I made infrastructure investments supporting the LEGO Parts Guide this month. I am also just returning from a trip to visit family. These trips feel a bit different now that my son is old enough to really enjoy playing with my old LEGO sets. Not only did my family keep all my LEGO parts, but my mom saved most of the LEGO set boxes as well.

Building #6270 Forbidden Island with my son.

Over the years, I have picked out the parts required to build some of my favorite childhood sets, while leaving two large bins of loose parts to support free building. I am finding this to be a great balance in sharing my childhood LEGO with my son, since he enjoys both building sets and free building.

Taking a closer look at my McDonalds MOC from when I was about 12.

Two of my MOCs from my childhood were also saved. The first is a LEGO model of the original McDonald’s restauraunts with the signature golden arches on either side, and a window out front for you to order your food. I made an earlier version a couple years before this one, and my best guess is that this version was from when I was about 12 years old. The second is an outdoor concert featuring my favorite bands from around 1995. It’s in rougher shape, so I will need to spend some time repairing it before sharing photos.

This month, I added images for 150 new parts.

One more thing… As I was getting ready to publish this roundup, an upcoming LEGO set that will be of great interest to many readers was announced! #21063 Neuschwanstein Castle re-creates the fairy tale-looking castle with a curious history using a whopping 3455 pieces and a $280 price tag. That’s fewer parts than the excellent #21061 Notre Dame which actually costs less at $230 but has 928 more parts.

#21063 Neushwanstein Castle (LEGO Architecture) is available for preorder now.

To be fair, this set based on Neuschwanstein Castle looks good, thanks in part to the decision to put the castle on top of a prominent brick-built rocky outcropping. I suspect the higher price tag is at least partially caused by the large number of fairly big pieces used to create the cliff face. I had the pleasure of visiting this quirky piece of German architecture (and history) a few years ago, and am generally pleased with what I can see so far… I hope that I will be able to build it later this year!

New at Brick Architect

• LEGO Botanicals in Full Bloom: Inspiration for Your Own Creations!
  See how these beautiful brick-built plants invite new LEGO builders, offer a great source of parts, and inspire fresh creations.
• Updated: LEGO Parts Guide
  This month, I added 150 new part images, 17 parts to the database, and show more parts in the list of the Most Common LEGO Parts (All Years).
• Patrons: New parts, new images, and infrastructure improvements to keep things running smoothly
  This month, I shared a behind-the-scenes update about the backend administrative improvements I’ve made to make it easier to keep the database up-to-date.

Learn how to draw inspiration (and great parts) from the LEGO Botanicals product line.

July 2025 releases for AFOLs

July is such a quiet month that I’m able to highlight all five of the new releases. Maybe something will catch your attention?

• #43008 Nike Dunk
  It’s a bit polarizing—Nike fans and sneakerheads are excited about the set and others seem to have mixed impressions. I do like the minifigure with a Basketball for a head, though!
  1180 pieces, 1 minifig, ages 10+, $100, available July 1 at LEGO.com
• #10375 How to Train Your Dragon: Toothless
  This is a very cute brick-built dragon model with a playful cartoon style.
  784 pieces, ages 18+, $70, available July 1 at LEGO.com

#10375 How to Train Your Dragon: Toothless.

• #10357 Shelby Cobra 427 S/C
  This is a nice looking vintage brick-built car in an attractive dark blue color, although it feels spendy for what you get.
  1241 pieces, ages 18+, $160, Available July 1 at LEGO.com
• #75428 Battle Droid With STAP
  This is a good-looking Roger standing in a battle posture on a speeder bike.
  1088 pieces, ages 12+, $140, Available July 1 at LEGO.com.
• #76329 Miles Morales’ Mask
  This sculptural mask relies on a lot of printed parts to achieve the web effect.
  487 pieces, ages 18+, $70, Available July 1 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 from around the web every month…

• Flattery or Robbery: Copying Other LEGO Builders and the Line Between Inspiration and Imitation
  This article by Geneva D offers a thoughtful and important look at the difference between copying someone’s work and paying homage to it. I especially like the framing of inspiration being about colors, composition, concept, technique and/or presentation. In the end, whether ‘imitation is the highest form of flattery’ or not – is up to the viewer. On the other hand, giving credit and helping other builders improve is up to the builder.
  —BrickNerd
• Homer Backing into the Bushes Demonstration
  This short scene from The Simpsons is one of the most useful GIF’s in both work and social context, and now you can build it using LEGO!
  —JK Brickworks (YouTube)
• The LEGO Color Wheel Challenge
  I love seeing how LEGO builders start from a challenging goal and create something remarkable. Steven W. Howard explains how he created a beautiful image containing eight LEGO scenes representing different colors in the color wheel.
  —BrickNerd

LEGO Color Wheel Challenge by Steven W. Howard.

• Caleb Adams: “The Blind Builder”
  I have always been impressed by the lengths that LEGO fans go to enjoy the hobby. This article highlights Caleb Adams, an 18-year old LEGO builder with a rare genetic disorder that causes a progressive loss of vision among other conditions. This article highlights how he builds, some of his own creations, and a warm story of overcoming adversity.
  —BrickNerd
• LEGO launches “She Built That Campaign”, re-imagining RUN DMC’s ‘It’s Like That’ This article by Jay Ong includes a link to a music video produced by The LEGO Group about female builders, but also includes broader context behind the video.
  —Jay’s Brick Blog
• Episode 138: A confusing refreshment
  At at 3:00 in this episode, host Tom Scott asks: “LEGO stopped using cadmium sulphide as a dye in the 1980s, due to the potential toxicity to kids. However, they considered adding barium sulfate – often used as a white dye – also due to kids. Why?” I found the answer pretty interesting and you might too!
  —Lateral Podcast

…they considered adding barium sulfate – often used as a white dye – also due to kids. Why?

Lateral Podcast

• LEGO® VOYAGERS | Reveal Trailer
  This upcoming game by Light Brick Studio looks mellow, playful, and super cute. I love that it offers a 2-player cooperative mode and is rooted in building with the brick, and will be sure to check it out when it’s available ‘soon’.
  —Annapurna Interactive (YouTube)
• Review: 10428-1 – Big Interactive Community Train
  Way more than a review of the newest addition to the DUPLO train series, this article also offers an in-depth history of DUPLO Trains.
  —Rebrickable
• A concern about LEGO Star Wars
  The charts at the beginning of this article speak for themselves, highlighting the significant decline in the number of LEGO Star Wars sets in the past 10 years. Author CapnRex101 suggests balancing sets at different price points and focusing more on classic set types like minifigure-based play sets.
  —Brickset