An upcoming LEGO set based on an iconic location from SpongeBob SquarePants may have a manufacturing defect affecting one of its minifigures, according to some newly surfaced evidence. The issue concerns 11386 SpongeBob SquarePants: Bikini Bottom, one of LEGO’s priciest sets of the year, which is scheduled for release on September 1, 2026.
The Danish toymaker officially unveiled the Bikini Bottom set on July 14, opening pre-orders on the same day. The 1,794-piece set was revealed alongside a 72-piece BrickHeadz build of SpongeBob. Both are significant for being LEGO’s first SpongeBob SquarePants sets in 13 years. The Bikini Bottom replica is also notable for its sheer size, which encompasses SpongeBob’s pineapple home, Squidward’s house, Patrick’s rock, and the Jellyfish Fields.
Multiple Patrick Minifigs From New LEGO SpongeBob Set Show the Same Weak Point
According to a new report by Brick Fanatics, the $219.99 set may have a manufacturing defect. Multiple Patrick minifigures from the pre-release wave appear to have cracks or similar-looking marks in the same location on the back of the character’s new head element. At the same time, the available evidence does not establish that every mark found on the upcoming LEGO set’s minifigure is a crack. Brick Fanatics found the same feature on its review copy but determined that the element’s surface was smooth and undamaged.
The most severe example came from Instagram user Brick_guy42, whose Patrick minifigure appears to exhibit substantial cracking on the back of both the head and arms. Brickset found a similar crack on the back of the Patrick minifig included with its own copy, while YouTuber Just2good spotted a similar mark in the same location without establishing that it was a crack. With two apparent cases of cracking and two additional marks in the same location now documented, the pattern is notable. However, there is still too little evidence to determine whether it reflects a recurring molding problem or a limited number of defective pieces.
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Patrick’s head is a new element and one of three new LEGO minifigure pieces that help distinguish the SpongeBob set. As a newly introduced part, it may be somewhat more susceptible to manufacturing issues early in the set’s production run. Whether that is the case here remains unclear, as current reports cannot even determine whether the repeated mark is a normal result of the molding process, a weak point that can develop into a crack, or simply a coincidence among the genuinely damaged samples.
LEGO Production Problems Are Rare, But Not Unprecedented
Publicly documented quality-control problems of this kind are unusual but not entirely unprecedented with LEGO sets. In 2015, Brickset reported that 75102 Poe’s X-Wing Fighter had disappeared from LEGO’s online store and was believed to have been withdrawn from some retail locations after certain copies shipped with canopy elements that would not close properly. The issue was thought to affect only some production batches. More recently, an insider report claimed several large LEGO sets were delayed around May 2026 due to production issues.
