Hey folks and welcome back to another Blog Post here on Firestar Toys! Today I wanted to take the opportunity to reflect on some of my favourite lines which I’ve collected over the years. If you’ve read some of my writing on the site before then you will probably have a good idea of the kinds of themes I enjoy, but there might be one or two surprises!
Remember that this post is entirely based on my opinion, and the media I enjoy consuming. If your favourite LEGO theme doesn’t make it onto my list then that doesn’t mean it isn’t great; it just means it’s not something that I personally collect. Do leave your choices and your favourite themes in the comments below – it’s always interesting to see what other people think!
LEGO Modular
I weighed up whether I would start with the city line or the Modular line in this Blog Post, but the truth is that when I think of premium city building, the Modular line creates a much more unique appearance for a LEGO city. Before you call me crazy, let me explain why I think the Modular line works so well for city builders!
Firstly, the sets are fundamentally designed to be consistent in terms of their sidewalks and rough sizes, meaning they complement each other well when displayed together. The buildings are also all drastically different from each other in terms of the purpose they serve, and the aesthetic design they have. The Diner, for example, contrasts well with the more recent Museum set. All of this creates a city which feels vibrant and full of character.
Sure, City sets are a lot more affordable – but if you’re a serious city builder, than money likely isn’t an obstacle, and the only way to create a city which displays well is to go the route of the Modular line. I certainly wish I had more of these gorgeous builds!
LEGO Marvel
OK I know…you saw this one coming! The truth is I grew up with the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the LEGO sets created based on the films helped me to bring home my favourite moments from the films. I remember having so many great sets as I grew up – from Civil War’s Airport Battle, to the original Avengers Quinjet and much more.
I’ll be honest with you – I don’t think the Marvel line is living up to its lofty heights nowadays. Whilst I love the large-scale D2C sets which have been made in recent memory, and sets like the recent Quinjet and Milano are gorgeous, I do think that LEGO could go back to giving us more variety in build styles. And considering it is my favourite film from the entire MCU, I still believe we need sets from Captain America: The Winter Soldier. I’m waiting for my stealth-suit Captain America minifigure LEGO. Tick tock.
LEGO Star Wars
The Star Wars theme has to be one of the most popular and divisive themes amongst LEGO fans. It should be no surprise to collectors that I also grew up with Star Wars: The Clone Wars – a time which I fondly look back on as the golden age of LEGO Star Wars. I can remember some of the incredible army builder sets we got, the unique and large-scale vehicles, and the plethora of awesome minifigures.
Star Wars has seen a lot of attention recently, and I personally love what LEGO are doing. They have once again returned to the army-building roots of this line with some fantastic recent examples, but have also given us new and unique build types such as their buildable spaceships. I’ve loved seeing the Star Wars line grow, and can’t wait to see what comes next.
P.S. I always need new variants of Clone Troopers.
LEGO IDEAS
I still think that the LEGO Ideas line gets the award for the most creative sub-theme that LEGO have come up with. I can’t quite imagine how incredible it must be to create your own idea for a set, and go through the process of creating it with the actual people behind the product you love. It must have been a dream-come-true for so many of the creators involved in the scheme – but that isn’t all to love.
Thanks to the LEGO Ideas theme we have got so many unique licenses represented in LEGO over the years – including Doctor Who, Back To The Future, Ghostbusters, Zelda and Jaws. These are all franchises which would probably have never got the LEGO treatment otherwise, so it’s fair to say that IDEAS has been an incredible medium through which LEGO have been able to bring us some truly special sets.
LEGO Icons
The LEGO Icons line featured a lot throughout the price category blogs I wrote, but it is for good reason. The Icons line does exactly what it says on the tin – it captures iconic locations and creations within the LEGO format. This in itself is nothing new, but what I love about the move to rebrand this subtheme into ‘Icons’ is the amount of detail which has come with it.
We’ve talked about the Eiffel Tower and Coliseum builds before, and they are just two examples of incredible recreations of real-life locations which dial the detail and intricacy up to another level entirely. I adore when LEGO finds a way to create builds which don’t look inherently LEGO in their nature as that adds a whole new layer of ‘wow factor’ in my opinion, and the Icons line is certainly one where this wow factor is prevalent!
LEGO Botanical Collection
Lastly in this blog post, I wanted to highlight a sub theme which I fell in love with when I was working on my previous series of ‘Best’ blog posts. The Botanical Collection is a line which I had never really encountered much before doing that deep dive series, but I have to admit that I was in awe of the creativity and ingenuity which the designers working on that line show.
What I love so much about the Botanical Collection is how creatively unique LEGO elements are repurposed. There are things which might be used on minifigures or animals which suddenly get a new purpose as a part of a plant, and I think that is incredibly creative. Creativity really is at the heart of LEGO and LEGO collecting – we all buy these things because we like to build and experiment with new techniques, so it is awesome to see a theme which encapsulates that so perfectly.
I hope you’ve enjoyed a bit of a deep dive into some of my favourite LEGO themes. I am always overwhelmed (in a good way!) by just how much LEGO has grown to cover so many different themes and topics. Many of the products we have today are things which I would have never imagined LEGO making when I was younger.
Now, I want to hand it over to you! Are any of the themes I’ve mentioned in this list your favourites? Or, are you a fan of some of the different LEGO themes which are out there? Let me know your opinion in the comments below, and stay tuned for another blog post very soon!
