Lego Skull Sorcerer's Dragon 71721

 The pack art for this one really drew me in and as I already had the Skull Sorcerer's Dungeon it would have been churlish of me not to buy it to flesh out the boardgame option.  Admittedly, I've never tried to play it but that didn't stop me wanting to get all the sections for it - nice marketing Lego Group...lol.

When I started building I hadn't realised that it came with some nice little scenes to construct before you get to the main even of the dragon.  These are nicely detailed and, even better, include a wonderful stone mini figure that made this non-mini-fig collector exceptionally happy.  Talking of Mini Figures the bad guys that are included with this Ninjago set are top notch, in fact they definitely rank in my favourites - Cole, Kai, Lloyd and crew are okay but the bad guys are really where it is at on the Ninjago kits and these are second only to Fire Fang.

The dragon himself looks fantastic built and is actually really sturdy when built.  I was surprised at how tough he is and definitely great for play.  I love the little rubber band mechanism that allows you to house a "spider egg" in the rib cage of the dragon and drop it like a little bio-bomb.  Great little feature that adds to gameplay and also adds a nice bright pop of colour to the model when on display.

He is really large when built and the wingspan is impressive.  The cloth wings keep it light and look good when fitted.

On the whole super impressed with the finished model.

Number Of Pieces: 1016

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.07

Build Time: 2.75 Hours

 

Lego Slave I - 20th Anniversary Edition - 75243

 Whilst I am a fan of the original Star Wars trilogy, I haven't been able to build many of the ships as The Boy has decided that they are going to be all his.  I did twist his arm in to purchasing this particular model and he really isn't keen on it so I finally managed to get my hands on a Ship build.

Really glad that I did as this was a lot of fun and it is surprisingly stable when built, I did expect it to be pretty fragile.  Even better technic beams are used to create a collapsible handle on the base of the ship so it is really easy to pick up and it makes swooping it through the air so unbelievably simple - yes, yes, I may be a grown up but I still had to fly it for a little bit.

The mini figures are really cool.  Of course, with it being a ship there is not a lot of option to display them on the model but I think I figured something out that works for me.  For some reason I really struggle to get mini figs to stand up on my shelving so I always want to try and fit them on my builds then they don't get lost.

Overall it looks really effective built and the colour choices with the dark mint against the burgundy really work well and give a good rendition of the ship.  However, there is a slight disparity in the colour of the burgundy round edging pieces with the left being a shade darker than the right.  Not really noticeable unless you have it under good lighting (my display is very poor lighting at the moment) but I know it's there and it annoys me.

Other than that this was a really fun build with very few stickers.

Number Of Pieces: 1007

Approximate Price Per Piece: RETIRED PRODUCT

Build Time: 3.25 Hours

Lego Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 75891

 First thing that needs mentioning is the number of stickers in this kit.  For such a small model there are a LOT of stickers.  Now, my sticker-fu is vastly improved from when I started building back in July 2020 but this was still a challenge.  It doesn't help that a lot of the stickers are meant to align over 2 bricks and getting them sited exactly is just not going to happen unless you are a superhero.

Now that moan is out of the way the build itself is as expected from this line.  I really like the Speed Champions series and am slowly collecting from the range as they are sturdy for play but also look really impressive on display.  At the moment they are relegated to a dusty bookshelf but the colour choices made by the Lego team mean they show up well without the need to retrofit lighting.  Even better, once built they definitely hold together well and can stand up to quite some amount of play before bits start to work free.

Very happy with this little build that was just perfect for a late night relaxation session.

Number Of Pieces: 198

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.07

Build Time: 45 Minutes

 

Lego Corner Garage 10264

 I sat on the fence for a long time with this modular but had heard good things from other AFOLS so I finally took the plunge to get it.  Having now built it I am REALLY glad that I did, it looks much better than I anticipated and the building experience itself was a lot of fun.

My favourite piece is probably the window sign for the Vet Office (Dr. Jones - No snakes) which gave me a nice little giggle, even if I did crack the joke before I had fully read the window print.  I am also happy to report that even if you put the window in the wrong way round it is easy to pop out and refit once the build is complete (yes, I'm that person).

A small number of mini figures with this modular but, to be entirely honest, that works for me as I am not a big mini figure fan (don't come for me).  They do add life to the displayed modular though and it looks great on the shelf.  Let's be honest there isn't that much else you can do with the modular range once they are built and that works for me as I enjoy the build and I get just as much pleasure from looking at the completed item and remembering the build.

Number Of Pieces: 2569

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.06

Build Time: 8 Hours

 

Lego Holiday Camper Van 60283

 This was one of my favourite 2021 City Theme releases by Lego.  I do have a "thing" for vehicles but I was really interested in the overall look of this set on the pack art and I have to admit I was not disappointed.

The build is nice and straightforward with clearly detailed diagrams showing you exactly which pieces you need and where to put them for each step.  Although I am an adult building for myself I can see how this would be a good piece for a younger child to experience early Lego building.  It is simple enough to construct but has a nicely detailed finish with some nice playability features for once it is built.

There are only a small number of stickers in this kit which is a bonus as they can be fiddly and annoying to fit neatly.

I am not a big fan of mini figures but I have to admit that the ones included in this set are actually really good.  I think my favourite has to be the baby in it's papoose with a baby bottle.  Really cute and something a little different to add to my collection.

I did have a lot of fun building this kit and the finished look is actually quite impressive considering it's small size and simple construction.  Definitely good value and even though mine will go with my other City sets it is certainly something that is playable with as a vehicle or even as a tiny playhouse.

Many thanks to the Amazon Vine Program for a review copy of this product.  The opinions expressed in this review are my own and do not reflect the opinions of Lego or Amazon.  This is also an honest and unbiased opinion based on my experience with the product and is not influenced by it being a review copy.

Number Of Pieces: 190

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.09

Build Time: 30 Minutes

 

Partial Delivery

 Okay, so I went a little bit mad on New Year's Day morning.  My "not buying anything for a couple of months" went right out of the window and I had a splurge on the Lego website.  My excuse was I wanted the Monster Book Of Monsters GWP so that meant grabbing the Classroom Books and because they were on Back Order then I needed to order something else to make sure I got it delievered pdq.

The first bit of my order came yesterday:

Because of shipping difficulties due to Brexit I was starting to think I wouldn't see any of my order this month so in a fit of pique on Tuesday morning I found myself on Amazon ordering items I swore I was not going to get.  I promised myself I wasn't going to get sucked in to cycle 2 of the Super Mario sets, yeah, that worked out well:

It's A Lego Advent

 I meant to do this on the 25th but between working and getting ill with some weird stomach bug it just didn't happen until today.  To be honest this is the first day I've felt anything like myself since the 27th December - stupid stomach!

Really happy with all the little builds in this but how to display them?  My display cabinet for Harry Potter is more or less full up so for now I will scatter them around and worry about it down the line.  Mainly because I know a rejig will have to happen in the Summer with the new releases for this theme.

Got a few reviews to write as even though I felt yucky I did manage to get some builds crammed in to take my mind off feeling ropey.  Back to work tomorrow so those will have to wait until after my next block of shifts.