The 2026 Creator 3in1 sets are due for release on January 1 2026, and I have the full range to review, thanks to the LEGO Group. (All opinions are my own) Among the nine sets due for release, seven depict fish animals or birds in some shape or form, and only only 3 have more than 300 parts. Hopefully, we can get them reviewed in a timely fashion. Today, we will start with 31376 Cute Hamster with Flower.

BUT THAT’S not all. On my recent trip to Denmark, I had the chance to visit the LEGO Campus and catch up with Lennart DuPont Cort, one of the Creator 3in1 designers.

We had a chat about all sorts of aspects of the Creator 3in1 process, and I will include these details through the 3in1 reviews. We rarely get the chance to talk to members of the Creator 3in1 team, so this was a really exciting opportunity. Special thanks to the Community Engagement team at the LEGO Group for making this happen.

Meet Lennart

Lennart has been working at the LEGO Group since 2020. Prior to this, he spent seven years working in the LEGO Store at the Billund Airport by day, and working on his own models in his own time. He focused on vehicles, particularly jets – working to improve his design skills with every build, and drawing inspiration from other builders in this area.

Since joining the LEGO Group, he has worked mainly with the Creator 3in1 team, but also worked on the 60316 Police Station for LEGO City. WE have looked at some of his sets in the past, here at the Rambling Brick including 31167 Haunted Mansion and 31175 Unicorn Palace. In the current wave, he has worked on 31376 Cute Hamster with Flower and 31381 Fierce Shark with Treasure Chest.

31376 Cute Hamster with Flower

This is one of the smaller sets in the January wave, with just 166 pieces. It is aimed at builders aged 7 years and up, and is priced at $AUD14.99/$USD9.99 £8.99/ 9.99€.

Elements

The small box contains 3 unnumbered bags. In my review set, these bags were paper.

There may not be many parts in this set, but it takes advantage of the contemporary parts palette. There is one new recolour: 6580013 2x2x1 2/3 Dome top, in medium nougat. We have bricks, slopes and plates in medium nougat, and a variety of SNOT Bricks (Studs not on top) bricks in tan, and a few technic elements – bricks to take axles and studs in white, as well as a few lilac and medium lavendar elements. My favorite guest appearance in this set would have to be the 2×4 Brick in red. If just one element screams ‘Iconic LEGO,’ this is the one!

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens: some of Lennart’s favorite things

I asked Lennart which of the elements in the current LEGO Palette were his favorite, and he brought out a small handful of elements. Most of them are found in this set.

The first is the 1x1x2/4 rounded plate with a stud on the side. The rounded back of this element allows it to take builds off the grid, while also providing us with the smallest SNOT element in the parts palette, at this time. While 1×1 SNOT bricks have their studs appropriately spaced for a sideways plate with 2 plates in between, the same gap is achieved with these elements by placing them on either side of a brick. The can also fit directly below a regular SNOT Brick. This set comes with two in black and two in tan.

Next we have the 1x1x2/3 dome in black. this was a new element in 2025, appearing in multiple colours, but in black there is no doubt that it will play a role as an animal’s eye. This element fits tightly over a single stud – and poses a challenge anyone who wishes to remove it. Lennart explains “One of the most important things is the eye of an animal, and sometimes we make it so complicated” (take a look at the eye in the 31129 Majestic Tiger from 2021 if you want an example of this) “So having something that’s as simple as this element, I really like that.”

Another one of Lennart’s favorities is the 1x1x 1 2/3 quarter dome – I first saw it in brown, giving Donkey Kong his distinctive hairstyle. This set contains six of these, in white.
“We use them often for cheeks and it makes things very soft looking, and that’s something that can be hard to achieve in bricks, but this makes [the look] a bit easier to get,” Lennart explained.

The final element that Lennart has brought to our interview is used in his other January release 31381 Fiece Shark and Treaure Chest: the 2x2x2/3 quarter dome – it lines up nicely with the 1x2x2/3 and 2x2x2/3curved slopes, which has been used commonly for defining an animal’s musculature as well as landscape texture over the past 12 months. “That’s one of those parts I was feeling like that’s really missing in our full family [of nx2x2/3 slopes].”

The Builds.

One of the Joys of 3in1 builds are the multiple models: I’ll bring the details of how these models come into being in a future 3in1 review: sign up to our mailing list to ensure you get them all.

The Hamster

As with many Creator 3in1 sets, this set starts with a small side build: a purple flower in the grass. It’s a small, simple build using clips, candles and bars, before being topped up with a flower – built of circular plates, medium lavender leaves with the newish peony element front and centre.

“Kids really appreciate these side builds for the play value. they set the whole scene,” Lennart explained.

“We start so early on the alternative models and we do hide in pieces on the a model that’s useful only for the B model. It can sometimes seem a bit strange that you’re putting eyes in the body of some animal, but it’s because you need those … for another animal. This is one way that we focus on the alternative builds from the beginning. But sometimes we can for example, split elements, because they will be useful for the alternative models.”

We move onto the body of the hamster, starting with some inverse bows before building up the brick-built core, 2×4 brick hidden safely inside. Legs are added using 2×2 inverted domes, with round plates with bars, making for extremely cute toesy wosies! The rear legs are fixed, while the front legs can rotate slightly inwards.

And before you know it, 1×1 eye tiles are hidden underneath the quarter domes that make up the hamster’s rump! Likewise, two red Technic peg/studs are tucked away inside: they play no role in this model, but will be used in the hedgehog .The body is capped up with a few slopes, as well as the 2×3 slope with rocky detail that was used so many times for animal’s fur in the past.

The hamster’s head starts with a hinge mechanism, followed by a SNOT Brick framework. We then build up a 3×4 panel with the eye elements, 2×2 SNOT Bricks, and a face, using the eye domes and 1x1x1 2/3 quarter domes. This panel attaches to the front of the SNOT Frame, and is held in place with a couple of panels on the side of the face. Ears plug into the back of the head, and before you know it, the head is attached using a single Technic friction pin.

The finished model is incredibly cute. It is sturdy on its feet, and the tail end is square enough to sit upright. And this is where the single peg and hinge built into the head come into their own: on four legs, the head can be easily tilted on an angle, as if the hamster is curious. Sitting upright, the head tilts to face forwards, and can look up a little. As the legs turn inward, they can grasp the stem of the flower. I have to be honest: while several animals have been labelled “cute” in the Creator range in recent years, this is one of the cutest that I have seen!

It’s the way that the lines meet between the cheeks and nose, while the black domes serve the role of eyes perfectly.

The Hedgehog

The next build is another small, land-based mammal- the hedgehog. These are hard to come by in Australia, and I think I have only ever seen one or two in my life.

We start with a small flower as the side build, before building up a curved 4×4 base, with small 1×1 round legs.

Building up, we see an example of elements being used for alternative purposes, in order to reuse elements from the hamster, with 1×2 half circles used as an alternative to 1×2 tiles, allowing side panels to slot onto the snot plates.

The face is assembled as a separate panel, bringing out the 1×1 round eye prints that were hidden in the hamster build, but brought out here, while the black 1×1 dome serves as a little button nose.

The Bird

The final build is a bird – the initial side build gives us a brightly coloured nest, with an egg inside.

Sloped bricks form the body and tail, while SNOT Bricks are present on the front and back The ‘ruffled’ slopes serve both for the breast of the bird, as well as the wings – reusing the side panels.

The eye tiles make an appearance on SNOT Bricks, while left and right plates with bow form the beak, tucked under a gentle curve forming the top of the head.

In conclusion

There is no doubt that the hamster is the hero build here, with articulation and expression, while the other two builds both use barely half of the bricks, by weight. But they are all sufficiently sweet. It’s not uncommon for the B&C builds in these small 3in1 sets to suffer a little bit, as far as part count is concerned.

This is a strong start for the animals on show in the Creator range in 2026. The hero build has won over the hearts of my household, and I suspect that it will for people of just about any age. It features a great collection of interesting building tricks, and I am pretty happy to give this set 4.5 out of 5 Arbitrary praise units. For such a small set, it does all that you want, and more. Kids will love to play with the final model, and the collected elements present a wide variety of possibilities. The inclusion of the Iconic 2×4 brick reminds me that Creator 3in1 is the range that embodies the soul of LEGO play – take some bricks, make something. Rearrange those bricks to make something else.

What more can you ask for?

I’d like to thank Lennart duPont Cort for his insights into the Creator 3in1 process, and we will hear some more from him as we work through the 2026 Creator range.Thanks also to the LEGO Group for providing copies of this set – all opinions are my own.

The LEGO Creator 3in1 31376 Cute Hamster with Flower goes on sale January 1 2026, and has 166 pieces. It is aimed at builders aged 7 and up, and is priced at $AUD14.99/$USD9.99 £8.99/ 9.99€. Consider using our affiliate links for your new year purchases: it wont cost you any extra, but we might receive a small commission, which helps us to cover the costs of hosting the blog.

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Until Next Time,

Play Well!