Set Review - #21343-1: Viking Village - LEGO Ideas

It’s LEGO Ideas set #51! This one is #21343-1: Viking Village. It is the result of the LEGO X Target fan vote that took place in May 2022 between this design and two other designs that reached 10K votes, but were not selected during their original reviews. Thankfully, this set is not exclusive to Target as you can buy it from LEGO as well. The set was released on 1 September 2023. It contains 2,103 pieces and retails for $129.99 in the US. This works out to $0.062 per piece which is quite good.

The box is black with the 18+ greebling and the Ideas logo. The front of the box shows the front of the set while the back shows another view and some of the play features of the set.

The set contains 15 numbered parts bags and two plastic rope strands for the rope bridge. The instruction booklet is in a cardboard envelope for protection. The instructions include details about Vikings, the fan designer, and LEGO designers .

The first bag builds a base to what will be a blacksmith’s hut. Like many of the recent sets, this one does not have a base plate, but instead puts plates together to create the base. The plates are light blue to capture that this village is near the water. Bag one includes a female minifigure. She has a paint brush and a hammer which has printing on it.

The second bag adds some details to the base and then builds up the structure of the blacksmith hut area. It comes with some extra gear stored on the wall and in a barrel nearby. Additionally, there is a simple Technic built function that lets you shoot the flames up as the metal worker is working. I like the use of the decorative, curved piece colored in white as chimney smoke.

The third bag finishes up the shop area and tops it off with a roof. The roof is removable in one piece so you can get inside as you need to. There are also a number of trees and plants on the outside added in. Most have white pieces on top for snow.

The fourth bag builds a base for what appears to be a main chamber type building. It includes a small fire pit in the middle of the base. This bag comes with a male minifigure equipped with a bow and arrow and a quiver of more arrows.

The fifth bag adds in some details to include a back wall with a throne in front and then the start of a front entry way. There are a number of printed tiles in this build and thankfully no stickers. Yay!

Bag six adds more details to include the side walls, turning the fire pit into a cooking area, and adding in some cooking gear, weapons, a cup, and a small lantern. This bag also adds in a male minifigure who appears to be the lead Viking. I failed to take a picture of it, but you’ll see it later in the review.

The seventh bag adds in some banners on the walls as tiles inside, front doors that pivot open and closed, and then the pitch section to create the angled roof.

The eighth bag completes the roof. The roof is held on by gravity and includes a roof/chimney section in the center. I like the details and coloring. It’s pretty simple, but achieves the desired effect. Plus there are gold colored hot dog pieces.

Bag nine starts the base to the next section of the build.

Bag 10 adds in some pieces assembled which end up as rock stairs and then some drying fish on a pole.

Bag 11 builds more base which attaches to the base from bag nine.

Bag 12 connects the two bases and adds in a lookout tower, some kegs of a beverage, and adds a female minifigure holding a shield and ax.

Bag 13 adds a small room on top of the small hill-like structure with the steps leading up to it. There is a door to get in and a ladder to climb up. Inside are a few food items and a small shelf. The windows have an interesting design for a window awning. I like how they used rod connecter pieces of different sizes to make it work.

Bag 14 adds the rope bridge. It uses the two rope pieces included in the set and then you add each of the bridge steps. It’s a little challenging to attach it all, but I managed.

The 15th and last bag adds walls and a roof on top of the room on top of the hilly area. The roof is built in a similar style as the throne room building.

The set comes with four Viking minifigures. I used my own plates to get them to stand up. You don’t get the plates in the set (sorry). Each comes with their own weapons/gear. I like the styles and I’m glad they have fun facial expressions. While I’d always like to see more minifigures, I think four is a decent amount for this set. If you are looking for more Viking minifigures, check out the Bricks for Bricks Bricklink store to grab some more.

Here’s the final build front and back. From a price standpoint, it’s not too bad, but there are a lot of smaller pieces so that could be part of the reason for the low price per piece ratio. It is a pretty sizeable set though. When you connect the different sections it adds up to 18 inches long. The set has good playability and could easily be added to a larger Viking MOC if you wanted to. It was a fun build and has some good pieces. Not a lot of varying colors, but that’s to be expected considering the theme. Getting the four minifigures is a win too. Overall, I recommend the set. It’s a great build with a lot of potential. Maybe if you wait a year or two, it’ll even go on sale…

What are your thoughts?

Happy building!

How Many Botanical Gardens Do We Need?

On Tuesday, 19 December 2023, the LEGO Ideas team released the results of their last half of 2023 review with 71 designs under consideration. You can read the post and watch the video here. The second set listed was by Fan Designer Valentina Bima (aka Goannas89) and it’s titled “The Botanical Garden.”

Image from ideas.lego.com

It’s an awesome design with some great details and 8 minifigures. We’ll see what the final set looks like, but hopefully the LEGO designers can do it justice.

But wait…

Don’t we already have a Botanical Garden set?

We have #41757-1: Botanical Garden from the Friends theme as seen here.

I realize there are a lot of differences. Minifigures versus minidolls, one is designed as a play set while the other is a… bigger play set… maybe… and obviously size, but I’m curious as to why the Ideas team selected another Botanical Garden set when LEGO has one available already?

If LEGO is looking to appeal to a wider audience, I think they have done that already. I posted Tiago Catarino’s review video below. Around the 4:45 mark, he starts to talk about buying two of these sets and making a larger Botanical Garden. Tiago used two pieces from his collection to make it work and I have seen numerous other posts of people doing a similar thing. The Friends set has appealed to a larger audience already beyond the normal Friends fans. Why would LEGO need to try and do it again? #41575-1 costs $79.99 in the US. Two will set you back $159.98. Will this new Ideas set have more details at a lower price point? We’ll have to wait and see I guess.

Happy building!

Set Review - #21342-1: The Insect Collection - LEGO Idea

It’s the 50th LEGO Ideas set. I’m surprised LEGO didn’t make a big deal out of this one. Usually they celebrate all kinds of anniversaries. Oh well. #21342-1: The Insect Collection was released on 4 September 2023 for $79.99. It contains 1,111 pieces which works out to $0.072 per piece which isn’t too bad. A lot of the pieces are smaller, but some are special printed or unique pieces so that may make up for it.

For the review, the front of the box shows the three different models with the set name and Ideas logo on the top. The back shows another view of the set and some close up shots along with a display suggestion.

The set contains seven numbered parts bags. Bag one contains a piece separator. There are then four instruction booklets that come in an envelope (Thank you LEGO!). The first book gives some detail on the models and designers. Then the remaining three are for each of the builds.

The first bag begins building the Blue Morpho butterfly. It builds a base with a brick built plant or stick coming out of the base. Around the base are a few flowers and other plants and leaves.

The second bag adds the butterfly. The first instruction book shows the fan designer build of the butterfly which was built with SNOT techniques. This one is made with plates and tiles stacked on top of each other. The advantage is that they have some printed tiles on the edges of the wings. The disadvantage is the build isn’t as exciting due to the techniques used. It still looks great though as a blue butterfly with the different shades of blue. You also get a miniature honey bee. The bee is fun although I would rather have had a larger sized bee like the fan designer originally submitted. I guess this bee is more to scale so it fits into the scene better.

One bonus though is everything is printed. There are no stickers. YAY!

Bag three starts the Hercules Beetle build. The build starts off with a base similar to the last build. Then you add on a piece of a plant or a branch that the beetle is crawling on.

The fourth bag begins to build the beetle. It’s an interesting build with some fun techniques. The horn piece is big. I’m not sure if they are unique to this set or not, but it would have been interesting to see if they could have built it with additional pieces instead of one larger piece.

The fifth bag finishes up the beetle. You add in two blue mushrooms and then finalize the beetle. Besides the legs, you add in the wings and the covering of the back of the beetle (I’m not sure of the official term for it). You can pose the beetle with the wings out or remove the wings and have the yellow pieces covering the back. I like this feature and decided to picture it as if it’s just taking off from the branch.

The sixth bag starts the build for the Chinese Mantis. You start with the same base that the other two insects are on. Then you build a small stem with some leaves and flowers on it. There are also some round 1x1 red tiles printed as ladybugs. The fan designer submitted a larger scaled ladybug to Ideas and I would have preferred that as well, but I’ll take what they created.

The seventh and final bag adds in the Chinese Mantis. The designers did a good job capturing the shape and details of the insect. I like the use of the pistols at the bottoms of the legs and crow bars for antenna.

Here are the final builds. Definitely something outside the ordinary sets we see so that’s good. I would have liked to see more of the fan designer submissions (larger ladybug and bee), but I can’t complain with what we received. These are definitely display pieces which is fine for the 18+ audience in my opinion. Pricewise, it’s not bad considering the price for piece and maybe as it gets closer to retirement, we’ll see it go on sale which would be awesome.

What were your thoughts on this one? Can you mix them in with some of your Botanical sets?

Happy building!

Set Review - #21338-1: A Frame Cabin - LEGO Ideas - #46

How are we at the 46th set in the LEGO Ideas line? Where has the time gone? This one is #21338-1: A Frame Cabin. It was released back on 14 January 2023 in the US. It contains 2,082 pieces and retails for $179.99. That works out to $0.086 per piece which isn’t too bad. The set is jammed with a lot of details, but still has a lot of playability too. Plus it’s not just a front façade of a building like many sets are as the roof pieces come off for access if you want to play instead of accessing the back of the build. Before getting into the build, I thought this set would go well with #21318-1: Tree House if you wanted to build an outdoor scene or just a MOC of a scene in the woods. I’ll have to add that to my list of things to try someday.

Onto the review…

You get the standard box with the 18+ greebling and Ideas logos. The front shows the full set while while the back gives some additional details and dimensions.

The contents are 15 numbered parts bags with one unnumbered bag of larger pieces. A few of the numbers have more than one bag. You also get two instruction books in a paperboard envelope.

Here’s the envelope with the instructions and the two books. The instructions have some details on the designers, fan designer, and the model itself to read before you get into the build.

Bag one builds the base of the cabin and includes two minifigures.

Bag two adds in some tiles and studded tiles that end up as the front porch. You also add in some Thor’s Hammers for the masonry work in front of the cabin which is a cool building technique.

The third bag starts to pack in details. There is a small kitchen area with a sink, stove, extra wood to burn, storage for dishes, and then the start of some stairs. The other side of the room has a record player and a 2x4 printed tile that says “LEGO” as your floor mat. I believe this is the tile from #10290-1: Pickup Truck.

Bag four builds up the walls and support section for the second floor. The kitchen area gets a few more items to include a stove, chopping blade, and fire extinguisher. There are stairs put in above the kitchen area with a LEGO plate on a step for a minifigure to accidentally step on.

The other side adds in a guitar, shelving, and you can see a printed tile above the front door.

The fifth bag adds in tiles, jumper plates, and some plates as the outer siding of the cabin. Some are offset and they aren’t in any particular order which helps to make it look more like a cabin in the woods than a manufactured building. The front side of the cabin gets one of the newer butterfly pieces above the front door which is a nice addition.

Bag six decks out the front porch with a rocking chair, a small stove to fry an egg, steps up to the porch, a small bench with a lantern and mug, and railings for the porch. Then in the back you get a shower, bathroom materials (shovel, toilet paper), and what appears to be gas hookups for the stove (maybe).

Bag seven adds a tree which comes with a small storage area for extra logs to burn and a bucket with tools. The coloring of the tree is fun with the yellows and reds of a fall like tree. This section can connect to the main cabin with a small Technic axle into a Technic pin hole. This allows it to stay there, but it can easily be removed and placed elsewhere as we’ll see later. This section comes with a small blue bird to sit in the tree.

Bag eight builds the second floor which is a small sleeping area with a bed. It still has a bunch of details to include a book shelf, a map on the floor and some lamps.

Bag nine attaches the second floor to the first floor, adds the siding to the upper level similar to the lower level, puts a peak on the roof, builds up the chimney from the stove, and adds in a little more detail on the second floor.

Bags 10 and 11 build the large sloped roof. Each side is built the same per the instructions (if you want to follow them). Both come with a skylight and a printed tile with wood grain. Bag 11 adds the tiles and studded tiles to finish out the roof and then each piece easily slides on top of the cabin. There aren’t any actual connections which is fine. Gravity keeps it on and I’ve been able to pick up the cabin and move it around without losing the roof.

Bag 12 builds another section of the build that can either be a piece attached to the corner of the cabin or placed separate. It starts with some greenery, a small stream section, and a rock piece. These pieces are assembled with some various plant pieces around them. There is also a small… um… animal… it’s not a squirrel… is it a woodchuck? rat? I’m not actually sure. The set comes with birds and a spider… but I’m not sure on this one.

Bag 13 assembles the stems and branches of the two trees. They are built in a similar fashion, but you can change the angles as desired to make them look different.

Bag 14 adds leaves/color to one of the trees. You get some great fall colored pieces to fill out the tree on this one. There’s dark orange, yellow, gold, and a bright yellow. They make a pretty good color combination for my untrained eye.

Bag 15 puts greenery on the second tree with sand green, dark green, and an olive type color. I like how all three trees in the set have different colors. You can obviously change them as you want, but I just followed the instructions. I’m also a fan of the wildlife with a red bird and butterfly with these two trees.

Below the trees you get a spot to rest the canoe on some Technic parts. Underneath is a crate with some life jackets and a bottle of some sorts. There’s a barrel to the side of the one tree where you can place the oars.

This set comes with four minifigures. I don’t think any of them are unique or have any rare attributes, but they’re a good mix for this set. I’m okay with four adult minifigures versus including minifigures with the kid legs.

Here are some pictures of the final build with the different tree sections attached and then separate. Overall, this was a great build. I enjoyed assembling the set between the different build techniques and all of the little details. It wasn’t super hard to assemble, but it also wasn’t just stacking bricks on top of each other which was good. You get a lot of great pieces as well if you like to break apart sets for MOCs. Lots of printed pieces too and no stickers which was a bonus. I would price this set around $160 instead of $180, but look for opportunities to get it with gifts with purchase or double VIP points or on sale at some other retailer if you can find it on discount.

Another great addition to the Ideas line in my opinion. What did you think?

Happy building!

Set Review - #21335-1: Motorized Lighthouse - Lego Ideas

Here is LEGO Ideas set #43, #21335-1: Motorized Lighthouse. This one was released in the US on 19 August 2022 and retails for $299.99. It contains 2,065 pieces and this works out to $0.145 per piece. Yikes! A lot, I know. It does come with a motor, battery box, and lights, but does that really raise the price by that much? I picked this one up during a double VIP point period and used some of my VIP points to discount the price. It’s a bit high in my opinion, but onto to the review.

The box for this one is rather large. The set arrived in a special outer box that UPS still somehow managed to damage so the set box showed up damaged too. Thanks! I think the box could have been a bit smaller, but I’m not a packaging expert. The box is dark with some blue greebling on the bottom for the 18+ design. The dark packaging works so LEGO can show off the light house functionality. I’m not sure the light looks exactly like they picture it, but I get the idea. The back of the box shows some additional set details and gives the dimensions of the set.

The box contains 18 parts bags. The bags are numbered one to 13 with one unnumbered bag for the larger pieces. You get a box for the battery box and the motor comes packaged separate too. The instructions and the base plate come in paperboard envelopes. Don’t forget about the stickers. I almost did.

You get two instruction booklets. There are some details about lighthouses, the Fresnel lens, the fan designer (Sandro Quattrini), and then info about the LEGO design team.

There are two small sticker sheets with 5 stickers total. Not bad I guess.

You get a dark blue baseplate which is a first for LEGO. We’ll see if it pops up again somewhere in the future.

The first bag starts the base of the build with the outline of the island area where the lighthouse is placed. This bag also comes with a male lighthouse keeper with a telescope and then a female lighthouse keeper. I have her in the row boat with the kitten.

The second bag adds up some more details along the base, but also installs the battery box and motor. Initially it looks like the wires are everywhere, but the designers did a good job keeping them contained.

The third bag adds more details and a bunch of the BURPs (big ugly rock pieces) to the build for height. While I’m not a fan of BURPs, I understand the usage of them as I’d probably still be sitting there attaching all the pieces to achieve the height needed to cover up the electronics. Not pictured well here, but there is a cave in the island. It is where the switch is located to turn the light on and then there’s a treasure chest as well.

The fourth bag adds plates to the top of the island covering it all with just an axle sticking up and the wire for the lights.

The fifth bag adds the base of the lighthouse structure and then adds some details to the top of the island which will allow us to install the little structure at the base of the lighthouse. The axle to turn the light is hidden pretty well already which is great.

I could look it up, but I like to call it swamp green. I’m sure there’s an official term for the green color. It’s a nice look for the set.

Bag six builds the small living quarters for the lighthouse. They managed to cram a lot in there to include a small kitchen space, a bed, a desk, and some decorations.

Bag seven adds some details to the outside of the structure and installs it to the lighthouse island at an angle which is a nice touch.

Bag eight builds the internal structure to the lighthouse and takes it up a few floors. There are ladders inside for minifigures to climb up to the top as needed.

The ninth bag starts to round out the lighthouse structure with curved pieces. To break things up a bit, you throw in a few pieces with studs to clip on plant pieces. The structure gets smaller as you get higher so thankfully it’s not a repetitive build.

Bag 10 rounds out most of the rest of the tower and adds in the windows. The lighthouse tower has a good look to it on the outside. It’s not completely round, but it works for being brick built. The placement of the windows with the small ledge at the bottom is simple, yet it fits in well.

Bag 11 adds the roof to the living quarters at the base of the lighthouse. You also add a door and connect a light to the fireplace. I didn’t get a picture of it, but you really can’t see the fireplace lit up well unless you take the roof off. It seems like they could have used the second light on the strand for something else. Maybe a lamp on the front of the building?

Bag 12 completes the lighthouse and starts to add details to the top of the tower. The parts to connect the motor to the top of the lighthouse are added as well. I was curious to see how the light and motor would be integrated in the next step with such limited hardware showing

Bag 13 finishes up the set and I really like how they did this. The railing on the outside with the bent tubes, the garage door pieces for the windows around the tower, and the motorization for the light. The light is installed and it shines on the silver/reflective sticker. That then shines the light through the Fresnel lens (the piece is pictured) and the whole assembly rotates around. The mechanics of this are simple, but they work. Nice job design team. To top it off, you get a lance/sword as the tip of the lighthouse.

Here are a few shots of the final build. Overall, it was an enjoyable build to assemble. Not a lot of repetition and some great parts usage. I enjoyed it despite the BURPs included. I already mentioned the cost as a negative, but it ranks right up there with #10268-1: Vestas Wind Turbine as cool looking, but overpriced. There’s a motor, a light, and a battery box and LEGO increases the price of the set because of this.

Do I recommend this set? This is a tough one. Great build, but high price. I don’t think I would have purchased it without VIP points to cut the price down. $300 for this set is a bit high in my opinion.

What are your thoughts? Pick this one up? Hope there is a sale? Use VIP points?

Happy building!