Review: LEGO Brickheadz Pets German Shepherd, Shorthair Cats, Goldfish & Budgie (40440, 40441, 40442, 40443)

February 22, 2021 | 9

Pandas aren’t the only animal getting the Brickheadz treatment this year – LEGO have also released a new Brickheadz subtheme called Pets – which as the name suggests is a blocky-headed take on some of the most popular domesticated animals of the world.

There are 2 waves so far, with 40440 German Shepherd and 40441 Shorthair Cats released in January 2021, and 40442 Goldfish and 40442 Budgie coming in 1 March 2021.

It’s a really interesting direction that LEGO have taken with Brickheadz, breaking away from humanoids to explore animals, and Pets suggests that we’re going to get a whole menagerie of critters!

LEGO were gracious enough to send over all 4 Pets Brickheadz released so far, so let’s take a quick look at each of them!

Special thanks to the LEGO Group for providing these sets for review

40440 German Shepherd Set Details

Name: German Shepherd
Set Number: 40440
Pieces: 247
Price: AU$24.99 | US$14.99 | £13.49 – Buy from LEGO.com [AUS] [USA] [UK]
Exclusive to: LEGO.com, LEGO Brand Retail Stores
Theme: Brickheadz / Pets
Release Date: 1 January 2021

First up we have a pair of German Shepherds, an adult doggo, and a pupper.

I did a bit of research, and apparently German Shepherds are really popular in the US, in fact they’re the second most popular dog breed in 2019, just behind Labradors.

I’d imagine German Shepherds were the choice as they have more distinctive colours and features compared to Labs, which fits the Brickheadz aesthetic better.

Both dogs sit in a cute little bed, which has a small recess in the back for their tails to lay flat. On the base of the bed, is the classic Brickheadz face used as a stand to affix the dogs to.

On the front of the bed is an interchangeable plaque with 2 pattern options – bones or paws to allow you to customise the look of the beds.

The adult German Shepherd has some cute features, especially the sand green dog bandana, making him look particularly smart and well-dressed.

On the back and sides of his head are cheese slopes to give his head a bit of furry texture, and at the back his tail can be positioned in a variety of angles.

His hind legs can also swivel out which was a nice surprise.

The German Shepherd puppy is even cuter, with a matching sand green collar around his head, and a bright red tongue sticking out. Or is it a dog tag? I’ll go with tongue because it’s cuter.

The German Shepherd puppy looks a little more like a Pug than a German Shepherd to me, mostly because it lacks its signature pointy snout.

I really love what the designers did with the ears, which make both doggos look really expressive, and tie the entire look together.

Rating: 3/5

Thoughts: I really liked building the German Shepherds – after humanoids, it was a much more interesting build that flips the Brickheadz formula on its head.

I was very impressed with how expressive LEGO made them look, and they’re perfect if you want a quick bit of LEGO building.

I cannot overstate how cute they are, especially if you’re a dog person, plus the sets are fairly inexpensive so they make great gifts for people who aren’t necessarily into LEGO. I’d love to see LEGO take on more dog breeds such as a Beagle, Labrador or Corgi. Or better yet, a Shiba-Inu in honour of Doge.

40441 Shorthair Cats Set Details

Name: Shorthair Cats
Set Number: 40441
Pieces: 250
Price: AU$24.99 | US$14.99 | £13.49 – Buy from LEGO.com [AUS] [USA] [UK]
Exclusive to: LEGO.com, LEGO Brand Retail Stores
Theme: Brickheadz / Pets
Release Date: 1 January 2021

Are you a cat person? LEGO has you covered as well this (arguably cuter) pair of Shorthair cats! Personally, I’m a cat person, so I was drawn to these when I first built them.

You get 2 plaque options – paw prints with those adorable toe beans, or fish.

The adult Shorthair Cat is so damn adorable, with the use of 2 different shades of grey to give the fur some contrast and texture.

The use of a quarter tile in pink for its nose, Wolverine claws for whiskers and the very smart yellow bowtie collar is a whole bundle of cuteness.

And the paws! Oh dear lord the white little paws just tie it all together, although I do wish we had printed paws to give us some much-needed toe beans.

Like the adult German Shepherd, the adult cat’s hind legs can also swivel outwards.

Here’s how the cats look from behind, and the indent in the cat beds that allow their tails to be fully outstretched.

The kitten is just a tinier version of the adult cat, with less grey in the phase, but the smaller overall size just makes the pink nose and whiskers look larger, which really just ups the cuteness level.

Rating: 4/5

Thoughts: I think LEGO struck the balance just right with the designs of the shorthair cats – and I don’t say that as a cat person!

I really like how prominent the whiskers, and great use of colours – the yellow and pink accents against the grey is particularly pleasing.

Cat-people are going to love this and like the German Shepherd, I’d love to see more variants – a Black Cat released around Halloween would be absolutely perfect.

Also, I really wish we had more printed elements in Brickheadz sets – printed paws would’ve elevated the LEGO Shorthair Cats to a whole other level.

40442 Goldfish Set Details

Name: Goldfish
Set Number: 40442
Pieces: 186
Price: AU$24.99 | US$14.99 | £13.49 – Buy from LEGO.com [AUS] [USA] [UK]
Exclusive to: LEGO.com, LEGO Brand Retail Stores
Theme: Brickheadz / Pets
Release Date: 1 March 2021

What pet do you get someone that’s not a Dog or Cat person, or if you don’t want to clean up after a small critter? Fish!

Coming on 1 March, a pair of Goldfish will join the Brickheadz Pet emporium, to cater for people who prefer keeping fish!

Goldfish are the most common fish pets, whether you win them at carnivals, or get given one by a well-meaning relative.

Important note: Bowls are terrible for Goldfish (unless you know what you’re doing).

Both fishes look nearly identical to each other, and I like the use of trans-orange round tiles to give the goldfish scales some reflective shine.

The Dark Azure base also contrasts really nicely against the dense orange tones of the Goldfishes, and you have the option between some Aquatic Plants or Bubbles for the decorative stickered plaque.

Over on the back are some aquatic plants and a piece of vibrant coral-coloured-coral. The goldfishs’ tails are actually really nice, and give it a nice elongated shape.

Rating: 3/5

Thoughts: I was initially quite apprehensive about the Goldfish as they’re near-identical but they turned out much better than I expected, with their cute :O expressions and bright orange colours making them look really striking, especially when you place them on display.

They certainly occupy a pretty unique niche of Brickheadz without legs and the fish form factor strangely works really well in this case.

Fishkeeping and aquariums are a pretty big hobby and I think this set would work great for people who like fish but can’t keep them at their office/home desks, and want a cute little reminder of their aquatic pets at home.

40443 Budgie Set Details

Name: Budgie
Set Number: 40443
Pieces: 281
Price: AU$24.99 | US$14.99 | £13.49 – Buy from LEGO.com [AUS] [USA] [UK]
Exclusive to: LEGO.com, LEGO Brand Retail Stores
Theme: Brickheadz / Pets
Release Date: 1 March 2021

In Wave 2 of Brickheadz Pets, we have the Budgie – perfect for bird-people! Looks like LEGO have really covered most major household pets.

I don’t know anyone who keeps birds as pets so the gift-giving utility of this set could be rather limited as bird-keeping seems like a very niche hobby.

That said, the Budgies are really cute, and their shapes translate particularly well again.

The decorative plaque options for the Budgies are bird footprints, or feathers!

Both Budgies comfortably sit on a wooden perch, which uses the printed log tiles for details which are a nice touch.

The chick is especially cute, and I love the use of white elements across his body to represent juvenile fluff – I looked up baby budgies and sure enough, their chests are white and fluffy before their mature plumage comes in.

Unfortunately, they aren’t the most stable, to take care when moving them around as they keep falling off their perch more often than not..

To achieve the adult Budgie’s distinctive markings, a series of pale yellow and black elements are used in tandem along its head, along with some green and blue for its tail feathers.

Rating: 3/5

Thoughts: The innovative design and build of the Budgies make for one of the more unique and interesting Bricheadz pets yet, and they do look remarkably cute when on display.

They’re not as elegant as the other 3 Pets, but they look “Budgie” enough, and for fans who enjoy birdkeeping as a hobby, they will no doubt be very pleased with the end result.

Also that chick is just pure adorable.

Final Thoughts:

I was very surprised by how much I liked the entire range of Brickheadz Pets so far, especially since I didn’t quite like the Chinese New Year Pandas.

The Pets line has a lot of promise, and I think manages to infuse some freshness into the Brickheadz theme, which has sorely needed something new to shake the formula up.

Going after popular household pets seems to be a pretty good move, and these will no doubt appeal to pet owners (dog vs cat people, fight it out in the comments), or work spectacularly as inexpensive gifts to introduce friends or family to LEGO.

The cuteness really seals the deal for me, and they’re all very enjoyable builds, and look really great on display thanks to their “beds and enclosures” which adds to their appeal.

Brickheadz Pets aren’t for everybody, but as an affordable, accessible distraction from hundred dollar sets, I can easily recommend them if you’d like some cute models to decorate your desk or workspace with your favourite pets.

If there was one thing I’d love to see is the return of printed elements. It does seem like Brickheadz has suffered some budget cuts which is why we don’t see any more printed parts, but I think an exclusive printed tile or two (for collars, paws etc) would make these slightly more special.

I think LEGO will see some moderate success from these Brickheadz Pets, and I can’t wait to see what we get next. My guess is Hamsters, Rabbits, Lizards and of course, more dog and cat breeds hopefully!

My favourite out of the 4 released so far has to be the Shorthair Cats!

Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed this combo-review and have gotten a taste of LEGO’s new Brickheadz Pets sub-theme!

The new Goldfish and Budgie Brickheadz will be released on 1 March 2021 and will be available from LEGO.com

I’d love to know what you think of this next evolution of Brickheadz beyond seasonal and licensed models. Let me know which Pets you like the most in the comments!

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Special thanks to the LEGO Group for providing these sets for review.