Redhead1982

If you can't make it to Paris, let Paris come to you. One of the 2014 models of LEGO Architecture's Landmarks series is the Paris' hallmark, the Eiffel Tower. If you want to know whether or not the LEGO model makes up to it, you can continue reading this review. Although, I must admit, I had a trip to Paris planned twice, and still haven't made it there, so I might not be the right person to compare the real tower and LEGO model. Nevertheless, here's my thoughts about the LEGO model of the famous Eiffel Tower. Basic info of the set Set no.: 21019 Name: The Eiffel Tower Theme: Architecture (Subtheme Landmark series) Year: 2014 Pieces: 321 Minifigs: 0 Age group: 12+ Price: £ 29.99 / US$ 34.99 / EUR 35.99 Price per part: 9.343p / 10.900c / 10.900c Links: Brickset, Bricklink, LEGO S@H The box The front of the box is unexpectedly dark and shady for a LEGO set, yet the Eiffel Tower still stands out. It's standing on white sheets of paper, presumably the architectural plans for the model. The grayish structure of the model is nicely visible, and gives a suitable impression of the slightly curved and cone-like shape of the model. The back of the box features a picture and a short description of the Eiffel Tower, an iconic symbol of Paris. In addition, the LEGO model is presented schematically with its dimensions (height 31.7 cm and width 11.2 cm) and announcement that the Instruction booklet includes more details on design and history of the Eiffel Tower. A nice detail is the text description in 6 world languages (English, German, French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Hungarian). A lovely feature on the side of the box is a picture of the model with its name in 6 world languages. The narrow and tall model fits very nicely on the side, which makes it nice to display the box on the shelf and save some space. In my opinion, the best feature of the box (this is true for the whole Landmark series or at least the sets I own from this series) is that it opens up to reveal the box contents. This is not a new detail, as it was a standard in the 90's (I believe), but nowadays it's rather rare. I like this feature of the box, as it allows easier access to the contents. In addition, the box is made of a sturdier cardboard which makes it more convenient for storage. Both features of the box are the reasons why I decided to keep it, as I generally throw set boxes away almost immediately after building the set. The booklet The booklet design is similar to the box's front side. It's made from a thicker paper and has even thicker cover and back pages. This is definitely a plus, as instruction booklets are made of thinner paper which is more prone to accidental tears. Another feature of the booklet that stands out is the dorsal binding. In a way, this is not so handy while building, as the pages keep turning on their own, but it adds to the quality and long life of the booklet. This can be compensated by slightly rubbing the turned pages in the booklet, although it leaves a mark on the booklet. The booklet includes a detailed description of the Eiffel Tower's design and construction, and some basic information about its designer, a French engineer Gustave Eiffel. Many interesting facts can be found in the booklet, including the fact that he was specialized in building different metal structures, was the designer of the Statue of Liberty, and was involved in building the locks for the Panama Canal. Another lovely feature of the booklet are wonderful photos of the real Eiffel Tower. For someone, who hasn't made it to Paris yet, just looking the photos is very tempting to start planning the trip there. In addition, basic facts about the Eiffel Tower are included. Did you know there's 18038 iron parts included in the tower? In addition, the booklet is bilingual. All the information is written in English and French. A random page from the booklet shows that it's not that hard to follow up different steps of the design considering the mostly greyish structure. The parts needed are highlighted in clouds with white borders. The corners on the booklet pages seem to be reserved for some kind of ''Did you know?'' information. This page states that the position of each of the 2500000 rivet holes was specified to within 0.1 mm. In my opinion, this seems very precise, especially considering the model was designed more than 100 years ago. The pieces Parts to build the Eiffel Tower are packed in 4 polybags. There's not much variability in colour. Parts are in 6 different colours (black, light and dark bluish gray, flat silver, dark green and red), however the majority of parts is in both shades of gray. These are the largest parts found in the box, mostly plates and tiles. Of interest, there are two black printed tiles with French and English name of the tower. This is a nice detail, as you can choose how to name your tower. I chose the English name, as I'm more familiar with it. However, French is original, and including only a French tile would not be a problem. Smaller parts are again mostly plates and modified plates. Special parts here are the SNOT plates, that are very abundant in this set. Majority of the parts is included in larger numbers, as they are used as building blocks of each of four sides of the tower. Parts wise, there's not much special bricks that would make it worth buying this set for parts only. However, the interesting parts in this set are the before mentioned printed tiles, 4x4 round plate with 2x2 hole inside in light bluish gray, 2x2 dark green tiles, dark bluish gray plate with grill, flat silver hoses and flat silver modified plate with octagonal frame. The build The building of the model of the Eiffel Tower starts with now almost classic Architecture set's platform with distinguished black edge with printed name of the model on the tile. I chose English name, however, you can ''personalize'' your model of the Eiffel Tower, and use a tile with French name. The platform is tiled with dark green tiles representing the grass around the tower, and light bluish gray tiles representing the paved surface below the tower. Positioned on the turn tables in each corner are the bases for each ''leg'' of the tower. Another specialty of this model is SNOT building. In addition, to classical SNOT techniques with SNOT bricks, throughout the build you can find different 1x1 modified plates positioned at 45° angle in respect to other bricks. Here, at the first level of the tower, you can see gray clips at the edges of the level. The grill plate is used as a base for the first level, and again here you can see 1x1 clips positioned at an ''odd'' angle. The grill plate looks nicely as it is similar to the iron structure of the real tower. In one of the later steps, you attach the middle part of tower's legs to the angled clips. These middle parts of the ''legs'' attach to the higher smaller platform with the same technique. An interesting detail at this step is that you actually have built the middle part of the tower, but you cannot attach it to the base platform, as the bottom part of the ''legs'' are not built yet. The bottom part of the tower's ''legs'' is added later during the building. They're built similarly to the middle part from previous picture. The only difference are the additional clips on the sides of the ''legs''. These clips will hold the flexible hoses, but are added a bit later. Also, at this point, the model is up-side down. The finished bottom half of the model looks great attached to the base platform. The flexible hoses are a great detail, although the flat silver colour is not so evident in this colour scheme. Aditionally, slightly more reflexion and mimicking of metal colour is provided by the two rows of flat silver grill plates around the edges of the lower two platforms of the tower. The upper part of the tower differs in size and shape from the bottom part. At some point it looks very odd with sides of the upper inverted pyramid sticking out in the empty space. Although, different in shape, the same SNOT techniques are used as in the lower part. In the bottom of this upper part of the tower, you can again see the clips positioned at 45° angle. The finishing touch of the tower is the octagonal ring in flat silver at the top and flag pole at the top of the tower. The only thing I'm missing at this point is a printed tile with French flag design to hang on the pole. This would be the icing on the cake. The finished product After some repetitive small builds, here's finally the finished model of the Eiffel Tower. The model is instantly recognizable. Although LEGO bricks are generally considered as ''blocky'', there's almost no sign of blocky appearance in the Eiffel Tower. Specifically when viewed from an angle, the cone like shape of the tower is even more evident, and small details in flat silver and slightly differently angled ''sides'' of the tower really stand out. How well the designer(s) of the set managed to replicate the cone like structure of the tower, is nicely seen also from the birds' perspective. What I missed is the designer(s) behind the model. As I remember for some models of the Architecture series, the name of the designer was included on the box. However, for this set I couldn't find any reference as to who is the person(s) responsible for this lovely model of the Eiffel Tower. Thanks to EB member Steve309 who provided the missing information of the set designer (as seen in the book entitled Lego Architecture: The Visual Guide), I can add the name of the designer behind this set. This is Rok Zgalin Kobe, a Slovenian architect and designer of the Trevi Fountain, Imperial Hotel, Big Ben and other Architecture sets. The Final Verdict Design: 9/10 The overall design is well executed. The Eiffel Tower is instantly recognizable, and the colour scheme is reminiscent of metallic iron structure. The shape of the tower is spot on thanks to some simple, yet effective SNOT building techniques. The only thing I missed is a small French flag at the top of the pole. Parts: 7/10 Selection of parts is just a pile of mostly light bluish and dark bluish gray plates and modified plates. It's definitely not a set worth buying for parts only, as there are not that many special or rare bricks included. However, it might be useful to get a hand on some SNOT parts in light bluish gray. Build: 8/10 The build itself is not that simple build as some of the bricks are positioned at a 45° angle, however there are some repetitive elements included which takes away a bit of fun. Nevertheless, the build is impressive and enjoyable enough as it's starts somewhere in the middle of the tower, and is not straight from the bottom up. Playability: 9/10 The set is definitely not meant to be played with, yet it's still sturdy enough to be handled even by younger hands. As for the target population, it's a great model to display (and this is one aspect of ''play'' for the AFOLs, isn't it?). Price: 7/10 The price is a bit on the expensive side with more than 0.1 EUR per brick while it doesn't offer any special or rare parts. However, in my opinion it's still a better value than some other smaller sets from the Architecture Landmark series. Overall: 40/50 (80 %) From the overall score the greatness of the model is not that obvious. From specific aspects, such as parts, price and build the model doesn't appear to be sticking out of the average. However, the design is well done, and it's a recognisable model of one of the most famous Paris' buildings.

As others have said, it's best to create a wanted list and go from there. I either make wanted list(s) based on MOC that I'm building as I usually see which parts I'm missing. On the other hand, every now and then, I add interesting part to a wanted list (mostly new parts). My BL orders are always based on bricks I need at the moment, and then according to the order weight I try to fill it up with other interesting bricks. If you don't need many bricks, a small order is a way to go. However, if you plan buying more bricks over short period, it's better to combine them. Many BL stores have approximate shipping cost on their Splash pages, and that's a good way to orient yourself to find a store with low shipping costs (some have one shipping fee over wide range of order weight). If possible, check local stores on BL, as shipping nationally is (usually) cheaper, although at least in my case, parts price can be higher. So there are many ways to go around BL, you just need to figure it out for yourself which suits you best. Good luck and enjoy building MOCs!

I'm really looking forward building this set. Although it seems a bit out of the WV content (with a fictional Santa character), it still fits nicely with other WV buildings. The architecture is simple, but with nice details on the facade. I like the little details the most, there's a printed rug inside the door (welcome ho-ho-home), the north pole sign, the workshop sign and the picture from summer holidays.

The sets I have on backlog are there because of lack of time and/or space. In a way, when I buy multiple sets at a time on bargains, I don't always have time to build them immediately, so I keep them for later. Backlog happens unintentionally.

No, it's pure fiction. I haven't actually been to Pohorje...

This was a quick build during a short break from sorting a pile of various foliage bricks. Instead of putting them in the corresponding zipbags, drawers and boxes, I mixed them together in this mini MOC. The center of the MOC is the fawn from the Collectible Friends Animals. I actually like it better without the bow and in a forest, partly hidden by dense growth. Dense growth and tall trees are partly hiding the fawn, when viewing from the back side of the forest.

Amazing building. The colour scheme is the most fascinating, while the architecture of the building is very impressive. I specially like the round corner finishing in an interestingly designed roof top. Interior details are lovely as well, and the inclusion of the chima seems an interesting choice, as I don't see any real value in those parts, however, incorporating them as a sort of adventure type vehicles makes the city livelier.

I prefer picture reviews. I hardly ever take time to watch video reviews (apart from Lego announcements of newly released sets). I watched this pirate review, and it's nice, short and informative. However, I can't imagine a video review of a larger set - it would take much longer. My preference for picture reviews is also based on a fact that I prefer to read than watch, as I often ''loose'' or simply don't remember everything heard in the videos.

Well done! My favourite detail by far is the delicate fence made with handcuffs. Great use of the piece.

I made one alternative building a while ago before I joined EB. I think it's always a challenge to use one set and make an alternative building, but somehow this was the only time I tried it. I tried to use as much bricks as possible, so I kept a similar style to FB.

It's a lovely set. The house looks nice and fits in well with others from the WV series. The brick-built reindeers look cute, and the sleigh is interesting enough for a WV type vehicle. I'm also happy with the price, as it's not too high.

I'm more of a modular fan, and I like viewing all kinds of inspirational MOCs. Modulars by Kristel is a great blog for that. I used to follow also Brick Town Talk, but it's not updated. I follow also Friends Bricks, and before mentioned The New Elementary and The Brother Bricks. I guess it depends a lot on your interest in LEGO and what kind of info you're looking for on blogs.

A friendly advice, you can always ask one of the employees to keep your filled cups at the cash register - I always do that if my hands are too full with sets and cups.

This is wonderful. The colours are the best feature and they really make each house stand out despite the same design. And lots of details around the center add so much life to this creation. The lake with the dolphins stands out nicely, and the colourful cars are a nice touch. I an impressed with your collection, as you seem to have so many different colours in sufficient quantities to make larger MOCs and it's amazing to see them used so well. Thanks for sharing!

A lovely MOC! Well done. I guess the LEGO Brand Retails Store is a very inspiring set. I was inspired by this set similarly as you were - I based my latest MOC Lego Store and Appartment on this promotional set. Although we both worked on a minifig scale, I really enjoyed seeing your model, as we were inspired in different ways. Your PAB wall looks great, and more realistic as well. The included minimodels look great in the store, specially the Simpsons house and Sea cow. They really add a nice detail to the store. I wonder how your display with this lovely corner building looks like.

My favourite feature is the roof design, it looks really well.

Thanks for a great review of this wonderful model. I can't wait to get my hands on it (sometime in August most likely). I already have both VWs, and Mini seems a nice addition to this collection, moreover, it's a very detailed model.

I love it! I wasn't sure about the suspected dark green colour, but it looks neat, and lovely. I'm more familiar with red or dark blue, however even in green the car has its special glow. The details are lovely, the ice skate as door handle, the picnic basket in the back, lights, etc. In addition, the shape is instantly recognizable, and it looks the Mini will shed some new building tricks. I can't wait to get my hands on it.

Thanks for the review. When I saw the first pictures, I already knew I'll get the set. Partly for the reason it's a lovely rendition of fountain I've visited few years ago, and partly for some interesting parts. The 1x1 trans clear tile is simply sweet, and while not all details can be incorporated in a small scale model like this one, the fountain is still recognizable. Those horses are my favourite detail.

The stairs look lovely and lively! You did a great job including some colour into a grey (but not boring) walls of the station. Well done!

When I came back from the dark ages, I always put flowers on the stems with the stud down - obviously the unofficial way. Later I learned from the instructions the right way, which seemed strange, however, I got used to it, so now I practically don't pay attention to flower orientation. Both ways are fine.

My grandpa had a green 101, and this really was a popular car back in the 80' and early 90'. I remember seeing them mostly in green and red, but white was more rare (imo). Your model is fantastic. It's instantly recognizable and has a tone of lovely details (engines under the hood, dash board, car lights, first aid kit and the red safety triangle). I don't mind missing some other details, because as it is, the car looks great. Congratulations on this very fine build!

No problem. Thanks for the the special topic tag.

Vodovodni stolp (in Slovene language) or Water tower is one of the most prominent buildings in my hometown Kranj, Slovenia. Its location is 46°14'54.1"N 14°21'35.6"E. When it was build, it was positioned well outside the borders of the town, however, as the town grew, a new neighbourhood built around the tower was renamed after it. The Water tower was designed by Jan Vladimir Hrasky, (1857–1939), a Chech engineer, hydrologist and builder who was also a lecturer at the Prague's Technical Faculty. The building of the Water tower began in 1908, and finished 3 years in 1911. When the tower was built, it was considered as one of the most impressive and magnificent water supply buildings in the area. It provided water supply for the town of Kranj and 15 neighbouring villages. This is one of the oldest picture of the tower I could find online (unknown author, source). The Water tower is 34 m high, and is today one of the most prominent attractions in Kranj. At the top of the tower is an octagonal two-chamber water reservoir with a capacity of 250 m3. The tower was used to provide water pressure for facilities in Kranj and its surroundings. Today, the Water tower is still functional and is part of the water supply network. It provides pressure to the surrounding buildings and serves as a discharger for equalizing water pressure. Today, the Water tower presents a specific cultural monument of local importance, mostly due to its authenticity, age, historical value, technical qualities, and conservations. In addition, when the town was expanded to the north, the newly built neighbourhood was named after its hallmark. Since 2006 the tower is opened to the general public one day a year, and the visitors can enjoy the view from the observational deck. The picture of the tower taken by Panoramio user Brkne in 2008. It still looks as it did in the black and white picture, however, the town has expanded far around the tower. The LEGO model I made is about 20 cm in height and has 411 parts. A view from the side reveals a symmetrical shape of the tower. The top with the water reservoir and an observational deck was the most challenging part. Specifically, I had a problem building the safety fence. I chose a simple string with studs, and the final solution was the third one I tried. I'm not completely satisfied (it doesn't look safe enough for potential visitors), but I cannot think of a better one.

Nice work. I like the colour scheme the most and the mirrored exterior. The terrace and back door to the garden is a nice details to add more life to usually less interesting sides of the buildings. As for the interiors, you managed to fill them up with furniture really nicely.