LEGO has teamed up with The Pokemon Company for a fresh wave of sets that add real-time reactions to classic construction play. Twelve new SMART Play sets go on pre-order today and reach stores August 1, 2026. The line mixes brick-built Pokemon figures with a special hub brick that reads tags hidden in the models and responds with lights and sounds tailored to whatever scene a builder creates.
Every Flavor of Robot built Etchbot to stand out at the OpenSauce event. The machine sketches a complete portrait on a regular Etch-a-Sketch in roughly sixty seconds. It also accepts video files and renders them by sketching one frame after another while a camera records each result. The finished time-lapse clips show the classic toy screen updating rapidly enough to convey motion.
Art lovers searching for a meaningful summer project will enjoy the LEGO Ideas Vincent van Gogh The Starry Night set, priced at $136 (was $170). This 2,316-piece model turns the 1889 painting into a three-dimensional display that captures the original’s swirling energy in brick form. The project began as a fan submission on the LEGO Ideas platform. Designer Truman Cheng translated the famous canvas into a build that uses clever layering instead of flat mosaics.
Crostplay2 spent six months transforming the official LEGO Wall-E set into a robot that actually moves and responds on its own. Pixar fans everywhere know the official set looks perfect on a shelf yet stays completely still once assembled. Crostplay2 decided to change that completely by adding electronics, custom parts, and precise controls that bring the little trash-compacting character to life. The finished robot drives around smoothly, tilts its head, waves its arms, plays sounds from the movie, and even lights up in different patterns, all operated from a distance with a PlayStation 4 controller.
EngBroken started with an ordinary cheap Rubik’s Cube and a question. What would happen if someone tried to build one completely on their own, without relying on factory parts or store shelves? That simple curiosity stretched into an eight-month project centered on injection molding every single piece.
Builders who pick up the box for LEGO Icons The Lord of the Rings Minas Tirith (set #11377) will be in for a treat, since this is one of the company’s largest sets ever. An impressive 8,278 pieces snap together to produce a model standing 23+ inches tall, 25 inches wide, and 14.5 inches deep. For those in the know, early access to this beast begins on June 1st for LEGO Insiders for $649.99, with the rest of us receiving it on June 4th.
A dozen toothy grins stare out from every direction on a sphere the size of a beach ball. Soft fabric covers the outer shell while the heads shift and turn in coordinated waves. Labububot glides across flat surfaces, changes direction with a gentle tilt, and draws people closer just by moving.
Builders looking for a compact LEGO set that feels true to its source material will find plenty to enjoy here. Speed Champions sets often stick to real-world racers, yet this one steps into film territory and nails the DeLorean from Back to the Future without missing a beat. At 357 pieces, set number 77256, priced at $23.49 (was $28), stays small enough to finish in an evening, yet every major screen detail shows up right where it belongs.
Cycling enthusiasts who spend their free time creating with LEGO bricks now have a model that replicates the sensation of a real road bike, down to the last detail. The new LEGO Icons Road Bike set (#11380) allows you to create a complete replica from 1,015 pieces. Standing at 24-inches long and 14.2-inches tall on its small pedestal, this item measures over two feet from end to end and is a 7.5-inches wide, making it just big enough to notice on a desk or shelf without taking over.
Today, Hasbro announced a life-size addition to their Star Wars lineup. The new Ultimate Grogu animatronic stands 14.6 inches tall and weighs almost nine pounds. This figure’s soft fabrics that cover the entire body and head will provide you with a very lifelike sensation. The ears, in particular, have a spongy feel to them and even allow some light to show through, which is a wonderful touch.