The new minifigure-scale LEGO Minecraft sets are scheduled to be released on November 1st at LEGO retailers, official LEGO stores and the Online LEGO Shop. We have discussed the sets before (see links at the end of this post), and today I would like to show you two of the sets LEGO kindly sent us for review; the #21113 LEGO Minecraft The Cave, and #21115 LEGO Minecraft The First Night. So let’s take a look. 🙂
As you may remember from our previous discussions, there are six minifigure-scale LEGO Minecraft sets. I will list them here again for your convenience, and also include a video from the BrickShow with all the pictures. Then we will talk about the ones I had a chance to build already.
- #21113 LEGO MINECRAFT THE CAVE – Price: $19.99
- #21114 LEGO MINECRAFT THE FARM – Price: $29.99
- #21115 LEGO MINECRAFT THE FIRST NIGHT – $39.99
- #21116 LEGO MINECRAFT CRAFTING BOX – $54.99
- #21117 LEGO MINECRAFT ENDER DRAGON – $69.99
- #21118 LEGO MINECRAFT THE MINE – $99.99
➡ #21113 LEGO MINECRAFT THE CAVE REVIEW: This is the smallest of the new LEGO Minecraft sets. It comes with 249 pieces (the box doesn’t include the piece-count, so I had to manually count them). This means that the price/piece is 8 cents, which is a very good deal. The reason I’m mentioning this is because although the LEGO Minecraft sets would likely appeal most to those who play the Minecraft game, they are also excellent part-packs for LEGO fans.
Also, while most LEGO sets these days are quite complex with interesting building techniques and unique elements, the LEGO Minecraft sets go back to the basics; you get a bunch of basic LEGO elements like bricks, plates and tiles, and the building process is pretty much all studs-up. So those who are nostalgic towards the old days, when LEGO elements and building techniques were simpler, should be very happy about these sets.
With the LEGO Minecraft The Cave you get lots of light-gray elements, including; 43 2×2 bricks, 13 2×4 bricks, 6 2×6 bricks, 3 2×8 bricks, and 2 2×10 bricks. You also get 24 1×1 plates, 6 2×2 plates, and 10 2×2 plates with one stud in the middle (you get 9 of these in bright-green as well). Special elements included are T-bars in black (2 in the set and 1 extra) – I almost fainted when I saw these, as this very useful piece has previously only appeared in light-gray! And a chest with lid in that lovely nougat color that was introduced with the LEGO Prince of Persia sets. Another new piece is the pickaxe – a very important tool in the game. It’s made of a slightly softer plastic (like the LEGO spears) and is highly stylized to match the game.
Also notable is that all the decorated pieces as printed. This includes the square minifigure heads for Steve and the Zombie, the head of the Spider, and the TNT pieces. Both the square minifig heads and the Spider’s head are brand new and specialized pieces. They appear on all the other minifigs and animals in the LEGO Minecraft series.
To remain true to both the spirit of LEGO and the spirit of Minecraft, all the new LEGO Minecraft sets encourage you to combine the sets as well as build alternate versions. Each of the sets in the series are built of sections that you can switch around, attach to other sets in the LEGO Minecraft line, or even add your own creations. Besides the steps to build the main model, the instructions include a rebuild inspiration, where you take a couple of section of the set and rebuild it to something else. I really like this feature as you don’t have to take the whole model apart to build the new section.
In summary I would say that the set is a good representation of the Minecraft game, and with all the basic bricks included you can build some seriously fun landscapes. Also, as I have mentioned, they are great parts-packs for LEGO builders who don’t care about the game, but like to have a large collection of basic LEGO elements. The recommended age range is 8+ and I believe that’s appropriate. I know that the kids I know will enjoy this.
➡ #21115 LEGO MINECRAFT THE FIRST NIGHT REVIEW: This set is about twice as large as the previous one with over 400 pieces (408 according to my count). Just like in the previous set, basic parts selection is excellent. You get plenty of bricks in reddish-brown, nougat, and both light and dark gray. You also get 34 1×2 trans-clear bricks and 5 2×2 trans-green bricks. Other notable elements are a great number of the new masonry bricks; 6 in nougat and 20 in dark-gray. Specialty elements include Steve’s Minecraft tools (there are 3 of them), a fully printed crafting-table, an a printed brick representing a furnace. As I have mentioned previously, there are no stickers in these sets – all the parts with decorations are printed.
There are three characters included here; Steve, a Creeper and a Pig. Steve is the same as in the other set, with a printed square head. The Pig has the same headpiece as the Spider, but in pink. One thing I’m not happy about is that the Pig’s head-piece and the rest of the body is a different share of pink. Quality-control should have caught that. The Creeper is a super interesting character. The body is made of four pieces; the square head, the body, and two 1×2 green tiles. The body is a very unusual piece with some interesting angles, and I’m already coming up with ideas of how it could be used in other applications. Unfortunately the angled legs cannot be attached to regular studs. I don’t know why as they are almost right – a real missed opportunity by LEGO.
As far as the set itself, it includes Steve’s house that can open up like a doll-house, with some basic interior that looks pretty nice and Minecraft-ish. The two roof-plates are removable and could be attached to the landscape in front of the house. There is also a fenced-off area for the pig and some flowers. Because basic LEGO bricks are used here, the whole set-up is actually quite large, with a footprint of 24 x 34 studs for the whole house/yard assembly. So there is actually some nice play-surface both inside and outside the house.
Talking about play-surface, I also have a few dislikes about this set. While building it is very straightforward with almost all studs-up style building, the sections are not locked in properly in their earlier stages. Which means that as you build it is easy to knock down certain areas, and by the time you do lock them together there is quite a bit to align properly. The set is recommended for ages 8+, but I think I would have been a bit frustrated as an 8-year-old. I will try them on my nephews and see what they think.
Another issue is that the four 8×8 tan plates used to make the base of the house are also not properly locked in place. And because they are elevated by a brick (so the house and the yard sits on a platform), during the building process I had the whole base fall apart several times. These plates should have been locked in properly. I really feel that LEGO should have used two 8×16 plates here. It would have been a much sturdier connection, and big plates are always welcome in a LEGO fan’s collection.
The instruction booklet for this set is different that normal. It is quite heavy, and made of a higher quality, thicker paper. Not quite as thick as what you find in LEGO Architecture or LEGO Ideas sets, but it is certainly better than regular LEGO instruction books. The booklet is 82 pages long, and includes two rebuild inspirations. One is to take away the pig’s pen (poor pig!) and rebuild it into a porch, and the other is to redecorate the interior of the house. Again; I really like these alternate instructions that encourages rebuilding and doesn’t require to take apart the whole original model. There is also a third rebuild inspiration for combining this set with the #21114 LEGO Minecraft The Farm, which looks great.
In summary I would say I like this set; it is big, it looks like Minecraft, and it has an excellent parts-selection. From the six new LEGO Minecraft sets this is actually one of my favorites. The others are the #21114 LEGO Minecraft The Farm, and the #21116 LEGO Minecraft Crafting Box. With two or three of these sets you can build up some serious Minecraft landscapes that would be very impressive in size.
One thing I would really like to see is a LEGO Minecraft storage box for all of these sets. Kind of like what LEGO has done for LEGO Ninjago, LEGO Chima, or LEGO Friends. Of course you can get your own storage system, but a special LEGO Minecraft storage box that you can use to carry around your LEGO Minecraft elements – maybe even with some building surface – would be really cool and quite useful.
I’m a big fan of the original smalls-size LEGO Minecraft sets, and wasn’t sure how I would like these larger sets. I think for building Minecraft landscapes I would still stay with the original ones just because of the lack of room I have, but I’m planning to get the larger ones too for the parts-selection. These sets are basically like large LEGO part-tubs but with colors that are more interesting to adult LEGO fans. Oh, and I would really like to get a LEGO version of that horse (image is from the instruction booklet)! The small LEGO Minecraft sets are currently available, and the large LEGO Minecraft sets will be listed on November 1st at the Online LEGO Shop.
So what do you think? How do you like the minifigure scale LEGO Minecraft sets? Are you planning to get any of them, or collect them all? Do you play Minecraft? Do you feel these sets are good representations of the game? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉
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