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LEGO Architecture Skyline Collection review

by Thita (admin) on March 24, 2016

LEGO recently released a new series in the LEGO Architecture line, called the LEGO Architecture Skyline Collection. As the name suggests, instead of only one building per set, these kits features city skylines with some of the most iconic buildings from a particular city. Currently the series includes three sets; #21026 LEGO Architecture Venice, #21027 LEGO Architecture Berlin, and #21028 LEGO Architecture New York. And depending on the popularity of the series, perhaps more will come. 🙂

Just like all other LEGO Architecture sets, the LEGO Architecture Skyline Collection is packaged in sleek looking, high quality black boxes with flip-up lids. They work perfectly as long-term storage boxes for the pieces, or even the fully built sets. The instruction booklets are also higher quality than what you can find in normal LEGO sets. They include information about the designer, architecture and history of each structure, as well as historical facts about the city and its architectural heritage. And of course the step-by-step building instructions are also included.

The high quality of the sets is demonstrated in other ways as well. The city nameplates and all other decorated elements are printed, instead of using stickers. And there is no skimping on the parts selection. LEGO Architecture sets focus on interesting, and parts-intensive building techniques to make the buildings as accurate as possible in such a small scale, and to provide a satisfying building experience. Thus the finished models are often surprisingly heavy because of the usage of so many parts.

➡ #21026 LEGO ARCHITECTURE VENICE: Celebrate Venice with this LEGO Architecture Skyline model! Capture the architectural essence of Venice with this magnificent set that brings together the iconic Rialto Bridge, St. Mark’s Basilica, St. Mark’s Campanile, St. Theodore and the Winged Lion of St. Mark, and the Bridge of Sighs, in an inspirational skyline setting. Each individual LEGO structure is designed to provide a unique and rewarding building experience, with true-to-life color and relative scale depiction. Rivers and canals are represented in the tiled baseplate, adding an extra dimension and feel of authenticity to this detailed recreation of one of the world’s most beautiful cities. Measures 5” (14cm) high, 9” (25cm) wide and 1” (3cm) deep. 212 pieces. Price: $29.99 – BUY HERE

➡ #21027 LEGO ARCHITECTURE BERLIN: Celebrate Berlin with this LEGO Architecture Skyline model! Capture the architectural essence of Berlin with this magnificent set that brings together the iconic Reichstag, Victory Column, Deutsche Bahn Tower, Berlin TV Tower and the Brandenburg Gate, in an inspirational skyline setting. Each individual LEGO structure is designed to provide a unique and rewarding building experience, with true-to-life color and relative scale depiction. This wonderful model also features 3 sections of the Berlin Wall with graffiti deco, adding a historical edge to this detailed recreation of one of the world’s most compelling cities. Measures 9” (23cm) high, 9” (25cm) wide and 1” (5cm) deep. 289 pieces. Price: $29.99 – BUY HERE

➡ #21028 LEGO ARCHITECTURE NEW YORK CITY: Celebrate New York City with this LEGO Architecture Skyline model! Capture the architectural essence of New York City with this magnificent set that brings together the iconic Flatiron Building, Chrysler Building, Empire State Building, One World Trade Center and the Statue of Liberty, in an inspirational skyline setting. Each individual LEGO structure is designed to provide a unique and rewarding building experience, with true-to-life color and relative scale depiction. This wonderful model focuses on the amazing architectural diversity of one of the world’s most dynamic cities. Measures 10” (26cm) high, 9” (25cm) wide and 1” (4cm) deep. 598 pieces. Price: $59.99 – BUY HERE

The largest of the three sets is the #21028 LEGO Architecture New York City, with more than twice as many pieces as the other sets in the series. But of course you can just choose the city that you like the most, or even collect all three. I have included video-reviews of the whole collection below, so you can check out each set in more detail.

As you can see, the LEGO Architecture Skyline Collection looks quite tasteful. They are different that most other LEGO sets where the focus is on playability, so they may not be for all LEGO fans. LEGO Architecture sets are more like three dimensional puzzles for a more mature audience – even people who are otherwise not into LEGO. The sets make great gift items, and they look great as display pieces on a shelf or desk in an office. If you are not interested in the LEGO Architecture line, you may still find some of the sets useful, as they contain a lot of small and unique elements in rare colors. You can find the LEGO Architecture Skyline Collection under the LEGO Architecture section of the Online LEGO Shop.

So what do you think? How do you like the LEGO Architecture Skyline Collection? Do you prefer these sets, or the individual buildings? What other cities would you like to see in the series? Feel free to share your thoughts in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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LEGO minifigs hanging their heads…

by Thita (admin) on March 23, 2016

in Building Techniques

LEGO minifigures come with very basic posability with movable legs, arms and rotating head and hands. While this is sufficient for play and basic picture-taking, if you want something more dramatic, you will have to experiment with unconventional ways. We have discussed a few uncommon techniques for posing minifigures in this article: Posing LEGO Minifigs in Unconventional Ways, and today I would like to show you another technique I recently discovered. Take a look at this picture…

The image above is by Reddit member tobiariah. It features the recently released LEGO Minifigures Series 15 Flying Warrior. This minifig wears a beautifully detailed armor piece that goes over the neck-stud. The armor also comes with a standard stud in the front. And, as you can see, the head of the minifig can be attached to this stud, making it appear that the minifig is hanging his head, looking down.

You might think that this technique only works by taking pictures from one particular angle. It is true that with a standard simple neck-bracket with stud (mostly used to attach backpacks and other gear to the back of a minifig), attaching the head to the stud would only look good from certain angles. This is because the exposed neck-stud would be prominently sticking out at the top of the torso, making the minifig look strange from most angles.

However LEGO has been releasing a number of armor pieces with high collars, which can easily hide the neck-stud. As another example, I have taken the above picture of the LEGO Minifigures Series 7 Galaxy Patrol. This minifig looks great in this pose from almost all angles, not just because the high collar hides the neck-stud, but because the armor is the same color as the neck-stud, masking it even further.

I have been playing around with different armor pieces with studs to see which ones work the best. The armor of the LEGO Flying Warrior pictured above is a really nice one, and is available on a couple of LEGO Legends of Chima minifigures as well. The LEGO Galaxy Patrol armor is available in dark-blue, dark-gray, bright-green, bright-light-orange and red, so there are plenty of options. The Hero Factory armor is also an excellent choice, and is available in flat-silver, pearl-dark-gray and sand-green. There are other armor pieces where the collar area is not as high, but the shoulder-pads are still raised, so they do look good from certain angles. You can find all armor pieces made by LEGO here: Minifig Body Wear

Another aspect of this technique I really like is that it doesn’t require any extreme modification that could potentially damage your minifigure – like taking out the arms and legs. You simply remove the head and attach it to the stud. When your minifig starts to feel pain in his neck from hanging his head for too long, you can simply put the head back on the neck-stud. I hope LEGO will continue to release interesting armor pieces with attachment choices for further customization.

So what do you think? How do you like this minifig posing technique? Did you give it a try already? Which one is your favorite combination? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

And you might also like to check out the following related posts:

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LEGO Architecture Skyline Collection review

LEGO minifigs hanging their heads…

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