October 2024 LEGO News Roundup
Looking back at some reviews and interesting articles as we wrap-up the spooky month and accelerate towards the winter holiday season.
The highlight of this month was the opportunity to review #21353 The Botanical Garden. While I did not love the set, it is a good addition to the LEGO Ideas lineup, offers some nice improvements from the fan submission, and includes a lot of interesting new parts.
I also purchased a Special Edition magazine called The Magic of LEGO which was produced by the people who write Time Magazine. Please feel free to read my short review which includes photos from inside the magazine, but you don’t need to bother if you don’t want to — my main takeaway from reading the 96-page print-on-demand magazine is that you can skip it…
The upside is that it offers a decent summary of the history of The LEGO Group including their transition from woodworking to plastic toys, but the sections on LEGO Movies and the Adult Fan Community are pretty awful. You will find a much better account of the companies history for about the same price by reading the excellent book: The LEGO Story: How a Little Toy Sparked the World’s Imagination. And if reading isn’t your thing, the audiobook is also excellent.
Lastly, I have resumed work on my LEGO Parts Guide by updating some custom scripts to make it easier to identify parts which are missing custom images. This makes the Most Common Parts galleries richer because there are fewer missing images.
November 2024 releases for AFOLs
The LEGO Group is releasing just two sets this month, and they are both aimed at older audiences. Interestingly, they both cost the same amount and both come with a free gift-with-purchase (while supplies last). Given the architectural bias of this blog and many of my readers, I think #21353 The Botanical Garden will be the more popular option — thanks largely to the interesting new parts!
- #76294 X-Men: The X-Mansion
This is the fourth Marvel set that can connect to adjacent buildings in the same way as sets in the popular Modular Building Series. Reviews are a bit mixed, appreciating the details that were included but acknowledging that the interior floorplan is cramped because it is too small overall.
3093 pieces, ages 18+, $330, available now at LEGO.com - #5009015 Cerebro
This is a small vignette of the room Professor Xavier uses to amplify his mind and detect mutants.
153 pieces, ages 10+, Free with purchase ($20 value), available now at LEGO.com
- #21353 The Botanical Garden (LEGO Ideas)
As I explained in my review, this is a good set with a ton of exciting new parts, but despite the high part count it is a poor value by objective measures like price-per-gram. (Also, it should be called a ‘Conservatory’ and not a Botanical Garden.)
3792 pieces, ages 18+, $330, available now at LEGO.com - #5009005 Entrance Gate
This tiny vignette adds a small gate that you can display near the entrance to the Conservatory. One issue that reviewers noticed is that it is on a standard plate, which is taller than the thin baseplate used for the larger set.
152 pieces, ages 10+, Free with purchase ($20 value), available now at LEGO.com
You can see other recent releases by visiting the lego.com store. (Making a purchase using our referral link helps support this website.)
Best articles from around the web
Learn more about the LEGO hobby every month with a selection of great articles from around the web…
- Live-Action LEGO Movies in the Works From Jake Kasdan, Patty Jenkins and Joe Cornish for Universal
This is a bit of a head-scratcher… There are apparently not just one, but three live-action movies planned based on LEGO properties. Given the recent focus on the LEGO Minifigure as a core part of their brand, I’m baffled by the decision to shift to live-action instead.
—Variety - Perfect LEGO Sorting
Former LEGO designer and prominent YouTuber Tiago Catarino shows how he updated his LEGO storage system using custom 3d-printed compartments.
—Tiago Catarino / YouTube - Urban Jungle: A Journey of LEGO, Love, and Challenges for the Dream Contest
This lengthy article by Adam Betts shares his journey ideating, building, and refining a custom LEGO MOC — and the prize was to have the model displayed at The LEGO House in Billund. The best part are the gorgeous photos of every step along the journey.
—Adam Betts / Medium
- A New Take on LEGO Space
This article shows what is possible when one of the most talented LEGO builders I know tries building in a different style. Kimberly Giffen’s Space Colony was my son’s favorite model at BrickCon this year, and I agree wholeheartedly. Check out all the photos in this article to see how beautifully she juxtaposed an alien exterior with a minifig world within. (I am friends with Kimberly through SortLUG and the local LEGO community, but her work speaks for itself!)
—BrickNerd - Moulding LEGO mini-doll legs
This article by Elspeth De Montes showcases exactly how LEGO Friends minidoll legs are produced. It uses a technique called overmoudling where the legs are moulded first, and the clothes are moulded over them in a second step. this produces a crisp line between the color of the leg and the color of the clothing.
—New Elementary
- Ultra-exclusive Castle LEGO set handed out for Design Seminar 2024
While out of reach for normal collectors, extremely rare LEGO sets have always intrigued me. This article highlights the custom set created just for LEGO Designers as part of their annual Design Seminar. Look closely and you will find some exclusive printed parts, which is super cool.
—Jay’s Brick Blog - LEGO parts 5533 & 5608: Column of Bubbles and Florence Flask
Kev Levell offers a closer look at two whimsical parts that will find their way into a lot of space and laboratory MOCs in the years to come…
—New Elementary