LEGO Smart Brick review: It’s great fun, but who is it for?

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A star rating of 4 out of 5.

When the LEGO Smart Brick was first revealed, it quickly became a popular topic online. People were excited about the idea of a LEGO brick that could add a new level of interactivity to playtime.

I have to say, I was really excited – and a little envious – when I first saw the preview of the LEGO Smart Brick from the CES conference. It sounded amazing, and I wished I’d been there to test it out myself. The buzz around it was definitely justified.

After building the LEGO Smart Brick Luke Skywalker’s X-Wing set at home, transforming it from a pile of pieces into a working toy, I started to wonder who these LEGO sets are really designed for.

  • Shop the whole range of LEGO Smart Brick sets

At the London Toy Fair this year, I noticed there are several kinds of toy buyers. Of course, there are children who play with them, but there’s also a growing group of adults – often called ‘kidults’ – who are more interested in collecting and displaying toys than playing with them.

I’m in my thirties and don’t have kids, so I definitely enjoy things geared towards both adults and children – what some call ‘kidult’ hobbies. Recently, I’ve been building LEGO sets, specifically a Nintendo Game Boy and a mini Millennium Falcon. They were a lot of fun to put together, and I love seeing them on display while I relax and watch TV.

Honestly, as someone who’s a LEGO fan even as an adult, I don’t really need all the bells and whistles – the sounds and lights aren’t a big deal to me. Once I’ve actually built a set and found the perfect spot for it, I’m pretty good! I can easily leave it there for months, just enjoying it as a display piece. Maybe I’ll give it a quick dusting now and then, or show it off to a friend who gets as excited about LEGO as I do, but that’s about it.

I often wonder if young children really need these kinds of toys. When kids have such strong imaginations, do they actually need sound or light effects to make playtime fun? Or are they already creating their own sounds and stories all on their own?

Let’s set that question aside for now. I really enjoyed building the X-Wing set. It had 581 pieces spread across eight bags, and I finished it in just two building sessions over the weekend. The Millennium Falcon, on the other hand, took me several weeks to complete.

Building each piece of the set – the fuel and repair vehicle, the Imperial gun, and the X-Wing – was exciting, especially when I first used the interactive Smart features.

Okay, so pressing the button and hearing that classic blaster sound? Instant childhood memories! And the little music clip when I used the Luke minifigure? Seriously awesome nostalgia. But the best part? Little details like R2-D2 making noise when I flipped the X-Wing upside down. It’s stuff like that that just makes you grin, even if you think you’ve seen it all.

I was really happy to see that adding the cool, interactive Smart features didn’t mean they skimped on the actual, physical play aspects of the toy. The X-Wing and its turret both shoot little projectiles super fast, and they even have buttons built in so you can play all the sound effects as much as you want – which is great, because let’s be real, those little pellets will get lost eventually, especially with kids around!

After completing the build, I immediately wanted to show my wife the cool features. I demonstrated the sound effects, even making ‘pew pew’ noises like R2-D2! I was also eager to share the intricate details with my tech-savvy friends. It’s surprisingly clever – for instance, the set plays different sounds when you use the correct colour-coded pieces to ‘repair’ or ‘refuel’ it.

I’m planning to have the Smart Brick fully charged next time a Star Wars fan comes over so I can show off its features. Until then, the X-Wing will stay displayed with my other LEGO sets. It actually looks great alongside them, even though it has all that extra technology inside!

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I’m also curious to see how my nephews and nieces react to the Smart Brick when they visit next time. Will they actually play with its built-in features, or will they stick to their usual imaginative play, creating their own sounds and stories? I’m really looking forward to finding out.

I also saw a demonstration at the London Toy Fair of how the Smart Brick Star Wars sets work together. If you have a TIE Fighter and an X-Wing and make them battle, they’ll make explosion sounds digitally. However, it makes you wonder if that fun will last after doing it a few times.

I definitely enjoyed building the LEGO Smart Brick: Luke’s Red Five X-Wing set. However, I’m not sure who the target audience is, or if the electronic features will stay interesting once the novelty wears off.

Despite everything, I enjoyed building this model and it looks great displayed. Ultimately, that’s all I really wanted.

Shop the whole range of LEGO Smart Brick sets

Authors

Rob LeaneGaming Editor

Rob Leane leads gaming coverage at TopMob, keeping our audience up-to-date on the latest releases and news for PlayStation, Xbox, Switch, PC, mobile, and VR. He creates content for our website, social media, and video platforms, and also puts together our weekly gaming newsletter. Before joining TopMob, Rob worked at Den of Geek, Stealth Optional, and Dennis Publishing.

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2026-03-09 17:35