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LEGO Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory Review

by Thita (admin) on September 20, 2025

in LEGO Exclusives

(Written by William)

The #21360 LEGO Ideas Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a true dive into nostalgia for LEGO fans, and I admit I’m one of those fans. Just as in the initial LEGO Ideas submission (see image below), LEGO designers retained the chocolate waterfall (or chocolate fall?) as one of the model’s main features. It is designed with a mechanism to enable the waterfall to move; however, this process is manual and not attached to a motor.

LEGO designers also adjusted the bridge featured in the original project, relocating it to the back, which is more in line with the 1971 film. Sadly, the candy cane tree initially included in the fan-submitted project was removed in the final design and was replaced by lamp posts and smaller trees. However, there are still plenty of interesting, delicious plants that you can sink your teeth into.

So, let’s take a closer look at these details and see the magic and madness that is the inner workings of Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory.

LEGO WILLY WONKA – THE CHARACTERS

This set comes with an impressive nine minifigures. Each and every minifigure has dual-sided heads to capture a wide range of emotions and help reenact your favorite moments. You get Willy Wonka and two Oompa Loompas. It was interesting to see that each Oompa Loompa has a different face despite the rest of the minifigure being the same for both. Additionally, the Oompa Loompas have short legs that aren’t movable, which is a little odd given that all the kids with short legs in the set have movable short legs. Wonka is interesting as his wild hair is molded with his hat.

Charlie Bucket is the only winner in the set that comes with his guardian, Grandpa Joe. All the other kids are by themselves. Each of the gold ticket winners comes with a gold-printed tile in hand, ready to present to Wonka to gain entrance into his magical factory. LEGO designers did an excellent job recreating the characters in the film, and most of them have a unique feature, except for Charlie, who is kind of plain.

Augustus is the only kid with full-sized legs. This is probably so it is easier to print his shorts. He also features a messy face. Violet, unfortunately, does not come with an inflated version of herself, but her hairpiece does seem unique. It is a small ponytail but a bit wider in style than any I’ve seen recently. Chances are, it has been released in other sets, but I’m unaware of which ones those are. Moving on to Veruca, she has a hard plastic skirt, which is the type often used for minifigures with short legs. And finally, Mike has a cowboy hat. I was a bit concerned that he would be forced to hold it since he also had a hairpiece, but his hat is actually mounted on his back as if it is slung back on a cord.

It goes without saying that all the printing on the characters is authentic to the film. The most unique elements are probably Wonka’s hair/hat combo, and the Oompa Loompas’ orange faces and green hair. And I can see many people using the gold tickets in creative ways.

LEGO WILLY WONKA – THE CHOCOLATE FALL

A big feature of the initial design on LEGO Ideas was the motorized waterfall. Given that LEGO includes motors very sparingly in their sets, it’s no surprise that the motor was removed. This probably also cut a good $50 off the MSRP. Fortunately, LEGO designers did keep a manual version of the waterfall.

As for its design of the waterfall, it is pretty simple. There is a turning mechanism that engages two gears that turn a third, which operates a belt. The belt has three gears in total. One gear at the bottom is what drives the action, while the other two just hold the belt up. The belt itself is built similarly to the TV found in the #71814 LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System. They utilize large treads, which are then mounted with thin lift-arms using two half pins. They then alternate 2×6 plates and 1×6 tiles to form the base of the belt. On each plate, slopes and tiles are added to give the belt much-needed texture. Positioning similar details at different spots of the plates gives the whole mechanism an interesting, natural look when it is in motion.

LEGO WILLY WONKA – STICKERS & PRINTED ELEMENTS

Sets of this size often come with unique prints. However, due to the specialized nature of some of these Intellectual Properties (IPs), LEGO will often just create a sticker to add to a part to achieve the same effect. Adult fans often want every piece printed, but understand that stickers are sometimes necessary. So, here’s a breakdown of what does and doesn’t have stickers in this set.

For printed elements, the swirls on the lollipops are all printed, as are the mushroom tops that help make up the foliage. Any accessories, like the golden tickets or the candy canes in the trees, are also printed. Finally, the large dish that covers Wonka’s boat is also printed.

Now let’s cover the stickers you’ll find. The “sugar” label found on the sugar sack is a sticker. Any decorations other than the top dish on Wonka’s boat are all stickers. Inside Wonka’s office, there is a painting of a flower pot and three tiles that feature the wallpaper you can taste – these are all stickers. Finally, on the second level in the back, there is a TV with a shrunken Mike TeeVee on the screen, which is also a sticker. The most tedious of all the stickers are the ones applied to the boat. Beyond those, the rest feel pretty simple.

LEGO WILLY WONKA- INTERESTING CHANGES

As mentioned above, the bridge has been repositioned for film accuracy. Additionally, LEGO designers added Wonka’s boat, which seems like an obvious element that should have always been in the model. The boat is carefully scaled to not only accommodate a lot of minifigures, but it can also fit under the bridge.

It is worth noting that the boat is a rather delicate model to build. If anything will test your patience, it will probably be this vehicle. The reason is that the entire bottom of the boat is brick-built. Making sure the prow of the boat looks accurate means many parts are only attached by one or two studs or a single clip. Just be sure to build and handle with extreme care.

Finally, LEGO designers decided to play with perspective. There are two lamps on the right side of the model and one lamp just to the left of the bridge. They are meant to be the same size; however, each one is bigger than the last when you move from left to right. This is meant to create the illusion that the larger lamp is much closer to you than it really is. This is an interesting building technique, but without scaling up other features around the larger lamp, I’m not entirely sure they achieved what they were going for with this design choice. But I’m sure those with good photography skills can do something interesting with the feature.

LEGO WILLY WONKA – FINAL THOUGHTS

The #21360 LEGO Ideas Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory set really brings back a lot of nostalgia. It does this while bringing a fresh building style to LEGO. Building the edible flora was amazing, with a new sunflower element for the teacup plant, to the semi-transparent Mysterio helmet to give a glossy sheen to the giant gumballs, everything pops with color while still being natural in appearance.

Part of the fresh building experience comes from the organic choices made. From the foundation, all the way up to the factory wall behind the mountain. LEGO designers rounded all the sharp edges to give an almost bubbly feel throughout the model. In the video below, I will talk a bit more about the set and its features.

The set costs $219.99 MSRP, which is an average price for something this size, but fans might still feel it’s a tad high because it is just above two thousand pieces. However, this is an IP, which does add to the cost. Also, many of the elements are large, like the various plates and wedges that make up the base and all its texturing. Overall, I do believe the price is fair for what you get. If you want to check it out, it’s available at the LEGO Ideas section of the Online LEGO Shop.

Speaking of parts, this is an amazing set for interesting parts. You get a good quantity of nearly every piece, which makes it great for builders who are looking to boost their collection. And for those collectors looking for a set to invest in, I think the few unique elements will ensure it can’t be easily reproduced, while the IP will create a decent-sized audience that wouldn’t mind buying at a premium later down the line.

All in all, this is a great set. I probably need to rewatch the old film to pick up on details I might have missed. For instance, if it weren’t for the instructions, I would have missed that Wonka’s office is full of “half” things. This includes a sink, a painting, a lamp, and even his chair. I was rather confused building the chair and just figured it would be finished in a later step, only to realize that was a Wonka-quirk I had forgotten about. So, if you do pick this one up, you might also want to have a watch party while you build, because this is truly a world of imagination….

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Willy Wonka set? How do you like the discussed features? Did you notice anything else interesting in the set? Feel free to share your thoughts and own reviews in the comment section below.

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LEGO Icons Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook Review

by Thita (admin) on September 18, 2025

in LEGO Exclusives

(Written by William)

When it comes to book-themed sets, I’ve been a fan. I really like the melding of a colorful LEGO scene and books being brought together. So, when I heard about the #10351 LEGO Icons Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook set I was initially excited. But then the price of $129.99 got me halted. Could a pricey set even fit properly on a bookshelf and not look out of place? Could this set truly do justice to such an iconic character? And is it worth the price? Let’s find out.

LEGO BOOK NOOKS – WHAT ARE THEY?

This is not the first LEGO book nook set, and will probably not be the the last. Book nook miniatures are very popular right now even outside of the LEGO hobby. So what are book nooks? They are basically miniature dioramas. They often depict a 3-D model of a street scene or fantasy setting, designed to fit between books on a shelf. These decorative inserts, which can be purchased fully assembled or as DIY kits, add a unique and creative touch to bookshelves. LEGO book nooks follow the same concept but with some additional playability.

Keep in mind that even though book nooks are three dimensional, they really only look good from specific angles. And this is also true for LEGO book nooks. This might be a strange concept for LEGO fans who expect LEGO sets to be displayable and/or playable from all sides. LEGO book nooks are designed specifically for shelves. Not only is the top unsighty to look at when closed, but the backside of the model is purely functional and looks downright awful. When the model is open, the number of angles to view drop to two with one side being the outer cover of the book and the other being the street scene.

So you basically have three options to display your LEGO Sherlock Holmes Book Nook. First, you can have the book nook closed with the cover of the book facing out. Next, you can turn the model while closed to its narrow front side where it opens to peek into a narrow street view complete with lanterns and a sign introducing you to Baker’s Street. Finally, you can open the model up and display the street. This last option does take up a lot of room widthwise, but can fit pretty easily on shallow shelves.

LEGO BOOK NOOK – VANISHING POINT

Before talking about this technique used in the model, I should explain what a vanishing point is. For those who draw, a vanishing point is a point in which the scene shrinks down into to give a sense of distance. For example, if you see a street and look down the road, it will appear the road gets narrower and the buildings shrink. And where the road and buildings all come together is the vanishing point.

This drawing technique is amazing for representing long distances, which is normally not a thing LEGO concerns itself with. However, LEGO designers recreated this effect quite well with the Sherlock Holmes Book Nook set.

When closed up and looking through the narrow opening, you can tell that the buildings on either side seem like they are coming together. That’s because they are. A good portion of each side of the street is built at an angle. This in turn amplifies the vanishing point effect by making the angles just a tad more dramatic.

I might have expected to see this used on a flatter art piece like a mosaic. The reason being, they are purpose built to trick the eye in seeing objects and perspective. Most three-dimensional sets don’t need to bother with a vanishing point since they already take up space and already can be viewed dimensionality. However, when you can control more factors of how a model is viewed, you can subtly exaggerate aspects of a scene.

Given the narrow edge of the closed model is a perfect window, LEGO designers wanted to give the viewer the maximum impact when looking in on the street. As a builder, it is fascinating to see, even knowing how much is given up in trying to fit so much in such a small space. It is one way to create the illusion of more space when you just don’t have it.

LEGO BOOK NOOK – CHARACTERS & SPECIAL PARTS

This is the first time LEGO released an official Sherlock Holmes set, therefore all five minifigures are new. We did get a Holmes-like minifigure in one of the collectible minifigure series, but these characters are approved by the author’s estate.

Dr. Watson comes with a bowler hat, briefcase, and a wand which he uses as an ornate walking stick. Trying to put the ball of the wand in the minifigure hand is never fun though. They even place a printed tile as a dog treat inside his case. Next up is Irene Adler. She has a gown with a short cape, and holds an umbrella. LEGO designers decided to add diversity to the model as there is enough leeway in the stories to make Irene a woman of color.

Next is Paige. The boy has a newspaper and a cap that is molded into his hair. He is more of a representation of Holmes’s Irregulars. This is a series of street urchins that serve as his information network. Speaking of Holmes, Sherlock comes with a short cape, magnifying glass, and iconic deer stalker hat. Last but not least is Sherlock’s greatest foe, the infamous Professor Moriarty. He is more or less an equal to Sherlock’s genius while wielding his intellect to control the crime in and around London. He comes with a stove pipe hat, short cape, and bar to serve as a walking stick.

As for parts of interest, the only printed elements are the two tiles that make up the street sign on the outside of the model, the dog biscuits, letter tile, and newspaper. Everything else that has a decoration is a sticker. This includes the circular sign for the book store, the square sign for the store, the address numbers, the decor on the outside of one of the doors, and various panels when you view the interior of the buildings. So prepare yourself for a good amount of stickering.

LEGO BOOK NOOK – SECRETS REVEALED

When people hear the name Sherlock Holmes, one of the first words that come to mind is “mystery”. So, it makes sense that this set is filled with little details to discover. Each detail is either a fun little play feature or a nod to something memorable in one of the many stories.

There are three visible doors in the model. Two can be opened normally to reveal stickered panels full of tiny details hidden in their designs. I’ll leave these smaller details for builders to find out. As for the third door, it uses a secret mechanism to open. I’ll go over that in the video below. But it does use gears and vertical motion.

As for other elements you can interact with, the bay window for the book shop can rotate, exposing a secret letter. You can also grab the balcony and swing the wall open to reveal Sherlock’s residence along with his violin and crime board.

Finally, there is a mysterious outline of a minifigure in one of the upstairs windows. The instructions explain why this is built and which story you can find reference to it in. All in all, this model has just enough little surprises to live up to the great detective’s name.

LEGO BOOK NOOK – FINAL THOUGHTS

My biggest concern with the model was where LEGO designers had to cut corners. Given the price, I knew the model would be substantial in size. However, if you make it too big, it wouldn’t look like a book. On the other hand, if they made it too small, you would lose details in the diorama. I’d have to say that the book is on the larger size, but not out of a regular book.

As for the diorama, there are some definite cuts when it comes to space. However, there are some clever building tricks to make up for the loss of interior play space. I was extremely impressed with how seamless LEGO designers made the rotating window. Additionally, they spent a great effort making everything you can easily see highly decorated. I’d say that they struck a rather good balance on this front as well.

In the end, I would say the price is well justified for what you get. However, this is probably a set that only adults will enjoy. It is not that it is boring to build, far from it. It is also not because it doesn’t have fun little play features, because it does have that as well. The problem is that it makes most of its design decisions based on display more than play.

This makes the end model a bit more delicate in nature and not suited for heavy play. Also, the lack of depth in the diorama can severely limit the stories someone might want to reenact. For those reasons I’d say it’s ideal for an adult fan of Sherlock Holmes and collectors. It is a fun build, but is it a fun build for $129.99? That is a mystery only you can solve. If you want to check it out, the set is available at the LEGO Icons section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Sherlock Holmes Book Nook? And what do you think of the techniques we discussed here? Are there any other interesting details that you noticed? Feel free to share your thoughts and own reviews in the comment section below!