Normally a picture release of a large grey spaceship heralds the arrival of something from the LEGO Star Wars team. But this is much more exciting. After moving around a series of alternative toy brick companies over the years, the Star Trek License has finally come to rest with the LEGO Group, and I have to admit I am just a little bit excited.
The 10356 USS Enterprise NCC-1701 D has 3600 pieces and will be released in time for Black Friday, on 28th November 2025 at LEGO.com/Star-Trek and LEGO Stores priced at $AUD599.99 /€379.99 / £349.99 / $USD399.99. The set comes with nine mini figures, and the line up is just about perfect.
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.
The latest LEGO® Icons set has been revealed, a 4154 piece model of a tropical aquarium.
If you have been observing the range adult-focused LEGO models released over the past few years, you will have noticed a number of recurring , popular subjects for realisation in LEGO models. One is the Botanical collection, debuting as a subset of ICONS in 2021, life size flower models have taken the world by storm, and (re) introduced LEGO Bricks to people who may not have picked one up for years. In parallel with this, life size real-world objects have become a trend that transcends third party IP: starting with the LEGO Ideas Typewriter, taking in a Globe of the World, Harry Potter artefacts, Disney Villain VHS cassettes, video game consoles and sports shoes.
And today we see a set revealed that combines the two: a collection of corals and anenomes that rival the Botanical collection in their crazy, colourful parts usage in the outline of a fishtank that looks to be the right size to fill up a dentist’s office.
Set 10366 has 4154 pieces and will be priced at $AUD699.99 / $USD479.99 / €449.99 / £399.99. It goes on sale on the 13th of November 2025. Let’s see what we know from the press release:
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.
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.
Growing up in the 1970s, the excitement of ongoing space exploration despite the end of the Apollo Program continued, particularly in the form of the Pioneer and Voyager probes exploring the outer solar system, as well as the Viking Lander on Mars. But things really go exciting for 8 year old me when I saw there were plans afoot for the Americans to return to a manned space program. My first glimpse of the Space Shuttle was likely a prototype model featured in The Encyclopaedia of Nature and Science (1974, R. Taylor Editor, Bay Books).
Today, the LEGO Group officially reveal their upcoming 10360 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft – depicting the modified 747 along with the prototype shuttle ‘Enterprise’. The set has 2419 pieces and will retail for $AUD349.99 / €229.99 / £199.99 / $USD229.99. It is due for release for LEGO Insiders on May 15th, 2025, and to all on May 18th.
As much as I like the Bag End build incorporated in 10354 The Shire (I keep wanting to call it ‘Bag End and a Long Awaited Party’), many people might want some kind of sweetener to go ahead and pick it up on opening week. I understand this. At $AUD399.99, it is an expensive set. So, will the LEGO Store Exclusive 40761 Sméagol and Déagol be enough to make you pull the trigger? The LEGO Group were kind enough to send a copy of the set over to look at, but it has probably been available for a few hours before we are able to publish our reviews.
One of the biggest challenges facing LEGO Fans who have been collecting for any significant period of time is one of storage and display space. I am excited to see that with the latest LEGO ICONS subtheme, Restaurants of the World, we are getting a detailed facade and streetscape, chock full of neat parts usage, yet limited to a depth of only 8 studs. I can smell the coffee from here.
The first set in the series 10362 French Cafe is due for release on March 1st 2025. It has 1101 pieces and will be priced at $AUD129.99/ USD79.99/79.99€/£69.99
