In December, 2025 I had the good fortune to visit LEGO Campus in Billund, Denmark. While there, I had the chance to talk with Theo Bonner – One of the Senior Designers working on LEGO’s Botanicals Theme. During the 45 minutes that we spoke, we covered a variety of topics including the challenges of flowerpots, new colours, storytelling the Botanicals consumer base, storytelling and the lack of Spinjitzu in Botanical sets.
Today, in the first of our four reviews of upcoming Botanical releases, we will take a look at the 11501 Tulip Bouquet, and in our interview extract, we talk about the challenges of recolouring certain elements, the new curved slope element and its connection to a space theme from around the turn of the century.
Since 2021 LEGO has released 10 small Technic monster trucks, linked to Monster Jam. LEGO generously sent us the latest pair to be released in January so we can share our own opinion on them.
Monster Trucks are unusual vehicles that you hope never to encounter on the road; they are designed to smash, jump flip and do other stunts that you do not typically want to associate with partaking in traffic. My expectation for a Monster Truck set is therefore in a similar vein; I expect this to provide some simple fun and smiles; something that triggers play.
I admit that I did not know what “Monster Jam” was (I thought a computer game) but courtesy of Wikipedia:
Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour operated by Feld Entertainment. The series began in 1992, and is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association. Events are primarily held in North America, with some additional events in other countries. Although individual event formats can vary greatly based on the “intermission” entertainment, the main attraction is always the racing, two-wheel skills competition, and freestyle competitions by monster trucks.
Come have a look at what we can learn about torque, power and acceleration for a Monster Truck. Oh, and we will also have a look at what this particular LEGO set has to offer.
The next wave of LEGO® Dreamzzz contains a collectable aspect, as such themes often do. In the past we’ve had spinners, golden weapons, shields… and in the 2026 Dreamzzz sets, we have two collectables; HUGE swords, and crystal creatures. The boxes seem fairly clear about this:
For your convenience we’ve put together a quick table to show you which variants you can collect in the 5 sets to be released in January 2026, so you can target your favourite parts.
The five sets generously provided by LEGO, to be released in January are:
I was quite excited when I saw the announcement of season 4 of LEGO Dreamzzz (as in: the 5 sets that are to be released in January 2026); they are all animals, reminding me much of Legends of Chima! And then it struck me; these are all LARGE sets!
When I was fortunate enough to visit LEGO during the LEGO inside tour in 2016, I distinctly remember LEGO designers explaining to me that in these ‘story’ themes they aim to have a set for every budget, from something tiny, to pocket-money sized all the way to saving-for-quite-some-time-and-hoping-santa-thinks-I-was-nice large. But this batch felt different, the smallest one, 71513 Nightmare Scorpion Digger comes in at a respectable 505 pieces, followed by 71508 Fox Guardian Mech with 883 pieces and the rest all over 1000 pieces! These all represent quite a significant investment.
I think these sets are all really great in different ways, read the reviews coming soon. But in today we are not discussing the quality of the sets, just the size.
Follow me as I investigate if this is a fluke, or a significant trend; have the sets for these story-based themes gotten larger over time? Do sets in story themes always get larger towards the end of their shelf life? Can we expect to see more from Dreamzzz?
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.
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.
I have to admit, I have a rather soft spot for the annual modular set. When our family discovered that Adult Fans were a thing, back in 2009, we may well have picked up the modulars sets that were available at the time. Things have certainly changed over the years: faces have changed, flowers have changed, colours have exploded, and printed elements are more likely to replace a brick-built font on the building’s facade.
This new Shopping Street – incorporating a musical instrument store and a furniture store/carpenter – brings a few features that left me feeling nostalgic for the early days of modular buildings, while at the same time, feeling fresh and innovative. Let’s take a closer look.
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?
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 .
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.
