. Shown on the picture on the right below are the boxes numbered by when they are used in the instructions.

Each of the boxes contains numbered parts bags and some number of unnumbered bags. There is one of each number of bag and it goes up to 23. The last box contains the wheels and rims.

Contents of Box 1

Contents of Box 2

Contents of Box 3

Bags one and two start to build the exhaust and rear suspension. It is mostly a Technic build, but on the picture for bag two you can see some System pieces to include the gold pieces on the top.

Bag three finishes up the rear suspension.

Bag 4 starts the 7-Speed Gearbox and V8 Engine. First up is the Gearbox and it is an intense build where you really need to make sure you pay attention to what goes where in the instructions. I thankfully finished it without any issues as it would be a lot to take apart and try to repair.

Bag five wraps up the gearbox while bag six adds some connectors to eventually connect it to the engine.

Bag seven adds the Technic piston pieces that move when you move the wheels.

Bag eight is listed as Hybrid Mode, E-Mode, & Interior in the instructions. It wasn’t clear to me what the Hybrid and E-Mode sections of the build were, but I’m not a car expert so that’s probably why. As you can see from the picture, this bag extends out the frame from the back.

Bag nine adds in the seats and more of the details in the front to include the paddle shifters. Bag ten builds up the dashboard a bit and more of the front of the car.

Bag 11 is listed as Door Mechanism & Sides. The doors open up and they are held in place with a spring mechanism. That mechanism is added in this step. Bag 12 adds some of the side panels of the vehicle behind where the doors will go.

I failed to take a picture of the build for bag 13, but the instructions label it as Front Suspension & Steering.

As advertised by bag 14, you have a steering wheel and a front suspension. Bag 15 adds the roof to the vehicle.

Bags 16 and 17 are labeled as Front Hood & Headlights. Bag 16 assembles more of the front to include the bottom bumper area. Bag 17 adds the lights and more of the hood. The main part of the light is a LEGO claw piece which is a cool use of the piece.

Bag 18 finishes the hood. When assembling it I thought it looks odd, but it really comes together in a Technic sort of way and looks good.

Bag 19 adds the passenger side butterfly door. This was another part of the build where as you are building, it doesn’t seem to make sense, but the final product comes together well. The mechanism to hold them open works well. There is not switch or lever, you just grab the door and pull, but it still works.

Bag 20 adds the driver side door. The picture shows them both open.

Bag 21 is labeled as the Rear Clam & Spoiler. This section is built away from the rest of the car and then attached later. One bonus to this set is there are no stickers. All printed pieces. So I guess the $450 isn’t bad in that sense.

Bag 22 continues to build out the rear section.

Bag 23 wraps up the build with the rear spoiler, the rear part assembles the rest of the car, a small carry bag, and the printed tile you can place next to the car with the name and details. I took a few pictures from different angles and with some of the play features to include the rear spoiler which can be raised or lowered by turning a gear in the back of the car.

Overall, a great build. I enjoy the challenge and marvel at how the Technic designers can seemingly take some random pieces and craft the into a cool looking car. I will continue to get these into the future, but will look for sales or use Insider points. $450 is a lot and at over $0.11 per piece, it falls above the usual range of $0.10 per piece. I understand it’s a licensed product and there are a lot of odd pieces, but still…. Yikes! That price is steep.

I pulled out all the cars that I have for a photo shoot. My kiddos suggested we line them up in rainbow color order. We just need a purple one next. LEGO? Now I need to find a good way to display them in my build space.

Happy building!

Set Review - #71050: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse Series - Collectible Minifigures

We’re thankfully back to minifigures after the last round of minifigure heads on miniature cars. This is #71050: Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse. These were released on 1 September 2025 and are scheduled to retire at the end of the year, but they are already getting hard to find at the end of October 2025. They retail for $4.99 each which is the same as they have been. The minifigures still come in the cardboard boxes and you an still buy them in packs of six as well.

I’m not a big Spider-Man/Spider-Verse fan so don’t ask me who these characters are or where they are from. I will make a few comments on individual minifigures. Of note for this round, the base plates are in translucent orange which is a new thing to see. I’m a fan of that color!

---

Margo Kess/Spider-Byte - The light blue colored head piece is fun.

Peter B. Parker & May “Mayday” Parker - Come on… who doesn’t love a Spider Baby. We started with just babies. Then it was Space Babies. Now we have Spider Baby. What is next?

---

Petra Parker/Cyborg Spider-Woman

Charlotte Webber/Sun-Spider

I’m not really sure what to say about either of these. I guess you have to be a fan of the series to enjoy them.

---

Hobie Brown/Spider-Punk

Miles Morales/Spider-Man

I like how these minifigures come with two heads so they can be the human version or the Spider-Man version.

---

Patrick O’Hara/Web-Slinger - Is it a donkey or a pony? Either way, it’s a fun addition with the minifigure.

Peter Parker/Werewolf Spider-Man - I think we have had a werewolf before so now we have a Spider Werewolf.

---

Miles G. Morales/Prowler - Is that a record tile?

Gwen Stacy/Spider Gwen - This one is interesting in that you get two heads and two hair pieces.

---

Miguel O’Hara/Spider-Man 2099 and Lyla Statuette/Trophy - The cape is plastic instead of cloth. Not sure if I prefer one over the other and since I don’t know the character, I don’t know if it’s designed accurately.

Pavitr Prabhakar/Spider-Man India - Spider-Cat? Or is there an official name. Lots of fun extras in this series.

Set Review - #40802-1: Luna Lovegood & Thestral Figures - Brickheadz

More Harry Potter themed Brick Headz sets! Continuing with the packs of two, this one is #40802-1: Luna Lovegood & Thestral Figures. It was released on 1 September 2025 in the US for $19.99. It contains 292 pieces which works out to $0.068 per piece. It’s the standard box design with the numbers on the bottom of the front. Thestral is 279 and Luna is 280. The back gives another view and shows that you can take off the plate at the base from the figure.

The box contains five parts bags numbered one through five. There are two instruction booklets that were jammed in with the parts bags in my set.

Bags one and two build Luna Lovegood as she appeared in The fifth movie (“Order of the Phoenix”). There’s a scene where she is hanging out in the woods with the Thestrals and Harry stops by. She explains to him what Thestrals are and tries to feed an apple to the baby Thestral. Also, she isn’t wearing any shoes which explains the skin toned color used for her legs/feet. Nothing extraordinary about this build. Her sweater is printed along with her top. Also, I like how they did the bag that she is carrying with the tiles placed at an angle instead of using more prints.

Bags three, four, and five build the Thestral. I’m not sure if this is supposed to be the baby or the adult from that scene. It captures the wings and tail and while hard to see in the picture, the four legs. It’s actually propped up on two clear 2x2 bricks as if it were jumping or flying. The eyes use the glow in the dark plastic seen in other sets, but have the white printing to match the standard Brick Headz eyes.

Here are the figures fully built from the front and side. Similar to other Brick Headz sets, if you are a Harry Potter fan or if you have to have all of the Brick Headz, pick these up. If not, pass. The pricing isn’t too bad, but they are LEGO exclusives so you have to hope they go on discount before retirement if you want a better deal.

Happy building!

Set Review - #60431-1: Space Explorer Rover and Alien Life - CITY

#60431-1: Space Explorer Rover and Alien Life is another part of the space subtheme in the CITY line. This one was released on 1 January 2024 and contains 311 pieces. It retails for $34.99 which works out to $0.113 per piece. This is pretty high, but I got it on sale and I’ve seen it for at least 30% off recently.

The box has the CITY logo and the Space subtheme logo. The front shows the full set while the back shows some of the play features.

The box contains four numbered parts bags, two instruction booklets, and then six of the large wheels for the rover.

The first bag builds a female space minifigure and a small unmanned rover. Then there is a small piece of alien landscape with two little aliens.

The second bag builds the base of the rover and a male minifigure. The box says the set is for ages 6+, but there are a lot of Technic pieces on this one and I could see a six-year old having trouble with assembly.

The third bag adds more of the top of the rover and then you add the front four axles. The front four are not static and can be pivoted which allows you to tackle all of those tough alien landscapes. Again, more Technic pieces which was surprising for me considering that this one is a CITY set.

And here is bag four… The top is added on and there are some fun play features. You can drive the unmanned rover up and use a door that opens down to have it enter the larger rover. Then the windscreen opens up so you can add in the minifigures. The wheels are put on with the inside facing out and you add a Technic steering wheel and a another round wheel cover. The dark orange color is a nice touch too.

Here’s the final view. It’s a bit overpriced, but now that it’s showing up on sale, it’s more reasonable to pick up. There are some great play features (the off road axles) and a few fun pieces too. Two minifigures and the two aliens aren’t too bad either. It’s definitely not an 18+ set so if you’re looking for something more intricate, check out the Icons line.

Happy building!

BrickCon 2025 - The Professor -Con Model Review

Every year, someone from the BrickCon crew puts a build together tied to the convention theme and it is developed into a model from scratch. This includes sourcing all the pieces, putting all the pieces into bags, getting custom prints done, developing the packaging art and getting it printed, and putting together instructions. At 297 pieces, this is not a small feat for a group of unpaid volunteers.

This year, the set was titled “The Professor” and it shows a brick built figure in a classroom teaching chemistry. There is a table and a board with some atomic elements which happen to spell out BrickCon (very clever). There are some great pieces used and even some movement, but back to the review.

The box this year is modeled in the way boxes were done back in the early days with the yellow color and angled stripe with blue text on the front. The front shows the full model while the back gives some of the set details. My set was #218 as you can see from the side of the box and another side had some notes about the model.

The set contains two parts bags. What were you expecting? Professional packaging? Two plastic zipper bags works for me.

The instructions are small and pretty complicated. To keep them short, a lot of steps are crammed together. As the audience of the set is experienced builders, they expect people to understand builds and to be able to piece it together without obvious piece by piece steps. I’ll admit that I made mistakes along the way. Whoops!

Here is the final build. The dark green wall and sand green tiles are awesome! I like the addition of some of the random printed pieces and the custom prints are incredible. No stickers. Yay! There is a Technic axle to pull out and push in to make the figure spin, but I need to make some adjustments to the set to make that function work better. It shouldn’t be too hard to do. Also, there is a whip piece that is supposed to connect between the beaker and one of the flasks. I couldn’t get the whip piece to stay. I’ll have to mess with it. Other than that, it’s a great build with some great parts. Thanks Jessie R. and the whole BrickCon staff for putting this set together.

Happy building!