LEGO fans are already finding better uses for the SMART Brick
The LEGO SMART Brick is on shelves now in six countries, and some fans are already finding inventive ways to use it beyond the initial eight Star Wars sets.
LEGO SMART Play has come under fire for its synthesised soundscape, which isn’t really what you’d call authentic to the Star Wars universe it’s trying to embellish. But while at first glance its SMART Tags (the tiles that tell the SMART Brick which sounds to produce) may feel hyper-specific to the particular sets they come with – this one’s an X-wing, this one’s a TIE Fighter – some fans are managing to get creative with them and make better use of its 8-bit sounds.
Take built_bricks (Lewis Meeny), for example, who’s already landed on an excellent use for the lightsaber SMART Tag in 75427 Throne Room Duel & A-wing: a life-sized LEGO lightsaber. He replaced the activation box on his Obi-Wan Kenobi hilt with the SMART Brick, hiding the relevant SMART Tag underneath. The lightsaber then produces the sounds you’d expect when swooshed around, and Meeny says it ‘even registers hits and clashes’.
Over on reddit, Doublematt23 has incorporated SMART Play into 75419 Death Star’s throne room, combining the lights and sounds from 75427 Throne Room Duel & A-wing with the display-ready Ultimate Collector Series set. It’s surprisingly effective, too (although reaching in to retrieve the SMART Brick and wake it up on the regular is probably not that efficient).
Finally, it’s back to built_bricks on TikTok, who’s also found a means by which to take the SMART Brick beyond the confines of LEGO Star Wars – and conceal it in a set without any major modifications. The 2×4 brick fits neatly beneath the bonnet of 76332 The Batman Batmobile, and combining it with the SMART Tag from the service cart in 75423 Luke’s Red Five X-wing makes it sound like it’s actually driving along.
What’s really interesting about this one is that there’s no real drop-off in sound quality from concealing the SMART Brick, and in a set as small as this it’ll be easy to shake-to-wake without removing it. That’s a marked aesthetic improvement over the official LEGO Star Wars SMART Play sets, which feature conspicuous gaps in which to easily place and remove the SMART Brick.
Given these sets have only been on shelves for a week or so, and are only available in six countries at launch, we’re probably (or at least hopefully) only just scratching the surface of potential uses for the SMART Play system beyond their initial sets. The biggest obstacle to trying these solutions or others out for yourself is of course the price tag for those models, although the SMART Brick and charger are also available on BrickLink individually now…
If you haven’t already, don’t forget to check out our hands-on verdict on LEGO Star Wars SMART Play, which includes a real-world test with the sets’ primary target audience.
Support the work that Brick Fanatics does by purchasing your LEGO using our affiliate links. Thanks!
