Review: 20215 MBA Invention Designer (Kit 11)

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

I recently started reviewing the most recent Master Builder Academy (MBA) set, specifically focusing on the first of the three kits included: The Time Machine. In this review, I’ll focus on the second kit, World Architecture, and I’ll eventually review the third kit, Inventor’s Lab. Note that these kits are part of an ongoing sequential series in the MBA theme, so these sets are respectively known as Kits 10, 11, and 12. So let’s get into World Architecture!

Set Title: Invention Designer

Set #: 20215

Theme: Master Builder Academy

Pieces: 675 (plus 3 books)

Minifigures: 3

Year of Release: 2013

Price at Release: USD 79.99

INTRODUCTION

I’m not going to rehash a description of the MBA theme or the packaging of this set, as I already covered that in my review of The Time Machine. Let’s skip the box and get right into Kit 11. World Architecture is essentially a tutorial in how to do Lego building construction. You’re not necessarily learning how to make complete buildings, so much as developing skills in how to make particular types of buildings and how to work ornate details into them so that the buildings actually resemble what you intend to build.

Architecture has always been a staple of Lego building, but it’s really taken off in the last several years due to new highly specialized sets. The Architecture theme has focused on making recognizable models of famous world landmarks. This set doesn’t quite focus on microbuild models—that’s covered in Kit 2—but elements of microbuilding are present here, particularly in the Japanese temple aspect of the East-West Temple (more on that below) and in the Micro Castle you can build on the MBA website. Additionally, the popular Modular Building sub-series in the Creator line has seen tremendously detailed buildings in minifigure scale with very ornate and detailed buildings. This kit focuses more on that aspect—how can you make your own buildings that look realistic and resemble real buildings?

THE BOOK

As I said in the last review, the book is the big selling point of these sets. $80 for 700 pieces isn’t a great deal, but $80 for 700 pieces and three very high-quality books makes it much more worthwhile. Roughly, for one kit that’s $27 for 230 pieces and one nice book. I think that in the grand scheme of things, that math isn’t awful if you like all three kits and you’re a fan of Lego books.

Repeating what I said in the last review: the front of the manual for Kit 11 includes a nice cartoon representation of the minifigure and the main model from the kit.

The back is a more realistic representation of the same figure. We'll talk about him in a bit.

Like the previous books, Kit 11’s manual focuses on helping you to develop two very specific skills: HISTORICAL DESIGN and ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS. (I’m putting those in all caps because that’s what the manual does.)

The idea of HISTORICAL DESIGN is that you’re designing a building that resembles a particular piece of history. A Greco-Roman building is going to resemble marble and have lots of columns and statues. A Japanese building is going to incorporate lots of wood and natural elements. The manual doesn’t necessarily teach you how to build an Egyptian pyramid or Aztec temple or modern Frank Lloyd Wright house, but it is designed to get you thinking about how to make those kinds of designs in Lego. You’ll see the manual point out a lot of these tips in the instructions. For example, Japanese temples tended to taper as they go up, so the manual points that out as you construct the East-West temple.

The other concept is ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS, which involves working small features into your buildings to make them look familiar. Here, the manual intends to inspire you to figure out what small Lego pieces can be turned into interesting building features. It illustrates examples from the modular buildings: sliding rail pieces became ledges; croissants became decorative frescoes; undercarriages were made into a decorative archway. The lessons in this manual will give you some ideas on how to do that.

One aspect that I’ll fault this book on is that it doesn’t include a sheet of Lego “brick paper.” The manual in MBA Kit 1 (Space Designer) included a page of brick paper with instructions to download the paper from the MBA website. Brick paper is like graph paper, where each square is the size of a 1 x 1 tile (or three squares is the height of a 1 x 1 brick).

One of the lessons taught in MBA Kit 1 was how to design a model by drawing it first on brick paper and them identifying what real-world bricks would work well in its place, based on how your drawing falls on the lines. You’ll note that the HISTORICAL DETAILS page shows an old building sketched on brick paper. It would have been nice if this kit included a sheet and/or directions on how to download some. I can imagine architecture lending itself very well to being drawn out on brick paper. Although the manual’s authors recommend doing so, they didn’t think to include a sheet or instructions to get some as a courtesy.

As with Kit 10’s manual, the instructions are very detailed and emphasize the use of specific MBA skills into each step. You might be surprised at how long the steps of a particular model take, but the idea is that they are trying to teach you something with each step. Hence, it’s important that you do a detailed read of each step as you’re building the suggested models in the manual. Your goal is not to build the model, but to learn why the model is designed as it is. I should note that the instructions do occasionally reference MBA tips from prior kits. For example, the East-West Temple’s instructions reference using “SUPPORT ELEMENTS technique that you learned about in Kit 6.” Well, if you didn’t buy Kit 6, you won’t have learned that skill. That won’t stop you from building the model, but you may be somewhat disoriented. That’s the downside of these kits—the authors appear to have intended that you literally go through all 12 in order.

The outline of Kit 11's manual is as follows:

• An introduction to MBA Level 4 and your code for the MBA website (2 pages, and pretty similar to Kit 10’s intro)
  
• An introduction to Architecture (2 pages)
  
• An introduction to architecture around the world (2 pages)
  
• A discussion of the HISTORICAL DESIGN technique (2 pages)
  
• A similar discussion of the ARCHITECTURAL DETAILS technique (2 pages)
  
• Building the minifigure’s Time Rover. (2 pages)
  
• The East-West Temple instructions. (26 pages)
  
• Smaller instructions on making Springboard Models to get you started on making a bigger creation. Included are the Roman Window, Spanish Fountain, and Asian Gazeobo. (16 pages.) There are further instructions on the MBA website when you use your code.
  
• A showcase of Lego fan creations of buildings. (2 pages)
  
• An "architecture challenge" to be done on the MBA website. (If you do all the website challenges, you earn badges and a certificate.) (1 page)
  
• Some building idea tips. (1 page)
  
• A very quick overview of architecture throughout history. (2 pages)
  
• Building design tip, including tips on structure and detail. (2 pages)
  
• A few interviews with professional and amateur Lego designers. (5 pages)
  
• The parts list. (1 page)
  

THE PARTS

Kit 11 consists of a single bag, labeled “2.” I personally think it should have been labeled “11”…

The inside of the bag has two smaller bags with smaller parts.

I'll emphasize again that this kit does NOT include a green baseplate; I just took it out so that I could nicely arrange the parts. Anyway, this kit contains some basic parts—mostly in green—to get you started on designing architecture. The goal here is not to build a complete building, but only to get you started on design. If the Modular Building series has taught you anything, it’s that any Lego piece can be incorporated into a building. This set includes a number of architectural staples: bricks, columns, tiles, and slopes.

I’ll repeat this a few times in this review: the goal of this set is not to make complete buildings (at least not large ones), but to get you thinking about architecture. For example, if I wanted to design the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C., this set wouldn’t give me enough to make the whole thing. But it does have enough to get me thinking about building its pillars, and I could supplement with my own bricks to build a lot more. (And actually I just checked—the Lincoln Memorial has Doric columns, not Ionic. Oops.)

There’s a few oddities thrown in for details, such as a cone and a 5-studded 1 x 1 brick. I wouldn’t consider this a great parts pack by any stretch. For example, you get some masonry bricks: a total of three of them. Given how hard to find the masonry brick is, it would have been nice to get more—but the goal is to get you thinking about architecture, not to supply you with parts. Be forewarned, you will probably have a “I wish they’d included more of this part!” reaction at some point while going through the set.

As with the last kit, be prepared to supplement if you want to go beyond what's included.

THE MINIFIGURE

I mentioned last time that Kit 11 comes with the exact same figure as in Kit 10. That’s pretty much the same as every other MBA set: you get three of the same figure. (The exception is MBA Level 1, which is split over two sets—the Space Designer comes with one figure, while the Microbuilder/Robot Designer comes with two.) I think the idea is to have a minifigure available for each Kit. The figure is less a toy and more “one more tool” in your box.

I won’t belabor a review of the figure since I did that in the Kit 10 review. We’ll go right into his accessories. While Kit 10’s man came with a top hat and “Invent-o Pack,” this guy comes with a helmet and a little car. The manuals actually envision a storyline for him. In Kit 10, he was traveling between universes in his Time Machine. Now he’s exploring ancient Rome and feudal Japan on a quest to repair his ship. You’re going to build him a little “Time Rover” which he uses to explore history without interfering too much.

Here’s the completed model. It’ a quaint model that reminds me of “Roller,” the little car that came with the Transformers’ Optimus Prime in the 1980s. (Anyone remember him?) It’s cute and gives some character to the figure. There’s not much here to specifically incorporate into MBA Kit 11, but if you get creative, maybe you can disassemble the Rover and make some interesting details for a building.

THE MODELS

As in Kit 10, there’s a lot you can build here. The main draw is the East-West Temple, a two-sided Roman/Japanese building which changes depending on how you look at it. A spinning platform in the middle allows the Minifigure to “time-travel” between them.

Remember, the goal of the East-West Temple is not to make a neat building, but to learn about architectural design. As you put this thing together, you learn why the MBA designers included specific parts, so it pays to read the directions in full. For example, the Technic bricks are included so you can connect the building to other modular designs from MBA Kit 3. The black erling bricks show you a means of making tiny windows. The cheese slopes are used to create the upturned corners of traditional Japanese buildings.

The Roman side looks just as plausible as the Japanese. The columns provide a lesson in making traditional and detailed support structures. The jumper plate above the arch gives you color and ornamentation. The flat tiles give you a smooth, marbled appearance.

As always, you’re not restricted to the East-West Temple, though it is the only pre-designed model that uses all the parts in the box. Other options include…

…an Asian gazebo…

…and a Roman window. (Additional minifigures not included.) These are the only ones I got around to making. They do show you a few options for making different small buildings and/or springboards to larger structures. (The Roman window isn’t a building by itself, but they encourage you to design more to surround it.) A few other models on the MBA website include a doghouse, a temple window, an Asian gateway, a fireplace, a micro castle, and a market stand.

CONCLUSION

One again, I’m not going to give this set an “out of 10” rating because there’s no specific model you’re supposed to end up with. Rather, I’m just going to give this set a general “recommended” rating because I really like the book/parts tutorial combination. There’s a lot to learn in here about how to get a detailed building going. If you’re into the Modular Building or Architecture themes and you want to start designing your own, this set could be a good starting point for you.

I will note that this set could be a more cost-effective version of the Architecture Studio which has worked its way back into stores. That set has a lot more bricks, but they’re all white. That overall set is also double the cost of this MBA set. However, the Architecture Studio has a much thicker book and focuses exclusively on architecture—you don’t need to worry about the Steampunk or Technic stuff if you’re not interested in it. My point is that people interested in the Architecture Studio may want to consider this set as an alternative.

This has proven to be my favorite of the three MBA kits so far, though. I do wish it had included a few more parts (more arches and masonry bricks would have been nice). I also wish that it worked a little more independently of the other MBA sets—again, it tends to reference back to tips provided in earlier MBA sets. Those faults aside, this set does make for a wonderful introduction to architectural design, and serious building designers may want to give it a look.

Coming up—I still need to review Kit 12, Inventor’s Laboratory. Stay Tuned!

Edited April 28, 2014 by ResIpsaLoquitur

[Fritzy]

Thanks for this review. Good to know that in order to emphasize nuances in structural design, they essentially went with partial builds over scaled models. Makes sense, albeit I think it would've worked just as well to pair smaller builds for key construction techniques, with one re-creation of sorts for application purposes.

Some facets of the educational component are interesting, but not enough that it lessens my reservations about this set (i.e., cost). Still, I am curious to know if some of the tidbits contained in the manual do resonate beyond the kit, and if so, how it affects a person's building style for the future. Is that something you can comment on? Did you find you learned a lot that you didn't consider before?

Look forward to your review on the invention kit.

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

Some facets of the educational component are interesting, but not enough that it lessens my reservations about this set (i.e., cost). Still, I am curious to know if some of the tidbits contained in the manual do resonate beyond the kit, and if so, how it affects a person's building style for the future. Is that something you can comment on? Did you find you learned a lot that you didn't consider before?

Hmmmm, maybe? It's a little hard for me to comment on this because I'm not sure that I've incorporated any of the MBA skills beyond the kits. I say that with the caveat that I've been building on and off for maybe 30 years, although I've done very little MOCing as an adult. I've made a few projects here and there, including one large-ish building which I may publish here at some point, but I've never done formal planning or design on a project. I just sort of put stuff together until it comes out the way I want. MBA encourages that you put actual thought into your projects. To that extent, I never envisioned drawing out a project on brick paper--I'd never heard of brick paper until I got MBA Kit 1 for Christmas. It seems to be a good idea for planning--maybe my building would have turned out a lot differently if I'd done preplanning like that.

I just realized that the age range on the package is 8 to 12 (not that age ranges matter to AFOLs). What that tells me is that the lessons in here would be good for kids and tweens who are into building but haven't really moved into MOCing yet. They probably know how to follow a set of instructions, but maybe they haven't thought about how to do techniques that come as second nature to adults, like locking bricks together. I know that my daughter--who is almost eight--builds very haphazardly and doesn't stack her bricks very well. I'm hoping these kits will teach her how to make her projects better.

I guess you raise a good question: who's the intended audience of these kits? I guess the best target would be kids who are serious about becoming MOCers, rather than just collectors. I mean, adults would enjoy these as well, but I imagine that an adult who's already a MOCer might not be learning many new skills in here. One exception might be Kit 12, which appears to be heavily themed around incorporating Technic into your creations. (I'll be reviewing that next.) I don't know how much MOCers get into Technic versus just using System style creations. I know that Technic drives me crazy because I'm not that--pardon the pun--technically minded. But this particular kit may be a good jumping-on point for collectors who want to take that next step.

[Fritzy]

Thank you for your meaningful response.

I too have never heard of brick paper until now, but then again, I don't have as much experience as you do with the hobby.

The part about techniques becoming second-nature is kind of what I was getting at. I suppose it's something that needs to be demonstrated over time, so I can't expect you to come up with definitive answers right now. I do see what you're saying about how a kit like this and the instructions contained therein would really make a difference for someone who goes about building in a less than intuitive fashion.

On the MOC bit: I have noticed several creations that have incorporated Technic pieces into their designs, though it seems that when such are used, it's done sparingly and with specific purpose in mind (usually to aid or add functionality). Anyway, that's something I'd like to learn more about -- if there's an awareness you need to develop as to when Technic elements would add lustre to a design -- so I'll wait and see what Kit 12 holds based on your upcoming review.