This month, I wanted to take a moment to explain Brick Architect’s longstanding, healthy partnership with The LEGO Group. Since February 2018, Brick Architect has been recognized as a Recognized LEGO Fan Media outlet under a program called the LEGO Ambassador Network. (There were also programs for Recognized LEGO Users Groups and Recognized Online Communities.)

Recognition helps us make Brick Architect an even better resource for LEGO fans. We get access to exclusive interview opportunities with LEGO employees, early access to unreleased LEGO sets, and the ability to order products to explore the hobby more broadly. I have been impressed by The LEGO Group’s unflinching support for honest reviews, even when they fail to meet our high expectations around product quality, mishandle sensitive subjects, or continue producing sets inspired by a transphobic author.

Introducing the LEGO Fan CoLab

This month, the LEGO Ambassador Network was retired in favor of a new program with clearer goals and a more professional approach. The new LEGO Fan CoLab program supports Recognized LEGO Fan Communities and Recognized LEGO Fan Creators. While I find the new CoLab naming a bit awkward and I bristle at the term ‘creator’, I’m pleased to announce that Brick Architect will continue to have the support of The LEGO Group through the LEGO Fan Creator program.

Brick Architect has shifted to the new Recognized LEGO Fan Creator program.

The biggest change with the new program is a greater emphasis on marketing outcomes over community support. While the transition went smoothly for many Fan Media outlets, a number of longstanding Online Communities and LEGO Users Groups have chosen not to participate, or have not been invited into the new program. When success is measured by marketing impact, communities focused on building relationships between LEGO builders or sharing building techniques may receive less support.

Brick Architect is well positioned to contribute to both needs: our longform articles and reviews support their marketing goals, while fan-favorite resources like The LEGO Parts Guide continue to inspire LEGO builders around the world.

I will continue monitoring the evolution of the new program. I’ve always been skeptical about optimizing around business outcomes that are easily measured, rather than investing in all stages of the customer journey. While a marketing-centric approach to increasing product awareness is easier to measure, providing a gentle hand to your most vocal fans is a powerful way to foster brand loyalty. It’s easy to underestimate the indirect benefits that come from offering modest support to the right people.

I hope this serves as a useful reminder: in your own creative work, don’t just optimize the things you can measure, use your intuition to optimize the things you can’t.

New at Brick Architect

This month, my attention has been laser-focused on incorporating beta feedback into the next draft of my upcoming book, The LEGO Parts Guide. As I explained in two posts this month to my patrons supporting the project, I have added 90 parts to the catalogue since the previous beta. I have also made extensive improvements to the parts hierarchy to improve how parts are organized, and refined part names to make them simpler and easier to use.

Simplifying part names for wheels and tires.

One of the best examples of my refinements to the part naming is in the Wheel chapter. I have simplified part names for tires and wheels: Each category clearly indicates the wheel diameter (ex: Ø8mm) and the same diameter notation is used for the part names as well. This results in very concise part names, such as “Ø14×4mm Smooth” for a small, smooth tire.

Join a growing community of LEGO builders supporting my work on Patreon — where I share my creative process, sneak peeks, and take part in thoughtful discussions that move the project forward.

Read our review of #11505 Woodland Mushrooms (LEGO Botanicals).

I was also able to publish a delightful review of #11505 Woodland Mushrooms, a fantastic recent addition to the LEGO Botanicals lineup. My wife built the model and wrote the review, concluding that it was one of the best LEGO sets she had ever built thanks to diverse selection of mushrooms and interesting building techniques.

September 2026 releases for AFOLs

After a massive number of sets released in August, September offers a more relaxed selection of new sets. I am not especially excited about any of the new releases, but I’m eager to review all five of the new Advent Calendars once they arrive.

• #11385 Star Trek: U.S.S. Enterprise NCC-1701 Bridge
  Trekkies will enjoy this throwback to the original 1966 series, although the highlight according to early reviewers was the great selection of minifig accessories, including a new custom Phaser mould.
  1701 pieces, ages 18+, $200.
• #11383 Mayor Manor (LEGO Icons)
  Building on the success of the LEGO Winter Village series, this set appears poised to begin another holiday tradition. I hope we get many years of well-priced Halloween-themed models.
  1420 pieces, ages 18+, $120.
• #71053 Shrek Collectible Minifigure Series
  Arguably the most unique addition to the CMF lineup, there are a ton of interesting new moulded parts in the Shrek collection.
  12 figures, ages 6+, $5.

A few more sets that might be of interest:

• #11386 SpongeBob SquarePants: Bikini Bottom
  1794 pieces, ages 18+, $220.
• #76355 Batman Returns Batmobile
  2269 pieces, ages 18+, $230.
• #43024 Ayrton Senna Helmet
  931 pieces, ages 14+, $90.
• #40859 Golden Age Superman and Batman Figures (BrickHeadz)
  218 pieces, ages 10+, $25.
• #40858 SpongeBob SquarePants Figure (BrickHeadz)
  72 pieces, ages 10+, $13.
• #40919 Gremlins Gizmo and Stripe Figures (BrickHeadz)
  230 pieces, ages 10+, $25.

2026 LEGO Advent Calendars

In 2024 and 2025, The LEGO Group released six different advent calendars, which felt like a lot of choices for parents. This year, we are back down to five options.

I’m especially pleased to see that, after seven years, they finally stopped producing an advent calendar based on the Harry Potter franchise. We stopped featuring products from that theme in 2023. With its removal from the Advent Calendar lineup, we’re excited to review the entire assortment again this year.

2026 LEGO Advent Calendars:

• #75456 Star Wars Advent Calendar 2026
  293 pieces, ages 6+, $45.
• #76340 Marvel Advent Calendar 2026
  317 pieces, ages 6+, $45.
• #60510 LEGO City Advent Calendar 2026
  252 pieces, ages 5+, $35.
• #43298 Disney Princess Advent Calendar 2026
  290 pieces, ages 5+, $45.
• #42698 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 2026
  211 pieces, ages 6+, $35.

As always, 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

I hope you enjoy this month’s collection of interesting LEGO links…

• Did LEGO Classic Space Minifigure Colors Mean Anything?
  Michael J found evidence in designer interviews that classic space colors represented different roles, but analysis of the released sets tells a different story. We learn that the sets were designed with complex back-stories in mind, but minifigure color selection usually came down to which figure looked best in each set, rather than specific roles or factions. You’re free to create your own mythology for the classic space colors!
  —BrickNerd
• The Finnish Baby Box
  In Finland, every new parent gets a large box filled with high-quality products you will need to raise a baby and young child. It’s a highly curated selection happening at a national level, and a source of pride and relief for Finnish families. Even the box itself can be used as a crib, giving exhausted parents a safe place to allow their baby to rest. As a curator of LEGO parts, I often consider the broader utility of an uncommon part before adding it to the collection.
  —99% Invisible
• Some LEGO SpongeBob Patrick Star Minifigures are starting to crack
  Multiple reviewers of the upcoming #11386 SpongeBob SquarePants: Bikini Bottom set have discovered a stress crack on the back of Patrick’s pointy minifigure head. Historically, these issues can arise from poor quality colorant, defects in the mould design, or inadequate cooling before the part is ejected from the mould. Patrick’s earlier mould from 2011 didn’t have widespread cracking issues.
  —Jay’s Brick Blog

A hairline crack on a brand-new minifigure is not expected. (Photo: Jay’s Brick Blog)

• Is LEGO Losing its Creativity
  In this episode, the creativity of new LEGO sets and parts is explored, as well as their impact on the creativity of fan builders. Exploring the LEGO brand’s perception as a creative toy got me thinking… Now that LEGO is synonymous with creativity, can they get away with being less creative?
  —AFOLs Welcome
• LEGO’s first half of 2026 financials smashes expectations with record revenue and sales growth (again)
  While The LEGO Group is a privately-held company, they share financial results twice a year. This most recent report, reflecting sales in the first half of 2026 is a banger: 6.5 billion dollars in 6 months, a 21% increase versus the same period last year. More notably, net profit grew 32% in the same period (versus just 21% increase in revenue), suggesting that they are both selling more products, and squeezing more profit out of each sale.
  —Jay’s Brick Blog
• Review: 42233 Mighty Machines Series 1 from LEGO® Technic
  Tom Loftus starts off this review with an in-depth look at the angled geometry of the three new parts debuting in this collection of 8 tiny Technic creations. 1×3 Thin Beam w/ Trapezoidal Frame (Part 7944) is especially interesting since it has the same 63° angle in three directions.
  —New Elementary

The tiny Technic Mighty Machines debuted some interesting new parts, like 1×3 Thin Beam w/ Trapezoidal Frame. (Photo: New Elementary)

• The Evolution of LEGO Dragons IV: From Ninjago to Now
  This lengthy article by Richard Jones shows how the introduction of new LEGO parts has radically changed how dragons are designed over the past 15 years. He argues that the target age of the builder has an even larger impact on building techniques: Larger custom parts really are justified for sets designed for younger builders. The latest dragons designed for older builders rely on dozens of new curved elements introduced in recent years — proving that the latest parts have unlocked new sculptural capabilities with the LEGO brick.
  —Rambling Brick
• New moulds in LEGO Pokémon SMART Play sets August 2026
  More than a dozen new moulds were introduced when Pokemon Smart Play sets were introduced in August. Elspeth De Montes highlights them all, but don’t get too excited… Several of the new parts are POOP (Parts Out of Other Parts), meaning that the same shape could already be achieved using existing parts. The larger parts are easier for young builders, but less versatile for advanced builders who benefit from smaller, more intricate parts.
  —New Elementary
• Boarding Now: LEGO Takes Flight at San Diego Comic-Con 2026
  Chris Castagnetto explored how The LEGO Group’s presence at SDCC has shifted this year. The visually-appealing booth reflects a strategic shift from amplifying adult-focused LEGO themes like Stranger Things to pushing child-focused themes. Is the adult segment doing so well that kid-focused sets represent their greatest growth opportunity? By contrast, the panel discussion with Ninjago voice actors offered a more reflective look at the theme’s 15-year history including a live vocal performance of a new story set in the Ninjago universe; a meaningful experience for young adults who grew up with the theme.
  —BrickNerd