Lunar New Year

The Longest LEGO Dragon Appears in Sydney.

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Last Weekend, our Sydney correspondent Branko took a trip to Haymarket where LEGO Australia were in the process of engaging members of the public to build the world’s longest LEGO Dragon. The head and tail were already built, but the forms of the dragon’s body needed to be covered in scales, and so visitors were offered an 8×8 plate to fill and place on the dragon.

Fencing inadequate for petting zoo in Haymarket

“Last weekend anyone could come to Haymarket to decorate the world’s longest LEGO Dragon. The dragon wound itself through the pavement like a sea serpent with two parts of its back rising out of the floor to be decorated on the sides. Anyone could drop by to decorate a 8×8 plate with Dots and place on the side of the dragon. Staff were cheerful and happy to have a chat, children and adults alike were deeply focused on building their contribution. The dragon was about 20m long (nose to tail) but the majority of the body was hidden under the pavement.”

Read more for more images…

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Enter the Auspicious Dragon [80112 Review]

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Over the past year, we have seen some of the most intriguing LEGO Dragons released to date conincidentally coinciding with the 30th anniversary of the release of the first ever LEGO Dragon. The upcoming Lunar New Year, the Year of the Dragon, is bound to give builders the chance to explore the possibilities of LEGO Dragon design even further.

And we are off to a great start, with 80112 Auspiscious Dragon revealed at the recent Shanghai trade show. This 1171 part set will be released on January 1 2024, costing $AUD149.99 /USD89.99 /€79.99 /£69.99. I find the sets celebrating the Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival as it has been relabelled this year, to be amongst the most appealing and enjoyable to put together. As such, I was excited to be given the chance to take a look at it prior to its release in the new year. This is certainly one of the most spectacular Dragon Builds that I have seen appearing in a set in recent years.

Read on as we take a look at the way this new set comes together…

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40450 Brickheadz 151: Lion Dance Guy [Hands-On Review]

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The Asian Festival sets are due to be released verrrrry soon: We have previously previewed the Lunar New Year Traditions, as well as the Ice Festival sets, and their reviews will be live in a couple of days. There is one more set that we have not previously mentioned: the 40450 Lion Dance Guy Brickheadz set. Due to release through LEGO.com on New Years Day 2022, I was fortunate to be sent a copy of this set for early review.

Brickheadz can be interesting sets to look at, from a reviewers point of view. Sometimes, they are great parts packs, sometimes they are full of interesting building techniques, and sometimes, the end result is what the journey is all about.

So, which of these categories does this Brickheadz fit into? read on to find out…

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80106: The Story of Nian Review

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Over the last couple of years, the LEGO® sets released in association with the Spring Festival/ Lunar New Year have been some of the most delightful sets that I have experienced in recent years. With their bright colours, families celebrating and insights into Asian Cultures, they have been a highlight of the new year releases in 2018-19.This year, we have two new sets: 80106: The Story of Nian, and 80107: The Lantern Festival. I was delighted to be given the chance to look at both of these sets ahead of time. The Story of Nian will be released in Mainland China and the Asia-Pacific Markets on January 1 and rest of the world from January 10th, 2021. It will retail for $AUD109.99/USD79.99/GBP59.99/CAD109.99, and has 1067 elements.

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See in the Year of the Rat at the Temple Fair [Review 80105]

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I recently looked at the 80104 Lion Dance, one of the sets released to celebrate the beginning of the Lunar New Year of the Rat. I said it was one of the most beautiful sets I had seen in recent years. Today, I get rid of the qualifier, as I look at the 80105 Chinese New Year Temple Fair – this is quite simply the most beautiful set I have ever put together. It is a set characterised by multiple small vignettes, a larger temple build, a novel tree design, and over a dozen mini figures. There are lots of printed elements, and precisely NO stickers.

The set has no elements specific to the Year of the Rat and, as such, could come each year, unchanged.

It is a set on the larger size of things, with a part count of around 1663. On opening the box, it looked as if I had some work ahead of me…

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Countdown to the Year of the Pig: Dragon Dance 80102 [Review]

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As we approach the eve of the Year of the Pig, I would like to look at another of the sets released for the Chinese ‘Spring Festival’

The 80102 Dragon Dance has been enthusiastically awaited after the initial images arrived last November, and the set has been hotly sought after, in part due to its relative scarcity outside of Asia. In Melbourne, both this set and 80101 Chinese New Year Family Dinner have literally flown off the shelves, with long queues, household limits and disappointed customers being frequent occurrences at the LEGOLAND Discovery Centre store.

I can see the appeal of this set on many levels: as a seasonal set, it is one of the first sets released, outside of the ‘Year of the…..’ series, for this significant day in the Asian Cultural Calendar, touching on subject matter rarely covered previously, featuring bright colours, and a movement function, coupled with limited global distribution to the Asia Pacific Region – this set has very little to be negative about.

This set has 622 parts, and costs $AUD79.99 new. The retail channels for this set have been limited in Australia. Certainly, demand for this set has been high in the rest of the world, and it will be interesting to see what approach might be taken with this type of set in the future.

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Countdown to the Year of the Pig: Brickheadz Dragon Dance Guy [review]

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With the Lunar New Year just around the corner, I though I might take a look at the Dragon Dance Guy, the first Brickheadz character to be released for this particular seasonal event. The dragon dance is a frequently performed at Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, traditionally to celebrate a successful Harvest. The dragon is thought to bring prosperity and good luck. It is also believed that the dance will scare away evil spirits.

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Countdown to the Lunar New Year [Year of the Pig 40186 – Review]

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We are now counting down to the start of the Year of the Pig. This year, we have seen a number of sets released to commemorate this event, as the LEGO Group seeks to increase its market share in Asia. We have previously mentioned 80101 New Year’s Eve Family Dinner and 80102 Dragon Dance – these APAC exclusive sets have been in high demand: literally flying off the shelves as soon as they arrive. We have also seen the release of the Brickheadz Dragon Dance Guy, and the Year of the Pig 40186.

This last set is one I would like to look at today. The fifth in the series – following on from previous sets Year of the Dog, Year of the Rooster, Year of the Monkey and Year of the Sheep – 40186 The Year of the Pig is available as a Gift With Purchase at selected locations now. In Australia, it is available through the LEGO Certified Store (GoldCoast), LEGOLAND Discovery Centre Store (Melbourne) and selected Myer Stores (including their online store). Before you get to take it home, however, you have to spend $88 in store. I found mine at Myer Doncater, during the closing days of their stocktake sale ( which meant that most LEGO® sets were selling for 20% off).

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