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LEGO Ideas Steamboat Willie press-release

by on March 18, 2019
in LEGO Exclusives

As we discussed last month (see: Latest LEGO Ideas Review Results & More!), one of the recently approved LEGO Ideas projects is Steamboat Willie by Hungarian LEGO fan Máté Szabó (a.k.a. szabomate90). The model celebrates over 90 years of Disney’s Iconic True Original Mickey Mouse with its nostalgic design. Máté beautifully captured the classic animated film in rarely seen grayscale using white, black, and gray pieces only. Once a project is approved by the LEGO Ideas team, it can take several months for LEGO’s own designers to get the original submission ready for production. In the case of Steamboat Willie, however, we didn’t even have to wait a month! Below is the full press-release with pictures and other details. Enjoy! 🙂

All aboard Steamboat Willie to celebrate Mickey Mouse’s birthday! Disney Mickey Mouse fans will love the #21317 LEGO Ideas Steamboat Willie building toy, marking the 90th anniversary of the most famous cartoon character ever. Mickey Mouse made his screen debut in a 1928 black-and-white animated short film called ‘Steamboat Willie’, which was also the first Disney film to have synchronized sound. This LEGO brick version of the S.S. Willie features steam pipes that move up and down and paddle wheels that rotate when the boat is pushed along. The boat’s bridge has room for a minifigure and play-inspiring nautical details such as the ship’s wheel, life buoy, and buildable bell. On deck there is a working crane to lift the ‘potato bin’ cargo aboard and this unique toy building set comes with new-for-April-2019 Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse minifigures, each with special silver-colored decoration, plus a parrot figure. An ideal LEGO set for kids and adults to recreate scenes from the original Mickey Mouse cartoon or simply build and display this striking monochrome model.

  • Build and display this collectible LEGO set or recreate your favorite scenes from the classic Disney Mickey Mouse cartoon, ‘Steamboat Willie’.
  • This unique toy building set includes 2 new-for-April-2019 minifigures: Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse, each with silver-colored decoration, plus Mickey Mouse’s parrot figure.
  • The iconic Steamboat Willie boat features a black-and-white color scheme, hidden wheels, moving steam pipes, rotating paddle wheels, adjustable crane and assorted elements including the ‘S.S. Willie’ boat name sign, ‘1928’ year sign and a ‘potato bin’.
    The boat’s bridge has space for a minifigure, a brick-built bell and assorted elements including the ship’s wheel and life buoy.
  • The 2 steam pipes move up and down and the 2 paddle wheels rotate when the boat is pushed along.
  • Accessory elements include Minnie Mouse’s guitar and music sheet.
  • This LEGO Ideas creative toy building set comes with a booklet with building instructions, fun facts about the historic 1928 animated Disney short film ‘Steamboat Willie’, and information about this awesome retro set’s fan creator and LEGO designers.
  • Steamboat Willie toy boat measures over 5” (15cm) high, 10” (26cm) long and 5” (14cm) wide.
  • Includes 751 pieces.
  • Recommended for ages 10+.

The most surprising feature of the finalized #21317 LEGO Ideas Steamboat Willie set is how large it is compared to the original fan-designed model. Máté specifically designed his model to be tiny, easy to build, and playable, with only 156 pieces and one minifigure (Mickey). I suppose, LEGO felt that the popularity of the famous mouse would justify a much larger set, and LEGO fans and Disney fans will happily pay for a more substantial set. Personally, I do prefer the larger model, but this (again) brings into question who is really the designer of the set, how much say the original fan designer has in the decision-making process, and what exactly are LEGO Ideas project supporters are voting for.

Another feature I wanted to point out about the finalized set that is not visible on the pictures, is that the box has some really pretty silver foil accents all around the box. Most prominently behind the yellow Mickey Mouse name at the front and back of the box, the Steamboat Willie name and logo on the sides of the box, in the waves under the ship, and on the side and nob of the LEGO Ideas logo at the front of the box.

Below, I have included the original 1928 black-and-white Steamboat Willie animated short for your reference. You will see the steamboat the LEGO Ideas set is based on, as well as many of the props used in the set, like Minnie’s guitar and music sheet, the bird, and the pumping effect of the steam pipes.

The #21317 LEGO Ideas Steamboat Willie set will be available directly from LEGO starting on April 1st. Prices are as follows: US $89.99 – CA $119.99 – DE €89.99 – UK £79.99 – FR €89.99 – DK 749DKK – AU $129.99 (Euro pricing varies by country). For more pictures and details, as well as to see all the other currently available LEGO sets originally designed by LEGO fans, visit the LEGO Ideas section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Ideas Steamboat Willie set? Do you prefer the original submission or the finalized set? Are you planning to get it when it becomes available? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

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2019 LEGO Architecture Skyline sets review

by on March 16, 2019
in Other LEGO Sets & Themes

The LEGO Architecture Skyline series started back in 2016, with two sets; the #21027 LEGO Architecture Berlin Skyline, and the #21028 LEGO Architecture New York City Skyline. The series proved to be very popular with adult LEGO fans and collectors, so in 2017 three more sets were added; the #21032 LEGO Architecture Sydney Skyline, the #21033 LEGO Architecture Chicago Skyline, and the #21034 LEGO Architecture London Skyline. They were followed by the #21039 LEGO Architecture Shanghai Skyline, and the #21047 LEGO Architecture Las Vegas Skyline in 2018. This year we got two new skyline sets; the #21043 LEGO Architecture San Francisco Skyline, and the #21044 LEGO Architecture Paris Skyline. Both sets have some interesting features to let’s check them out. 🙂

The #21043 LEGO Architecture San Francisco Skyline features iconic San Francisco sights and famous landmarks, including the Painted Ladies buildings, 555 California Street, the Transamerica Pyramid, Salesforce Tower, Coit Tower, Fort Point, Golden Gate Bridge and Alcatraz Island. As usual with this series, the included booklet contains information about the designer, the architecture and history of each attraction, as well as historical facts about San Francisco and its architectural heritage. So, even if you are not as familiar with a particular city in the series, you can learn some interesting facts. I always enjoy reading this section.

The most striking feature of the #21043 LEGO Architecture San Francisco Skyline set is that it uses forced-perspective techniques in the construction of the bridge to give the skyline greater depth. I believe this is the first time we see the use of forced-perspective in an official LEGO set. It looks brilliant, especially on such a small scale. It’s worth studying how the techniques were implemented, as forced-perspective is very useful, especially when you have limited space and/or number of pieces. The entire set measures only about 6” (16cm) high, 11” (28cm) wide and 2” (7cm) deep, but it feels much larger due to the forced-perspective techniques.

The set has many other nice features, including the path for the cable cars, and the constructions of the buildings. Note the unique printed pieces that add additional details to the structures. And, of course, there is a printed name tile for the city, like in all the other LEGO Architecture Skyline sets. This is a very nice set overall, and a worthy addition to the collection. The total piece-count is 565 pieces, and the price is $49.99. You can get the set at the LEGO Architecture section of the Online LEGO Shop.

The second LEGO Architecture set that was released this year is the #21044 LEGO Architecture Paris Skyline. It features a selection of Paris’s famous landmarks, including the Arc de Triomphe, Champs-Elysées, Tour Montparnasse, Grand Palais, Eiffel Tower, and the Louvre (plus grass and tree areas). It’s interesting to note that three of the six buildings also appeared in the past as stand-alone LEGO Architecture sets.

I really like the angling of the Eiffel Tower in relation to the other buildings, and the printed arches at the bottom of the tower are very effective. The same printed 1×1 plates that were in the other set are also used here. They are great for adding small details to already tiny buildings. On such a small scale, it’s very important to take advantage of the shapes of small LEGO pieces. This is especially visible in the construction of the Grand Palace.

Here again, the included booklet contains information about the designer, architecture and history of each structure, as well as historical facts about Paris and its architectural heritage. The set measures about 8” (22cm) high, 11” (28cm) wide and 4” (11cm) deep. The total piece-count is 694 pieces, and the price is $49.99. You can get it at the LEGO Architecture section of the Online LEGO Shop.

Although LEGO Architecture sets may not be as exciting as sets based on movies and sets with lots of play-features, they do have a dedicated and appreciative following. Putting together LEGO Architecture sets is always full of delightful surprises as you are presented with clever and unusual building techniques. The sets also look great on display both in the home and at the office, and thus are especially appealing to adult LEGO fans.

The LEGO Architecture series includes stand-alone structures, like the #21029 LEGO Architecture Buckingham Palace, the #21030 LEGO Architecture United States Capitol Building, the #21035 LEGO Architecture Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, the #21041 LEGO Architecture Great Wall of China, the #21042 LEGO Architecture Statue of Liberty, and many more. These sets tend to be larger, more involved to build, and more expensive. The above-mentioned LEGO Architecture Skyline series includes several buildings that represent a city on a small scale. They are usually more interesting to build for beginners, and they also make excellent gifts for those new to the LEGO hobby. You can check out the current selection at the LEGO Architecture section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Architecture Skyline series? Do you have any of the sets already? Which one is your favorite? And do you prefer the stand-alone LEGO Architecture sets or the city skylines? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

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