Where is Midnight Valley, and what is going on there?
The LEGO Group has just revealed the first in a new series of collectible building sets, aimed at grown-up builders. Mayor Manor is the first of the Midnight Valley Collection.
LEGO ICONS 11383 Mayor Manor has 1420 pieces, three minifigures, a cat, and a mouse. It is priced at $AUD179.99 / $USD119.99 / 109.99€ / £99.99 and will be released on September 1, 2026. At this point, more questions are being raised than answers are being provided. Read on for more…
One of the challenges of earth-based astronomy is the fact that you are on the Earth. You are at the mercy of clouds, dust, atmospheric pollution, and indeed light itself.
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched into low Earth Orbit in April 1990 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery and is expected to remain there until its orbit decays in the mid 2030’s. Viewing the visible and near-infrared spectra, the Hubble Space Telescope has enhanced our understanding of the universe over the 36 years it has been active.
This week, the LEGO Group has revealed ICONS 11382 The Hubble Space Telescope, a 1252-piece model commemorating the 35th anniversary of the orbital observatory. It will be available on August 1st, 2026, priced at $AUD229/ $USD139.99 / 129.99 € / £119.99. The set includes one minifigure.
The LEGO Group sent a copy of the set over for an Early review. Let’s take a closer look.
LEGO generously gifted us the LEGO 31388 Wild Animals: Family of Koalas, and I’ll make it clear right from the top. This is a botanicals set. The name on the box is largely misleading and has derived me of some of the pleasure this box could offer. What’s in a name, eh?
It makes sense that this largest member of ‘Creator 3-in-1 Continents’ representing Australia puts the emphasis on the animals, but it does so in name more than in bricks. Speaking of animals, the continent of Australia (Oceania) is represented by two very iconic characters from Down-Under, the koala and kangaroo and is joined by a less specifically down-under creature, the sea turtle. The sea turtle has risen to fame in Finding Nemo riding the East Australian Current (EAC) so I cannot argue there is a strong association with Australia, but I would have preferred to see an Australian bird like a like a Kookaburra or a Bin-chicken instead. We’ve had several turtles in the past, so why do we need one again?
The Hubble Space Telescope recently ticked over 35 years in space, bringing mindblowing views of the universe back to earth. While it might have the better part of another decade to serve, the LEGO Group are celebrating this landmark by releasing a LEGO ICONS model of the Telescope.
LEGO ICONS 11382 Hubble Space Telescope goes on sale on August 1 2026 for 229.99 AUD /139.99 USD / 129.99 EUR / 119.99 GBP. the set has one minfigure and 1252 pieces.
I won’t go in to too much detail here, as I am currently putting finishing touches to my review, which I will bring to you sometime soon.
“I didn’t know Ducati made offroad motorbikes, it’s kinda cute!” said my son, an avid rider, when I showed him the latest Technic Motorcycle 42238 Ducati Desmo450 MX Factory (457 pieces, AU$89.99/£44.99/US$49.99/€49.99). His response is not entirely surprising given that Ducati is most well known for their powerful (and loud) roadbikes. This particular model is a version of Ducati’s first motocross bike (not quite the same as ‘offroad’).
This set was provided by LEGO as part of the latest wave of Technic sets and it stands out as only having two wheels. LEGO fairly consistently has some motorcycle in the repertoire but bikes aren’t nearly as common as cars.
Let’s go through this relatively small set quickly and have a look what it offers for Technic lovers of bikes
E.T. the Extra Terrestrial has not been seen in LEGO Form since 2016’s LEGO Dinmensions’ minifigure/Funpack. This Ideas submission has been long awaited since it was revealed to be approved in October 2025. Just how well does this set bring us a wrinkly potato of an alien, with a caring expression, and glowing check? The LEGO Group sent a copy of 21370 over for review, ahead of its August 1 release. The set has 1226 pieces and will be priced at $AUD229.99/ $USD139.99 / 129.99€ / £119.99. While this set was sent over by the LEGO Group, all opinions are my own.
There are no minifigures included: any you see in this review are purely coincidental…
For 80’s kids (and their kids, we have another appealing Cinematic Character from the studio of Steven Spielberg: Not Jaws, Not Indiana Jones but ET, the Extra Terrestrial.
Based on the LEGO Ideas Submission by French designer Lafabrick, LEGO Ideas Set 21370 E.T the Extra Terrestrial will be released on August 1 2026. The set has 1226 pieces and will be priced at $AUD229.99/ $USD139.99 / 129.99€ / £119.99.
Cue the Lion King : “Nants ingonyama bagithi baba / Sithi uhhmm ingonyama”, because there is indeed a lion! The mid-sized episode of ‘Contintents : Creator 3-in-1 animals‘ brings us a Lion. A Majestic Lion, apparently, and four of them at that!
I really liked the continent themed sets in this wave of Creator 3-in-1 animals, but this feels like a bit of a cop-out. Let’s do three African animals, like a lion. ‘Oh the secondary build can then be… another lion!’. But wait, ‘as a third build we could include 2 lions!’. Truth be told, it’s on the box, you get lions, and if you buy a set of three you can make a whole family. But does this set actually provide the same value as other 3-in-1 builds, or are the four lions too similar to keep us entertained?
Pinball machines can be fun. Full of challenges and, in my hands, just a little bit too unpredictable. The new LEGO ICONS 11374 Arcade Pinball Game sets out to bring us a playable pinball game, full of challenges and loaded with a heartwarming story: can you reunite the new pale blue LEGO Space Explorer with their baby?
Is this a brilliant exercise in construction, or is it an expensive alternative to a tabletop toy? The LEGO Group sent a copy over for early review. Somewhere along the way, something didn’t work the way it should – so I sat down to troubleshoot it. I may have been distracted while putting this review together, by wondering how to incorporate Smart Play. I will look at this in a future post.
Pick up a coffee and come on a journey. Let’s look at the set and put it together.
This year’s Creator 3-in-1 animals have a stronger theme than previous years. Where previously the three animals in a box were mostly related by their colour (e.g. Panda, Penguin and Orca) this year an effort seems to have been made to also bring together animals from a region. Lego generously gifted us one of each of these sets to review, the North American, African and Australian sets.
First off, we will have a look at the North American group of animals under the banner of 31393 Forest Animals: Grey Wolf. This set contains instructions to build three alternative animals that I would associate with North America: a falcon, a raccoon, and a wolf. If it wasn’t for the raccoon this would also fit for Northern Europe, but this particular type of fur-tail is native only to North America.
The set contains 657 pieces and retails for AU$89.99/£44.99/US$49.99/49.99 and is available now. This set provides decent value for money, as is quite common for creator sets, and it embodies what made LEGO famous originally: the ability to build different things from the same bricks.
Follow me to explore the three models in this set and see if you agree this is indeed a North American set, and discover which of these animals would be your favourite.
