It has been a while since I reviewed an Architecture set.. #21042-1: Statue of Liberty was not even on my radar as a set I would be interested in. I stumbled across a review on the site Brick Architect by Tom Alphin and he persuaded me to give it a shot. The set was released in the US back on 2 June 2018. It goes for $119.99 in the US, but I found it locally for ~$90 so I can’t complain. The set contains 1,685 pieces so it works out to be $0.071/piece. Many of the pieces are smaller so this may be the reason for the lower price per piece ratio. Check around for discounts on this set or other details. Target has run a $10 off $50 or more LEGO purchase a few times and a few other places have discounted it as well. I have yet to see Amazon.com or Walmart put it on discount.
The front of the box shows the set while the back of the box shows the set next to a picture of the actual statue. It also gives the dimensions of the set.
Inside the box is a quote from Charles B. Rangel. I had to look up who that was so don’t feel bad if you have no clue either. He’s a politician from New York who served in the US House of Representatives from 1971 to 2017.
The contents of the set are an instruction booklet, three Technic elements, and 10 parts bags labeled one through five with two bags each.
The first bag builds the base of the model and starts the base of the statue. Like most Architecture sets, the base has black tiles around the outer edge with one of the tiles containing the printed name of the set.
The detailing uses a variety of textured pieces as well as some SNOT techniques. I like the design so far and am glad the designer included some colored pieces for the insides to help with piece placement.
The second set of bags continues with the base of the statue. If you’re not a fan of repetitive builds, then this set is not for you. Pretty much everything you do is “X4” in the instructions for each side. This didn’t bother me much as I get that the base of the model is a square and is the same on each side.
The third set of bags completes the base. Overall, I like the base and how it is constructed. It is solid, yet detailed and I think it captures the actual structure rather well.
This part of the build adds in the Technic parts. These parts help keep the statue sturdy and prevent it from getting toppled right over if you knock it too hard. You probably could get away without this piece, but I think it’s good to add in.
The fourth set of bags starts on the statue itself. You make a transition from the light tan color pieces to the green-ish colored pieces (what is the real color name?). The build starts with an inner structure that allows you to build most of the statue using SNOT.
I found working with the green color rather challenging. Selecting the right slope type piece was a challenge for me as three of them look very similar and it wasn’t always obvious which angle the instructions called for. I figured it out in the end, but it did involve re-building a few sections once I realized I build sections wrong.
I used to have a better place to take pictures and I haven’t replaced it after moving to Germany. I’ll get there…
Here’s the final model. Overall, I like it. I think the designers did a great job capturing the likeness of the statue in brick form. The build was challenging, yet fun for me and if you don’t like the model, the parts available for other MOCs are great in my opinion.
Some fans did not like the face and how it is just a tile. If you do an internet search, you can find a number of posts where people designed an actual face. JK Brickworks did a re-design of the face. It’s fairly simple and does not require a ton of extra pieces. The link includes a video where he shows you what he did. I’m okay with the face as designed, but I may try the re-design at some point.
In the end, I’m glad I purchased this set (and found it at a discount). I enjoyed the build and I like the final product. I’m not sure how much longer LEGO will keep it on the shelf, but it didn’t get caught in the latest round of set retirements for 2019 so there is still time to pick it up if you’re interested.
What are your thoughts?
Happy building!
