July is the month LEGO stops testing and starts swinging. The spring waves have settled, the retiring sets are clearing shelves, and the summer slate arrives aimed squarely at the adult collector who has display space and a budget to defend. This month the headline pieces are not playsets. They are wall art, a nostalgia bomb built for people who grew up on a Saturday-morning cartoon, and a trio of pre-orders that will define shelves through the fall.
A quick word on how I read a drop like this before I have held the box. I have not built these yet, so you will not see a five-category score below. What you will see is the read that twenty-five years of watching release cycles actually gives you: price against piece count, how the theme tends to hold value after retirement, and whether the set is a day-one pre-order or a wait-for-hands-on. When I review each one in full, the scores follow. For now this is the money decision, not the build report.
The July Drop, In One Look
Five new sets carry this month, plus a full week of free gifts with purchase. Two are LEGO-exclusive launches you can only buy direct. Three are pre-orders coming soon that you can lock in now. Buy every one of the five and you are north of a thousand dollars, so this is a choosing month, not a clear-the-cart month.
- Klimt - The Kiss (31221) - LEGO Art - $299.99 - Available for pre-order
- SpongeBob SquarePants: Bikini Bottom (11386) - LEGO Icons - $219.99 - Available for pre-order
- Jaguar E-Type (11381) - LEGO Icons - $139.99 - Coming soon, pre-order now
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (21370) - LEGO Ideas - $139.99 - Coming soon, pre-order now
- Pokemon Iconic Trainer Moments Poke Ball (72154) - $299.99 - Coming soon, pre-order now
Below, a straight read on each: pre-order it, wait for the hands-on review, or wait for a sale. Then the gift-with-purchase deals running July 24 to 31, and a budget plan for however much you are willing to spend this month.
You can browse every one of these on the official LEGO Shop. We will publish full hands-on reviews as each set lands in our hands.
The Two Exclusive Launches
PRE-ORDER: Klimt - The Kiss (31221) - $299.99
Verdict: Pre-order if you want it on the wall. This is a collector piece, not a discount play.
LEGO Art has quietly become the line for people who want brick-built decor that reads as art from across the room rather than as a toy on a shelf. The Kiss takes it upscale. Gustav Klimt's 1908 masterpiece is one of the most recognizable paintings on Earth, all gold leaf and art nouveau pattern, and translating that luxurious color work into studs is exactly the kind of swing this line was built for. The set ships with a hanging mechanism on the back, so it goes on the wall like a real frame rather than needing shelf real estate.
Here is the honest read on the money. At $299.99 this sits at the top of the LEGO Art range, and Art sets rarely go deep on discount while they are current because the audience is decor buyers, not piece-count hunters. If The Kiss speaks to your space, pre-ordering at launch is the right move. If you are on the fence, this is a set to see in person first, and I would rather you wait for our full review than talk yourself into three hundred dollars of wall art you are unsure about.
For where this fits in the line, see our guide to the best LEGO Art sets.
WAIT FOR THE REVIEW: SpongeBob SquarePants: Bikini Bottom (11386) - $219.99
Verdict: Enormous nostalgia appeal, but wait for the hands-on before you commit $220.
This one is going to move purely on feeling, and I understand why. Bikini Bottom recreated as a display set is a direct line to a generation that grew up on the show and now has adult money. You get SpongeBob's pineapple home with a living room and bedroom, Squidward's house with a rooftop lounge, Patrick's rock with a detailed interior, and a Jellyfish Fields scene. As a themed diorama, the concept is strong and the interior detail is the part that will make or break it.
The caution is the price against what you are getting. At $219.99 this is Icons flagship money, and licensed cartoon sets can swing hard on build quality depending on how much of that footprint is open interior versus solid facade. This is exactly the kind of set where the hands-on review earns its keep. If you are a die-hard fan, the nostalgia alone may justify a pre-order. Everyone else: hold until we have built it and can tell you whether the interiors deliver.
Coming Soon - Pre-Order Now
PRE-ORDER: Jaguar E-Type (11381) - $139.99
Verdict: The value standout of the month. Pre-order if you like cars on your shelf.
Of everything in the July drop, this is the one I am most curious to build. The Jaguar E-Type is one of the most beautiful cars ever made, and the challenge of a brick model is entirely in the curves, that long sculpted hood and the elegant taper of the body. LEGO put the working details where they matter: lift the hood for the inline-six engine, open the doors, fold back the textile roof, and turn the wheel with working steering. Classic green body, wire-style rims. If the proportions land, this is a display piece that punches above its size.
At $139.99 this is the most sensibly priced set of the five, and Icons vehicle models in this range tend to hold value reasonably well after retirement when the subject is a genuine automotive icon. For a car this recognizable, that is a favorable setup. Pre-order with confidence if the E-Type is your kind of thing.
PRE-ORDER (if you are a fan): E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (21370) - $139.99
Verdict: A charming Ideas set with real play features. Pre-order for the movie love, wait for a sale otherwise.
LEGO Ideas keeps taking swings at beloved film characters, and E.T. is a natural fit. The set recreates the wrinkled little alien with a head that angles up, down, and rotates a full 360 degrees, a forefinger that points for the "phone home" moment, a pot of sunflowers for his hands, and a switch that makes his heart glow. Those features are the whole point of a character build like this, and on paper they are well chosen.
The read on value is straightforward. At $139.99 for a single-character Ideas sculpture, you are paying for the license and the nostalgia, not raw piece count. For someone who loves the film, that is money well spent and a pre-order makes sense. For everyone else, character sculptures in this range almost always see a sale within their first year, so patience costs you nothing. Know which buyer you are before you click.
WAIT FOR THE REVIEW: Pokemon Iconic Trainer Moments Poke Ball (72154) - $299.99
Verdict: The most ambitious concept of the drop, and the one I most want to see in hand before spending $300.
The debut of LEGO Pokemon has been one of the most anticipated licenses in years, and a scene-filled Poke Ball for adults is a bold way to lead. The build promises Red, a Picnicker, Professor Oak, Eevee, and Pikachu minifigures inside a display-scale Poke Ball packed with authentic detail. As a concept it nails exactly what a first flagship should do: recognizable instantly, loaded with classic characters, built to sit on a shelf and start conversations.
At $299.99 it is also tied for the priciest set of the month, and a brand-new license means we have no retirement or aftermarket track record to lean on. That makes it interesting and a little unpredictable at the same time. For the committed Pokemon collector, this is a centerpiece and the pre-order argument is easy. For everyone else, this is a wait-for-the-hands-on set. Three hundred dollars on a first-of-its-kind build is exactly the moment a full review pays for itself.
Free Gifts With Purchase - July 24 to 31
Running alongside the new releases, LEGO has a week of gift-with-purchase promotions. These are while-supplies-last, so if one lines up with something you were already buying, this is the week to do it.
- Star Wars The Darksaber (40917) - free when you buy The Mandalorian's N-1 Starfighter. If the N-1 was already on your list, this is a genuine bonus.
- Reusable Straw and Cap Set - free when you spend $65 on LEGO Friends, the Botanical Collection, Creator 3-in-1, Disney, Harry Potter, LEGO Wednesday, or Wicked.
- Spider-Man vs. Anti-Venom Heist (30725) - free when you spend $40 on DC, DC Batman, Jurassic World, Marvel, or Spider-Man.
The rule with gifts-with-purchase never changes: they are a reason to time a planned buy, not a reason to spend money you were not going to spend. A free polybag does not make an unwanted set a good deal.
Pre-Order, or Wait? A Budget Plan
Here is how I would spend across this drop depending on what you have to work with.
$150 Budget
The Jaguar E-Type (139.99). Easiest call of the month. Best price-to-presence ratio in the wave, an automotive icon that should hold value, and the one set here I would pre-order without waiting on a review. If cars are not your thing, put the money toward a set from our retiring sets tracker instead, because a set leaving production is always more time-sensitive than a set arriving.
$300 Budget
Two paths. If you want display variety, pair the Jaguar E-Type (139.99) with the E.T. Ideas set (139.99) for two completely different shelf pieces at $279.98. If you want a single statement piece, put it all toward Klimt - The Kiss (299.99) and hang art on the wall. Both are good months. Pick the one that matches the space you actually have.
$500 Budget
Klimt - The Kiss (299.99) plus the Jaguar E-Type (139.99) gets you a wall piece and a shelf piece for $439.98, with room left for a gift-with-purchase-qualifying add-on this week. This is the balanced play: one set that reads as decor, one that reads as a model, nothing bought on impulse.
Fan-First Budget
If you buy on love rather than logic, the two nostalgia sets are SpongeBob Bikini Bottom (219.99) and the Pokemon Poke Ball (299.99). Both are terrific concepts. Both are also the two sets I most want to build before recommending at full price. If you can wait a few weeks, wait for our reviews. If you cannot, buy the one whose theme meant the most to you and skip the other for now.
What We're Watching Next
The five sets above are the affiliate-highlighted launches, but they are not the whole July calendar. This month also brings bigger adult builds worth a look, including the Icons Arcade Pinball Machine (11374) at 2,274 pieces, the Technic Koenigsegg Sadair's Spear megacar (42232), and the Star Wars Imperial Lambda-Class Shuttle (75459). We are working through the summer slate and will have full reviews on the sets that deserve them.
Update: full reviews are now live for the bigger adult sets from this stretch, including Minas Tirith, the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, Disney Main Street, U.S.A., the Arcade Pinball Machine, the Koenigsegg Sadair's Spear, and the Aston Martin Aramco AMR25. Worth a look if any of those caught your eye above.
Track live prices, deals, and retirement dates on any set at GameSetBrick. And before you spend on anything new, check the retiring sets tracker, because a set walking out the door this summer is a more urgent purchase than any set walking in.
Browse our full reviews hub for hands-on breakdowns, or the builds hub for inspiration on what to do once the new boxes are empty.
Pre-ordering is a bet placed with less information than a normal buy, and that is worth respecting. When you pre-order, you are committing before a single independent builder has laid hands on the set, before anyone has confirmed the interiors are as detailed as the press photos suggest, and before the aftermarket has said a word about how the thing will hold value. For a set with a long production runway, waiting costs you almost nothing and buys you certainty. For a genuine exclusive with limited allocation, waiting can cost you the set entirely. Knowing which situation you are in is the whole skill.
My rule for this July drop is simple. Pre-order the sets where the value is already legible from the specs, like the Jaguar E-Type, or where your love of the subject makes the review beside the point. Wait on the sets where three hundred dollars rides on questions only a hands-on build can answer, like the Pokemon Poke Ball and SpongeBob Bikini Bottom. That is not indecision. That is spending like someone who intends to still be collecting, and enjoying it, ten years from now.