LEGO Big Ben celebrates Victorian London’s greatest landmark

  • LEGO Big Ben celebrates Victorian London’s greatest landmark

    Posted by Huw, 18 Apr 2012 10:20. Filed under New sets.

    21013: Big Ben
    Architecture, 2012
    More details...
    ©2012 LEGO Group

    Hot off the press...

    BILLUND, Denmark – Big Ben, one of the UK’s most recognizable buildings and a global symbol of Victorian London and the Gothic Revival style, has been recreated as the latest set in the LEGO® Architecture series.

    Big Ben, officially known as the Clock Tower, has stood at the north-eastern corner of the Palace of Westminster in London for more than 150 years. It was designed by the unlikely team of Classical architect Charles Barry and Gothic Revival pioneer Augustus Pugin and completed in 1859.

    Big Ben is the fourteenth model in the LEGO Architecture range, which uses the LEGO brick to interpret the designs of iconic architecture around the world. It is the first model to be designed by Rok Zgalin Kobe from Slovenia who joins Adam Reed-Tucker as a LEGO architect.

    “The most challenging in creating this model was representing the richness of 19th century Gothic Revival architecture in a scale usually more appropriate for modern or contemporary architecture of smooth surfaces and clean lines,” said Rok Zgalin Kobe.

    Charles Barry won the competition to build the new Palace of Westminster in January 1836. His initial designs were without the clock tower that would become known as Big Ben. As his own style was more Classical than the increasingly popular Gothic Revival, Barry asked for assistance from Augustus Pugin, a leading light of the movement that left its indelible mark on the Victorian era around the world. The design of the interior of the palace and the clock tower are thought to be his work.

    LEGO Architecture products features well-known buildings, and the work of important architects Aimed at inspiring future architects, engineers and designers as well as architecture fans around the world, the range contains a booklet featuring step-by-step building instructions that is prefaced by exclusive, archival history, information and photographs of each iconic building, its design origin, its architect and its architectural features.

    The LEGO 21013 Big Ben is available for purchase from June 1 in LEGO brand retail stores, LEGOLAND Stores and online at http://shop.lego.com/. The product is designed for ages 12+ and includes a booklet with facts and history about Big Ben. Recommended retail price is $29.99 or €29.99.

    For more information about LEGO Architecture visit http://architecture.lego.com/
     


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Comments

Posted by flashente in Germany, 18 Apr 2012 10:26

That's so cool.

Posted by makavelli in United Kingdom, 18 Apr 2012 10:31

Definitely getting one

Posted by dougts in United States, 18 Apr 2012 10:33

I actually kind of like this one, and I am not much of a fan of the Architecture series.

Posted by richselby in United Kingdom, 18 Apr 2012 10:36

Looks like we're down to a very small piece count, which makes it dull for those of us who like spending a few hours building a Lego model. What happened to the rest of the Palace of Westminster, I wonder?

The model is let down by that very old and stylistically inappropriate print for the clock face. A missed opportunity to print something a bit more gothic, I think. Given how much they charge per brick, a new print should have surely been in the budget.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 18 Apr 2012 10:40

^ It will be fun to extend it ourselves.

Posted by richselby in United Kingdom, 18 Apr 2012 10:43

The thought had occurred. No doubt I'll start and never get round to finishing it. Which is what Lego did this time!

Posted by Snowtrooper119 in Australia, 18 Apr 2012 10:44

That look's really good, it will look good next to the Brandenburg gate.

Posted by Joefish in United Kingdom, 18 Apr 2012 11:00

No, it's awful. LEGO's set designers can do so much better than this, and cheaper too.
Why on Earth are people paying over-the-odds for sub-standard designs, just because they come in a sleek box?

Posted by brix in United Kingdom, 18 Apr 2012 11:17

^ exactly what I thought!! The design is extremely basic and doesn't really capture the real thing as much as it should do. Expecially for that price! and where is the UK price?? come one! It's Big Ben!!

Posted by train_nut in United Arab Emirates, 18 Apr 2012 11:19

This shall be my first architectural set! Very nice.

Posted by Gandalf1 in United States, 18 Apr 2012 11:20

I think It's a fairly good model. But, as usual, it has a HORRIBLE price! Though it doesn't beat that Friends polybag...

Posted by dino-girl in United Kingdom, 18 Apr 2012 11:30

Dino jr just had her room decorated with a London theme and would love tower bridge So I can see us buying this one

Posted by Doomtrool in United Kingdom, 18 Apr 2012 11:39

That's strange, you didn't put a price in pounds in the description, yet Big Ben is one of Britain's most iconic landmarks.

Posted by Skywalker1966 in United States, 18 Apr 2012 12:01

Eh, sounds for the most part like LEGO has redeemed themselves from the "Sydney Opera House debacle"... :P Probably won't buy it myself, but it certainly looks nice enough, at least from my perspective.

Posted by Huw in United Kingdom, 18 Apr 2012 12:05

^^ The GBP price wasn't in the blurb LEGO sent. Expect it to be £30.

Posted by Nightshroud99 in Canada, 18 Apr 2012 12:40

This will probably be my second Architecture set. Very nice.

Posted by Firox 5000 in United Kingdom, 18 Apr 2012 13:27

The model looks ok and if I have any left overs from LOTR, summer star wars and monster fighters I may pick one up. I bet it will be £29.99 despite it being $29.99

Posted by herbie75 in Germany, 18 Apr 2012 13:42

I agree with earlier comment that this has restored my faith with Architecture sets after what I thought was a shocking Sydney Opera House. I shall get one I think :)

Posted by Peter1975 in Netherlands, 18 Apr 2012 13:52

Nice job, now we wait for some famous Dutch buildings, like Amsterdam Central Station, or the Euromast in Rotterdam, Dom Tower in Utrecht..

Posted by Nesquik in United Kingdom, 18 Apr 2012 14:29

Up until now I haven't liked any of the Architecture sets, but this one is actually very cool. It's instantly recognisable and looks pretty fun to build.

Just a shame they're so expensive!

Posted by vamproe in United States, 18 Apr 2012 15:27

gotta get it

Posted by xccj in United States, 18 Apr 2012 17:29

I don't know, compared to some of the other cheaper Architecture sets, this one looks amazing. I would consider picking it up.

Posted by SarahIsabella in United States, 18 Apr 2012 18:04

I was so excited when I saw the headline, then sad when I saw the reality.
I was hoping it was a large size set to go along with the Tower Bridge!
Oh well, at least I don't have to start saving up for a Big Ben.

Posted by legoDad42 in United States, 18 Apr 2012 22:22

Nice interpretation. But I agree w/richselby. If the clock face was more ornate and gothic then I'd be sold on it.
Even make a sticker that matches as close as they can to the actual clock face, then I'd be swayed.
Maybe down the line they'll make a Big Ben ala' Tower Bridge size.

I'm guessing it's roughly 150+ pieces....for $30 bucks? Hmmm...

Posted by chree55 in United States, 19 Apr 2012 02:07

For everyone worried about the price: rest assured. I just tried building this in LDD. This model will definitely be 290+ pieces. At $29, we're hitting the golden 10c per piece ratio. That makes this one of the more fairly priced Architecture sets to date. Of course, almost all of the pieces are small ones, but whatyagonnado. And let's be honest: UK prices are always worse than US prices. Ain't too bad on the eyes, either. I'll gladly add this to my collection.

Posted by CamberbrickGreen in United Kingdom, 19 Apr 2012 02:47

*Fusspot Comment*
Rubbish: Too narrow and long and the clock should be more inset or a print. Most of us could do better with a cheaper set of bricks, what a swizz!
Deserving of a polybag, free with a tabloid :P

Posted by legoguysw in United Kingdom, 19 Apr 2012 13:03

I'm glad they're making a building outside of the US, but it could have been a lot better. The proportions look wrong and the clock face sticks out too much. Still, it's a good effort and I'm not sure what I would do to improve it given the scale.
BTW, what is it with UK prices being the same as US ones (Like £30=$30)? We have to pay pretty much double.

Posted by Mickitat in Germany, 21 Apr 2012 10:29

Not grand enough. Give me BIG Ben!

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