Advent 2023

I can’t believe it’s already December and time to crank up the old Advent Calendar engine once more! This year I purchased two of the available five calendars LEGO has released: Friends and Marvel. Like with last year, I’m doing daily YouTube videos as well as blog posts, so choose whatever medium you like… Starting on Day 8, I also designed original MOCs from the leftover parts – instructions are in a separate post. As usual, each post was originally a separate blog entry, starting with Day 1, and continuing with a daily post about that day’s advent models. However, to clean up the site, I’ve condensed all those daily posts to a single post per year. Here’s the 2023 edition.

Like last year I chose not to do all 5 of the Advent calendars LEGO publishes, just these two. But if you want to build the others, here are some links to them on Amazon: City, Harry Potter, and Star Wars. (But please don’t support Harry Potter, due to the transphobic political views of J. K. Rowling.)

Day 1

Today’s Friends model is Autumn, with a snowball in her hand and a snowboard and helmet. Autumn is part of LEGO’s recent commitment to better representation for disabled people in their sets, and she has an arm difference – a left arm that is not fully developed, without a hand. I’m sure any little girls with a similar body difference would be excited to see this in a set!

The back of the torso doesn’t have any printing, just the usual Friends copyright emboss. The legs are printed on all sides however.

She comes with a hairpiece that you can remove to put on her helmet.

Iron Man starts off the Marvel calendar strong.

The head is double-sided, which you can see the Tony Stark side here with the helmet off:

And here’s the back side showing all the printing on the other side of the helmet and torso.

Day 2

For the second day of the 2023 Advent season we build a LEGO Friends doorway of some kind, and a festive Quinjet from the Marvel calendar.

Day 2’s Friends model is a gate or doorway in festive holiday colors. Based on past experience, I have to assume this is part of a European Christmas market of some kind. There is a clip on one side, and a bar that such a clip could grab on the other, suggesting that this will connect to more models of a similar design.

Today’s Marvel model is the Quinjet decked out in festive colors. Perhaps a gift-wrapped model in red and white wrapping paper?

Day 3

Our third 2023 Advent entries are a pooping puppy (Friends) and The Amazing Sweater-Man (Marvel).

Friends is going to include a lot of adorable animals this year, and this is our first one, a puppy who’s made a little mess. Included are two poops and a shovel.

In Marvel, we get The Amazing Spider-Man — but my sweater sense is tingling!! The front of his torso is a sweater design with three Spidey heads and six snowflakes. The head is the usual Spider-Man head, and the legs are unpainted dark blue. He’s holding things in his hand which represent web shooters, and because it’s Christmas we get gold spider silk.

Here’s a rear view, where the Spidey heads are replaced with his name, because you wouldn’t know who it was otherwise?

Day 4

We’re four days into the Advent season, and Day 4 complements the previous day’s models: a doghouse for that naughty puppy, and some gold spider webs for Sweater-Man.

Our puppy gets a doghouse.

Spider-Man gets an assortment of web parts.

Day 5

Today’s Advent builds from Friends and Marvel are, respectively, a chonky kitty and a snowman.

This chonky kitty is adorable, and it has printing on the face and front paws and some holly leaves and berries over its right eye. With the lifted tail on the back I think a little pink butthole would have been a good move…

This snowman is a pretty standard LEGO Advent snowman, except the arms are these weird “snot gun” pieces that I don’t think really make sense.

Day 6

Day 6, and we get another snowman (this time from Friends) and a gift-wrapping station from Marvel.

This is a pretty basic snowman, just 5 parts and not even any SNOT. But that’s Friends for you.

The Marvel model, as expected, is a bit more complex. This uses a SNOT technique to attach the “wrapping paper” (a red right side car door) to the base, by lining up the posts placed 5 plates apart with hollow studs placed 2 studs apart. Also it seems to be built to attach to other future models with a clip and bar system, so look for that in future models.

Day 7

Today we’re a full week into Advent, and we get another adorable critter from Friends, a little lizard, and another Marvel Avenger minifigure in an ugly Christmas Sweater, Black Widow…

Today’s Friends model is this adorable little lizard.

Here’s more of a side view so you can see the printing on the back better.

Here’s the Marvel/Avengers model, the character Black Widow with a blue ugly Christmas sweater. The hourglass on the front is her symbol, with holiday decorations added.

I took off the hair and laid her flat so you could get a better view of the torso and head front.

Here’s a look at the other side of the torso and head printing.

Day 8

Day 8 and it’s the first day of Hanukkah (Happy Hanukkah to those who observe it) and it’s the first day of our 2nd week in Advent. Day 8’s Friends model baffles me, but hopefully it will become clear with future entries. Marvel gives us a miniature reindeer and a pair of gold trees. And now I think we have enough parts that I’ve decided to start building MOCs (My Own Creations) using the parts we’ve got thus far – the first one is a puppy.

Here’s that mysterious Friends model I mentioned.

And here’s that adorable little reindeer and a very small forest of dead trees made of spider snot silk.

Finally, here’s my original MOC. Check back soon for building instructions if you want to make your own copy.

Day 9

The 9th day of Advent in Friends is a dog and in Marvel is a captain.

This dog is really cute. It’s molded in white with some black printing just on the head. The rest is unprinted.

If you turn the dog over, you can see that the two front legs and the two rear legs each accommodate a stud, spaced 3 studs apart (1 studs between).

Day 9 gives us a minifig from Marvel, and it’s Captain America. It’s just a regular minifig, no ugly sweater this time. As usual, printing is on both sides of head and torso, with no leg printing.

To build a MOC from the parts we’ve gotten thus far I came up with this carnival watergun game! Autumn from Frineds is shooting the gun while Black Widow seeks the next mark to fleece. The four animals we’ve got thus far are up on the shelf as stuffed animals (prizes). As the player shoots water at a target, balloons inflate (here, modeled as cherries). See the video above for a tour of all the features.

Day 10

For the 10th day of the 2023 Advent season we get a seesaw (teeter totter) from Friends and a jetpack for Captain America from Marvel.

The Friends model is a fixture of playground equipment from when I was a kid, the seesaw (or teeter-totter if you prefer). However like the pushed merry-go-rounds we also had, these are mostly gone now, due to safety and liability concerns. How is any human minifigure or minidoll supposed to ride on this? I suppose the animals can, but no LEGO people can just fit on a single stud. Well, maybe the baby minifig?

Marvel gives us a jetpack. I didn’t know what it was just from opening the door…

Here’s what it looks like from the other side…

Anyway once I put the it on Captain America, it made sense.

Here’s a reverse view of it on the minifigure.

With the parts received thus far from these 10 days of both calendars, I built a Bobcat skid-steer bulldozer, piloted by a snowman.

Here it is from some more angles.

I tried for at least an hour to get the jetpack’s neck mount piece to attach somehow to this and serve as the canopy for the cockpit, as I think it would look really great, but I was just not able to figure out a way to attach it using the parts we got so far. Maybe I could using my full range of LEGO parts in my collection, but that isn’t the brief for this challenge I’ve given myself.

Day 11

Our 11th models from the LEGO Advent calendars this year are the second Friends minidoll, Leo, and a fireplace with Thor’s hammer on the wall above it, from Marvel.

Today’s Friends model is Leo from this year’s LEGO Friends wave.

Here are some front and back close-ups so you can see the printing details.

Meanwhile in Marvel we got Thor’s fireplace.

And using all the parts I got thus far in these two sets I built this wind-up toy robot. The YouTube video linked above gives more details about how it’s built, and instructions for this and all the other MOCs I’m making will be published after Christmas.

Day 12

Can you believe we’re already at the halfway point? Yup, it’s 12 days down, 12 to go. Here we get an undecorated Christmas tree from Friends and a workbench from Marvel. And I built a wreath.

No Advent calendar is complete without a Christmas tree. But this time it’s not (yet) decorated.

And a workbench? Sure, I guess. Marvel Cinematic Workbench.

I decided to stick with the festivity of the Friends model by doing a holiday wreath. The only piece from the Marvel build I used was the toolbox which is really just there as a stand in case you want it to stand upright. But really you’d probably remove that part and hang it instead, from the hollow stud of the white piece at the top.

Here’s a glimpse behind the wreath to see how it’s built.

Day 13

We’re now into the second half of Advent. My how time flies. Today we get some dots (I like to call them “cookies”) from Friends and a Okoye minifigure from Marvel.

Friends gives us a little box of dots, or as I prefer to call them, cookies. Remember the Detective Office designer video? Love the story about the illegal cookie business. In honor of that I call all 1×1 round tiles “cookies.”

Here’s the box with all the dots in it. Except, of course, for the extra parts… of which there are many.

Meanwhile our Marvel model is the minifigure Okoye from Black Panther.

Here is a close up
of her so you can see the printing on the face and torso.

And here’s a rear
showing the torso printing.

My MOC for Day 13 is an alebrije, similar to the Día de los Muertos 2022 models I built last year.

Here’s a rear view of the creature.

And here it is upside down so you can rub its belly.

Day 14

Day 14! Two whole weeks down, 10 days to go. We get a kitty in Friends and some hockey equipment and gifts in Marvel.

Friends gives us another cute animal, this time another kitten. Looks like a Siamese cat with its eyes closed???!!! The face is printed as is a holiday bow on its neck.

There’s no printing on the backside.

Marvel’s build for Day 14 is a bunch of hockey gear, a small wrapped gift, and a bunny.

And it’s all meant to be wielded by Okoye, because it makes sense that Wakanda would be into winter sports. At least, makes as much sense as anything else in Marvel.

Anyway I built a MOC from the parts we got so far, a zamboni, for resurfacing the ice after Okoye gets it all messed up with the hockey. I used the hockey goal piece as a windscreen and the kitten is driving the Zamboni (with its eyes closed, so keep out of the way!)

Day 14’s post ran a bit late; I caught up soon after.

Day 15

Day 15 gives us an oven for baking dog biscuits (Friends) and an arc reactor (Marvel). My original model is a helicopter.

Friends gives us this cute oven to bake pizza or bread or … dog biscuits?

Here it is with one in the oven.

And this is what the biscuits look like. Cookie!

And in Marvel, we get an arc reactor.

I used the parts obtained thus far to build a MOC of a helicopter.

Fun fact! The etymology of helicopter comes from “helico” (spiral) + “pter” (bird). “copter” is not a root word. Impress your friends!

Day 16

Day 16 gives us a bunch of festive furniture: table and chairs in Friends and a rocking throne in Marvel, and I designed a weird dog+cat sled for Spider-Man.

Our Friends figures get a table and a pair of chairs, with a candle.

Marvel’s model is a dark green and gold rocking throne, but the rocking is side to side, which I think is pretty awful.

And for my MOC, I made Spider-Man a sleigh, and he’s snared some cats and dogs to pull it, but they aren’t cooperating. His bid to win the Iditarod is in jeopardy.

Day 17

Day 17 is PARTS. Friends gives us dog foot and related items, and a slew of bonus parts. Marvel gives us a cape. Just the cape, not even in a little plastic bag! So I put the cape on the dog and a sausage into the hole in his head, and the results are the newest Marvel hero: Super Sausage Dog Unicorn Guy. Enjoy.

Friends feeds our canine companions with a food and water bowl combo, water dispenser (not a bong, I’m quite sure), a carrot, lettuce leaf, sausage, bully stick (remember I told YouTube the video was “not for kids”), and a bone. Plus as many spare parts as there are models, 8 of each if you can’t bother counting.

Marvel is just one part. Not even in a bag. It’s a new kind of cape that is molded in rubber and snaps on to a minifigure’s neck.

Or, it seems, a dog’s neck. Meet Super Sausage Dog Unicorn Guy. I was too tired to build a whole thing, and this is what came to mind when I saw the parts. See featured image.

Day 18

Only one week left until Christmas? Yikes. In Friends we get the owner of Day 17’s dog treats, and in Marvel we get the owner of Day 17’s cape, Doctor Strange. For an original creation I built a tuk-tuk.

Day 18’s Friends model is a cute puppy. What breed? English bulldog? Pug? Anyway, cool glasses.

As usual, no print on the backside.

Day 18’s Marvel model is Doctor Strange.

Apparently the cape we got in Day 17 belongs to him.

This is only the 2nd figure we got (after Iron Man) with printing on the legs. Here you can see the front side printing.

And here I’ve flipped him over to show the back.

Day 18’s original model is a tuk-tuk, a motor rickshaw as seen in Thailand, India, or similar countries. I made sure to use at least one part from Day 18’s models in it – can you find them?

Here’s a rear view.

At first I didn’t think that it could fit a driver, but it can, just.

And fitting a passenger is even more tricky. See the video for how I worked that out.

Day 19

Today our Advent calendars for Friends and Marvel give us a couple of gift boxes and a desk, and I built a birbd.

Today’s Friends model is simple – two boxes and some cookies. Not terribly exciting.

The Marvel model is not that marvelous either. It’s a simple desk with an apple and a lamp.

So I tried to make something a little more interesting, using all the parts obtained thus far – a birbd. SQUAWK!

Day 20

It’s day 20, and we get a bunny and a train from the 2023 Friends and Marvel Advent calendars.

This is an adorable little bunny from Friends. It doesn’t seem to have holiday-specific printing, but just a regular face on the front, and no print on back as usual.

Meanwhile our Hydra Train model from Marvel is a scene from the first Captain America movie writ small.

I really struggled on Day 20 coming up with a MOC, and wasn’t able to use any of the new parts in the end. I decided this was enough, but I’m not loving it to be honest. It’s a bunny.

Day 21

Happy solstice! Just 4 days left to Xmas, my how time flies. Today in our Friends and Marvel Advent calendars, we get a cute little locomotive and a table with some festive food and drink. I built a twin-engine propeller plane using the parts I’ve got thus far.

This little train reminds me of the Brio toy trains.

Marvel has a turkey leg and a festive beverage for us on a table.

I built this little plane using the ice skates and roller skates, and using the wheels holder we got to hold the wings together and support the landing gear and serve as engines.

Day 22

Our 22nd models are a car for the train locomotive we built in Day 21’s Friends and a new minifigure named Wong from Marvel. For my original model, I built a farm tractor with a disc plow using the train wheels as the discs.

Here’s the Friends model, a simple train car.

This photo shows how it connects to the locomotive using the ball-and-socket joint.

Here I have populated the train with animals.

Our Marvel entry is a bald figure with plain legs and a transparent blue cube, a Minecraft blocky head, as the Tesseract.

Here is a better
of his front and rear printing. The head is only printed on the front because it doesn’t have a hat or hairpiece to cover the back.

And lastly I built this farm tractor and disc plow for an original model using parts from all the days thus far from both sets.

Day 23

Just one more day left in these LEGO Advent Calendars! Our penultimate entries in the Friends and Marvel calendars are a 3rd piece of our train, and a target. I built a Santa Claus.

Friends adds another link in the train we started on the 21st.

Here is the whole train…

…and with animals in each car.

Meanwhile Day 23’s Marvel model is for target practice.

And here’s my second-to-last MOC for this series, none other than the big man himself, Santa Claus. It’s a flat model, so the back side just shows how it is built. There’s a 3rd leg coming down from the back of the torso to help him stand up.

Day 24

The end has come at last to our Advent journey. Day 24 brings us our final two models in the Friends and Marvel calendars, respectively a wheelie weiener dog and a Christmas tree. I used the parts from this tree and many earlier days’ parts to build an original model, a much bigger tree.

Our doggie has a set of functioning wheels attached to his body using a harness that’s part of the body mold, lifting his hind legs off the ground. There’s also a little green antler piece, or perhaps it is a pair of tree boughs. Either way, it’s very festive.

Marvel gives us a tree, but it is not nearly as nice as the one Friends gave us earlier, and frankly a bit anticlimactic.

So I built it bigger, using parts from both trees and some parts from other sets in this year’s Advent calendars. Hope you like it.

Thanks for following along on this year’s Advent Calendar models. I am hoping that in the coming year you will continue to stick with me as I have a lot of hopes and plans for new content on my blog and YouTube channel. I have a new studio for building LEGO and plan to spend a lot more of my time and energy on it than I have for the past couple of years, where my LEGO collection was in the living room and was constantly getting buried by my clutter… having a dedicated space where I have room to have everything in in one place should be a huge boost to the LEGO hobby.

This gallery shows all the images from Advent 2023: