Review

10366 LEGO® ICONS Tropical Aquarium 3: Customisation

ramblingbrick 18+, ICONS, IDEAS, Lego, MOC, nostalgia, Review, Vintage , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Colorful display of the 10366 Tropical Aquarium with LEGO elements including a yellow submarine, a treasure chest, and various sea plants and coral.

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.

A colorful LEGO diorama of a tropical aquarium filled with various coral, plants, and fish, showcasing a vibrant underwater scene.

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 .

  1. A Brief History of Underwater Themes
    1. Aquazone
    2. 1997-2012: Divers, Alpha Team, Aqua Raiders and Atlantis
    3. LEGO City Deep Sea/ Polar Explorers
    4. LEGO IDEAS
    5. SpongeBob SquarePants
    6. The Little Mermaid
  2. Let’s consider the space that we are planning to customise.
  3. Filling the Aquarium
    1. SpongeBob Square Pants
    2. Yellow Submarine
    3. Fantasy Underwater Layout: Enter the Aquazone
      1. Action Stations
  4. In conclusion
Continue reading →

What did I learn from 10366 LEGO ICONS Tropical Aquarium?

ramblingbrick 18+, ICONS, Lego, Review , , , , , , , , ,
Display of the 10366 LEGO Icons Tropical Aquarium set featuring colorful marine life and coral structures, set against a bright blue background inside a glass enclosure.

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.

A colorful LEGO® model of a tropical aquarium, showcasing various coral structures in vibrant colors, including purple, orange, and green elements, arranged on a rocky base against a textured blue background.

Continue reading →

10366 Tropical Aquarium: Build Experience

ramblingbrick 18+, ICONS, Lego, Review , , , , , , , , ,
A LEGO® set featuring a tropical aquarium with colorful fish, coral, and aquatic plants, presented in a clear tank design.

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.

A colorful LEGO® model of a tropical aquarium, showcasing various coral structures in vibrant colors, including purple, orange, and green elements, arranged on a rocky base against a textured blue background.

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.

Continue reading →

Lego® Voyagers Review: A Unique Co-op Puzzle Adventure

ramblingbrick Lego, Review, video game , , , , , , , , ,

We first took a look at Lightbrick Studio’s Builder’s Journey back in 2021, and while that game has been updated a couple of times, the announcement of their latest game, LEGO Voyagers, back in June that really piqued my interest. We bought a copy of the game from the Nintendo online store, and sat down with our regular games correspondent, Harry, as we played the game through over the course of a few nights. Read on, below the break, to read his review…

Continue reading →

If anyone can, 31173 Tropical Toucan, can!

BrankotheFather Lego , , , , , , ,

Birds are dinosaurs. This is no longer a weird statement but well established; birds are the only dinosaur species still alive today. It’s no accident that Jurassic Park III starts with an opening shot of a raptor-like claw that turns out to belong to a bird, but I digress.

If you look carefully at birds you can see the connection to dinosaurs, but you also see that these are beautiful animals that see almost alien compared to ourselves with a range and variety that make my heart sing. The pattern of feathers with intricate colour patterns, the ability to puff up and move these feather jackets and then the ability to fly (for most of them)! If dinosaurs have manage to stay around this long and develop such beautiful variation, then there is hope yet.

A few years ago I built the beautiful rainbow lorikeet from Gabriel Thomson at which time I came to appreciate my love for our feathered neighbours. I also discovered that rainbow lorikeets are not entirely comfortable around a brick-built rendition of one of their brethren.

Out of all the brick-built LEGO animals I seem to fairly consistently be attracted to birds, and this 31173 Tropical Toucan is no different. With 225 parts it is quite a small set but it captures the shape of this striking bird very nicely and (spoiler) it is very nicely priced.

LEGO generously provided this set for review, but I present my own opinions. Please read on if you want to read a bit more about the other two models that are offered in the box, and what on earth a Toucan has to do with hotels/restaurants in the Netherlands (no Toucans are a tropical species, NOT native to the Netherlands).

Continue reading →

10374 LEGO® Botanicals Bouquet of Pink Roses: More than just a recolour?

ramblingbrick Botanical Collection, Lego, Review , , , , ,
A bouquet of pink LEGO roses arranged in a clear vase, accompanied by small white flowers, against a plain background.

When you are on a good thing, stick to it.

When 10328 Bouquet of Roses was released in January 2024, I suspect the LEGO Group knew they had a hit. The set periodically sells out, and compared to actual red roses, it offers pretty good value. Naturally, I was a little intrigued when I saw an updated ‘bouquet of pink roses’ looming on the horizon. This set has an almost identical part count – and what appears to be a couple of subtle differences.

The set has 789 pieces and will be released on October 1st 2025, selling for $AUD99.99/ $USD59.99 /59.99€ / £54.99. This set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes. All opinions are my own. Let’s take a closer look.

Continue reading →

76785 LEGO® Wednesday: Thing’s Apartment (review)

ramblingbrick Lego, Review, Wednesday , , , , , , ,
A LEGO set depicting Thing's apartment from the 'Wednesday' series, showcasing a two-story trunk with detailed interiors, including furniture and various accessories.

Growing up in the 1970s and ‘80s meant that sitcoms from the 1960s were standard after school fare in Australia, and among these was the Addams Family. Occasionally it would alternate with the 1973 Cartoon, and eventually the inevitable slew of reunion specials that littered the prime time of the off seasons of the early 1980s television. There was something about the on screen chemistry between John Astin and Caroline Jones, to say nothing of her deadpan delivery of concepts that would shatter the sensibilities of a dormitory suburbia. 

Or perhaps it is just nostalgia calling.

It’s not that I didn’t enjoy the remakes, reboots, new Addams Family, New Addams Family Reunion Special or the New – new Addams Family (1998) or any of the movies. They just didn’t seem necessary. The stories were perfect in scary Black and White: the arrival of colour didn’t seem to add anything other than the need for a greater special effects budget. 

Suffice to say, I was intrigued when I saw Netflix launching a series following the life of Wednesday Addams as she heads off to a boarding school for ‘Outcasts’ – Nevermore Academy, where Gomez and Morticia originally met. It’s the Addams Family meets Tom Brown’s School Days in the American backwoods. Wednesday’s characterization as a cynical teenager with a morbid curiousity, forced to make friends she has no interest in, and accompanied by the disembodied hand and household helper, Thing, the first season worked for me. Meanwhile, the underlying mystery of the second series felt a little disjointed, as B and C plots Lurched backwards and forwards through the story. Still, All’s well that ends.

A detailed view of Thing's apartment from the series Wednesday, showcasing a whimsical two-story trunk with colorful decorations, shelves filled with items, and a prominent disembodied hand.
The fact that Netflix wont allow me to take a screen shot can be can be quite frustrating!

Among other things, Wednesday’s second season also brings us a little of Thing’s life beyond that of faithful retainer to the Addams Family. It is in this context that Wednesday’s roommate, Enid Sinclair, and her friends welcome Thing to their friendship group, and present him with an apartment in an old trunk. Certainly a glow up from the small box he lived in back in the 60s. It is this ’apartment’ that set 76785 Thing’s Apartment is seeking to replicate.  

With 828 pieces and priced at $AUD129.99/€79.99/$USD89.99/ £74.99, this set will be released in October 2025, just in time to prepare for Halloween.

This set was provided by the LEGO Group for Review purposes, but all opinions are my own.

Continue reading →

Feeling old in a good way with 31174 Retro Telephone

BrankotheFather Creator, Lego, Review , , , , , , , ,
LEGO Creator 3in1 Retro Telephone set features a blue rotary phone design, complete with a handset, flexible cable, and a yellow notepad with a pencil.

It has been a little while since calling someone by phone actually involved ‘dialling’ their number. This term is still sometimes used, although I suspect the majority of humans in Australia have not had the experience of turning a rotary dial on a phone to make a call since the late 1980’s

Image of the LEGO Creator 3in1 Retro Telephone set packaging featuring a light blue rotary dial phone along with a pencil and yellow notepad, showcasing alternative builds on the side.
Box packaging of LEGO set 31174 featuring a retro rotary dial phone design along with two alternative builds, a modern mobile phone and a flip phone.
A LEGO Creator 3-in-1 Retro Telephone set box, featuring a colorful design with illustrations of the rotary phone and alternative builds on its sides.
LEGO Creator 3in1 Retro Telephone set 31174 box showcasing the rotary dial phone, handset, notepad, and other alternative builds.

The LEGO Group provides us with a neat reminder of what phone calls used to look like with the new Creator 3in1 set 31174 Retro Telephone retailing for AU$39.99/£24.99/$29.99/€29.99 containing 383 parts, so you can have a bit of an idea of how it felt. Or flash back to years gone past…

Although this is a 3-in-1 set, the rotary dial phone is the clear hero of this set. Look no further for improvement in the alternative builds; the other designs feel like an afterthought in comparison. The rotary phone has a nifty design for the dial, and the cable between the handset and the base is worth the price of admission alone! Check out the video to see how the cable seems to defy the rules of the LEGO® system and appear fully flexible.

Read on to see what other phones are on offer and why explore the delight that the rotary phone has to offer.

Continue reading →

Build a Basketball Poster with 43010 Nike Slam Dunk

ramblingbrick Lego, NIKE, Review , , , , , , , ,
An artistic display of the LEGO 43010 Nike Slam Dunk set, featuring an action figure performing a slam dunk, colorful court elements, and a scoreboard.

We continue our look at the September Nike releases today with a look at 43010 Nike Slam Dunk. When I first saw pictures of this set, I felt it was setting out to imitate the posters of the 80s and 90s, with creative photography photography capturing the action from around the court, the crowd looking on, with the Nike Sports Star front and centre. Does it succeed in this? Lets take a closer look.

Continue reading →

Score a basket with 43021 Nike Dunk Trickshot

ramblingbrick Lego, NIKE, Review , , , , , , ,
Image of the 43021 Nike Dunk Trickshot LEGO set featuring a basketball court, hoop, vibrant colors, and a large replica shoe.

I have to admit, 6 months ago, I had no idea what to expect from the LEGO-NIKE collaboration. It could have been all about producing replica life-size sneaker models, as well as LEGO-branded sneakers and other apparel, as we saw with Adidas a few years ago. However, we are also seeing some sets going in directions that we might not have expected. Branko took a look at the 43008 NIKE Dunk x LEGO set a little while ago, and today I will take a look at one of its younger brothers, the 43021 Nike Dunk Trickshot. These sets are all aimed at builders over 10 years, and this set brings an interesting mixture of replica shoe, basketball court, graffiti and minigame. Along the way, I explore my inner street artist…

Let’s take a closer look.

Continue reading →