Review: 11374 Arcade Pinball Machine
Posted by Huw,
LEGO's last foray into playable arcade games, 21337 Table Football, was an unmitigated disaster, so it's perhaps surprising that the company is launching another, 11374 Arcade Pinball Machine.
As well as promising to be more than just a display model, it's also looking to tap into our collective nostalgia for Classic Space. It succeeds in one of these aims, but not the other...
Summary
11374 Arcade Pinball Machine, 2,274 pieces.
£189.99 / $229.99 / €209.99 | 8.4p, 10.1c, 9.2c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
More than a display model: surprisingly robust and fun to play with
- Very sturdy, it handles rough play well
- Light royal blue classic space figure and space baby
- Brick-built markings on the playing table
- Difficult to reset game after completing mission
- Questionable colour scheme
- Ramp is a bit pointless
- No lights or sounds
- More expensive than the real thing
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Parts and stickers
The sticker sheet comprises mostly large square decorations for eight 6x6 tiles that line the sides of the machine. There is also one new printed piece, and one that's been reused from elsewhere.
There is just one new element: a 1x4 wall that is two bricks high rather than the usual one brick high. It matches the 4x4 quarter-circle piece that debuted in 75355 X-wing Starfighter, used for its engine cowlings, in 2023. Both parts come in transparent bright green and transparent light blue in this set.
The ball is 19mm in diameter, originally designed to fit into Beam 3X5 W/ Dia. 19 Wheel Cup that was introduced in SPIKE Prime in 2020. It's very smooth and weighs 5g. That equates to a density of 1.39g/cm3, which is more than ABS. ChatGPT suggests it could be made of acetal which is 'very hard, stiff, and slippery' which aligns with the ball's properties.
Construction
Construction begins with the frame upon which the playing surface will be affixed. Although Technic parts are used to add functionality, this is very much a 'System' model, leveraging SNOT techniques to give strength and rigidity.
The playing surface is split into three parts, thus making building it more manageable. The first one constructed has the flipper mechanism underneath and here you can see how they are spring-loaded and their movement damped with small rubber track attachments attached to the yellow pieces.
The individual sections are first clipped onto the frame, then pushed to engage with the studs on the end of the adjacent section. It's an interesting technique that works well.
The 'Mission' 1x6 tile on the back board is printed, and the 1x1 star tiles also appear in 21066 New York City – The Big Apple. It seems odd going to the trouble of printing the 1x6 when all the other decorations are stickers. I guess there was some budget left for it.
Minifigures
The highlight for many will be the light royal blue classic astronaut and space baby. However, it's only the helmet that's new in that colour on the adult figure: the torso was available in the Build a Minifigure stations in brand stores, and the air tanks have appeared in two sets already.
Nevertheless, collectors of such things will appreciate being able to get a whole one with minimal effort, albeit in an expensive set.
The completed model
I am sure I was not alone in being somewhat visually overwhelmed by the plethora of colours used in the model when I first saw it. Having built it, I am still overwhelmed: there are just too many, and it looks a bit of a mess, in my opinion, especially the ramp which sticks out like a sore thumb, neither matching nor complementing any of the other colours.
I can't help feeling that an opportunity was missed to construct it primarily in classic space colours: blue, grey and transparent yellow, with a spattering of red here and there. That would have really tapped into our nostalgia and made it far more appealing and classic space fans.
The model is about 37x27cm overall, with a playing table of 27x20cm. So, a decent size, but a bit smaller than most table-top pinball machines.
The up and down arrows and the rocket markings on the table are all brick-built and look very smart.
The view of the underside shows the flipper mechanism again and its link to a second one on the left, as well as the mechanism that moves to the astronaut at the back (more on that later).
We posted this picture on social media yesterday and, rather embarrassingly, someone who we believe is the set's designer noticed that I hadn't pushed the orange pin on the right fully in!
The four stickers on each side depict the astronaut and baby drifting in space over a planet, matching the colour scheme of the set. They could be left off, but I think it looks better with them.
Functionality
This is not a static model, of course, it's a fully functioning pinball machine, and it works rather well. There are three controls: a spring-loaded lever to release the ball, and two knobs for controlling the flippers. There's also a compartment for storing a spare ball.
The small flipper on the top left moves in unison with the large one.
Gameplay involves completing a mission to reunite the astronaut with the baby. That is achieved by hitting the grey lump (an asteroid??) in the middle of the table with the ball.
When you do so, the minifig moves from left to right, about 5mm at a time, and the mission is completed when he reaches the end. The mechanism that links the asteroid to the figure incorporates the ratchet gear that debuted in the road bike, which ensures he only moves in one direction.
Unfortunately, that makes it quite hard to reset it. To do so, the red piece at the back needs to be forced back to the start position, overcoming quite a lot of friction in the pin that secures the end of the 'fusilli gears'.
The ramp is cleverly integrated into the table, but a bit pointless. Nothing happens should you manage to get the ball up it, and doing so plays no part in the mission.
Playing with it
For a LEGO model, it's surprisingly sturdy and more than capable of being played with the same level of vigour you'd use on a real machine. The ball release and flipper mechanisms work extremely well and, thanks to rubber pieces on the bottom of the legs, it stays put on the table.
It's relatively easy to hit the asteroid and complete the mission, albeit with multiple plays. I did not find it so easy to get the ball up the ramp, though, although I think I've found one technique that works most of the time. I'll leave that for you to discover! Not that it matters: as I said, the ramp is largely pointless.
Here's a short video showing it in action. Not my best effort: I need to get better at flipping the top paddle!
Verdict
In contrast to many functional LEGO sets, this one works better than it looks. The controls work well, it's surprisingly robust, withstanding rough handling, and playing it is quite good fun. Time will tell whether it's something that I'll continue to enjoy playing, but given that it takes practice to master certain techniques, like traversing the ramp, it should provide some longevity.
Unfortunately, I think it's a bit ot an eyesore to look at. There are arguably too many colours, some of which don't go together, and the ramp is an eyesore.
If you can get past that, though, there is much to like, especially if you appreciate models that are more than just static ornaments.
The 2,274-piece set will be launched on 1st July, priced at $229.99 / £189.99 / €209.99 which is considerably more than a similarly sized real one that has lights, sounds, and an electronic scoring system.
If you want a pinball machine, look elsewhere. If you want a pinball machine made with LEGO which includes a desirable minifigure, this is the set for you!
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55 comments on this article
This is a disappointment. I was really anticipating this could be a great set, and I am sad that it fails to come together as a unified theme in regards to color and features.
All that R&D on the brick that makes light and sound and then they miss the opportunity to put it in a recreation of a game that is known for having light and sound
If they really wanted to maximize profit, they would have introduced an entirely different colored spaceman and put the helmet into some other random set.
I agree with the colors being a bit too much. I'd love to mod this into Mission M-Tron someday with black, red, and light bluish gray. The ramp is not trans neon green, but it's close!
I'm just here for the new panel part. I can think of so many uses for that. I hope it appears in lots of sets and online pickabrick very soon.
Thanks for the review. The "Thanks For Looking Here" sticker...I see it in the underneath photo and I assume it appears as part of a game function but it's not readily apparent. Looking forward to buying the spaceman on bricks and pieces but otherwise this is a letdown, unfortunately.
@CDM said:
"Thanks for the review. The "Thanks For Looking Here" sticker...I see it in the underneath photo and I assume it appears as part of a game function but it's not readily apparent. "
The instructions suggest that such embellishments are common inside real machines, visible only to maintenance engineers.
@Huw said:
" The instructions suggest that such embellishments are common inside real machines, visible only to maintenance engineers."
Well that is...something I didn't know! Thanks!
Nicely thorough review, thank you! They could've really done something special if it was themed Blacktron from the start.... Despite my love of arcade pinball games, I'll give this a miss and splurge on something else instead.. but i might give it a go building it with the instructions one day (and better colours of course)
Airtanks also appeared in paper bag with Mr Freeze ( L0002270 )
I rather like the look of this at first glance and think the new blue violet and black go well together. But that's where it stops. It's too expensive, doesn't play nearly as well as a real one, and doesn't have the lights and sounds that are integral to the experience.
You may say that it's all about the build experience though, and I'm all for that with LEGO. The table football set had the same short comings, and was a really poor build experience because it had to be made so study for play. Other reviews mentioned a poor build experience here too, so there really is nothing to redeem it, which seems a shame.
Actually works better than I expected! Quite tempted to get if/when it drops to around 50% off.
I have to admit that the gameplay, as limited as it is, looks better than I would have expected. It does actually seem to work quite properly. And probably even better with a pinball wizard playing it ;-)
Still, overall I still can't help but feel kinda unexcited about this. And maybe part of that is the size and price point. Had this been a smaller, cheaper Creator set, it would have just been a cool gimmick, no more, no less. Or they should have gone all in, make it a good bit bigger (and obviously more expensive), resulting in more varied gameplay options. And preferrably with some light and sound involved in one way or another.. This could have been THE set to showcase the possibilities of the Smart Brick.
But as it is, it just seems to me like a moderately interesting build, then you play with it for ten minutes, and never use it ever again.
Haha, thankfully I didn’t source for this spaceman colour by parts. It’s nice to get a full figure in a new set. But I will wait for a sizeable discount.
I don’t dislike the colours — if anything I think they’re a bit sparse — but I don’t really get why they chose them. This sort of set feels like the sort of thing that would be at its best if it was absolutely jam-packed with Easter Eggs, and choosing a colour scheme that has little to nothing to do with any previous Space iteration cuts off that off at the knees.
(Maybe it was an attempt to avoid the typical Lego Space problem where people are more fans of their preferred subtheme than the theme as a whole? If you’re none of the subthemes maybe you’ll appeal to all of them? I don’t think you can pull that off and have a classic space minifig, though.)
It all just feels a bit missed opportunity. It isn’t terrible. The mechanism seems clever, although I’m worried about longevity if the reset truly requires forcing it. But it isn’t great, either, and I think it was entirely possible for it to have been great.
That set of stickers is a disgrace. And for that reason, I'm out.
It was a hard watch to see you play pinball x-D
I think the set looks fun, but i’d rather play a real pinball machine.
The best thing in my opinion are the stickers and how they remind me of 6000, one of those books from the 80s. That book had space stickers for a movie night
@Brickodillo said:
"It was a hard watch to see you play pinball x-D"
I didn't have a misspent youth :-)
I could use that new panel on a car MOC I'm working on...
And nobody thought that Lego could make this, because it didn't have the balls...
I think the functionality is designed perfectly under the limitations. I have experience buying 4 cheap handheld pinball tables and most of them are a bunch of crap. They are very cheap and you can feel it. I have had the electronics break after multiple uses, flippers break over time, and horrendously designed layouts. This is close to my favorite of the tables, and is something I can fix when it breaks. I will probably be getting this eventually.
Better than expected - at least it has a 'mission' which is reasonably well implemented without any electric/electronic parts. As many others have said, the colour scheme is weird but only so because there was never a Lego Space theme in that colour - Lego had plenty of choices here and they decided to go with something completely different - odd. Personally, I would have tried to include references of as many themes as possible.
Now, this is Lego. It remains to be seen what tinkerers will do will it. If it can be made to have 2 (or more) other mechanisms without causing too much friction, then the game can become quite challenging and enjoyable (for example, the ramp can be lowered a bit with the addition of a turnstile that trigger another ratchet - that would make the ramp more relevant). A proper reset mechanisms also need to be developed.
This is not my type of set but if I ever see it with a huge discount (i.e. 40% or more) I will get it. I surely hope the parts will be available on PaB (I already have a few of those guys but I need the helmets).
Some dirty cheaters out there are going to mod those flippers 1 stud more on each side to prevent the ball from dropping :)
Must admit I couldn't care less what the hallucinatory text generator/search engine with pretensions and the tendency to suggest eating rocks thinks about plastics, pinball, Lego, or whether there’s war in Ba Sing Se.
I like this one! It's not perfect, but seeing it in action, it looks cool, fully functionable.
And I didn't know that those oxygen tanks can be trusters? Wouldn't explode if caught with fire?!!
@Huw, We see that you didn't play pinball in a while. Little bit disappointed, because this IS playtoy from your youth.
'21337 Table Football, was an unmitigated disaster'
Quite funny to see that a set owned by almost 2000 members was apparently an unmitigated disaster. Maybe sets need an official 'break even' figure!
It needs to be in Classic Space colors, as is it's gaudy
I like that it's playable and looks like it'd be a fun build but not worth getting
I agree that using color palette of established space theme would so much more interesting for many of us. But I absolutely disagree that currently this set has too many colors. Real pinball machines are always color overkill with plethora of colorful lights everywhere. I also disagree that the ramp is pointless, pinball is a game of skill and it takes skills to master that ramp. I hope the community will develop new obstacles for the playfield as i see a lot of potential for modding here. The play function of this model works really well and as fan of pinball machines this one is reaaalllly cool.
"More expensive than the real thing"
Are Pinball machines really that cheap? I find it hard to believe a real one costs only about 200 bucks.
This was a fantastic opportunity to impress us all with the capabilities of the SMART brick.
An opportunity which was completely wasted.
Bizarre.
@Crasha said:
""More expensive than the real thing"
Are Pinball machines really that cheap? I find it hard to believe a real one costs only about 200 bucks."
Presumably a 'real' toy one. Real real ones are £10,000+
"I can't help feeling that an opportunity was missed to construct it primarily in classic space colours: blue, grey and transparent yellow, with a spattering of red here and there. That would have really tapped into our nostalgia and made it far more appealing and classic space fans."
As one of the resident "nostalgic for eighties-nineties Lego Space in general but not the 1979-ish range specifically" guys I feel obligated to report that I'm pretty sure nostalgia is all this color scheme would have going for it in the context of a pinball machine.
Not getting this for the same reason as the Alien with Pizza Planet Rocket Ride...stickers.
So what was it again? The red Spacepeople = pilots, white = explorers, yellow = scientists, black = spies and light blue = so staggeringly bad at parenting, they're bound to show up on the Tekken-roster sooner or later?
On the one hand, I suppose we should be thankful Light Blue manages to recapture the baby. On the other hand, maybe Light Blue should not have jettisoned the baby in the first place.
@thor96 said:
" I agree that using color palette of established space theme would so much more interesting for many of us. But I absolutely disagree that currently this set has too many colors. Real pinball machines are always color overkill with plethora of colorful lights everywhere. I also disagree that the ramp is pointless, pinball is a game of skill and it takes skills to master that ramp. I hope the community will develop new obstacles for the playfield as i see a lot of potential for modding here. The play function of this model works really well and as fan of pinball machines this one is reaaalllly cool."
Well said. While I would have loved a Blacktron II or M-tron themed set, this set's colors almost feel understated compared to how gaudy a lot of real pinball machines are. I think they struck a decent balance of colors - mostly hues of purple w/ complementary yellow / orange, and some trans green to highlight the ramp as a challenging gameplay element.
This could have been a perfect opportunity to allow the user to switch themes like the BDP Aquarium. If I get this, I would want to try and make it a pirate or Castle theme just for fun.
I wish the ramp earned you something and that it included a smart brick. It would have then been a must buy for me. I can’t wait to see what our smart folks can do to improve it. I’m going to go ahead and add it to my list, but it wil remain low.
@Crux said:
"So what was it again? The red Spacepeople = pilots, white = explorers, yellow = scientists, black = spies and light blue = so staggeringly bad at parenting, they're bound to show up on the Tekken-roster sooner or later?
On the one hand, I suppose we should be thankful Light Blue manages to recapture the baby. On the other hand, maybe Light Blue should not have jettisoned the baby in the first place."
Brown is daycare. Not only did Brown show up with the first Baby Bennie, but also, well…think about it. This one, I dunno. Maybe visitation rights? Irresponsible uncle?
That many stickers for that price is an instant "no thanks." Sucks, set is interesting, but just couldn't stick the landing.
"ChatGPT suggests" UUUUuuuuugh gawd
Surprised you say the ramp is an eyesore. That part stood at the most to me, as a classic pinball feature. Plus it includes parts newly available in trans bright green color, perfect for space MOCs.
Fully functional LEGO representation of the classic Windows XP built-in feature 3D Pinball Space Cadet. Love it. I would argue if it was actually themed to a specific old Space subtheme you'd have a lot more discontent from adult fans that "they made a pinball machine and not an actual spaceship"
At least they could of designed in an option to add the smartplay brick as an option. Seems like a giant miss.
@Hiratha said:
"Must admit I couldn't care less what the hallucinatory text generator/search engine with pretensions and the tendency to suggest eating rocks thinks about plastics, pinball, Lego, or whether there’s war in Ba Sing Se."
I'm honestly surprised how few people commented on that. I instantly stopped reading the review when I was through with that sentence.
I really hope that ChatGPT comment was meant to be a joke.
Also, for everyone saying this set should have had Smart Brick compatibility, how could it have been implemented? There’s hardly any room for it on the play area. The only thing I can think of is that it could have been built into the board, have the end of the brick with the sensor facing out, and a ball could roll over the sensor, activating it. Even then, it would likely be difficult to remove the brick for charging (with its whole 45 minutes of battery life and all). Along with Lego likely including a set of red, blue, and green balls in order for different lights and/or sounds to be played. I suppose there could be a sequence if one were to try and tilt the table as well. On top of all that, it would also mean this (in my opinion) already very overpriced set would cost at least another $10-$20.
As for the Pinball Table itself, it looks better built than it does on the box and the color scheme has somewhat grown on me. Although I do think making the color scheme a nod to a pre-existing space theme would have been a better choice. Even if it was styled after the recent Lego City subtheme of space sets. The playfield looks really cramped and I did see a video of someone playing with this set and the ball got stuck between the wall and one of the spinning things a couple of times. I don’t know if that was just a fluke or it’s a common occurrence.
@huw Why isn't the Spaceman moving in your video?
I honestly can’t see how the smart brick would have been integrated here without investing in a new ball the brick could detect, which would have been very niche and a colossal waste, and would have driven up the price tag. I have to imagine the ball moves too quickly across the board for the color sensor to reliably detect it, even if you could place it directly into the table as the above comment suggests. The only use case I can think of is that it could play some kind of music and maybe a sound effect when the flippers are triggered, and I feel that would get annoying quickly.
I love LEGO! I love pinball! I do not love this, watching it being played it's just a bit disappointing, but then again you could never have the sort of functional table that one might want without the price being sky-high. Go visit your local pinball place instead, or if you're really desperate to put one together yourself, go get the ROKR wooden set (it's a good project!)
Many colors yes I agree. But the pinballs I used to play with in arcades or bars in the 80s and 90s used to be quite colorful and overwhelmed with lights, colors and sounds too ! In that matter it does not bother me. Thank you for the review.
Colours work well with 77263
Not for me : don't like the color scheme, too many stickers, hard to display... Will just get the Light Blue minifigs ^^
@SpaceCadet said:
"I honestly can’t see how the smart brick would have been integrated here without investing in a new ball the brick could detect, which would have been very niche and a colossal waste, and would have driven up the price tag. I have to imagine the ball moves too quickly across the board for the color sensor to reliably detect it, even if you could place it directly into the table as the above comment suggests. The only use case I can think of is that it could play some kind of music and maybe a sound effect when the flippers are triggered, and I feel that would get annoying quickly."
Yeah, I don't see how this thing could be given Smart Brick functionality, especially if you wanted the brick to do more than one thing while playing.
@BrudderandHisBricks said:
"I really hope that ChatGPT comment was meant to be a joke."
Does everyone in this comment section happen to have a comprehensive list of the densities and physical properties of every form of plastic known to man?
"Also, for everyone saying this set should have had Smart Brick compatibility, how could it have been implemented? There’s hardly any room for it on the play area. The only thing I can think of is that it could have been built into the board, have the end of the brick with the sensor facing out, and a ball could roll over the sensor, activating it."
That's the only way you can think of? I'd rig objects on the play surface to flags on the bottom, so that when you strike an object it would cause the flag to move under the table. Point the Smart Brick at one of these flags, put a different colored backdrop behind it, and when the flag moves it will cause the brick to see a shift in color.
@PurpleDave said:
" @BrudderandHisBricks said:
"I really hope that ChatGPT comment was meant to be a joke."
Does everyone in this comment section happen to have a comprehensive list of the densities and physical properties of every form of plastic known to man?
Considering not too long ago ChatGPT didn’t know how many R’s were in the word “strawberry”, forgive me for having a hard time believing it would know the exact type of plastic that was used to make one particular element.
"Also, for everyone saying this set should have had Smart Brick compatibility, how could it have been implemented? There’s hardly any room for it on the play area. The only thing I can think of is that it could have been built into the board, have the end of the brick with the sensor facing out, and a ball could roll over the sensor, activating it."
That's the only way you can think of? I'd rig objects on the play surface to flags on the bottom, so that when you strike an object it would cause the flag to move under the table. Point the Smart Brick at one of these flags, put a different colored backdrop behind it, and when the flag moves it will cause the brick to see a shift in color."
That’s actually not a bad idea. This would likely resolve most other potential issues as well. I was more so looking at the finished model and trying to figure out how the Smart Brick could be used. I don’t think a flag system could have been implemented though unless the model was made a fair bit larger, and I can’t imagine there would have been enough left in the set designers’ budget to make that happen.
I’ll admit pinball was never really my things, but isn’t the bit about the colours being a bit of a mess fairly true to actual pinball machines? I remember the ones I have seen generally being quite garish and visually loud in order to lure in the punters. Probably one of the things that turned me off real ones too!
@Brickalili said:
"I’ll admit pinball was never really my things, but isn’t the bit about the colours being a bit of a mess fairly true to actual pinball machines? I remember the ones I have seen generally being quite garish and visually loud in order to lure in the punters. Probably one of the things that turned me off real ones too! "
Pinball manufacturers understood a lot more about making pinball games than they ever did about the IPs they licensed to decorate them. That’s just part of the nature of the genre, since you can’t completely reinvent the physics of pinball every time like you can with video games. Hardcore pinball fans probably also were more concerned with how the game played vs what it looked like, and again the physics would have made all forms of pinball game similar to each other like if all video games were restricted to one specific format like 1st person shooters. Plus, during the heyday of pinball games, all the cabinets were probably lit with a single style of lightbulb, rather than having access to color-specific LEDs. An LED is going to have a lot more punch than an incandescent bulb behind a saturated color filter, so even the range of colors used would have been more constrained than it would be now. The brighter you want the cabinet to be, the more washed out your colors need to stay.