The Best Lego Kits: According to the CNET Staff Who Built Them

I build a lot of Lego sets with my kid, and he surprised me by picking this one out instead of something more predictable like a Lego car. We had a good time putting it together, though, talking about the various echeveria varieties described in the instruction books, and sharing the creations with his friends. I generally prefer the mechanical Legos -- rack and pinion steering, suspension, gears and that sort of thing -- but the succulents set was a refreshingly organic alternative.
An added bonus: These make tasteful and interesting centerpieces for tables, bookshelves and mantlepieces, which is probably one reason this botanicals kit is billed as an "adult" set. You can even reconfigure the nine modules in different ways for different arrangements.
-- Stephen Shankland

This was a random find for me from Target, and I'll be honest, I was more excited about it than perhaps a 42-year-old man should have been. My daughter and I got a huge kick out of it though, and we spent about 4 hours building it.
The details are excellent. From the season 1 outfits and hairstyles on the mini-figs to Chandler's Dell laptop (complete with a Lego logo), everything reminds you of the show. I also love that it's the set of Central Perk, not a recreation of the fictional cafe, so it has movie lighting and a lifted area to make everything more visible. Next, we're buying the two apartments to make it a matching set.

-- James Bricknell

When my kids were younger, they had all sorts of Lego sets -- the pirate ship and Hogwarts Castle from Harry Potter -- provided many hours of entertainment. But they were already grown up by the time Lego released the Women of Nasa as part of the ever-expanding series of Women in Science Minifigures. 

That series now includes female scientists, aerospace engineers, astronauts, oceanographers, a geochemist and a paleontologist. These sets often sell out, which is great to hear. Girls, boys and everyone else should be aware of the trailblazers and contributions of women in our society, so kudos to Legos for embracing the idea. 

-- Connie Guglielmo

One of my favorite places on the planet is the Bonsai Garden in the Huntington Library, which is also where I first saw the Lego Bonsai Tree kit. This is a nice little kit that lets you easily switch between a green tree and a flowering tree, so the kit can change with the seasons.
This kit is so popular there are also third-party lighting kits for this build, allowing you to turn this kit into a fantastic, eye-catching piece of art to display in your home.

-- Russell Holly 

From my son, Justin, who was 11 when he constructed the set: 

"What I like best about the ISS is it's so big, and it includes a Space Shuttle you can pretend is docking at the ISS. It was a challenging set to build, and I like that the solar panels move. I like how NASA helped build a place where humans can live in space and look down on us on Earth."

-- Steven and Justin Musil

Our 6-year-old son has a deep passion for Lego and "bad guys." He absolutely lost his mind when he saw this Thanos set at Target. (it was $10 at the time of purchase and is now selling on Amazon for $27.76.) He'd previously completed Spider-Man and Thor from the same collection, both of which were a bit challenging for him to handle on his own. 

The Thanos build was less challenging than Spider-Man, which will go down in history as one of the most annoying sets I've ever had to help with, but it still required a little assistance from me. I appreciated that Lego didn't simply make the gauntlet one large piece but that it resembles the real one as much as possible. Including the stones.

-- Danielle Ramirez