Herky

So the White House has finally released in all markets now, but so far we only have 3 sets for 2020 in this line. Kind of disappointing as I believe that is the least amount ever released in a year. I have to wonder if this line is dying out.

Apparently it is selling quite well in Europe, but now I am seeing the North American date is August 1.

Lego White House should be out in Europe now, looks like June 7 sale date for North America.

Very much agree with all of the examples you list here...so the key I guess is, how do we get Lego to notice? How can we influence them to make sets like this that Architecture collectors actually want instead of the same sets over and over. What solution can we provide so they pay attention? Once we can figure that out, maybe we can get some sets that we deserve.

I am not thrilled with another White House but it does look like an upgrade over what we had. That said, why not just do this one in the first place? Still so many buildings to do... Also, and this is NOT an endorsement of anyone, can we NOT go political here? It's ok to feel how you want about any of the political figures, I definitely have feelings about them all and what a show that area of the world can be, but no need to voice it here. Thanks.

I am not sure if it is Lego certified or not but the Capitol Records Tower building should likely be included. It's sold out now but is in the same type of line as the rest of these.

I liked my build until I saw this picture and the MOC version...I agree after seeing this that this could have/should have/would have been a better build if TLG builders would just consider some outside sources in their designs. Thanks for posting the picture.

Kevin - I agree, I feel Lego has moved on in the Architecture series and someone there just really, really, really loves certain buildings and is too afraid to branch out to do any one of a multitude of buildings out there that are suiting to the medium. I feel sad about that to be honest, when the very first sets came out, I was thrilled and finally a cool theme that was in my realm that I liked. Sure I had many other sets but this was fresh and new and so many possibilities. Now we are in this 10 plus years with so many of the same buildings...ugh. Options - um let those sets sit there a while. I looked at the pictures in the top of this thread and I know for sure I didn't do one part right as I did it with clear instead of white. I am not sure my brain is ready for this type of building again for a while. I do have Netflix and was recommended the show Rebellion about Irish history which is right up my alley. I also would rather do a 1000 piece puzzle with one eye right now that try another set at the moment. :-)

So I finished it finally. I had taken some time off of it, and was a bit frustrated with it due to the clear/white piece issue. I may or may not have gotten it right. When I was done I was actually stunned. The reason being was there was about 60 or 70 pieces left over. I kept thinking there was something wrong since I turned that last page and had all these pieces and what the heck was going on. Honestly I am not sure if that was intentional or not but it was weird. Lego usually gives some extra pieces but not that many. I could build a mini house or something with what is left. So the other thing that I didn't know until at least 2/3 of the way through is that there was actually a brick separator there. I just thought it was a weird piece I would get to in the build. It is a clear piece. Lego makes sure theirs is orange and stands out. If you didn't stop to look closely at this, you would never know it was a brick separator. My final words on this build too are that Mr. Tucker is full of ... If the T West set was done in full size Lego then it would be just fine. The smaller bricks do nothing for the build other than frustrate the builder and I call BS on him for saying he couldn't do the detail like he wanted with full size bricks. This build was 13.5 inches long by 8 inches wide. If that is 3/4 the size then a full size Lego build would be something like 20 inches by maybe 12 or 14 at the most. Easily done. If you really like FLW and have patience, get the sets...if not, save your money, save your time, save your sanity.

One more thing I am noticing with T West, there are white pieces and there are clear pieces. Unfortunately the directions do not really distinguish what is a white piece and what is clear, so it has been slower when I have come to that part to make sure I am using the right piece. The other part I would critique is that it is very hard to know where your next step pieces are supposed to go in the set. Lego does this sometimes as well, but with Lego and the size it isn't too bad, with this tiny size, I feel like I need a magnifying glass to the directions to know where the next step pieces should be placed. More to come...on step 59

I am putting T West together right now. Options is right, this set is amazing with the accoutrements it comes with. Box very nice, instructions are in a hardback book and just excellent. Now let's get to the build. The pieces, being 3/4 size at first I thought that shouldn't be too bad. Ha, once I looked at them and realized what 3/4 size of a dot is...well let's just say this is going to take longer than any Lego build I have ever done. I am what I call a sloppy builder. I just dump all the pieces out and grab what I need to look through. I don't think that tactic will work with these, the pieces are just too small and so hard to find in the jumble tactic. I am going to have to separate by size and color to get this done right. I had to redo step 4 & 5 due to grabbing the wrong size piece. You have to definitely count the number of "dots" on the piece and ensure you have the right piece. I feel Lego is just the right size, are some builds then bigger, sure, but I think the enjoyability for builders like Options and I are just that, we like to put it together and then put it on the shelf. The techniques Lego comes up with are fun, but when you go tiny on the pieces, that doesn't equal enjoyability. I am on step 22 now, going to finish it and then come back for an update.

Amen to that, tired of the repeats as well. I have been waiting for a long time for a Taipei 101, Chichen Itza, etc...it shouldn't be this hard to get those into production.

I think there are 3 Big Bens, Skyline, Small Set for Architecture and a Creator larger set.

Great interview, the answer to the question of what is next is exciting: I can tell you that I’m working on Corbusier, [the] Charles and Ray Eames House, Barcelona Pavilion [by Mies van der Rohe], Glass House [by Philip Johnson], and just finished Saint Louis Arch by Eero Saarinen. I don’t think I’ll end up doing any Michael Graves work because … it’s virtually impossible to do out of bricks. [I might also] do some Bauhaus stuff. Can't wait for the Arch, the one he did that sits in the Science Center here is huge and likely would be a $500 set if produced and I hope he gets to Taipei 101 at some point too.

Adam Reed Tucker has broken off from Lego and has started a new company to produce sets. His first three are FLW builds. However, he is using a new brick, called the mini brick, approx. 3/4 size of the regular brick so he can get the detail he wants according to his web site. Will be interesting to see how this affects the Architecture line as it would likely stop any FLW sets from being built if they entered into a contract with Tucker. We all clamor for better buildings from around the world and he may fill that niche. I am not sure right now...interesting times as product enters the market to hopefully see a better set of offerings from TLG.

And someone posted that Amazon.UE has set 21055 as Burj Khalifa. This is being released for the Arabian market and is a re-release of 21031, I am not sure if this was part of the International Toy Fare or not. As for the White House, not thrilled about this myself, ridiculous that they are redoing this already. Someone needs to invite the Lego folks to this forum to discuss future sets.

Glad you built the house, but I agree with you. It seems that this modular is about piece count and not size. I like the little house, but it seems to be an addition to make the modular line. The bookstore has only 1 book? Why not make a bigger bookstore that takes up two floors with an apartment on the top similar to others or maybe the offices up there. It feels like the designers have really tried to cram it all in for the last few modular sets. And the businesses really don't fit together. Maybe its just me but I still love the Fire Brigade best of all, one building, all fire department, the truck, the building, etc...it worked. Now we just get a lot of stuff crammed in and they take one business to be the main thing and call it that. How can a bookstore only have 1 book!!!!

I agree, but that is what seems to be the trend for Lego. I thought they went to this plant based brick creation to keep the costs down, but it doesn't seem to be happening. Take the new modular as well, over 2500 pieces but it will be the shortest and smallest building they have ever done. That tells me there are a lot of 1x1 pieces that get charged at a premium. Could have likely done the same thing at 2000 pieces instead then. Piece counts go up but they aren't big pieces. 2020 may be my last year with skylines and just get the bigger landmark and buildings...if they ever produce more.

If you live in Canada, you might want to check your local Toys R Us. Apparently they already have the skyline sets for sale. A member in the FB Lego Architecture group posted his purchase of Tokyo today and said he got it there. Good luck!

You know they have the next modular decided for 2020, 2021 and 2022 at least, they usually work on a span where they are 3 years ahead with things like this. Same with a lot of design places, I have a friend who works at Hallmark and they already are working on the ornaments for 2022. Depending on manufacturing criteria, they need that lead time to make sure enough get produced. I believe that one of the TLG designers even disclosed this a couple years ago in a video.

Here is a link where you can see the two new sets for 2020, Tokyo and Dubai set boxes https://www.promobricks.de/lego-architecture-2020-offizielle-setbilder/89473?fbclid=IwAR1Gm8z5ANNht9hY8LddmJaDLwjPOS6R9hos1gVeEdZXg88BV7eaex6u_us

Personally I am kind of tired of skylines, I like the landmark and building series a bit more these days. I really liked the skylines at first, but I think it is just too hard to do them justice at the scale they are doing. Any single building mentioned in your skyline lineup would be worth to me Klaus.

It does seem Architecture sets are getting pricier and quite interesting they are the same price despite one being 740 pieces and one is 547. 200 pieces to me would make Tokyo at least 10 if not 20 cheaper.

So we know we have these 2 coming out: LEGO Architecture 21051 Tokyo Skyline - 547 parts - 59.99 euros Tokyo probably offers so many possibilities that the designers had a very difficult choice. However, you have, among other things, the building of the "Tokyo Tower", "Fashion Gakuen Cocoon Towers", and the "Tokyo Skytrees" very well modeled. Between the towers, there are still several Japanese cherry blossom trees and a small selection of colorful buildings (these are supposed to represent the huge advertising displays). LEGO Architecture 21052 Dubai Skyline - 740 pieces - 59,99 Euro Even in Dubai, the selection of buildings must have been difficult. But with the "Jumeirah Emirates Tower", "Dubai Frame", "Burj Khalifa" and the "Burj Al Arab", the skyline of Dubai is unmistakable. Will be interesting to see what buildings/landmarks might come out as well. I know there is a FaceBook Lego Architecture page with all sorts of MOC's and the like on there, lots of great ideas that TLG could use for sets.

My local Lego store manager told me the company has stated they will not be doing regional sets anymore due to the fiasco of the Chinese sets. I would expect any set that is "regional" will hit all stores. We will see if this holds true though, just because Lego told him that I would not necessarily believe him. I know that certain places, like Marina Bay Sands, can have exclusive sets with TLG though.