Thanks to Brick-a-brac, many of the new 2025 promotional LEGO® sets are now readily available. Commonly known as polybags among LEGO fans, they are now packaged in paper-based bags. So technically they are no longer polybags, but calling them ‘paper bags’ doesn’t sound right, although they are officially known as recruitment bags. Regardless of their packaging, these minisets are inspired by various LEGO themes and offer little tasters of larger sets.
You can find a selection of the new LEGO polybags released this year from online retailer Brick-a-brac, with more due to be added to the range shortly. For the first 2025 LEGO Polybags hands-on round-up, here’s a look at the minisets inspired by entertainment themes including Disney, Sonic the Hedgehog, Animal Crossing, Minecraft, LEGO Friends, LEGO DREAMZzz and NINJAGO.
30703: Julian’s Beach Painting
For the second of the Animal Crossing minisets, Julien the unicorn returns. Instead of wearing his usual space parka, Julien is now kitted out in a pink hoodie but uses the same head element and legs. A couple of the island plates represent areas of the Animal Crossing island. This small scenery area features a crop of bamboo plants, and a sandy beach, lapped by calming waves. Julien is taking this relaxing moment to paint. The easel features a 3×3 plate, decorated by 1×1 round tiles. These can be mixed around to create different, but still basic images.
30704: Balkiry Attack
The previous Sonic miniset ignored minifigures for a focus on a unique buildable Badnik, not featured in a larger set. This trend continues with this little set. The unique Badnik is Balkiry, a bird-like robot, first seen in Sonic 2. There’s an area on the Badnik’s back where you can place the Clucky figure. The use of the new curved corner brick for the bird’s beak looks great. I like that the Badnik is unique and not simply a rehash of one found in another set.
30705: The Lush Cave Fight
Lush Caves are underground areas found in Minecraft. They are often filled with plants including azalea plants. Although the set only features a small section of scenery, it includes a trio of plants. One of these is a recoloured old-school plant element. The set also includes two minifigures, Alex and a Skeleton. These aren’t unique, but it’s good to see two characters featured in such a small set.
30695: Cinderella’s Mini Garden Castle
Cinderella seems to be a key component of any Disney miniset. This is the third time the character has appeared in a polybag set. This time, Cinderella is tending to her garden patch with a little help from Gus the mouse. The small castle battlement sits behind a trio of splat gears. Moving these replicates the motion of watering plants. It would be nice to see other Disney characters featured in these smaller sets, especially as they are a cheap way to get hold of characters, even if they are mini-dolls.
30696: Autumn’s Waffle Stand
The Friends rebrand has seen the theme introduce new characters and Heartlake City pastimes. Autumn lives on a farm with her Mum, Mia. Her Waffle Stand is a little more advanced than the traditional ‘lemonade stand’ but still has a nice rustic, farmyard feel. The Autumn mini-doll is unique but uses parts from other sets. She’s joined by a cute little black cat, wearing a chef’s hat.
30697: Nova’s Doghouse Build
Nova’s love of animals continues with her building a new home for Zac’s pooch, Dango. The set features a colourful, raised dog house with enough room to place the dog inside. Plus there’s a small workbench, complete with tools. It’s a fun little set for a polybag. The Nova mini-doll is technically unique but uses parts found in other sets.
30698: Cooper’s Flying Controller Mini Build
The first DREAMZzz sets of 2025 are themed around gaming. Although this set isn’t directly based on one of the larger sets, it is similar to Cooper’s Gaming Controller Jet (71489). Instead of being able to fit into a controller-shaped jet, Cooper can hold on to a controller-shaped gilder. The Cooper minifigure is based on the character’s appearance in the Dream Realm. This includes gaming-related details on the torso and the headpiece. The set also includes an extremely basic Cyberbrain Spider, which unfortunately lacks the cool new brain elements.
30699: Mini Ninja Combo Mech
The first 2024 miniset once again shrinks down one of the larger NINJAGO sets. This time it’s the turn of Zane’s Ultra Combiner Mech (71834). Just like its larger counterpart, the microscale version offers 4 different builds. The one which can be built out of the bag is the combo mech. You can then use the same elements to build the alternate vehicles using digital instructions found online. Considering the set is such a small take on the much larger playset, you can recognise what it’s meant to represent. Alternate instructions can be found here.
The new range of LEGO ‘poly/paper/recruitment’ bags is available now from selected retailers. In the UK, you can find them along with many older polybags from Brick-a-brac. They may also be available as future promotional activities such as GWP offers, in-store events and, magazine cover mounts.
