The LEGO Builder’s Journey Continues: Robot’s Adventure Introduced (now on iOS, other platforms soon…)

Graphic highlighting the major update to LEGO's Builder's Journey with the new feature, Robot's Adventure, accompanied by visual elements of the game.

For reasons best known to myself, I have installed Light Brick Studio’s Builder’s Journey on my Apple TV. Last week, the onscreen icon changed, and I thought I should find out why. The game has just undergone its 4th major version update, introducing a new series of puzzles: Robot’s Adventure. [Note: this post was already in development when this morning’s news about Light Brick Studio’s new game, LEGO® Voyagers, was announced]

Builder’s Journey features one of the simplest interfaces for a player to engage with a digital brick on a touchscreen that I have experienced. Point and click: pick up a brick from a pile on the level. Click again- spin it around. Give a sustained touch: it clicks in place. The studio has invested heavily in making the bricks as lifelike as possible – from their opacity, colour – even scratches and play wear on systems with selected graphics cards. Over the years, there have been a couple of content updates: one introducing new levels, and another introducing a creative mode, where you can use a handful of elements to create your own digital models.

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New Game from LightBrick Studio: Voyagers

4 years ago, LightBrick studio brought us LEGO Builders Journey. This game received a major update last week and continues to provide me with joy after all this time. (My review is following soon). Today at Summer Games Fest, the studio have revealed their second game: LEGO Voyagers. This multiplatform co-op adventure game is about friendship and play. When two friends make it their mission to rescue an abandoned spaceship, they embark on a journey beyond their wildest dreams, ultimately learning the value of being connected.

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Eight One Piece Sets Revealed: Preorder Now.

A child playing with a LEGO One Piece pirate ship set, showcasing intricate details and a vibrant design, with text overlay stating 'Eight One Piece Sets Revealed: Preorder now.'

I might be a little late to discovering the incredibly popular Manga/Anime One piece. My first exposure was probably on an airplane coming home from Japan last year, and then watching the recent series on Netflix. We can say what we like about whether or not there is a need to convert anime series to live action, but I will admit, the storytelling feels a little tighter in the newer form of the series. And it is through the Netflix series that the range of LEGO One piece has come to new developed.

Based on Eiichiro Oda’s legendary and beloved manga series, the first season of ONE PIECE sailed into Netflix’s Global Top 10 Shows where it spent eight weeks uniting fans of all ages in celebration of the Straw Hat’s voyage of hope and boundless spirit of adventure.  

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How to Train your Dragon to sit on a shelf: Toothless Revealed in LEGO form.

A shelf display featuring a LEGO model of Toothless, the Night Fury dragon from How to Train Your Dragon, surrounded by books and decorative items.

I’m a little late to How to Train Your Dragon, only watching the original animated film 15 years after its cinematic release, or a couple of months before the release of the live action version. Of course, live action feels a bit of a redundant term when the titular Dragon is , of course, computer animated. I was directed to it while recently making my way through the Movie Soundtrack podcast ‘The Art of the Score’, specifically the episode where they discussed John Powell’s Soundtrack to the 2010 film. Great News: He is back for the remake!

That said, I enjoyed the film: it made for a pleasant diversion while I was indulging in some prolonged procrastination and task avoidance.

Toothless, the Night Fury Dragon from the film has been a popular topic for LEGO MOCs over the intervening years, but finally, the LEGO Group are releasing a brick built version, at the start of July 2025. The set is available for preorder now (in some markets), has 784 Bricks and is priced at AUD109.99/ €69.99/ £59.99/ $69.99. This set appears to be a little more cute than the onscreen version suggests that it should.

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10348 LEGO Botanicals Japanese Red Maple Bonsai Tree (review)

LEGO Botanicals 10348 Japanese Red Maple Bonsai Tree model displayed with vibrant red and orange foliage on a green base.

A Bonsai Tree (10281) was one of the first sets released under the Botanical Collection label, back in 2021. Four years later, and it is still in the catalog. With Botanicals becoming their own theme this year, we have seen some delightful builds aimed at younger builders. But the grown-ups have not been forgotten, with the 10348 Japanese Red Maple Bonsai Tree being added to the catalog. It will be released June 1st, has 474 pieces and retails for $AUD99.99/€59.99/USD59.99/£54.99. The LEGO Group provided this set, but all opinions are my own.

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What Game is LEGO® playing? 42208 Aston Martin Valkyrie

Close-up view of a teal LEGO model of the Aston Martin Valkyrie, showcasing its detailed design and structural components.

I like my LEGO with a bit of colour. I like my cars with a bit of colour (heck, my own car has essentially a triple colour paint). So being presented with a teal supercar is cool.

Given the size of this set I didn’t expect anything too exciting, but I was curious how well the very curvy shapes of the Aston Martin Valkyrie could be captured and then I noticed a computer game mentioned on the box!

Screenshot from the mobile game Asphalt Legends Unite, featuring a teal supercar racing on a tree-lined road with pink foliage.

Join me while I explore why this game is mentioned on a LEGO set, and explore how well this decidedly not-straight vehicle translated into LEGO.

42208 Aston Martin Valkyrie contains 707 parts and is available from the 1st of June 2025 for AU$99.99/£54.99/US$64.99/€59.99. This set was provided by LEGO for review, all opinions are my own.

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10367 LEGO The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook [Set review and lighting experiments]

Illuminated LEGO structure featuring the Balrog from The Lord of the Rings in a book nook setup with fiery lighting effects.

I find the idea of a book nook appealing: a sculpture or landscape hiding out between the books on my shelves to provide a whimsical distraction in the quest for information, stories and ideas. I must confess, i was intrigued when I saw the Balrog revealed as the subject of a Book Nook based on the Lord of the Rings, but in reality, it seems right: a Mines of Moria ICONs set would probably incorporate far more action packed location, and so this location brings us an excuse to get a LEGO set focusing on a most sinister or foes, without needing to focus on a much much larger model, of wallet busting proportions. But how does this work out in real life? Is the build substantial? Does it brutally assail your finances? Let’s take a closer look.

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You Shall Not Pass! With the10367 Balrog Book Nook, Durin’s Bain Comes to a Shelf near you!

A LEGO display featuring the Balrog and Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings, set in a book nook with flames and stone columns, captioned "You Shall Not Pass!"

LEGO Themes have taken their origins from many places: the world around us, films, comics, television, scientific and exploratory adventures, our favorite cars and other machines. And some come straight from the company’s storytellers, bypassing the need for third party licensing.

We have a new collection arriving in June, encompassing a new form factor, and crossing multiple IPs: Book Nooks. The first revealed was the 10351 Sherlock Holmes Book Nook, bringing Victorian elegance to LEGO form; followed soon after by the 76450 Harry Potter Hogwarts Express Book Nook/Book Ends and today we can reveal that we shall also have one from 10367 The Lord of the Rings: Balrog Book Nook, in the form of the Bridge of Khaza Dûm, where Gandalf the Grey faced off against the dread creature, meeting his apparent doom.

Each of these properties were popular as printed words before they leapt to the Silver Screen, and those books are still loved today. These book nooks are designed to sit on your shelves between your favorite books, adding a little life and action to the storage space.

The Lord of the Rings: Balrog™ Book Nook will be released on June 1st 2025, and comes with 1201 pieces. It will be priced at AUD199.99 / 129,99 USD / 119,99 EUR / 109,99 GBP

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New style nostalgia, with 42209 Volvo L120 Electric Wheel Loader

LEGO Technic 42209 Volvo L120 Electric Wheel Loader model displayed in a yellow and black color scheme with a front bucket.

For me, Technic is machinery. As a child I didn’t have LEGO Technic but I had Fisher-Technic (awesome stuff, but I digress), so my real first encounters with LEGO Technic were after I got out of my dark ages and the machines that resonated most with me were bulldozers, bucket wheel loaders, front end loaders or a tipping truck. These systems have something ‘Technic’ about them; they can drive, sure, but they can also do something else! These sets came in Yellow and Black, I think you see where I’m going here. This new Volvo L120 Electric Wheel Loader has this exact colour scheme and the same functionality of sets that I hold dear in my memory so I am excited!

The 42209 Volvo L120 Electric Wheel Loader is a new set containing 973 pieces retailing for AU$149.99/£89.99/$119.99/€99.99 and was provided by LEGO for review. All opinions are my own.

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Family means: 42210 2 Fast 2 Furious Nissan Skyline GT-R (R34)

Where I did not expect to like this set. I mean; it’s grey, it’s a car, seen it all before, so I thought. I was wrong.

I’m not sure about Technic cars. I know cars appeal to many people, and most people drive cars so they can relate to them, but in a model their appeal is mostly in their shape or appearance. For me Technic is about mechanisms; things that move. A pair of wheels, some steering and even a transmission just doesn’t excite me that much anymore. Colour me surprised by The 2 Fast 2 Furious Nissan Skyline GT-R a medium-large scale Technic car that excites me.

LEGO Technic Nissan Skyline GT-R model in grey and blue, featuring detailed design elements and a rear spoiler, displayed on a white background.

This car is available from the 1st of June 2025 for AU$249.99/£129.99/US$139.99/€139.99 containing 1410 pieces. This number of pieces puts it below the really large scale vehicles, but well above the smaller Technic cars.

Two LEGO Technic cars from the Fast & Furious series displayed together, featuring a large Nissan Skyline GT-R in grey with blue accents and a black Dodge Charger with a detailed front engine.

Join me as I explore why this car was different for me, providing (almost) more excitement than the new 42209 Volvo L120 Electric Wheel Loader (review coming soon).

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