Review: 21342 The Insect Collection, part one
Posted by Huw,
21342 The Insect Collection was revealed earlier in the week and the review embargo was unexpectedly brought forward from the end of the month to yesterday.
That's good because we can now publish our article sooner rather than later, but also not so great because I haven't finished building our review sample yet, thinking there was no hurry to do so!
So rather than rush to complete such an exquisite set, but not wanting to keep you waiting, I'm going publish the review in three parts, starting with the butterfly. That way you can savour each of the incredible builds over the coming days, and I can lavish my articles with plenty of photos.
Blue morpho butterfly
The blue morpho (Morpho menelaus) is native to Central and South America and is one of the largest butterflies in the world, with a wingspan of around 12cm. The LEGO version's wingspan is 20cm or so, so is larger than life-size.
Unlike in the original Ideas proposal, the insects are accompanied by detailed and attractive habitats built upon octagonal bases on which to display them.
The butterfly has landed on something nondescript, which could be a bit of twig sticking out the ground. Whatever it is, it looks suitably organic and serves as the perfect place for the nymphalidae to rest and display its beautiful wings.
Surrounding the twig are two red and pink flowers among lush green foliage. The leaf piece 3565 LEAF 2X6X1, NO. 1 was introduced in this year's summer releases, including Dreamzzz and Super Mario. This is the only set to include bright green ones so far.
The bee hovering over the larger flower is mounted on a curved transparent piece, 4042 3.2 SHAFT W/ CROSS AXLE, that's just been introduced, for flying Super Heroes, judging by the sets it appears in.
The instructions reveal that the flowers are bromeliads, native to the subtropics, which fits in with the butterfly's range.
Unlike in the original Ideas submission the bee included in the set is to scale with the butterfly. Its ingenious 7-piece build incorporates minifig fairy wings and a printed egg, and I think it looks excellent.
The butterfly in the Ideas proposal was brick built, but this one utilises layers of plates which has given it a much more organic appearance. The specimen's distinctive white dot markings on the tips of its wings are created using printed 2x2 1/4 circle tiles.
Understandably, the backs of the wings are nowhere near as decorative as the fronts, but an attempt has been made to make them look something like they should, with the blue boat studs resembling the creature's 'false eyes' markings that warn off predators.
Overall, both base and creature are exquisite. The base is elaborately detailed and the pink and red of the flowers contrast wonderfully with the butterfly's wings. It was definitely a good decision to include the habitats in the set.
It's an attractive display model on its own, but I'm sure it'll look even better next to the other two, so I had better get building...
Stay tuned for part two of my review tomorrow.
203 likes
28 comments on this article
Lovely!
@Ridgeheart said:
"I really like this, but honestly? I think the bee is the MVP of this set. I'm going to bricklink hundreds of those, and save the environment. You're WELCOME."
Wait, you actually know you can buy parts from bricklink? Good for you buddy!
Quite superb. Even glad that, along with Concorde, it's a Lego exclusive, so I won't feel obliged to wait for an imminent price reduction! Looking forward to Sep 4th a lot!
@Ridgeheart said:
"I really like this, but honestly? I think the bee is the MVP of this set. I'm going to bricklink hundreds of those, and save the environment. You're WELCOME."
That printed abdomen piece won't be cheap though, since it appears to be exclusive to this set...
This looks really well done. I like the shaping and depth of the Butterfly. And of course the bee is a nice treat. I would either try to bricklink a bee myself eventually or maybe pick up the set, but I don't think I need multiple insects around my house. I have enough living ones lol. (Although the butterfly in a case mounted on the wall would fit well with the decorative butterflies I used to have around the house).
Nice idea splitting up the review. The bee looks amazing with that printed egg piece and minifig-wings. They did a good job with printing those macaroni tiles, but imho feels like the original entry (with the sideways built wings) looks better somehow
This is very gorgeous... but I can't help but wonder if the underside of the wings could be more accurate. I don't begrudge the general lack of detail (detailing the underside of plates is hard, especially without adding too much thickness), but most morpho butterflies to my knowledge have brown patterns and eyespots on the reverse of the wings, rather than blue matching the front. Maybe the two boat studs could've been brown, though I guess since some of the other plates visible from the back are also visible from the front the mismatch would've been more noticeable then.
The bee is awesome, one place where the slightly 'milky' new trans clear parts look good too...
Not fully understand the choice to split the review up to three parts, but once you're done with part 3 it will be welcomed if you could consolidate all into one.
@Huw, since there aren’t any nameplates, did the instruction book specify which species of Blue Morpho this is supposed to represent? Some look different enough to easily rule out, but there are at least seven distinct species that go by that name. And this guy has the spotted black edge running down the sides (Morpho menelaus has black corners on the forewings, and black inner edges on the hindwings, but not much in the way of spots), as well as maxing out at the same size as the model:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morpho_peleides
I’m pretty sure peleides is the species they display at the Detroit Zoo’s butterfly house, which is why I figured this was supposed to be lifesize.
@Lyichir:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morpho_menelaus/media/File:Morpho_menelaus_huebneri_MHNT_Male.jpg
^Menelaus top and bottom (brown, with a dozen false eyes)
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Morpho_peleides/media/File%3AMorpho_peleides02.jpg
Peleides bottom (varied shades of brown with a dozen false eyes, only six of which are visible)
@Ridgeheart:
Meh. I’ve got a zom-bee.
@elangab said:
"Not fully understand the choice to split the review up to three parts, but once you're done with part 3 it will be welcomed if you could consolidate all into one."
If I hadn't you would not be reading it now, and that's what hyperlinks are for :-)
@Huw said:
" @elangab said:
"Not fully understand the choice to split the review up to three parts, but once you're done with part 3 it will be welcomed if you could consolidate all into one."
If I hadn't you would not be reading it now, and that's what hyperlinks are for :-)"
I didn't read it, I'm waiting for all 3 parts.
Hmm, that looks nice. Anyone hear of a good GWP coming down the pike? The only thing I've heard of is the Gringotts tie-in vault.
@Autoboty said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
"I really like this, but honestly? I think the bee is the MVP of this set. I'm going to bricklink hundreds of those, and save the environment. You're WELCOME."
That printed abdomen piece won't be cheap though, since it appears to be exclusive to this set..."
Given about six months, it should show up in Lego's own Pick a Brick selection, since it isn't a licensed print.
I'm not really planning to get this set (although I do like it, and think it would be a great companion to the Botanical Collection, especially with those flowers), but I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the review.
@PurpleDave said:
" @Ridgeheart:
Meh. I’ve got a zom-bee."
And there's a chi-bee in Brickheadz: 40270
@Ridgeheart said:
" @Autoboty said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
"I really like this, but honestly? I think the bee is the MVP of this set. I'm going to bricklink hundreds of those, and save the environment. You're WELCOME."
That printed abdomen piece won't be cheap though, since it appears to be exclusive to this set..."
THERE IS NO 'PLANET B', friend.
But soon, under my command, there WILL be a 'Planet Bee'. Cower, brief mortals."
Bee careful...
@Lyichir said:
"This is very gorgeous... but I can't help but wonder if the underside of the wings could be more accurate. I don't begrudge the general lack of detail (detailing the underside of plates is hard, especially without adding too much thickness), but most morpho butterflies to my knowledge have brown patterns and eyespots on the reverse of the wings, rather than blue matching the front. Maybe the two boat studs could've been brown, though I guess since some of the other plates visible from the back are also visible from the front the mismatch would've been more noticeable then."
Yeah, I'm a little bit bummed about that. The design of the wings means it only looks like a morpho from one side. But getting the patterns right might have made it unacceptably bulky.
@SmilingCyclops said:
" @Lyichir said:
"This is very gorgeous... but I can't help but wonder if the underside of the wings could be more accurate. I don't begrudge the general lack of detail (detailing the underside of plates is hard, especially without adding too much thickness), but most morpho butterflies to my knowledge have brown patterns and eyespots on the reverse of the wings, rather than blue matching the front. Maybe the two boat studs could've been brown, though I guess since some of the other plates visible from the back are also visible from the front the mismatch would've been more noticeable then."
Yeah, I'm a little bit bummed about that. The design of the wings means it only looks like a morpho from one side. But getting the patterns right might have made it unacceptably bulky."
Missed opportunity for the designer to have also provided a closed wing build to go along with the opened wing version here, similar to how they've provided opened/closed wings on the beetle build.
Hmm, maybe I can come up with my own brick-built version for that...
It's beautiful. But the bee is my favorite part.
So... there are no legs?
@Ridgeheart said:
"I really like this, but honestly? I think the bee is the MVP of this set. I'm going to bricklink hundreds of those, and save the environment. You're WELCOME."
How exactly would that save the environment?
@Ridgeheart said:
"I think I need to give my sigfig a gun that shoots out bees now."
So a bee bee gun, then.
@Ridgeheart:
My version, which looks just as good from below, uses a black Exo-claw, black Apollo stud, trans-black wings, black/yellow/black/yellow Apollo studs, and a black old-style screwdriver. The Exo-claw can be used with any clear bar as a way to mount it in flight, and the screwdriver makes a wicked stinger.
And if the world's bee population does collapse, I guess we'll be stuck with wasps, ants, beetles, flies, butterflies, moths, monkeys, lemurs, possoms, rodents, lizards, hummingbirds, honeyeaters, sunbirds, and humans. Oh, and also mosquitos.
@Ridgeheart said:
" @StyleCounselor said:
" @Bri3k_b01 said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
"I really like this, but honestly? I think the bee is the MVP of this set. I'm going to bricklink hundreds of those, and save the environment. You're WELCOME."
How exactly would that save the environment?"
Because the comment is funny, makes us laugh, and not need so much heating during.... oh, he's full of shite!!!"
Admittedly, the ships and trucks that are needed to deliver the pieces to my doorstep might not be very helpful in protecting the environment, so I'll just have to order MORE BEES.
I think I need to give my sigfig a gun that shoots out bees now."
BTW, totally agree about the bee design, and the need for a whole lotta 'em.
I wonder if they'll ever be inexpensive and in sufficient quantities on BL? Or, are the wings and printed eggs the type of parts that make sense to get from PaB online?
@darkstonegrey said:
" @SmilingCyclops said:
" @Lyichir said:
"This is very gorgeous... but I can't help but wonder if the underside of the wings could be more accurate. I don't begrudge the general lack of detail (detailing the underside of plates is hard, especially without adding too much thickness), but most morpho butterflies to my knowledge have brown patterns and eyespots on the reverse of the wings, rather than blue matching the front. Maybe the two boat studs could've been brown, though I guess since some of the other plates visible from the back are also visible from the front the mismatch would've been more noticeable then."
Yeah, I'm a little bit bummed about that. The design of the wings means it only looks like a morpho from one side. But getting the patterns right might have made it unacceptably bulky."
Missed opportunity for the designer to have also provided a closed wing build to go along with the opened wing version here, similar to how they've provided opened/closed wings on the beetle build.
Hmm, maybe I can come up with my own brick-built version for that..."
It may not have been perfect, but couldn't they have just swapped the black plates for brown plates?
@Hellscream:
Top of the wings is the main show, in most cases. In this particular case, the top of the wings is various shades of blue, with some black trim that includes white and yellow spots (the yellow spots should be located on the outer edge of the hindwing, where it's just a strip of unadorned black). Due to the mix of tiles used to form the top coloration, there are about a dozen spots on each wing where the color of the plates underneath would show through, and a few of them are quite large. The wings look to be over half an inch thick in a few places, as it is. There are also places where the tiles are unbacked by plates. While it would technically be possible to add layers as necessary to separate the black and brown layers completely, you'd be looking at a wing edge that's thicker than a brick is wide. I'm not sure the result would be worth the effort.
I love the set they might not be perfect but theres a limit to what you can do in bricks, these will look great near some of the flower sets they've built.
The down side is theres only 3, I would love it if Lego would keep on with this range and we could get a collection of bugs. So if your reading Lego please bring out more matching sets to continue this and the bird theme :)
@Faryn said:
"Nice idea splitting up the review. The bee looks amazing with that printed egg piece and minifig-wings. They did a good job with printing those macaroni tiles, but imho feels like the original entry (with the sideways built wings) looks better somehow"
I kind of agree with this, the original does look better, though the bee here somehow steals the show.