BrickLink Designer Program series 10 voting has begun, so this week we are publishing articles written by project designers. This one is by arselus (@arselus.bricks):
Welcome to my submission the Bricklink Designer Program Series 10: the Dwarf Stronghold
The Dwarf Stronghold is a Dwarven bastion nestled in the snowy Wheldhyal Mountains. Its green stone doorway and golden doors herald the splendour of the Dwarven Realm. Before the gates stands the white stone guardian: Kir Dremdol, ancient protector of the Dwarf Lands. Can the ancient Dwarf rune powers bring him to life? Or is he simply a stone statue? You must decide.
There's something special about the places we grow up, the quiet corners that stick with us long after we've moved on. For me, those memories of a small-town childhood became the inspiration behind my Autumn Riverbend Retreat, a cosy seasonal build that captures the peaceful charm of riverside autumn days.
The botanical collection has been going for six years so, inevitably, just like Star Wars with its myriad X-Wings and Millennium Falcons, subjects are now being repeated.
40524 Sunflowers, which was launched in 2022 and well received at the time, now looks crude in comparison to 11502 Sunflower Bouquet, which utilises recently introduced foliage elements to create far more impressive and realistic helianthus blooms.
21349 Tuxedo Cat was launched two years ago to great acclaim among cat lovers, so it's perhaps not surprising that a recoloured version, 21376 Orange Cat or, as we'd call it in the UK, a ginger and white cat, is to be released next month.
Although it's essentially just a recoloured version of the black and white cat, some design improvements have been made.
LEGO Ideas has kicked off a competition seeking entries that celebrate Yu-Gi-Oh Duel Monsters.
The entry requirements are quite specific, so if you're up for a challenge, and you know anything about Yu-Gi-Oh (that counts me out then...), head to LEGO Ideas to find out more.
The winning entry will be made into a LEGO set, sometime in 2027 at this rate.
The botanical collection continues to surprise, delight, and innovate and that's particularly true of 11510 Magnolia Branches which is the first to include dual-colour moulded parts that have been produced specially for the set.
A set of BrickHeadz has today been revealed at LEGO.com, bringing a new franchise to the blocky characters, 12 years after its last appearance in LEGO form.
The 567-piece set 40878 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Figures contains, as you would expect, all four of the reptiles and will cost £34.99 / $39.99 / €39.99 when released on 1st April.
Lifestyle images recently added to the Speed Champions 77251 McLaren F1 Team MCL38 page at LEGO.com have revealed a hitherto unseen Technic version of the racing car.
They have presumably been added there inadvertently: given the similarity between the two models it would be easy for someone in the company to muddle them up when looking at thumbnails.
It appears to be built to the same scale as last year's 42206 Oracle Red Bull Racing RB20 F1 Car and 42207 Ferrari SF-24 F1 Car and unfortunately it suffers from the same annoying problem that they do. We have no further details, but will of course let you know when we do.
Along with the botanicals, Winnie the Pooh and up-scaled astronaut revealed earlier today, a number of other sets have been announced as well, including Duplo Peppa Pig, a couple of paper bags, and BrickHeadz characters from the Pixar film Monsters. Inc. and Fortnite.
40861 Sully, Mike and Boo figures, and the other boxed sets listed after the break, will be available from March 1st. The paper bags may well be GWPs at some point.
11375 Ferrari F2004 & Michael Schumacher is the third in the series of historical Formula 1 cars that are modelled at a larger scale than Speed Champions, thus affording a higher degree of detail and accuracy.
That is certainly the case here: it's perhaps the best model of a Ferrari Formula 1 car to date, but it suffers from a major, inexcusable, flaw: one shared by many LEGO F1 cars.
A gift with purchase that will be offered during the run-up to Valentine's Day on the 14th February has been revealed.
40886 Penguins in Love contains 278 pieces and will probably require you to spend £135/$150 to acquire it. We'll let you know when we have more concrete information.
More information about LEGO's partnership with Crocs that we first reported on earlier has now been published, including images that clearly show how ridiculous and impractical they will be.
Disappointingly, for those anticipating a new element for the accompanying minifigure's footwear, its shoes are simply made using a pair of plates.
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BROOMFIELD, Colo., Jan. 23, 2026 – Crocs (NASDAQ: CROX), a world leader in innovative casual footwear for all, today announced a multi-year global partnership with the LEGO Group bringing together two icons of self-expression and originality.
In the playful partnership, Crocs and the LEGO Group are coming together to create something that’s anything but ordinary. Together, the two brands are building a new world of creativity – one that celebrates limitless ways to stand out and break the mould. The collaboration pairs Crocs’ bold spirit with the LEGO Group’s boundless imagination, resulting in a unique fan experience that only these two brands can create together.
If your house is anything like mine where every available horizontal surface is covered with vases and pots of brick-built flowers, you will no doubt appreciate 11503 Flower Wall, which provides another way to display them, mounted on a vertical surface, of which you probably have more.
Unusually, LEGO sent two of the set for us to review, but it turns out there's a good reason.
Here's the press release for the latest issue of Blocks magazine which will be landing on subscriber's doorsteps soon:
We could be days away from the launch of Orion and the Artemis II mission – and Blocks is ready with a feature on 42221 NASA Artemis Space Launch System Rocket! Experienced Model Designer Olav Krøjgaard explains how he approached the challenging model.
Issue 136 is available to order worldwide as part of a subscription or as a single issue at blocksmag.com and will be in UK stores from February 6.
Blocks subscriptions are better value than ever – a one-year print subscription in the UK is just £64.90, for a saving of £52.10. If you take one out this week, you’ll get a FREE LEGO Artemis poster!
When I saw this picture on Facebook earlier today I thought it was some AI-generated joke, given how totally ridiculous it looks, but apparently it's a thing: Crocs shaped like LEGO bricks are coming.
According to Fashion Network they'll be available from mid-February priced at $150, and they'll include a minifigure with several pairs of its own Crocs to wear.
View a video of someone wearing them in which you can see how impractical they are after the break.
A new addition to LEGO's most popular range of sets for adults has been revealed. Here's the product description:
11503 Flower Wall
879 pieces, rated 18+
£79.99 / €89.99 / $89.99 Available at LEGO.com from 1st February
Set your inner gardener free as you create a flower trellis with this LEGO Botanicals Flower Wall (11503) building set for adults.
Flex your green fingers as you create the wall frame and build the colourful artificial flowers. The set includes 2 big camellias, 3 small camellias, 2 clematis, 3 ranunculus, 2 faux red roses, 1 hydrangea, 3 cornflowers, 2 mimosa branches, 2 waxflower branches and 2 big leaves that you can arrange on the wall in any combination you would like.
Once complete, the DIY set becomes a colourful piece of 3D wall art decor that can be displayed in landscape or portrait orientation. You can also connect the frame to additional frames (sold separately) to create a larger, more extravagant display.
Creator 3-in-1 animal sets are among my favourites, and given that seven of the nine boxed Creator sets released this month build cute (and not so cute) critters, I can't be the only one who likes them.
That's not surprising, because they offer everything a good LEGO set should: creativity, a versatile selection of parts, and excellent value for money, all traits that are becoming increasingly rare nowadays, especially the last one.
31376 Cute Hamster with a Flower is one of the two just released that cost less than a tenner, and it's so cute you'll want to cuddle it...
40915 Lion Dance is now available as a gift with purchase at LEGO.com, free when you spend in excess of £135 / $150 / €150 between now and next Wednesday, 28th January.
The spectacular set, which celebrates the Chinese New Year, contains four minifigures and 480 pieces, and is valued at £24.99 / $29.99.