Looking to top up your collection with awesome new Lego sets, or find a gift for that block-building obsessive in your life? We’ve got you covered – this guide tracks the best new Lego sets 2023 has brought us so far. We’ve selected quite a range – from handsome display pieces for adult construction toy fans, through to classic affordable playthings (with a fantastic Star Wars Lego set in the mix, too).
Shiny new Lego sets aren’t all the brand has to offer, though. If you’re more concerned by heft than release date, check out our guide to the biggest Lego sets ever released. Prefer your sets to evoke memories of a certain far, far away galaxy? Then you’ll want to head to our best Star Wars Lego sets spotlight. Feeling flush? Our round-up of the world’s most expensive Lego sets is there to startle your wallet.
These are the best Lego sets in 2023 so far:
Lego Land Rover Classic Defender 90
If the Lego Land Rover Classic Defender 90 inspired a modest double take when you first laid eyes on it, you may be thinking of the 2019 Technic Land Rover Discovery. That set was big, and good – and imperfect. A little lacking in nuance, perhaps. This time around we get a brilliantly detailed new Lego set draped in all manner of diminutive offroading accessories and stylish flourishes. It’s eye-catching, quietly elaborate, and brilliantly finished.
This Lego Land Rover is very much a display piece, with its 18-plus recommended age rating in combination with a 2336-part tally absolutely asserting it’s Lego for adults. And yet there’s something about it that speaks to childhood Lego experiences. Building a robust, chunky vehicle? That’s about as purebred Lego as it gets. In other words, it’s as if one of the sets from your youth has grown up. And it’s aged very handsomely indeed.
Lego The New Guardians’ Ship
Released to coincide with the Guardians of the Galaxy Volume 3 movie, Lego The New Guardians’ Ship might not stay on your display shelf for long. It’s certainly one for adults and kids alike, and as well as being perfect for building together across the generations, it’s a superb plaything.
You’ve surely already noticed by now; it’s a fantastic-looking creation. That’s thanks in part to the bold colour scheme that helps it pop in front of any background it is set before. But equally, there are so many stylish lines and captivating building techniques to delight the eye. And with two detachable mini spacecraft and all kinds of hidden and internal details, it’s a very hard set to put down once you’ve finished it.
Lego Monkey King Ultra Mech
The Lego-created TV show Monkey Kid hasn’t had quite the impact in the West that Ninjago has achieved, but it has spun out some attention-grabbing sets that stand out on the shelves of any local toy shop. That’s never been truer than with the towering Lego Monkey King Ultra Mech.
One of the most imposing, visually sumptuous and sizable Lego mechs ever, this Monkey Kid monster is packed with smart ideas, and brings tremendous play value. Its coolest feature? That must be the fact the mech’s various weapons and accessories can be removed and combined together to make a jet for one of the included Minifigures. Like the New Guardians’ Ship above, it’s also great for intergenerational building; and it might be even harder to leave on the display shelf.
Lego Fighter Plane Chase
We’ve said it before, and we will say it again. Lego sets don’t need to be monstrously big, complicated, or expensive to be brilliant. And there’s a chance that most of us are going to find it much more achievable to purchase a $30 set than a $300 one. In fact, conjure up a distant memory of a day from your childhood playing with Lego, and you’re probably imagining a box that sits in one hand. OK – and that one time you got a huge flip front big box set.
And for $34.99 (£29.99), the Indiana Jones-themed Lego Fighter Plane Chase set gets you a lot of entertainment, a snappy, lively build process, and an extremely play-worthy set. It includes a plane, a car, a slighter of scenery, plenty of accessories, and three Minifigures, including Indy himself. Simply put, the part count to fun ratio is off the chart in the builder’s favour.
Lego Endor Speeder Chase Diorama
If there’s a brick-based round-up feature being published, a new Star Wars Lego set usually secures a place on the list. We almost managed to resist for this article… but then we familiarised ourselves with the Lego Endor Speeder Chase Diorama, which captures not just one of the most iconic scenes from George Lucas’ world, but also one of cinema’s greatest chase scenes.
There have been Lego speeder bikes before, absolutely. There have been some great ones, in fact. The Chase Diorama isn’t vast in piece count or size, and its compact form means it doesn’t bristle with an abundance of detail. Yet the set capably snapshots some Star Wars magic, as part of a wider series of brick-based dioramas that reproduce favourite moments from the films. It’s a joy to build, and a lot is achieved with the brick count provided. Ultimately, this set gives you a tidy display piece without having to invest too many hours or hard-earned coins, and we love it for that.
Lego Art Hokusai – The Great Wave
The Lego Art theme has delivered a number of striking pieces designed to sit on your wall, from the vast World Map that made our guide to the biggest Lego sets ever, to the famed Rolling Stones lips logo. But no Lego Art set has ever quite harnessed the strengths of illustrating in plastic bricks as much as the recent Lego Art Hokusai – The Great Wave set. Based on the infinitely iconic 1831 woodblock print ‘The Great Wave off Kanagawa’, it uses Lego pieces to bring a gentle dose of the third dimension to the image.
Small white parts in particular suggest the churned foam thrown up by throthing seas, while panel pieces emphasise the effect of several layers of waves and mountains coexisting. We won’t say it’s an improvement on one of the most important pieces of art ever created. But Lego’s own Great Wave does some amazing things in gently nudging its source material away from the pancake flat.
Lego Jazz Club
If there was ever a set that said ‘Lego targets adult builders’, it must be 2023’s Lego Jazz Club. Because let’s face it; how many youngsters count John Coltrane’s A Love Supreme amongst their favourite albums, or dream of slouching beatnik-style in a smokey jazz den? Probably not many.
So here we find ourselves with an extension of the consistently delightful Lego ‘model building’ series. That means if you already own any sets from the line, you can neatly attach the Jazz Club to your undersized high street. And what a set it is, from the detail, colour scheme, signage and clean lines of the facia, to the interior rooms, each of which presents a jazz-inspired diorama scene. And the entire thing is free from drifting clouds of cigarillo smoke.
Lego Vintage Motorcycle
No official theme quite represents the true spirit of Lego quite like the Creator range. While Creator brings a focus on classic bricks and non-licensed traditional building fodder like cars and houses and planes, it also leans into modern construction methods and mindsets. Indeed, in almost every case there are no Minifigures in Creator kits.
The Lego Vintage Motorcycle does a lot with a little. Over half as cheap as the Fighter Plane Chase, and plenty smaller, it is still gorgeous, display-worthy, and rich in smart ideas. And there’s no doubt the final form is a classic motorbike rather than a modern machine. And yet, being a 3-in-1 set, you get instructions for a modern street racing bike and a minimalist drag racer. Not bad for a shade under $15 (£13).
Lego Technic Firefighter Aircraft
Over the past decade, the Technic theme has come on leaps and bounds, cementing its distinction from standard ‘System’ Lego through a focus on function. The likes of working gearboxes, customisable Bluetooth remote control, elaborate pneumatic systems and geometry that carefully replicates real engineering are all familiar to Technic devotees. At the same time, what most Technic builders want is distinct contraptions. And yet there have been a lot of fairly similar cars from the Technic team in the last handful of years.
Fortunately, 2023 has so far delivered one particularly interesting vehicle; the Lego Technic Firefighter Aircraft, which lets you construct adjustable landing gear, moving tail flaps, and a playful ‘water dump’ feature which lets you drop off a collection of blue Lego parts. It’s a fair whopper, and it’s equally not too complex, making it an ideal gateway to the dazzling world of Technic, or a perfect set to gift to a younger aspiring engineer.
Source: Wargamer
