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Exclusive LEGO House Tree of Creativity set

by Thita (admin) on March 6, 2018

in LEGO Exclusives

In the midst of the recently opened LEGO House in Billund, Denmark stands one of the world’s most iconic LEGO models; the Tree of Creativity. This incredible model is almost 16 meters tall, includes over six million LEGO bricks, weights (including metal frame) 20 tons, and took over 24,000 hours to assemble. If you ever make it to the LEGO House, definitely take the time to check it out in detail. Below are a few pictures to give you an idea of how beautiful and massive the tree is. 🙂

LEGO developed a small version of the tree as a surprise gift for those who participated in the 2017 LEGO Inside Tour. Only 175 individually numbered copies of the #4000024 LEGO House Tree of Creativity were made, and the set is highly sought after by collectors. (The very few of them that make it to the secondary market run for thousands of dollars.)

The LEGO Inside Tour model was designed by LEGO Senior Designer Steen Sig Andersen, and he was asked to also design a retail version of the set. He said: “The former Tree of Creativity box has proven to be an iconic model for the LEGO House and it makes a lot of sense to also offer a Tree of Creativity to the guests of LEGO House. But it was very important that the two models were not identical, as we would not take away the originality from the Inside Tour guests in 2017.”

Steen Sig Andersen’s efforts resulted in a very nice retail version of the Tree of Creativity. It is slightly smaller than the LEGO Inside Tour model, but still includes the most iconic features of the giant tree. The new #4000026 LEGO House Tree of Creativity is now available exclusively at the LEGO House in Billund, for the retail price of 599 DKK (about $100 US dollars). While this set is not as exclusive as the LEGO Inside Tour model, production was limited to 10,000 copies, so it is still going to be pretty rare (especially since it is only sold at the LEGO House). Here is a detailed comparison between the LEGO Inside Tour and the retail version of the set:

Besides the #4000026 LEGO House Tree of Creativity, there are a couple of other exclusive sets related to the LEGO House that are only sold in Billund. The 2014 special edition #4000010 LEGO House features the prototype of the building, and the #21037 LEGO Architecture LEGO House from 2017 showcases the final structure. They are both available on eBay: LEGO HOUSE SETS ON EBAY

If you ever make it to Denmark, definitely visit the LEGO House! Not just for the special sets, but because it’s like a pilgrimage site for LEGO fans. You can read more about the LEGO House, the things to do and see, where to stay and how to get there, at the LEGO House website.

What do you think? Have you considered visiting the LEGO House? And do you own any of the exclusive sets related to the building? Feel free to share in the comment section below! And, if you have been to the LEGO House already, you are welcome to share your experiences as well! 😉

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

The LEGO House Opening Press-Release
Spend the Night at the LEGO House Contest (expired but interesting)
The LEGO Inside Tour- Introduction

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Modifying the LEGO Creator Downtown Diner

by Thita (admin) on March 5, 2018

in LEGO Modular Buildings

One of the most interesting structures in the LEGO Modular Buildings series is the recently released #10260 LEGO Creator Downtown Diner. The façade of the building mimics the late Art Deco architectural style of the 1930s, usually referred to as Streamline Moderne or Art Moderne. The pink, teal, and white color-scheme, curving shapes, and large windows of the LEGO Creator Downtown Diner are all faithful representations of this unique style. The ground level of the building features a 1950s-style diner, which fits in perfectly with the exterior. 🙂

However, the rest of the #10260 LEGO Creator Downtown Diner is a much plainer tan and light-gray structure, that some LEGO fans feel is an out-of-place filler. Similarly styled real-life Art Deco building are usually one-story structures that stand by themselves, and aren’t part of a long and continuous street layout like the LEGO Modular Buildings. Or, if they are taller buildings, then usually the whole structure follows the Art Deco styling.

It is interesting to note that in the designer interview, LEGO Senior Designer Mike Psiaki shares that the idea for this set started with an Art Deco-style one-story car dealership, but since such a structure didn’t really fit with the rest of the LEGO Modular Buildings, it later morphed into the multi-story #10260 LEGO Creator Downtown Diner. You can watch the interview here: LEGO Downtown Diner Designer-Video

A number of LEGO fans have been working on turning the #10260 LEGO Creator Downtown Diner back to its purely Art Deco look. Today, I thought to show you some of my favorite ones.

The first modification is by LEGO fan Sjaak Lego (see above). He basically combined two of the sets into a larger standalone building. The curved tower was moved into the center, with the entry door below it, and the two sides of the building are mirror images of each other. Giving the building its own block allows the Art Deco style to shine without clashing with the neighboring buildings. This is the easiest modification to do, but you do need to purchase two of the sets.

The second modification is by LEGO fan NoInternetMushroom. He also positioned a shorter version of the tower and the entry door to the center, and mirrored the sides of the building, but he also removed the second and third floors that weren’t really Art Deco style. This leaves us with a one-story, purely Art Deco diner. Also, notice that the lettering was changed from “Diner” to “Miami”, using the same font style. Looks nice, isn’t it? If you would like to build your own retro diner, the LEGO Digital Designer file is available here, and the PDF parts-list is here (the blue part numbers are clickable in the PDF file, and link directly to the parts on BrickLink). If you already have the #10260 LEGO Creator Downtown Diner, you will have most of the necessary parts, but you will also need some extra pieces to mirror the two sides of the building.

LEGO fan SpaceBrick created three modified versions of the #10260 LEGO Creator Downtown Diner. The first modification is similar to the one above, but the tower was kept tall, and one side of the building serves as a diner, and the other side as a car dealership (thus bringing back the original idea of LEGO designer Mike Psiaki). The second modification elongates the car dealership side with an added gas station. And the third modification improves on the entire structure, and puts it in an expanded environment. The central tower now serves as a radio station, adding an additional function to the building.

As you can see, there is a lot that can be done with the #10260 LEGO Creator Downtown Diner to improve its look. Of course, the original building itself is very nice, but if you would like to enhance and emphasize the Art Deco style, you have plenty of options to do that as well. If you don’t have the set already and/or you would like to give these modifications a try, the set is available under the LEGO Creator section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the #10260 LEGO Creator Downtown Diner? And what do you think of these modified versions? If you have the Diner already, have you done any modifications to it? Feel free to share your thoughts and own ideas in the comment section below! 😉

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

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Exclusive LEGO House Tree of Creativity set

Modifying the LEGO Creator Downtown Diner

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