The Artful Brick

TL;DR: Original Price:   $39.99 Pieces: 309 Minifigure(s): Monkie Kid (white vest), Monkey King (bright orange robe) Sticker Sheet: No Pros: Unique MK fig, 15 dark turquoise "Round 1 x 2 with Hollow Studs and Open Center with Bars" pieces Cons: Common Monkey King fig, build elements not as flexible (combination-wise) as could be wished Assembly:  Bag #1 - Monkie Kid, Monkey King, race car Bag #2 - Fighter plane Bag #3 - Mech Leftover Pieces   Interesting Techniques: Like other set, 2024's Creative Vehicles, this set makes considerable use of the same pair: "Round 1 x 2 with Hollow Studs and Open Center with Bars" (this time in dark turquoise) onto which are clipped two 1x1 plates with vertical-grip clips. You can tell that this is an older set, however, because the elements aren't quite as refined, somewhat limiting the possible combinations—as described below. Interesting Pieces: Though it's hardly a new piece this is as of right now the only se...

  TL;DR: Original Price:   $4.99 Pieces: 9 Minifigure(s): Steampunk Inventor Sticker Sheet: No Pros: Great parts & printing Cons: One-sided arms Assembly:    Leftover Pieces      Interesting Techniques: The use of the ice cream scoops as steam exhaust from the gauntlet is fun and adds a bit of life to the build .  Interesting Pieces: The minifigure hand armor piece I thought was new, but it's been around since 2015 , and has appeared in themes as diverse as Nexo Knights, Monkie Kid, and Ultra Agents. It looks like the pearl gold version only appears in this set and  76323 "Avengers: Endgame Final Battle," where it's used for a Chitauri weapon and not, as I would have expected, an Infinity Gauntlet. Still, it's good to see that such a unique and useful part is available on a $5 minifig as well as a $100 mega set. Pain Points: My only complaint is that the printing on the right arm is somewhat limiting, especially if one wants to use ...

TL;DR: Original Price:   $14.99 Pieces: 170 Minifigure(s): Julian Sticker Sheet: No Pros: Cute minifig, fun sub-builds Cons: A little lonely, several 1x1 piece alignments       Assembly:  Bag #1 - Julian & Presents Bag #2 - Party table Bag #3 - Tree & Radio Bag #4 - Lamp & Bunting   Leftover Pieces Interesting Steps: Step 41 has us place a hidden branch within the tree. I'm not sure if this is a reference to something in the game(s), or just a cute little detail. Interesting Techniques: Two 2x2x1 panel corners are combined with a 1x1x1 panel corner and a 1x1 brick and tile to make a 3x3 container in which to stash some little gifts, with the 1x1 brick acting as a pivot point for the lid with it's brick-built bow. It's also worth mentioning that the blue present is just a jumper plate on top of a solid brick, but a 2x2x1 container (such as in CMF 23's Reindeer Costume) would have added a little more play. Pain Points: Several of the build...

  In the interest of becoming more active in the Lego community, I attended my first Lego Users Group meeting this month. I'd met a few of the members at the grand opening of the nearby Bricks and Minifigs store (as described in this post ), and was encouraged to come to the monthly meeting and see for myself. It was held in the community room of a local library, and took about an hour. There were more than twenty in attendance, ranging in age from under ten to over seventy. What impressed me right off the bat was the organization and preparation: each seat at the tables had a printout of the meeting agenda, and a digital projector was playing a slideshow of photos from previous events on one wall. Following a cordial welcome (including calling out new attendees like myself), the leader went straight to business. First on the docket was the previous month's build challenge. Each meeting two words are voted on (last month's were "video games" and "space",...

TL;DR: Original Price:   $19.99 Pieces: 198 Minifigure(s): Dragons Rising Lloyd, Dragons Rising Jay, Imperium Claw General Sticker Sheet: Yes Pros: Relatively inexpensive, lots of gold pieces Cons: No exclusive figs, wolf's joints awkward, no terrain elements   Assembly:  Bag #1 - Lloyd, Hound body Bag #2 - Jay, Hound head & tail Bag #3 - Imperium guard, Hound limbs   Leftover Pieces   Interesting Techniques: Hiding the edge of the two dark orange SNOT bricks makes it possible to have studs on the sides and back of the build without needing (as far as I know, nonexistent) SNOT bricks with studs only one one side or the other. Interesting Pieces: The instructions (step 5 shown here) depict one piece , but the set actually containing a slightly different piece . It doesn't affect the build itself, but is an interesting difference. It also seems to be an issue not limited to just the set I received, as the bricklink set inventory shows the same piece a...