Review: 40528 LEGO Brand Store
Posted by Huw,
LEGO has been producing models of brand stores to give away at store opening events since 2012, updating them every few years to keep them fresh and desirable.
The details we've been provided with are sketchy, but we believe this latest one, 40528, will replace 40145 next year as the gift with purchases exceeding $125 / €125 / £125 as and when new stores are opened.
I'm so used to seeing parts in numbered bags that it was a surprise to see that I'd have to tip out the parts from all seven bags at once!
The sticker sheet primarily consists of decorations to apply to 1x2 tiles to mimic LEGO boxes on the shelves.
The shop has a very modern design, in contrast with the more traditional storefront of 40305, the LEGO brand retail store from 2018. A plant climbs up the right-hand side and three in pots sit outside the shop, adding a bit of colour.
I know, I didn't apply the LEGO logo sticker very squarely!
The back is plain other than a loading bay with a roll-up door on the left.
Most of the details are of course inside and, to facilitate observing them, the top of the back of the building can be removed.
Inside, there are models in the windows, a pick-a-brick wall, a strange tree-like thing, a counter with tills, and what I presume is a video screen behind them.
There's even a stockroom in the corner behind the roller doors.
There's also a staircase leading to the removable section that's actually a mezzanine level.
The duck is rather cute, but looks huge in relation to the other store fittings.
I presume that this is a replica of a large-scale model of a tree of some sort that, presumably, is installed in some stores.
With the mezzanine level's roof removed the well-stocked shelves can be observed.
Overall it's an interesting and enticing gift with purchase that's well worth making a trip to a store opening event to acquire. Some may lament the lack of an exclusive minifigure or two, but that doesn't bother me.
We don't know for sure at the moment, but it's unlikely that it'll be available at LEGO.com, which therefore precludes 95% of you from ever acquiring it, which is a shame.
Thanks to LEGO for providing the set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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58 comments on this article
Eh, it’s alright. I do prefer the minifig scale models though, and I do like the updated boxes. I can see the technic Sian and Volvo 6x6 loader, the ninjago Boulder blaster and maybe a wojira battle set?
There’s the city ocean exploration ship and a creator carousel. Plus the ginger bread house. I don’t recognise any other sets. Pretty good review tho, and a good parts pack!
Has the January calendar been revealed yet?
Is there a known reason that TLG doesn't seem to want to make a red 2x2 tile with the LEGO logo printed on it? Wasn't there another recent set with such a sticker?
I never knew all those sets came in the same size of box.
It looks refreshing indeed. Isn't it a replacement for the 40145 though, which was given at Store openings? The 40305 was regularly available at Stores.
^ Ah yes, right you are.
My first reaction: The facade is nice but the set lacks fun. Maybe it’s the scale, but this building does not look like something I would want to wander around in.
I think is pretty detailed considering it’s small form factor. I would like to acquire it but I’m not sure how I’ll ever find myself at another store opening!
I'm very happy I was able to get both, 40145 and 40305. The smaller scale doesn't add anything but not being able to fit Minifigs makes it look dead, static, sterile.
So. Many. Stickers.
Lego: finally makes a fully enclosed LEGO store model.
Also LEGO: makes it not to be able to fit minifigures and making only available on stores.
Boy do I hate Lego stickers... I never use them on my sets and they influence my purchases a lot. Also, spending £125+ means its usually adults that purchase the stuff so why create GWPs with sooooo many stickers. Unless I'm wrong? Do AFOLs like the stickers? Huw, whats your take on this?
I remember the old days where stickers use to be spread across multiple bricks meaning that once they were applied the bricks behind them couldn't be disassembled. Thank goodness that policy stopped.
@Lordmoral said:
"Lego: finally makes a fully enclosed LEGO store model.
Also LEGO: makes it not to be able to fit minifigures and making only available on stores."
LEGO has been making 40145 for over five years, and it's fully enclosed and minifigure scale. They've made so many of them that you can get it for around $30 online (which is quite cheap considering it's got over 400 pieces).
Do we have any idea about 2022 Store openings so that interested Bricksetters could make provisional plans?
I'm no fan of micro-scale builds so not too upset I won't get the chance to get one, but that sticker sheet is lovely and would really help populate the shelves of a minifig-scale LEGO store MOC.
Nice to have an updated sticker sheet at last, even if it reuses some from the long-running one, which I don't see as a bad thing.
I'm not going out of my way to get this since I have 40145 and 40305, plus this is microscale. But I won't complain if I wind up with one.
Nothing in this build is desirable, aside from the scarcity of the set I guess. No minifigs, a ton of stickers.
@kingalbino said:
"Boy do I hate Lego stickers... I never use them on my sets and they influence my purchases a lot. Also, spending £125+ means its usually adults that purchase the stuff so why create GWPs with sooooo many stickers. Unless I'm wrong? Do AFOLs like the stickers? Huw, whats your take on this?
I remember the old days where stickers use to be spread across multiple bricks meaning that once they were applied the bricks behind them couldn't be disassembled. Thank goodness that policy stopped."
Stickers count as only one new part for the entire sheet. Prints are a new part for every print. A set with 100 stickers would therefore need 100 new parts if all were printed, which would drive up production costs and therefore retail prices.
LEGO consistently prints a few types of part:
-Minifigures
-Decorations in sets for young kids who’d be unable to apply stickers on their own
-Decorations with a high opportunity for re-use
-Decorations that are used many times (more than 10 or so) in one set
-Decorations on parts that would be difficult to sticker (e.g. 2x2 slope bricks, since they don’t have a completely smooth sloped surface)
These Lego store sets aren't even the least enticing.
A cube/cuboid filled with cubes/cuboids. Didn't we have a Minecraft theme for that?
@huw A number of Lego LAN You Tubers are saying this is GWP in ANY store from 1/1 for $125 any ideas what the offical line is ?
Looks like micro scale of one of upcoming (I guess) BrickLink modular.
I do feel the UK needs more Lego stores, we’re supposed to be one of Lego biggest markets. My 2 nearest are Liverpool and Manchester (100+ miles roundtrip) and both are city centre stores so are a royal pain for parking.
For those of you that know the layout, imagine getting Titanic from the Manchester Arndale Lego Store to your car!
So the chances of Lego opening up another NW England store is remote (maybe Preston? - longshot) So as much as I would like this set it’s going to be pricey aftermarket deals to get it.
I would extend this both length ways and give it a another floor too but it does look good!
@Slave2lego said:
"I do feel the UK needs more Lego stores, we’re supposed to be one of Lego biggest markets. My 2 nearest are Liverpool and Manchester (100+ miles roundtrip) and both are city centre stores so are a royal pain for parking.
For those of you that know the layout, imagine getting Titanic from the Manchester Arndale Lego Store to your car!
So the chances of Lego opening up another NW England store is remote (maybe Preston? - longshot) So as much as I would like this set it’s going to be pricey aftermarket deals to get it."
We do have more stores than we used to! Time was it was Westfield in Shepard's Bush or nothing. As for getting stuff to your car, I'd maybe consider getting the Titanic shipped ;)
Not to overly criticize a free gift, but I'm personally not overly fond of the drastic juxtaposition of scale within the same model... In any case I look forward to adding this to my pile of parts that I will one day use to build a custom LEGO store of my own. Heck, I even purchased 40359-1 for this very reason, so I certainly won't mind getting this for free...! :)
@legoavenger14 said:
"I would extend this both length ways and give it a another floor too but it does look good! "
But are there any LEGO stores - or any planned - that are three storeys: ground, first and second? As far as I know, the maximum so far is two.
@MisterBrickster said:
" @Slave2lego said:
"I do feel the UK needs more Lego stores, we’re supposed to be one of Lego biggest markets. My 2 nearest are Liverpool and Manchester (100+ miles roundtrip) and both are city centre stores so are a royal pain for parking.
For those of you that know the layout, imagine getting Titanic from the Manchester Arndale Lego Store to your car!
So the chances of Lego opening up another NW England store is remote (maybe Preston? - longshot) So as much as I would like this set it’s going to be pricey aftermarket deals to get it."
We do have more stores than we used to! Time was it was Westfield in Shepard's Bush or nothing. As for getting stuff to your car, I'd maybe consider getting the Titanic shipped ;)"
It would get hit by an iceberg and wouldn't make it! :~P
Very cute! The layout with the mezzanine reminds me a little of the Leicester Square store. I like the inclusion of a tiny stockroom as well.
The set box stickers here could be a good option to augment the array of more classic sets in the upcoming Monkie Kid City of Lanterns (or even replace them if you'd rather have more modern sets on display). Of course, in that set the set boxes were made of bricks stacked vertically rather than tiles attached sideways, so it might be worthwhile to choose which type of box you plan on using in a MOC and substitute either the bricks or tiles to make them consistent.
@garethsmith72 said:
" @huw A number of Lego LAN You Tubers are saying this is GWP in ANY store from 1/1 for $125 any ideas what the offical line is ? "
The information we received was vague, and I quote:
o Launch date: January 1st 2022
o Runtime: varies by store location
o Qualifying purchase: $125 / €125 / £125 threshold, all themes
o Product Reveal date: varies per location
So, I guess it depends on how you interpret it.
Besides, we know of a polybag that'll be a GWP in January. There may well be two, for different spend thresolds, but LEGO probably doesn't need to do too much to encourage us to spend as soon as the new sets are available as we'll be buying them anyway.
At this point I'll have to get this one just because I have the others. I never thought collecting LEGO sets of LEGO stores would become a thing!
40305 was amazing, and not a GWP, and also fit really well with the 3-in-1 system at the same years with sets like 31081 or 31068 etc. , parts of buildings could be swapped very easily, and a generic 8x8 and 16x8 format made it easy to have bigger buildings without completely rebuilding it.
40359 : LEGO Store Picture Frame was interesting as well, but more as a parts pack and a LEGO store figure.
Nice little set & review, but your sticker placement of the Lego logo is giving me mild anxiety…
The tree seems to be a centerpiece of most of their new stores. The new flagship one in NYC has a 1-story rainbow tree made of legos in the main lobby and I recall seeing similar pictures from another opening.
@PaulieReynolds said:
"Nice little set & review, but your sticker placement of the Lego logo is giving me mild anxiety…"
I thought the same thing - I would be stressed enough to consider - what do I prefer; that the sticker is slightly at an angle or that one of the corners is now a bit ruffled with attempts to reset it?!
@Odlamping said:
" @PaulieReynolds said:
"Nice little set & review, but your sticker placement of the Lego logo is giving me mild anxiety…"
I thought the same thing - I would be stressed enough to consider - what do I prefer; that the sticker is slightly at an angle or that one of the corners is now a bit ruffled with attempts to reset it?!
"
And that is why many people including myself hate them. You only get one chance...
Is there somewhere where we can see a list of new Lego brand retail stores that are opening up soon?
@Odlamping said:
" @PaulieReynolds said:
"Nice little set & review, but your sticker placement of the Lego logo is giving me mild anxiety…"
I thought the same thing - I would be stressed enough to consider - what do I prefer; that the sticker is slightly at an angle or that one of the corners is now a bit ruffled with attempts to reset it?!"
A little soapy water or window cleaner, and stickers come out perfect every time.
Lego themselves recommend it:
https://www.lego.com/en-my/service/help/fun-for-fans/behind-the-scenes/brick-facts/apply-decals-blt39ee67a2a9490ca7
@Huw said:
" @Odlamping said:
" @PaulieReynolds said:
"Nice little set & review, but your sticker placement of the Lego logo is giving me mild anxiety…"
I thought the same thing - I would be stressed enough to consider - what do I prefer; that the sticker is slightly at an angle or that one of the corners is now a bit ruffled with attempts to reset it?!
"
And tghat is why many people including myself hate them. You only get one chance..."
Robin Hood Bricks on YouTube swears by a method of reusing/repositioning stickers by warming them on a hot mug (he insists on it being full of tea). He seems to have reasonable success; he buys parts with stickers so he can remove and reuse them.
hmm when they will start doing printed lego logo instead of sticker.
I like the previous version more
@Paperdaisy said:
"Robin Hood Bricks on YouTube swears by a method of reusing/repositioning stickers by warming them on a hot mug (he insists on it being full of tea). He seems to have reasonable success; he buys parts with stickers so he can remove and reuse them."
Might be worth a try...
The scale is completely wrong - microscale store with minifigscale legoboxes...
But I guess its a nice pack of parts. I would not go out of my way to get it - but should I get it with a purchase, well I would not mind, it would be okay.
However I would prefer to get 40145 by far!
@Goujon said:
"Eh, it’s alright. I do prefer the minifig scale models though, and I do like the updated boxes. I can see the technic Sian and Volvo 6x6 loader, the ninjago Boulder blaster and maybe a wojira battle set?
There’s the city ocean exploration ship and a creator carousel. Plus the ginger bread house. I don’t recognise any other sets. Pretty good review tho, and a good parts pack!
Has the January calendar been revealed yet?"
Do we not get a calendar for January?
I think the tree thing might be a representation of the Tree of Creativity (or whatever it's called), which I think I remember seeing in pictures of some newer stores. I could be mistaken though!
@Huw is sticker no. 19 a S.T.A.M.P. (sticker across multiple parts?)
Also, you guys amuse me with placing stickers. It's not that hard: they're cut about a millimeter smaller in each direction on the piece they are placed on (and I'm in the US, we eschew metric). I remember working at a LBR store and putting on the sticker clings for the doors and making extra sure to avoid air bubbles- a skill which served me well on Christmas Eve when I was applying large decals to my son's new Power Wheels Jeep. The small Lego stickers really shouldn't scare anyone.
@Huw said:
"And that is why many people including myself hate them. You only get one chance..."
I reuse stickers all the time. Lift a corner carefully with a hobby/craft knife or scalpel then very slowly roll & peel up while maintaining tension. Doesn't work with stickers from the Great Era of Cracking of course, but pretty much everything after & before remains reusable/repositionable, going back to the 70s.
@CCC said:
" @felipe1983 said:
"hmm when they will start doing printed lego logo instead of sticker.
I like the previous version more"
I think the question is why did they stop doing doing a printed lego logo. And the same with tiles for boxes.
Bad scale and stickers make it an easy pass for me. "
Regarding tiles for boxes, the simple answer is that they only ever made a few printed ones (a couple in City, one in Disney, and one in the Assembly Square set). Having printed boxes is nice—but we've never had them for the wide variety of themes you'd expect in a Lego store set, and since the ones we've had are based on specific sets they can go "out of date" fairly quickly. Whereas having sets with individual sticker sheets allows a much wider range of sets that can be fine-tuned to the specific theme and era of sets Lego wants to represent (whether that's classic or modern). A gift-with-purchase set like this probably doesn't have the budget for many unique elements, either (unlike something like a D2C Disney set or Modular).
I agree that it certainly wouldn't hurt to have a printed Lego logo tile again, though—unlike Lego set boxes, it doesn't really vary or change over time, and could easily continue to be used and reused in a wide number of sets. The one potential drawback that comes to mind is that white or yellow printing on red sometimes has issues with opacity, an issue that doesn't occur with white paper-backed stickers.
@Lyichir, There was a printed plate for a LEGO box with the CMF Series 18 policeman: https://brickset.com/sets/71021-8/Classic-Police-Officer
@Slave2lego said:
"I do feel the UK needs more Lego stores, we’re supposed to be one of Lego biggest markets. My 2 nearest are Liverpool and Manchester (100+ miles roundtrip) and both are city centre stores so are a royal pain for parking."
Boo-hoo. My closest store is 160 miles round-trip. Be happy you have two options so close. FirstWorldProblems
@MrJackson said:
" @Huw is sticker no. 19 a S.T.A.M.P. (sticker across multiple parts?)
Also, you guys amuse me with placing stickers. It's not that hard: they're cut about a millimeter smaller in each direction on the piece they are placed on (and I'm in the US, we eschew metric). I remember working at a LBR store and putting on the sticker clings for the doors and making extra sure to avoid air bubbles- a skill which served me well on Christmas Eve when I was applying large decals to my son's new Power Wheels Jeep. The small Lego stickers really shouldn't scare anyone. "
Agree, except for the 1x1 brick stickers...those always give me headaches.
@Huw said:
" @Paperdaisy said:
"Robin Hood Bricks on YouTube swears by a method of reusing/repositioning stickers by warming them on a hot mug (he insists on it being full of tea). He seems to have reasonable success; he buys parts with stickers so he can remove and reuse them."
Might be worth a try..."
For putting stickers on I actually lift the sticker up a bit and use the flat edge of a brick separator to put it on there and that gives me greater area to adjust before I apply it to the tile and it's not like my gigantic fingers are trying to place and hold a little tiny sticker in place.
I love mine(the most recent one) but boy, this is a good looking set. Love the addition of the loading dock doors.
I use the Windex trick for stickers but they still give me high anxiety.
If Lego does have to include stickers, I wish they’d at least make them out of that vinyl material so they can be reused and repositioned easily.
It’s strange that Lego still entices customers to crowd up at stores rather than to shop online and maintain social distancing.
I don't like the fact that it's a microscale build without minifigures and yet the boxes (stickered tiles) are giant sized. Also don't like the new Store design in real life with the black ceiling and the ultra sterile feeling you get from the cold light and white+grey colours.
@DonnaxNL said:
"It looks refreshing indeed. Isn't it a replacement for the 40145 though, which was given at Store openings? The 40305 was regularly available at Stores."
The 40305 was given away this month at the opening of the LEGO store Tivoli, Copenhagen.
@DaBigE said:
" @Slave2lego said:
"I do feel the UK needs more Lego stores, we’re supposed to be one of Lego biggest markets. My 2 nearest are Liverpool and Manchester (100+ miles roundtrip) and both are city centre stores so are a royal pain for parking."
Boo-hoo. My closest store is 160 miles round-trip. Be happy you have two options so close. FirstWorldProblems
"
100mile round trip is in no way close ;) Especially baring in mind how small the UK is
@felipe1983 said:
"hmm when they will start doing printed lego logo instead of sticker.
I like the previous version more"
Printed LEGO Logo 2x2 tile has been in products 16 times in white, and 8 times in black.
However, it all have been LEGO Gear, Promotional, or Games :
https://rebrickable.com/parts/3068bpr0163/tile-2-x-2-with-lego-logo-type-2-print/
I got one of those white tiles from 5005359 which was the only time it was in a recent GWP on LEGO.com 2018.
The black tiles were only in Asia Toys R Us Bricktober , and Store openings in 2020-2021.
@Terreneflame said:
" @DaBigE said:
" @Slave2lego said:
"I do feel the UK needs more Lego stores, we’re supposed to be one of Lego biggest markets. My 2 nearest are Liverpool and Manchester (100+ miles roundtrip) and both are city centre stores so are a royal pain for parking."
Boo-hoo. My closest store is 160 miles round-trip. Be happy you have two options so close. FirstWorldProblems
"
100mile round trip is in no way close ;) Especially baring in mind how small the UK is"
Never said it was. But it is still closer than 160 miles for only ONE store.
@Huw said:
" @Paperdaisy said:
"Robin Hood Bricks on YouTube swears by a method of reusing/repositioning stickers by warming them on a hot mug (he insists on it being full of tea). He seems to have reasonable success; he buys parts with stickers so he can remove and reuse them."
Might be worth a try..."
Beware, that is a patented method! I always use coffee, just in case...
@Goujon said:
"Has the January calendar been revealed yet?"
Apparently LEGO's not doing calendars anymore