LEGO® Creator 3in1 31387 Iconic Pirate Ship

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LEGO Creator 3in1 31387 Iconic Pirate Ship model displayed, featuring detailed ship design, sails, and pirate minifigures.

Pirates have been a core theme for LEGO® play since their debut in 1989. Like the other classic playthemes such as Space and Castle, Pirate themed sets have been dominated by licensed properties such as Pirates of the Caribbean and Once Piecen in recent years . Despite this increased commercialization on the store shelf, classic themes remain core zones in the LEGOLAND THEME PARKS- and core memories for many people of a certain age.

This is where Creator 3in1 steps in, bringing multi-build models that serve to fill the gaps that are no longer truly represented by in-house themes, not only covering the hero build of the theme, but often include alternate builds that also fit ‘in world.’

LEGO Creator 3-in-1 set featuring an iconic pirate ship, box design showcasing ship with pirate figures and squid, recommended for ages 9 and above, contains 1074 pieces.
LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Pirate Ship set, featuring a pirate ship, a treasure island, and two smaller pirate boats with minifigures, an octopus, and various accessories.

Creator 31387 Iconic Pirate Ship fits into the Creator lineup just where the 2020s 31109 Pirate ship sat, until it retired at the end of last year.The new version has fewer pieces, but boasts an additional minifigure (bringing a total of 5). It also seems to involve fewer red elements in its makeup. It retails for $AUD149.99 £89.99 $USD109.99 €99.99, a decidedly more palatable price bracket than the previous model (AUD189.99/ £114.99/ USD119.99). The set includes a pair of skiffs and a hideout as its alternative builds. Has this been a marvellous exercise in cost reduction or have they left something out? Is it as iconic as its title claims?

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LEGO® Icons Arcade Pinball Machine revealed: Pale Blue Spaceman and Baby Spaceman Included

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A LEGO Icons 11374 Arcade Pinball Machine displayed on a blue storage box, surrounded by craft materials and a skateboard.

Pinball machines have always intrigued me – the challenge of keeping the ball in play, trying to workout the powerups and bonuses. When I was younger this was generally limited to the one of day a year that we had takeaway fish and chips while on a beach holiday. At 20 cents per play, they were worth almost a week’s pocket money at the time. Smaller versions were built to appeal to the home play market – often including the flashing lights and bumpers of the full size arcade versions – all painted up with some retro colour scheme or pattern. And it is these vintage toys of the 70s-to90s that the LEGO Group is trying to capture with this latest icons set – 11374 Arcade Pinball Machine.

LEGO Icons Arcade Pinball Machine box featuring a detailed design with vibrant colours and elements related to space.
LEGO Space Mission building set box featuring a detailed design of a space scene with various spaceships and planets, alongside images and specifications on the side.

The set has 2272 pieces, a classic spaceman and space baby in pale blue. It will go on sale on July 1 2026, priced at $AUD349.99/ £189.99/ €209.99 / $229.99.

By adopting a ‘Space’ theme, and bringing in a new pale blue Spaceman and Space Baby, this is sure to be a hit with Space fans, yearning for the nostalgia of old style toys: this is certainly not a substitute for a full size Pinball Machine, but rather a toy version, as was frequently seen around in the 70s and 80s, and can still be found today, fully featured for a lower cost of investment (to be fair, the torso, legs and tanks have existed previously, but this one unites them all! ).

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The Evolution of LEGO® Dragons III: 2001-2011 Brick-Built Beasts.

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Welcome to part three in our series examining the evolution of LEGO® Dragons. In Part One, we looked at the development of the classic LEGO Dragon from 1992. In Part Two we followed the evolution of premoulded dragons, and examined the Legacy of Galidor in LEGO Creature design. Today, we are taking a look at the development of brick-built dragons, and the years where LEGO Bricks began to extend beyond the standard rectangular brick.

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LEGO Architecture Sagrada Família revealed: highest part count ever.

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The Sagrada Família has been under construction for over 140 years. Surely close to a record for contemporary cathedral construction. The church was the vision of architect and designer, Antoni Gaudí, who passed away 100 years ago this year.

Today, The LEGO Group reveal their largest set yet (by part count): a brick built version of the Sagreda Família. It will be released on November 1, but will be available for preorder from today.

Set 21065 LEGO Architecture: The Sagrada Família is priced at $AUD1299.99 / £649.99/ €749.99/ $USD799.99 and has 12060 pieces. It measures over 24 in. (62cm) high, 18.5 in. (47 cm) wide, and 15 in. (39 cm) deep

Read on for the press release…

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10 New Smart Play Pokemon Sets Revealed!

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The First LEGO Pokemon sets to have been released were large playsets, Primarily aimed at adult collectors (probably those who specifically grew up with Pokemon in the 90s and early 00s. Today, the LEGO Group have revealed 10 sets for release in August (preorder now!).

These are very much play sets, aimed at kids from 6 years and up. The sets incorporate Smart Play – Two sets include smart bricks and tags, while the rest of the sets are equipped with the smart tage. Great news: Already have a Smart Brick from Star Wars? They are the same as the Smartbricks included in 72164 and 72167. You can use them to bring any of the other pokemon ‘Smart Play Compatible ‘sets to life.

I have been enjoying my own experience with Smart Play – not relying on Star Wars sets, but rather putting the Tags into my old (Classic) spaceships and the like.

This new roll out does raise the question, however: When will Smart Play roll out to countries that are not USA, UK, Australia, France, Germany and Poland? For now, these sets will only be available where Smart Play has been rolled out. Is this for Supply chain or Customer service reasons? Unfortunately, at this stage, we havenot had that information available to us on the Ambassadors Network.

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LEGO Botanicals: 11512 Cosmos Flowers – an emotional roller coaster (hands on review)

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A colourful display of plastic Cosmos flowers in a clear blue vase, with text highlighting their inspiring, challenging, and potentially frustrating nature.

The Cosmos Flowers riff on LEGO Botanicals Daisy bouquet released earlier this year. With a few flowers and some lavender like blooms, you could almost suspect it of trying to be a copy of this earlier set. I suspect we will learn that this is not the case.

The set is aimed at builders aged 9 and up, has 177 pieces and will be priced at $AUD24.99 / 14.99€ / $USD14.99 /£12.99. The LEGO Group sent this set over for an early review.Let’s take a closer look.

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LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight [Hands-on Review]

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LEGO Batman figure in a dynamic pose against a night city backdrop with a large moon, promoting a hands-on review of 'LEGO Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight'.

It’s been a while since we have had a game to review here on the Rambling Brick. Thanks to the LEGO Group for organising a digital copy of TT Games’ LEGO® Batman: Legacy of the Dark Knight to review. I passed it onto our in-house games reviewer, Harry. Read on for more…

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11505 Woodland Mushrooms: Could this be the most satisfying Botanical Set yet?

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A display of the LEGO 11505 Woodland Mushrooms set featuring colourful mushrooms, plants, and a natural earthy base, showcasing the botanical theme.

The Botanicals range continues to diversify in 2026 and 11505 Woodland Mushrooms is one of their most original display pieces yet. In the past we have seen bouquets, large and small potted plants, hanging arrangements, dried flower arrangements and bonsai trees. This set is a little different: imagine digging up an improbably diverse patch of soil from the woods. On it grows a collection of mushrooms, on a mossy bed, along with some Autumn Crocus, moss and bracken. This is the first botanical set to explore a biome rather than something manicured for domestic display.

The LEGO Group sent a copy over for early review ahead of its release on the 1st June, 2026. The set has 806 pieces and has a RRP at $AUD129.99/ £69.99 / $USD79.99 / €79.99. 

Could this be the most satisfying Botanical set to date? Let’s take a closer look…

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Build up your Magical Kingdom with 43302 Disney Main St, U.S.A.

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A vibrant display of LEGO buildings representing Disney Main Street, U.S.A., featuring colourful structures and characters, set against a textured backdrop.

Every so often, we get a set or two that lines up specifically with sights from Disneyland Parks: the iconic Castle (at least twice so far), a railway, the occasional random ride (Haunted Mansion, I’m looking at you). Today, the LEGO group has revealed the latest in this series: LEGO®|Disney Main Street, U.S.A.

LEGO set showcasing Main Street, USA from Disney, featuring detailed buildings and a variety of minifigures, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
The packaging for a Disney-themed LEGO set, showcasing a detailed building with multiple sections, colourful minifigures, and accessories.

This set has 3899 pieces and features 16 minfigures. It will be priced at $AUD549.99 / £319.99 / €349.99 / $399.99 and will go on sale in June 2026, in time to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the park’s landmark locale.

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What’s up with white? Part 2: Comparing the effects of twelve months of environmental exposure on pigment 426 White and 1 White.

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An image showing a label on a black surface with the title 'What's up with white?' and details on comparing the effects of twelve months of environmental exposure on two white pigments, alongside a cautionary note 'do not touch, science in progress'.
A close-up of a light switch covered with black tape, featuring a label that reads 'do not touch science in progress'. The switch is mounted on a yellow wall.

It is a property of ABS and other plastics that they will undergo photooxidative degradation – the materials will yellow with age, particularly in response to ultraviolet light.

In 2025, the LEGO Group introduced a new white pigment in selected sets. This colour, referred to as 426 White V3 is more opaque than the 1 White that has otherwise been in use since LEGO® Bricks started to be coloured by adding pigment to raw ABS stock in the early 2000s. Given the relative opacity to 1White, I wondered if there might be a difference in the yellowing exhibited by these elements after prolonged exposure to sunlight. So I masked off some tiles,

I will apologize for drifting back into high school science practice write-ups and the lack an a priori power analysis, and subsequent dodgy statistics, as we set out to answer the question “Is the new LEGO pigment 426 White V3 less susceptible to yellowing when exposed to sunlight?”

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