Indexed
21002 Empire State Building
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Set Details:
21002 Empire State Building
(Architecture) Released 2009
77 Pieces with 0 Minifigs
Retail Price: $19.99 USD
Price Per Piece: $0.26
Brickset Description:
The Empire State Building joins the LEGO Architecture Landmark series of real-world construction models! Standing 7.4" (188 mm) tall, New York City's famous skyscraper is built from tan bricks on a striking 3.1" (80 mm) gray and black base with printed name label. Includes a booklet with details about the building's history and creation. Perfect for any New Yorker, world tourist or architecture fan! Replica of real-world architectural landmark Empire State Building! Booklet included with details on design and history! (English language only) Measures 7.4" (188 mm) tall and 3.1" (80 mm) wide!
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Background
This was the 'last' set I had to buy to finish the Architecture theme, so of course I had to buy it. As always, I waited until I could find a decent sale via http://www.toysnbricks.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=6 and snagged it when it was 30% off. This is another set that has relatively few pieces and is way over-priced. It was the final set, so you do what ya gotta do right?
Nice clean box as always. Professional and crisp. No alternative builds, only another schematic of the building. As always Lego wants you to "Enjoy your building experience." =)
Minifigs
There are no minifigs with this set, as it is the architecture theme. Minifigs are way out of proportion in relation to the size of the building, so it makes no sense to include any.
Instruction
The instruction manuals for this theme are awesome! Nice binding, no simple staple. The instructions come with your usual background info as well as some fun facts about the building. The instructions are very easy to follow as you can see. At the end is an awesome picture of the building. I wish they did this for each of the architecture sets.
Parts/Stickers
No stickers! WOOT! I hate stickers, so this theme was a dream. There is a nice little parts list at the back of the manual as usual.
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Construction
And we begin the last set of this theme!
This set has the usual border that you see with the other sets in this theme. It is identicle to 21000 and 21000 at the beginning, except of course it has it's unique name-plate. I give Lego props, as the base is sturdy and makes it very easy to put these on display.
We start building the base of the building, with a solid foundation. You can see the beginning of each of the base-buildings. You can see how it is already going to start tapering inwards.
More pictures of the base being built. As you can see you already start building 'inward' kind of like a step pyramid.
The tower goes up rather quickly, and is very basic and modular. Unlike the other overpriced, low piece sets, this one has a unique 'build' at the top to give it extra support. I wasn't sure what was going on at first, but it made sense after I put it together since the building is rather tall and could be subject to breaking in half. Nice touch for stability.
Now that the top of the structure is more stable we can put on the final pieces at the top.
And tada! We're all done. Very nice looking building. Almost an exact replica of the real deal. The pictures at the back show a HUGE (8 foot tall?) version which makes me feel like we got short-changed =) I couldn't imagine how many pieces that would be.
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Summary
Building: 3 / 5
Appearance: 4 / 5
Pieces: 2 / 5
Value: 1 / 5
Playability: 1 / 5
Overall: 2.2 / 5
Building:
This set is extremely quick and easy to build. If your not distracted or doing other things at the same time, you can build it in like 10 minutes. I gave it a nod to the extra stability built in at the top, because it should be appreciated.
Appearance:
Yet another great looking set from this theme. I will give credit that this set/theme does give a great impression of the buildings they represent. If they were able to included a few more details I could have given it the full 5 points. I love the border they set up to make it such a great display set.
Pieces:
The only unique piece in the set is the name-plate which for me lowers the value of the pieces. Especially considering there are not very many, the colors aren't widely desired, and the pieces are very common. You're not going to be buying this set solely for the pieces that come in it.
Value:
The PPP of this set is ridiculous and highway robbery. Even with a nice discount, the PPP is still higher than most. The lack of rare or useful pieces helps keep the value low. The fact that the only high score is appearance (which is important to me) as every set should have at least 2 relatively decent scores to make it worthwhile.
Playability:
There is no playability to this set. It is a display piece. I can see you adding it to a City setup strictly for variety, but you're not going to be putting minifigs near it as it would look funny. Its sad because I usually require a decent playability to recommend a set.
Overall:
This is probably the best of the worst of the Architecture theme. Of the 3 sets that are ridiculously over-priced, this one is probably the best. It has the most recognizable look/name, as well as the most pieces for the $20. Now if you are not a collector, or have no special attachment to the building or NYC, I wouldn't recommend with this set. You would be better off saving up to get a White House or other set within the theme, as the least expensive ones are just not worth it.
[Review] 21002 Empire State Building (Architecture)
[Review] 21002 Empire State Building (Architecture)
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I have mixed feelings about new releases: I can't wait to see and get the new sets... but I can't figure out where I'm gonna put them or store them.
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