Long the home of theaters, cinemas and confused tourists incorrectly pronouncing "Lie-chester", London's Leicester Square has a new star attraction: the largest Lego store in the world.Opening today just across from M&M's World and the Nickelodeon Store (neither of which are nearly as interesting), the store is a two-floor (9,800-square foot) temple to all of the company's brick-building brands, from Architecture to Star Wars to Duplo. But as with any Lego store, it's not so much about what you can buy as what giant Lego structures, or "big builds", the company's designers have constructed. Outside signature London sights including a 21-foot (6.5-meter) Elizabeth Tower (the tower at Parliament House that holds the bell Big Ben), a red telephone box that you can stand in stand inside and a London Underground roundel, there's a mosaic of the London skyline made of more than 265,000 bricks. There's also an Underground train carriage carrying your your not-so-typical set of London commuters: William Shakespeare, Robin Hood, Queen Elizabeth II and one of her bearskin-hatted Foot Guards.
For me, though, the best thing was a large Lego version of the Harry Beck Underground map made from 16,500 bricks that took 90 hours to build. The attention to detail on the map and around the store was deep: Lights behind clear bricks on the map symbolized Tube trains moving through the network, Big Ben bonged and the telephone in the box rang. Even the store's pun game is on point: The information desk is called Brickadilly Circus. Watching over it all is Brickley, a green dragon found in Lego stores around the world, and Lester, the store's official mascot. Naturally, Lester wears a waistcoat with a Union Flag design and a bowler hat and carries an umbrella. We asked if the "Lester" name was a subtle lesson on how Leicester is actually pronounced, but a store rep said they hadn't thought of that.Click through the above gallery and watch the video for a closer look at all of the store's sights, including the very cool Mosaic Maker Photo Booth where you can recreate your own likeness with Lego bricks.
Moto Z, this is your mission: Make Motorola relevant againMercedes-Benz Arocs 3245product_label_list_price_accessibility 54 Reviews123451FIND MORE PRODUCTS LIKE THISTechnicVehiclesBuild and experience the powerful Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245! Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245 Reviews - page 2As we are almost at the end of the year, I thought this was a good time for an annual review of the largest LEGO sets released during 2016. This has been a particularly interesting period, because the number of big sets almost doubled compared to previous years. In fact, let’s start out with a short comparison, before discussing the current year. ➡ LARGE EXCLUSIVE LEGO SETS 2010: There were a total of three large sets over 2,000 pieces this year, the largest being over 4,000 pieces! The largest set was the #10214 LEGO Creator Tower Bridge (still available, see link) with 4,287 pieces and a price of $239.99. The second largest set was the #10212 LEGO Star Wars Imperial Shuttle with 2,503 pieces and a price of $259.99. T
he third largest set was the #10211 LEGO Creator Grand Emporium with 2,182 pieces and a price of $149.99. All other sets had less than 2,000 pieces. ➡ LARGE EXCLUSIVE LEGO SETS 2011: There were a total of five large sets over 2,000 pieces this year. The largest LEGO set released in 2010 was the #10221 LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series Super Star Destroyer with 3,152 pieces and a price of $399.99. The second largest set was the #21010 LEGO Architecture Robie House with 2,276 pieces and a price of $199.99. The third largest set was the #8110 LEGO Technic Mercedes-Benz Unimog U 400 with 2,048 pieces and a price of $199.99. The fourth largest set was the #10218 LEGO Creator Pet Shop (retiring soon) with 2,032 pieces and a price of $149.99. The fifth largest set was the #10217 LEGO Harry Potter Diagon Alley with 2,025 pieces and a price of $149.99. All other sets had less than 2,000 pieces. Note that only one set had over 3,000 pieces and costs over $200. ➡ LARGE EXCLUSIVE LEGO SETS 2012: Looks like in 2012 LEGO decided to be even more conservative, as no sets reached 3,000 pieces or costs more than $200. T
here were a total of three large sets over 2,000 pieces. The largest set released was the #10224 LEGO Creator Town Hall with 2,766 pieces and a price of $199.99. The second largest set was the #10225 LEGO Star Wars R2-D2 with 2,127 pieces and a price of $179.99. The third largest set was the #10228 LEGO Monster Fighters Haunted House with 2,064 pieces and a price of $179.99. All other sets had less than 2,000 pieces. ➡ LARGE EXCLUSIVE LEGO SETS 2013: This year is about the same as the previous one, with no set reaching 3,000 pieces, and only three sets were over $200. There were four large sets over 2,000 pieces. The largest set released was the #10234 LEGO Creator Sydney Opera House (retiring soon) with 2,989 pieces and a price of $319.99. The second largest set was the #42009 LEGO Technic Mobile Crane MK II with 2,606 pieces and a price of $219.99. The third largest set was the #10237 LEGO The Lord of the Rings Tower of Orthanc with 2,359 pieces and a price of $199.99. The fourth largest set was the #10232 LEGO Creator Palace Cinema with 2,196 pieces and a price of $149.99. T
he fifth largest set was the #10236 LEGO Star Wars Ewok Village (retiring soon) with 1,999 pieces and a price of $249.99. (It is only one piece below the 2K threshold, so I added it here, plus it is considered a LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collectors Series set, so it deserves to be mentioned.) A ➡ LARGE EXCLUSIVE LEGO SETS 2014: This year there were four large sets over 2,000 pieces, with one of the sets reaching over 3,000 pieces. As far as price, only two sets were over $200. The largest set was the #75059 LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series Sandcrawler (retiring soon) with 3,296 pieces and a price of $299.99. The second largest set was the #70810 LEGO Movie MetalBeard’s Sea Cow with 2,741 pieces and a price of $249.99. The third largest set was the #71006 LEGO The Simpsons House with 2,523 pieces and a price of $199.99. The fourth largest set was the #10243 LEGO Creator Parisian Restaurant with 2,469 pieces and a price of $159.99. A ➡ LARGE EXCLUSIVE LEGO SETS 2015: In 2015 LEGO started to get bolder and released six large sets over 2,000 pieces, and one that almost reached the 2K threshold. B
ut there were no sets over 3,000 pieces, and only two sets costs above $200. The largest set in 2015 was the #76042 LEGO Super Heroes SHIELD Helicarrier with 2,996 pieces and a price of $349.99. The second largest set was the #42043 LEGO Technic Mercedes-Benz Arocs 3245 with 2,793 pieces and a price of $229.99. The third largest set was the #10247 LEGO Creator Ferris Wheel with 2,464 pieces and a price of $199.99. The fourth largest set was the #10246 LEGO Creator Detective’s Office with 2,264 pieces and a price of $159.99. The fifth largest set was the #71016 LEGO The Simpsons Kwik-E-Mart with 2,179 pieces and a price of $199.99. The sixth largest set was the #70751 LEGO Ninjago Temple of Airjitzu with 2,208 pieces and a price of $199.99. Honorable mention goes to the seventh largest set, which is just below the 2K piece threshold; the #75060 LEGO Star Wars Ultimate Collector Series Slave I with 1,996 pieces and a price of $199.99. A ➡ LARGE EXCLUSIVE LEGO SETS 2016: And here we are in 2016, with an unprecedented nine large sets over 2,000 pieces, four of which are over 4,000 pieces and one almost reaching 5K. A
nd eight of the nine sets are over $200. If you look at the pattern of the previous years, you can see that this is completely unheard of. The largest set in 2016 is the #75827 LEGO Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters with 4,634 pieces and a price of $349.99. The second largest set is the #10253 LEGO Creator Big Ben with 4,163 pieces and a price of $249.99. The third largest set is the #71040 LEGO Disney Castle with 4,080 pieces and a price of $349.99. The fourth largest set is the #75159 LEGO Star Wars Death Star with 4,016 pieces and a (crazy) price of $499.99. The fifth largest set is the #42055 LEGO Technic Bucket Wheel Excavator with 3,927 pieces and a price of $279.99. The sixth largest set is the #42056 LEGO Technic Porsche 911 GT3 RS with 2,704 pieces and a price of $299.99. The seventh largest set is the #76052 LEGO Super Heroes Batman Classic TV Series Batcave with 2,526 pieces and a price of $269.99. The eight largest set is the #10251 LEGO Creator Brick Bank with 2,380 pieces and a price of $169.99. A
nd the ninth largest set of 2016 is the #75098 LEGO Star Wars Assault on Hoth with 2,144 pieces and a price of $249.99. All other sets have less than 2,000 pieces. While in previous years all of the large exclusive sets received pretty much universally positive reviews, 2016 is a bit troubled in this regard. From the nine sets released, the #75827 LEGO Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters, the #10253 LEGO Creator Big Ben, the #71040 LEGO Disney Castle, the #42055 LEGO Technic Bucket Wheel Excavator, the #42056 LEGO Technic Porsche 911 GT3 RS, and the #10251 LEGO Creator Brick Bank are all considered very solid sets. On the other hand, the #76052 LEGO Super Heroes Batman Classic TV Series Batcave, and the #75098 LEGO Star Wars Assault on Hoth received a lot of criticism for some of the design decisions. And while the #75159 LEGO Star Wars Death Star is a good set, it is almost exactly the same as the previous version, but for a $100 more. So from the nine sets, six are definite winners, while the remaining three are a bit questionable.
While it is nice to see so many large sets, the significant rise in piece-count and price is troubling to some LEGO fans. Previously, with a well-managed budget, most LEGO fans had no trouble picking up the large exclusive sets they liked each year, or even all of them. However in 2016 only one set is below $200, five are between $200-$300, two are $350, and one is $500. That’s a lot. And of course this means that LEGO fans need to pick and choose their favorite large sets more carefully, plan ahead accordingly, and also manage their budget even more vigilantly. And we haven’t even taken into consideration many of the excellent smaller sets that were released this year! I’m curious to see if LEGO will continue to flood the market with extra-large sets next year, or will cut back some to the previous levels to focus on quality and keep the uniqueness of the exclusives. If you are considering purchasing any of the large exclusive sets before the end of the year, I would suggest that you check out reviews of the sets to make sure you end up getting the one you would be the most happy about. T