Creator

LEGO Creator 31386 Wild Animals Majestic Lion (Africa)

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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?

LEGO gifted us this ‘Creator 31386 Wild Animals Majestic Lion‘ of 839 pieces retailing for AU$109.99,£59.99, $69.99, €64.99 to find out what’s lion about, so why don’t you join us and read on as we explore what this set has to offer.

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31393 Forest Animals: Grey Wolf (North America)

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A Lego model of a grey wolf standing on a base with autumn-coloured foliage, labelled '31393 Forest Animals: Grey Wolf (North America)'.
LEGO Creator 3-in-1 set featuring models of a wolf, bird, and tree, with images of each model displayed on the packaging.

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.

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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 Piece 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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31380 Retro Gaming Console: Quick Creator Reviews

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Image of the 31380 Retro Gaming Console LEGO set, showcasing various models including a handheld console, a keyboard, and an arcade machine, all designed with dark blue and bright colored elements against a purple background.

Time to get another Creator 3-in1 review out. While the majority of sets in the current wave are creature builds, a couple are based on real-world objects.

Lets take a look at the 31380 Retro Video Game Console.

This set is one of 2 sets in the current wave that tie into real-world objects, with the hero model setting out to mirror handheld consoles of the nineties and early noughties. The set is aimed at audiences from age 8 and up, has 268 pieces and is priced at $AUD29.99 / $USD19.99 / £17.99 / 19.99€

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Creator 2026: 31376 Cute Hamster and Designer Insights

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A display of LEGO Creator 3in1 set 31376 featuring a cute hamster, a small bird, and a purple flower, all on a light green background.

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.

Two smiling individuals posing for a selfie indoors, with large windows displaying a modern building in the background.
Richard on the left; Lennart Dupont Cort – Creator 3in1 designer on the right.

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.

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31175 Unicorn Castle Gave Me a Visual Sugar-Rush!

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Colorful LEGO Unicorn Castle with two small unicorn figures in the foreground, showcasing a whimsical design.

Do you know the feeling of having too much cake with icing and a soft drink? Perhaps you’ve seen the effect such a combination at a children’s party? That is the feeling I got from this set.

The highlight of this set would obviously be the unicorn. As it turns out, this singular unicorn shares its habitat with two pegasi! Although, is this really a habitat? Or something else? I felt confused when building this set, and perhaps that is a good thing.

Image of the LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Unicorn Castle set (31175) featuring a colorful castle with unicorn and pegasus figures, showcasing the packaging with an age recommendation of 8+, highlighting the 390 pieces and alternate build options.
The back of the LEGO set box for 31175 Unicorn Castle, showcasing three build options: a colorful castle, a stable with unicorns, and a whimsical boat.
LEGO 31175 Unicorn Castle box showing vibrant illustrations of a castle, unicorn, and pegasi, highlighting the set's colorful theme.

The ‘due-to-license-issues-officially-not-my-little-pony‘ set, 31175 Unicorn Castle is retailing for AU$59.99/£34.99/$44.99/€39.99 and contains 390 parts and three tiny horse-adjacent creatures. The creatures are probably the main selling point, but there’s quite a bit more in the box; perhaps a bit too much. Read on to see what this set has to offer, and find out if this is for you.

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Feeling old in a good way with 31174 Retro Telephone

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LEGO Creator 3in1 Retro Telephone set features a blue rotary phone design, complete with a handset, flexible cable, and a yellow notepad with a pencil.

It has been a little while since calling someone by phone actually involved ‘dialling’ their number. This term is still sometimes used, although I suspect the majority of humans in Australia have not had the experience of turning a rotary dial on a phone to make a call since the late 1980’s

Image of the LEGO Creator 3in1 Retro Telephone set packaging featuring a light blue rotary dial phone along with a pencil and yellow notepad, showcasing alternative builds on the side.
Box packaging of LEGO set 31174 featuring a retro rotary dial phone design along with two alternative builds, a modern mobile phone and a flip phone.
A LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Retro Telephone set box, featuring a colorful design with illustrations of the rotary phone and alternative builds on its sides.
LEGO Creator 3in1 Retro Telephone set 31174 box showcasing the rotary dial phone, handset, notepad, and other alternative builds.

The LEGO Group provides us with a neat reminder of what phone calls used to look like with the new Creator 3in1 set 31174 Retro Telephone retailing for AU$39.99/£24.99/$29.99/€29.99 containing 383 parts, so you can have a bit of an idea of how it felt. Or flash back to years gone past…

Although this is a 3-in-1 set, the rotary dial phone is the clear hero of this set. Look no further for improvement in the alternative builds; the other designs feel like an afterthought in comparison. The rotary phone has a nifty design for the dial, and the cable between the handset and the base is worth the price of admission alone! Check out the video to see how the cable seems to defy the rules of the LEGO® system and appear fully flexible.

Read on to see what other phones are on offer and why explore the delight that the rotary phone has to offer.

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Creator 3in1 31166 Beautiful Horse – 3 Model Review

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LEGO Creator 3 in 1 set 31166 featuring a beautifully built horse model with a vibrant color palette, set against a scenic base with flowers.

We have looked at a few creature builds over the last 2 years: the T. Rex, Panda, Kitten, Panda, Safari Animals, a Flamingo, and more – each coming with three options to build. One thing has been apparent: the number of brick designs in play has taken a quantum leap over the last few years. And with each set, the colour palette of these elements expands. Today, we will take a look at another: 31166 Beautiful Horse. Not only do we have the titular horse, but also a dear and bear to build. That said, just about anyone looking at it from a short to moderate distance might well be saying “Medium nougat parts pack”

Let’s take a closer look at this new Creator 3in1 set (provided by LEGO, all opinions are my own)

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A Haunting We Will Go…31167 Creator 3in1 Haunted Mansion Review and a Brief History of Spooky Sets

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An animated image featuring a LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Haunted Mansion set, showcasing its structure and five minifigures including a vampire bride and Frankenstein's monster, along with spooky text elements referencing other LEGO themes.

I have a theory: Creator 3in1 sets and Collectable minifigures are the last bastion of the classic themes that we would love to see the LEGO Group bring back. Some of the August release Creator 3in1 sets – 31167 Haunted Mansion and 31168 The Medieval Horse Knight Castle – both seem to serve my point to a certain extent, calling back to Monster Fighters and Classic Castle, respectively.

In this review, we will look at the new Creator 3in1 31167 Haunted Mansion. This was released on August 1, and comes with 736 pieces and five unique minifigures. It is priced at $AUD149.99/ $USD89.99 / €89.99 / £79.99.

As I set out to review this set, I may have become distracted and started looking at other ‘Haunted Themes’ that we have seen across the years…

LEGO Creator 3in1 Haunted Mansion set 31167 featuring a spooky green house with ghostly elements, five unique minifigures, and the option to build alternate models like a ghost ship and ghost train.
LEGO Creator 3in1 set 31167 featuring a haunted mansion, ghost train, and ghost ship, showcasing the spooky theme.

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What Can We Learn From the Creator 3in1 31172 Record Player with Flowers?

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I have said it before, and I’ll say it again: I love the LEGO® Creator 3in1 sets: they provide builders with great opportunities to learn about about evolving construction techniques, new elements, or even serve as reminders about established techniques that might be outside our regular repertoire.

Recently, there has been a trend to bring out creator 3in1 sets showcasing specific colours, while building real world objects, decorated with flowers. One of the latest releases, 31172, brings us the options of a record player, a radio and a microphone with vintage styling while highlighting a white and light royal blue, with different bunches of flowers.

This set has 366 pieces, and priced at $AUD39.99/ $USD29.99 /€29.99 /£24.99. It is now available now

Today, after looking at the elements included and the 3 models, we will take a look at some of the handy tips I picked up as I put the record player together. Some were new to me, some were reminders, and all will be useful to someone, I am sure. I’d love to know what you think.

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