The 2021 Bricklink Designer Program Round 2 sets made it a little while back and I finally got to put one together.. I was most excited about #910023-1: Venetian Houses. It contains 3,470 pieces and retailed for $289.99 in the US. That works out to $0.084 per piece. While this is a hefty price to pay, you are getting two 32x32 base plates with buildings. Or said another way, you are getting two modular buildings in one set.
Part of my inspiration came from seeing some Venetian styled houses back at a show in Germany in 2019 (scroll down a bit to find them if you go to the link). I have so many ideas of sets I’d like to expand upon and here is yet another one.
I don’t have one of these available in my store (sorry), but I have a few others if you are looking for the Bricklink Designer Program sets. You can see them at the Bricks for Bricks Bricklink store here.
Onto the review…
The box is similar in design to the Round 1 sets. It’s all white with the BrickLink logo on it. The front does give credit to the fan designer so that’s a nice perk for them. Also the Bricklink silver seals are on the box along with the standard LEGO seals.
This set came with a bunch of parts bags and then another box of parts bags. When it’s all done, you get 17 sets of numbered bags, two 32x32 base plates, two 16x16 plates, and an unnumbered bag. Similar to previous sets, there are no printed instructions. You can download a PDF version from the BrickLink site or use the LEGO Builder app. I did both and it worked okay, but I still prefer building without having to stare at a screen.
The first set of bags follows the build of a traditional modular building by laying out the sidewalk area and then for this one, some of the canal. You also get started on a bridge over the canal.
Bag 2 finishes up the bridge by installing antennas as the railings. You also build up a dock area with some barrels and then the floor of the first building. The build starts on some of the walls and a door.
Bag 3 continues work on the first floor. Two walls are built up with a similar pattern used throughout the build that gets a little old, but works for the design. The door isn’t exactly flush with the frame so there is a slight gap, but it’s not overly glaring based on how an outside arch is added in. Inside the building there are works of brick art. I assume it is some sort of art gallery. Additionally you add in a set of stairs built as a spiral staircase. It looks cool, but I’m not sure how practical it is for a minifigure to climb up.
Build 4 wraps up the first floor. It adds in some windows in a nice design which gets a bit old by the end of the build as the same design is used for each set of windows. While I complain, it does look like what I would think a building in Venice would look like. The bag comes with 4 minifigures, but more on them later.
Unlike most LEGO sets, the end of the bag doesn’t end with the floor. Instead, you start on the second floor before finishing up this bag.
The fifth bag continues the second floor. It adds some walls and then inside a tiled floor (single color), a bed, an old fashioned phone, and a small desk and chair. Maybe it’s not an art gallery, but the home to a painter or someone who just likes brick art?
The sixth bag finishes up the second floor by installing the walls, adding a tiled top so you can connect another layer, and adding a few details like the rain spout.
The seventh set of bags adds the roof. This is built by using curved slope pieces. While the walls are all very white, it is nice to have a bit of color variation in the roof with the orange, nougat color, and darker tan-ish color (I know, not the official color names). The roof has a nice gentle slope and I think it goes well with the building.
The eighth set of bags starts the second building on the second baseplate. Similar to the last one, you build out the sidewalk and canal way. Then you get started on the walls.
The ninth set of bags continues work on the first floor. The walls and windows are built similar to the previous building. The door again isn’t flush with the frame, but it works here. Inside, I initially thought it was a hotel with a reception desk, but it ends up being a book store. In this bag, you build the cashier stand, a book shelf, and a table with some chairs for people to sit at. The minifigure who works there comes in this bag.
The tenth set of bags adds more wall. This set comes with a lot of the brick design textured bricks so if you’re a big fan of those, you’ll be pleased with this set as there are a lot.
Internally to this build, there are a few more book shelves added in and a reading area in one of the corners. You get a few printed tiles that are added in as newspapers. The “books” help to break up the build with some additional color. This bag comes with 2 more minifigures. An adult female and a boy who is reading a book about half his size.
Bag 11 mostly finishes up the first floor with walls and windows. You install a door on the back of the building which can be used for people on boats to stop into the shop. Lots more brick textured bricks are used.
Bag 12 is split between two floors so we’ll start with this floor. You wrap up the first floor by topping off the walls with tiles and a few studs so the upper floor will fit on. You also add in the small dock area for a boat to pull up to drop someone off. Then you build a gondola. This includes 2 more minfigures.
As mentioned the other part of bag 12 is the next floor shown in the first picture. Bag 13 then starts to build up the walls and windows with similar techniques from the other floor and building.
Bag 14 adds more of the walls and you get more brick textured pieces.
The inside of this floor isn’t fully furnished, but it is meant to be some sort of music studio. Here you get a minifigure scaled piano along with a piano player.
Bag 15 finishes up the walls and adds a music stand and saxaphone player. I forget where the break was, but you add the tiles on top for modular building stacking purposes too.
Bags 16 and 17 finish up the roof. It is built in a similar style only this one has a chimney and a small window. You also get 2 sea gulls bringing the total that you get with this set to 3. The roof is color similar to the other building which helps to make it stand out from the white and tan of the rest of the building.
13 minifigures total is pretty good for a modular building type set. You get a decent mix of genders, ages, and parts so no complaints there. Many of them have dual printed heads so even better.
$290 for a modular building set is quite a bit, but it’s somewhat in line with #10255-1: Assembly Square. Although Assembly Square comes with more pieces, this set wasn’t as mass produced so maybe it’s tough to do a direct comparison. Either way, I’m a big fan. I think the set was a great build and I look forward to adding it to a city of modular buildings (some day). Some of the structure techniques were a bit repetitive, but in the end, they look great and in the style of a Venetian building.
This is the part where I normally recommend whether you should buy the set or not, but it’s not available from LEGO so you’ll by it on Bricklink or eBay or elsewhere for quite a bit more. The good news is that you can get the instructions online for free and can try to purchase the pieces on your own or use your own collection. I’m not sure which would be cheaper, but it’s an option.
Did anyone else get this set? What did you think?
Happy building!
