Review: 21011 Brandenburg Gate [Architecture]

[bgalakazam]

INTRO

Hello LEGO fans. This will be my first review. I learned a few things from it so my subsequent ones should be better. I also found there is a review of this set already. I didn't read it past the first photo as I didn't want to unintentionally copy it. Another note, pictures were taken at night. The flash was leaving too much spots, so I decided to go by lamp only. I am fairly busy during the day, but I'll try to get my next reviews with better photos. I also don't separate the parts by colour or similarity, but I did for this review as it may be easier to see what's inside. There is also a catalog at the end of the booklet.

Link to pictures in Flickr for slightly higher resolution

SET INFORMATION

LEGO Architecture, Landmark Series, 21011 Brandenburg Gate

362 pieces

$34.95 retail

model 22.4cm x 9.2cm (8.8in x 3.6in)

Front

Back

Bottom

Signature from the designer printed

THE PARTS

Box opened

Booklet cover

Booklet history information first pages

Parts in assorted bags

Parts sorted (for review clarity, I don't usually sort)

BUILDING THE SET

The instructions were easy to follow. Below are some random pages:

And some of the building progress:

Extra parts, among them a label in English.

FINAL PRODUCT

Completed front

Completed back

IMPRESSIONS

- The instruction booklet was of high quality paper, unlike the regular LEGO sets. It also had a nice history in the beginning and history snippets throughout the pages. At the end there was information about the designer.

- The parts had less variety and neutral colours. This opens up possibilities for different building projects. The set also looks geared for a more mature audience due to the colouring.

- The price is higher and I don't think the better booklet justifies it. For comparison, the 70~ piece sets were $20 and regular LEGO goes for as low as $11 for the same piece count.

- The set is still targeted at teenagers, however, it doesn't exactly look like a toy so it can be a nice room ornament as well.

RATING

Building: 9/10

Playability/Reusability: 10/10

Appearance: 10/10

Value for cost: 6/10

Quality: 10/10

[TheLegoDr]

Thanks for the review. I did pick this set up back when it was on a special sale because I needed large amounts of the sand green cheese slopes for my mini-Hogwarts build. I may have to pick another up considering this is the only set it comes in.

One difference I would recommend is going through new parts or new colors in a separate picture, just to add some justification to buying the set.

I haven't looked in mine to see if it had an English and German name plate. Did they all come with that?

Otherwise I think the set hits the actual gate pretty well.

[Xcod119]

Good review for a first Time

[jluck]

Well done on the review, this actually isn't my favorite of the architecture sets. It just doesn't have that wow factor that some of the other sets have, but it's still pretty nice.

[Geofied]

This looks like a really cool set. Good review too!

[FuzzyBallz]

They need to throw some horses on top of the gate to make it worth my while.

[TheLegoDr]

That is what the light bley pieces represent. At that scale, it would be impossible to do horses that look like horses. That is the point of Architecture sets. Get the idea across on a small scale.