LEGO Icons 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House review

LEGO Icons 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House bookends the show with another journey to Hawkins that thinks outside the box.

It’s been six and a half years since the LEGO Group last tackled Stranger Things at minifigure scale with 75810 The Upside Down, a set that leaned into Season 1’s core storyline in a remarkable and unexpected way. 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House now returns to the Netflix show for its fifth and final season, and as well as giving us almost every major missing character delivers a very different – but still excellent – central gimmick.

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Note that this review contains mild spoilers for Season 5 Volume I of Stranger Things.

With only one minifigure-scale Stranger Things LEGO set under its belt so far, there are so many places the LEGO Group could have taken its first follow-up set since 2019. Hawkins High School, Starcourt Mall and Hawkins Lab could all have made for excellent builds from Seasons 2, 3 and 4 – but the timing of this release really meant there was only one obvious candidate.

Victor Creel’s home is a major setting for the events of Season 4 and returns in a slightly different capacity across the first four episodes of Season 5, but still plays a very prominent role in Vecna’s attempts to destroy Hawkins. As a single location that binds together most of the characters in the show in one way or another, it feels like the right choice for a modern LEGO Stranger Things set under the Icons banner.

And if Stranger Things is indeed to live under the Icons banner, in the same way as licences such as The Lord of the Rings and Pirates of the Caribbean – so that we only get larger, one-off, 18+ releases – it’s no surprise to see how much is stuffed into one box in 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House. As well as the house itself, and its genuinely impressive transformation feature (more on that soon), the 2,593-piece set crams in two vehicles and 13 minifigures.

Only five of those are repeats from the previous set too, and even then these kids have aged so much since 2016 (and are obviously wearing completely different outfits) that Will, Mike, Lucas, Dustin and Eleven are all radically changed from their last appearance. Yet they all still feel pretty close to the source material, even if Will and Mike suffer slightly from having to choose their hairstyles from the current palette (and Fortnite has shown us what else might have been possible).

The minifigures we’ve really all been waiting for, of course, are those who were around back in Season 1 but left out of 75810 The Upside Down: Steve, Jonathan and Nancy. The latter two borrow their hairpieces from The Lord of the Rings and Gabby’s Dollhouse respectively, and both do a pretty good job (Jonathan’s hair seems to have gotten lighter in colour in the latest series). Steve, meanwhile, reuses a ‘do first designed for Queer Eye, and unfortunately it’s giving Conan O’Brien more than Steve Harrington.

Then there’s relative newcomer Robin, who is by and large pretty on point, and the quartet of spoilery characters: Max Mayfield in grubby threads, Mr. Whatsit in a polished suit, Vecna (complete with a brand new element for his embiggened hand) and, of course, Holly Wheeler, who feels like the most faithful character of them all here. From her new hairpiece to her cloak, moulded skirt element and double-sided face print, she’s pretty much perfect.

Across the lot there’s only one pair of printed legs and one pair of dual-moulded legs, which for the price tag feels a little bit miserly – but then it’s not like most of them are wearing anything other than plain trousers in the show anyway. If these minifigures don’t feel iconic enough to you at first glance, it’s probably just because Season 5 hasn’t had enough time to seep into our collective cultural consciousness. And we do at least get Dustin’s Hellfire Club t-shirt…

That we’re getting them all in one go here anyway (plus Joyce and Hopper in the set-exclusive gift-with-purchase 40891 WSQK ‘The Squawk’ Radio Station) suggests this is our one and only LEGO Stranger Things 2026 set, so it’s great that nobody has been left on the cutting room floor. The only real bone to pick is that the excellent Demogorgon minifigure from 2019 hasn’t returned – especially because its head mould is still in production for 10311 Orchid.

You could also imagine that the WSQK van and even Steve’s dark red BMW would have made for viable standalone sets in a wider LEGO Stranger Things theme, so they’re very welcome additions here (not least for their relevance to the plot). They’re both six-wide so hew closer in style and design to LEGO City than LEGO Speed Champions, but because this is an 18+ Icons set the techniques used to realise them are a cut above what you’d expect from City.

That’s especially true of the van, which packs in some complicated construction to achieve tight angles and small offsets, such as the recess for the rear licence plate. It’s a shame there’s none of Dustin’s tracking kit in the back of the van – the interior is entirely empty – and that Steve’s car can only fit a single minifigure, but the radar on top can at least be effortlessly switched between vehicles. No drilling required here, folks.

If you build 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House in the order of its numbered bags, you’ll actually assemble those vehicles last: first up is the house itself, and there’s not really a single moment in the build that goes the way you expect. Chances are you’ve put together a LEGO house or two in your time, and maybe even a larger one like 21330 Home Alone – but the Creel House is something entirely different.

That’s of course thanks to the fact that this is indeed no ordinary LEGO house. Place a hand on the trees either side of the house and pull them apart, and what at first glance appears to be a regular dollhouse-style build comes apart in front of your eyes to reveal Vecna’s mind lair. The transformation is superbly executed and mesmerising to watch: some rooms split in two, others turn 45 degrees, one wall drops in place and the central spire even rises up. The engineering that’s gone into it – without sacrificing the visual fidelity of the front of the house in any way – is one of the best things you’ll see from an official LEGO set in 2026. We’re calling it now.

And it means that the build really is a lot more interesting than it otherwise would have been if this was just the Creel House and nothing more. There’s a fair bit of Technic under the hood, but even beyond that the specific angles, part combinations and techniques required for the house to split apart in such an effortless fashion will have you running through 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House faster than Steve was driving when he crashed into that wall.

There are a few compromises in the interior of the house – some of the mechanisms are plainly on show – but they’re easily overlooked thanks to the amount of detail packed into each room. There are references to events from both Season 4 and 5 scattered throughout, there’s more furniture than you’ll find in even most modular buildings (and none of it repeated from one room to the next), and pulling apart the house even changes the interior, spinning around a wall to reveal Vecna in his mind lair.

The pièce de resistance, though, is surely the grandfather clock that appears as if from nowhere in the middle of the house when you pull it open, as ominous as it was in Season 4. (Or maybe the literal pièce de resistance is the printed rose glass on the front door directly below it – tough choice.)

LEGO designer Mike Psiaki explained to Brick Fanatics and other LEGO fan media earlier this year that he didn’t just want to repeat the trick of 75810 The Upside Down, building both the Upside Down and the Right-Side Up in one set. And while the concept of that 2019 set brought us one of the most visually interesting and arresting sets of the decade, the engineering behind 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House is almost on another level. The design team have zigged when we expected them to zag, but the risk has paid off precisely because the ambition has been realised so successfully.

There’s a nice creative throughline too in both LEGO Stranger Things sets being bookended by trees, even if those in 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House are also one area where aesthetics are sacrificed at the altar of functionality. But seeing them drop in tandem as the house comes to pieces is really just the cherry on the cake.

What takes the edge off ever so slightly is, of course, the price tag. On paper it sounds fine: 2,593 pieces and 13 minifigures for £249.99. But the house is still pretty shallow and not giant all things considered, so something closer to £220 or even £200 would have felt a little more appropriate. That said, its gift-with-purchase is also excellent, so you won’t feel burned if you buy day one. But if your January 1 budget is being allocated elsewhere, best to wait for a small discount (or at least double Insiders points) to take a little bit of the sting out of it.

LEGO Stranger Things The Upside Down and Creel House comparison

How does 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House stack up next to 75810 The Upside Down? Pretty well, all told. The trees in the original set are a bit spookier than those in the latest one, but otherwise they’re both doing pretty different things in interesting and unique ways.

The Creel House actually looks a bit small next to the Byers’ household, but then the 2019 model does have the unfair advantage of being the same house twice over – and the trees give it a lot of height even while there’s a fair chunk of negative space top and bottom.

There are many more minifigures in the new set too, even if they’re perhaps not as individually as strong as those in the first LEGO Stranger Things set. But with aftermarket prices for 75810 The Upside Down being what they are, 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House is a fine alternative for series fans who missed out on the 2019 model.

LEGO sets built on core gimmicks – especially at this price point – don’t always succeed, especially when they prioritise functionality over aesthetics. The novelty of opening Vecna’s mind lair will wear off eventually, after all. Yet 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House serves up not only an engaging build and fun transforming feature, but also a wonderfully-realised finished model, relevant side builds and excellent minifigure selection.

The result is a set that will easily pull attention from rather than be buried among the growing number of January 1 releases, particularly for its day-one GWP. Now if only it also included a Demogorgon…

Our honest opinion: A worthy successor to 75810 The Upside Down, the latest LEGO Stranger Things set tries something different – and fulfils every single one of its ambitions.

This LEGO set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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How does LEGO Stranger Things The Creel House’s transformation function work?

LEGO Stranger Things The Creel House’s transformation function takes advantage of some clever engineering to separate its rooms in a way that they can be easily pushed back together again. It’s a combination of Technic pieces, wedge plates and more that adds up to an enjoyable and engaging build experience.

How long does it take to build LEGO Stranger Things The Creel House?

You’ll spend a good four or five hours assembling LEGO 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House across 22 numbered bags. That’s enough time to rewatch… erm, the first half of Season 5? These episodes are not short.

How big is LEGO Stranger Things The Creel House?

When closed and presented as a normal house, 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House stands roughly 29cm tall, 49cm wide and 16cm deep. Pull apart the trees and reveal Vecna’s mind lair, and it extends to 33cm tall and 72cm wide (to the tips of the fallen trees).

How much does LEGO Stranger Things The Creel House cost?

LEGO Icons 11370 Stranger Things: The Creel House launches January 1, 2026 and retails for £249.99 / $299.99 / €279.99.