Review: 31204 Elvis Presley 'The King'
Posted by MeganL,
Huw was obviously all shook up at the news of 31204 Elvis Presley 'The King' set, considering his reaction when the images first surfaced.
So, for a change of habit, I was the one who volunteered to review this latest LEGO Art offering and let Huw and the set go their separate ways. Plus, wasn't it a thoughtful way for him to treat me nice?
Summary
31204 Elvis Presley 'The King', 3,445 pieces.
£104.99 / $119.99 / €119.99 | 3.0p/3.5c/3.5c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Homage to Elvis that will delight fans of the rock legend
- Full use of colour palette
- 1x1 tiles in some rare colours
- 'Paint by numbers' LEGO
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
While the set did not arrive by US Male, it does come in the large black box that we've grown to expect from the Art series. The box did arrive a little the worse for wear, but as we're mostly interested in the brick, there's no reason to return to sender. The insides had been jostled around a bit, and the wear shown on the packaging would be disappointing to those who like pristine boxes.
Inside the boxes there's the instruction manual on top, one compartment with 15 bags of 1x1 tiles in various colours. They're sorted by colour, with the exception of medium stone grey and light stone grey being in the same bag. The compartment under the instruction manuals holds four bags of black parts for the frame, as well as the colour scale with some sample 1x1 tiles line each colour. The raised 16x16 plates are in the final compartment. There's a link to a soundtrack, but as it's before the release date I couldn't access it, though I'm sure it will bring back memories.
The Elvis portraits use the full palette of colours. While none of the colours are new to this set (near as I can tell), some of the shades are newish and have been in relatively few sets, such as the sand, or dare I say, moody, blue.
Considering the colour palette, it's surprising to see the picture that's used on the cover of the instruction book. Clearly the silver has been repurposed in blue hues for this set, necessary to accommodate all three models. The choice, however logical, did tickle me.
I chose the B model to build first. I originally thought I'd be able to put it together in one night. However, I was building during a certain popular recent sporting event, and before I knew it, it's midnight. Perhaps a little less conversation would have facilitated quicker building. While watching TV, I was averaging around 30 minutes per panel, though I did have a hound dog "helping" me that slowed progress somewhat. It also explains any dog hair you might see in these pictures!
Each panel has pretty clear instructions. To me, it felt like "paint by numbers" LEGO. It might be suitable if you're starting the hobby, but obviously there's no building challenge found here.
As mentioned before, all of the details are using 1x1 round tiles. I was very happy about this usage as opposed to 1x1 round plates, as it eliminated the whole "do I align all the LEGO logos on the build?". Instead of trying to follow that dream, I'll just pretend that they're all oriented the same way.
Way down at the bottom of each model there's a unique part to this set: Elvis' signature. Each model shows the colour alternative if you don't want to add the signature piece, but as I'm a hard headed woman, I kept the signature plate on each model.
My first build was the B model, or Elvis from 1959. It's the only pose with the guitar man smiling, as seen on the cover of his "For LP fans only", when he was a bright, flaming star.
I think it's a very good rendition of the pose. No compromises were required on the colour, and of the three, I think this was the most enjoyable to build. I almost hated to take it apart to build the others, as during the disassembly process the flat tiles pieces tend to get stuck on you.
However, since I wanted to provide as complete a review as possible, I decided that it's now or never, and proceeded to pop all of the tiles off the plates. While the large tile separator was included, so was my little good luck charm, the minifigure crowbar. I found this tool to be much more effective at removing tiles in between models.
The frame is constructed around the edge of the portrait, which was much more involved than I suspected. Two of these special panels are included to allow the portrait to be hung; to make things easy come, easy go.
Next up, I built the C model, which is an image taken from Elvis' 1973 TV special, "Aloha from Hawaii". This was a record-breaking telecast of its time, and was near the start of his jumpsuit years. I can almost hear him singing "Love Me Tender" when looking at the picture, though he does remind me of a teddy bear.
This model is also reasonably accurate, though the build was not as engaging. As this pose is in profile, there's understandably a lot of black, almost too much. Blue is selected as the background for this picture, arguable making this Elvis' Blue Hawaii.
Sharp eyed readers will notice that I only built the frame for the first portrait. Building it twice more would have been double trouble, and I thought I could get decent pictures without the frame.
After building the B and C models, I found that the A model was always on my mind, so I decided to try that next. It's the photo taken from arguably Elvis' first "greatest hits" album, though it's titled more simply "Number One U.S. Singles".
This is the only build I had a quibble with. It looks good, but something looks off about the eyes to me. I checked a few times to make sure I had it right, but there's something that doesn't feel quite right about the right eye. It's a limitation of the tiles, for sure, but if I can dream, I'd find other colours to use.
For those who have a burning love of Elvis, acquiring three of these sets will allow you to build yet another pose, taken from the movie "Viva Las Vegas". This explains the presence of many more medium blue pieces in the set than what were required for any of the three builds. This pose isn't exactly the same as the pose included in the set, but it's the closest I could find.
Considering there were part of the three builds that I found somewhat tedious - especially the sections that had a large amount of black - using all that blue in the bigger build would not be a clambake.
Overall thoughts
Suspicious minds may think that LEGO created this set only to appeal to Elvis fans, and I think they would be right! According to the instruction book, half of all Elvis Spotify listeners are under the age of 25, so it appears the younger generation is ready to shake, rattle, and roll.
I expect the price will be the same as other Art sets ($119.99 US) but at 3445 pieces with a significant number of tiles in flesh tones, this allows for great flexibility in creating other portraits, assuming the subject has paler skin tones and has darker hair. The three Elvis likenesses are quite good, though if I'm wrong on that score I expect the commenters will make me know it.
As with all Art sets, don't expect a challenging build. I call it "paint by numbers", as that's very much how it felt. It may be well suited for your little sister, or perhaps that opinion is just held by a fool such as I.
The key market for this set, of course, will be Elvis fans who may or may not be fans of LEGO. I expect that this demographic will be at a fever pitch to surrender their cash to obtain multiple copies of this set.
There! I made it through an Elvis review without making a play on words to some of his most famous songs: Don't Be Cruel, Blue Suede Shoes, Can't Help Fallin' in Love, or Heartbreak Hotel. I have included several titles of Elvis movies and his famous songs in this review, however. Can you guess how many?
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67 comments on this article
Elvis Presley was a simple truck-driver from America. But one day in the 1950s, he invented rock and roll!
Elvis became famous, then they forced him into the army. Then he came out and ten years later came back with the comeback special. Elvis was back.
From then until his death he played in Las Vegas and became once again the king of rock and roll.
Ladies and gentlemen, that was the three ages of Elvis.
However many there were, that's good work getting all those elvis tracks in! I wondered if the suggested sound track included any lego pun elvis covers to make you smile during the build? Eg "the lego rose of texas" "heartbrick hotel" etc
Punny! :-D
Painting by numbers at least requires some skill. This is mindnumbing.
@MainBricker said:
"Elvis? Never heard of him, so therefore no one else has and no AFOL has, why do Lego keep making these niche themes when they could be making castles?"
Well, he was called the "King" of rock and roll. Does that count?
Just looking at the last image of the three combined sets, does anyone else think it looks a bit more like Ronald Reagan?
Are you sure that color number 10 isn't a new addition in 1 x 1 round tiles? It appears to be regular nougat (with 9 being light nougat and 11 medium nougat). It doesn't seem to be pink enough to be coral which I think would be the only color that close in tone and hue. Admittedly it is hard to tell from photos, but between your shots and the official LEGO ones, it would appear to be new. I suppose we will have to wait for the official inventory to be released!
This is the best article I've ever read on this site
@vizzitor said:
" @MainBricker said:
"Elvis? Never heard of him, so therefore no one else has and no AFOL has, why do Lego keep making these niche themes when they could be making castles?"
Well, he was called the "King" of rock and roll. Does that count?
Just looking at the last image of the three combined sets, does anyone else think it looks a bit more like Ronald Reagan?"
I'm pretty sure he's making fun of the people complaining about the recent sets like the Horizon Longneck and the BTS set
@THEMIDDLEBRICK said:
"Are you sure that color number 10 isn't a new addition in 1 x 1 round tiles? It appears to be regular nougat (with 9 being light nougat and 11 medium nougat). It doesn't seem to be pink enough to be coral which I think would be the only color that close in tone and hue. Admittedly it is hard to tell from photos, but between your shots and the official LEGO ones, it would appear to be new. I suppose we will have to wait for the official inventory to be released!"
Is that not orange/bright orange?
Definitely the best Art set by far. Will be the first one that I can't resist getting on day 1 (although I'll wait for discounts on the other 5 copies required and do a bit of Shoppin' Around!)
I see that the poll is confirming that most don't know too many Elvis songs!
There is absolutely NO WAY half of Elvis listeners are under 25 - maybe people setting up accounts for there grandparents or maybe an Elvis song popped up in a random play list but to think that 50% of under 25 users went out of there way to play Elvis - yeah nah.
Sometimes I would love to see sales figures for individual sets. I just can’t see this selling unless it’s on deep deep discount, and likely then it will be for parts.
@vizzitor said:
" @THEMIDDLEBRICK said:
"Are you sure that color number 10 isn't a new addition in 1 x 1 round tiles? It appears to be regular nougat (with 9 being light nougat and 11 medium nougat). It doesn't seem to be pink enough to be coral which I think would be the only color that close in tone and hue. Admittedly it is hard to tell from photos, but between your shots and the official LEGO ones, it would appear to be new. I suppose we will have to wait for the official inventory to be released!"
Is that not orange/bright orange?"
I don't think so. The oranges are quite a bit more saturated - used on the face as a skin tone it they would stand out quite a bit.
Kind of weird that they cropped out his hair, probably his most recognizable feature. The second one in the review would probably look like a big black blob with all that hair, but I feel like the first and third ones would look more elvisy
Great review and couldn't stop laughing at the great use of all the "hidden" movie and song titles. You obviously know your Elvis, even managing to get in "Clambake"!
Great review MeganL, thank you! Can't stop thinking about what Huw's review would have been. Something in the lines of "Here, there you have it. Screw this guy, I am out." :D
Colour 10 looks to be nougat, https://brickset.com/parts/colour-Nougat, and if so then it's the first apperance of the 1x1 round tile in that colour.
Terrific review! Working in all those song titles must have been quite the task, but it made for a really fun read.
@vizzitor said:
"Just looking at the last image of the three combined sets, does anyone else think it looks a bit more like Ronald Reagan?"
Someone suggested Norm MacDonald and now that's all I ever see.
Like all "Art" theme sets - what you see is exactly what you get. Either you want to hang one of these and a fan of the picture, or not. There's no "build" with these, reviewer correctly described it as "paint by numbers" with Lego.
@Huw said:
"Colour 10 looks to be nougat, https://brickset.com/parts/colour-Nougat, and if so then it's the first apperance of the 1x1 round tile in that colour."
Huw, is that your opinion based on comparing the tile to other nougat pieces? I'm very curious about that Ias I could really use a couple hundred of those nougat tiles for my mosaics!
Aside from all the music, let’s not forget that he gave the world the peanut butter, banana and bacon sandwich.
@vizzitor said:
"...he invented rock and roll!"
LOL
Return to sender.
@vizzitor said:
"Elvis Presley was a simple truck-driver from America. But one day in the 1950s, he invented rock and roll!
Elvis became famous, then they forced him into the army. Then he came out and ten years later came back with the comeback special. Elvis was back.
From then until his death he played in Las Vegas and became once again the king of rock and roll.
Ladies and gentlemen, that was the three ages of Elvis."
And for our next LEGO Art set - a big hand for Diana Ross and two of The Supremes!
@Spike730 said:
"Painting by numbers at least requires some skill. This is mindnumbing."
I think for some, the slow, steady progress toward completion appeals to them. It's a personality type, some people enjoy it, and others can't comprehend it.
I like these LEGO Art sets, and this Elvis set looks good too, but I haven't bought any. Either the subject just doesn't interest me enough or I wasn't impressed by the choice of pictures (e.g. Beatles and World Map). I wold probably buy anything with space exploration though, like a space shuttle or Apollo astronauts on the Moon, etc.
Long live the King!
I'm really not interested in this set, but the review was terrific! Well done @MeganL!
@vizzitor said:
"Elvis Presley was a simple truck-driver from America. But one day in the 1950s, he invented rock and roll!
Elvis became famous, then they forced him into the army. Then he came out and ten years later came back with the comeback special. Elvis was back.
From then until his death he played in Las Vegas and became once again the king of rock and roll.
Ladies and gentlemen, that was the three ages of Elvis."
I see what you did there :)
It is 45yrs since Elvis passed away this year, perhaps that is the reason they chose to make an Art set for him. Or it could be that they just wanted a well recognised name around the world from music, first was the Beatles, now Elvis - I expect ABBA will be next year lol!
I'm with everyone on the mind numbing build experience though, was so excited for the Star Wars that I bought three copies to build the large Darth Vadar, only to find you need to download the instructions for the three panel build. I build Lego to not be on my computer, I don't want to be looking at a screen to build Lego!! Anyway, found it boring, wasn't too long a build though but needed to stand 4m away from the build for it to look good, so overall a fail for me. Would like to to get the world map though and replace the ocean with all one colour so it has no orange, I think that would look really good, even if it bored me to death to build :)
WHAT ABOUT SLOTHS NOT INCLUDED??
jk. I think in this case they would have detracted from an already amazing review.
I'm more interested in hearing why huw hates Elvis so much, there has to be a story about that. Like as a kid, his mom would get drunk and wake him up to dance with her to Elvis songs
At least one of the pictures should have been old Elvis fighting a mummy. Preferably also including JFK, just to be historically accurate.
"It's time for A-C-T-I-O-N!"
Nice review.
Not a fan of Elvis in anyway shape of form (my music tastes are way heavier then anything he put out) but at a reasonable discount, with the colour palette included in this set, this is a great parts pack to make your own portrait mosaics so for that reason alone it's the on the wanted list.
Just a side note, how long will I have to wait for these set sets to come out as Iron Maiden album covers, just asking for a friend.
I love the poll at the end! Brilliant
So the Box as "all shook up" when it arrived ?
@bandit778 said:
"Just a side note, how long will I have to wait for these set sets to come out as Iron Maiden album covers, just asking for a friend."
Nah, just an Eddie minifig and I'd be happy :-)
Are you lonesome tonight? Then build this set!
I'm sure they won't put you in the jailhouse if you rock the box to hear the pieces!
Thank you Father.
Whilst I'd certainly rather listen to Elvis, I'd much prefer to build a proper Lego Spice Girls or BTS set.
@Agnew said:
" @vizzitor said:
"...he invented rock and roll!"
LOL"
Nah, he didn't invent it. But he made rock and roll HUGE!
Some black geniuses invented rock and roll: Chuck Berry, Little Richard, ...
May their souls all rest in peace. :|
@ra226 said:
" @Spike730 said:
"Painting by numbers at least requires some skill. This is mindnumbing."
I think for some, the slow, steady progress toward completion appeals to them. It's a personality type, some people enjoy it, and others can't comprehend it."
Personally I like the variety of all different sorts of build. If it turns up when expected March should be Elvis followed by Titanic!
@MLF said:
" @vizzitor said:
"Just looking at the last image of the three combined sets, does anyone else think it looks a bit more like Ronald Reagan?"
Someone suggested Norm MacDonald and now that's all I ever see."
And the B-model for the Norm MacDonald set? You guessed it- Frank Stallone!
I am not even the slightest bit interested in this product and I never listen to Elvis but this was a very funny review to read. I'm guessing that it was fun to write too.
One of the reasons I dislike Elvis is that the local news seemed far too often to have a piece about Elvis impersonator conventions. Hundreds of amateur Elvises are not news, they're just nuts. I also happen to find his vocal style grating.
Once I realised what the 'review' consisted of I stopped reading but it does rather sum up these sets that they don't warrant a proper review.
Loved the puns.
Can the ‘paint by numbers’ aspect really be considered a negative, given it’s the whole premise of the set and this Art theme?
@WizardOfOss said:
"At least one of the pictures should have been old Elvis fighting a mummy. Preferably also including JFK, just to be historically accurate.
"It's time for A-C-T-I-O-N!""
Oh my gosh - that movie is TWENTY years old now??? Thanks for making me feel like an old man today! =D
Best lego mosaic likeness so far.
Pretty spot on and colors excellent especially for the skin tones.
ELVIS! The archetype for every rock band-front man ever.
If I could have three sets I wouldn’t build the combo but stick with the a, b and c versions for display. An American Trilogy if you will.
Great review! Love the song references.
I counted 39?
Maybe 41? But not sure.
I'm suprised they haven't started selling the art sets in a triple pack for maybe 10 bucks off to encourage building the larger ones.
@kolaxanthe said:
"And for our next LEGO Art set - a big hand for Diana Ross and two of The Supremes!"
Well I'm still waiting....
We built 21226 as a family activity one holiday evening. It was actually kind of for everyone. This set appears to come with only a single book, so perhaps it doesn't lend itself to collaboration so effectively. I presume the instructions will be available for download once the set is released. Either that, or you could disassemble the paper book.
The best review in Brickset history?
Thanks for the great review, Megan! That was a lot of fun. I don't often listen to Elvis, but this article had me singing all the way through :-)
@ShinyBidoof said:
"Once I realised what the 'review' consisted of I stopped reading but it does rather sum up these sets that they don't warrant a proper review."
What do you consider a proper review? I read through it and it seemed fine to me. It's tailored to the set and its nature, it's written with charming references befitting the subject matter, and it covers all the necessary aspects. I'd say it's proper.
@Dare_Wreck said:
"Oh my gosh - that movie is TWENTY years old now??? Thanks for making me feel like an old man today! =D"
I know the feeling all too well....just a few days ago I was reminded by a radio show that one of my all-time favorite songs is 30 years old now....the '80s and '90s still don't feel like that long ago to me...
(Manic Street Preachers - Motorcycle Emptiness)
At long last a great colour palette for portraits. I wonder if buying four to increase the facial detail four-fold would allow more realistic eyes. It would be great one day to see a Mindstorms robot at an expo or Lego shop building a portrait after taking a photograph of an attendee.
The art sets are probably really tedious to build, but their value is definitely in the display. It's my quip with the Globe as well: very tedious build experience where you do the same bits again and again, but the final piece is a mouth watering piece of art. So many colleagues made jealous by the new desk ornament...
Great review Megan! I am definitely Girl Happy about this set! I hope number 3 is light royal blue not med blue, or I will be Something Blue. I have Suspicion that number 11 is nougat, if so, I'll be a Puppet on a String, as I Want You, I Need You, I Love You! It Hurts Me to wait until March 1st as Elvis has always been A Big Hunk O' Love and I'll Forever Love You. You are Always on My Mind, and I Can't Stop Loving You....
@DragonLord56 said:
"The best review in Brickset history?"
No. No, it's not.
I want a Dio mosaic , I would hang it above my bed next to the actual Dio portrait that's currently there.
This thread needs a video:
https://youtu.be/WWVMXLSS1cA
Great article!
I like Elvis as a singer, but I love him as an Americana popular culture icon.
Given that there was no D model 'Elvis meets Nixon' variant, it's Aloha Hawaii for me...
@WizardOfOss said:
" @bandit778 said:
"Just a side note, how long will I have to wait for these set sets to come out as Iron Maiden album covers, just asking for a friend."
Nah, just an Eddie minifig and I'd be happy :-)"
my dad would yell at the heavens [or maybe... run for the hills? xp] at the thought! massive Maiden fan he is, and all the prohibitively-priced Star Wars sets every year have already trashed his spirits so much.
as to me, I've felt the format of these mosaics would fit the cover for U2's POP like a charm. four faces to choose from, consistent colour scheme [silver+black+primary colours], benday-dot aesthetic... heck, the album's name comes from Pop Art! shame U2 themselves would rather ignore that album ever happened, as the recent rumour of ZOO TV Funko POPs [the irony!] seems to show they're up for toy likenesses...
For those who are checking back and are curious, there are 45 references to Elvis songs and movies in this review. :-)
For some reason, batman and elvis art sets have disappeared from Lego UK site