New Architecture set revealed at Eurobricks

 

  • New Architecture set revealed at Eurobricks

    Posted by Huw, 14 Jan 2012 05:10. Filed under New sets.

    21012: Sydney Opera House
    Architecture, 2012
    More details...
    ©2012 LEGO Group

    A Eurobricks member has uncovered this picture of the next Architecture set, Sydney Opera House, at Amazon.co.jp.

    10212 Sydney Opera House If you visit Amazon you can zoom in to see the detail. I haven't been able to extract the large version of the image so I've made this image of the model itself.

    I have to say, I'm not overly impressed. It's a valiant attempt to model a complex structure at a small scale but I think it's just a bit too small and resembles little more than a random collection of curved wedges at odd angles.

    Maybe I'm being too harsh. What do you think?

    According to Brickshop.nl, it will cost €40 and be available in June.


    40 comments, latest one posted 17 months ago. (Commenting has ended on this article)
    1385 views


 
 

Comments

Posted by tiberium_blue in United Kingdom, 14 Jan 2012 05:37

I'd be ashamed to ask people to pay 40 euros for that...

Posted by brix in United Kingdom, 14 Jan 2012 05:38

@ huw - I agree - it just looks a mess.

Posted by Zordboy in Australia, 14 Jan 2012 05:42

I have to agree with consensus so far. I like the idea... the execution is something of a miss.

Couldn't they have picked the Sydney harbour bridge or something? Or maybe Parliament house in Canberra? Surely there's a building somewhere in Australia that would look good at this size.

Posted by TheCahleySlash in United Kingdom, 14 Jan 2012 05:59

Oh dear, this looks certainly interesting :?

Posted by duilim in Australia, 14 Jan 2012 06:07

The thing I'm most interested in is whether or not this set will be available in Australia So far, I haven't seen any architecture sets in any stores here and have only been available through S@H. If this set doesn't make it to the shelves of our major retailers, then the issue really becomes laughable and I think Lego Australia will have some explaining to do.

As an aside however, this model is pretty ugly and whilst I have no intention of buying it, I do think that as a matter of principle it should be available to us Aussies as it is an iconic Australian landmark.

Posted by Sabreman64 in United Kingdom, 14 Jan 2012 06:33

I'm not impressed by any of the Architecture sets, to be honest. A lot of the buildings I've never heard of, and the ones that I have heard of, such as the White House, Brandenburg Gate or this Sydney Opera House, are too small and blocky for my liking. They're nowhere near as impressive as the Taj Mahal, Eiffel Tower or Tower Bridge sets.

Posted by OuterRimTradingCo. in Australia, 14 Jan 2012 06:39

I wonder if this one will be widely available in Australia unlike EVERY other Architechture set released thus far...

Posted by Nerd in United States, 14 Jan 2012 07:27

@Huw
I completely agree. I didn't even recognize it until I read the article :) Wouldn't even be worth $15.

Posted by richselby in United Kingdom, 14 Jan 2012 08:02

Nice idea, shame about the execution. Maybe it will look better in the flesh.

Posted by Firox 5000 in United Kingdom, 14 Jan 2012 08:12

Nice idea, terrible model. The scale and piece usage just seems incorrect and uneven if I'm being honest.

Posted by scoopi68 in Australia, 14 Jan 2012 08:22

I love it, instantly recognisable...but maybe I'm biased. I think they've done a great job for such a small scale. Can't wait to get one.

Posted by Mequel De Vaughn in United States, 14 Jan 2012 08:50

I think it looks terrible. When I first saw it I thought it as a bad remake of Sarlac's pit from ROTJ. Do better Lego. If you make quality the cash will come...lol

Posted by Plasmodium in United Kingdom, 14 Jan 2012 08:54

@scoopi68, I don't think 'instantly recognisable' and 'good model' are necessarily synonymous--I recognised it, but close up it's not quite so pretty.

Posted by Krivorn in United States, 14 Jan 2012 09:03

gosh, Architecture only released one good set...Fallngwater

also, that really is a criminal price.

Posted by Dlakii in Australia, 14 Jan 2012 09:05

...Nope. It's instantly recognisable as the Opera House, but it's still a significant, offputting mess sailways. The Opera House does strike me as a very difficult building to render in small-scale LEGO (I recall seeing a fantastic model of considerable size back in 1999's Ultimate LEGO Book), but if they'd bumped up the scale just a bit I'm pretty sure there are some larger curved shell pieces which are hollow and thus may be more conducive to getting the job done.

I'm inclined to question the wisdom of going ahead with producing such a difficult-to-render Architecture set, especially considering Australia has quite a few other iconic structures which would likely lend themselves much better to a LEGO replica; Canberra's Parliament House comes to mind (may be a bit biased here as a Canberra denizen), as does the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

@duilim: To my knowledge (again, restricted to northern Canberra outlets), Architecture sets are rare around Australia, but I have seen them on occasion; the store chain Little Sprout stocks a handful of them, but I can't recall how up-to-date they are. Additionally, Myer may be worth a shot, as I do recall the Canberra Centre one stocking a couple at some point in the past few years, but I've no idea how likely it is.

Posted by CapnRex101 in United Kingdom, 14 Jan 2012 09:43

Yeah, t doesn't look great does it? But it is possibly the hardest model of any building in the world to design in Lego at this scale. I like this one though which is even smaller: http://amodularlife.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/3601075231_5809409eca.jpg

Posted by legomaniac in United States, 14 Jan 2012 09:50

Looks like the ruins of an ancient building. Maybe make it in the same scale as that waterfall house?

Posted by grelb32 in United States, 14 Jan 2012 10:05

When I showed this to my younger brother, he thought it was the Pit of Carkoon from Return of the Jedi. Back to the drawing board, Lego....

Posted by Thomson & Thompson in Canada, 14 Jan 2012 10:49

^It does look like the Pit of Carkoon!

Posted by jonbuddy in United States, 14 Jan 2012 11:07

It is really a mess. Too many large pieces for a small scale set. This is not how I would imagine a LEGO Sydney Opera House...

@grelb32, I thought that was really funny! XD

Posted by The Reviewer in United States, 14 Jan 2012 11:41

It looks kinda wierd, but does anyone know how much this will cost in the USA? (I might get this set if it comes on sale)

Posted by serviceburo in United States, 14 Jan 2012 12:03

I HATE Frank Gehry - the architect of this particular building. I've been unfortunate enough to spend time inside one of his "buildings" and they are an abomination.

SHAME on TLG for justifying the existence of one of the worst architectural criminals of all time.

Posted by andywalker in United Kingdom, 14 Jan 2012 12:07

@serviceburo It's actually by Jørn Utzon although Utzon resigned part way though and the design was changed significantly.

Posted by Griggy55 in United Kingdom, 14 Jan 2012 13:10

This is rather disappointing, I think this building is too non-legoy a shape to do at such a small scale, while I'm sure it could be rather impressive made bigger, and emulating the sails' shapes more accurately.

I stuck all the zoomed in parts from Amazon.co.jp together, you can see them here (plus the Hayabusa probe too): http://8of5multiverse.blogspot.com/2012/01/next-lego-architecture-set-is-sydney.html

Posted by Si_Dorking_Surrey in United Kingdom, 14 Jan 2012 15:37

I was hoping this was a hoax. If not, its a joke.

Posted by ELAiNE in New Zealand, 14 Jan 2012 15:39

An uninviting set, like the rest of the Architecture series, but I am glad to see non-US sets are being added to the series.

Was rather hoping it would be designed as a Large Scale Model :(

Posted by munozrick in United States, 14 Jan 2012 16:10

I immediately recognized it. I like it. I find it a good representation of the design. Like most Lego Architecture models, it's not meant to be realistic, but capture the essence of the design & concepts. Yes, I am a fan of the entire Architecture series. It seems many Lego fans aren't, which is too bad.

Posted by richselby in United Kingdom, 14 Jan 2012 16:36

I'd be a fan of the architecture series if it was cheaper.

Posted by Thomson & Thompson in Canada, 14 Jan 2012 17:04

@ The Reviewer - and anyone else that is wondering - 40 Euros is:

CAD:$51.87

USD:$50.76

GBP:£33.11

I think the set looks terrible.

Posted by BooMakuta! in United States, 14 Jan 2012 17:04

You're right. It stinks.

Posted by Ravenhook in Australia, 14 Jan 2012 18:01

As an Australian resident, I'm starting to think TLG despises Australians! In the first two weeks of this year, they have:

1. Continued to exploit exchange rate changes and priced the 2012 sets at astronomically high prices relative to the UK, Euroland, and the US. In some cases - particularly the Batman lineup - at over 2x the price available through parallel importing.

(When local retailers can import from online shopping sites at significantly less than their wholesale buy price, you know something's wrong.)

2. Staggered the release of themes to much later than when the rest of the world gets them, eg, Dino is not out here until September. This means Australians are disadvantaged when joining in online discussions.

(Batman has been the talk of Gotham since December. We'll be holding our breath until mid-February.)

3. Released this, er, "five minute Creationary slap together", when a 10189 Taj Mahal or 10214 Tower Bridge or 10181 Eiffel tower scale would have been much more appropriate for such a beautiful structure as the Sydney Opera House.

No offence to the designer, but if you can't capture the essence of the sweeping sails using white wedges, then don't. It's artistically dishonest and a pure cash play to expand the Architecture line.

Posted by Zordboy in Australia, 14 Jan 2012 18:47

^ Bravo, Ravenhook. Could not have said it any better.

Posted by Zrath in United States, 14 Jan 2012 18:49

WORST ARCHITECTURE SET EVAR! :P

Posted by xccj in United States, 14 Jan 2012 19:16

I love the idea... I don't love the set. The wedge pieces just don't have the same elegance.

Posted by supertails387 in United States, 14 Jan 2012 21:00

No, just no. This is an absolute mockery of a LEGO set. All this is is a bunch of curved pieces put at herky-jerky angles. LEGO, scrap this model and replace it with something that actually looks good.

Posted by yys4u in United States, 14 Jan 2012 22:08

Its recognizable, as I instantly knew what it was, but it also looks like a couple eggs fell out of a tree and went SPLAT

Posted by giraffefreckles in United States, 15 Jan 2012 00:20

^ LOL!!!

Nope, won't be buying this one -- the sails look too bulky to soar. My favorites are Fallingwater and Robie House. Might consider the White House. Fallingwater -- I've actually toured it. Robie because it's colorful and resembles Japanese historical architecture. White House because I do like the Greek Ionic columns.

Posted by iamed1977 in United States, 15 Jan 2012 01:01

Wow way for everyone to pile on. I love the Architecture series and have every model proudly on display. Too many people seem to be completely lost on the point that these sets are not meant to be precise replicas. There is a stylized element about these sets that I really like.

Whenever an Architecture set is announced almost every comment I read is a complaint. Too many American buildings, too expensive, too unrealistic, too ugly, etc.

The refrain is complain, complain, complain. So I'm here to defend the Architecture series and say that there is at least one AFOL who thoroughly enjoys these sets.

Posted by Mowikan in Netherlands, 15 Jan 2012 05:44

I love these architecture set's but it is not my kind of sport.
Because in the Netherlands lego is so expensive compared the usa.($=€)
I stick to technic.
But otherwise I would buy ever one of them architecture sets!

Posted by Huge Nerd in United States, 15 Jan 2012 08:06

Seeing as the original building is a a random collection of curved wedges at odd angles (I'm assuming--hoping!--it's shaped that way for some acoustic reason), this model pulls it off well!

Commenting has ended on this article.