Available on Amazon, eBay
Price: $20 to $25
Lego #: 21002
Pieces: 77
Rating:
(Way overpriced, poor design, much too small)
When reviewing a set it is difficult to separate the set from its price. As prices vary, especially once a set is retired, I wonder if making price a consideration of the overall set rating is worthwhile. However I always end up concluding, yes, it is a valid metric on which to rate sets.
The MSRP for this set is $20, It is a mere 77 pieces. Compared to say the Lego Creator Thunder Wings which has the same MSRP and is over 230 pieces and far more fun to build. It is clear with this set in particular, and possibly the Architecture sets in general you are paying for a sleek black box and paper booklet included with history and facts about the building- interesting this but useless in this age of smart phones and tablets where Wikipedia is just a click or tap away.
What really turns me off about this set is it was the first set I bought for myself as I was coming out of my so called "Dark Ages" (the time in someone's life that spans from when they stop playing with Lego as a kid or teenager until the time they get back into it as an adult.) I purchased it because the price was relatively low for a Lego set- but I didn't realize how small this set was. It almost kept me in the dark ages as I was about to write off Lego as much too expensive and short on the fun I remembered. It is only because I purchased another set before this one arrived that my reacquaintance with Lego was more than a passing fad- like when you maybe watch 10 minutes from a childhood movie but never actually care if you finish it.
If this set came in a plastic bag instead of a sleek box it would retail for less than $10. It is one step up, maybe, from free toys you might expect bundled with a Happy Meal from McDonalds.
Anyway, besides the price, this is a boring and poor build. The same shapes are just built in top of each other- as any Lego pro knows that is recipe for failure. Push a little too hard on a brick and it all comes apart- which it did several times while building.
No matter how small you think this set is, it is smaller than you think. The majority of bricks in this set are 2x1 and 1x1 bricks. They had an interesting idea with the technic "hole" bricks for keeping the sides together but they only did it for one side- should have done it to both sides of the top tower.
I've lived in New York City (the boroughs anyway) my entire life. No one I have met yet has said whatever color this is, some type of cream/off white color, matches what we think of when we see the Empire State Building. It should be grey, or possibly gold, not this... whatever this is.
It also needs to be bigger. The Empire State Building is an icon, an 8 inch high replica does not do it justice.
Overall, I really can't recommend anyone buy this set- but if you love all things New York and don't mind paying more than something is worth, go for it. According to Bricklink his set has been for sale since 2009, I can't imagine it will be available much longer.
Price: $20 to $25
Lego #: 21002
Pieces: 77
Rating:
(Way overpriced, poor design, much too small)
When reviewing a set it is difficult to separate the set from its price. As prices vary, especially once a set is retired, I wonder if making price a consideration of the overall set rating is worthwhile. However I always end up concluding, yes, it is a valid metric on which to rate sets.
The MSRP for this set is $20, It is a mere 77 pieces. Compared to say the Lego Creator Thunder Wings which has the same MSRP and is over 230 pieces and far more fun to build. It is clear with this set in particular, and possibly the Architecture sets in general you are paying for a sleek black box and paper booklet included with history and facts about the building- interesting this but useless in this age of smart phones and tablets where Wikipedia is just a click or tap away.
What really turns me off about this set is it was the first set I bought for myself as I was coming out of my so called "Dark Ages" (the time in someone's life that spans from when they stop playing with Lego as a kid or teenager until the time they get back into it as an adult.) I purchased it because the price was relatively low for a Lego set- but I didn't realize how small this set was. It almost kept me in the dark ages as I was about to write off Lego as much too expensive and short on the fun I remembered. It is only because I purchased another set before this one arrived that my reacquaintance with Lego was more than a passing fad- like when you maybe watch 10 minutes from a childhood movie but never actually care if you finish it.
If this set came in a plastic bag instead of a sleek box it would retail for less than $10. It is one step up, maybe, from free toys you might expect bundled with a Happy Meal from McDonalds.
Anyway, besides the price, this is a boring and poor build. The same shapes are just built in top of each other- as any Lego pro knows that is recipe for failure. Push a little too hard on a brick and it all comes apart- which it did several times while building.
No matter how small you think this set is, it is smaller than you think. The majority of bricks in this set are 2x1 and 1x1 bricks. They had an interesting idea with the technic "hole" bricks for keeping the sides together but they only did it for one side- should have done it to both sides of the top tower.
I've lived in New York City (the boroughs anyway) my entire life. No one I have met yet has said whatever color this is, some type of cream/off white color, matches what we think of when we see the Empire State Building. It should be grey, or possibly gold, not this... whatever this is.
It also needs to be bigger. The Empire State Building is an icon, an 8 inch high replica does not do it justice.
Overall, I really can't recommend anyone buy this set- but if you love all things New York and don't mind paying more than something is worth, go for it. According to Bricklink his set has been for sale since 2009, I can't imagine it will be available much longer.