Review: LEGO Icons SpongeBob SquarePants Bikini Bottom

LEGO Icons Spongebob Squarepants Bikini Bottom 11386 New Release Review Brick Banter - 2026 August Cover

Who lives in a LEGO build under the sea?

With the last attempt made by LEGO to make SpongeBob’s house over 14 years ago and a loss of license in between, it was very unexpected for fans to see LEGO SpongeBob Squarepants again. But with a renewed licence means a new renewed scope and lens to make a better product. How does 14 years of learning translate into a new model? Read on to find out!

SpongeBob’s Pineapple Home

SpongeBob Squarepants’ pineapple home is the largest LEGO building of the set, parts wise. The entire build is made up of an interesting interconnecting pattern that made the build process really enjoyable. The exterior uses flowers in place of the painted details on the pineapple, and the front door even uses the classic submariners door.

As we move inside, we see SpongeBob’s TV with the news reporting fish on it, as well as SpongeBob’s chair and a conch phone. We also get snail food on the wall and even a rare reference to the Chip, Penny and Used Napkin. These reference an episode where SpongeBob refuses to go outside because he is suffering trauma, and these become his new best friends.

As we move upstairs, we get Gary’s food bowl, diving board and large alarm clock. We get a recoloured life preserver here for the head of the bed, and this space fills up real quickly when a figure is put in here.

I really like the level of detail that lands inside this house.

Squidward’s house

Squidward’s house is fantastically conveyed into LEGO, with some fun building techniques as we get up to the bridge of the nose. LEGO also opt to use printed tiles for the ‘eyes’ which only add to the aesthetic.

As we move inside the house, we get some iconic Squidward things – his chair that he sometimes drags outside, his shower/bath with pink bubbles, music and artwork. We also get his four-post bed as well, allowing for a lot of recreating of scenes.

Bikini Bottom Accessories

Alongside SpongeBob and Squidward’s house, we also get a few extras along the way.

We get Patrick’s rock home, represented as a big brown dome. The rock does lift up, like it does in the show, and reveals a sand chair, lamp and TV for Patrick to watch. Funny.

We get a Bubbles selling stand, as well as a small excerpt of Jellyfish fields. The original SpongeBob sets by LEGO used translucent Chef Hats as Jellyfish previously, and it is sad not to see them here. But these jellyfish are okay too.

We also get the iconic boat that SpongeBob still cannot drive, as well as the Bikini Bottom Sign that is used in a lot of faraway shots. These are all great!

Minifigures

This set comes with three traditional figures, and two brick built ones. We get SpongeBob, Patrick, Squidward, DoodleBob and Gary the Snail.

SpongeBob sports an entirely new torso element, using the minions arms for his sleeves. The printing here is fantastic and conveys the character really well here.

Patrick is also given a new element, his head/torso combo. The mould gives him a bigger/stockier frame, although I’m not sure if he needs it. The printing for his legs is great here, mind you.

Squidward appears in a much lighter blue than I expected, but with the retirement of medium-blue coming up, this was the next best choice in colour. Squidward’s legs come with subtle printing, and he even gets dual moulded arms. The figure is really well conveyed here, but stands to reason that he could have possibly had an angry expression given the environment.

DoodleBob is built entirely out of bricks, and conveys the drawing SpongeBob was making with the magic pencil. He’s a character entire unexpected by me in this set, but is a welcome and fun addition.

Lastly, we have Gary. Gary’s build is design to be seen only from one side, as his shell design doesn’t carry over to the other side. I love that LEGO are still using cherries for his eyes.

Verdict

This set is filled with a large variety of details that could make any fan happy. I don’t know how this will go over the course of its lifetime, as sets like this end up to predominately for display rather than play. I would highly encourage fans to actually play with this set with their kids, as this is a really good set for new and old fans.

This is a set that is leagues ahead of its predecessors, and is worth investment for fans. The price tag, as always, should be a considerable value.