Donkey Kong’s tree house is usually the setting at the beginning of your journey in the video game series. The plot often consists of some baddies stealing all of DK’s bananas, therefore you must go on a journey to retrieve them.
However, this tree house is part of the LEGO Super Mario theme and these two champions have a challenging past. Will Mario continue to be a friend as he has been to the other Kongs in this subtheme, or is he the real banana thief?!
This review has been written in its entirety by William, aged 8, who's the son of one of my cycling friends. He has previously reviewed Minecraft sets for us but his real passion is building runways and airports in his living room, so he was the natural choice to ask to review the new City plane, 60367 Passenger Airplane.
I was very excited to build and review the airplane, I love airplanes. My first impression when I looked at the box was that it looks so cool. I thought the tail looked a bit funny, but I couldn’t wait to build it. I was really excited that there was a pushback truck as part of the kit. I’ve tried to make one of these before myself, but the one in the kit looks much better than mine.
10326 Natural History Museum is the 19th set in the official modular buildings collection and the largest by piece-count: its 4,014 trumping the previous record-holder 10255 Assembly Square by 12.
Rather than squeeze several buildings onto a single 32-stud wide baseplate, as has been the case with recent modulars, the museum has a full 48-stud width to itself, which has allowed designer Chris McVeigh to create an imposing and impressive structure befitting of such an institute, with ample space inside to fill with exhibits.
From the lively drum beats of “DK Island Swing” to the ethereal feel of “Aquatic Ambience,” music has long been a staple of the Donkey Kong series. When playing as Dixie Kong in Donkey Kong Country 2, at the end of a level she plays a wild guitar solo. With the instruments included in this set, you too can shred to your heart’s content!
The stage setting offers a fun way to display your favourite heroes when not in use and has some extra instruments for them too. The play aspect of the set appears straightforward, but is it still music to our ears at that price?
Despite sharing similar colours, 60377 Explorer Diving Boat and 60368 Arctic Explorer Ship are evidently intended for different climates. While the exploration vessel recovers Viking artefacts beyond the Arctic Circle, this boat studies ocean life in warmer waters.
That ocean life is the most interesting aspect of this set, encompassing a new adult sea turtle, alongside a baby turtle and a hammerhead shark and manta ray in unique colours. Given the variety of animals present, plus a treasure chest, there is plenty for the divers to discover.
First seen in Donkey Kong Country on the Super Nintendo Entertainment System in 1994, Rambi the Rhino is a rideable companion. Normally, he carries Donkey Kong, but here we see him helping out a friendly rival instead. This review will star Luigi since my Mario figure thinks he’s a cat at the moment.
Let’s break open this cardboard box crate and take a rare look at a treasured character from the Donkey Kong universe teaming up with Luigi to do what Rambi does best… Bashing!
The Icons botanical collection has appeal far beyond LEGO's usual customer demographic, so it comes as no surprise that new additions are forthcoming, including 10329 Tiny Plants.
The collection of nine small plants in flowerpots will be released in time for gifting to the green-fingered members of your family at Christmas.
Several sets have been produced in celebration of important historical figures recently, perhaps influencing the style of 40595 Tribute to Galileo Galilei. This homage to the eminent astronomer won the Ready, Set, Go STEM! competition run on LEGO Ideas last year.
I think this model looks impressive and captures the aesthetic of the Renaissance period, also including various references to Galileo's work. Moreover, the set will be available with purchases of over £115, $130 or €130 on LEGO.com, starting in November, which seems like a reasonable threshold.
Castles have been a common feature of Disney animation for decades and the studio's newest movie, Wish, presents another. Even so, 43224 King Magnifico's Castle looks unique and I love the gem-like dome on top, which is remarkably eye-catching.
Moreover, this set contains an exceptional mini-doll, as the titular king wears a beautiful silvery cape and looks excellent. However, the price of £84.99, $99.99 or €94.99 feels very expensive for a set including a mere 613 pieces.
40659 Mini Steamboat Willie is currently a gift with purchase at LEGO.com, free with purchases of Disney, Star Wars and Marvel sets exceeding £95/$100/€100.
For such a low threshold it's a substantial set, and not that much smaller than the LEGO Ideas set 21317 Steamboat Willie that was released four years ago.
Arctic and ocean exploration are regular LEGO City subthemes and the two are combined this year. Beyond introducing a fantastic menagerie of animals, this wave features the huge 60368 Arctic Explorer Ship, which is even bigger than 60266 Ocean Exploration Ship!
Of course, the impressive size creates space for ample interior and various functions, as well as storage for three additional vehicles on board, which is brilliant for play. Furthermore, the exclusive killer whale is highly desirable, potentially overshadowing the actual ship.
I was impressed with 43231 Asha's Cottage and am thus approaching 43223 Asha in the City of Rosas with high expectations, given the shared architectural style between them. However, this set is considerably smaller and perhaps simpler too.
Nevertheless, the model appears fairly detailed and Valentino, Asha's animal companion, is only available here. Given its modest size and price, this set is quite an interesting prospect.
The Disney Brothers Cartoon Studio was founded 100 years ago, on October 16, 1923, and its films have continued to delight audiences today as Walt Disney Animation Studios. Walt's love for movie making and vintage cameras helped start that legacy, and 43230 Walt Disney Tribute Camera attempts to encapsulate this important part of Disney history.
Fortunately, the designer seems to have been quite successful on the whole! The models are entirely unique within the Disney 100 range, and several interesting characters are included - the most desirable of which being Walt Disney himself, and new molds for Dumbo and Bambi.
This is therefore an intriguing set, although the price of £89.99, $99.99 or €99.99 feels a touch expensive to me. Perhaps the promised quality of its contents will alleviate my worries...
The majority of Disney sets introduced this year have celebrated the studio's 100th anniversary, revisiting some cherished films and characters from the past. However, new releases continue too, including Wish, an animated film arriving in December.
LEGO has developed three sets focused on Wish, including 43231 Asha's Cottage. The architecture of the model appears surprisingly detailed and I can easily envisage this forming part of a medieval or rural display. However, this high standard of detail has seemingly resulted in an expensive price, of £46.99, $49.99 or €52.99.
Twenty years after the original minifigure-scale TIE Bomber was released, LEGO finally revisited the classic vessel in January. 75348 Mandalorian Fang Fighter vs. TIE Interceptor revisits another celebrated TIE-series vehicle, with the famously agile TIE/in Interceptor!
6206 TIE Interceptor arrived in 2006, providing ample opportunity for major improvements this time. The designer has seemingly obliged, while the Fang Fighter also has considerable potential, recreating the memorable Mandalorian starfighter designed for Star Wars Rebels.
After the exciting events covered by the news in 41749 Newsroom Van, it's time to turn to a slightly more mundane activity, 41759 Heartlake City Bus. Mundane or not, this is the first time I remember a bus being included in the Friends world, and it's a welcome addition. I do like how the Friends world is expanding to more realistic scenarios.
Polybags have been produced annually since the scale of Speed Champions vehicles was updated in 2020, now including 30657 McLaren Solus GT. The sweeping curves of the car are troublesome at minifigure-scale, so this polybag was probably difficult to design too.
However, other Speed Champions polybags have been fun and I imagine this addition to the series will prove similarly satisfying.
A controversy is brewing in Heartlake City! Not only is that momentous enough, it warrants just the second news van that we've seen in the Friends world - 41749 Newsroom Van. The first van was 41056 Heartlake News Van in 2014. The news that was covered back then was a birthday celebration, but the Friends team has come up with something much more newsworthy this time around.
