A sparkling unicorn-themed monster truck. I know that the word ‘monster’ in this name refers to the truck, not the theme of the decorations, but I am just used to monster trucks having appearances that match the loud, powerful, anything-but-subtle destruction and mayhem they can cause.
Does this mean, perhaps, I should reconsider my understanding of unicorns? After all, Unikitty is not known to be the most stable and coherent entities in the LEGO universe; perhaps unicorns like a bit of roar and thunder? I still do not know, but I can say that I don’t mind this style of Monster Truck.
LEGO gifted us a copy of 42220 Monster Jam™ Sparkle Smash™, one of the new Monster trucks to be released in January 2026. The set contains 243 pieces and retails for AU$44.99/£24.99/US$34.99/€29.99.
Branko woke up from a dream wondering if Construction Equipment was on the way out. He couldn’t get back to sleep until he came up with the answer…
In January 2026 LEGO will release another wave of Dreamzzz sets and the balance between ‘dream’ and ‘nightmare’ seems solidly to have swung towards ‘Dream’. There is only 1 set out of 5 in the wave that is considered a nightmare, and it is the smallest of the lot at that. Cue “Nightmare Scorpion Digger 71513”, coming in at 505 pieces for AU$79.99/£44.99/US$49.99/€49.99. This is not a small set, it’s just the smallest of the lot (read more on that here).
The sets in this series are all associated with animals, and some machinery, but it struck me that this particular one is very strongly related to construction equipment. In recent years fans of Technic have been complaining a bit about a reduction of the number of construction equipment sets, so this left me wondering. Has construction gotten into bad books? Is digging holes no longer considered cool?
Join me as we have a quick look to see if Technic fans are objectively correct in their gripe, and then we will cheerfully ignore that and have a look at how construction equipment is used to create this particular nightmare creature.
This set was generously gifted by LEGO, but the expressed opinions are my own.
Since 2021 LEGO has released 10 small Technic monster trucks, linked to Monster Jam. LEGO generously sent us the latest pair to be released in January so we can share our own opinion on them.
Monster Trucks are unusual vehicles that you hope never to encounter on the road; they are designed to smash, jump flip and do other stunts that you do not typically want to associate with partaking in traffic. My expectation for a Monster Truck set is therefore in a similar vein; I expect this to provide some simple fun and smiles; something that triggers play.
I admit that I did not know what “Monster Jam” was (I thought a computer game) but courtesy of Wikipedia:
Monster Jam is a live motorsport event tour operated by Feld Entertainment. The series began in 1992, and is sanctioned under the umbrella of the United States Hot Rod Association. Events are primarily held in North America, with some additional events in other countries. Although individual event formats can vary greatly based on the “intermission” entertainment, the main attraction is always the racing, two-wheel skills competition, and freestyle competitions by monster trucks.
Come have a look at what we can learn about torque, power and acceleration for a Monster Truck. Oh, and we will also have a look at what this particular LEGO set has to offer.
For me, Technic is machinery. As a child I didn’t have LEGO Technic but I had Fisher-Technic (awesome stuff, but I digress), so my real first encounters with LEGO Technic were after I got out of my dark ages and the machines that resonated most with me were bulldozers, bucket wheel loaders, front end loaders or a tipping truck. These systems have something ‘Technic’ about them; they can drive, sure, but they can also do something else! These sets came in Yellow and Black, I think you see where I’m going here. This new Volvo L120 Electric Wheel Loader has this exact colour scheme and the same functionality of sets that I hold dear in my memory so I am excited!
The 42209 Volvo L120 Electric Wheel Loader is a new set containing 973 pieces retailing for AU$149.99/£89.99/$119.99/€99.99 and was provided by LEGO for review. All opinions are my own.
Where I did not expect to like this set. I mean; it’s grey, it’s a car, seen it all before, so I thought. I was wrong.
I’m not sure about Technic cars. I know cars appeal to many people, and most people drive cars so they can relate to them, but in a model their appeal is mostly in their shape or appearance. For me Technic is about mechanisms; things that move. A pair of wheels, some steering and even a transmission just doesn’t excite me that much anymore. Colour me surprised by The 2 Fast 2 Furious Nissan Skyline GT-R a medium-large scale Technic car that excites me.
This car is available from the 1st of June 2025 for AU$249.99/£129.99/US$139.99/€139.99 containing 1410 pieces. This number of pieces puts it below the really large scale vehicles, but well above the smaller Technic cars.
Join me as I explore why this car was different for me, providing (almost) more excitement than the new 42209 Volvo L120 Electric Wheel Loader (review coming soon).
A new episode of the Extra Pieces Podcast, our ongoing collaboration with JaysBrickBlog, is now live. In this post, you will find the links to the sets we mention.
You can find the episode here or on your favourite Podcast Player. Please leave a 5 star review if you enjoy the episode, and let your friends know about it too, so you have something to talk about with them 🙂
In this episode, we look at Awesome August, and some of the recent releases, including the LEGO® Technic range and the LEGO Ideas Jaws Set. Jay presents his review of the Dungeons and Dragons Minifigfures due for release in September or October (depending on your location). We also look at the latest LEGO Ideas Announcement and speculate on just what might be going on with the ongoing review of the Pixar Lamp submission.
A couple of weeks ago, Branko took a look at the 42174 Koenigsigg Jesko Absolut, in Dark Grey. He wasn’t overly wrapt with it, although it is certainly a functional car. The same car has been released in White as well. Will this colour his opinion?
The Koenigsegg Jesko Absolut will be available in Dark Grey and White! This is another example of a recoloured set, meaning that it is the same as the ‘original’ 42173 Grey Jesko except for the colour.
In this article, we set out to discover how much the colour has really changed between all of LEGO’s recoloured sets, and we will see how this one compares.
When we last looked at the 42172 LEGO® Technic McLaren P1, we successfully unboxed a set for which the unboxing is regarded as an integral experience as the building and completed construction using the first box of construction elements.
While we still have another two boxes to build up, it is apparent that the most intense parts of the building process are now behind us: We have constructed a chassis with the engine, a 7-speed flappy paddle gearbox, rear wheels with independent suspension and a couple of seats. In fact, we are within Coo-ee* of the type of build that we had for a working car set back in the early days of Technic builds, when everything would be laid out on display for the proud builder to show off to their friends, family, and anyone who would stand still for more than 30 seconds in their presence, and foolhardy enough to ask “So, what have you been up to lately?” (For the benefit of non-australians, Coo-wee is what we are taught to call out when we are looking for someonewho might be lost in the bush, but within hearing range.)
In fact, only the front wheels and the steering mechanism are all that currently stand between the end of box one and that endpoint that gave us those visible chassis sets from the early days of Technical Sets [8860 et al.].
There are so many new cars joining the LEGO Technic Range on August 1, be it the super detailed, fully functional 42172 McLaren P1, the affordable Keonigsegg Jesko Absolut or the 42182 Apollo LRV. If you want any of these cars to move, you need to push them along the tabletop yourself. But not all of the new releases rely on a steady hand to propel them from Point A to Point B…
The 42176 Porsche GT4 e-Performance Race Car is motorised and remote-controlled and comes with a brand new Technic Move Hub with a rechargeable battery.
Let’s find out how a dedicated Motor Hub integrate into a remote-controlled race car model?
The set has 843 pieces and will be priced at $AUD249.99/$USD169.99/149.99€/ £169.99. It is available for preorder at LEGO.com com…now. Thanks to the LEGO Group for providing this set for review purposes. All opinions are my own.
Today, Branko takes a look at another of the upcoming Technic Releases for August 1, the Mercedes-Benz G500 Professional Line.
While building this car, I finally got it! I think I now understand why some people so passionately dislike electric cars! As I was building this beast of a vehicle with the intricacies of the transmission, a 6-cylinder engine and several differentials with or without locks, I suddenly realised that if this was an electric vehicle, it would be a lot less entertaining! All these great inventions have been made over the last century to harness the power of controlled explosions (combustion) in a way that allows us to move vehicles how we want. And these inventions are captured in functional detail in this model with lovely mechanisms and gears. Next: cue electric cars; they do away with the need for any of these inventions. They can just provide power to any wheel any way you want it when you want it with no need for mechanical trickery. Where is the fun in that!?! I can imagine to some people, this feels like using a cheat code in the motoring world, not playing a fair game. I do feel sorry for those people for their perceived loss of classic engineering and, frankly, I love the cheat code that EV’s provide, but I digress.
The LEGO Group and Mercedes-Benz have worked closely together to bring us this detailed model of their four-wheel drive G500 Professional line SUV, in New Reddish-Orange*! If you read my review on the boring-grey Koenigsegg Jesko you will not be surprised that I am delighted that this model contains a bit of colour. And a new* colour even!
For me, Technic models do not need to accurately capture the outer appearance of their real counterparts, but in recent years, there has been an increase in attention to the outer detail, and this is no exception. When finished, it is very clear what this car represents, and it’s a vibrant, striking, and big presence. But, as expected with Technic, the fun with the model is the functionality! The car comes with forward- and reverse-gears, 8 cylinder engine, high and low gear, differential between front wheels and between rear wheels and between front-to-rear with the ability to lock front-rear and rear left-right (if you’re confused just keep reading after the break). All five doors can open and have a working door latch, there is an opening roof window, cargo trunk, working suspension and a spare wheel.
This set is available from the 1st of August 2024 for AU$ 399.99/£219.99/$249.99/€249.99 (affiliate link) and is available to pre-order now. It contains 2891 pieces, which is always an odd statistic with Technic sets with a large portion attributed to pins (over 700 in this set). The set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes, but all opinions are my own.
This is a great set. Yes, that’s a period. I’m not really into cars, or Technic all that much but this is just an impressive set that provides a great balance between looks and functionality. It does come with hefty price tag so keep reading if you want to find out if this is a set for you. Or if you want to see a simple demonstration of the effect of differential lock.
