Review: 40502 Brick Moulding Machine
Posted by Huw,
The 1204-piece 40502 The Brick Moulding Machine is now available exclusively in the LEGO House in Billind, Denmark, priced at 599DKK, which is about £70 and $100.
It's the second in the series of numbered limited edition sets available there, following on from 40501 The Wooden Duck which was released last year.
It's unfortunate then that virtually no one, other than locals, can currently get hold of it, but at least there should be plenty still available when the world does finally open up again.
Box and contents
I was surprised how hefty the flip-top box is: 38x26x11cm is far bigger than is normal for a £70/$100 set.
The back of the box explains how the company transitioned from wooden toys to plastic ones when Ole Kirk Kristiansen purchased an injection moulding machine in 1947 and the story is continued in the preface to the instructions.
At no point on the box or in the instructions is it mentioned that this is an ENGEL injection moulding machine although I assume some licensing agreement must have been negotiated to be able to produce the set.
It's certainly a good advertisement for the German company: a model of one of its machines made from parts manufactured by one of its machines...
Parts are divided into bags numbered one to eight which makes it much easier to build the model in bite-sized chunks, which I appreciate.
There's just one sticker in the set, for the control panel on the front of it.
Construction
Unsurprisingly, construction begins at the bottom and works upwards. Visible in this picture, but not so well in subsequent ones is the white conveyer belt on the left, along which the freshly moulded pieces exit the machine.
The front control panel is built as a separate subassembly before being attached with Technic pins. The lime green door and frame are new in this set. There are five of each.
This section, the left-hand side of the machine, contains a simple Technic mechanism that moves one half of the element mould back and forth by turning the handle sticking out the back. This mates with the other half, as you'll see below. The machine in the LEGO House produces red 2x4 bricks which are represented here by the ends of jumper plates protruding from their surrounds.
The sides of the machine, including three sliding doors, are added before the machinery at the right-hand-end is inserted.
This is the part of the machine that takes the raw ABS granulate at one end, heats it, then injects it into the mould, which is yet to be added to the model.
The last stage of assembly of the machine is to add the other half of the mould and complete the bodywork...
...before adding the finishing touches, including lights at the top of the machine which indicate its status.
Finally, a very substantial 16x34 base, clad with around 100 tiles, is constructed. The 1x8 tiles are printed and of course one of them is unique to this set.
The other unique printed part in the set is a 2x2 tile representing the finished article: six 2x4 bricks in what appears to be paper packaging. When I last visited the House they were packaged in regular plastic bags, and I've not seen any mention of them being packed in paper bags yet, so perhaps this is planned for the future.
The completed model
It's much bigger than I had anticipated: about 29cm long by 19cm high. It's a faithful replica of the machine in the LEGO House and its generous size had allowed the designer Markus Rollbühler, working from a sketch model by LEGO House model maker Stuart Harris, to include a lot of authentic details.
It is, of course, a display model. Nobody is going to get much fun trying to play with it, but nevertheless there are some moving parts.
The sliding doors on the sides open which, on the real machine, allow access to the mechanisms inside for maintenance and switching out moulds.
The doors at the bottom conceal the machine's control system.
Twisting the knob on the back of the machine moves one half of the mould towards the other. At this point in the machine's cycle, the molten plastic is injected into the mould's cavities
The mould is then separated to reveal six newly minted 2x4 bricks. On the real machine, these are then ejected into the chute below and onto the white conveyer belt to transport them out of the machine.
The machine looks pretty good without the base, but even better upon it.
Verdict
Why would anyone want a model of a boxy-looking industrial machine? The only reason we, as discerning LEGO fans do, is that this particular type and those of its ilk are used to create our beloved brick, so we have some sort of affection for them, strange though that might seem.
Consequently, I, like many others I suspect, have long coveted Inside Tour set 4000001 Moulding Machines, so the release of a similar model is most welcome.
It's an accurate rendition of the real machine packed with plenty of interesting details which, together with the striking lime green colour scheme, make it an attractive display model, one that will take pride of place on my shelf.
It's such a shame, then, that it's only available from a place where 99% of the world's population can't actually travel to at the moment, so you'll either have to wait patiently for normality to resume or bite the bullet and buy one on eBay or BrickLink for around 1000DKK. Even at that price I think it represents good value given the size of the model and number of pieces.
I'm therefore undecided whether to commend LEGO or condemn it. It's commendable that such a specialised model has been produced at all, particularly given it will be unable to fulfil its primary purpose of encouraging people to visit the LEGO House at the moment. On the other hand, it's unfortunate that such a desirable set has been released at a time when it is going to be out of reach for the majority of people. The reason for that is not LEGO's fault, of course.
Still, if you need another reason to visit Billund once you are able to, you can add acquiring this set to your list.
This, my son, is where you were born...
I am eternally grateful to the LEGO House for sending me the set to review. All expressed opinions are my own.
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52 comments on this article
I love the goats at the end!
There's only one problem: how can there be a family lineage if all of the goats are clones?
Beautiful set
All of the unique pieces can be ordered off of Bricks and Pieces, so if someone wants to make it then the only thing they'll be missing is the sticker.
Great set. Would love to pick it up one day but for now I have to settle for ordering the exclusive parts on B&P. This is, in my opinion, one of the best possible exclusives for Lego House as it certainly is something i'd pick up while there.
I love the irony of the goat picture. Isn’t the rumor for why there are no more goats that the mold was broken? Anywho, great review!
I hope Lego takes note of the last picture. Do you need more hints? Moulding machines and goats? Perfect combination!
Please make it happen, bring back the goat!!
Are lego goats technically an endangered species? Since they're no longer being molded and as such thier population is only decreasing.
Looks like a nice display set. Are the real machines lime green?
I find it odd in your conclusion that in one breath you describe how niche a product this is (really only appealing to the specific subset of Lego fans whose interest extends even to the manufacturing process of the bricks themselves), and then go on to criticize the set for only being sold in a place tailor-made for people to learn more about the company and its history. Like the previous "Inside Tour" exclusive molding machine set, a set like this seems like it might be far too niche to effectively market and stock for a worldwide release. But by marketing it specifically to people who are already dedicated enough to make the trip to the company's base of operations, they can more effectively sell something like this to people who have formed an emotional memory of the subject matter, as a souvenir and keepsake to remind them of their time there.
"Why would anyone want a model of a boxy-looking industrial machine?"
I work in a plastic factory so having one of these at home would be pretty cool.
This set is too meta for me. I appreciate the working features. I think a good Lego set builds something we'd like to have but most likely can't like an X-Wing or a Ferrari - nobody wakes up from a dream that they just installed an injection molding machine in their house though. ;-)
I would absolutely buy this, if it was more widely available. It is a fun and unusual display piece, and it would be perfect for a minifigure-scale factory or design firm. I could imagine The LEGO Batman fighting some goons in a random office building, and one of them "accidentally" falls into the machine, only to survive and later become . . . The Mould, TLBM's new arch-nemesis.
^ The real machine is something around 2m tall so this is more Scala doll scale than minifig scale.
@Romans122 said:
"I love the goats at the end!
There's only one problem: how can there be a family lineage if all of the goats are clones?"
Perhaps old LEGO goats are recycled into new ones.
@Lyichir said:
"I find it odd in your conclusion that in one breath you describe how niche a product this is (really only appealing to the specific subset of Lego fans whose interest extends even to the manufacturing process of the bricks themselves), and then go on to criticize the set for only being sold in a place tailor-made for people to learn more about the company and its history. "
I wasn't criticising the fact it's a LEGO House exclusive, but pointing out that it's a shame it's only available from one place that, at the moment at least, nobody can actually get to.
In normal times those of us in the UK could get to Billund and back in a day for about £20, so doing so just to buy this would have been perfectly feasible, and a good excuse to do so.
Obtaining this is a definite "to do" item on my next trip to Billund....which I hope is sooner rather than later.
I guess the locals in Billund can always resell them while they wait for the international tourist to return. When you mentioned conveyor belt I was thinking of the ones used in Lego mines and imaging bricks falling off the end if you turned the handle, but I guess you would also need a way of loading and then ejecting the bricks from the mold first which would be an interesting Lego ideas project.
They are doing just that!
Make it in blue, give it some trans yellow doors, put it on a gray base ... and all I see is moonbase, Moonbase, MOONBASE!!!
@graymattr said:
"This set is too meta for me. I appreciate the working features. I think a good Lego set builds something we'd like to have but most likely can't like an X-Wing or a Ferrari - nobody wakes up from a dream that they just installed an injection molding machine in their house though. ;-)"
Well, I wouldn’t want to park an x-wing in my house either ;-) and with a moulding machine, you could make any new Lego piece you want.
Secured one from bricklink for about £150, plus there be VAT/customs charges no doubt! but love this sorta set, and a shame its not been released given current situation for house visit.
@Casper_van_hobbes said:
" @graymattr said:
"This set is too meta for me. I appreciate the working features. I think a good Lego set builds something we'd like to have but most likely can't like an X-Wing or a Ferrari - nobody wakes up from a dream that they just installed an injection molding machine in their house though. ;-)"
Well, I wouldn’t want to park an x-wing in my house either ;-) and with a moulding machine, you could make any new Lego piece you want.
"
Not going to lie, I have done some research into the legal and financial possibilities of small scale molding machines to recreate retired Lego parts; like casting say Bionicle masks in colors they were never publicly released in. Actual production molds are thousands of dollars of investment, but they also have to be robust enough to make hundreds of thousands of pieces before replacing. A small aluminum CNC machined mold though would be appropriate for home use and casting bricks cheaply, since it doesn't need to be engineered for the same robustness an industrial machine mold needs and if it breaks after a hundred uses, well its unlikely the home user is ever going to mold that many pieces in the first place. I think it would be considered legal as long as the producer is not selling them, thus violating Lego trademarks.
Trust me, its absurd, but really tempting. Would be a good way to recycle old broken Lego pieces too, melt them down and recast them as new custom parts.
Great set and, as always, great an honest review, thank you! The talk about a molding machine at home: so old school... who doesn't have a 3d printer at home to make your own bricks with your name in them?
@juulhorst said:
"Great set and, as always, great an honest review, thank you! The talk about a molding machine at home: so old school... who doesn't have a 3d printer at home to make your own bricks with your name in them?"
https://i.kym-cdn.com/entries/icons/facebook/000/006/759/both.jpg
Although seriously, 3D printers are nice but their tolerances are low, and their fit can be spotty at times. Still its amazing seeing how advanced 3D printers have become lately and I would also love to get my hands on one for the same purposes.
One of the pleasures of visiting a LEGO Store is being able to see some of the sets built and on display, especially those that I'll probably never buy or build like the Millennium Falcon, for example.
Being able to see them in a review like this is the next best thing. I don't have any interest in owning this set but it was nice to "walk around it" virtually.
Thanks, @Huw !
PLEASE LEGO....make this available globally for AFOLs. This is truly a great set symbolizing TLG.
Same as many of other exclusive sets I like it but cannot have it! It's always exclusive on Billund, Toys 'R'us, other stores, Comic Cons, etc. I am from a country that never have exclusives. Why this even exist? What is the problem on selling this online like other products? Basically only people that go there can have it. What about the others that cannot go? To be honest this only rewards locals not the fans. A bunch of hypocrites on Lego group (and some fans as well) to be honest !
@fakespacesquid said:
"All of the unique pieces can be ordered off of Bricks and Pieces, so if someone wants to make it then the only thing they'll be missing is the sticker."
The 1x8 tile printed with "The Brick Molding Machine" is available, as is the "Wooden Duck" tile from 40501, but the 1x8 tile printed with "LEGO House" that's used in multiple sets is not, and neither is the printed 2x2 tile representing 624210 . Also they are currently out of stock of black sausages!
Looks cool but that $1800 price tag (including plane ticket from the US) is a bit out of my budget
@FuddRuckus said:
" @fakespacesquid said:
"All of the unique pieces can be ordered off of Bricks and Pieces, so if someone wants to make it then the only thing they'll be missing is the sticker."
The 1x8 tile printed with "The Brick Molding Machine" is available, as is the "Wooden Duck" tile from 40501, but the 1x8 tile printed with "LEGO House" that's used in multiple sets is not, and neither is the printed 2x2 tile representing 624210 . Also they are currently out of stock of black sausages!"
The printed 2x2 tile (element 6339892) is 100% available and in stock
Status lights remind me of Ken Dodd's Tickle Stick.
@Joao_Master said:
"Same as many of other exclusive sets I like it but cannot have it! It's always exclusive on Billund, Toys 'R'us, other stores, Comic Cons, etc. I am from a country that never have exclusives. Why this even exist? What is the problem on selling this online like other products? Basically only people that go there can have it. What about the others that cannot go? To be honest this only rewards locals not the fans. A bunch of hypocrites on Lego group (and some fans as well) to be honest !"
LEGO wants to encourage people to visit the house and in normal times that is commendable and understandable. So, yes, "only people that go there can have it", but then also "people that go there can have it" and they'll go there to get it.
However, what I can't quite get my head around, and which didn't come across in my review is: why encourage people to visit by releasing the set when they can't? It would have made more sense to delay the release until things are back to normal.
Enterprising BrickLink sellers in Denmark are profiting from the situation because they are the only ones able to get to the House at the moment, and I guess I'd probably do the same.
@xboxtravis7992 said:
" @Casper_van_hobbes said:
" @graymattr said:
"This set is too meta for me. I appreciate the working features. I think a good Lego set builds something we'd like to have but most likely can't like an X-Wing or a Ferrari - nobody wakes up from a dream that they just installed an injection molding machine in their house though. ;-)"
Well, I wouldn’t want to park an x-wing in my house either ;-) and with a moulding machine, you could make any new Lego piece you want.
"
Not going to lie, I have done some research into the legal and financial possibilities of small scale molding machines to recreate retired Lego parts; like casting say Bionicle masks in colors they were never publicly released in. Actual production molds are thousands of dollars of investment, but they also have to be robust enough to make hundreds of thousands of pieces before replacing. A small aluminum CNC machined mold though would be appropriate for home use and casting bricks cheaply, since it doesn't need to be engineered for the same robustness an industrial machine mold needs and if it breaks after a hundred uses, well its unlikely the home user is ever going to mold that many pieces in the first place. I think it would be considered legal as long as the producer is not selling them, thus violating Lego trademarks.
Trust me, its absurd, but really tempting. Would be a good way to recycle old broken Lego pieces too, melt them down and recast them as new custom parts. "
Just get a 3D printer
Engel is not a German, but an Austrian company.
@Lyichir said:
"I find it odd in your conclusion that in one breath you describe how niche a product this is (really only appealing to the specific subset of Lego fans whose interest extends even to the manufacturing process of the bricks themselves), and then go on to criticize the set for only being sold in a place tailor-made for people to learn more about the company and its history. Like the previous "Inside Tour" exclusive molding machine set, a set like this seems like it might be far too niche to effectively market and stock for a worldwide release. But by marketing it specifically to people who are already dedicated enough to make the trip to the company's base of operations, they can more effectively sell something like this to people who have formed an emotional memory of the subject matter, as a souvenir and keepsake to remind them of their time there."
I wish LEGO sold this set a special corner of their LEGO site. Kind of digital version of that House.
So this set is a replica of the one inside the Lego House where you can press the button and watch a batch of bricks being produced and packaged, which you can then buy and take home.
You know what would be super cool?
If the set included a brick moulded by that very machine, which was used as part of the build.
I don’t know why Lego hadn’t thought of this.
I loved 40501 for many reasons, and was able to get it shipped overseas for a reasonable price. As interesting a model as this is, not sure it is worth the effort.
@fakespacesquid said:
[The printed 2x2 tile (element 6339892) is 100% available and in stock]
I see it in stock along with the duck's printed tiles.
I am tempted to try and build this from parts. Seems like the biggest hurdle would be the lack on instructions, as neither this nor the duck's instructions are available online. It is a little beyond my skill set to build it from photos.
"Why would anyone want a model of a boxy-looking industrial machine?"
Technic: Am I a joke to you?
It's a neat set, and I'm sure it will be coveted on the secondary market, but I don't have the shelf space to display something like this- every inch is precious and must go towards my other displays.
I really like it. It's a pity I'll never be able to get it.
@xboxtravis7992 said:
" @Casper_van_hobbes said:
" @graymattr said:
"This set is too meta for me. I appreciate the working features. I think a good Lego set builds something we'd like to have but most likely can't like an X-Wing or a Ferrari - nobody wakes up from a dream that they just installed an injection molding machine in their house though. ;-)"
Well, I wouldn’t want to park an x-wing in my house either ;-) and with a moulding machine, you could make any new Lego piece you want.
"
Not going to lie, I have done some research into the legal and financial possibilities of small scale molding machines to recreate retired Lego parts; like casting say Bionicle masks in colors they were never publicly released in. Actual production molds are thousands of dollars of investment, but they also have to be robust enough to make hundreds of thousands of pieces before replacing. A small aluminum CNC machined mold though would be appropriate for home use and casting bricks cheaply, since it doesn't need to be engineered for the same robustness an industrial machine mold needs and if it breaks after a hundred uses, well its unlikely the home user is ever going to mold that many pieces in the first place. I think it would be considered legal as long as the producer is not selling them, thus violating Lego trademarks.
Trust me, its absurd, but really tempting. Would be a good way to recycle old broken Lego pieces too, melt them down and recast them as new custom parts. "
What if someone who would be distributing a lot of Lego bricks got a machine, and included the special pieces with their customers' purchases of more legitimate Lego? Then the pieces are not technically being sold themselves . . .
@Huw said:
" @Joao_Master said:
"Same as many of other exclusive sets I like it but cannot have it! It's always exclusive on Billund, Toys 'R'us, other stores, Comic Cons, etc. I am from a country that never have exclusives. Why this even exist? What is the problem on selling this online like other products? Basically only people that go there can have it. What about the others that cannot go? To be honest this only rewards locals not the fans. A bunch of hypocrites on Lego group (and some fans as well) to be honest !"
LEGO wants to encourage people to visit the house and in normal times that is commendable and understandable. So, yes, "only people that go there can have it", but then also "people that go there can have it" and they'll go there to get it.
However, what I can't quite get my head around, and which didn't come across in my review is: why encourage people to visit by releasing the set when they can't? It would have made more sense to delay the release until things are back to normal. "
I think you might be thinking about it the wrong way. By releasing it now, perhaps they are intending to encourage more of the people who ARE able to visit (local Danes, or people from nearby countries that aren't currently under lockdown) to do so. I imagine the pandemic has been quite hard on a tourist facility like the Lego House, so rather than delay the release of a product sold exclusively there, they might benefit more from getting what sales and visitors they can from a release like this during a time when they need that business more than ever.
Put some space minifigs around and on it an it’s instantly an industrial space Playset
With that lime green colour scheme, this would perfectly compliment the Power Miners series!
@Lyichir said:
"I think you might be thinking about it the wrong way. By releasing it now, perhaps they are intending to encourage more of the people who ARE able to visit (local Danes, or people from nearby countries that aren't currently under lockdown) to do so. I imagine the pandemic has been quite hard on a tourist facility like the Lego House, so rather than delay the release of a product sold exclusively there, they might benefit more from getting what sales and visitors they can from a release like this during a time when they need that business more than ever.
"
The shop in the House is open but the rest is closed. Most of Europe is in some sort of lockdown and I suspect leisure travel is banned in Denmark, Germany and surrounding countries (I'm sure I'll be corrected if I'm wrong). It certainly is in the UK at the moment.
Releasing it now just antagonises people because they know they can't get hold of it.
But why should anybody feel antagonised? These sets are not blink-and-you-miss-it releases. They have a fairly long shelf life in the Lego House, so will definitely still be there when visiting Billund later this year (fingers crossed) or next year.
Just something to look forward to.
@Romans122 said:
"I love the goats at the end!
There's only one problem: how can there be a family lineage if all of the goats are clones?
"
Adoption, and age-based social hierarchies.
I doubt they licensed anything from Engel. There is no logo and they went out of their way to cover logos up in the promotional photos as well. 99.9% of people don’t know names of injection press manufacturers either, lol.
Really great set.
@FuddRuckus said:
" @fakespacesquid said:
"All of the unique pieces can be ordered off of Bricks and Pieces, so if someone wants to make it then the only thing they'll be missing is the sticker."
The 1x8 tile printed with "The Brick Molding Machine" is available, as is the "Wooden Duck" tile from 40501, but the 1x8 tile printed with "LEGO House" that's used in multiple sets is not, and neither is the printed 2x2 tile representing 624210 . Also they are currently out of stock of black sausages!"
I think those are blood sausages. I've seen them sold around Kyiv. Frightening, really.
@Huw said:
" @Lyichir said:
"I find it odd in your conclusion that in one breath you describe how niche a product this is (really only appealing to the specific subset of Lego fans whose interest extends even to the manufacturing process of the bricks themselves), and then go on to criticize the set for only being sold in a place tailor-made for people to learn more about the company and its history. "
I wasn't criticising the fact it's a LEGO House exclusive, but pointing out that it's a shame it's only available from one place that, at the moment at least, nobody can actually get to.
In normal times those of us in the UK could get to Billund and back in a day for about £20, so doing so just to buy this would have been perfectly feasible, and a good excuse to do so."
How do you get to Billund for £20?? I Iive in Copenhagen and a trip to Billund would cost me somewhere between £50-100. Unfair :D
Ryanair will set you back £20, so cheaper to go to billund from Luton, than from 250km away in Copenhagen, the bridge toll alone (if you go by car) is £25 :-)
Anyhow, I also live in Copenhagen, and visited Billund yesterday to collect my set of this and the Duck. They have put limits on how many set's any household can buy (don't know how they will enforce this), 5 for the Duck and 3 for the Moulding Machine.