LEGO January 1 releases over £50: Everything you need to know before you buy 

Our next round-up of some of the most talked-about LEGO sets launching on January 1 focuses on those priced firmly in the mid-range.

With LEGO sets seeming to become increasingly expensive, these sets should serve as a reminder that there are still many in the mid-range of prices that prove more affordable. Which ones should be Day One purchases, and which ones might be best to wait on?

We've broken down everything you need to know about the highlights in this price range below. Plus, click here for a similar look at sets priced over £100.

21064 Paris – City of Love

Despite the French capital having been the focus of a few previous LEGO sets, 21064 Paris – City of Love really does bring something new to the party. Seemingly taking a leaf out of LEGO Art’s playbook, the 958-piece LEGO Architecture model delivers a stunning 3D skyline that offers up more of an overall feeling of the iconic location, rather than an accurate take on its many famous buildings.

Combining familiar tourist sites such as the Eiffel Tower, Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, Arc de Triomphe and the Louvre, the LEGO Architecture build is contained within a simple white frame, making 21064 Paris – City of Love perfect for displaying either on a shelf or desk and even a wall thanks to its included hanger element.

Coming in at £69.99 / $79.99 / €79.99, 21064 Paris – City of Love represents a decent entry point to the theme and it’s easy to imagine that the model might well provide a suitable template for any more potentially future sets, should this approach become its own subtheme.

“21064 Paris – City of Love delivers a fresh take on a familiar location, thanks to some clever use of forced perspective and new elements usage, but traditional Architecture fans may be better off elsewhere.”

Brick Fanatics

Our verdict: This won’t be a set for all LEGO Architecture fans, but it’ll likely find a target audience that will appreciate the model’s simplistic approach

31218 Japanese Cherry Blossom Landscape

From the very first image reveal of 31218 Japanese Cherry Blossom Landscape, there was no doubt that it was going to be a winner in terms of aesthetics – and then comes the surprisingly affordable price, at just under £100. It's the culmination of how far the LEGO Art theme has come, embodying powerful but simple building techniques to great effect.

Just like a real painting, it uses forced perspective to add extra depth to an already 3D masterpiece. There's fluidity in the water, there's vibrancy in the sunset, and the physical details of the birds, trees, and the architecture round off 31218 Japanese Cherry Blossom Landscape to make a near-perfect set.

“I really like this set. It was a good build, and it wasn't overly complex. There's nothing crazy about the building techniques and nothing we haven't seen before, but it was fun and relaxing, which I think was the intention. It looks great, it's honestly a piece of art – a piece of LEGO Art.”

Bricksie

Our verdict: Straightforward enough for new LEGO builders and richly detailed enough for collectors, it's hard to think of someone who wouldn't love 31218 Japanese Cherry Blossom Landscape

11504 Peace Lily

As befits the LEGO Botanicals theme, 11504 Peace Lily is yet another realistic flora recreation, one that once again manages to deliver a very satisfying and mindful building experience. With 474 pieces for £54.99 / $49.99 / €59.99, it’s also a model that won’t break the bank, yet still offers enough depth for those looking to expand their existing collection of brick-built plants or try out the theme for the first time.

While the main stumbling block with 11504 Peace Lily is its slightly dull and basic appearance, the LEGO Botanicals design team has at least tried to work up a clever build for the pot that comes with the set. However, that’s unlikely to deter dedicated fans who are after a mid-range set from the theme and it also accurately reflects the look of what is a fairly simple plant in real life.

Where 11504 Peace Lily does succeed is in its ability to blend in well to the background of any room it’s placed in, which is what many LEGO Botanicals fans will be after, so the model should easily manage to find its target audience.

““This one may struggle to pull in a wider audience for the dryness of it, but it rewards those who build it and it does blend very well into the background of any room it is put in.”

Brick Fanatics

Our verdict: An affordable and simple addition to the LEGO Botanicals theme, but one that still delivers just what’s expected of such a build

76463 Hogwarts Castle: Hospital Wing

The next major instalment in the most detailed LEGO Hogwarts ever comes in the form of 76463 Hogwarts Castle: Hospital Wing. Three floors pick out different rooms from the wizarding school, many of which are visited for the first time. That includes the Ravenclaw common room at the very top, and goes down to Professor Lupin's classroom in the basement, encased in a rocky outcrop that blends the castle with the mountain landscape.

The brick-built Boggart designed to look like a spider on roller skates is a particular delight in a set that has a lot to love. That said, it struggles to succeed as a standalone set, but will be a welcome addition if you're collecting all the modern minifigure-scale Hogwarts sets.

“I love how tall this is. The LEGO Group put a ton of detail in from the outside, like the rockwork, the exterior design, and the windows as well.”

Swift Bricks

Our verdict: 76463 Hogwarts Castle: Hospital Wing has a lot to love, but it's hard to see the appeal unless you've got at least a few other sets from the collection

11372 Autumn Cottage Garden

The 1,102-piece 11372 Autumn Cottage Garden is the cosiest LEGO Icons Gardens of the World set yet, seemingly taking inspiration from Northern Europe. The set features a river running through it, a small cottage with a gnome outside and modular plants to rearrange the appearance of the build, returning from 10359 Fountain Garden.

At £99.99 / $119.99 / €109.99, 11372 Autumn Cottage Garden presents acceptable value on paper, but with an array of smaller elements, it’s not too generous either. The finished result certainly looks cosy and inviting, but reviews tell the full story.

“11372 Autumn Cottage Garden, however, is a welcome return to form. A winding river path framed by tall trees, plus a cottage with its door invitingly ajar, creates an immersive, visually captivating scene reminiscent of the Tranquil Garden.”

New Elementary

Our verdict: 11372 Autumn Cottage Garden represents a return to form for the collection after the exceedingly different Fountain Garden last year

76342 Spider-Man vs. Mysterio: The Daily Bugle

LEGO Marvel's replacement for the retired 76178 Daily Bugle scales down the building to be at the same scale as the mini modular street, while offering an architectural makeover. This facelift is a big part of what makes 76342 Spider-Man vs. Mysterio: The Daily Bugle stand out compared to the last Daily Bugle, and the other current mini modular Marvel buildings.

76342 Spider-Man vs. Mysterio: The Daily Bugle comes with seven minifigures, three of which are new and one of which reuses some rare parts. Mysterio, Rhino and Venomized Captain America are the stars, and there’s enough minifigures to populate inside and out of the building, as well as transparent stands to pose them.

“Taken individually, this set might seem a bit basic for what it offers, but when considered within the context of the larger playset currently on the market, this Daily Bugle isn't so bad after all. I really like the visual identity of this playable New York for young fans; I find the compromise between the limited inventory and the final product very appealing.”

Hoth Bricks

Our verdict: 76342 Spider-Man vs. Mysterio: The Daily Bugle embodies a fresh visual identity, plus an exclusive minifigure – but that price means you’re probably better off waiting for at least some discount on the build

71858 Four Weapons Blacksmith

One of several LEGO NINJAGO 15th anniversary sets launching in January is 71858 Four Weapons Blacksmith. This building is one of the first locations we see in the pilot episodes, yet it has never received a proper LEGO recreation. The original blacksmith set didn’t quite do the building justice, but 71858 Four Weapons Blacksmith is here to finally deliver.

At 1,259 pieces and six minifigures for £89.99 / $99.99 / €99.99, the size of the set itself has been met with disappointment online. The building measures 23cm wide and 16cm deep, and for some that’s not big enough compared to the price. Despite this, early reviews of the model tell a much different story.

“NINJAGO fans have been waiting for a definitive recreation of the blacksmith shop and 71858 Four Weapons Blacksmith absolutely delivers. I think the designer has struck an ideal balance between architectural detail and accuracy to the television series, particularly given the relative subtlety of the many references included.”

Brickset

Our verdict: 71858 Four Weapons Blacksmith is a dense build packed with detail, and the minifigures are the cherry on top of a
promising package for NINJAGO’s 15th anniversary

75440 AT-AT

LEGO Star Wars’ midi-scale Starship Collection comes back down to Hoth with a bang in 75440 AT-AT, realising the Imperial walker at a display-friendly scale. It’s difficult to find many (if any) flaws in the design here, with the AT-AT pretty much perfectly proportioned, posed as if it’s stumbling across the icy plains of Hoth and even a tiny Snowspeeder with a tow cable in the process of bringing it down.

If there’s a fault to find at all, it’s – inevitably – with the price. £59.99 / $64.99 / €64.99 is somehow higher than 40806 Gingerbread AT-AT Walker, which includes nearly 150 more pieces and a minifigure. 75440 AT-AT feels like it’s priced for the inevitable discount, so play the LEGO Group at its own game by holding out and waiting for it.

“Regardless of whether you have the play-scale AT-AT, the UCS version, there’s just something special with this midi-scale version of the walker. It’s cute, it’s fun, it’s a great build, very dynamic, looks great on the shelf, looks great on the desk. It’s a great one… just not for $65.”

Solid Brix Studios

Our verdict: The price is the only limiting factor on this unique and well-executed addition to the midi-scale range

76464 Cauldron: Secret Potions Classroom

76464 Cauldron: Secret Potions Classroom hides a secret classroom inside a brick-built cauldron, complete with overflowing potion bubbles and a stirring wand. It's a rare LEGO Harry Potter set that doesn't include the boy wizard himself, instead putting talented potion makers Hermione and Snape head-to-head inside.

It utilises hinge functions that have been very popular in the past to hide the interior details, tucking away two tiny potion classroom dioramas. They really are tiny, making play quite fiddly – something that is hard to swallow for the price point of £54.99.

“It's all quite convincing, with both a successful exterior appearance and an interior layout that allows for a wide variety of furniture and accessories. The playability is somewhat limited, but you can still stage scenes with the included characters.”

Hoth Bricks

Our verdict: 76464 Cauldron: Secret Potions Classroom had lofty goals, but doesn't deliver on enough of them to warrant that price, so it's probably worth waiting for a discount.

75441 Venator-Class Attack Cruiser

When 75404 Acclamator-class Assault Ship dropped in January 2025, it seemed to preclude a Venator at the same scale any time soon. But the LEGO Star Wars team is apparently happy to debut two quite similar Republic capital ships in the Starship Collection within 12 months of one another, which brings us to January 2026’s 75441 Venator-Class Attack Cruiser.

If you don’t have the budget or space for the UCS version of this Clone Wars-era cruiser, the midi-scale version is going to be your best friend this January… as long as you can get past the surprisingly saggy design, which sees the panels on the underside droop slightly after only a short period of time on display. It’s otherwise spot on for the source material and even includes a couple of tiny Easter eggs inside.

"I've noticed a few weak points on the ship's wings, where the clutch power isn't always very convincing on some pieces, but this is a display model not intended for handling by young children. Otherwise, in my opinion, it's flawless aesthetically, and only the retail price might give some fans pause. LEGO is selling this model for €80, so as usual, you'll have to wait to find it cheaper elsewhere than on the official online store to combine it with LEGO Star Wars 75377 Invisible Hand."

Hoth Bricks

Our verdict: An easier day-one sell than some other LEGO Star Wars sets, particularly if you’ve been staring longingly at the UCS version since 2023

42221 NASA Artemis Space Launch System Rocket

One of the most affordable LEGO Technic sets in the January 2026 wave, 42221 NASA Artemis Space Launch System Rocket is also a build that packs in some of the most impressive functionality. The 632-piece model features a crank handle that can be turned to simulate the three key stages of the rocket taking off, which proves to be very satisfying in execution.

That motion includes the LEGO Technic vehicle leaving the launch pad, the solid rocket boosters separating from the core stage and then the Orion spacecraft and launch abort system finally separating. The clever mechanism that controls that functionality is tucked away inside the black base of the build, which also doubles as a handy stand for four tiny astronaut nanofigures.

Developed in collaboration with both NASA and ESA, 42221 NASA Artemis Space Launch System Rocket appears to be an extremely pleasing set to assemble and one that should look good sat on display and when in action. The fact that all of that comes in at a respectable £54.99 / $59.99 / €59.99 should make the LEGO Technic set go with a bang when it arrives next year.

“When you assemble models of cars you know exactly what it is you're building and how it'll work: the suspension, steering, gearbox and so on. It's refreshing, therefore, to not know exactly what you're making when constructing this model, and how it's going to work when you've finished.”

Brickset

Our verdict: Some very smart building techniques, an accurate take on the real vehicle, and a decent price point make the LEGO Technic set an out-of-this-world purchase

75452 BB-8

While the sequel trilogy has largely fallen out of favour with Star Wars merchandising partners, it seemed inevitable that we’d eventually get BB-8 to scale with the recent collection of brick-built droids (including 75379 R2-D2 and 75398 C-3PO). 75452 BB-8 rolls on to the scene in January at a much smaller scale than the last statue of this ball droid (2017’s 75158 BB-8), and in the process loses some of its key functionality.

BB-8’s lighter is still included, but while in the previous set there was room internally for a mechanism to have it pop out when turning a dial, here you’ll need to manually go in and pull it out. What you do get here though is a cool mechanism to randomly turn BB-8’s head as he rolls along, so there are still things to enjoy. One thing you won’t enjoy is the price: at £79.99 / $89.99 / €89.99 for 569 pieces, this is probably the worst-value LEGO Star Wars set of the January wave

“As much as I like the in-universe design, I’m not completely taken by this one. The body just feels a bit square (although the head does look great)… I can’t help but look at the Lowell-spherical 75187 and think it looks better. The same goes for the rolling mechanism: it’s nice, and I can’t wait to see if the community motorises it. But given the choice, I’d rather have the semi-automated burner arm, personally. Oh, and then there’s the price. I hate having to beat this drum every time we review a Star Wars set, but it’s too expensive.”

The Brothers Brick

Our verdict: Unless you’re desperate for a companion for Artoo, Threepio and Chopper, hold fire on this one until it gets a deep discount

80119 Galloping Horse Canvas

When it comes to sheer creativity, imagination and experimentation, the LEGO Group’s annual Lunar New Year sets are sometimes in a class all of their own. While that’s often the case, 80119 Galloping Horse Canvas proves to be a somewhat frustrating build experience, one that doesn’t always deliver on the 1,650-piece model’s potential.

For instance, take the build’s single, large, printed canvas. Easily the best part of the set, it also easily overshadows the rest of the model, drawing too much attention away from its four brick-built horses. That’s not to say that there isn’t a lot to like about 80119 Galloping Horse Canvas though, with a clever mechanism to make the animals move via a side handle really adding to the impressive nature of the LEGO Lunar New Year set.

However, 80119 Galloping Horse Canvas is still bogged down in too many minor quibbles, with a frustrating building experience ultimately let down by a lack of a cohesive finished design. While there is plenty to admire and appreciate when it comes to the LEGO Lunar New Year set though, its divisive nature could see the model struggle to find a large enough audience, especially at £89.99 / $109.99 / €99.99.

“LEGO 80119 Galloping Horses Canvas is a beautiful model in spite of its at times tedious construction, but the gorgeous canvas literally overshadows everything else, stealing attention from the brick-built horses that really should be the focal point for a set of this nature.”

Brick Fanatics

Our verdict: Despite not managing to come together as a cohesive overall design, 80119 Galloping Horse Canvas still manages to make for an impressive display piece

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