The LEGO® Botanicals theme has gone from strength to strength, and the latest wave brings us contrasting builds, proving interesting building experiences.
Today, let’s look at the Hibiscus: following in the footsteps of the Bird of Paradise and Orchid, it brings tropical beauty and colour while invoking some some interesting recolourings to produce a delightful display piece, perfect to distract you as winter settles in (I am writing this in July 2025, from Melbourne Australia, where the weather is a little cooler than we have been used to for some time.)
Let’s take a closer look. [This set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes. All opinions are my own.]
Looking back to January 2024, LEGO® Ideas launches the Exploring the Cosmos challenge: “Can you imagine how awesome the spacecraft and bases on planets will look like in 100+ years as humans start to explore the cosmos? ”
Fast forward to July 2025, and the 40789 Moon Car, designed by EnchantingNoodle is available from the LEGO Insiders centre for 2500 Points. I’ve been away for a few weeks, visiting Japan Brickfest, so imagine my delight when I got home to discover the LEGO Group had arranged for this set to be waiting for me.
Disney’s Sleeping Beauty Castle – and by extension, the stereotypical Disney Castle, has been the subject of a number of interpretations at a number of scales, aimed at varying age groups over the years. Now at last, Neuschwanstein Castle, the original inspiration for Sleeping Beauty’s castle has come to the LEGO Architecture range. With 3455 pieces, and priced at $AUD399.99/ $USD279.99 / 269,99 € / £239.99, the set will be released on 1st August 2025.
Several questions popped into my head when I saw this set announced, so when LEGO generously offered to send one over for review I considered it a great opportunity to explore some of these questions, such as “What?” “Why?” and “How?”
This set has left me confused. I cannot recall having been confused by a LEGO set before, so that is worth something. I am confused because it seems this set does not know what it wants to be. Initially the set feels like the designers wanted to create something that very strongly feels like “LEGO” in a basic way, but then suddenly you get hit with a curve(d)ball that does the exact opposite!
“43008 Nike Dunk x LEGO® Set“ is the first LEGO set released as part of LEGO and Nike’s partnership. This set was never intended to be a play-set, but rather an expression of fandom for Nike or sneakers or both. It contains 1180 parts and is available from the 1st of July for AU$149.99/£89.99/$99.99/€99.99.
This set consists of four parts; a sneaker, a minifigure, a basketball and a stand with the brick-built word ‘DUNK’. All these parts feel a little disconnected from each other, as if they do not belong together. Let the confusion commence!
Please join me while I explain my confusion about this set, while simultaneously exploring the change of LEGO as a toy company to… well… what it is now.
It’s been a hot minute since we had a LEGO Icons car revealed. The latest is the Shelby Cobra 427 S/C: this 1960’s sports car is set for release on July 1, has 1241 pieces and is priced at $AUD249.99 / $USD159.99 / €149,99 / £139,99
First released in 1965, with a combination of the sleek styling, and the 427 cubic inch (7-liter) Ford V8 engine, the 427 Cobra is celebrated for its ability to accelerate quickly, with some models reaching 0-60 mph in under 4 seconds. This car is a masterful example of great style and brawn in the one package.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
