Brickset Bouts: The final!
Posted by Huw,
It's all come down to this: the last bout in our quest to find the best set released since Brickset was founded in the year 2000.
Over the last two weeks, 28 advocates have pitched their cases, sixteen sets have been whittled down to just two, and many popular sets have been knocked out along the way.
The grand final is a battle between the sprawling and imaginative 4867-piece 70620 NINJAGO City, and the highly-detailed and ramshackle 2049-piece 21310 Old Fishing Store, which were both released in 2017.
I'll let the advocates CherryRose and BrainSlugged tell you what's so great about them and why you should vote for their set as 'best set of the millennium' after the break.
Having just read what they have to say, I'm itching to build my Fishing Store, which is still MISB, and I regret not buying NINJAGO City!
Voting will remain open until midday BST on Monday. I will announce the winner shortly afterwards.
21310 Old Fishing Store
Advocate: CherryRose
What makes the Old Fishing Store a contender for the best set of the millennium? Everything about it, of course!
It is a revolutionary set that set the bar high for LEGO Ideas and is a love-letter to master-builders everywhere. The build is fully enclosed and every side, nook and cranny is detailed.
While many of the modular buildings are plain and bland on two sides, including the opponent Ninjago City, in order to connect to others, the Fishing Store is a self-contained, beautiful display piece. Every step is varied and interesting to build, and it can be displayed in any context.
The techniques used to make this are incredible and unheard of in any other set. I love the designer’s intentional use of muted colours to capture a specific mood. All of the rare parts in dark tan, olive and sand green make it an excellent parts pack. The way that planks are offset and crooked is very cool and hard to capture with new pieces.
When I finished the interior, I could not believe how packed it is from floor to ceiling with equipment that gathered over time, from maps to scuba equipment to fishing rods. It feels large and open but tightly cramped at the same time. The outside is equally good with expansive deck space to explore, excellent brick texturing on the walls and ramshackle planks on the roof, lots of sea animals populating it, and a beautiful lookout tower to top it all off!
Ninjago City is an incredible set, packed with colour and details and can be argued as the culmination of Lego’s creativity and originality. I would be ecstatic no matter what wins, but I think the old fishing store has the advantage in that it’s more realistic. It set the bar high for LEGO Ideas to incorporate original concepts and techniques employed by MOC-makers.
It shocked me that nearly every aspect was redesigned from RobenAnne’s original submission, it is extremely faithful and is the most aesthetically pleasing of all Lego Ideas sets. I don’t think models afterward like the Tree house or Barracuda Bay would even exist not for this set setting the bar for large, original, fan-made projects.
Ninjago City, in comparison, is unwieldy, disorganized, and is packed with references that cater specifically to LEGO and Ninjago enthusiasts. I can imagine that it would be difficult for new fans to jump in and enjoy it as much as the Fishing Store.
Just looking at it, it conjures images of vacations to outdoor beaches and ports everywhere. If you are a collector, the Old Fishing Store is a must-buy and is up there with the best sets of all time. My only regret was not buying more than one!
70620 NINJAGO City
Advocate: Brainslugged
First and foremost, I’m a lifelong Star Wars fan. I missed getting the original UCS Falcon in 2007 but coveted it for the next decade. When the updated version was released, I timed an eleven-hour flight and a five-hour jet-lagged car journey through the night to ensure I was outside my local Lego store two hours before opening to purchase #75192 on day one. And yet… the UCS Falcon is only my second favourite LEGO set of all time.
I’m not a big fan of Ninjago. I could possibly work out most of the main characters’ names. I’ve never seen the TV show and have only seen part of the movie. My two little girls know even less about Ninjago than I do. And yet… my favourite set of all time is Ninjago City.
It has nothing to do with the subject matter, but everything to do with it being the absolute epitome of what LEGO represents. Every inch is an explosion of colour and vibrancy and absolutely dripping with love and detail. It looks less like an official LEGO product and more the sort of fan-made creation you’d only see on the pages of a Lego fan site or convention.
Ninjago City officially has an already impressive 16 ‘live’ minifigures, but an additional two are used as mannequins and a third is secreted in the rafters of Lloyd’s bedroom to conceal his secret ninja identity. There’s even a robot.
If 19 minifigures (plus robot) doesn’t do it for you, how about play features? There’s a working sushi bar. There’s a way to actually ‘cook’ a crab in an oven, turning it from tan to red in the process. There’s a working ATM. There’s a working elevator. There're references to Galidor. You can use a cipher to translate the dozens of signs written in the Ninjago ‘language’.
You can look at this thing from any angle and discover new details you’d never noticed before and fall in love with it all over again. The build techniques are also off the chain. Round 1x1 tiles stuffed into transparent bricks. An awning made out of nineteen crowbars. A cherry blossom tree bursting out of a window using a part from a constraction figure. Green painters’ palettes as lily pads. Train undercarriage parts used as decorations. The entire build is an exercise in Nice Parts Usage.
The denseness of the build also reflects the in-universe city it’s based on. Where land is so scarce that the new, vibrant, bustling, neon city of comic stores, fast food restaurants and advertising hoardings has to be built on top of the old town where fish traders go about their business traversing the bottom layer of the city by boat. Add in some rain, and this could be based on Blade Runner. I can almost hear the call to join the off-world colonies every time I look at this set.
There aren’t many Lego structures that can kick sand in the face of Modular Buildings. But Ninjago City is a like a Modular Building on steroids. The designer’s brief must simply have been “build it as high as you want, use as many pieces as you want”. A Modular Building generally separates out into three distinct pieces to gain access to its innards. If you do the same with Ninjago City, you end up with ten separate builds. Bedrooms, a bathroom, several shops, apartments, restaurants… The list goes on. With other models, I would direct you to look at the pictures on the set details page. But with Ninjago City, there’s no way just a dozen images can reveal the myriad of incredible features or do such a detailed set justice.
Ninjago City has close to 5,000 parts, but it’s the nature of those parts which is truly remarkable. There are 981 different types or colour of piece. Compare this to the almost 6,000-piece Taj Mahal which only has 165 different pieces and you’ll find another metric to quantify Ninjago City’s value and the love and detail lavished upon it.
As for the Old Fishing Store, it may seem fairly unusual now, but what about the future? We’ve already had other very similar Ideas submissions get close to making it into production, so it’s only a matter of time before we see an equally good 18+ branded The Old Mill, The Old Tavern or The Old Blacksmith. In short, we’ll probably see its like again.
Ninjago City on the other hand really is lightning in a bottle. With a sequel to The Ninjago Movie dead in the water, without a movie tie-in it’s possible that LEGO may never again be willing to take the risk of releasing something of the same size and irreverence as Ninjago City.
I’m not going to sit here and tell you that the Old Fishing Store isn’t a great set, because it obviously is. In many ways, it and Ninjago City are cut from the same cloth: no piece or expense has been spared to make these sets the best they can possibly be. Ninjago City shouldn’t win simply by virtue of having more pieces. But sometimes… more really is more. And that’s Ninjago City. Not just more pieces and minifigures, but more colours, more creativity, more action, more humour, more play features and more unadulterated joy.
Aren’t those the qualities that truly define Lego and the hobby we all love? It’s on that basis, that I, and your inner child, ask for your vote to crown Ninjago City as the Greatest Set of the Millennium.
Cast your vote!
Having read the above, which of these two sets do you think should be crowned "best set of the millennium" ?
Voting for this bout will remain open until midday BST Monday and I will announce the result shortly after.
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142 comments on this article
Well lads, this is it
Come on Ninjago City! Of all the great sets in this competition, I think NC takes the cake for its perfect combination of all the factors that make LEGO great.
In all honesty dont think I can vote, still heartbroken that the Parisian Resturant lost to Ninjago City.
I am not part of the dollhouse fan community, so not going to vote, but the LEGO Ideas theme would deserve the win for sure - best initiative from LEGO this millenium! (although the fishing store is not even in my top 5 Ideas sets)
Impossible choice
The best Ninjago set to date! ^^
@Minifig290 said:
"In all honesty dont think I can vote, still heartbroken that the Parisian Resturant lost to Ninjago City."
That doesn't make PR any less excellent...
Plus did you see the sets that didn't quite make it into the bouts? A bunch of people voted for the multi-coloured spacemen set; I think you can take popular votes like this with a pinch of salt
The OFS is great and all, but it can’t even compare to Ninjago City in my opinion
I am too bitter to vote in this one.
pass
They're both amazing but Ninjago City is unquestionably superior, I'm glad it won against the Parisian Restaurant, while the Parisian Restaurant is amazing I think Ninjago City really showcases what Lego is all about, the amount of creativity and build quality that went into the set and the beautiful end result are unprecedented imo.
Very tough decision, made harder by the lovely write-ups by CherryRose and BrainSlugged.
The only set I own from this entire bracket is Assembly Square. Of the others, Ninjago City is probably the one I most regret missing out on.
That's an extremely difficult one. I don't own either of them.
Thus I had to weight the realisation of the Lego Ideas submission against a very imaginative and colourful creation of Lego designers.
Thanks to both advocates for their statement.
This final's the equivalent of unstoppable force vs immovable object, but as always I've still gotta give my vote to Ninjago City as it's the one set that successfully occupies a reasonably sized chunk of my brain on a constant basis
Ah, two sets I own (along with a Cargo Train and some train tracks) with pride and were bought by mid November (I checked the order) while I was working as a part of the support operation with the U.S. Army and FEMA on my home in Puerto Rico after hurricane Maria devastating effects. Even to this day I have been told the US Federal didn't do anything for my territory but as I was helping on an earthquake recovery mission multiple warehouses with supplies have been found over the place. Move to this current world event and I finally found the will to assemble the Old Fishing Store after my PS4 was damaged so I decided to enjoy that build and divide it into 7 weeks for each of its sections. The results have been so worth it now that I have the building in the middle of the sea in my LEGO World. I haven't assembled NC for the same reason I rejected to assemble the Store until early this year, I really don't have a set place for them in my City yet nor for the 60052 Cargo Train which is assembled inside its own box minus the crane, but I might pop it and build it to reduce this year stress levels while I am at it much like I did with the set I gave the vote: the Old Fishing Store from the Ideas theme.
It’s a crime the Saturn V didn’t win.
That was tough. Briefly considered shutting my eyes and jabbing a finger at the iPad.
Have made a decision, but could easily have voted the other way 30 seconds later.
Hats off to the advocates, they both did an exellent job extolling the virtues of their sets.
Now to sit back and await the result...
Everyone vote for Old Fishing Store please.
the top sets of Lego's most original own IP versus Lego's best community decision of this century seems an appropriate final. IMHO Ninjago City júst edges it.
Old Fishing Store.
Perfectly viewing from Front & Rear, Facade and Interior.
Stunning Box Art, and it’s Come from an Original Idea,
Create by LEGO Fan.
The Best LEGO Set of the Millennium.
Also if I have to recognized that the NINJAGO City is a creation of LEGO, I vote for the Old Fishing Store which is a LEGO Ideas.
@Huw
I which you envoy building the OFS
When this started I anticipated the final having to be between the millenium falcon and ninjago city. With then having ninjago city win.
Ninjago City has it all. Build technique, display ability, great figures, size, variety in ascetic, actually functions , unique build techniques, enjoyabilty in build, and even playability!
The only thing I can imagine it not have is cheapness and ones preferences.
I love both sets but the ingenuity in NC and my love for building sub assemblies throughout a build mean it takes my vote...again. Were the numbers from the previous bout posted? Curious how close they were.
These aren't the two best sets. Just how the random draw played out. A round robin would have been more accurate. Would have taken longer, but there it is.
Voting never was easier than in the final - Ninjago City of course! If it wins I hope it finally will be reviewed by Brickset as it somehow never was in 2017.
Parisian restaurant vs old fishing store would have been the best final. I vote for the fishing store not only because Ninjago beat my beloved Parisian restaurant but also it's an ideas set!
Ninjago City by a mile.
Toughest choice yet. I own and love both sets but NC was the first set since my childhood that totally entranced me. In the weeks between its announcement, its release and my eventual purchase I think I logged into Brickset at least once a day just to stare at it. Brought back all my fondest '80s LEGO memories.
@monkyby87 said:
"It’s a crime the Saturn V didn’t win. "
True, and it's one of the reasons I am not going to vote in the final.
The task was
"Having read the above, which of these two sets do you think should be crowned "best set of the millennium" ?"
And to this my answer is "none of the two".
To me that title would belong to the Detective's Office, as that was my number one all along, with Saturn V as the runner up.
As only the Saturn V was in the top 16 I obviously supported it, right to the end.
Of the 16 choices, the Saturn V to me is the only contender worthy of the title. None of the others comes even close. When I bought it, I started building it as soon as I came home. A while later I even bought a second one. I also bought OFS and NC back in the day. Both are still sitting MISB in the attic, waiting to be built. I think that says it all.
No offense, both OFS as well as NC are great sets, but neither of them deserves to be called set of the millennium imho.
Ninjago city is the clear winner for me: voted best set of the 2010s by Blocks magazine, the best Ninjago set ever... I think we need to add ‘Best Set of the Millennium’ to that impressive list.
Both sets have sticker sheets, which imo should automatically disqualify both from the title.
I like both sets, but for sure I would never put any of these on top of best 2000+ sets. 10182 Cafe Corner vs 10185 Green Grocer - before I saw the list, that's how I imagined the final round.
Both are great and for me were personally sought after as a collector and stunningly enjoyable as a builder, but only one of these two sparked a love for something that I didn't plan on adding to my collection ever. Ninjago City, a magnificent extravagance, a theme of whimsy, and a part per penny value of the century. I love you Ninjago City, though I don't deserve you.
Oh well! To vote or not to vote... :)
For anybody rather wanting to see other sets in the finals, it's more than likely that the result would have looked different if the pairings (the initial ones, and those along the way) had looked different. So, rather than saying the winner is the 'best set of this millennium' it would be more accurate to say 'the most popular set of this millennium given a certain distribution of pairings.' Of course, we may still have seen the same winner in the end (whatever set it might be)
I may be the only person to have loved the movie so Ninjago City is my vote! I think the Bounty from the same line is actually superior to the City but both are incredible!
The old fishing store is obviously so great too so it’s like picking your favourite kid!
Man, that was a tough one. But in the end, thinking really hard about it, I realised that as much as I love Ninjago City, when I look at it I can't help feeling it's incomplete without the Ninjago City Docks. (I don't think I'd ever have bought either if I hadn't bought them together).
So I voted for the Old Fishing Store because as everyone said, it's a fantastic looking set from all angle that stands on its own merits. (Although that shrimp fishing boat from Hidden Side is a perfect companion piece in mood and design ^^ )
It's tricky placing a vote when one owns neither, so I tried to balance the two a little: what if we even out the piece counts?
Imagine the Fishing Shop with twice as many pieces, and imagine Ninjago City with half as many pieces.
The Fishing Shop would have twice as many lovely Sand Green tiles, a taller tower, and a bigger load of dead fish out the front; I don't feel it would be twice as interesting.
Ninjago City would fit on a 16 X 32 baseplate, maybe have to combine cooked crab & sushi in one concession, and Sweep wouldn't have a home; it would still be more than half as interesting as it originally was.
Ninjago City has more than twice as many pieces, but having watched the reviews & read the instructions for both, it's far more than twice as interesting.
As sad as I am to see Parisian Restaurant didn't make it, I have to go with Ninjago City. In terms of it being a better set, it just offers so much more variety and creativity in the stories that can be played out. After all, that's what toys are all about right? :)
I love both of these sets, but as I looked at the pictures, I had a sudden realisation; if I was only allowed to own one LEGO set ever produced, there's a good chance it would be Ninjago City. It has minifigures, play features, intricate details, a wide variety of styles, and is essentially it's own little world packed into a 32x32 baseplate. It looks as much like a talented MOC as the old fishing store, and that set was a MOC to begin with! I hate to say it, but the fishing store doesn't really seem to excel in any aspect; the exterior walls, the roof, the interior...they're all effective, but simple. Ninjago City certainly wasn't my favourite of the 16 original sets, but it will be the one I vote for here.
Wow, some people are really taking this way too seriously! I can’t believe some of you are bitter because their favourite set did not make it to the final, because of the way the competition was set up or because both finalists have sticker sheets. Really? C’mon, there is a global pandemic out there, so enjoy your LEGO the way you want and love the sets you love!
Ninjago City will win, Lego did an amazing job with the set. I hope that we get more sets like it in the future.
I hope Lego see this and realise we want more Lego ninjago city modular expansion sets (I liked the docks too)... and more fishing store modulars... the creator of the set had lots of other sets which were awesome and got the 10000 votes on ideas but didn’t pass the review stage... Lego please take note and make another one of them!!!!
(Sorry to copy and paste comment from semi finals results - but am hoping someone from Lego group may see this comment!)
@eiffel006 said:
"Wow, some people are really taking this way too seriously! I can’t believe some of you are bitter because their favourite set did not make it to the final, because of the way the competition was set up or because both finalists have sticker sheets. Really? C’mon, there is a global pandemic out there, so enjoy your LEGO the way you want and love the sets you love!"
True. I mean, I support Ninjago City, but the truth is that if it lost I wouldn’t mind much. It’s just LEGO, and the OFS, and the PR are great sets.
I would have never guessed that these two would be in the final. They are great, no doubt, but I thought others would have made it here.
Is it possible to see the original numbers for the Top 16? Curious as to how many voters put each on their submission list.
People are taking this far too seriously! It’s supposed to be a bit of fun. It’s not an official Lego competition or anything. Nobody is winning a big prize on the back of the result. If the Saturn was your favourite set and it didn’t make it to the final, so what? You can still enjoy the set.
I enjoyed building both of the sets in the final but had to go for Ninjago City for the sheer amount of detail it jammed into the space provided. I’m not even a collector of Ninjago stuff! Plus, I really liked that the bank machine spat out Lego money. I must be easily pleased :-)
”a Modular Building on steroids“. THAT is the most accurate description of Ninjago City I've ever seen. In my honest opinion NC beats OFS by a long shot as I believe NC is the ultimate embodiment of LEGO Creativity.
I forgot to add that I enjoyed the few times I have gone fishing with my dad, memories didn't come at the moment as when I bought it there were other things in my mind but, both sets were in my Wish List for a big while.
Own them both, love them both. But Ninjago City is like sixteen Lego sets in one box, and one glorious creation. If I had seen this set in a dream back in 1979 when I first bought Lego, I would have thought I'd died and gone to heaven.
I still regret not buying Ninjago City. Drove over to the LEGO brand store just to stare at it on display. I downloaded the instructions to see what amazing techniques there are, and to see what fans everywhere were building. This set teaches anyone what can be imagined and built with LEGO.
I have them both and voted for Ninjago City, but either set winning is fine by me.
Here it is; the biggest final in the history of mankind!
I can’t be bitter because neither of these sets beat the Millennium Falcon directly in the competition, but i’m voting for Old Fishing Store. I think it’ll be a tough ask for the win, but the level of detail is so good considering the set size, and it’s accompanied by great minifigures and animals to top it off.
Just going to reiterate - lots of people hated the Falcon because it was too expensive and unwieldy - well Old Fishing Store does a much better job of representing ‘more affordable and realistic’ than the gargantuan Ninjago City. If the Fishing Store was allowed over double the pieces we could’ve had a whole Fishing wharf with more characters and a boat, so it’s all a matter of perspective. Not saying NC is bad because it isn’t, I just think for what it is and the price point, Old Fishing Store is even better.
Also, Ninjago Movie was awful (even more so in the UK where seemingly literally no one watched it in cinemas) so that does taint the city indirectly for me personally, despite its great design. Whereas the movie Destiny’s Bounty can pass for a ‘regular’ embellished Japanese ship.
@King_J said:
"Is it possible to see the original numbers for the Top 16? Curious as to how many voters put each on their submission list."
Yes, tomorrow.
Ninjago city will win. Wonder set
@AustinPowers said:
" @monkyby87 said:
"It’s a crime the Saturn V didn’t win. "
True, and it's one of the reasons I am not going to vote in the final.
The task was
"Having read the above, which of these two sets do you think should be crowned "best set of the millennium" ?"
And to this my answer is "none of the two".
To me that title would belong to the Detective's Office, as that was my number one all along, with Saturn V as the runner up.
As only the Saturn V was in the top 16 I obviously supported it, right to the end.
Of the 16 choices, the Saturn V to me is the only contender worthy of the title. None of the others comes even close. When I bought it, I started building it as soon as I came home. A while later I even bought a second one. I also bought OFS and NC back in the day. Both are still sitting MISB in the attic, waiting to be built. I think that says it all.
No offense, both OFS as well as NC are great sets, but neither of them deserves to be called set of the millennium imho.
"
If you haven’t built OFS & NC yet, you can’t comment that they are worse than one you have built!
What if, one day, you actually open one and build it.... and decide it’s the best set ever?
Your comment today would look pretty silly!
Well, those were the two best advocate arguments in this entire competition!
Bravo to both writers!
I had almost zero interest in Old Fishing Store prior to this competition, and was shocked to see it emerge out of the quarterfinals and semifinals, yet the write-up was so good and so convincing that I nearly voted for it to win the entire thing!!..... until I read the Ninjago City argument! Wow, just wow.
Have to figure out a way to buy BOTH of these sets one day!
Here we are. Thank you for the competition, the articles promoting each set by members, it has been a joy to follow and read the whole story. Now for this final round, no hard questioning is needed to make my choice. Ninjago has become one of my favourite themes along the years, and now the second theme I personally try to collect, and Ninjago City has since its release been one of my favourite sets ever. Both finalists are great, even more than great, and all the sets that have been through the competition are masterpieces and were so good to remind and see again.
The best set of the millennium is the UCS Hogwarts Castle and no amount of text or voting will ever change that in my book.
That being said, between these two it's an easy win for the Old Fishing Store.
It's an amazing display piece and it could also be a great play set. But, more important than that, it's something that originated from the fan community, not from a merchandise strategy to try to make up for the colossal failure that was The Ninjago Movie (and my God, what an awful movie it was).
The Ninjago City is big. Yes. And horrendous to look at. It's a mess of a set without a coherent design. It looks like something a 5 year old threw together when playing with LEGO. Except a 5 year old wouldn't have access to such an expensive set. It has zero display value and in 10 years, no one will care about it. It's not memorable in any way. As far as Asian themed stuff goes, the Temple of Airjitzu stood a better chance of becoming something memorable as it displays much better than the Ninjago City.
Heck, even the Ninjago Docks display better.
*sigh*
I missed the semi-finals. I actually missed several others along the way because I didn’t log in to this site every day.
This event was a fun idea, but I wish it would have had a more regular schedule with more time to vote (say, polls released every Sunday with 3-4 days to vote). Would have made it much easier to participate and probably would have had more involvement. (Facebook algorithms often showed these posts after voting ended.). Just some thoughts for next time.
Such a hard choice as I was really hoping Parisian Restaurant would be in the finals. Both the Fishing Store and Ninjago City are nice sets, but I would both not consider to be the best of this millennium. As I sold my Ninjago City set And still have the Fishing Store I will go with the latter, but still think Parisian Restaurant should be the winner.
@fulcrumbop said:
"These aren't the two best sets. Just how the random draw played out. A round robin would have been more accurate. Would have taken longer, but there it is."
You read my mind
Hard to vote because I don’t think either of these should have made it but I’m a good sport.
I voted against Ninjago City every round because it always felt too jumbled for my liking, but in the end it’s a far for interesting set than the Old Fishing Store.
Hard to vote because I don’t think either of these should have made it but I’m a good sport.
I voted against Ninjago City every round because it always felt too jumbled for my liking, but in the end it’s a far for interesting set than the Old Fishing Store.
Do you know what's in the bottom of Ninjago City? That's right, an Old Fishing Store. So by voting for Ninjago City, you are really voting for both. :-)
I still don't understand why people praise the techniques used in the Old Fishing Store. I've built it, and it's just a big square box! Ninjago City gets my vote.
Not excited about either choice, but I've done my civic duty.
I was hoping these two will make the final. I only own Old Fishing Store and i am sure this is the best set in my collection. Its thw first time in this compo that i read the advocates write ups. And what is written about NC is exactly what i think- this is the set that takes everything lego bricks offer right now- the multitude of different parts in all of the colours to create a master build oozing with details and stunnign building techniques. This is the top of the Lego system for the last two decades without any doubts. Thats why i give it my vote. In the same time i am soooo proud that the best set in my collection has made to the final as it shows i am not alone in my admiration for the imagination of RobenAnne!
Ninjago City got my vote because it's a wonderful building experience and despite liking how the fishing store looks, I obviously wasn't ever bothered enough to pick it up. However, that is just my opinion.
Pretty sure that the Old Fishing Store is actually equally excellent. TBH all the sets that were nominated are all equally excellent... your favourite set is still the best set of the millennium, irrespective of what the result of the voting is. I see no reason not to vote, I see no reason to be upset by the finalists or the eventual winner either... just because many people don't agree with you doesn't make you wrong.
Less is more, so please vote old fishing store!
I don't own either set but have never had an interest in Ninjago. As such, I'm voting for the Old Fishing Store.
Ideas has been a great path to acquiring sets that would otherwise not be available. Their packaging and instruction books are of top quality. We receive photos and information about the fans' submissions and how the designers at LEGO convert the concepts into actual sets. My biggest appreciation for LEGO Ideas has to be the printed parts rule (No stickers) which is rarely broken (looking at you Old Fishing Store) but is understandable in a few instances. The Saturn V has so many prints that it is surprising how affordably priced it was. This platform is a continuous option for those who dream of getting their passions put into production. That alone makes it the best set released regardless of which model represents the theme.
Thank you Huw for creating this wonderfully distracting contest for the past two weeks. I think all 16 sets should be tagged Best Set 2000/Winner in the metadata. I voted for OFS because it's an Ideas set and I don't really care more for either one.
Ninjago City all the way.
Don't think I can advocate better for it better than @Brainslugged . Both advocates did an excellent job.
I almost considered getting a second as I loved the build so much. Guess I'll just have to tear it down and rebuild it someday. Just as Brainslugged I have no interest in the Ninjago theme itself. I can name most main characters if pressed to perhaps. I really know nothing of the story. Was really more into the Creator Expert Modulars for large style buildings.
Yet when this hit the shelves I was wowed. Now I guess to many its seems chaotic and disorganized by what I've read over the last few rounds. But honestly isn't this what a city block normally looks like. Sure its crammed onto a single plate however these are the contrainsts of LEGO.
The colour and decor is also appealing to me. Some other themes especially one not to be named can be vary monochromatic or stick to a very basic colour palette. Yet here we were give such variety . This is the spice of life!
The functions built in were like discovering little gems along the way. I remember building the device to "cook" the crab. Loved the bits of creativity along the way.
Sure there are a couple sides that are somewhat blander but frankly this doesn't bother me very much. They aren't full walls like is often the case in modulars and again this is quite realistic as buildings to the side and back aren't nearly as decorated as the front.
I guess I could go on........
In the end it doesn't really matter. We will all still have what we feel is our favourite. Happy to see that one of my original five made it to the final.
P.S. As has been mentioned by a few others what I do love about this final is that we have an in house theme and LEGO Ideas representing the two best sets. Don't think it could have turned out better.
I think a lot more sets deserve to be in the finals, this 2 are great but not that much
Ideas has had such a big impact on how I view and interact with LEGO that I have to vote the Old Fishing Store, but I do hope to own the Ninjago City set someday because it is beautiful. Two great sets to choose between!
Ninjago City is one of the sets I nominated, but during the course of this competition, the fans advocating for the Old Fishing Store have really won me over. I find myself browsing the prices on Bricklink even though I can’t afford it right now. I was fully prepared to vote for it as The Set of the Millennium.
However, BrainSlugged has won me back. They convinced me that, as more and more time passes, Ninjago City will stand out as *the* set of this era. The impact of the Lego Movies on the Lego community can not be overstated, and while the Ninjago Movie was the least successful, it gave us this set which is beloved by fans around the world like me who know next-to-nothing about Ninjago.
The Old Fishing Store is an amazing set, and this competition has proven to me that I need to own it. But there will be many more amazing Lego Ideas sets — the Lego Grand Piano is already a next-level achievement.
But Ninjago City stands alone, and we may never see its likes again as an official set.
My final vote goes to Ninjago City.
I have owned both, built both, parted-out both for use in MOCs. Both are fantastic sets, but what is comes down to for me is...which one did I learn the most from. And THAT, hands down, goes to Ninjango City. There were build techniques used that I'd never encountered before and when you are a "designer / builder" it's that kind of info that's invaluable.
I really hate to pass up the OFH, as it's a fantastic looking set, but if I have to make a choice, it comes down to what advances my knowledge of building with LEGO over how cool does this look.
Both sets are brilliant in their own way.
The Old Fishing Store wins this, only because it is a highly detailed complete model.
Ninjago city has many interesting play features, but is an incomplete model, requiring at least the City Docks set to "complete" it..
@Minifig290 said:
"In all honesty dont think I can vote, still heartbroken that the Parisian Resturant lost to Ninjago City."
exactly
I would have hoped that this round would have been between PR & SV, even though it would have been tough to choose between them. When they were both knocked out of the running, I thought that voting for either one of these would not be as tough. I was wrong.
Both of these sets fall into the category of chaos in their end build, just the opposite of PR or SV, both sleek & elegant. As both of the advocates state (both well done) that these sets are not the usual LEGO set. One is a MOC, the other looks like a MOC made by children. Which shall I choose, OFS with it natural mature colors jammed with details with one focus -fishing, or NC which is full of color & crazy parts usage with many different shops, like a shopping mall. Just the opposite of each other. Tough decision. Regardless of which set does win here, all the sets nominated are all great sets!
The poll doesn't require an account in order to cast the vote, this makes the voting easier and allows more people to participate, however I've noticed that it's possible to vote multiple times if the cookies are cleaned from the browser and the page reloaded.
Are redundant votes from the same IP removed from the total? Otherwise, I wonder if this 'security breach' is the reason of some unexpected results in the previous bouts.
Good luck for those who like these.
RIP Saturn V
@lemish34 said:
"If you haven’t built OFS & NC yet, you can’t comment that they are worse than one you have built!
What if, one day, you actually open one and build it.... and decide it’s the best set ever?
Your comment today would look pretty silly!
"
I own over a thousand sets I have built over the years, plus on top of my own I have built over a hundred of the largest sets LEGO has ever made (and that includes HC, UCS MF, 10030, 75252, and, funnily enough, NC) for other people who bought them but then weren't up to the task. Add to that countless sets by companies like Xingbao, Qman, Cobi, CaDa, MegaBloks/Construx, BlueBrixx etc.
I therefor think it is fair to say that I know what makes a good set and what makes a perfect one. And I can indeed compare NC and the Saturn V even though the NC that I built isn't the one that is sitting MISB in my attic.
The Saturn V from that experience trumps all the other fifteen on the list, by a mile. Problem is, many people just look at the end result and think it is just a "bland white cylinder". By that logic I could call NC a "jumbled mess" - which of course it isn't.
Like I said, NC is a great set, no question about it, it surely belongs in a Top 10 of the best sets of all time, perhaps even Top 5, but from my experience I simply cannot call (or vote) it the best when to me it clearly isn't.
This to me is also not anything to do with the "fun" aspect of the competition (actually my daughters where the ones who were mad at the voters when I told them the results, not me). And to anyone even bringing the pandemic into the mix, what the hell has that got to do with anything? If we let everything in our lives be compared to that, we wouldn't be able to have any kind of fun at all anymore, and a competition like this would be the least of our problems.
I have both, although, only OFS is built. I have even “spookified” it to make at look like an old building set in a marsh, and display it every Halloween. It is an amazing set, BUT....
I still voted for Ninjago City. Both sets are loaded with detail. The crazy part with NC, is that there is an entire second set, that completely adds on. The size, scope, detail... the ability to make something to make a true city scape. One can make an elegant piece like Parisian, but to make the organized chaos of a city work in a set.... it is that much harder. When you add in the fact that this is a kid’s theme, and they put out a set with this much detail and it is not a vehicle...I find it amazing Lego made this set.
I applaud both sets, but NInjago City will continually have my vote.
Old Fishing Store all the way!!!
Ninjago City by far!
@DFX said:
"The poll doesn't require an account in order to cast the vote, this makes the voting easier and allows more people to participate, however I've noticed that it's possible to vote multiple times if the cookies are cleaned from the browser and the page reloaded.
Are redundant votes from the same IP removed from the total? Otherwise, I wonder if this 'security breach' is the reason of some unexpected results in the previous bouts."
I've also noticed this issue. Somehow, I have the ability to vote from my phone as well as my laptop, even though I'm logged in on both.
Anyway, I don't care for either of these sets much, but I think Ninjago City is generally more impressive - I voted for that (only once, of course).
@DFX said:
"The poll doesn't require an account in order to cast the vote, this makes the voting easier and allows more people to participate, however I've noticed that it's possible to vote multiple times if the cookies are cleaned from the browser and the page reloaded.
Are redundant votes from the same IP removed from the total? Otherwise, I wonder if this 'security breach' is the reason of some unexpected results in the previous bouts."
Yeah, it's weird. I usually try to vote once, and just leave from there, because sometimes it reloads. With one of the previous rounds I forgot and voted twice, but the set won by a few hundred, so it didn't make a difference. Also, most sets win by hundreds of votes, so even if someone voted a lot, it wouldn't make much of a difference.
Come on my second choice - Ninjago City - I like the look of the fishing store, but for appeal, VFM, showcase its got be the city - go Ninja !!
Yes! I've been advocating for NINJAGO City every step of the way, and now it looks poised to be the best set of the millennium (so far). The more I play with it and admire it, the more I am convinced of this. It even outstrips the sets I nominated (though I admit NINJAGO City would've been on my list if I could make a top 10 or top 6, even).
Nothing else made by LEGO so far this century has better expressed the ethos of the brick. You imagine, you build, and you are free to make whatever story you'd like in a zany world that seems to always offer more possibilities than are immediately visible. If that isn't LEGO, then I don't know what is!
Old Fishing Store. Absolutely.
Mainly, to acknowledge the designer's creativity. This set IS the best of the millennium, by far.
Secondly, to homage TLG for having allowed Lego fans worldwide - through the Ideas theme - to let their creativity match professional Lego designers' works, as in the case of the Old Fishing Store set.
Go OFS!
@elisewong18 said:
"Thank you Huw for creating this wonderfully distracting contest for the past two weeks. I think all 16 sets should be tagged Best Set 2000/Winner in the metadata. "
Great idea!
@DFX said:
"The poll doesn't require an account in order to cast the vote, this makes the voting easier and allows more people to participate, however I've noticed that it's possible to vote multiple times if the cookies are cleaned from the browser and the page reloaded.
Are redundant votes from the same IP removed from the total? Otherwise, I wonder if this 'security breach' is the reason of some unexpected results in the previous bouts."
Yes they are. Second and subsequent votes from the same IP are discarded and there are other safeguards in place, too.
@shotgunchipmunk said:
"*sigh*
I missed the semi-finals. I actually missed several others along the way because I didn’t log in to this site every day.
This event was a fun idea, but I wish it would have had a more regular schedule with more time to vote (say, polls released every Sunday with 3-4 days to vote). Would have made it much easier to participate and probably would have had more involvement. (Facebook algorithms often showed these posts after voting ended.). Just some thoughts for next time."
I didn't want it to drag on forever: people would get bored with it.
I think it's safe to say that the length of time voting is open for has had no bearing on any of the results, except the Rollercoaster/Castle one, when it could have gone either way.
I can tell you now which set will win, and could have done an hour after voting started. It won't change overnight unless something dramatic happens!
Where's the "they're both kinda lame" option? I don't want to skew the results by randomly picking between two very unimpressive sets.
Ninjago City
These 2 are GREAT sets but NO WAY best of the millennium.
It should've been the Millennium Falcon UCS vs The Saturn V.
Imagine going to someone on the street and saying, man you know what the BEST Lego set is the last 20 years? A Fishing store.
They'd laugh hysterically once you showed them that huge Falcon and the beautiful rocket.
Now the Fishing store is a fine detailed model. I think it's great but to have it represent Lego as the be all for the last 20 years? No way.
NinjaGo City is also an INCREDIBLE model, and at the time the price was equally great for all that detail and mini-scenes throughout but a cyberpunk cityscape as the be all Lego set? Still no.
You know, there's been a few news correspondents you see at home, Zoom-ing their reports from their basements, or home offices and I've seen 3 Lego Saturn V models in the background. Clear, not oh is it a regular model. Clearly see the Lego Saturn V rockets in their on-air shots.
@Polynices said:
"Where's the "they're both kinda lame" option? I don't want to skew the results by randomly picking between two very unimpressive sets."
Out of the top 20 sets, I only owned 8 of them, down to the last 4 and I am lucky to say I have two of each of them so I'm delighted! My money is on Ningago City but it could go either way!
Ninjago City gets my vote. It is a wonderful set in its own right and also has a special place in my heart. It is the first set my girlfriend and I bought together. Today we're in the hospital and with a little bit of luck, tomorrow we'll welcome our first child.
@BramFokke said:
"Ninjago City gets my vote. It is a wonderful set in its own right and also has a special place in my heart. It is the first set my girlfriend and I bought together. Today we're in the hospital and with a little bit of luck, tomorrow we'll welcome our first child. "
Congratulations! The imminent birth if my first child 9 years ago brought me out of my dark ages. I discovered modular buildings at the same time and thought I'd better start buying them for when she was older.
I don't really have a horse in this race but I've learned from it--it's neat just how important details are too everyone. It's pretty clear that high detail determined this contest and I wasn't expecting that.
@BramFokke said:
"Ninjago City gets my vote. It is a wonderful set in its own right and also has a special place in my heart. It is the first set my girlfriend and I bought together. Today we're in the hospital and with a little bit of luck, tomorrow we'll welcome our first child. "
Congratulations Bram!
Think about, how will you look at the set 10 years later, 15 years later, or 20 years later? Think about, the music that you still remembers from 20 years ago, the art, the movie. What do they have in common?
Will a perfectly rendered white cylinder gets remembered for it's unique and complex building technique? Maybe, but only for those who have built it before.
Will an artistically built modular building gets remembered for it's detail and true to origin style? Maybe, but many good quality sets are able to achieve this too.
In my opinion what makes us remember, is something that truly stands out from the crowd, the little extra element which transports it from excellent to exceptional. And if we are talking about Lego, I see an exceptional set being one that make good use of all those plain plastic bricks we call Lego, and make it into something that is full with imagination, interesting to build, and fun to play with. Accuracy still is a slight behind, to Imagination, from an Artistic perspective.
So I vote for the one and only set that is the most imaginative, most vibrant, and most unique among all.
@Huw said:
" @DFX said:
"The poll doesn't require an account in order to cast the vote, this makes the voting easier and allows more people to participate, however I've noticed that it's possible to vote multiple times if the cookies are cleaned from the browser and the page reloaded.
Are redundant votes from the same IP removed from the total? Otherwise, I wonder if this 'security breach' is the reason of some unexpected results in the previous bouts."
Yes they are. Second and subsequent votes from the same IP are discarded and there are other safeguards in place, too.
"
I live with 6 family members who are all interested in the bout. Just wondering if their votes count, as they're on their personal devices. It's not serious, as it will likely make no difference, but just wanted to know. Thanks.
Just for what it’s worth, ninjago city actually doesn’t fall for the modular’s usual flaw of having two detailed sides and two bland sides. All four sides of ninjago city feature storefronts and beautiful detail, to the degree that it’s ‘sequel,’ ninjago city docks, actually connects to the details on the back of the original set rather than the front.
Too easy. Ninjago City. The story that goes along with the set made this build so much fun & enjoyable.
I cant believe Parisian Restaurant wasnt chosen, its practically a disgrace. Personally I fear Ninjago City will win just because its Ninjago, similar to people voting for SW projects on Lego Ideas (when they were allowed on Lego Ideas) just because they were from SW.
Hopefully the Fishing Store wins, although I still think PR is better then both OFS and NC.
I like them both (but Not better that 10149) and couldn't decide so i asked a friend to chose...
Ninja go!
I would’ve gone with Parisian for President, but I thought the Fishing Store was good enough.
Both are great sets. But I will have to pick OFS. Simply because it's looks better, more elegant, and one of a kind. NC is a great set but unfortunately I have zero interest in ninjago so I cannot vote for it. But at the end, I have a feeling NC will win seeing the results from the previous rounds. Neither were my top 2 choice of course.
This was a hard decision but Ninjago City gets my vote. It has such a big wow factor with all the different shops and apartments, whereas the OFS is just one business with a drab color scheme. Ninjago City captures what Lego is all about, color and creativity.
I remember seeing NC and thinking it had some really awesome parts and interesting builds but overall it just looks like an jumbled mess to me. If I had bought it it would have been solely for all the parts. OFS to me is a very interesting build overall even though I'm not a fan of the color. Sadly I own neither but would have bought OFS of they hadn't sold out by the time I came to appreciate it.
Considering how many car/vehicle sets LEGO produce in general I find it interesting that 6 of the 8 finalist sets were buildings, and the last two space-ships.
And the final are between two buildings.
I love both of these sets and they were both immediately put on my "must buy as soon as I have the money" list. My family is from "down east" so the OFS definitely tugs at my heartstrings...but...NC...wow...just, wow! When I first saw the photos of it, I could not believe what I was seeing and did not believe that it was legit. I thought it was something like that "Friends Hotel" modular mock-up that had been making the rounds a few years ago. I thought that there was NO WAY that LEGO could possibly make a set that seemed like a perfect blend of Big Hero 6 and the cyberpunk aesthetic. There was just SO. MUCH. happening there. I wanted more pictures...and more...and MORE! They tried to recapture that "lightning in a bottle" with The Docks add-on but, it didn't even come close, IMO. NC is a STELLAR set. Better even (IMO) than the UCS Millennium Falcon (which was my 'benchmark' set). I am thrilled to see it in this final. Should it lose, I would be sad but, I could not be 'upset', since both finalists are truly outstanding pieces of art. These two sets and the Falcon are my top three reasons to love LEGO. A fan could do worse. So much worse...
I am not particularly a fan of Ninjago, though I like some of the outfits, and some of the villains. Couldn't care less about the story, or the fact that NC comes from the movie. I am voting for it simply because, IMO, it is the better set. A truly awesome spectacle of what LEGO can become.
Any chance we can get a vote count of the original nominations, keen to see the order of the 16.
I find it funny that the overwhelming reaction to NC here in the comments is completely opposite to all the reactions from people I have witnessed towards the set in person, even at the LEGO store while it was on display there.
Interesting...
Brainslugged said everything about NC better than I ever could!
Since I first built Ninjago City, my feeling was that it was the best set that I had ever built. It was pure pleasure, surprise, and joy in every section. The building techniques were exciting, and the humor kept me laughing. As a display NC bursts with color, texture, and detail - it feels archaeological in its growth with its funky Asian vibe. As a theme my love is for LOTR. The Ninjago story does nothing for this grandmother. I have and have built all but one of the Modular Buildings (*MS* *cough*) and most large Creator/Expert models
The Fishing Store makes a nice grown-up display, but it was a boring build to me. Once put together I never took it apart, because I knew I would never build it again – and it makes a nice display.
Well I guess, as the world's premiere children's building toy, it's probably fully justified that a children's set wins. But I'll give a futile vote to The Old Fishing Store, to help it on it's way to a respectable silver medal!
I am honestly surprised how well Old Fishing Store has done in this competition. I think it is a wonderful set but I'm not sure I would call it the best LEGO set of the millennium (yes I know its wins were just in paired matches). It just always seemed like the "safe/conservative" option in all of its match-ups (Tree House, Hogwart's Castle, Saturn V, Ninjago City). I recognize that those 4 sets may be a bit more polarizing than OFS but I sense that defenders of those 4 sets like those sets far more passionately than people like OFS. Of course this is just my opinion and there are probably people out there who truly love OFS and will champion it as the best set ever to their grave!
@Huw said:
" @elisewong18 said:
"Thank you Huw for creating this wonderfully distracting contest for the past two weeks. I think all 16 sets should be tagged Best Set 2000/Winner in the metadata. "
Great idea!"
How about a “Best set of the first 20 years”? From first sets with real mini figs to 1999...
Match the winners for fun?
What's with cylinder fans whining here after their idol is long gone. I regret voting for that cylinder to get rid of the gray disc. Already wondering if gray disc fans might be less obnoxious.
Anyway, back to what matters, congratulations to both finalists, no matter which will win. So glad to see real creations here.
I'm not going to lie, I clicked on this article fully intending to vote for Old Fishing Store, one of my biggest non-purchases regrets. But brainslugged's brilliant advocacy completely won me over, so that I couldn't help but vote for Ninjago City. Whichever set wins, both would be worthy winners.
I know this is blasphemy to a bug group here but here I go. I think the Saturn V love overlaps with love for the actual Saturn V and what a massive achievement it is both technically and historically. As accurate and amazing the design may be, it's essentially a long cylinder outside of the NASA-loving community. I don't think it could ever be seen as the quintessential Lego creation.
@B_Space_Man said:
"I know this is blasphemy to a bug group here but here I go. I think the Saturn V love overlaps with love for the actual Saturn V and what a massive achievement it is both technically and historically. As accurate and amazing the design may be, it's essentially a long cylinder outside of the NASA-loving community. I don't think it could ever be seen as the quintessential Lego creation."
To riff on what @B_Space_Man said:
I know this is blasphemy to a bug group here but here I go. I think the MCS Millenium Falcon love overlaps with love for the actual Star Wars movies and what a massive achievement they were both technically and historically. As accurate and amazing the design may be, it's essentially yet another Star Wars vehicle outside of the Star Wars-loving community. I don't think it could ever be seen as the quintessential Lego creation.
@Huw said:
"I can tell you now which set will win, and could have done an hour after voting started. It won't change overnight unless something dramatic happens!"
NC wins by a landslide I am sure. The comments say it all. At the start of this I would never have thought the NC would win. Great for play but I can't imagine many kids got this set, other than BIG kids. You can't argue with the results as it really is a popularity contest and which set you would love to own. I can see lots of people comment they don't own the set but voted for it so this bears out that NC is the most desirable set in the last 20 years but not many actually own it. Maybe time to re-release it?
I expected Saturn V or Parisian Restaurant to win at the start and neither made the final. PR got close though.
@vidiont I can’t tell if you are embracing my premise or mocking it, but I actually agree. I don’t think an IP outside of Lego should represent Lego as a creative medium. Even if they Falcon is a kick-ass design that I hope to own in the future. Lol
@B_Space_Man I'm actually endorsing your perspective 100%. I think you could swap out any licensed theme LEGO has and your statement would be true. But, those themes probably pull in the majority of TLG's profits. So, thank goodness for the special interest groups (I guess) as they allow LEGO to produce the interesting sets, like the Old Fishing Hole and Ninjago City and the Saturn V and the Parisian Restaurant...and the Roller Coaster, etc.
I'm on the coast of Maine and voted for a set that looks like a building a few miles from me. Care to guess which one? (Hint: There are no ninja cities around here.)
I own none of these two and I own the other two from the semi-final. To me, the best set of 2000s is 42043 Mercedes Benz Arocs 3245 but this was not in the list of 16 - I believe there were no Technic at all in that list. From what was on the list my vote definitely goes to the Saturn V. Not having the last two finalists, I will leave the vote to those with a vested interest. That said, if someone would present me two "open" box and said, you can have only one of those, I would pick Ninjago City. If the boxes were MISB, I would have to check the resell value before deciding which one to pick (don't know which one has appreciated the most between the two). As mentioned by someone else before, a round robin would surely have produced a much different outcome.
On first viewing, both Ninjago City and Old Fishing Store were priority purchases for me, but I was weirdly unsatisfied with the build process of the latter - it was just a bit boring and basic. I found myself rushing the build a little, in anticipation of how lovely it would look once finished. On the other hand, building Ninjago City was a completely immersive experience, with so many interesting details and techniques to marvel over. After building each bag, i would just sit back and admire the section i'd just built, maybe place the figures in different areas, creating different scenes and stories in my head etc. You know it's a spectacular build when, once it is finished, you are almost tempted to tear it down and start building it all over again, just to re-create the experience! :)
Tl;dr, I own both of these sets and imho, there is no contest. Ninjago City is just the superior build in every way.
Honestly love both sets, just glad that none of the excessive amount of Ideas space sets made it through.
If the contest had been between the Temple of Airjitzu and the Old Fishing Store, I would have had a hard time choosing as they are both amazing... But as I never liked Ninjago City, it makes things quite easy for me: go Old Fishing Store!! Not to mention that my son's name is Anton :-)
@waterytowers said:
"I expected Saturn V or Parisian Restaurant to win at the start and neither made the final. PR got close though. "
Actually, the Saturn V got just as close, if not closer, going by the distribution of votes between it and the OFS in the semi-final.
What saddens me most in a contest that was supposed to find the best set is that the Saturn V will have lost to the OFS mainly because the haters voted against it instead of for the OFS. Which is even more of a shame as after the OFS had made it to the final those same haters now seem to vote against it in favor of NC. Judging by all those comments like "I don't own the set", "I missed out on it" etc., a lot of those who voted for NC haven't even built it so are just going by looks and what they have heard about the set, so they are not really qualified to judge what is best. It's therefor impossible for me to take the end result seriously. It's not the best set, it's the most popular for people who just like the looks or Ninjago as a theme - or apparently hate Space related stuff, going by the many unqualified comments in that direction.
Voted for the Fishing Store even though at this point I don't really care lol. Both are nice sets, but I don't own either, and they're both far from my favorites, especially when there were so many sets in the competition that I did like much more.
Go old fishing store!
(I do like Ninjago City as well though).
I don’t usually buy sets at the initial launch, preferring to wait to see if there will be a possible sale. But the Parisian Restaurant and Ninjago City were the exceptions. I bought both as soon as I was able because I was captivated by both and didn’t want to miss out. Still two of my favorite sets proudly on display at home. I would have preferred the Parisian Restaurant be in the finals but will be equally happy to have Ninjago City be crowned the Best Lego Set of the Millenium!
Ninjago City for the win! My kids and I built it ONE bag a week when lockdown began. Have to say, this is one of the only sets where it feels fine playing mid-build! Also, when friends come 'round for dinner, they always marvel at Ninjago City on display. Because Ninjago City is lots of mini-builds, it has inspired me and my kids to build extensions too, which exemplifies the heart of LEGO IMO.
I have enjoyed this competition and I enjoyed reading the passion that each person commenting has for their own idea of the greatest set.
Honestly I cannot choose between these two, and either set will be worthy winners.
Personally, I am just glad that Lego has so many great sets, and I get to buy the ones that I enjoy and have my own personal set of the Millennium.
This was really fun to be a part of. Looking forward to seeing the stats afterwards. I didn't get involved until round two, but I've been coming back daily so I don't miss out.
@piteous said:
"Both sets have sticker sheets, which imo should automatically disqualify both from the title."
+1
I might have missed it, but did we ever get an official review of NINJAGO City?