As you may remember from our previous discussions, the new LEGO VIDIYO theme is all about combining physical LEGO elements with augmented reality to make music videos. You download the free app, choose from the app’s music library, scan your Bandmate and BeatBits (printed 2×2 tiles) from the LEGO VIDIYO sets, and you can record your own music videos. Some people say that this is LEGO’s attempt to capture the TikTok generation, and they are probably right.
There are six LEGO VIDIYO BeatBox sets – each with a highly detailed minifig with an accessory, 16 printed 2×2 tiles called BeatBits, and a partially built/partially special moulded storage/carry case. In addition, there is also a series of 16 collectible LEGO VIDIYO Bandmates in blind boxes (meaning, you can’t tell which character is inside the box), with an accessory and 3 BeatBits. See the LEGO VIDIYO section of the Online LEGO Shop.
LEGO VIDIYO is an interesting theme for sure. The minifigs are some of the most detailed, crazy, and creative characters we have ever seen, and the 2×2 printed tiles are a dream-come-true for many LEGO builders and collectors. On the other hand, the storage cases seem pretty useless, the app is limited, clunky, resource hungry, and only works on select high-end phones, and the price of the LEGO VIDIYO BeatBox sets are excessively high.
Still, I have been very curious about these sets, so I finally got three of the BeatBoxes. As the price of these sets is so high ($19.99 per set), I picked the ones with three of my favorite minifigs in the series; the #42102 LEGO VIDIYO Candy Mermaid BeatBox, the #43104 LEGO Alien DJ BeatBox, and the #43107 LEGO HipHop Robot BeatBox. Below, we will discuss each of them.
LEGO VIDIYO BEATBOX SETS – THE PACKAGING
The packaging of the LEGO VIDIYO BeatBox sets is a fairly large and sturdy cardboard cube – 4.5 inches on all sides. I find the artwork on the boxes very attractive; a combination nice colors, clear pictures of the content, and photos of happy kids. The boxes may look a bit chaotic at first glance, but if you carefully look at each side, the images effectively demonstrate the LEGO VIDIYO experience. Both the size of the box and artwork indicate that I will be getting a LEGO set worth $20. In fact, although I normally recycle LEGO packaging, I’m kind of inclined to keep these just because how attractive they are.
LEGO VIDIYO BEATBOX SETS – THE INSTRUCTIONS
The instructions page is a single large folded piece of paper, printed on both sides. You are instructed to first assemble the minifig, then the stand, then download the app, then scan the BeatBits tiles with the app. The other side of the instructions page demonstrates how to assemble the storage/carry case. There are also a couple of alternate builds for the cover of the storage/carry case, in case you want to switch up the design.
LEGO VIDIYO BEATBOX SETS – THE CONTENT
The actual LEGO pieces are divided into two clear baggies, and there is also an included orange brick-separator in each set (this helps remove the 2×2 BeatBits tiles from the stand, and the small tiles and plates from the cover of the storage/carry case).
The total piece-count is around 70-75 for each set, depending on which BeatBox set you get. This includes the minifig parts, minifig accessories, 16 BeatBits tiles, the small pieces to decorate the cover of the storage/carry case, the three specialized pieces for the stand, as well as the specialized storage section, the clear cover, and the carry handle of the storage/carry case. After assembling everything is the point where I started to doubt the value of these sets…
LEGO VIDIYO BEATBOX SETS – STORAGE/CARRY CASES
I’m usually a fan of cute and sturdy storage/carry cases that sometimes come with LEGO sets. They make great little gifts, and I also reuse the cases for storing special pieces, or for sorting pieces while I’m building. I’m an enthusiastic collector of the LEGO Friends Cubes, and also like the LEGO Disney Storybook Adventure sets with the plastic buildable book covers. And I have a bunch of round LEGO Pods from various themes.
While I like useful little storage/sorting cases, I do believe that they should not come at the expense of the rest of the set. In other words, the included storage/carry case should be a minor accessory and not the majority of a set, and it should not drive up the price of the set by more than a couple of dollars. Cases are usually made of specialized pieces that can only serve their intended purpose and are not very useful as building elements. Thus, when they are too prominent in a set, LEGO fans look at them more critically and consider them useless accessories instead of appreciated add-ons.
And unfortunately, this is the case with the LEGO VIDIYO BeatBoxes. The cases are too large, using up too many specialized elements, and they are not very useful for anything else besides their intended purpose.
The large clear plastic portion of the storage/carry case is a specialized piece with no studs to connect to anything else. It comes with two specialized adaptor clips so the specialized handle strap can be attached. The only “normal” LEGO pieces in this assembly are the round dishes and other small pieces attached to the dishes. When viewing separately, the clear plastic container portion of the storage/carry case makes a decent little basket with handle, but I don’t see much use for this. Certainly not something I would have paid extra for.
The back portion of the storage/carry case is much more interesting and fits the LEGO building system better. It includes an 8×8 stud storage container with rounded corners, standard connection tubes at the bottom, and standard studs on top. Inside, there are slots to store 2×2 tiles and a center compartment for storing other pieces. A matching 8×8 plate with rounded corners serves as the lid for the storage container that could be left plain or decorated with LEGO tiles and other small elements. This is probably the most LEGO system compatible storage case I have seen. It’s useful, reusable, attractive, and customizable. And I wouldn’t mind paying a few dollars more for something like this in a LEGO set. Unfortunately, the entire storage case is about half the price of this $20 set, and with half of it being pretty useless, it is just too expensive.
LEGO VIDIYO BEATBOX SETS – THE STAGE & BEATBITS
Three other semi-specialized pieces in this set are the minifig-stand with two side-wings. To me, this looks like a small stage, or an elaborate minifig stand. The stand itself is an L-shaped piece with standard connection tubes under the horizontal part, studs behind the vertical part, and hinge connections at the two sides. The two wings are 4×6 plates with hinge connections. Although these parts are somewhat specialized, I still consider them useful elements that could serve many purposes.
As we discussed earlier the BeatBits are 2×2 printed tiles, and you get 16 of them in the BeatBox sets and three in the BrickMates sets. I believe two of them are unique to the set they come in, and the rest are random. So, you could potentially end up with several repeats amongst the sets.
The designs of the BeatBits tiles are fun and colorful. They would work great as album covers in a record store, or decorations in an arcade. They are one of the most attractive features of these sets besides the minifigs. According to the BrickLink database, there are 105 different BeatBits designs you can collect amongst the LEGO VIDIYO BeatBox sets and BandMates. I got 40 different designs in the three sets from the possible 48, so I feel I was lucky.
LEGO VIDIYO BEATBOX SETS – THE MINIFIGS
As I only got three of the LEGO VIDIYO BeatBox sets, I only got three minifigs from the LEGO VIDIYO minifig lineup. But all of them are absolutely outstanding and over the top. I got the Candy Mermaid because of her gorgeous hairpiece and pink guitar. Her torso is also reusable for other purposes, and the tail is decorated as well, although I’m not sure how I would use it.
The Alien DJ is one of my favorite LEGO aliens ever. His torso is printed front and back, his arms are printed on the sides, and his legs are dual-moulded and printed front and sides. The head/helmet is one single dual-moulded and printed piece and it looks amazing. His accessory is a printed 2×2 round tile that looks like a vinyl record.
The HipHop robot is another amazing minifig with torso printed front and back, printed arms, legs printed on the front, robot head, dual-moulded and printed robot headgear, and a couple of robot arms attached to a contraption on his back to hold a microphone.
If you’re looking for amazing, wacky, fantastical, and futuristic characters to populate your LEGO cities and towns, check out the LEGO VIDIYO collection. They are over the top gorgeous and I’m certain you will be very happy with them.
LEGO VIDIYO BEATBOX SETS – SUMMARY
My overall impression of the LEGO VIDIYO sets is that the minifigs and the tiles are definitely worth collecting. I even like the small stage/display-stand, and the back portion of the storage/carry cases, as they can be reused for other purposes. However, these are only secondary add-ons that could have been left out to keep the prices reasonable. The rest of the storage/carry case (clear box, handle, etc.) are pretty useless. And even though I like the packaging, I feel that it’s too large for what you get and only drives up the price further. The actual valuable portion of the LEGO VIDIYO BeatBox sets are worth $10, maybe $12 dollars the most. The $20 LEGO is asking for is way too much.
If you’re really attached to the minifigs and tiles that come in the six LEGO VIDIYO BeatBox sets, I would suggest to wait until the sets are around 50% off, or just purchase the minifigs and parts separately on BrickLink. The LEGO VIDIYO BandMates sets are priced much more reasonably at $4.99 each, however because they are blind boxes and you won’t know what you get, it may be best to purchase them separately as well. If you want to check out the full selection, visit the LEGO VIDIYO section of the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? How do you like the LEGO VIDIYO sets? Do you have any of them already? Feel free to share your thoughts and own reviews in the comment section below!
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“Collect all of the designs of pieces that are otherwise physically identical” things are always so wearying. It doesn’t even look like they plan on selling the beatbits separately from the sets which no doubt will make it very difficult for people to collect all of them. Though I think toy companies seem to expect that the young kids, aka the actual target audience, don’t really care about that, and they’re probably right.
The minifig designs are amazingly creative and fun. The upcoming “stage” sets look like fun designs too. It’s almost too bad that the entire thing is hung on some sort of glorified Youtube app. Obviously Lego is still grasping at straws for ways to make kids use smartphones with their bricks. Nexo Knights and Hidden Side both seemed to fizzle out at the end.
I guess the kind of person who will just sit around listening to music might have fun combining that with dancing Lego minifigs. I just checked a Youtube video of somebody demonstrating the app and it seems underwhelming with the beatbits being mostly an exercise in musical non sequitur. But I’m also not the target audience.
And the summer wave has just been revealed, and looks more interesting than the first wave.
I like a few of the figs and accessories, that I felt would work pretty well in a space/ cyberpunk/ superhero fashion, although the sets as a whole felt too overpriced for what you got. Maybe I’ll bricklink some spare parts later.
This line of Lego is failing miserably in AU. Stores are actually pulling them off the shelf to make room for other product. They are being returned to the Lego Group. I knew these would be a terrible idea. I tossed my free sticker sheet gift with order due to the fact that this is a stupid idea.
I just want the printed tiles and some of the accessories. I hope they go on sale.
Ha! That small storage box is intriguing. I could see it used for built-in shelving or industrial paneling.
Well, sort of, but it still feels limited in its functionality, as well as boosting up the price of the sets.
I agree with the article that the beat boxes take up too much space and too much of the budget for these sets. All fans care about are the tiles, the minifigs, and maybe build a small stage. The rest is useless gimmick.
I don’t know what I would do with those clear parts and the handle, but the rest are okay. They are just too expensive.. $10 is the most I would pay for them, and that’s pushing it. By the way, I saw images of the upcoming vidiyo sets and they are so much better! They are actual building sets.
They remind me of the troll sets and color scheme. haha!
The Trolls sets, yeah. At least it was an interesting experiment, although the figures themselves were hard to combine with regular minifigs or minidolls…