Review: Star Wars Brick Sketches
Posted by Huw,
The first batch of four Brick Sketches includes two DC Super Heroes -- The Joker and Batman, and two Star Wars characters -- 40431 BB-8 and 40391 First Order Stormtrooper.
Having reviewed the former two over the last couple of days I'll now take a quick look at the latter pair, and show all four hanging on my wall.
We've now heard from LEGO that they will be released on 15th July, not 1st June as originally advised, and will cost $19.99 / €19,99 and, probably, £17.99 although that has not been confirmed.
BB-8 is a bit different to the others because his head is constructed separately in a different plane to the rest of the build. That's necessary, of course, to give it its distinctive curved appearance and stripes.
BB-8 is a popular and colourful character, so makes a good choice of subject for one of the first Star Wars Brick Sketches. The only thing that doesn't look quite right are its 'shoulders', or rather, the top of its spherical body. I wonder why 3x3 curved plates were not used instead?
The Stormtrooper helmet is built entirely studs-up using a couple of techniques worth mentioning.
First, notice how the tips of the new black 2x4 wedge plates fit perfectly in the gap of the hinges!
Second, and partially apparent from this photo, is that many of the pieces within the layers of the helmet are tiles rather than plates which solves the problem, I'm sure we've all encountered, of trying to firmly press plates down on top of other plates, by reducing the number of studs holding them together.
Helmets are the perfect subject for this building style and I can't really fault this one at all. It's interesting to compare it to Chris McVeigh's earlier work of Captain Phasma's helmet: It's almost identical other than the colour.
I believe Brick Sketches to be unprecedented. They are the first series of models designed by an AFOL before he joined the company that have gone on to become an official range of sets.
What's more, they are practically the same as the originals in terms of size, frame, and styling, such as the 'cut corners' of colour and the occasional small detail poking out the top. I guess you can't improve on perfection, so there was no need to fiddle with them.
They look great together on the wall, but I learned two things when hanging them: It's tricky measuring where to put the nails so they line up horizontally and vertically, and getting the nail in the hole on the back of them is not easy either!
The picture above was taken when the room was bright.
In the evening, with just a single desk lamp illuminating the room to side of them, they take on a completely different look when their profiles can be more clearly seen and appreciated, the Joker in particular.
Brick Sketches open up a whole new way to display LEGO, hanging on the wall, and they look great in my office at Brickset Towers.
Now we know the price, I think $20 is a little on the high side for what they are. Although not marketed as 18+ adult sets they are likely to be of interest mainly to AFOLs given that price point and lack of playability.
They are a niche product but I hope they are successful and that I have the opportunity to add more to my collection. But I also hope LEGO does not get carried away and saturate the market as it did in the early years of BrickHeadz.
Thanks to LEGO for providing the sets for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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35 comments on this article
I really like this new theme. Very collectable and great to display together when you have a collection of these. After the Bricheadz this could become my next "I want them all" thing.
Nice idea and they look wonderful but I think I will buy (yet) another extraordinary Ninjago dragon!
That last photo with the shadows looks phenomenal! They really do make an excellent display piece
These look great, but nit my cup of tea.
I know we shouldn’t draw attention to typos, but I did love “ two DC Super Heroes -- The Joker and Barman”.
As for the designs, they’re nice, but I’m just happy someone of McVeigh’s stature has been recognised. His work is great but also he’s very generous in giving away instructions for things like his modular arcade and little gardens.
Thanks for all the reviews of these!
BB-8 would indeed look better with curvier 'shoulders', and I have no doubt that Chris tried curved plates! Unfortunately, 3x3 curved plates would look perhaps more weird; their radius is too small for their curve to be parallel to the central orange circle. Ever-present compromises in LEGO...
$20 seems a little steep to me
Nice to see Chris's influence/ contribution here. Did he contribute to the Helmet series?
I own several of his original BrickSketches and they are all works of art in my opinion.
He made my daughter a "build your own' Toothless from How to raise a dragon and she absolutely loved the build.
I must compare the BB-8 to my Chris McVeigh original.
Awesome!!
I think the price will be a major issue, sadly for Chris and the project.
They're nice, but I don't see 20 dollars or euros of value here
Unfortunate pricing, but when on a big discount I might get the odd one. Definitely don't look like 20 Euro to me.
20 euros??
Will use parts of my collection and bricklink some to build the stormtrooper, problem solved!
Since these sets are mostly tiles, and the majority of the parts already extant, I think $20 is too much. Despite these not exactly being my cuppa tea; they do look great.
I'm wondering whether these will be LEGO Exclusives; if not then the likes of Amazon will bring the price down to something considerably more palatable and these could sell in decent numbers.
I could imagine that BB-8s shoulders are somewhat intended to look more "edgy"; as this helps to give the model a sketchier look. I like both sets whatsoever; and thanks, Huw, for the good review!
I was hoping these’d be $15. Oh well, I’ll probably just get Joker then. /:
20 bucks is expensive for BB8 that looks like a weird snowman
$20 could only work if they would be 2 packs. like you get both joker and batman as one set
they look nice, but totally not my cup of tee...
This may sound odd - but as someone who's short-sighted these look better from a distance to my eyes, than up close (and in focus!)
I like them though I'll pass on these, but I wonder who else is lined up for the next wave.
I did not see a piece count. They are thicker then I expected from earlier photos.
While several commenters have mentioned Bricklink-ing the parts, I expect to be able to buy the same pieces a lot cheaper than $19.99--directly from Lego.com.
The Replacement Parts section has an option to buy "Bricks & Pieces" that allows you to access a list of all the parts in a set. Type in, for example, "40431" and it will show you all the pieces, sorted by color, with their designated part numbers and individual prices. Look at the back of the set's instructions (available in PDF form for free at Lego.com) for how many of each piece are needed--these are also sorted by color.
This is eligible for VIP points and for free shipping at $35. Bricks & Pieces does not count toward gifts with purchase, but the online Pick-a-Brick does. If you're ever a few cents away from the threshold for a promotional item, go to the Pick-a-Brick option (Menu-->Shop By-->Bricks-->Pick-a-Brick) and add a brick or two. Its part selection is smaller, and strangely, piece prices are inconsistent with Bricks & Pieces. Sometimes B&P is cheaper, sometimes PaB is cheaper, and sometimes they're the same.
This is a little more work than Bricklink, but you don't have to deal with multiple orders and multiple shipping costs, the bricks are guaranteed new, and you gain loyalty rewards.
The point of this long post is to say it will be interesting to see how Brick Sketches--with no prints or special parts--cost according to Lego's own pricing per particular piece, and hopefully provide some part-buying tips.
They look neat, although too expensive. I may try my hand at making a few of my own though!
1st thing I saw was a white Darth Vader in the unfinished stormtrooper helmet. Darth sooner than later?
These are very cool and very well done. Great work on the part of the design team. And those quarter-circle 1x1 tiles are turnign out be super handy.
18 quid!!??? Easy pass then.
€20 is just too much.
DOTS has 41914: Creative Picture Frames , which gives you 3 photo frames for €20 to decorate.
I don't really see the pieces add up to €20 for a single one here.
I like this theme but I do wish they weren't so overpriced.
Large plates and tiles can get pretty expensive, as I found out while MOC'ing a modular American-style cinema a while back. It will be interesting to compare the cost of the parts lists on Bricklink with the cost of the sets! I suspect the value for money isn't actually as bad as people suspect....
@sklamb said:
"Large plates and tiles can get pretty expensive, as I found out while MOC'ing a modular American-style cinema a while back. It will be interesting to compare the cost of the parts lists on Bricklink with the cost of the sets! I suspect the value for money isn't actually as bad as people suspect...."
Must be the licensing on top of the price of the parts then, as the upcoming DOTS sets use fairly large plates :
41907-1: Desk Organiser , 8x16 , 8x8 , 6x8 (x4)
41914-1: Creative Picture Frames , 8x8 , 6x10 (x4)
41915-1: Jewellery Box , 16x16 (x2)
All 3 of those new upcoming sets are €20 and around 400 parts each, and have a combination of large plates, some bricks and lots of tiles.
But I know those Sketches sets are 5-layers and many specialized angled/curved plates so I think you're right when we see the parts lists it'll look bigger.
Agree with @TeriXeri, hopefully it's just the licensed characters that are bumping up the prices. Guess we'll have to wait and see how much the original LEGO IP ones end up going for.
Y'all sleeping on DOTS big time.
@TomKazutara said:
"hm, pretty lame"
@TomKazutara: hm, pretty lame
I like this idea, think we'll see a lot of great MOCs by fans using the same style, I'm not interested in any of the sets currently offered but I'd love to try my hand at making a few portraits of other characters in the same style.
For $20 I'd rather get something else...
One word...
Dust.
Find these a lot more attractive than BrickHeadz or the Helmets. None of these are characters I'd be in a rush to purchase but looking forward to seeing more of them.