Is this the perfect LEGO box?
Posted by Huw,
When I mentioned the new style of removable lid box in the review of 21061 Notre-Dame it generated a lot of interest and discussion, so I thought it would be worthwhile taking a closer look at them.
21349 Tuxedo Cat also comes in one and, given it's slightly smaller than that for the Paris landmark, I'll use it to illustrate this article.
The card stock is single ply 0.9mm thick rather than the 1.6mm corrugated used for large boxes previously. The lid is removed by slitting tape seals at the ends and, as you can see, it has folds on the sides, and flaps around the top that interlock in the corners to give it rigidity.
Those flaps can be folded upwards, and then by pushing inwards on the centre of the sides, and gently persuading the internal flaps to lay flat, the whole thing can be flattened.
The top can be similarly flattened.
Voila! The entire box is flat, which makes it very easy and space-saving to store, or put in the recycling bin for that matter.
The design has manifold advantages over previous ones:
- The box can be opened without destroying it
- When constructing the set, the unopened bags can be left in the box rather than tipped out of the end all at once
- It's more suitable for storing either the partially- or fully- disassembled set in
- It can be folded flat without damage
- It can be reformed easily if desired later on.
- It's suitable for cats to sit in
We reached out to LEGO to find out more about what led to it and have been provided with this statement, revealing that paper bags were a decisive factor:
"We aim to make all our packaging from more sustainable materials. As part of this ambition, we are phasing out single-use plastic bags in LEGO boxes and are replacing them with paper-based bags, which are verified as recyclable in the European Union, United States and Canada.
"This also means that some of our LEGO boxes are changing to a bottom/lid type box. During the packing process with paper-based bags, the bags are placed in a certain pattern inside the box. The new box construction allows for this. It also gave us an opportunity to improve the user experience and allow for the re-closing of our bigger boxes. Find more information about the roll-out of our paper-based bags here."
Have you encountered them yet? Does your cat like to sit in them?
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85 comments on this article
If it makes it easier to flatten for putting in the recycling I'm all for it.
I don’t keep boxes but I appreciate the fact they’re easier to pop in the recycling now. The way they fold down like that is clever.
The top lid box experience has always been anenjoyable part of building large Lego sets, I am glad that its back. And that it was always so strange why they never had always consistently foldable boxes when the glue techniques always made them more expensive, difficult and recycling unfriendly to produce I presume.
Oooh, I can store unopened bags in one half, and put the pieces from opened ones in the other to stop them escaping, I can see that being handy
The last mentioned advantage alone made up for it :D
That IS a good box design, I look forward to getting a set with it!
Keeping parts and bags in the halves while building is a good idea, as is storing the set. I hope these come to Creator 3-in-1, because those are boxes I consistently keep, to store leftover parts.
As for the last point, maybe they can prove a useful decoy for people whose cats like to get in the way when building a new set.
Seems like a perfect box indeed. More of this, please!
the problem is that they are now two instead of one.
Easier fold-flat-ability is definitely welcome for storage of boxes to keep. Not too bothered about for recycling as I tear those boxes up anyway.
I'm hoping they make the box sizes more standard, to make it easier for storage of MISB sets. At the moment there seem to be a lot of slightly different sized and shaped boxes with minimal difference in capacity.
MISB sets?
@Tiggy_Cat said:
"If it fits, I sits."
@Belboz said:
"MISB sets?"
Mint in sealed box
Thanks. Not heard of that one before but I'm new to this LEGO stuff
It also seems to be more stable if you stack your MISB sets. Currently the ones at the bottom are bending outwards.
I found that the glues used for boxes isn't that strong and could always be 'cut'. Therefore I never had difficulties to fold them before putting them into the recycling bin.
Sounds good to me. I often use the shipping box to keep sealed bags in while building but this seems easier
I think this looks excellent. As a kid I often used to open the back flap of a box instead of the push tabs, so I had a tray to work in. Big fan of the change.
I can't wait to find out who's furious about it and why.
I personally wish they'd bring back the packaging from the 70s and 80s. Flip-open lid on the box with beautiful and informative pictures of the models (A and B -- remember those?) and a plastic see-through window showing new and interesting elements displayed in a plastic tray. Frickin rad. But ah well, I guess this is progress.
No need to have this Tuxedo Cat, my cat like any box, cardboard or plastic.
And if the box is closed, she sits on top. That's it.
The most important thing is that, it's suitable for cats.
Is this the perfect Lego box?....
No..
It's the puurrrrfect Lego box!....
I'll get my coat
It almost doubles the amount of cardboard for each box... Which is a bummer: the order is **Reduce** first, Reuse, and only then *Recycle*.
@Huw did you notice that the cardboard was thinner than for similar-sized boxes from the past years?
Absolutely love these, really hate the push tabs.
Forgive the digression but do any of you fine LEGOists out there know how to de-fuzz the perspex cases? Built my first ones yesterday and the static just makes dust stick to them.
Any tips would be greatly appreciated.
Back on topic, I like these new boxes as I always seem to f**k up the press-in type. Maybe it's just me!
@Moviuro said:
"It almost doubles the amount of cardboard for each box... Which is a bummer: the order is **Reduce** first, Reuse, and only then *Recycle*.
@Huw did you notice that the cardboard was thinner than for similar-sized boxes from the past years?"
Good point -- I have added a sentence: "The card stock is single ply 0.9mm thick rather than the 1.6mm corrugated used for large boxes previously."
So I imagine the amount of cardboard in it is much the same.
@Belboz said:
"Back on topic, I like these new boxes as I always seem to f**k up the press-in type. Maybe it's just me!"
I always ignore the press tabs and just separate the glue with a knife.
Only saves space if you gave room to build all your Lego sets and if they're doing away with the white boxes.
I don't like these new boxes. The best ones are the boxes with two or 3 taped ends that you can simply fold flat. I keep all my boxed flat after building sets and space is a big concern, so having twice the thickness now is not the way to go.
I hate these. They take double the space when flattened. Just because cardboard is environmental friendlier doesn’t mean using more carboard is necessarily a good thing. Will these new boxes be used for all future sets?
@Captain_M said:
"Is this the perfect Lego box?....
No..
It's the puurrrrfect Lego box!....
I'll get my coat "
Don’t you mean “I’ll get my cat”?
I’ll get my cat.
MSIB (Meow, sitting in box)
I like the direction this is going. It feels like version 1.0 rather than the puuuuurfect solution, but it's certain a great step towards it. Like!
Thanks for the information, Huw. I also appreciate the link to the additional information on the development of the paper bags. I had been wondering how challenging and time consuming that process must have been given the size and scope of the the Lego Group manufacturing process. It was very satisfying to read the info and watch the little video.
My favourite box is the one from 77012
I love it so much!
Especially as it's from my favourite movie!
I wish they'd done this a lot earlier, because this save so much space for those who like to keep onto the boxes. Now I just put LEGO boxes into bigger, empty LEGO boxes to reduce space.
I also like the fact you don't have to empty the entire contents of a LEGO box on your table to get to the parts you need, considering I mostly buy bigger sets. Seriously, what's taken LEGO so long to figure this out? :'-)
I stopped saving boxes around the end of my childhood (the pile was getting... unnecessarily large for something I did nothing with but hoard), so it really doesn't matter to me how LEGO packages its sets--I'll buy them in cardboard, plastic, or if they come in cotton bags.
That said, with three+ decades behind me, there is a fully-memorized experience to opening a LEGO set. I wonder, once the older boxes have fully phased out, if there will be a nostalgia for the 1.6mm boxes in the same way there are fond memories of the 90s tray inserts: not as something that was inherently superior, but as something that was so specific to people's childhoods.
Thanks Huw for continuing the fun from your review of "Tuxedo cat". This has made my day!
I'm all for this. Good design.
I'm glad that this wasn't about the graphic on the box though. I still think the black backgrounds are a void of joy and often make it more difficult to appreciate the set rather than sell its strenghts. Especially if the model is dark (like the cat here).
But no, this new style of box is great whether you keep yours or recycle yours. I recently cut the glue underneath the side flaps of some of my newer boxes with a blade knife so I can flatten them. It's not great as the geometry of the boxes actually makes them bulge a bit if you do that unless you remove ALL the glue and the box can no longer be folded back into a box (which you can do if you just do the sides as you just tuck the inserts back inside).
So this design hopefully makes it easier to store them :)
While I prefer this design over the dreadful pushtab variant, which to me is the worst ever, my favorite remains the premium packaging used for the early Architecture and Ideas sets. Those were of thick and stable cardboard stock, could be opened and closed easily and repeatedly, were sturdy enough to store a whole stack on top of one another, and could be unfolded into a single sheet of cardboard for easy storage, should one wish to store the packaging material somewhere like in a large box in the attic.
THAT imho was the best ever LEGO packaging.
As for cats, my preferred method of storage would be the Schrödinger variant...
As someone who always needs trays when I'm building LEGO, this is a game-changer!
Now, if Lego could just offer Really Useful Storage Boxes as GWPs or Insider Rewards that would be my storage needs sorted. (84l for sets, 70l for flattened boxed and 9l for instructions).
Before we cared for the environment the best boxes were ones used for sets such as 599-1 and 853-1
@pedro_lego said:
"the problem is that they are now two instead of one."
Are these new boxes sith?
@Huw, what's up with the plastic tapes? Someday the LEGO set boxes will be inside glue-closed paper bags to avoid them.
Is this the perfect LEGO box? No, it has a cat on it.
After LEGO switched to mainly black boring boxes I stopped caring about keeping them.
Only the nice vintage ones like Barracuda Bay and Lions Knight Castle
Remember the classic Lego boxes that has a flap to see the pieces and the picture of the set?
@lippidp said:
"I personally wish they'd bring back the packaging from the 70s and 80s. Flip-open lid on the box with beautiful and informative pictures of the models (A and B -- remember those?) and a plastic see-through window showing new and interesting elements displayed in a plastic tray. Frickin rad. But ah well, I guess this is progress."
I accept that they’re a thing of the past but I do miss them greatly. I have a large MISB collection so I’m going to go foraging to see if any might be of this glorious type. I wonder which sets were the last of this kind…
Edit: 7898 cargo train box from 2006 had a flip lid but no plastic viewing screen…
I miss the boxes they used to sell large sets in with the flap you could open and see what was inside.
We all know the most important advantage of this type of packaging is beingfor the cat to sit in.
Well it is to them anyway...........
In my view, the perfect LEGO box is one that allows you to store the set in a practically fully built state. Ok, I realise that's impossible for something like Titanic or the Eiffel Tower, but for the vast majority of sets, it could be possible. Modular Buildings for example, each floor could be potentially stored "side by side" in the box, allowing you to rotate your display models without the need to constantly disassemble and rebuild.
In the article there were two negatives of existing packaging mentioned:
- The box can be opened without destroying it
- When constructing the set, the unopened bags can be left in the box rather than tipped out of the end all at once
Any LEGO box can be opened without destroying it. It this refers to the push-tab boxes (which admittedly are a poor design) then they can easily be opened with a knife to cut the glue. I always use this method and haven't destroyed any of my boxes.
Again, any existing LEGO box can be used store unopened bags in. I only take out the bags I intend to build in that sitting, and leave the rest in the box until the next session. Does anyone really remove all bags and leave them around until they are actually built?
Both of these points seem to relate to untidy or impatient builders, not a problem with LEGO boxes.
@8lackmagic said:
"In my view, the perfect LEGO box is one that allows you to store the set in a practically fully built state. Ok, I realise that's impossible for something like Titanic or the Eiffel Tower, but for the vast majority of sets, it could be possible. Modular Buildings for example, each floor could be potentially stored "side by side" in the box, allowing you to rotate your display models without the need to constantly disassemble and rebuild. "
the last modular buildings boxes are in this way! Maybe only the Library can't be stored builded...
I keep all of my boxes because I generally sell most of my sets when they are retired. I still have all my modular buildings though, and the boxes are stored flat, which is a pain because they are in a huge cardboard box. If the large Lego sets had boxes in this new style, they would definitely take up less space and would be much easier to ship when they are sold on eBay!
My favourite LEGO box is from: 75331
It's my favourite LEGO set and is going to be added to my collection soon!
@lippidp said:
"I personally wish they'd bring back the packaging from the 70s and 80s. Flip-open lid on the box with beautiful and informative pictures of the models (A and B -- remember those?) and a plastic see-through window showing new and interesting elements displayed in a plastic tray. Frickin rad. But ah well, I guess this is progress."
I loved that packaging as a kid too! I can see why that's not the style anymore, but it really was neat. At least with Lego you still know what you're getting. Transformers moving to plastic-less boxes is a bigger problem, not being able to see the actual item you're buying. "Prototype shown. Actual colors may vary." ??
Those are gonna be great to store instructions in.
@Captain_M said:
"Is this the perfect Lego box?....
No..
It's the puurrrrfect Lego box!....
I'll get my coat "
I'm surprised how far I had to scroll to find the pun.
@Ridgeheart said:
"My cat is a dog. He has no interest in these boxes.
In his defense and mine - I quite like them."
Just saying, the cat in the photo seems skeptical of any perceived benefits.
My dog is a AI robotic companion. They haven't allowed me to express an opinion about these boxes, yet.
Apparently, these boxes do not materially affect their plans for us.
@Doctor_Hugh said:
"In the article there were two negatives of existing packaging mentioned:
- The box can be opened without destroying it
- When constructing the set, the unopened bags can be left in the box rather than tipped out of the end all at once
[…]
Again, any existing LEGO box can be used store unopened bags in. I only take out the bags I intend to build in that sitting, and leave the rest in the box until the next session. Does anyone really remove all bags and leave them around until they are actually built?
Both of these points seem to relate to untidy or impatient builders, not a problem with LEGO boxes."
Yeah, you *can* leave the bags in the box, but this makes it much more convenient to do so. Old style, you’ve got to tip the box over, every bag comes sliding out, you find the bag you want, and then put the others back in one by one. By making the open face the largest face rather than one around the sides, it’s much more convenient to take out the bag you want.
I like the Tiggy model for size comparison.
I might get this set just for the box
When I buy sets to raid for minifigs and parts, I just leave the opened and unopened bags inside the box, for later scavenging. This new box is exactly the worst type of box for that. It's also going to be much more easily damaged, I'm guessing, due to being made of a less sturdy cardstock.
@Bagelwolf said:
Transformers moving to plastic-less boxes is a bigger problem, not being able to see the actual item you're buying. "Prototype shown. Actual colors may vary." ??]]
To be fair, "Actual colours may vary." seems to apply more and more frequently here as well.
@279 said:
[[ @Bagelwolf said:
Transformers moving to plastic-less boxes is a bigger problem, not being able to see the actual item you're buying. "Prototype shown. Actual colors may vary." ??]]
To be fair, "Actual colours may vary." seems to apply more and more frequently here as well.]]
Oh, it gets even worse. I've seen Transformers and other toy lines where all the heads were ripped off of the toy because you could actually grab onto them without tearing into the packaging. I know the Space Jam 2 toys had a real problem with this, because by the time I decided maybe I wanted the giant Marvin the Martian mech, I could find about a dozen copies around the area that had no head.
@LukeSkywalker said:
" @Captain_M said:
"Is this the perfect Lego box?....
No..
It's the puurrrrfect Lego box!....
I'll get my coat "
Don’t you mean “I’ll get my cat”?
I’ll get my cat."
Touché (can't believe I missed that one!)
This kind of window in the box brings memories, from a time before numbered bags. Althought that was more of a display feature and it had plastic so it's definitely not the same.
This style of boxes combined with paper bags would serve for storage of yet to be used bags while building the set; you could also do this before but it'd be harder to pick the bag you need (and check if it's just one or there are more)
I like it
This is the ideal LEGO box. You may not like it, but this is what peak performance looks like.
If this replaces punch tab boxes for larger sets, all the better. I like to keep the boxes sometimes, and punch tabs just feel so destructive.
Side opening boxes with tape are still nice, but I do like these new lid styles, especially for bag storage while building.
A definite improvement.
@PurpleDave said:
[[ @279 said:
[[ @Bagelwolf said:
Transformers moving to plastic-less boxes is a bigger problem, not being able to see the actual item you're buying. "Prototype shown. Actual colors may vary." ??]]
To be fair, "Actual colours may vary." seems to apply more and more frequently here as well.]]
Oh, it gets even worse. I've seen Transformers and other toy lines where all the heads were ripped off of the toy because you could actually grab onto them without tearing into the packaging. I know the Space Jam 2 toys had a real problem with this, because by the time I decided maybe I wanted the giant Marvin the Martian mech, I could find about a dozen copies around the area that had no head.]]
Man, that's pretty wild. Who REALLY wants JUST the head of an action figure? :(
@279:
I mentioned the Space Jam 2 toys being hit a few years ago, and someone claimed there was some sort of online challenge to see who could collect the most of a particular type of head. I see teenagers fairly regularly who just don't have anything better to do, wandering around stores trying to find ways to entertain themselves. I'm assuming the rest are still the result of taking trophies, with the goal of causing trouble.
Gosh, I really love the pictures of your cat with the Legos, Huw. I'd love to see more of your noble friend in the future!
I recently went through all my saved boxes and recycled almost everything except the more exclusive special sets. I can't keep every city, friends, creator set that either the children or me have built.... it took FOREVER to flatten them. Anything that makes it easier to flatten stuff is awesome.
@PurpleDave said:
" @279:
I mentioned the Space Jam 2 toys being hit a few years ago, and someone claimed there was some sort of online challenge to see who could collect the most of a particular type of head. I see teenagers fairly regularly who just don't have anything better to do, wandering around stores trying to find ways to entertain themselves. I'm assuming the rest are still the result of taking trophies, with the goal of causing trouble."
The Internet . . . that tracks! :/
Does anyone know how much weight can be applied on top of the lid (with the assembled set inside), before it starts to damage the lid or the sides?
I keep all my sets assembled/mostly assembled in their boxes, and I stack the boxes on top of each other. The bottom box can withstand 6 filled boxes on top, but they damage it slowly over the course of the years.
I'm afraid new boxes will be less durable, because the cardboard used almost twice as thin. Can someone please check it out?
If you throw Lego boxes away you have no right to call yourself an AFOL.
@MegaBlocks said:
"If you throw Lego boxes away you have no right to call yourself an AFOL."
Spoken like someone with infinite storage space.
Ah, Brickset...
A LEGO community so dedicated that we talk about cardboard boxes.
@PeterGriffin said:
"Ah, Brickset...
A LEGO community so dedicated that we talk about cardboard boxes."
That's us in a nutshell! Oh wait, wrong container.
I think that this is a great idea. I only keep the boxes of the big and more expensive sets anyway. But I am all for an easier way to store them and break them down.
@8lackmagic said:
"In my view, the perfect LEGO box is one that allows you to store the set in a practically fully built state. Ok, I realise that's impossible for something like Titanic or the Eiffel Tower, but for the vast majority of sets, it could be possible. Modular Buildings for example, each floor could be potentially stored "side by side" in the box, allowing you to rotate your display models without the need to constantly disassemble and rebuild. "
Iirc the completed Titanic can be split into the four sections and each section can be slid back into its inner box, then they can all be stored in the outer box.
I am amazed that so many people rate a product at how easy it is to fold for recycling. But good for them.
I miss the times when packaging were reusable and welcome it if they are getting that feature back.
Boxes, as we already had them, are easy to flatten. Just open them from two sides, unfold wings, push top to bottom and voila the box is flat.
That's like I store them.
@Huw said:
" @Moviuro said:
"It almost doubles the amount of cardboard for each box... Which is a bummer: the order is **Reduce** first, Reuse, and only then *Recycle*.
@Huw did you notice that the cardboard was thinner than for similar-sized boxes from the past years?"
Good point -- I have added a sentence: "The card stock is single ply 0.9mm thick rather than the 1.6mm corrugated used for large boxes previously."
So I imagine the amount of cardboard in it is much the same.
"
Seems to me like the 4 sides would have almost the same amount of cardboard but the tops and bottoms would have half ?? As box condition is very Important to me as a collector, I wonder if these new boxes will damage more easily ??
This style of box should last longer for sorting and storage, where the lid totally encloses the top. This compares with previous medium-set boxes opened as a tray, where only the unglued tabs along 3 sides stop the hinged lid from falling in under pressure of another box on top.
Once opened, not only does it become 2 trays but when reduced to 1 tray, with the box inside the lid, it would be stronger, able to handle a full volume of sorted bricks.
Less glue has been used in putting this box together. That's another reduction in fossil-fuel-based products, besides the cardboard reduction.
All encouraging signs. Will have to see what sizes they make and whether there are good standards of size for stacking boxes for sorting and storage. If it reduces the need to buy plastic crates then that's a further advantage. If this style replaced the large Technic boxes that could not open as trays then that would be great. There might be a limit in usefulness of depth for reaching into a box on my lap, if larger boxes became more cubic-shaped than flat-oblong; a depth of 10cm is OK but above that there is not the best viewing angle to see what's inside. However, cubic would give the greatest volume per unit surface area of cardboard so, if it's a green efficiency drive, that would win.