The end of 2023 is now here and according to Brickset, there have been about 921 LEGO products that have been released this year. Here’s the shortlist of my top five sets as well as top five flops of the year. Of course, this is my opinion and your list may differ widely.
TOP SETS OF 2023
LEGO The Lord of the Rings Rivendell (10316)
The Lord of the Rings theme came back in a very unexpected way. Instead of releasing a small wave of sets, we get one of the biggest sets that LEGO has produced in a while. The 6,167 piece set featured a very nice representation of Rivendell that was highly detailed with scenes from the movies.
LEGO Icons Eldorado Fortress (10320)
I’m a big fan of nostalgia and LEGO has been hitting the mark with these classic-style inspired sets the past few years. Eldorado Fortress gives the old-school feel of the 1989 set but with a modernized finish. The addition of the pirate galleon is also appreciated because it basically gives you another set as it was based one from the Imperial Trading Post (6277).
LEGO Indiana Jones Temple of the Golden Idol (77015)
Indiana Jones is one of my favorite movie series and I wasn’t back into the hobby when the first sets were released but back in April, LEGO came back with three more Indiana Jones sets. My favorite of the three was the Temple of the Golden Idol simply because it features some of the main opening scenes from Raiders of the Lost Ark in a display layout.
LEGO Friends Botanical Garden (41757)
I usually don’t collect LEGO Friends sets but the Botanical Garden caught my eye when it was first revealed. LEGO has been killing it with the revamped theme with lots of very nice sets that equals or sometimes surpasses buildings from other themes. It’s no wonder why this set has been out of stock or backordered since its release back in June.
LEGO Disney 100 ‘Up’ House (43217)
You can see a running theme on this list with LEGO sets featuring older things. Up is one of my favorite Disney movies and even if LEGO didn’t send this set for me to review, I would’ve bought it anyways. It’s a very colorful rendition of Carl and Ellie’s house and it even comes with the main characters minus Kevin.
Honorable Mention: LEGO Jurassic Park Dilophosaurus Ambush (76958)
I actually had six favorite sets from 2023 but I couldn’t leave this one out. It shows one of the more iconic scenes from Jurassic Park and the jeep looks great. One thing that hasn’t been mentioned much about this set is Nedry’s licensed Barbasol can that is printed. As of right now, this set is the only place to get it and will most likely be the only set to have it in the foreseeable future.
TOP FLOPS OF 2023
LEGO Marvel Studios Collectible Minifigures (71039)
My main thing about this set isn’t about the minifigures themselves but about the box packaging. This was the first series to have it and not surprisingly fans were met with open packages in stores right after release. Not only couldn’t you feel for them like with before, you would be lucky to even find ones that weren’t opened. To find certain characters, some people even suggest bringing a scale to the store to weigh them. I think this is absurd and is usually frowned upon especially in the trading card community. I would just save some time and buy them individually on the secondary market.
LEGO Star Wars Chewbacca (75371)
Sorry to the designer but I think this thing is just plain ugly and scary. The details on it is barely passable with the sloped and curved bricks for the fur but that’s pretty much it. And let’s not start with the face.
LEGO Marvel Captain America’s Shield (76262)
I really do like the LEGO artifact sets as I like to call them but this one is just boring and repetitive to me. Imagine building the round frame section 17 times and the sections on the front of the shield 36 times. It’s no wonder why LEGO couldn’t sell this set even with the $40 coupon during the Insiders Weekend promotions.
LEGO Marvel The Hoopty (76232)
I’m not sure what’s going on with this 420 piece set but it definitely does not warrant the $90 price point. I can swallow it the price if it was $40-$50 but $90 is just crazy to think about. The Marvels was the lowest grossing film in the MCU and pretty much bombed in the box office. I can see this set sitting on shelves until it gets retired in which it’ll be discounted significantly before that. Hopefully it does hit a 50% discount because I really don’t think it’ll sell with a 30% sale or even at 40%.
LEGO Ideas BTS Dynamite (21339)
Although BTS is one of the biggest Korean bands, this set didn’t seem to hit the mark with fans in the west. The set literally released at the wrong time as all of the members enlisted for their required military service and won’t be back as a group until 2025. Therefore, there was no hype for it since they can’t promote it. Considering what other projects LEGO could’ve made instead, they clearly dropped the ball here although they wouldn’t have guessed that BTS would announce their enlistment at the same time as the release.
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