If collecting LEGO has taught me anything, it’s that not every set deserves the same level of enthusiasm.
Some sets arrive and immediately cause financial panic. Before you’ve even checked your bank balance, you’re already mentally rearranging shelves, cancelling imaginary plans and wondering which internal organs can legally be sold for display space.
Other LEGO sets are undeniably cool, but not “full price and no regrets” cool. They’re the kind of sets that can wait patiently for a sale or a double Insider’s points weekend.
And then there are the sets that make you stare at the product page in silence, trying to understand what happened. Who approved this? Who hurt them? Why does it look like that?
Welcome back to Build It, Brick It, Bin It, where I sort LEGO sets into three highly scientific categories.
Build It: The sets I’d buy immediately. Take my money.
Brick It: The sets I want, but only once the price starts behaving.
Bin It: The sets that have personally offended me and my ancestors.
As always, these are entirely my opinions. If your favourite LEGO set lands in Bin It, please remember that LEGO is about creativity, imagination, and not throwing bricks at your favourite Arielle.
Thank you.
Build It
The LEGO Sets I’d Buy Immediately.
LEGO Botanicals Hanging Golden Pothos
Pieces: 372
Check It Out Here
The LEGO Botanicals Hanging Golden Pothos is exactly the kind of set that makes me think LEGO has been quietly studying my weaknesses from a distance.
This 372-piece build recreates the popular houseplant as a minimalist display piece, complete with a clean white pot and movable leaves and stems. It can also be built in two different ways, either with longer hanging vines for a shelf or shorter vines for a coffee table, desk or countertop display.
Basically, it’s a houseplant for people who love plants but have the survival rate of a Victorian ghost when it comes to actual greenery.
Why It’s Build It
You know what’s better than a hanging plant? A hanging plant that cannot be killed by my complete inability to remember watering schedules.
The LEGO Botanicals range has quietly become one of my favourite things LEGO makes, and this Hanging Golden Pothos might be one of its prettiest additions yet. It’s clean, simple and stylish enough to look like actual decor rather than a toy awkwardly pretending to be decor.
LEGO Botanicals Dark Flower Arrangement
Pieces: 562
Check It Out Here
The LEGO Botanicals Dark Flower Arrangement takes the usual bright bouquet idea and sends it directly into its gothic era.
This 562-piece set lets you build a dramatic floral display filled with darker-toned blooms, including tulips, roses, an anemone, petunia, dahlia, blue mistflower and pimpernel, along with green leaves to tie everything together. The modular design also means you can arrange the flowers however you like or combine them with other LEGO Botanicals sets to create something even more elaborate.
It’s elegant, moody and just a little bit theatrical, which is exactly the energy I want from fake flowers.
Why It’s Build It:
Whoever at LEGO decided flowers needed a gothic phase deserves a raise. Bright bouquets are lovely, sure, but these dark blooms have personality. They’re dramatic. They’re moody.
They look like the sort of flowers Morticia Addams would proudly display on her dining room table.
As somebody whose entire aesthetic leans heavily toward “haunted bookshop with good lighting,” this set feels like it was designed specifically to attack my wallet.
LEGO Star Wars Boba Fett
Pieces: 1,544
Check It Out Here
The LEGO Star Wars Boba Fett figure is a proper adult display set, and that’s exactly what makes it so exciting.
This 1,544-piece build recreates Boba Fett as he appears in Star Wars: Return of the Jedi, complete with detailed armour, his signature helmet, swivelling rangefinder, jetpack, blaster and fabric cape. The finished figure stands over 41 cm tall and comes with a Tatooine-inspired display base, a matching Boba Fett minifigure and an info plaque.
It’s not just another small Star Wars set. It’s a statement piece.
Why It’s Build It:
Finally. This is exactly how I want LEGO to tackle Star Wars display figures.
It isn’t trying to be cute, oversized or weirdly stylised. It’s just Boba Fett looking impossibly cool.
Between the detailed armour, the display base and the fact that he actually looks like someone I’d proudly dedicate shelf space to, this is easily one of the strongest LEGO Star Wars releases in ages.
Brick It
Fantastic Sets That Can Wait For A Sale.
LEGO Pokémon Rayquaza
Pieces: 1,083
Check It Out Here
The LEGO Pokémon Rayquaza set is going to cause problems for many adult Pokémon fans, and by “many adult Pokémon fans,” I mostly mean me.
This 1,083-piece display model recreates the Legendary Flying and Dragon-type Pokémon as it coils around the cloud-covered summit of the Sky Pillar. Rayquaza is posable, with a movable head, arms, body and tail, and it can either be displayed on the base or removed as a standalone figure.
The set also includes Zinnia, complete with an Ultra Ball, which is a nice little nod for fans who want the whole display to feel more complete. It’s bold, dramatic and immediately recognisable.
Why It’s Brick It:
If you’d shown ten-year-old me this set, I would have started crying before demanding my parents remortgage the house.
Rayquaza looks phenomenal. It has height, movement, presence and all the “giant sky dragon” energy you could possibly want from a LEGO Pokémon set.
The only reason it lands in Brick It instead of Build It is because I know, deep in my collector soul, that Pokémon sets will eventually end up on sale somewhere.
Future Arielle can save herself a few hundred rand. Present Arielle just needs to remain strong.
LEGO Pokémon Arcanine
Pieces: 1,190
Check It Out Here
The LEGO Pokémon Arcanine set is one of those builds that immediately makes sense as a display piece.
At 1,190 pieces, it recreates the iconic Fire-type Pokémon with a strong pose, detailed fur, an articulated tail, movable legs, feet, head and mouth. It’s built to look majestic rather than playful, which suits Arcanine perfectly because this is not just a dog. This is a noble fire dog with main character energy.
It’s the kind of LEGO Pokémon set that would look fantastic on a gaming shelf, office desk or display cabinet.
Why It’s Brick It:
This is probably one of the best-looking LEGO Pokémon models so far.
The pose is great, the sculpting captures Arcanine’s fluffy mane surprisingly well, and the whole thing has serious shelf presence. It looks like it belongs in a collector’s space rather than shoved into a corner next to a stack of shamefully unfinished builds.
But if I’m choosing between Arcanine and Rayquaza? Sorry, good dog. Dragon wins.
LEGO Pokémon Munchlax
Pieces: 757
Check It Out Here
The LEGO Pokémon Munchlax set is adorable in the most dangerous way.
This 757-piece model recreates the permanently hungry Pokémon with its round body, cream chest marking, wide snack-ready mouth and movable arms, legs and head. It also comes with a small outdoor display scene featuring a tree stump, an apple and two apple cores, because Munchlax has never once met a snack it didn’t immediately turn into evidence.
It’s cute, compact and packed with personality.
Why It’s Brick It:
Look at him. He’s perfect. He’s just a little guy.
I desperately want this chunky, permanently hungry gremlin sitting on one of my bookshelves, silently judging me every time I walk past with a snack.
But I also know he’ll absolutely end up discounted at some point. Patience, Arielle. Patience.
Bin It
These sets have personally offended me and my ancestors.
LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Herbology Plants
Pieces: 817
Check It Out Here
The LEGO Harry Potter Hogwarts Herbology Plants set brings three magical plants to life: a Mandrake, Fanged Geranium and Mimbulus Mimbletonia.
On paper, it sounds fun. The Mandrake can be pulled from its pot to make its roots shake and mouth move, while the other plants include interactive features that make them bite and pulse. There’s also a table build, decorative vine and earmuffs accessory to complete the Hogwarts Herbology classroom vibe.
It’s clearly designed to be playful, interactive and displayable for Harry Potter fans.
Why It’s Bin It:
I’m sorry. I know they’re magical plants. But all I see is a plant covered in zombie nipples.
You cannot convince me otherwise. I have reached my conclusion, and I will not be taking questions.
LEGO Marvel Spider-Man Hero Figure
Pieces: 813
Check It Out Here
The LEGO Marvel Spider-Man Hero Figure is a large, highly posable version of everyone’s favourite web-slinger, based on Spider-Man: Brand New Day.
Standing over 36 cm tall, the 813-piece figure includes 24 points of articulation, right down to movable fingers. It also comes with detachable web pieces, a nameplate and a Spider-Man minifigure for display or play.
Technically, it has a lot going for it. It’s big, poseable and packed with movement.
Why It’s Bin It:
Spider-Man is one of my favourite superheroes. Which somehow makes this hurt even more.
His proportions are weird. His feet are enormous. He looks like he’s halfway through discovering puberty and hasn’t figured out how limbs work yet.
I understand what LEGO was going for here. A large, poseable Spider-Man figure should be an instant win. But this one just looks awkward.
Like Peter Parker got bitten by a radioactive spider and then immediately had a growth spurt in only his feet. Somewhere, Peter Parker deserves an apology.
LEGO Editions 2026 U.S. Soccer National Team Jersey
Pieces: 167
Check It Out Here
The LEGO Editions 2026 U.S. Soccer National Team Jersey is a small framed display build aimed at football fans and collectors.
The 167-piece set lets fans build a LEGO version of the U.S. national team jersey, complete with printed elements, a sticker sheet for custom numbers and two soccer minifigures wearing different team kits. Once complete, it can be displayed as sports-themed decor.
It’s not a bad idea in theory. Sports fans love merch. LEGO fans love weird little display pieces. Somewhere, there is probably an overlap.
Why It’s Bin It:
I understand football fans. I understand collectors, I am one after all. I understand wanting to celebrate something you love.
What I don’t understand is why I’d ever want a tiny LEGO jersey hanging on my wall. It feels less like a must-have LEGO set and more like the sort of thing you’d find discounted to 80% off in a gift shop six months later.
No thanks.
One of my favourite things about LEGO right now is how wildly unpredictable the catalogue has become.
On one side, you’ve got gorgeous plant decor, dramatic gothic flowers and massive Star Wars display figures. On the other, you’ve got Pokémon models that are clearly engineered to attack my childhood nostalgia with surgical precision.
And then, lurking somewhere in the shadows, you’ve got magical plant nipples, awkward Spider-Man legs and a tiny football jersey.
But that’s part of what makes LEGO so fun.
Not every set needs to appeal to everyone. Some builds are instant must-haves. Some are future sale purchases. And some are there to remind us that even LEGO can have a deeply cursed day at the office.
For me, the clear Build It winners are the Hanging Golden Pothos, Dark Flower Arrangement and Boba Fett. They’re stylish, displayable and exactly the kind of sets I’d happily rearrange my already overcrowded shelves for.
The Pokémon sets? I want them badly, but I want them discounted even more.
As for the Bin It category?
I said what I said.
Now it’s your turn. Which of these LEGO sets would land in your Build It, Brick It and Bin It categories? And please, for the love of all things plastic, tell me I’m not the only one seeing those nipples.
