u/bukabricks

The white/black one is my eldest, Eylül. In February 2025, I noticed something under his skin, about the size of a small hazelnut. After some observation, my vet suggested we remove it, since it wasn’t going away. It turned out to be a tumor and it was spread more than my vet thought. One hour operation turned 4 hours and Eylül came home with 15 cm stitch on his back. My vet told me he cleaned it as much as possible.

This year in March, I noticed it again, in another place this time. Last year’s operation was too heavy on the whole household, because the tabby kept attacking him. We had to separate them for two months. Given his age (13), I decided not to go through that again. However, the tumor turned out to be aggressive. It grew. A lot. I never thought the hump on his back was because of that. That’s on me. But even if I did, I wouldn’t have another operation.

Last week we took him to a hospital and got an Xray. The tumor has almost become bone-like. All the doctors said given his age and the size, it was too risky to operate. All we can do is try to slow its growth. He’s getting weekly injections (I don’t know the name, but I’m told one of the ingredients is tarantula poison) and daily pills - not fun - which are mostly mushroom extracts.

I know this is the beginning of the end. I wanted to share this for anyone who cares to read. In my eyes, my biggest mistake was ignoring it for 6 months. If you notice something is off, act on it, no matter how small, even if only to make your mind at ease. The only thing that makes me happy here is Eylül isn’t in pain. He’s feeling the weight of the hump, so he’s a bit weaker than usual, but he’s still energetic enough to hunt out toes at 5 a.m. 😅

If anyone here had a similar situation, I’d like to hear your experiences as well.

Let’s give cats some love 🐱 Post your kitties here (real or LEGO).

The set doesn’t have any new molds, but the Maine Coon mold appears in a new color. It looks like ochre yellow. That makes four appearances for the fluffy cat; CMF, Spider-Cat, Mrs. Norris and this one. I can’t say I like the angry eyes, though.

The fish skeleton, first appeared in CMF 29, can also be found here. A rat, which can be found in over 40 sets, and a bat, which has been around (and unchanged) since 1997, make an appearance as well. I’m also including the Gargoyle in the list, since this is the first time it’s released in a non-licensed and non-BrickLink Designer set. Also, who knows what it turns into after the sun goes down? 🙄

So, we have a cat, a rat, and a bat. Among others. Anyone who wants to make a joke with that is welcome to do so 😂

Images from Brickset.

We knew there would be new Patronus animals coming with the summer Harry Potter sets two months ago. And we knew they would be different. Since the cat is the only Patronus I have in both colors, here's how they look side by side.

The old Patronus animals were made in glitter trans-light blue. We had a deer, an otter, a hare and a cat. The new ones are satin trans-light blue. We got the deer, the cat, the otter and the hare in the January sets, along with a new wolf Patronus. The summer sets brought a dog, a doe and a phoenix, all of which are new molds (you can find them here).

While glitter trans-light blue was only used in Patronus animals, satin trans-light blue has been used to represent Nokk (from Frozen II) figures before.

Yes, I know the stag was released as a reindeer and it can be either sex. But hear me out for a minute. Imagine it's a stag. We just got the doe mold in Hogwarts Castle: East Wing (76473). The foal will be released with this year's City Advent Calendar (60510). Considering the stag was first released as a Patronus, having a doe in a regular color doesn't sound that far fetched.

Thoughts?

Edit: The sizes may not be exact since the foal isn't released and I don't have the doe. This is an estimate.

Ochre yellow is one of the newest LEGO colors. It was introduced in 2025, and apart from minifig hair and beard pieces, it only appeared in a single animal: The mane of the Shetland pony from LEGO 42654 Pony Ranch & Stable. 2026 brought three new Friends animals using that color, including the new bunny mold.

• Bunny (7687pb01) in 42679 and 42689
• Puppy (69901pb14) in 42677 and 42688
• Foal (11241pb11) in 42695 and magazine gift 951445

Which animals do you think can also use this color?

All images from New Elementary. Second image shows bright light yellow, yellow, bright light orange, tan and Modulex ochre yellow compared to the new ochre yellow.

We're used to seeing animals in System, Friends, and DUPLO sets. But what about the forgotten corners of LEGO history?

Here are a handful of unusual LEGO animals from the dusty shelves: Primo (1995–2005, later renamed LEGO Baby), Belville (1994–2008, one of the early attempts at creating a theme aimed at girls), and DUPLO... though perhaps not the DUPLO we know today.

Good photos of many of these animals are surprisingly difficult to find online. Thanks to DECOTOYS.ch, both the Brick Bestiary and Buka Atlas now have access to images of these forgotten creatures.

Did you know about any of these? Did you have any of them?

All images from DECOTOYS.ch

It seems we have a new goat – and perhaps in the last place you’d expect! I don’t follow football (or soccer, if you’re one of those people), so I’m not familiar with the meme, but it seems Messi and goats are a thing now. And that brings us to the newest goat, with the number 10 printed on it. It can only be found in LEGO 43018 Lionel Messi – Celebration.

Speaking of… the set has another animal. The Dalmatian puppy in bright green, unprinted, used as greebling. The mold was originally released only with Disney sets, so it brings a question… will we see it in other sets in the future?

Image of the goats from Jay’s Brick Blog Instagram account, image of the puppy from Brickset.

Did you know LEGO has released five different owl molds over the years? The first one appeared in 2001, meaning LEGO owls have now been around for a quarter of a century!

Check them out on Atlas, and find more about them in the Brick Bestiary.

My idea for building a LEGO Hydra came after seeing the nine-headed snake MOC by glory.on.the.kingdom. Despite being an iconic mythical creature, the Hydra is rarely built in Lego. I chose to depict the creature in its classic form from Greek mythology, where it is best known as one of the challenges faced by Hercules during his Twelve Labors. For aesthetic reasons, I opted for seven heads instead of the traditional nine. The border of the base is based off a technique by BrickiboT.

I’ve never been a big fan of brick-built animals, but the minute I saw this by ASortaOkayBuilder, I fell in love. I created my own version of it and now it has a permanent spot on my keyboard. Many thanks to them for designing it and sharing the instructions!

Animals have a special place in Buka Atlas. Every day, a random animal is picked and showcased as the Animal of the Day. You can click on it to discover all kinds of information about it, and if you’re lucky, its evolution.

I've been loving the cat mold ever since it's release. New colors and prints were always welcome. However, it seems to me that the printing has decreased in quality, at least in these three cases. The size, shape and positioning of the eyes are different, even if it's a very small difference. I've spent so much time photographing the French bulldog in the past, I noticed the change the minute I saw it.

LEGO is no stranger to changing the eye design. DUPLO animals are probably among the ones that have changed the most. This doesn't feel like a deliberate design change, though, like Flounder and Sebastian here. It feels they didn't care enough. Or maybe I'm just exaggerating. I didn't have a chance to compare the eyes of other animals produced in different years.

Do you have such cases? Do you think it's an honest mistake or a case of negligence?

I've been working on a little project for the past six months. A database with everything you already know, plus a few fun features to explore and track your collection. I'd tell you the details, but I rather put those on the designated sub and keep this short.

It's finally ready to receive its first users. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome Buka Atlas to the world!

Click here to explore.

I've come across several comments saying the CMF 29 cat looks more like a dog. While it would make a cute Chihuahua (if the dog was able to grow in size, that is), for me it resembles an Abyssinian or a Devon Rex more. It has a more triangular head shape than the regular cat we have. Friends have had their share of different breeds, and with last year's CMF, System had a Maine Coon, so maybe this one represents a new breed as well. Thoughts?

There will be three recolors and one new print in the 42698 LEGO Friends Advent Calendar 2026 set. The polar bear cub seems to be using the mold of the panda cubs from 42648, appearing in white with very light blue fur lines. The ferret appears in white for the first time, using the same mold from 42646 and 42663. The seal is very recently released with 42669 in January, also in white. The laughing expression is a nice touch in my opinion. The penguin's face print is new.

Additionally, Kittycorn from Gabby's Dollhouse has a recolored version coming with 11214 Fairy Roller Coaster and Tea Party.

Don’t put these two in the same place!

We'll be getting a new koala in Friends 42701 Koala Habitat & Care Center. One mold, two colors, three prints.

Looks like it's slightly larger than the baby koala from the CMF (and BaM), but not big enough to be an adult. Also, is it me or do Friends animals look less "girlie" lately? An improvement, in my opinion.

New koala images from Brickset, separate koala & Autumn by me.