LEGO Architecture 21066 New York City – The Big Apple official images!

It’s a nice set but I’m pretty sure putting it on a table in the middle of the living room is not an ideal spot.

I like the apple, but it's just too microscale for me. Like the Paris one the colour seems off and the sizing. It seems like it tried to shove too many buildings in at once.

I would love other buildings or other cities. I know one is coming, expensive as it seems it's going to be, so I pass on this.

Still waiting for my CN Tower. It's the 50th anniversary, great time for it..

It’s not something I’d buy, but I really like the colors and overall feel. Also I think the forced perspective on the Brooklyn Bridge is really well done.

@Joce1275 said:
" @eiffel006 said:
"I like it. I will not get it, but it does look good.

I also wish we got sets from new locations.

My dream would be a Chateau Frontenac set (I'm from Quebec City afterall), but I don't think we're ever going to get one (I tried moccing one and it was way above my skills). There is an Idea submission for those interested: https://beta.ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/2eb37d50-c4ed-432b-80d2-42870fe51aef"

Honestly I think I would be happy with almost any skyline or postcard set depicting Canada... other than Toronto of course ;-)"

I'll personally pull for a Simpsons "Back to Winnipeg!" set.

I'm not interested in Architecture skyline sets, but at least it's a different approach compared to previous ones (and that's why it might not appeal to most skyline-lovers).
I bet Steve Jobs would like it.
Also, by seeing this, a bit funny thing came to my mind:
"For an additional $59 you can get the instructions to make the Apple logo (additional bricks sold separately for $49)"

@iplante said:
"I like that this is more detailed and has some interesting part usage, but the coloring is throwing me off. That, and the apple backdrop is cheesy.

I do wish they'd explore different cities or places rather than reinventing the same thing again.

e.g. two Guggenheim museums, two Trevi fountains, two Paris and NY skylines, two White Houses, etc.

There's so much cool architecture in the world that having two or more sets representing the same thing seems wasteful."
As insane as this statement will be:

Buffalo NY,

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richardson_Olmsted_Complex
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buffalo_City_Hall
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Ellicott_Historic_District
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Darwin_D._Martin_House

100 years ago one of wealthiest cities in the world and they spent the money on fantastic buildings.

What a big apple.

The big apple night sky ruins it.
Reminds me of the cheap looking street art you see for tourists here in Times Square. The ones with the moon and buildings reflecting across water paintings.
If I get it, will definitely leave it off.

So this isn’t a new set to celebrate the promotion of York City from the National League?

The background is cute. The only architectureish Lego kits I buy are the Postcards, on account of Nanoblock supplying a wider range and already having more than enough of those for any individual architecture-enjoying human, a few bits of New York skyline included, but it’s a nice kitschy approach. A good bit of kitsch is a perfectly fine thing every now and then.

Not bad. May consider it in a few months when it's substantially discounted. Until then I'm quite happy with 21028.

@GrizBe said:
"I get what they were going for, but it doesn't work for me. I know the yellow skates are meant to be the iconic taxi cabs, but they look more like someones pinched a bunch of minifigs off of the build. As for the rest of it, feels like they've tried too hard to cram in as many icons as they can and made it feel 'messy' as a result. "

I think the taxis would look better if they had a black 1x1 tile on top of the skate, or even a black https://brickset.com/parts/design-35464

Awful color scheme...

I missed out on 76271 and I'd much rather have that. This model feels bland after seeing what could be done with Gotham City.

To summarize what most of you above already said:

1- This is more Art than Architecture
2- Please do something else - there are plenty of very interesting architecture around the world (even unknown things/locations would have the added value of teaching something new). As mentioned above: Chateau Frontenac in Quebec and even CN tower in Toronto (would have to be very tall) would be nice but the options here are almost limitless.
3- While I surprise myself by liking it more than I should, the colour choice is odd. But after all, this is New York at night - so can't expect all sorts of hues/shades.
4- No meaningful part recolours (Lady Liberty in white has limited appeal elsewhere). The tiles with star might prove useful.
5- To truly shine, this set would need to be backlit (i.e. new electric parts, etc. not going to happen)
6- To sum it up: a valiant effort but not enough for what we already have and what it could have been.

What’s black and white and yellow all over? Took me a couple of minutes to realise the yellow measles were meant to be cabs, but if they are breaking out of monochrome for famous coloured items Lady Liberty should have been green. Still no matter I have one of the other NY sets so no need of this one as well!

Love this!

Seems like a good set for people who like the idea of NYC but have never actually stepped foot there. I get that the backdrop was a design decision intended to help capture the essence of the city, but it eats up so much of the part inventory and the end result just looks so cheesy as other people have said.

Oh wow! Never been to NYC. My wife has, though. She likes the architecture sets and been wanting another set. She might be interested in this one ...

Why does LEGO repeat so many architectural sites? Because they are internationally famous and common tourist destinations and there is perennial demand for a LEGO representation of them. Spectacular buildings which are only household names to residents of the cities they're in are less likely to sell widely, and I'm not sure LEGO wants to put their efforts behind spotlights of Canadian cities or Bufalo, NY unless they're sure there's a profitable audience. It's not fair, and cultural imperialism stinks, but that's business.

Oh, come on Lego. Your US headquarters is in Boston. Can we not get ONE Boston skyline set?

PS: Yankees suck!

For most part I do like what I see here, as a whole this set does work for me, Ad as someone who used to be obesessed about New York (before I discovered Asia....), I can totally see myself buying it.

That said, there are a few thing I'd love to see somehwat differently. First and foremost: The Met is rather prominent, yet doesn't quite work for me. And I think they should have bveen able to add a couple more recognizeable buildings, and a bit less random grey buildings.

Ehhhh at least we get LONG OVERDUE gray icecream pieces!

I do not like the direction Lego are going in if this is in the architecture theme…
As someone else said, it’s more Art than architecture. But aside from that, I don’t personally like it. It seems like a really nice MOC that someone’s done and should be proud of, but that doesn’t mean it warranted going into production.

Where are the rats?

I think this looks great!
A wonderful idea, and well executed.
Will pick it up on special at some point, or 2nd hand….. as the price is really high for what you get.
Also - Lady Liberty in white is an interesting choice …. Hard to get used to!

I like it except for the Apple background. But also feel I could build something similar myself as I can stack bricks on top of each other pretty well. The bridge is cleverly done too.

If I didn't already have 21028, I'd be mildly tempted. Also, the Lady Liberty minifig hat piece getting recolored was not on my 2026 bingo card.

@GrizBe said:
" @iplante said:
"There's so much cool architecture in the world that having two or more sets representing the same thing seems wasteful."

Off the top of my head... Petra, the Hagia Sophia, Angkor Watt just to name a few without thinking about what'd be cool. "

They've done Petra: 40585.

@King_J said:"Something about the black apple backdrop makes me want to buy a new phone"

Not me, I'm an Android man.

@HOBBES said:"
4- No meaningful part recolours (Lady Liberty in white has limited appeal elsewhere). The tiles with star might prove useful."

That's an existing print, it was created for 21340.

@eiffel006 said:
"I like it. I will not get it, but it does look good.

I also wish we got sets from new locations.

My dream would be a Chateau Frontenac set (I'm from Quebec City afterall), but I don't think we're ever going to get one (I tried moccing one and it was way above my skills). There is an Idea submission for those interested: https://beta.ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/2eb37d50-c4ed-432b-80d2-42870fe51aef"

As an American who has visited Quebec City, I second this! I never buy architecture sets but I would consider buying one of le Château Frontenac.

@gunther_schnitzel said:
"Not seeing Trump Tower in there. "

One World Trade Center (originally christened "Freedom Tower") is totally the type of nationalistic vanity project he would build.

Looks dystopian. Perhaps Equilibrium was the inspiration ;).

@GrizBe said:
" @iplante said:
"There's so much cool architecture in the world that having two or more sets representing the same thing seems wasteful."

Off the top of my head... Petra, the Hagia Sophia..."

Nope, Hagia Sophia is off limits. It's an active house of worship again.

This looks like an Idea set where the creator keeps updating it, trying to get more support and doesn't know where to stop.

@BLProductions said:
"And why the apple? Whose idea was it to call it "the big apple" anyways? Is it because healthcare is so expensive there that no one ever sees a doctor? Or it is because it's full of worms? "

"Apple" is the term vaudevillians used to refer to towns where they would perform. NYC just happened to be the "big" one.

@eiffel006 said:
"I like it. I will not get it, but it does look good.

I also wish we got sets from new locations.

My dream would be a Chateau Frontenac set (I'm from Quebec City afterall), but I don't think we're ever going to get one (I tried moccing one and it was way above my skills). There is an Idea submission for those interested: https://beta.ideas.lego.com/product-ideas/2eb37d50-c4ed-432b-80d2-42870fe51aef "

Château Frontenac is indeed beautiful! Stayed in their hotel for a work trip some years back.

By the way, I don't believe in ghosts, but I experienced something ghostly at night, and googling afterwards and finding out there are recorded hauntings matching exactly my experience, I don't dare staying at that hotel anymore...

But I'd love it as a lego set! :D

Well, unless you(‘ve) live(d) in NY or have a particularly fond memory of being there it’s a bit meh really.

It's just too drab. It should've either been all black & white, or had more colour pop. The Paris one worked because it used tan to offset the drab blues. This one is all drab blues.

The design is nice, I don't mind the apple backdrop, it's a novel idea. But unless someone designs a re-coloured version of this with more pop in it, I wouldn't want to put this on display.

I like little things here and there, some really clever parts usage, but overall this is not doing it for me. The apple shaped background looks really amateur to me.

@SummerSanta said:
"I thought this set was $80. I don't understand where $140 came from. It's a small set full of small pieces, one printed name tile, no new molds, and no license fee. What am I missing?"

They inflated the price putting in that out of place gigantic big apple night sky background.

the apple backdrop is a huge whiff IMO

The Statue of Liberty is in New Jersey.

The giant Apple is horribly tacky. It ruins an otherwise really nice set.

@AustinPowers said:
"Most of the newer Architecture sets feel like a joke, and a far cry from the premium products they used to be. Just look at how much effort LEGO put into those older sets, from the presentation, the packaging, the instructions etc.
Come to think of it, the early Architecture sets felt like the first true "for adults" LEGO sets."

You mean like 19710?

@PurpleDave said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"Most of the newer Architecture sets feel like a joke, and a far cry from the premium products they used to be. Just look at how much effort LEGO put into those older sets, from the presentation, the packaging, the instructions etc.
Come to think of it, the early Architecture sets felt like the first true "for adults" LEGO sets."

You mean like 19710 ?"
I mean like the sets I mentioned. The one you mentioned was an experiment, just like the other two "Polybag"-type ones. They aren't even called Architecture at that point, but Brickstructures. But even those, while technically labeled as 10+, clearly weren't intended to be marketed towards kids

@AustinPowers said:
"I mean like the sets I mentioned. The one you mentioned was an experiment, just like the other two "Polybag"-type ones."

There were four. Sears/Willis, Empire State, Hancock, and Space Needle. And they had fancy boxes and white-on-black instructions.

"They aren't even called Architecture at that point, but Brickstructures."

Sorry, 21000. Brickstructures was Adam’s trademark, going back to at least 2006. Architecture was the branding he created with TLG, likely involving them taking over packaging instead of just providing Adam with bulk parts. He was just designing the sets after that change, until they started letting other professional architects design sets under the same theme, and then eventually fully absorbed the theme in-house.

"But even those, while technically labeled as 10+, clearly weren't intended to be marketed towards kids "

But Sears Tower is widely regarded as the least inspired Architecture set because it’s just a stack of basic bricks with an antenna on top.

@PurpleDave said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"I mean like the sets I mentioned. The one you mentioned was an experiment, just like the other two "Polybag"-type ones."

There were four. Sears/Willis, Empire State, Hancock, and Space Needle. And they had fancy boxes and white-on-black instructions.

"They aren't even called Architecture at that point, but Brickstructures."

Sorry, 21000 . Brickstructures was Adam’s trademark, going back to at least 2006. Architecture was the branding he created with TLG, likely involving them taking over packaging instead of just providing Adam with bulk parts. He was just designing the sets after that change, until they started letting other professional architects design sets under the same theme, and then eventually fully absorbed the theme in-house.

"But even those, while technically labeled as 10+, clearly weren't intended to be marketed towards kids "

But Sears Tower is widely regarded as the least inspired Architecture set because it’s just a stack of basic bricks with an antenna on top."
I think we are splitting hairs here. There clearly were teething issues at the beginning, but the theme soon found its footing with premium sets like the ones I mentioned. My gist was that Architecture used to be a premium theme clearly aimed at a connoisseur adult market (unfortunately also priced accordingly).
These days the premium treatment has gone out of the window but the pricing has remained.
Also I was replying to the notion that had been brought up that LEGO only chooses prototypes based on how well they might sell. My argument was that many of those earlier premium sets featured prototypes not as well known as what is chosen these days.

@AustinPowers said:
"I think we are splitting hairs here. There clearly were teething issues at the beginning, but the theme soon found its footing with premium sets like the ones I mentioned. My gist was that Architecture used to be a premium theme clearly aimed at a connoisseur adult market (unfortunately also priced accordingly)."

But you referenced the early sets. 21000, 21001, 21002, and 21003 _were_ the early sets. The earliest sets. And they were a premium product, if only because of how they were packaged, and where they were sold.

"These days the premium treatment has gone out of the window but the pricing has remained.
Also I was replying to the notion that had been brought up that LEGO only chooses prototypes based on how well they might sell. My argument was that many of those earlier premium sets featured prototypes not as well known as what is chosen these days. "

The sets you mentioned were released when Adam was still nominally in charge of the theme, and were likely selected by a professionally educated architect because they were significant landmarks within architectural history. Once the theme went in-house, subject matter was chosen more for cultural significance, which meant buildings that the general public was more familiar with.

I wonder what the "easter egg" could be. subway?

@Jena said:
"I wonder what the "easter egg" could be. subway?"

Unlikely, unless it’s hidden in the apple. The base is only two plates thick, and while there are parts of the NYC subway system that are above the streets, Manhattan is none of those parts. Top down view indicates the buildings are too spread out for it to be stuffed inside them.

They got in trouble for copying the “I <3 NY”, I believe, so I don’t think that tile will make another appearance here. It would be a little obvious, but it could be a minifig apple.

"This model kit makes a great NYC or architectural gift idea for men and women who are travel lovers."

I sometimes suspect that the Huwbot secretly despises us, and that it plans for our gruesome deaths. But in a way, that is still so much preferable to the tepid, soulcrushing blurbs vomited out by the passionless drones over at the TLG press-pit.

"Greetings, fellow actual humans. Here is a new set. This set makes a great LOCATION OR THEME gift idea for STRICTLY MALE OR FEMALE FOCUS GROUP who are LOCATION OR THEME ENTHUSIASTS.

Start by BUILDING A THING and BUILD ANOTHER THING and FINISH BUILDING. Then, PLAY AND/OR DISPLAY this set as you PONDER THE MEANINGLESS OF EXISTENCE."

Only the best.