Product Reviews

As part of my attempts to really throw myself into my work as well as acquiring valuable product knowledge, I started abusing the hell out of my discount at the company store and building LEGO sets in my free time. OK, so it’s not like I’m compiling TPS reports; it’s a fun kind of “homework.” As a way of further putting myself out there and showcasing my enthusiasm and talents, I wrote a few product reviews for the website.

Product 8097, Slave I

Slave I has always been one of my favorite ships from the entire Star Wars saga, and as soon as I saw the box for this product, I had to have it. I’m happy to say that all of the giddiness and anticipation that surrounded buying the set and bringing it home was rewarded with a thoroughly enjoyable building experience. I had a huge grin on my face the whole time I was putting this together. Watching the distinct and familiar shape of Slave I rising from the ground up is incredibly gratifying. The colors are so bold and much more faithful than the previous Slave I kits, and the new carbonite-bound Han Solo is really amazing. The Bossk and Boba Fett minifigures are so incredibly detailed and faithful to the original characters, especially considering their size. Once I had completed building (which took 4 1/2 hours at a very leisurely pace), I could not resist swooshing the ship around and trying out the rotating cockpit. When completed, the ship is substantial in both weight and the overall feeling of solidity. The play value is very high as long as you use two hands while swooshing it. It’s heavy enough that I felt it slipping out of my hand when I was gripping it with just one, and watching it fall and smash would have been a tragedy. I would highly recommend this set to anyone who is a fan of Boba Fett and The Empire Strikes back, you will not be disappointed!

Product 21005, Fallingwater

Words cannot describe how much fun I had building this iconic example of American architecture. Unlike the other models in the LEGO Architecture series, you do not simply build a structure, you also create the landscape around the structure. One of Frank Lloyd Wright’s goals in designing Fallingwater was to make it inseparable from it’s natural surroundings, and Adam Reed Tucker has remained faithful to that goal with his amazing interpretation. It really was thrilling to construct the rocky hillside and pristine stream before much of the building itself began to take shape. Once you have completed the landscape and the basic foundation of the house, you literally construct and slide the rest of the structure into it’s natural environment. You really get the feeling that this one-time vacation house has been meticulously placed into the landscape. The end result is a model that is so visually stunning that I have literally taken it with me to other peoples’ houses to show off. It is just gorgeous, and so faithful to the original structure, but without losing the fun LEGO experience of watching a pile of seemingly random bricks and plates become something familiar and pleasing. As this is an architectural model meant for display rather than play, it is best built by someone who can get a thrill of out of just looking at it, marveling in it’s beauty and remembering just how fun and somehow soothing it was to construct. Overall, I spent about 5 hours building it over two nights, and when it was done, I was happy with the outcome but somewhat sad that it was complete and there was no more to build!