Despite giving a daily recap of each of the LEGO® Advent Calendars for the last few years, I’ve never actually reviewed one, until now. Last year, the long-running LEGO Advent Calendars range expanded to include a Marvel-themed one. It was focused on the Avengers and featured a mix of minibuilds and minifigures inspired by Earth’s Mightiest Heroes. This year’s offer is a little more intergalactic and is inspired by the upcoming Guardians of the Galaxy Disney+ Holiday Special. The exact story of this small screen spin-off is currently unknown but it’s safe to assume it will be at least a little festive.
Before you read on, this review will include spoilers for the upcoming LEGO Marvel Guardians of the Galaxy Holiday Special Advent Calendar. I won’t be revealing which builds appear on which days but it will feature each of the 24 buildable items you’ll find in the Advent Calendar. If you prefer to be completely surprised on December 1st, I advise you don’t read on any further.
Product Details
Build up to Christmas with the LEGO® Marvel Studios’ Guardians of the Galaxy Advent Calendar! Open a different door each day of December to discover a surprise gift. There are 6 minifigures waiting to be revealed, plus mini builds and accessories. As the big day approaches, bring the gifts together to recreate favourite scenes and Marvel adventures of your own.
- Set Name: Guardians of the Galaxy Advent Calendar
- Set Number: 76231
- Pieces: TBC
- RRP: £29.99/$39.99/39.99€
- Number of Bags: Bags x 24
- Stickers: N/A
- Minifigures: Mantis, Rocket, Peter Quill, Teen Groot, Nebula & Drax
- Instructions: Booklet x 1 + LEGO Building Instructions App + Instructions Plus
- Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & LEGO Retailers
Since the Guardians of the Galaxy first entered the scene back in 2014, they have become a major part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Heading off on their own adventures and appearing in the cumulation of the Infinity Saga as well as the recent Thor movie. In fact, the popularity is such, that they will be getting their own Holiday Special this Christmas on Disney+. Little is known about it, apart from it taking place within the MCU, falling between Thor: Love & Thunder and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Similar to this year’s LEGO Star Wars Advent Calendar, the Guardians version will take its inspiration from the Disney+ special.
The format of the Guardians of the Galaxy advent calendar is the same as the previous LEGO advents. So it contains 24 separate LEGO treats, one for each day leading up to Christmas Day. The sectioned tray found within the box is now crafted with moulded paper pulp, making it easy to recycle. However, the LEGO elements are still packaged in plastic bags. I’d expect this to change for the 2023 LEGO Advent Calendars. There are no build steps, per se, instead, the flip of each day features a basic image of how elements are put together. Similar style instructions will also be available on the LEGO Instructions App and online.
The LEGO treats behind each of the advent calendar’s windows fall into one of four categories – minifigures, scenery, accessories and micro builds. There are 6 minifigures featured in the advent calendar, Mantis, Rocket and Teen Groot are all identical to the versions found in the most recently released Guardians set, The Benatar. Star-Lord is a mix of previous versions of Peter Quill. The torso is also from the Benatar ship but he also features the older quiff-style hair.
The remaining two characters are a little more exciting as they are both kitted out in exclusive Marvel-themed Christmas Jumpers/Sweaters. These unique torsos are great fun with Nebula wearing a jumper featuring Thanos on the front and a family snap of Nebula and Gamora on the back. Drax’s jumper features a festive version of Baby Groot.
Some of the accessories found in the advent are connected to some of these minifigures. So there is a festive wreath of leaves, which can be added to Groot. Rocket has an elaborate turkey roasting gun and a box of trinkets. There’s also a space sleigh, which is created from three different day’s builds.
Other builds form different pieces of scenery as well as some of those mentioned above, they also include a tool rack, presents, a treats table and a retro stereo as well as a Thano-themed snowman and a simple candy cane/North Pole.
Finally, the rest of the builds are a mix of microscale ships and crafts from the Guardians films. They include the Milano and the Benatar. The others are a little harder to pinpoint, one is a drone, another is a Knowhere Mining Pod and one of the others seems to be a Sovereign craft.
It’s another interesting way to countdown to Christmas from LEGO Marvel. Admittedly, reviewing an advent calendar is tricky due to the simple nature of the daily builds. But they offer a mixed collection of LEGO goodies to discover each day in December. The two exclusive minifgures are great fun, it’s a shame they are limited to just two. The buildable elements of the advent calendar are a mixed bag, which is always the case with any of the LEGO Advent Calendars. But at least they all have a connection to the Guardians of the Galaxy universe in some way. The minifigures are great, especially the two exclusive festive-themed versions of Drax and Nebula.
This set was provided to BricksFanz by the LEGO Group for purposes of review. The thoughts within this review are that of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group or Disney. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
