The AdoraBuild is Back! The Cutest LEGO Contest Returns
/Are you ready to explore a world where cuteness is currency and every LEGO MOC is an ode to the adorable, where you just want to hug everything? Then it’s time to get building, because The AdoraBuild is back! Our celebration of all things cute and cuddly returns after an incredibly fun debut two years ago that brought out some of the most wonderfully charming creations from the community.
Once again, we’re challenging you to bring your most heart-melting ideas to life. The AdoraBuild is your chance to lean fully into joy, whimsy, and creativity and share a build that makes people smile the moment they see it. Consider this your official permission to build something so cute you wanna die!
What Makes Something Adorable?
The AdoraBuild isn’t just a LEGO contest; it’s a journey into the whimsical, the endearing, and the outright precious. From fluffy creatures to heart-melting scenes, your mission is to capture the essence of cuteness in brick-built form.
But what makes a build “adorable”? Is it the splash of color, the clever use of pieces, big googly eyes or the endearing story it tells? Maybe it is about the perfect joke or how much you want to hug it? We believe it’s all of the above and much more! We’re looking for builds that make us go “Aww!” at first sight—ones that evoke warmth, happiness, and an uncontrollable smile.
Cute Categories
To inspire your creations, we’re returning to our three classic categories, each designed to showcase different aspects of cuteness. Each category winner will receive an avalanche of adorable prizes (or $100 of the LEGO of their choice). Choose the category that sparks your inner “Awww!” (or multiple if you are feeling overcome by emotion) and build your heart out!
If you need inspiration, check out all the AdoraBuild winners from last time:
Here are your categories:
1. Cuddly Characters
Bring to life the cutest character you can imagine that makes you want to squeeze it because it is just so cute! Think Chibi-scale animals, a personified object, or a creature with a face that makes you smile. Picture a plush avocado with googly eyes, a baby’s giggle, or the most adorable brick-built ninja you’ve ever seen!
Category Prizes: 72151 Eevee, 31165 Wild Animals: Panda Family & 60484 Rides - Gaming Race Car.
2. Small Scale
Create something that would normally be big but has been shrunk down to an adorable size! Think baby-scale vehicles, classic micro-LEGO sets, tiny plants, mini food, or other objects that gain an extra dose of cute when downsized to be “smol.”
Category Prizes: 21365 Love Birds, 31382 Cute Animals: Playful Puppy Dog & 10349 Happy Plants.
3. Sweet Scenes
Create a scene filled with adorableness. Add a cute twist to a situation, build a snuggle-worthy space, or depict a moment in time where you can’t help but smile. Picture a picnic date, an adorably awkward first dance, escaping to a comfy library nook, or building a blanket fort.
Category prizes: 43279 WALL-E and EVE, 77255 Lightning McQueen & 31376 Cute Hamster with a Flower
Become the Master AdoraBuilder!
One person who enters all three categories will crowned our Master AdoraBuilder and win 40767 Up-Scaled Baby Astronaut, 40921 Up-Scaled Blue Astronaut Minifigure and our coveted Golden Nerdly Trophy and BrickNerd swag box!
You could even win a category AND the Master AdoraBuilder title! Talk about killing it with cuteness…
A Delightful Deadline
Joining the cuteness craze is easy as pie—you have until May 9th to submit your builds via our Google Form (coming soon). While the form is the official entry, please post your creations in our Flickr group or on Instagram stating the category, tagging BrickNerd, and including the hashtags #AdoraBuild and #BrickNerd.
So channel your inner child, go to your happy place where cuddles rule, and let your adorableness shine. We’re bubbling with excitement to see the heartwarming creations you’ll bring to the AdoraBuild. Let the cuteness overload begin!
The AdoraBuild Official Rules
Entries must be cute, adorable, or something related and witty.
All entries must be new creations built since the announcement of the contest and not based on any existing builds, instructions, or sets. Entries may be updated as long as the contest is still open.
The contest will be judged by BrickNerd contributors who will evaluate entries based on concept (is the idea cute and/or clever), quality (is the creation built well), and presentation (is the build composed and photographed in a way that enhances the creation).
Your entries must be submitted via the contest’s Google Form. Please also post them in the AdoraBuild Flickr group or on Instagram tagging and mentioning @BrickNerd/@BrickNerdOfficial, stating the category you are entering, and adding the hashtags #AdoraBuild and #BrickNerd. If you do not indicate a category, one will be chosen for you.
If you don’t have either Flickr or Instagram, please email your submission to dave@bricknerd.com.
Please only add one photo/submission of each entry to the Flickr group (extras will be removed). If you upload an Instagram gallery, please make the first image the one you want to be judged.
The contest ends on May 9th, 2026 at 11:59 pm PST (7:59 am GMT on May 1st for Europeans). Winners will be announced a few weeks later.
You may enter as many times as you want with unique creations. A single builder can win multiple prizes. However, we caution you against spamming multiple builds unrelated to the contest.
Digital renders are allowed, though the creation must be structurally sound and all the pieces must be available physically. Custom, modified and unavailable recolored bricks are not allowed this time around.
These rules and prizes may be modified at any point, and prizes may be substituted for comparable items depending on the winner’s location and local currency.
Are you ready for cuteness overload in LEGO form? Let us know in the comments below.
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