Quick look: 43010 Nike Slam Dunk
Posted by Huw,
Of the three Nike sets released so far, I suspect 43010 Nike Slam Dunk is the one that will have the least appeal among AFOLs due to its highly specialised subject matter, particularly outside of North America, where basketball is something of a niche sport devoid of mainstream television coverage.
Nevertheless, the model is certainly eye-catching, and its size gives it significant presence on display.
Summary
43010 Nike Slam Dunk, 809 pieces.
£59.99 / $69.99 / €69.99 | 7.4p/8.7c/8.7c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
It's a cool display model but one with limited appeal
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
The Nike-clad player is posed in a dynamic fashion, powering off the ground to perform a slam dunk. Various other fixtures found in a basketball court have been shoe-horned into the model, including a score board, team banners, and a crowd of supporters. Although unrealistically placed and scaled, they do add interest to the scene.
At almost 40cm high, it's taller than you might expect.
The stickers have some fun references included on them, such as the time, 09:37 (LEGO upside down) and team names Master Builders, formed the same year as the LEGO company, and Championship Athletes, founded in 1972, the year that Nike, previously called Blue Ribbon Sports, started to sell footwear using its new name.
Although many of the figure's joints have articulation, it can't be displayed away from the stand because its knees are fixed at 90 degrees, and the right hip joint has no friction. It could not even be stood up for a photo.
The set provides several options for customising the figure, including removing the tied-up bunch, and replacing rhe black pieces with brown to make a bald player.
Additionally, three sets of stickers for decorating his outfit are provided, along with white and spring yellowish green pieces to enable the colour of his trainers, and the side stripes on his shorts and vest to be changed.
If you build the variant shown on the box you'll have these pieces left over, plus a couple of 1x2 plates for changing the hairstyle.
It's an interesting set that looks great on display. It has niche appeal, but I think those that have an affinity to LEGO, basketball, and Nike will enjoy it.
Thanks to my daughter Alice for building the set while I was away.
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23 comments on this article
I have no interest in Nike shoes whatsoever, and no particular interest in basketball (except when we get gold at the Olympics), yet from the three Nike sets I easily like this one the most. Probably not enough to buy it, but it seems a quite cool display to me. Much more than the other two, which seem much more like just Nike advertisements you have to pay for.
Now just make a 2.0 version of this set with Michael Jordan in Chicago Bulls gear in an appropriate pose.....
This whole line is a massive missed opportunity to bring back LEGO NBA. If this cost $20 more with licensing I imagine it would sell significantly better. As it stands its an ugly corporate model with very limited appeal.
I think we can all agree that this is one of the sets of all time.
I'm just happy this set has lot of stickers.
For all the expensive sets that come with stickers these days, if they decided this one came with printed pieces, they'd be kicking us while we're down.
I do agree, I like this set best of the 3 Nike sets, but it's lipstick on a pig.
It's strange that Lego are doing a variety of display sets for children, would've expected something more interactive like when they did the NBA tie-up 20 years ago.
This set is hideous. There’s so much going on at different scales that the whole thing looks like a big blueish blob to me.
I nominate this set for one of the worst of the year, and possibly the decade. …It’s a collection of various things, loosely connected with basketball and NIKE, and nothing has been done well. …Who is the audience for this, and would actual spend money on it?
Had a look at Lego store display today. Yup, it's ugly.
I saw the phrase "niche sport" out of the corner of my eye and thought, "What?!" Then I read the whole sentence. Also, I love the fact that the hairdo is done using a minifig hair piece.
@quincy said:
"I nominate this set for one of the worst of the year, and possibly the decade. …"
Decade? 76210 says, "How quickly they forget." Also, wouldn't the end-of-year polls be interesting if, in addition to best-of-year categories, they had worst-of-year?
The basketball is just an orange sphere... no lines?!
Avant-garde abomination. Without the stickers and backboard, I would not even know what it is.
I wouldn't get this myself, but it's one of those things I'm glad exists.
@HibiscusDrive said:
"I'm just happy this set has lot of stickers.
For all the expensive sets that come with stickers these days, if they decided this one came with printed pieces, they'd be kicking us while we're down.
I do agree, I like this set best of the 3 Nike sets, but it's lipstick on a pig.
"
Isn't the board behind the hoop printed? The clear 6x5 panel with blue rectangle and the Lego/Nike logo
@Cindipool said:
"I wouldn't get this myself, but it's one of those things I'm glad exists."
I know the feeling. There was a planned Transformer to be released in conjunction with the 2007 movie that was a redeco of one from the Cybertron line: https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Backtrack_(Movie). I have the one that it's a redeco of, and while it's not that great of a toy, its aesthetic is close enough to that of the movie Transformers that I'm still sort of disappointed it never saw the light of day.
That just looks like Corporate Memphis in Lego form. Quite hideous.
I think I'm less impressed with this guy's dunking given that he looks to be a good 8 or more feet tall (assuming that's a 10 foot rim).
EDIT: Wait, maybe he's doing what my friends in college used to do and playing at an elementary school playground where the rim is at 8 feet so everyone can dunk!
I do rather like this, but what sport do the rest of the Jazz Quartet (21334) play?
I refuse to buy this on principle because of the man-bun. Also because of everything else. An eye-meltingly ugly set.
Yes! And it counts!
@Crux said:
"I think we can all agree that this is one of the sets of all time."
Of all the sets Lego is making this year... this is certainly one of them!
Despite having a negative amount of interest in basketball, I think I would have been interested in this set if it were actually any good. Unfortunately its one of the ugliest sets Ive ever seen. Was this a first draft that just never got revised? I cant believe the super hero brick build figures are actually *better* than something now.
@TheOtherMike said:
"I saw the phrase "niche sport" out of the corner of my eye and thought, "What?!" Then I read the whole sentence. Also, I love the fact that the hairdo is done using a minifig hair piece.
@quincy said:
"I nominate this set for one of the worst of the year, and possibly the decade. …"
Decade? 76210 says, "How quickly they forget." Also, wouldn't the end-of-year polls be interesting if, in addition to best-of-year categories, they had worst-of-year?"
*75201 has entered the chat*
@Block_n_Roll said:"I refuse to buy this on principle because of the man-bun. Also because of everything else. An eye-meltingly ugly set."
Two things: One, you don't *have* to build it with the bun, as the review states, "The set provides several options for customising the figure, including removing the tied-up bunch, and replacing the black pieces with brown to make a bald player." Two, as I stated earlier, I think it's pretty cool that they used a minifig hair piece on a non minifig figure.