Review: 21027 Berlin
Posted by Huw,
21027 Berlin is the second of next year's Architecture cityscapes that we take a look at. It contains 289 pieces, 80-odd more than 21026 Venice, although I believe it will be the same price.
Like Venice, it contains miniature representations of six of the city's iconic structures, in this case the Berlin Wall, Reichstag, Victory Column, Deutsche Bahn tower, Berlin TV tower and the Brandenburg Gate.
Box and Contents
Not much to say here; it's the same as Venice as far as box and contents goes.
The Build
The three-plate high base has the same dimensions as Venice, that is, 4 x 32 studs although in this case there's a protrusion at the back.
Building begins at the left again, with Reichstag, the German parliamentary building which was modernised following reunification of the country. The glass dome was an addition at this time.
A small section of Berlin wall stands in front of it.
The real building appears to have a circular staircase running around the inside which is represented here by transparent dishes.
The 220-m high Victory Column stands next to it, complete with gold micro-figure representing the statue of Victoria, the goddess of victory.
The far more contemporary structures of the DB and TV towers, built in 2000 and 1969 respectively, are erected next to it.
The DB tower is pinned to the base, as you can see from the image above. The rotating visitor platform of the TV tower is constructed using 2x2 and 3x3 dishes to create its spherical shape. The silver ones in the middle of the sandwich represent the glass windows. I think it looks great.
Finally the Brandenburg Gate and another section of Berlin wall are added to the right, which are shown in more detail in a photograph below.
The Completed Model
I can't really say whether this captures the essence of the city because I have not been to Berlin but it certainly presents an interesting selection of old and new buildings.
Not much to see round the back again...
The Brandenburg Gate is my favourite part of the model; it's incredible how its likeness has been reproduced so small and with so few pieces.
Overall
It looks as if LEGO has another winner on its hands here. However I will court controversy by saying that I don't think the buildings are as well known or iconic as those in Venice so perhaps the set won't be as popular, especially outside of Germany.
Nevertheless, there's a lot for the LEGO Architecture fan to relish and I suspect these cityscapes will be highly collectable, regardless of whether you are familiar with the cities and buildings portrayed or not.
The set will be available at shop.LEGO.com from the 1st of January 2016; pricing not yet known, by me at least.
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21 comments on this article
Absolutely fantastic. Some great pics Huw, thanks for the review. Really looking forward to the London version of this (must happen, surely?!)
We have been looking forward to this set since seeing the initial leaked image. Have been to Berlin several times, this set really does highlight some of the best of the city's skyline.
The only criticism I have is the Wall pieces should have print that looks more like the actual graffiti which was on the sections.
"the buildings are as well known or iconic as those in Venice"
Of course they are! I would even said that they are more iconic than those from Venice set. Maybe except DB tower.
"Wall pieces should have print that looks more like the actual graffiti which was on the sections"
I absolutely agree.
Well I for one wasn't familiar with any of them except Brandenburg Gate :-)
I want to go to Germany one day, any tip (thanks in advance)?
I've been to Berlin a few times, and I must say it represents the city really well. You could possibly replace the DB tower with something else, but there has been so much construction going on since 1990 that I think it's crucial to have something from that period as well.
While Venice (where I've never been) looks interesting to me from a 'let's build this' perspective, I really want this one on display on my desk!
I think Venice is certainly better known as a tourist destination than Berlin but most Venetian buildings are not particularly famous. Off the top of my head only Paris, London, New York, Washington DC and Dubai contain more than a couple of iconic buildings which are known worldwide.
Nevertheless, I think this looks to be a reasonable model just as Venice is. New York is by far the most impressive though.
Good review, but some of the photos link to a Flickr '404' page. :( I'm trying to see how the top of the Brandenburg Gate connects to the bottom.
EDIT: Never mind, I just realised that the whole thing is made of two fence pieces.
The images were set to private but I've made them public now.
Yes, two tan fences.
This will definitely go on my wish list! Like others, I am much more familiar with Berlin than Venice. The Brandenburg Gate looks great and I echo the sentiment about more realistic graffiti on the Berlin Wall pieces. Reichstag looks like it will be fun to build and observe!
Another neat little set. A nice, compact miniaturisation of Berlin. What's not to like?
I must say it surprises me they haven't included Checkpoint Charlie. It would only take 2 to 4 pieces to get it in there and it's a very popular sight for tourists. Personally I've been to Berlin three times but I haven't noticed the DB tower before. But I can understand why they put it in the set to give it some colour differentiation. The wall pieces look okay but I would have liked at least three next to each other with a sort of continious print to really get a sense of it being a full wall that used to run thrue the city.
Having been to Berlin and Venice,I think the Berlin set outclasses the Venice one in terms of bringing back memories of my visits. Perhaps because the intricate details of Venice architecture really can't be captured in such a small scale, while the essence of the Berlin buildings can be captured with just the massing of the forms.
I've to Berlin multiple and I think the TV tower and Brandenburg Gate are spot on!
I'm on the fence with these cityscapes. I just finished Falling Water and believe that the new ones will miss the detail shown in the individual buildings. I hope they introduce individual ones later in the year.
Great. Cool.
Now can they do one of Coruscant and Bespin?
Dit will ick och haben!
I think this set just looks beautiful. The way the colours are spreaded over the black foundation and the way the buildings are organised. Especially interested in the TV Tower because it just is so beautiful in real life.
Can't help to say that the Victory Column is actually 67 meters high, not 220 (it would be a tad high otherwise haha)
Thanks for the review. This looks like Berlin to me! Great model that brings back wonderful memories. So glad that they made a Berlin Cityscape. It is one hoppin' city that should be on your list if it is not. Full of wonderful historical places, especially the museums and the parks. Way to go, TLG!
On the discussion which city is more iconic: I think Venice is a more known city since it is more 'special' (an old city made in the water - wow) and speaks to ones imagination, and off course it has a replica made in Las Vegas. Furthermore there are several iconic movies that include scenes from Venice (James Bond, Indiana Jones,...)
Living in Berlin, I have to admit that this set captures the look of the city pretty well. Though, half a dozen possible replacements for the odd DB tower come to my mind that would have been a better choice in the eye of a Berlin citizen, first of all the Berliner Dom or the Stadtschloss. Having said that, I understand the idea to include a modern building from Potsdamer Platz.
@Jito: don't forget the movies taking place in Berlin like James Bond or Indiana Jones ; ) ! (I know they were not actually been filmed here but nonetheless it was funny to say that)