10291 Queer Eye Apartment Set

[Legochaek]

Never watched the show, but cool set. 

[RichardGoring]

This looks fabulous! Really nicely done and lots of fun.

I used to swap the hands on figures all the time as a kid, so it will help rekindle my youth!

[jimmynick]

Looks nice, yeah. I like that there are all the torso options to change around.

And Tan's hairpiece is fabulous

[RichardGoring]

Rebrickable has a review up - https://rebrickable.com/blog/411/review-10291-1-queer-eye-the-fab-5-loft/

It's regretfully negative, pointing out some things that they were disappointed by but wanted to like, which is a shame.

In different news, the clothes swap torsos do come with hands, so they have been removed in the LEGO press photos (which makes sense).

[williejm]

JVN also gets two alternate hairstyle options. Just a shame minifigs can’t do a proper hair toss in real life. Love the level of detail on this, and including JVN’s old teacher as a makeover subject is just *so cute* I can’t EVEN. 

[Prometheus87]

Jonathan just posted this on his Instagram and it's gotten thousands of comments, many of which say they'll be buying Lego for the first time. Looks like it could be a hit set. 

[BlueberryWaffles]

This looks like a fun set, very detailed. Interesting that it's an 18+ set that doesn't use the black background, maybe TLG is finally letting some of these sets use brighter colors? It definitely looks better with the white backdrop and I think that a number of other 18+ sets such as Sesame Street or Winnie the Pooh could have benefited from something similar.

Also, is this the first time an official Lego product has shown torsos with hands removed?

[williejm]

47 minutes ago, BlueberryWaffles said:

This looks like a fun set, very detailed. Interesting that it's an 18+ set that doesn't use the black background, maybe TLG is finally letting some of these sets use brighter colors? It definitely looks better with the white backdrop and I think that a number of other 18+ sets such as Sesame Street or Winnie the Pooh could have benefited from something similar.

Also, is this the first time an official Lego product has shown torsos with hands removed?

Yep, think that may also be to do with the QE branding they do say Bobby was involved in designing the set. I do think it works better on this one for sure. 

[1234567892022]

I’m gay. My boyfriend is gay. This set does not represent us. In fact, it insults us. It reinforces the stereotype that gay men are all catty, ‘fabulous,’ effeminate and obsessed with fashion. The only people it appeals to is heterosexual women who like to use gay men as fashion accessories and gay people who identify as queer, which has little to do with their orientation and is a political statement. If Lego wanted to be “inclusive,” perhaps they could have made a wedding set with the option of two grooms/brides in addition to the bride/groom one, which was actually requested. The rainbow doesn’t represent me. A show about men reinforcing archaic stereotypes while acting like puppets for people who are laughing at them doesn’t represent me. My boyfriend served in his country’s military for 7 years of his life. He now does a manual labour job. He is stronger and more masculine than any heterosexual man I know. It is insulting to be compared to these people because we happen to be same-sex attracted. 

[TheMainBricker]

17 minutes ago, BrickFunatic said:

I’m gay. My boyfriend is gay. This set does not represent us. In fact, it insults us. It reinforces the stereotype that gay men are all catty, ‘fabulous,’ effeminate and obsessed with fashion. The only people it appeals to is heterosexual women who like to use gay men as fashion accessories and gay people who identify as queer, which has little to do with their orientation and is a political statement. If Lego wanted to be “inclusive,” perhaps they could have made a wedding set with the option of two grooms/brides in addition to the bride/groom one, which was actually requested. The rainbow doesn’t represent me. A show about men reinforcing archaic stereotypes while acting like puppets for people who are laughing at them doesn’t represent me. My boyfriend served in his country’s military for 7 years of his life. He now does a manual labour job. He is stronger and more masculine than any heterosexual man I know. It is insulting to be compared to these people because we happen to be same-sex attracted. 

I couldn't agree more. I'm disappointed at the amount of articles written on this set by straight men who claim that this is good for representation and this now broadens Lego to gay people, because apparently this is all what gay men are interested in.

Judging by a lot of the responses (particularly with that price tag) it won't sell well. This thread hasn't exactly had a lot of traffic, and most non-English websites didn't have a clue about the series. Everyone is Awesome is about a 1/3 of the price of this set, the Pride flag is known about over the world so people are more willing to buy that.

Be interesting if Lego make the same mess that they did with the previous set and not sell it in certain countries, by removing it from the website, reinstating it, removing it again etc.

[ddavid]

I like the set, but the price is way too high. It should have been max 80€

Edited September 14, 2021 by ddavid

[jimmynick]

25 minutes ago, BrickFunatic said:

This set does not represent us.

This set wasn't made in a vacuum: it's a continuation of the (honestly disappointing) series of sets based on popular TV shows. First Friends, then Seinfeld, then this. Everyone is Awesome is your feel-good representation set while this is an effort to cash in on what is (at least in the US) a pop-culture phenomenon. Why is it called Queer Eye? Because it's a reboot of a show of the same title produced in a less-sensitive era. The presenters run the gamut from masculine to feminine and they're not even all gay (Antoni is bi).

30 minutes ago, BrickFunatic said:

perhaps they could have made a wedding set with the option of two grooms/brides in addition to the bride/groom one

This would be nice, I agree! But to complain about representation or lack thereof when this is a set based on a TV show is barking up the wrong tree. LEGO's not saying "hey, gay people, you should buy this"; they're saying "hey, people who like the show, you should buy this set". It's nice I think to have another set that features people (and themes, in the case of Everyone is Awesome) from the LGBTQ community, but representation is not the point of the set.

Should add: this set doesn't represent me, and I've never seen the show. But I don't think it's grossly offensive

Not going to say you shouldn't be upset, or that you're wrong for being upset, but I think you're missing the set's point a bit.

[MAB]

3 hours ago, BrickFunatic said:

If Lego wanted to be “inclusive,” perhaps they could have made a wedding set with the option of two grooms/brides in addition to the bride/groom one, which was actually requested.

And they sorted that by selling individual brides and grooms. So if you want two grooms, you buy two groom sets. If you want a groom with two brides, that is also possible. Everyone is now covered, not just couples.

3 hours ago, BrickFunatic said:

I’m gay. My boyfriend is gay. This set does not represent us. In fact, it insults us. 

How do they make a set that represents all gay men (or women) if gay men are different to each other.

3 hours ago, BrickFunatic said:

He now does a manual labour job. He is stronger and more masculine than any heterosexual man I know.

So buy another set that does represent him if you want. For example, if a bin man, then get this one. There is nothing to label the male minifigure as gay, straight, bi, ...

[Prometheus87]

57 minutes ago, MAB said:

And they sorted that by selling individual brides and grooms. So if you want two grooms, you buy two groom sets. If you want a groom with two brides, that is also possible. Everyone is now covered, not just couples.

How do they make a set that represents all gay men (or women) if gay men are different to each other.

So buy another set that does represent him if you want. For example, if a bin man, then get this one. There is nothing to label the male minifigure as gay, straight, bi, ...

The Wedding Set of 2018 was just retired this year. If the same trend continues for the previous 2 sets, they should be issuing a new one in 2022. I would not be surprised if they make it more inclusive with a mix-and-match style of torsos, heads, legs, dresses, etc. They are DOING that exact thing with Harry Potter and the Trunk set coming out next January.

[williejm]

5 hours ago, Prometheus87 said:

Jonathan just posted this on his Instagram and it's gotten thousands of comments, many of which say they'll be buying Lego for the first time. Looks like it could be a hit set. 

Yep, I think in the real world, this will be a great hit. Dunno why people need to pull it down, but hey ho. Dumbledore is gay, but you don’t have to complain that he’s not representing you as a gay man with no beard / magic /pet Phoenix. 

8 minutes ago, Prometheus87 said:

The Wedding Set of 2018 was just retired this year. If the same trend continues for the previous 2 sets, they should be issuing a new one in 2022. I would not be surprised if they make it more inclusive with a mix-and-match style of torsos, heads, legs, dresses, etc. They are DOING that exact thing with Harry Potter and the Trunk set coming out next January.

Also - fun fact - not everyone gets married, wants to, or even can. So a wedding set is equally unrepresentative anyways 🤷🏽‍♂️

4 hours ago, TheMainBricker said:

I couldn't agree more. I'm disappointed at the amount of articles written on this set by straight men who claim that this is good for representation and this now broadens Lego to gay people, because apparently this is all what gay men are interested in.

Judging by a lot of the responses (particularly with that price tag) it won't sell well. This thread hasn't exactly had a lot of traffic, and most non-English websites didn't have a clue about the series. Everyone is Awesome is about a 1/3 of the price of this set, the Pride flag is known about over the world so people are more willing to buy that.

Be interesting if Lego make the same mess that they did with the previous set and not sell it in certain countries, by removing it from the website, reinstating it, removing it again etc.

This thread is not a reflection of the real world. This gay man will be buying it. 

[MAB]

11 minutes ago, Prometheus87 said:

The Wedding Set of 2018 was just retired this year. If the same trend continues for the previous 2 sets, they should be issuing a new one in 2022. I would not be surprised if they make it more inclusive with a mix-and-match style of torsos, heads, legs, dresses, etc. They are DOING that exact thing with Harry Potter and the Trunk set coming out next January.

The 2020 bride and groom (as in separate sets) are still available,  at least in the UK, and this is probably the best way for them to continue so any combination can be bought as required. Having a set that could be two grooms, one groom and bride or two brides is probably a waste of parts when the individual sets cover all eventualities.  So long as there is not a rush on one of them, of course.

[drewdotexe]

I don't believe a gay wedding set would represent me either.

Rightly so, every person in this thread has a different opinion on how they see themselves, their opinion on representation and what they want to see in a LEGO set! (Side note, I love that this community is here because I don't feel like I fit in any other stereoptyical LGBT community, and did not expect LEGO to have a passionate following)

Anyway to get back on topic... 

I love the new pieces - love the torsos, the headpieces, the hair colours. Lots of potential here for minifigure customs, for me a lot of Hogwarts students and Order members/Diagon Alley visitors in the making here. Just don't think I'm going to buy the set itself, seems a bit costly and a bit awkward to display and I'm already struggling with the Friends sets. Definitely a BrickLink job for me.

Also, the promo video LEGO released recreating the credits is like the best thing I have seen all week, so accurate! They nailed Bobbys dance and Jonathans hair flip. I love the tune!

 

Edited September 14, 2021 by drewdotexe

[TeriXeri]

Even seperate from the show, or the people / story behind it , I can already see LEGO started a trend to hook in a new line of collectors of TV show sets / apartments, could be for multiple reasons like parts, figures, display, completionism, or using the interiors in MOCs etc, but I do think LEGO hit a wide market here despite not obvious at first glance.

Remember that IDEAS/Cusoo originally started Minecraft theme and that's still going, and this type of set also started via Ideas originally.

This apartment does look pretty good with all the masonry work, and the contrast of modern kitchen etc.

The price is steep compared to the F.r.i.e.n.d.s or Seinfeld sets, 37.5% more expensive then Seinfeld seems a lot. (€80 vs €110)

Edited September 14, 2021 by TeriXeri

[Lyichir]

Regarding the presence or lack of "representation" in a set like this... please keep in mind that the only reason anyone even feels like a set like this is "supposed" to represent the full spectrum of queer culture is because up until this year, there's been a serious dearth of that kind of representation in Lego. Sure, there have been the occasional licensed characters who, independently of Lego's own depictions of them, fall into LGBTQ+ categories (such as Dumbledore, who was revealed to be gay outside of the text of the series he came from, or Poison Ivy and Harley Quinn, who have been portrayed as a bisexual couple in some comics and TV portrayals but have only ever even appeared in two sets together). But there's never been any canonically queer characters or depictions of characters in Lego's own story media, nor have there been any queer relationships portrayed as a focal element of a set (despite how prevalent family arrangements are in themes like Friends, City, or Duplo). So the Everyone is Awesome set served as the first real acknowledgment of LGBTQ+ identity in a set, and now this is the first set to portray a whole cast of "out" LGBTQ+ individuals.

I get that the show isn't to everyone's taste. I've never watched it but understand that, as a product of the '90s/early 2000's when even things like gay marriage were still a mere glimmer on the horizon of history, it has sometimes felt like queer culture commodified for the enjoyment of a mostly straight, cisgender audience. But I think the solution to that isn't to decry something like this as poor representation, but to call for further LGBTQ+ representation in Lego. If more sets shoulder the burden of representing an inherently diverse community, it will no longer feel like any one set has to be the be-all and end-all of how that community is depicted in Lego.

Anyway, as far as this set is concerned... it's cute! I am a big fan of designer Matthew Ashton from his work on The Lego Movie and graphic designer Diego Sancho from his work on Dots. Again, not having watched the show, I can't really speak to accuracy, but like many of the sitcom-based Ideas sets this one continues to have an interesting assortment of clever furniture builds. The white masonry bricks will definitely be a boon to all sorts of builds. I doubt I'll pick this one up personally, but I hope it finds its audience and maybe convinces Lego to consider including LGBTQ+ representation in some of its own in-house franchises in the future as well.

[MAB]

10 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

Even seperate from the show, or the people / story behind it , I can already see LEGO started a trend to hook in a new line of collectors of TV show sets / apartments, could be for multiple reasons like parts, figures, display, completionism, or using the interiors in MOCs etc, but I do think LEGO hit a wide market here despite not obvious at first glance.

Remember that IDEAS/Cusoo originally started Minecraft theme and that's still going, and this type of set also started via Ideas originally.

This apartment does look pretty good with all the masonry work, and the contrast of modern kitchen etc.

The price is steep compared to the F.r.i.e.n.d.s or Seinfeld sets, 37.5% more expensive then Seinfeld seems a lot. (€80 vs €110)

But then look at the differences. Seinfeld has five minifigures. This one has 7 plus extra parts for almost three more. This one has a smaller number of parts, but presumably they are significantly bigger parts.

They could, of course, have made it cheaper. They could have left out the transformation area and mechanism, left out the whole hidden back stage area, left out the 2x minifigures of the woman being made over, left out the extra torsos. None of that is really necessary for an 18+ display set but makes it a bit more than just a display set, putting in a feature not in The Big Bang Theory, or FRIENDS, or Seinfeld.

[eldiano]

Oh look the introduction of the white brick, many were expecting to be in the Peach Castle 🤣

[snoozle]

I don't know the show, as I rarely watch Netflix these days. But one of the figures looks just like director Taika Waititi. No disrespect to whom the figure is supposed to represent. Just saw photos from the set and thought the figure was a dead ringer for Waititi. 🙂

[TheMainBricker]

Interesting interview with Matthew Ashton about the Queer Eye set https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/more-lego-sets-championing-diversity-inclusion-and-coming-an-interview-with-matthew-ashton/

Essentially it confirms most of what has already been suggested, that Lego (probably Matthew Ashton) contacted the Queer Eye people about doing the set, and Lego themselves had to be convinced to do the set as (as is understandable) not many people had heard of the show. Essentially it was Matthew Ashton's pet project and he basically pushed it through.

It also states that there will be more diverse sets, which we can assume are more gay themed sets (as that is Ashton's definition of diversity), particularly having an LGBTQI and Diversity & Inclusion group at Lego. It seems unlikely that we would see other diversity such as racial, cultural, disability etc in sets, which is disappointing.

[williejm]

50 minutes ago, TheMainBricker said:

Interesting interview with Matthew Ashton about the Queer Eye set https://jaysbrickblog.com/news/more-lego-sets-championing-diversity-inclusion-and-coming-an-interview-with-matthew-ashton/

Essentially it confirms most of what has already been suggested, that Lego (probably Matthew Ashton) contacted the Queer Eye people about doing the set, and Lego themselves had to be convinced to do the set as (as is understandable) not many people had heard of the show. Essentially it was Matthew Ashton's pet project and he basically pushed it through.

It also states that there will be more diverse sets, which we can assume are more gay themed sets (as that is Ashton's definition of diversity), particularly having an LGBTQI and Diversity & Inclusion group at Lego. It seems unlikely that we would see other diversity such as racial, cultural, disability etc in sets, which is disappointing.

I mean, it’s not so much a pet project, as a role he has to develop such sets and explore opportunities. Saying that this is at the expense of other forms of diversity is also nonsense, not least because in the QE set two of the main characters are not white. Moreover racial, gender and ability diversity is something that Lego is clearly looking at across all sets - as we can see by the increase in colour diversity in licencsed sets (See HP & JW); better gender ratios in all sets, and; the inclusion of wheelchair users, blind characters and characters with hearing airs in different ‘everyday’ sets. 

[TheMainBricker]

31 minutes ago, williejm said:

I mean, it’s not so much a pet project, as a role he has to develop such sets and explore opportunities. Saying that this is at the expense of other forms of diversity is also nonsense, not least because in the QE set two of the main characters are not white. Moreover racial, gender and ability diversity is something that Lego is clearly looking at across all sets - as we can see by the increase in colour diversity in licencsed sets (See HP & JW); better gender ratios in all sets, and; the inclusion of wheelchair users, blind characters and characters with hearing airs in different ‘everyday’ sets. 

Mr Ashton on his social media makes it very clear he is a fan of this reality TV show, Lego needed convincing that it was worthwhile to do a set based off of something so niche and something that doesn't spell sales.

The interview talks about diversity and he basically centres it around these two sets. It seems a very narrow definition. Commercially it's no different to other companies (like Disney) who do a whole lot of rainbow products, but don't do anything for other groups etc. The Lego City citizens sets do have more diversity in them, but as far as I'm aware only Everyone is Awesome and Queer Eye are two sets explicitly about a protected characteristic, I'm not aware of a disabled minifigure set for example. The increase of colour diversity in licensed sets (because only licensed themes have natural skin tones) is more down to the diversity of the casting inside those films/shows. Sexual orientation isn't a visible trait, so technically Lego City sets have always featured gay people, it's down to the user's imagination.

I've seen a lot of people moaning that there hasn't been a The Office set, well you probably would've had it by now if Mr Ashton was a fan of the show. Perhaps Lego should start listening to a more diverse group of voices?