The folks over at No Starch Press have sent a new book over for review. Jacob Berg’s The Great LEGO Puzzle book does just what it says on the cover: It brings 120 building challenges using just a handful of basic bricks. Is this the perfect way to while away time during the holiday season?
Let’s take a closer look.
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LEGO® Art, Icons and Architecture are themes that are transforming LEGO Bricks from a construction toy to a decorative medium, and each theme has just revealed a new piece for January 2026. Let’s take a wander around these upcoming sets, set for a January 2026 release:
Read On for More
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After last week’s reveal of the 11501 Bunch of Tulips at the Chinese International Import Expo, another three Botanical sets in the 2026 lineup have been revealed.
These sets will be released on January 1, 2026, and cover the range of sets we are becoming accustomed to seeing in the Botanicals Range: a small cute bouquet, a potted succulent and a traditional indoor plant. Some sets are aimed at adults, while some aretargetted at younger builders. Read on for more.
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Normally a picture release of a large grey spaceship heralds the arrival of something from the LEGO Star Wars team. But this is much more exciting. After moving around a series of alternative toy brick companies over the years, the Star Trek License has finally come to rest with the LEGO Group, and I have to admit I am just a little bit excited.
The 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701 D has 3600 pieces and will be released in time for Black Friday, on 28th November 2025 at LEGO.com/Star-Trek and LEGO Stores priced at $AUD599.99 /€379.99 / £349.99 / $USD399.99. The set comes with nine mini figures, and the line up is just about perfect.
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The 2025 Chinese International Import Expo is now underway, and we have seen several sets across a range of themes revealed. These include Chinese New Year Fireworks, as well as a Galloping Horses Canvas for the Spring Festival; the first of the 15th Anniversary Ninjago sets , the four weapons blacksmith, and a Bouquet of Tulips, the first 2026 Botanical set to be revealed. These are sets due for release in January 2026.
There was one theme missing, however.
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The countdown is on for LEGO® fans! Tickets are now available for the Brickvention 2026 Public Expo, and the team organising the event are thrilled to announce an exclusive 50% discount on tickets for members of the LEGO® Insiders program. just for being part of the community.
The public expo runs Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th January 2026 at the Royal Exhibition Building in Carlton (just outside the CBD of Melbourne, Australia).
“For two decades, Brickvention has brought Melbourne an explosion of colour, creativity and community,” said Brickvention spokesperson Jason Cichon. “Public Expo sessions regularly sell out, so we encourage families and fans to book early…”
There will be hundreds of original, never-before-seen builds crafted by Australian and International builders. There will also be build zones, workshops and interactive areas. Its a great chance to catch up with fellow LEGO Enthusiasts and creators. And of course, a chance to find exclusive merchandise, and hard to find sets from the vendors.
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We have been taking a look at the 10366 Tropical Aquarium, coming out in mid November 2025. This is a large, expensive set, quite unlike anything that the LEGO Group has produced at this scale before. It’s not based on a renowned piece of Architecture, it doesn’t tie in with any preconceived cinematic universes, and neither does it follow up with one of the regular ICONs subthemes. It’s a 52 litre fish tank, filled with corals, plants, and fish of unrealistic provenance. However, I must admit, it looks quite neat. Impressive even.
Fish tanks often feature decorative elements within them. The Tropical Aquarium features a treasure chest, tucked away in the back corner, serving as a bubbler, along with a rock cave and shelf. However, beyond that, it is comprised of all plants, coral, and anemones.
In fact, it’s beginning to look like one of those colourful underwater layouts you often see at LEGO Conventions, with lots of hidey holes and scope for exploration and storytelling. This left me thinking about the broad range of underwater exploration themes that have cropped up over the years, and more importantly, made their way into my collection. And how they could add life to this set.
Let’s start with a quick look at some of the sets which I own (and some that I don’t), which feel as though they might serve as aquarium decorations .
[Editor: We are due to see the results of the largest LEGO® IDEAS review period, within the next day or so. With 57 submissions to LEGO IDEAS reaching 10000 votes in the lead up to May this year, we have been told to expect the biggest LEGO IDEAS announcement ever, very soon. Now, while LEGO sets are our focus here on the Rambling Brick, we can’t ignore the fact that some of the clone brick brands have been lifting their game over the last couple of years. I was sitting down, having a chat with Branko when he suggested “Some clone brick brands have released a sets similar to some of the Ideas submissions under review.” So, while LEGO IDEAS is always looking for ideas that push the envelope of what can be done with LEGO Bricks, producing something new and innovative, I can’t help but wonder “Is the IDEAS review process influenced by the way they have been taken up by Clone brands? ” and the converse question:”Do Clone brick brands look at submissions gaining traction on LEGO IDEAS and adapt them for their own purposes?”
Read on as Branko takes a look at a couple of LEGO IDEAS submissions that appear to already inspired clone brick brands along the way…]
I enjoy looking through all the ideas that are proposed and reviewed on LEGO ideas, and I have gotten the impression I’m not the only one. More and more am I seeing competing brands release sets that seem very closely related to some LEGO ideas.
Join me as I go over a handful of these. I am guessing that the LEGO IDEAS Review Team will not approve these under their own banner. They are very well aware of their competitors and they have easier targets to choose. This saddens me a bit, since the designs are all great, but let’s face it more sets have always been rejected than accepted.
I will also comment briefly on a few categories that we see recurring in these reviews regularly
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The 10366 Tropical Aquarium will be released in mid November. In our previous article, we looked at the overall build experience. The set is the most expensive LEGO® Set that is not based on an external IP, such as a movie, or large piece of architecture. The final model is also quite large. I suspect this will be a model that has its ardent fans, but a lot of people will, quite rightly, be put off simply by the $AUD699.99/USD379.99/ €449.99 / £399.99 price tag.
Despite the pricing, this set is not without its merits. Today, I want to show you some of my favorite learnings from the set, which can be translated into models of your own. If you think they are interesting things, download the manual, or look up the relevant parts of construction in the LEGO BUILDER App. In my next installment, I’ll look at some other ideas for customising the model, while I intend examine the value in fourth of my review series. I am grateful that the LEGO Group sent a copy of this set over for review: all opinions and thoughts in here are my own.
The Tropical aquarium is a premium LEGO® set, which at first glance seeks to tie the neat parts usage that characterises the Botanicals range, with the less official ‘Life Size Objects’ sub-theme that we have seen in recent years across LEGO ICONS and IDEAS. This represents a landmark in LEGO Set marketing: to date, it is the most expensive set released that does not tie in with any preexisting external intellectual property. I also recognise that if you are considering whether or not you are going to spend $AUD699.99/USD379.99/ €449.99 / £399.99, you probably want to be pretty sure that this is a set for you. The set represents a significant multifactorial investment – in monetary terms, display space and the time taken to assemble. I am grateful that the LEGO Group sent a copy of this set over for review: all my opinions are my own, as much as can be possible.
In this first part of a multi-post review, I will look at the set itself, including the building experience.
In our next installment, I’ll show you some of the things that I learned from building the set. In part three, we will consider some ways you mightchoose to customise the display. In our final part, we will examine whether or not there is actual value for money in the set.
