Big Ben is actually pretty teensy.

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IMG_9283So, we’ve been pretty active with our LEGO builds so far this year. My latest is the [easyazon_link identifier=”B007R3NTME” locale=”US” tag=”brickbrains-20″]LEGO Architecture Landmark Series’ Big Ben[/easyazon_link]. (Model 21013, 346 pieces, ages 12+)

This model was designed by Rok Zgalin Kobe, and if the completed build is any indication, he did a pretty great job. It took about an hour or so to complete, and it stands 196mm (7.7 inches) tall, on a base cross-section of 96mm (3.8 inches) wide.

The design was pretty ingenious in how the pillar, blocks and slat pieces come together to mimic the original architecture, resulting in a minimalistic result that looks great.

While the overall build was fun and challenging, there was a downside – for the first time in all my LEGO building experiences, parts were missing from the parts bags that came in the box. It wasn’t a lot, just a couple of single round studs, but still. I had to dig into our bin of leftovers to replace them, and the fix wasn’t a perfect match. I know I could technically contact LEGO and they’d send me replacements, but it wasn’t worth the trouble for a couple of studs. The model itself still looks fine if you’re not peering too closely at it.

In terms of playability, I don’t want to take marks off since the LEGO Architecture series aren’t meant to be toys. If you’re going to refer to a building model made of LEGOs as a toy though, you get what you pay for- 10 out of 10. Value-wise, my new [easyazon_link identifier=”B007R3NTME” locale=”US” tag=”brickbrains-20″]LEGO Big Ben[/easyazon_link] was definitely worth the money, both in the entertainment value in building it, and in terms of the quality of the end-result.

I’m still a little annoyed at the missing parts, but at the end of the day, LEGO (and Mr. Kobe) did a great job of turning Big Ben into a LEGO model. Now, if only they’d put out a LEGO double-decker bus, I’d snap that puppy right up.

[easyazon_infoblock align=”center” identifier=”B007R3NTME” locale=”US” tag=”brickbrains-20″]

 


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