It’s time to sit down with a pile of bricks and just play. When I started, I was unsure where it would lead me: would I end up with a model? Lots of models? Would I become increasingly frustrated with ‘display-focused’ sets?

This article arrives as a convergence of several recent posts: My lament on the topic of Creator 3in1 shifting towards display sets as well as the recent review of Jess Rahbek’s book – which when coupled by some other recent reading: Cas Holman’s ‘Playful: How Play Shifts our Thinking, Inspires Connection and Sparks Creativity ‘, left me feeling the need to just grab some bricks and see where it would lead me.

Classic 11040 Magical Transparent Box.

I was curious to see how I might fare with ‘just playing,’ with no end goal, no target and no expectations. To do that, I picked up a set with relatively unfamiliar content: the Classic 11040 Magical Transparent Box. Released in 2025, this set has 340 elements. Of those, 112 are actually opaque – particularly in Aqua, cool yellow, and white (including a collection of printed tiles). The remaining 228 elements are Transparent-clear, Trans Light Blue, Trans Yellow, and Trans Medium Reddish Violet.

This is a fun set with the transparent colours featuring a variety of regular bricks as well as slopes, and a few other elements. There are transparent clear printed parts. One of the rare elements appearing in this set is probably one I ignored over the following days: the 2×2 plate with a loop.

The elements that make this set interesting are the transparent 2×2 slope 45º – upright and inverted in violet, yellow and light blue transparent, as well as the 1×2 bricks with one stud on the side in Trans Clear, transparent arches and some rounded inverse slopes, and the 1×1 equivalent slope.

I started simply, looking at a predominantly 2 dimensional form – an adult and child, while stringing together a collection of slopes for fun.

For reasons lost in time, I decided to build a skull. I had not really decided on a size or scale yet, but the idea of a transparent skull, with piercing red eyes, sprang to mind. The curved slopes allowed me to put together the main shape of the skull and use the SNOT brick to support a nasal septum of some sort.

And while this looked kind of fun in a Scooby-Doo kind of way, I wanted to build something bigger. I mainly used the transparent elements included in this set..

This was a good second go. I used the arches to set the scale for the eye sockets. I wasn’t quite happy with the teeth or the shape of the top of the skull, so I tried again.

In the next iteration, I smoothed out the nose, exaggerated the brow and rejigged the teeth. Unfortunately, in the process, the head became somewhat flattened. By now, I was becoming somewhat proficient in making the model fall apart by glaring at it. I changed the base of the eye sockets from trans violet to yellow.

The teeth were an improvement, and to add some strength, I incorporated a couple of the 2×8 plates into the skull. The curve at the top of the skull was still not looking quite right.

Somehow, this model had become somewhat squat, and unnaturally flat at the front.

In my final version, I narrowed the skull, so the arches formed part of the outer wall, and added some greater structure to the front of the lower skull. I also straightened the teeth.

At this point, I decided to call it a day with developing this model.

As a ‘Classic’ set, it has elements in a wide variety of shapes and colours. When playing with the elements, I was inspired by the shapes and forms taken by the elements as they connect with their set-mates, exploring the combinations of colours and connections – looking for the variety of forms that can be created. And this set is designed for this form of play. I certainly felt as though I was back in my childhood with a box full of basic bricks, preparing to build my dreams.

At this point, I picked up another set that is fairly heavy on the transparent elements –

31383 Creator 3in1 Floral Perfume Bottle

I have been a little critical of this year’s Creator 3-in-1 sets – more because there is an increased emphasis on ‘display’ rather than play. I was concerned that 31383 Creator 3in1 Floral Perfume Bottle may be more guilty of this than many: Despite a pushable button on top of the bottle, the hero model is geared for display rather than interactivity. I did not intend to build any of the alternate models, so I laid out the elements and began to explore the available palette.

One hundred and thirty out of the two hundred and eighty six elements are opaque, leaving one hundred and fifty six transparent elements. The majority of the transparent elements (125) are clear – with regular 1×2 bricks, 1×2 plates and 2×2 curved slopes and corner elements. Along with these transparent elements were a sizable number of bright royal blue bricks and plates, along with a few elements that look as if they are destined for flower-hood.

I thought I would explore the inverse curved slopes a little, and revisited a skull form. The curved corner elements gave the model quite a cartoonish look.

This set had a more homogeneous collection of elements than the classic set – and feels relatively heavy on the regular ‘square edged’ bricks, along with plenty of curved slopes, and their inverse counterparts.

But what to build?

My next element meddling actually started with some of the opaque elements.

After stacking the 2×2 soft pink slopes, I added a crown and a body. Some SNOT Bricks gave me a space for a face.

I found myself picking up a handful of curved slopes and the inverse curved slopes. What form could they take? It did not take long for the parts to come together as a spiral. Before I knew it, I had a snail shell. I added a face. Somehow, its face looked a little more cow-like than I expected.

And while this felt like a little bit of a snail, I picked up the remaining parts and created another spiral shell. This used some of the curved macaroni type elements, normally seen being part of the stems of plants and the like…

This left me with the 1x2x5 transparent bricks, and a 4×4 ring plate. Now, if I placed these bricks around the ring, I ended up with an effect not unlike a kaleidoscope. I added a small rotating platform that would provide a mixture of colourful images in the centre of its barrel, bringing a variety of fun effects.

It’s not a robust construction, but it is fun to play with.

Overall, I found both of these sets to be fun to play with in their own right – It was a good reminder to me that there is no obligation to build the model on the box – and that sometimes it’s just a bit more fun, and more satisfying – to create something yourself.

Personally, I felt the range of bricks included in the Classic set was more satisfying to play with, allowing me to iterate the skull several times, until I was happy with it. With 340 pieces, it has, unfortunately, retired from LEGO.com. You may still find it in the wild in toyshops. It was priced at $AU29.99/ $US24.99 / €19.99 / £17.99.

I was initially skeptical of the Floral Perfume bottle – but was also happy with my results there. This is an example of a Creator Set destined for display, if you follow the instructions, but there is scope in it. It is still available, and with 286 pieces, is priced at $AU49.99/ $US29.99 / €29.99 / £24.99.

When I started this rebuilding activity, I wasn’t sure what the Floral Perfume Bottle would bring. And yet, I found myself prompted to put together a collection of curious creatures, and a somewhat functional kaleidoscope with the remaining table scraps.

Before I started this rebuilding exercise, I fallen into a bit of a rut: my creativity was feeling stifled; I didn’t even feel I had the headspace to deal with the routine set release news here on the blog. At the end of the process, I felt as though I had reprimed my creativity. These may not be perfect builds, but they are mine.

At a time when it feels as though LEGO sets are becoming focused on display rather than play, I am grateful that the Creator sets are still good for free play regardless of their hero models, and that Classic sets still exist!

When did you last take a pile of bricks and just play? Let me know in the comments below.

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Until Next Time,

Play Well!