It’s important to relax, unwind, and explore – which is why I was traveling with my family for three weeks this month. I chose to unplug from both my work responsibilities and my work on this website and the LEGO Parts Guide. I did make an exception for one of the cutest LEGO sets this year, and built #10349 Happy Plants while watching the sunset at Glacier National Park.

I enjoyed building #10349 Happy Plants while on vacation exploring our National Parks.

In the coming weeks, I am excited to share new articles on the website, and make substantial progress on the print version of my LEGO Parts Guide. I am also hoping to give a talk at BrickCon, my local LEGO Convention here in Bellevue, Washington.

In addition to being an excellent in-person convention where talented builders from the region and around the world show off their latest creations, it is one of the few conventions to continue offering a ‘Virtual Attendance’ option. This gives you streaming access to most of the talks during the four-day event. Given the quality of the talks in past years, it’s a good value for just $25.

New at Brick Architect

• #71837 Ninjago City Workshops — What defines the series’ unique style?
  Exploring how strong visual storytelling, a layered architecture style, and eclectic motifs converge to create a brick-build world that is chaotic but deeply intentional.
• Updated: LEGO Parts Guide
  I added 21 parts to the database which now appear in the Parts Guide, and images for 42 additional parts. (You can find parts which are not yet in the database by entering the part number in the search box and print labels if a custom image is available.)

Explore how the LEGO Ninjago City design standard works in our closer look at #71837 Ninjago City Workshops.

August 2025 releases for AFOLs

August has always been a big month for new LEGO sets, since this is when the majority of sets aimed at the December Gift Giving season are released. This allows plenty of time for kids to learn about the new sets, put them on their wishlists, and hopefully find them wrapped in colorful paper a few months later.

But let’s be real, most of my readers are adults and I’m sure you are curious to see if any of the new sets are cool enough to buy and build right away. I’ve highlighted just a few of the 100+ new sets, so be sure to visit lego.com to see the complete range of new sets across diverse product lines like Fortnite, One Piece, Star Wars, LEGO Icons, and sets (and even shoes) based on the new LEGO×Nike partnership…

• #21063 Neuschwanstein Castle
  While I highlighted this set’s announcement last month, you can finally purchase it beginning August 1. I’m excited to build it soon!
  3455 pieces, ages 18+, $280, Available now at LEGO.com
• #42215 Volvo EC500 Hybrid Excavator
  Large Technic sets with power functions rarely offer a great value, but it’s hard to ignore a massive working excavator with an optional impact hammer attachment. It will definitely make a mark on your desk, and your wallet.
  2359 pieces, ages 18+, $430, Available now at LEGO.com.
• #21359 Italian Riviera
  This cute set is stylistically rooted in the same world as the popular Modular Building Series, complete with removable floors so you can access each room.
  3251 pieces, ages 18+, $300, 10 minifigures, Available August 10 at LEGO.com.

#21359 Italian Riviera, showing how the floors can be removed to see the interior. (Photo: The LEGO Group.)

• #10373 Mini Bonsai Trees
  This is a cute addition to the Botanical Collection, featuring not just one but three tiny brick-built bonsai trees!
  709 pieces, ages 18+, $65, Available now at LEGO.com
• #10372 Hibiscus
  I appreciate how NPU (Nice Parts Usage) is central to the LEGO Botanicals theme, such as the use of an existing shell element for the petals in this potted hibiscus plant.
  660 pieces, ages 18+, $70, Available now at LEGO.com.
• #40805 Arcade Machine
  This is the smallest set that caught my eye this month. I love how there’s a minifigure-scale apartment hidden inside the arcade machine!
  468 pieces, ages 12+, $40, Available now at LEGO.com.

#40805 Arcade Machine has an apartment hidden inside. (Photo: The LEGO Group.)

• #75640 The Baratie Floating Restaurant
  While I have no familiarity with the One Piece franchise, this fish-shaped restaurant looks like a lot of fun. It has an intricately detailed front facade and a sumptuously detailed interior.
  3402 pieces, ages 18+, $330, Available now at LEGO.com
• #76304 Batman Forever Batmobile
  This low-slung and sculpturally shaped vehicle is an interesting addition to Batman’s wide range of brick-built vehicles.
  909 pieces, ages 12+, $100, Available now at LEGO.com.
• #10358 Transformers: Soundwave
  While the model looks a bit blocky and feels a bit expensive, it includes one of the new sound bricks which debuted earlier this year. It’s hard to dispute that it has strong 80’s vibes!
  1505 pieces, ages 18+, $190, Available now at LEGO.com.

You can explore all of the new 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 with this month’s collection of great articles I’ve collected from around the web…

• How to Use DUPLO In Your LEGO MOCs
  This excellent article by Evan Croutch provides a succinct yet detailed explanation of how to use LEGO, DUPLO, and even QUATRO bricks together when building large MOCs.
  —BrickNerd
• San Diego LEGO-Con Virtual Booth Tour
  I appreciated the brick-built architectural model of the building where SDCC happens, although you can also see a similar version at LEGOLAND California. (Looking Back: Did you miss our interview with LEGOLAND California Master Model Builder PJ Catalano from earlier this year?)
  —LEGO.com
• Bricks of questionable character: We chat with internet phenom, Iain Heath
  This lengthy interview explores Iain’s long history of re-creating popular memes using LEGO bricks – and building quickly before the meme has faded!
  —Brothers Brick

The second part is to build FAST. It’s no good spending 4 weeks building a LEGO version of some meme, since the meme will be dead by then. My solution here is to build *small* so my version can ride that fresh wave of virality.

Iain Heath

• 2024 WBI Community Research Survey
  This article highlights ways to make women feel more welcome in our hobby by addressing gatekeeping and ensuring women feel welcome in our hobby. (Please also consider taking this anonymous WBI Survey to help them learn “how your LGBTQ+ identity/allyship show up in LEGO, from box art and sets to fan creations and community spaces.”
  —Women’s Brick Initiative
• Billund International Airport: Connecting LEGO to the World The development of the largest airport in the Jutland region of Denmark was discussed at length in books like The LEGO Story. This article by Mirko Crucchiola brings it to life with extra details and a ton of historical photos.
  —BrickNerd
• Engineering for excellence – the Star Wars builds of Jürgen Wittner
  I really enjoyed seeing a selection of Star Wars vehicles and brick-built figures based on a 1:16 scale. That’s 2-3 times as large as a LEGO Minifigure, resulting in clever figure designs and intricately detailed vehicles. (Minifigure scale is about 1:42.)
  —Brothers Brick

I love how Jürgen 1:16 scale brick-built figures use classic LEGO minifigure heads. (Photo: Jürgen Wittner/Brothers Brick.)

• Fantastic Beasts: Harry Potter’s Influence on LEGO Animals
  This article by Caleb Schilling showcases the huge influence that Harry Potter sets have had on LEGO Animals. (Note: We stopped reviewing Harry Potter sets a few years ago due to the author’s persistent transphobic words and actions. This article was included because it provides valuable historical insights and focuses on the impact of earlier sets in the theme.)
  —BrickNerd
• Heroes of Fur and Feather Grand Prize Winner – Ben Grayson’s adventures of Priscilla Bramblewhisk
  Ben Grayson showcases his skill as a LEGO builder and a storyteller with this delightful story told through both photos and text. I understand why he won a role-playing themed competition with this entry!
  —Brothers Brick
• Driven to Build: The LEGO Technic Legacy of Italy’s Davide Zen
  I really enjoyed learning about Davide’s passion for re-creating beloved Italian cars using LEGO Technic, as well as his personal story growing up with LEGO Technic, translating that love into a first career as a mechanic, and continuing his love of LEGO Technic as he shifted into a different career.
  —BrickNerd