Lego

10 New Smart Play Pokemon Sets Revealed!

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The First LEGO Pokemon sets to have been released were large playsets, Primarily aimed at adult collectors (probably those who specifically grew up with Pokemon in the 90s and early 00s. Today, the LEGO Group have revealed 10 sets for release in August (preorder now!).

These are very much play sets, aimed at kids from 6 years and up. The sets incorporate Smart Play – Two sets include smart bricks and tags, while the rest of the sets are equipped with the smart tage. Great news: Already have a Smart Brick from Star Wars? They are the same as the Smartbricks included in 72164 and 72167. You can use them to bring any of the other pokemon ‘Smart Play Compatible ‘sets to life.

I have been enjoying my own experience with Smart Play – not relying on Star Wars sets, but rather putting the Tags into my old (Classic) spaceships and the like.

This new roll out does raise the question, however: When will Smart Play roll out to countries that are not USA, UK, Australia, France, Germany and Poland? For now, these sets will only be available where Smart Play has been rolled out. Is this for Supply chain or Customer service reasons? Unfortunately, at this stage, we havenot had that information available to us on the Ambassadors Network.

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11505 Woodland Mushrooms: Could this be the most satisfying Botanical Set yet?

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A display of the LEGO 11505 Woodland Mushrooms set featuring colourful mushrooms, plants, and a natural earthy base, showcasing the botanical theme.

The Botanicals range continues to diversify in 2026 and 11505 Woodland Mushrooms is one of their most original display pieces yet. In the past we have seen bouquets, large and small potted plants, hanging arrangements, dried flower arrangements and bonsai trees. This set is a little different: imagine digging up an improbably diverse patch of soil from the woods. On it grows a collection of mushrooms, on a mossy bed, along with some Autumn Crocus, moss and bracken. This is the first botanical set to explore a biome rather than something manicured for domestic display.

The LEGO Group sent a copy over for early review ahead of its release on the 1st June, 2026. The set has 806 pieces and has a RRP at $AUD129.99/ £69.99 / $USD79.99 / €79.99. 

Could this be the most satisfying Botanical set to date? Let’s take a closer look…

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Build up your Magical Kingdom with 43302 Disney Main St, U.S.A.

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A vibrant display of LEGO buildings representing Disney Main Street, U.S.A., featuring colourful structures and characters, set against a textured backdrop.

Every so often, we get a set or two that lines up specifically with sights from Disneyland Parks: the iconic Castle (at least twice so far), a railway, the occasional random ride (Haunted Mansion, I’m looking at you). Today, the LEGO group has revealed the latest in this series: LEGO®|Disney Main Street, U.S.A.

LEGO set showcasing Main Street, USA from Disney, featuring detailed buildings and a variety of minifigures, including Mickey and Minnie Mouse.
The packaging for a Disney-themed LEGO set, showcasing a detailed building with multiple sections, colourful minifigures, and accessories.

This set has 3899 pieces and features 16 minfigures. It will be priced at $AUD549.99 / £319.99 / €349.99 / $399.99 and will go on sale in June 2026, in time to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the park’s landmark locale.

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11377 LEGO® Icons The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith™ revealed: Celebrating the 25th Anniversary of The Lord of the Rings

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It was December 27, 2001. The Knoller in Chief and I went to the movies to celebrate our fourth wedding anniversary, as well as to enjoy a quiet night out with our two young children. It is hard to believe that this is now 25 years ago. Over the next few years, our wedding anniversary would be recognised as a chance to get out of the house together and catch up with the latest cinematic sage being released in the post Christmas period. We had both grown up with the Lord of the Rings and seeing the story translated into film was a defining moment in popculture for us both.

After the original run of sets based on The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit from over a decade ago, we have been getting a steady drip feed of related sets over the past few years: Starting with Rivendell, we have seen Barad-Dur and Bag End as ‘regular’ display sets, while we have also seen a selection of Brick Headz, a book nook, and more recently, Sauron’s Helmet. While our display spaces rapidly diminish, today, the LEGO Group are revealing their latest model: 11377 LEGO Icons The Lord of the Rings: Minas Tirith.

This latest set will be available at the start of June (1st for LEGO Insiders, 4th for everyone else). It comes with 8278 pieces – measures over 23.5 in. (59cm) high, 24.5 in. (62 cm) wide, and 14.5 in. (37 cm) deep, and comes with 10 minfigures. It will be priced at $AUD 999.99 / £579.99 / €649.99 / $649.99.

LEGO set box for Minas Tirith from The Lord of the Rings, featuring detailed depiction of the iconic white city with intricate architecture, showcasing various towers and gates.
LEGO set box featuring the Lord of the Rings model, showing architectural details and mini-figures, including illustrations of its features on the sides.

Let’s find out more…

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11506 Rocking Plants still keep us Happy.

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Two cheerful, colourful LEGO plant models: one in pink with a happy face and a single green sprout, and another in yellow with vibrant flowers, both titled '11506 Rocking Plants'.

Last year, the LEGO® Botanical theme gave us 10349 Happy Plants, anthropomorphic potplants with a whimsical grin and a green hairstyle. Botanicals has been one of the big successes in the LEGO portfolio over the past few years, bringing new people to LEGO building, and bringing others back after a many-year gap. Happy Plants was one of those sets that was relatively inexpensive, simple to build, and brought a delightful end result to the display space.

Knowing that when you are on a good thing, stick to it, it would appear that “Plants in small, whimsical smiling pots” is becoming a subtheme of Botanicals with the upcoming release of 11506 Rocking Plants. Adding to last year’s pale yellow and baby blue pots are bright pink and spring yellowish green versions, this new set brings some new gimmicks. But at what expense?

This set has 253 pieces and a RRP of $AUD 29.99 / $USD22.99 / £GBP17.99 / 19.99€. It is aimed at builders aged 9 and up and set to be released on May 1st, 2026. The LEGO Group sent these over to take an early look…

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75442 UCS The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter Revealed in Time for May the Fourth

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LEGO model of the UCS The Mandalorian's N-1 Starfighter, showcased on a desk with various items, with a caption celebrating its reveal for May the Fourth.

With the cinematic release of The Mandalorian and Grogu just around the corner, this year’s May the Fourth release brings us The Mandalorian’s Naboo N1 Star Fighter, with the Ultimate Collector Series Treatment.

With a load of Silver laquer elements, The LEGO Star Wars™ The Mandalorian’s N-1 Starfighter™ (75442) set will be available for LEGO Insiders* Early Access from 1 May 2026, and available for all from 4 May, priced at $AUD429.99 / £229.99 / €249.99 / $249.99.

LEGO Star Wars The Mandalorian's N-1 Starfighter Ultimate Collector Series box featuring a detailed image of the starfighter, showing its unique design and parts.
LEGO Star Wars set featuring a detailed model of The Mandalorian N-1 Starfighter with a display stand and informational plaque.
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New LEGO® Builder Virtual: new digital platform development accelerated to offset looming raw material crisis.

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Geopolitical instability in the Middle East is threatening the supply chain of the petrochemical precursors to Acetyle-Butyl-Styrene, the primary plastic used in the creation of LEGO® Bricks. With the potential shortage of physical bricks, the LEGO Group have fast-tracked the beta testing phase of their new digital building tool, LEGO Builder Virtual.

An unladen oil tanker in more certain times

“We were not anticipating this supply problem to become significant until 2035, which is why we had accelerated our approach to developing sustainable plastics in recent years. The current situation has caught us short, with crude oil deliveries already slowing around the world.” up and coming digital luminary April Løjer explained from the LEGO Group’s new Digital Hub in Copenhagen

The Copenhagen digital hub, prior to its opening in 2024
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LEGO ICONS 11378 DC-3 Pan American Airliner

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A LEGO model of a DC-3 Pan American airliner, displayed on a stand with a plaque, featuring blue and white colours, alongside LEGO minifigures in pilot and passenger attire.

LEGO ICONs appears to be on a roll with its collection of large-scale aircraft. In 2023 we saw the 10318 Concorde, and last year we gained the 10360 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft – a combination 747 and Space Shuttle. This April, athe 11378 DC-3 Pan American Airliner is being released. Introduced in the 1930s, the DC-3 was the first airliner to be able to cross the continental United States in only 18 hours, with 3 stops. Carrying up to 36 passengers, it had a top speed of 333km/h. The DC-3 was in production until 1942. While around 600 DC-3’s were built, its military equivalent, the C-47 Skytrain, was produced in the thousands.

The LEGO Group sent this set over for an early look, ahead of it’s April release – but all opinions are my own. Let’s take a look at the pieces, the minifigures, and the final build, and then consider reasons that might exist behind some of the design choices with this set.

Let’s take a closer look:

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Survey from The LEGO Group: The LEGO® Fan Compass- Helping Us Navigate Together

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The LEGO Group’s Deep Fandom Team is calling on the wider LEGO® community provide some opinions about the role LEGO Plays in you life, and how you engage with the company and the bricks!

“At the LEGO Group, the best part of what we do is the community that builds alongside us. 
We’re exploring new ways to really listen to you, and your feedback is a vital piece of the puzzle. We want to hear about your individual LEGO journey; what inspires you, what you enjoy, and where you think the hobby could grow. While we’d love for you to share this survey with your friends and fellow fans, please make sure your own answers reflect your personal views and habits. We’re here to listen to you.”

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LEGO Ideas 21367 Tintin Moon Rocket: Hands-on Review

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LEGO Ideas 21367 Tintin Moon Rocket set displayed with five astronaut minifigures and a dog figure, featuring a red and white rocket in the background.

I mentioned in the post announcing the upcoming release of LEGO IDEAS set 21367 Tintin Moon Rocket that this set represents a key factor in one of the earliest fandoms I was part of: I first read Destination Moon in January 1977, during the summer holidays. As the new school year began, I hunted the books down, eventually hunting most of them down through various school libraries over the following years. As I put the rocket together, I was excited by a sense of nostalgia as a childhood memory, now pop-culture icon, came into being on my desk.

I am grateful that the LEGO Group sent this copy of the set over in advance of the release on April 1. This set is based on the moon rocket from TKel86’s LEGO Ideas submission, which also included a gantry. In the design process, the team decided to focus on the rocket, which ties into the two books telling the story of Tintin’s journey to the Moon: Destination Moon and Explorers on the Moon. The rocket’s gantry is only a feature in the first of these. However, I might have some parts lying around the house, which I picked up for another project a couple of years ago.

During properation for this review, I had the chance to take part in a round table discussion with designers Jordan Scott and Ellen Bowley – I’ll add their insights as we go along…

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