40448 Vintage Car is the gift with purchase at LEGO.com from January 1st, so it's already available in Australia and New Zealand.
The model is based on the work of Arne Jahnke who won the LEGO Ideas build a vintage car contest and, other than the lack of chrome parts, is a faithful reproduction of his submission.
Let's wind the hood down and take it for a spin down Ocean Drive...
Bonsai, or 'tray planting', originated in Japan in the 6th century as a variation of the Chinese practice of penjing, the art of depicting artistically formed trees and landscapes in miniature.
Some 1500 years later, LEGO is growing its product portfolio with the addition of the 878-piece set 10281 Bonsai Tree, which joins 10280 Flower Bouquet in its new botanical collection.
The miniature ABS tree costs as much as a real one but after the initial cultivation, it's much easier to care for!
LEGO is rapidly diversifying its product portfolio in an effort to appeal to people who would not normally give its construction toys a second look.
The company's latest attempt is a range of adult-oriented life-sized botanical sets, which includes the 756-piece 10280 Flower Bouquet that will be available at LEGO.com and other retailers on January 1st, priced at £44.99/$49.99/€49.99.
Friends Play Cubes were introduced in January this year and have been released in four tranches of five sets -- occupations, shops, jungle and summer -- although you can be excused for being unaware of them because they've been short-lived and in some cases hard or impossible to come by.
In normal times they would probably fly off the shelves when people see them in brand stores and toy shops but, well, we've not exactly been able to get to them much this year, have we...
LEGO.com has been the only place the majority of us have been able to get them, then, and a few have never been listed there: two of the Jungle ones were not available in Europe and the summer ones didn't make it to North America. Those that were available could only be purchased for an average of about 8 weeks. Many have never been sold at BrickLink and those listed at eBay command extortionate prices.
Five more have just been released in Europe so it's probably as well to buy them as soon as you can if you intend to. What's interesting about them is that the cubes now have faces on the front and appendages on the outside in the form of ears or feathers which utilise a brand new curved bracket piece.
LEGO has released comparatively few products focused upon farming during recent years. The splendid 60287 Tractor has accordingly elicited notable admiration because such models seem increasingly uncommon and this example does exhibit considerable detail.
Both construction techniques and the selection of available pieces have undoubtedly improved since 7684 Pig Farm & Tractor was produced during 2010, containing the previous standard tractor. Nevertheless, this set introduces even more new elements and the resultant model appears extraordinarily authentic in my opinion.
The Super Mario Power-Up packs provide a means of giving the Italian plumber additional powers in the game.
Adding to the four released earlier in the year, two new ones are now available: 71384 Penguin Mario Power-Up Pack and 71385 Tanooki Mario Power-Up Pack. As before they are priced at £8.99 / $9.99 so seem expensive for what they are.
Let's slip into something more comfortable and see if they are worth it...
LEGO is once again continuing its annual pair of related Technic models that incorporate a small pullback motor, but this year, for the first time, their primary models are representations of specific real world vehicles.
Both sets are licensed from Monster Jam, who run live monster truck events primarily across the US. A strange year for these sets to be released, then, given that the majority of live events are currently not going ahead. Although this isn’t a sport that is available in many other places around the world, the giant-wheeled trucks are undoubtedly impressive.
The two sets, 42118 Monster Jam Grave Digger and 42119 Monster Jam Max D, each contain a single monster truck, from two of the top-ranked teams in the Monster Jam competitions.
Mechs have appeared with increasing frequency during recent years, varying significantly in scale and appearance. 71738 Zane's Titan Mech Battle seems absolutely marvellous based upon official images, incorporating dramatic angular shaping which differs from previous mechs.
Such distinction encompasses 70737 Titan Mech Battle, which supposedly provided inspiration for this creation! Not only has Bansha's Ghost Mech been completely omitted but the updated model has grown substantially. Additionally, the articulation has improved, now incorporating functional knee joints which are ingenious.
The story of Nian concerns the titular half-dragon, half-unicorn monster who rampages through villages every lunar New Year, eating everything it comes across, including its favourite delicacy, children!
To cut a long story short, which you can read here, it turns out that Nian means new year and the colour red, fireworks and loud noises frighten him away which is why all three play a prominent part in Chinese New Year celebrations.
80106 Story of Nian, the smaller of the two Chinese traditional festival (CTF) sets that are being released in January, brings the legend to life.
2021 will be the third year that LEGO has produced sets depicting Chinese traditional festivals and so far all have been exceptional.
I therefore have very high expectations for 80107 Spring Lantern Festival, one of two being released in January. I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be disappointed, though, because it's been designed by Justin Ramsden who's been responsible for some masterpieces during his 5-year tenure as a LEGO designer.
Later today we'll be publishing an exclusive interview with Justin so be sure not to miss that.
195-piece set 60290 Skate Park is part of the new 2021 CITY range and also features a small selection of the pieces from the new road system. For more coverage of these exciting and potentially revolutionary parts, please see Huw’s recent review of 60304 Road Plates and benbacardi’s excellent in-depth look at 60292 Town Centre.
I think the name ‘Skate Park’ is a bit of a misnomer only because this is a set that features minifigures engaged in other urban sports activities too: Biking (possibly intended to represent freestyle BMX) and Extreme Wheelchair sports.
The most recent CITY and CREATOR sets to feature skateboard halfpipes and big jumps were 60200 Capital City and 31081 modular skate house both from 2018. However, sets featuring a skateboard theme have been much more prevalent in the friends theme… I will admit to very much liking ‘friends’ sets and owning a few but knowing very little about the contents and subject matter of the overwhelming number of them.
The last proper dedicated skateboarding sets were part of the ‘sports’ gravity games theme all the way back in 2003, but I personally prefer the half pipe set 6738 Skateboard Challenge from the previous year.
We’ll get to the review properly in just a moment, but first, a word from our sponsors...
There have not been many movie theatres in the LEGO universe of sets, and no set has been dedicated to being a cinema since 10232 Palace Cinema. I was quite excited when I saw the Friends theme had a movie theatre for 2021 in 41448 Heartlake City Movie Theatre. Therefore, it was an easy choice as to which new Friends set I would build first. My expectations were tempered when I saw the price point: how much of a cinema could there be for $50?
Partial spoiler: those who don't like the open buildings common in Friends are not going to like this set. Those who like to see if Friends sets have a bathroom will not be disappointed….
76171 Miles Morales Mech Armour expands the enjoyable collection of Marvel mechs which was introduced during 2020, including similar pieces and assembly techniques. This model combines appealing black and red shades, corresponding with Miles Morales himself.
The accompanying minifigure looks marvellous and is exclusively available here. Much like Peter Parker, Miles Morales has featured copious Spider-Man suits during comics and video games, hence I am pleased to receive an updated design here. Furthermore, there appear to be substantial improvements over other variants.
75295 Millennium Falcon Microfighter succeeds two previous Microfighters depicting this famed vessel and shares evident similarities with those models. However, constructing the Microfighter reveals some remarkable differences compared with its predecessors.
These differences become particularly apparent when viewing this freighter from behind, where the engines are visible. The associated Han Solo minifigure also offers considerable appeal, having only appeared in three earlier sets. Nevertheless, I wonder whether another Millennium Falcon Microfighter was really needed.
The first series of Super Mario Character Packs were fun, attractive and full of new and useful parts. Even if you had no plans to actually play the game with them, they were a worthwhile purchase.
The second series looks to deliver more of the same, so let's open the bags and take a look...
The rigorous Tournament of Elements featured various new Elemental Masters, supplementing those established during earlier seasons. 71735 Tournament of Elements contains many unique minifigures, among whom are three brand new Elemental Masters!
These exclusive minifigures look wonderful and have attracted considerable attention among NINJAGO fans. The associated structure seems interesting too, depicting essential architectural features of Chen's impressive palace, where much of the tournament occurs. Nevertheless, the minifigures remain the primary attraction.
Last year’s 60271 Main Square was the flagship set in the City range, featuring a number of different buildings and vehicles inspired by the current LEGO City Adventures animated series. 60292 Town Centre appears to be 2021’s equivalent, albeit on a smaller, and therefore lower priced, scale.
However, this is also LEGO’s introduction of their new road plates system, included in three upcoming sets so far, in addition to a separate road expansion pack. Huw took an in-depth look at these in a recent review, so I recommend checking that out for more detail. Previously, sets that feature multiple disparate builds can struggle to feel cohesive as a whole, especially when compared to the enticing box art that draws you in, but I have a feeling the road plates will go a long way towards rectifying that.
Collectable Minifigures were introduced during 2010 and standard series have featured sixteen minifigures throughout the past decade. 71029 Collectable Minifigures Series 21 augments this selection further, although provides just twelve interesting characters.
While the number of minifigures has fallen, the quality undoubtedly appears consistent. The selection of characters is impressive, including modern, historical and fantasy minifigures which should provide something for every LEGO fan. Additionally, numerous exclusive elements and accessories have been introduced here.
42117 Race Plane is another entry-level Technic set that's being released on January 1st.
It introduces a number of new teal pieces, and that is likely to be the main reason for AFOLs to give it a second look.
Miniature renditions of the X-wing Starfighter have appeared regularly, including numerous incarnations of the recent T-70 variant. 30386 Poe Dameron's X-wing Fighter features many improvements when compared with previous designs, exploiting newer pieces.
Of course, the colour scheme has changed as well, now corresponding with Poe's colourful vehicle from Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker.