#21057 Singapore Skyline

[henrysunset]

I wanted to start a thread to discuss the newly announced Singapore Skyline set.  It will cost 59.99€ ($59.99 / £54.99 / 79.99 CAD / 89.99 AUD) for 827 pieces, and will be released on January 1, 2022.

The set has been met with mixed reviews, some celebrating the bright colors and layered composition, and others critiquing it as visually cluttered and garish.  My own opinion lies somewhere in the middle — for a much longer exploration of the set check out my complete review at Brick Architect website.

 

Box / Packaging:

There has been a lot of discussion about the box, which features the Adults Welcome (18+) ribbon along the bottom of the box, but this time in (what I think is) a garish Dark Azure color instead of the White color used on the previous LEGO Architecture sets.

 

Marina Bay Sands:

Since it is by far the largest model in the set, a lot of attention is placed on the Marina Bay Sands.  It looks huge compared to the other buildings in the set, but I did the math and the scale is actually right - It's just a huge building!

 

The comparison with the earlier #21021 version (top) is not favorable.  The Trans Dark Blue color is perhaps more realistic, but otherwise the new version has a less faithful curve shape (it's more like a banana), and other aspects of the detailing including the west entrance aren't nearly as detailed.

 

Parts:

The set relies on a lot of printed parts, but only two are new printed parts - the Singapore nameplate, and a new 2×3 Plate with lots of square windows on it.

More notable is the new 1×4 Curved part, which has the same profile as the 1×1 part which was introduced a few years ago.  I doubt the part was created just for this set, since parts are almost never created for the Architecture series, but it did debut in this set.

 

Geography

As you can see, the position of the structures in the model do match fairly well how they are positioned in the actual city. This assumes you are north of the harbour looking south...  The biggest quirk is that Gardens by the Bay is shown in front of the Marina Bay Sands, when it is definitely behind it, and Lau Pa Sat is presented in front of MBS and One Raffles Place, but is several blocks behind it.

 

Conclusion

I gave the set a 3/5 star (Good) rating, since there is a mix of highlights and lowlights in this build.  The main highlight is that it allows you to explore the Marina Bay Sands building without having to buy an aftermarket copy of #21021 Marina Bay Sands (2013) for as much as $1000.  It does have a good price-per-part, but the price-per-gram is poor at $0.146 per gram.  (This is something I have started calculating, and results in a very different conclusion about value than price-per-part reveals.)

 

In addition to my review at Brick Architect, be sure to see some of these other reviews before making a decision when this set is released in January:

• https://brickset.com/article/67632/review-21057-singapore
• https://rebrickable.com/blog/443/review-21057-1-singapore/
• https://truenorthbricks.com/2021/12/04/singapore-21057-review/
• https://www.brothers-brick.com/2021/12/04/lego-architecture-21057-singapore-review/
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VaQRc0t8ZZg&t=3s (video)

 

Sincerely,
—Tom

[Rauy]

I'm definitely among the fans of the set for its composition and overall atmosphere. I am far from a Singapore expert, but I do feel it captures the atmosphere of a Southeast Asian city full of history and modernism quite well. I know Singaporeans will likely miss their beloved Merlion, but I tried to add it into the skyline in my own review, which can be found here (it's in German, though): https://roguebricks.de/forum/index.php?thread/3345-review-21057-singapore/

I agree the detail and curvature of the MBS doesn't quite hold up with the old set, but on the other hand the new model ist more streamlined and fits better into a skyline. And I like its more prominent colours quite a bit more in comparison. My biggest problem is, that it's so similar to the old set, which makes presenting them both (in case you're one of the lucky 3 who owns one and dares to build it ;-)) and comparing their redinitions rather disappointing. But at best, you can see it as an homage to the old set. I also know many people don't like the use of printed parts in the set, but while I'm not the biggest fan of printed details either, I do think they work rather well here and the new 2x3 tile might offer some interesting uses in various projects.

I don't really have a problem with the colour of the greebled band on the box. Yes, white fits a bit more to the Architecture line, but at best you can say they tried to adapt it to the particular set (as the last two were mostly white buildings anyway). A much bigger gripe for me is the replacement of the good old deluxe Architecture box with a simple thumb-tack box. Together with making the instructions grey instead of black, this feels like quite a break with series traditions for me. But I can't say I didn't expect or rather fear this already as part of the whole 18+ gig (in fact I was positively surprised to see the White House still had a proper Architecture box).

Edited December 7, 2021 by Rauy

[MartyMcFly]

Blue = Skylines (as in the sky is blue) ?

[Herky]

Great job with the review and such, any insight into why TLG is not giving us buildings and just keep shoving skylines down our throats?  They are ok, more like cool little tourist pieces, but time to get some real sets out.  I guess TLG doesn't care much about this line so they throw whatever out and hope it sells is what it seems these days.

[henrysunset]

2 hours ago, Herky said:

Great job with the review and such, any insight into why TLG is not giving us buildings and just keep shoving skylines down our throats?  They are ok, more like cool little tourist pieces, but time to get some real sets out.  I guess TLG doesn't care much about this line so they throw whatever out and hope it sells is what it seems these days.

We have seen a revised White House and an Architecture-style rendition of the Taj Mahal recently, not to mention the two Soccer/Football stadiums which aren't in the Architecture series, but are clearly related in terms of style and potential audience.

That said, I also want more iconic architecture such as Fallingwater, Villa Savoye, and Farnsworth House.  I do not expect we will see more of these, as they are popular amongst architecture buffs, but not widely known in mainstream circles.  Instead, we will probably need to be satisfied with the amazing MOC's created by fellow LEGO Architecture enthusiasts.

I just don't think lesser-known architectural sets sell very well.  I did try to predict sales rates based on data that's no longer available and yes, it looks like sets like Imperial Hotel and Villa Savoye didn't sell well.  https://brickarchitect.com/2015/lego-architecture-sales-europe/

 

Sincerely,

---tom

[Rauy]

With the last two sets being standalone buildings rather than skylines and the last year not seeing any skyline set, I don't know if it's really possible to speak about getting "skylines shoved down our throat". You also have to see that January tends to be the time for the skylines and I'd be optimistic that there will also be a standalone set later this year. That optimism might get disappointed, but I can live with that.

But like Tom I can only repeat that Wright, Niemeyer, Calatrava, and whoever will certainly not make a reappearance in this series because the mainstream simply doesn't know them. I know it sucks to a lot of people, especially given the vision this series started out with. And I too would enjoy models of their buildings. But I feel the Architecture community needs to find a way to deal with that and move on. We need to be happy about the buildings we do get and make the best of it, rather than longing for days to come back that will likely never make a comeback in the near future of LEGO's mainstream market orientation. It was a bold move by Adam Reed Tucker back then and it paid off and together with things like Star Wars UCS also generally contributed to developing an adult customer base. It was pretty much the 18+ series par excellence. But Fallingwater and Sears Tower just aren't going to come back since now LEGO has a mainstream adult market and they want the tourist attractions they know.

Sorry if I'm getting a little philosophical there, but the general negativity that I also observe in the general Architecture thread can be a little too heavy sometimes. I understand not everyone is happy with this new orientation of the series and you don't have to. But it's here and it's been here for quite a while and is probably here to stay.

[WhiteFang]

To be fair, I felt the Singapore skyline did a good job in capturing most of the icons in the city central/CBD (central business district) and the designer had managed to squeeze tons of miniature landmarks in there. I felt the Marina Bay Sands is the best representation especially for fans who had missed the original built. The Singapore River is a lovely touch. What I didn’t like about this set - is the lack of the Merlion, Fullerton Hotel and Singapore Flyer. These are within the close vicinity of Marina Bay Sands and these are often daunted as part of Singapore skyline. Nonetheless, to able to see this Architecture series which feature Singapore certainly made me want to own it in my own humble collection. 

[Rauy]

On 12/17/2021 at 8:52 AM, WhiteFang said:

What I didn’t like about this set - is the lack of the Merlion, Fullerton Hotel and Singapore Flyer.

Do you mean the Raffles Hotel? Because the Fullerton is actually included (in front of the Supertrees).

[WhiteFang]

4 hours ago, Rauy said:

Do you mean the Raffles Hotel? Because the Fullerton is actually included (in front of the Supertrees).

Yea