creator3in1

Aquatical or Botanical? 31158 Sea Animals [Review]

BrankotheFather Creator, Lego, Review , , , , , , , , ,

Another review from Branko today. We asked for a copy of 31158 Sea Animals to look at (Thank you LEGO® Team), and what started as a simple look at a nice looking set got a bit out of hand!

Botanical sets have become an integral part of the Grown-up LEGO® Experience. Since the release of the first life-sized flowers in 2021, they have become such a regular and expected release that LEGO has now decided to explicitly dedicate a theme to it: Botanicals, rather than continue to release them under the generic ‘ICONS’ banner. The theme is expanding in a way that suggests that it is popular (see these newly announced sets and this Botanic garden). But today I would like to look at an alternative to these plants, that may serve a similar purpose: Aquascaping!

An aquarium serves a similar purpose of colourful natural decoration, emphasizing moving living creatures more than plants, so how does this translate to LEGO? Is it possible to create a pleasant natural decoration based on underwater creatures as an alternative to plants?

Read on to see how we explore the comparison “Fish or Flowers” based on the set 31158 Sea Animals (AU$49.99/£24.99/$29.99/€29.99)

Fish or Flowers

31149 Flowers in Watering Can: It’s not for me, but is it for you?

BrankotheFather Creator, Lego, real world objects, Review , , , , , , ,

Today, we have another of our 2024 Creator 3in1 set reviews from Branko: 31149 Flowers in Watering Can. It’s available now, But is it for you? Read on to find out what he thinks…

When faced with the question ‘what LEGO set should I buy’ an easy answer would always be :”Go for a Creator 3-in-1 set, you cannot go wrong.” Until now. I cannot wholeheartedly recommend this set ‘31149 Flowers in Watering Can’, released on the 1st of January 2024, with 420 pieces priced at $AUD49.99 /USD29.99 /€29.99 /£24.99.

I firmly believe that this set is the right set for someone so I will set out what it has to offer and how it compares to other offerings from LEGO.

Read on to find out if this set is for you.

This review will consist of the following sections:

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Going to Great Heights to Build: Cute Pug 30542

ramblingbrick Lego, Review , , ,

In which I find a local source of LEGO poly bag sets, select one and construct it mid flight, before returning my tray table to the upright position.

I’m on a journey. I am currently travelling to Japan to attend Kobe BrickFest.

I left home early this morning and have a couple of connecting flights, with the main leg between Brisbane and Tokyo taking around eight hours. And around that there are a couple of connecting flights.

One of the neat things about travelling to Japan compared to Europe is that the time difference is only one hour in the past. However, as such I should probably aim to keep my body clock on track. So inbetween the LEGO Ninjago Movie and other inflight entertainment, I thought I’d put together a little LEGO set. Continue reading →

Scaling it Up 4×4 Part 1: 31040 Desert Racers

ramblingbrick Lego, Review , , ,

One of the great things about LEGO is the way in which the same model can be built in different scales: some times, equivalent models in different scales are available simultaneously.  This is the case with the sub-minifig scale 31040:Desert Racers and Jack Stone Scale (I’m not afraid to go there…) 31037:Adventure Vehicles.  Each of these is a 3-in-1 Creator Set.

While travelling along this path, I thought we might have a look at forced perspective, as a way to give images the impression of greater depth.

 

Let’s Start Small

Lets start today by looking at 31040 Desert Racers: this set has 65 parts, costs $AU 9.95 and is a 3 in 1 creator set.  The presented models include a 4 x 4;  a dune buggy  and what appears to be a quad bike.

The thing I love about building at sub minifig scale is that pieces take on brand new roles: here the short ladder becomes a roof rack; the motorbike handlebar becomes a bullbar and the round tile with a hole in the middle becomes a spare type, strapped on the back of the vehicle.  The build takes around 5-10 minutes and measures 4 studs wide, around 4.5 bricks high and  6-7 studs long.

triptic vehicle1

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