The Reader

The torso print of the steampunk balloon pilot has some identical details as the torso print of the steampunk inventor from CMF S27: the gauge on the left shoulder and the airtank on the back (balloon pilot) or the chest (inventor) are the same.

Went to my local Lego store today. Got the Monster Hunter and the Ronin. Great minifigures!

Same here. Perfect for a desert expedition.

Yes, it‘s a cool set! Set 60512 gives us a modern explorers‘ truck.

Just saw it in a Lego Store today: The Dragonborn Paladin (without armour) is available as a key chain for 5,99€. Bricklink: https://www.bricklink.com/v2/catalog/catalogitem.page?G=854331#T=S&O={"iconly":0}

Thank you very much!

Thank you very much! I always try to moc with theme-appropriate colours and bicks and pieces.

I have absolutely no idea of the Ninjago lore but I do like your minifigs!

Thank you very much! I did use the baby t-rex with intention to get a connection to the Dino Island sets. That was more important for me than the accurate colour ...

Thank you very much. That's a good interpretation as it could explain the mythical creatures in sets 7411, 7412 and 7413. Like in a fantasy game or role play.

This is my entry for this year's #polybagcontest hosted by @retro.figs over on IG which runs until 31th March 2026: Set "7407", a MOC polybag for the China part of Adventurers' Orient Expedition. It features an ancient Chinese siege cannon with four rounds, a powder barrel, a flag and one Guard from the Dragon Fortress (set 7419), altogether 28 parts and one minifig. Orient Expedition is supposed to have taken place in the year 1925. In my understanding the Emperor (the villian), his Guards and their weapons from the Orient Expedition's China sets 7413, 7416 and 7419 are not depicted in a real, historcal accurate way of 1920s Chinese soldiers, but more in an ancient, fantasy style version of the 17th or 18th century. That's why I choose a classic cannon and not a modern gun for my contest entry. I hope you like it. Comments and critics are welcome as always.

Drinks and gold ... nice shot and a great gang. Love the piratish use of set 43223.

Woohoo ... @Murdoch17 I love it! (From the mid 1990s to the mid 2000s I had a black Beetle convertible with tan top/roof. Unfortuneately I had to sell it what I regret very much today.)

Thank you very much for your feedback and input. I see your point. I'll give it a try. Either adding Jun-Chi or a booby trap - or both ... . Unfortunately the space is very thight on this 8x16 baseplate. And a 16x16 baseplate won't fit on my shelf. Well, we'll see.

Thank you very much for your kind compliment.

Once again a reference to R.R. Slugger and one of his latest videos on YouTube (see link below, the relevant part starts at 10:33): The Adventurers' Orient Expedition runs to three countries, from India to the Himalayas (Tibet) and from there to China. Each of these has four sets: the large temple sets 7417, 7418 and 7419 (with 7419 "Dragon Fortress" beging the largest set) the transport sets 7414, 7415 and 7416 the statue encounter sets 7411, 7412 and 7413 the small introductory sets 7409, 7410 and ... 7420? Well, set 7420 "Tunder Blazer" is very odd. It's a small set which comes after the largest set 7419 which is very unusual. Its set number doesn't fit into the system. A set with the number 7408 would fit much better into the set number count, running from 7408 to 7419, from the smallest to the biggest set. You should definitely watch R.R. Slugger's video to learn more about it. So I tried to create a MOC which could be a suggestion for the "missing" set 7408. What hints did I have for the MOC? It must be situated in China and is not allowed more than 62 parts (as set 7410). As sets 7409 and 7410 both depict some kind of shrines I thought my MOC also should be a small Chinese style shrine. And as the "Dragon Fortress" features a big dragon, this shrine has a small dragon (part 30464, acutally a mould which was introduced in the Adventurers' Dino Island subtheme; unfortunately not in old dark gray but in dark bluish gray). Dr. Lightning is the minifig I added to this shrine together with the classic treasure chest. This MOC has 44 parts and one minifg. I hope you like it. Critics and comments are as always very welcome. R.R. Slugger's video:

As R.R. Slugger pointed out in one of his last videos over on YouTube (see link below), the "Passage of Jun-Chi" (set 7413) isn't really a passage ... Well, I turned my set into a real passage, leading up to the stairs of the Dragon Fortress. I removed the turntable-wall-combo and the statue of Jun-Chi, added some proper doors in black and built an alley with two of those classic castle panels also in black. I'm very pleased how it came out. What do you think? Critics and comments are as always very welcome. R.R. Slugger's video:

That's a very nice line-up!

I quoted the press release because I wasn't aware that one third of TLG's revenues comes from adults. TLG was a toy company but seemingly have changed their portfolio massively. I just didn't know to what extend ...

Yesterday, the annual Toy Fair in Nuremberg/Germany started. See this press release dealing with "toys for kidults": https://www.spielwarenmesse.de/fileadmin/SWM_Dateien/PDF/Presse/Pressemappe/Press_Release_Spielwarenmesse_2026_Toys_for_Kidults_en.pdf Quote (bold by me): So almost one third of the toy market is for (young) adults.

You're right. It's in set 11202 (in tan). I totally missed that. And it's on PaB for 3,07 € ...

Seems we get a new 5w 6w piece (I have to correct myself, I counted wrong) to fit two minifig seats - like the classic Adventurers' cockpit piece. Lets see if we can use it for Adventurers' vehicles.

For me it‘s the change/development from standard bricks and plates (including the headlight brick) in basic colours to the „modern“ sets with their „modern“ parts and building technics of nowadays. I‘m a child of the late 1970s/early 1980s. I had bricks and plates (and some tiles) and was building and playing with them. Building my town, space and castle MOCs gave me endless fun. Building was easy and simple. Endless possibilities and ideas. But with modern parts? Those specialised, tiny 1 by x parts? What other than the original set can a child build with them? This slow change in the design of parts and sets changed LEGO fundamentaly for me. Modern LEGO isn‘t my childhood LEGO anymore.

I share your thoughts. The walls and towers seem to be too small for proper minifig scale.

I'm very lucky now. My PaB order went through. I ordered half a dozen horse and snake knights each (torsos, legs and shields). This is my typical amount of "army" building - one or two knights and four soldiers of a faction. ( I didn't order the horse knight's crown because I think it's too expensive.)