Review: 40503 Dagny Holm - Master Builder
Posted by Huw,
40503 Dagny Holm - Master Builder is the third in a series of sets available exclusively from the LEGO House in Billund.
It celebrates the life and work of Dagny Holm Jensen who was the niece of LEGO founder Ole Kirk Kristiansen and considered to be the company's first 'master builder'. She designed the models for LEGOLAND Billund when it opened in the 1960s, and continued to work at the company until 1986, aged 70.
The set depicts the model maker in her workshop building a large-scale giraffe.
Summary
40503 Dagny Holm - Master Builder, 1,068 pieces.
Buy at LEGO.com »
An excellent set for the discerning LEGO collector
- Packed with details and references to the first master builder's work
- The Dagny Holm figure is lost in the busy scene
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
It's packed in a sturdy flip-top box that are becoming something of a rarity nowadays. The instructions contain a lot of background information about the master builder and her work, but unfortunately they are not available at LEGO Customer Services yet.
It's a busy scene, modelled at miniland scale, in which human figures stand at about 4" / 10cm tall.
The master builder stands behind a height-adjustable building table on which she's putting the finishing touches to a large-scale model of a giraffe. Behind her is a cabinet packed with more miniature models of her work, and drawers full of bricks. At the back, two miniland-scale buildings sit on a trolley.
The whole thing sits on a substantial and sturdy base, the raised part of which is clad in light royal blue tiles.
The base is arguably bigger than it needs to be, but presumably it's been made that way to match the style of those in the other two sets which also have a flat black section at the front with a raised name plate.
If you've ever visited a LEGOLAND park you will be familiar with miniland-scale figures, but perhaps surprisingly they've only ever appeared in an official set once before, in 40115 LEGOLAND Entrance with Family, which was available exclusively at the parks during 2014.
She's holding a piece of the giraffe and a mallet, and attired in a monochromatic outfit, and that is really my only complaint about the set: as a result of her dour outfit the figure is lost in the scene. If she was wearing a more colourful top she'd stand out a lot better.
The cabinet behind her is stuffed with miniature versions of models she designed, rolled up drawings and books. Various 1x1 and 1x2 pieces can be found in the drawers representing her brick stock. I suspect back in the 1960 LEGO's entire parts palette would comfortably fit in 18 drawers!
Six unique tiles are included in the set which interestingly have a single element ID, 6296650. They depict:
- Dagny's graduation certificate
- The original LEGOLAND Billund plan
- Tivoli gardens train, which she designed
- Wooden clothes hangers, designed by Dagny at the age of 19
- Giraffe on graph paper, showing how models used to be designed
- Footsteps, representing all the master builders following in Dagny's shoes, including current LEGO House Master Builder Stuart Harris who always wears yellow ones...
This is a miniland scale model of two miniland scale buildings surrounded by miniland scale figures on top a trolley. Confused?
The building table takes centre stage on the model and designer Markus Rollbühler explained that he is particularly proud of the mechanism to raise and lower it, which apparently took ages to perfect.
It only raises 1cm or so, but the key thing is that it doesn't then collapse.
The giraffe stands about 16cm tall and is made primarily with bricks and plates, plus a few pieces that Dagny could only dream of back in the 1960s: jumper plates and brackets!
Finally, a miniature version of the iconic wooden duck sits on the floor.
Verdict
There's a lot going on in the scene which is packed with details and references to the master builder's work. From a distance it looks a little crowded, but it does invite closer inspection to appreciate it all.
It's unfortunate that Dagny herself gets a bit lost in it: If she had been given a red top you'd notice her straight away but as it is she's virtually invisible behind the table. Maybe she only ever wore greyscale clothes to work: if so, a bit of artistic licence could have been exercised.
But, that's only a minor point and overall this is an excellent and well-designed model that the discerning collector will want to acquire. Now that international travel is back on the cards it should be possible for more people to do so.
The 1,056-piece set is priced at 599DKK (about £67 / $88) in the brand store inside the LEGO House, and you can also find it on BrickLink, thanks to enterprising Billund locals.
Here are the three numbered LEGO House exclusives: 40501 The Wooden Duck, 40502 The Brick Moulding Machine and 40503 Dagny Holm - Master Builder. All three are still available there, so leave space in your suitcase!
Update: what could have been
If Dagny had a red top. Is she more visible?
If the giraffe is moved, and she's working on the duck instead. She certainly is now.
Special thanks to Gitte at the LEGO House for sending the set for us to review.
120 likes
34 comments on this article
Interesting... There's definitely more than meets the eye here. I like it more after reading this review than I did when official images were first revealed. Of course, I won't be heading to Billund anytime soon, so it's probably a moot point for now...
Being a 'Technic' AFOL, I like the table. Now, to modify it for greater range with more torque in order to put in models.
Thanks for a really good review!
I wish I knew her legacy.
Why didn't you talk about the elephant in the room?
She is worthy to wield Thor's hammer. (:o
@kyrodes said:
"Why didn't you talk about the elephant in the room?"
LOL :)
https://images.brickset.com/news/73516_P1065062.JPG
I didn't think of anything interesting to say about it :)
Imported the Duck, because it's a bird and a must buy. Going to build the Moulding Machine from parts. Thankfully all of the rare and printed parts were available from BnP, and it worked out to less than half the cost of importing.
Still a little on the fence about this one. Those printed tiles are amazing, and the rest of the set is fun. Just don't quite love the "Legoland" style enough for for an expensive display piece.
Fingers crossed those printed tiles show up on the new Pick'a'Brick.
I look forward to the Jamie Berard set they'll release in 50 years...
Ugh, I just spent a while on a reply and it disappeared when I clicked "post comment". I will come back later to comment in more detail, but before I step away to do some chores, I do want to say I'm very thankful for this detailed review, especially getting to see a lot more details of the set much more clearly than in the official pictures!
How about putting the giraffe aside and the duck on the table, would that make Dagny more visible?
Is there a build-specific reason for the lone headlight brick on the back of the cabinet?
@darthnorman said:
"How about putting the giraffe aside and the duck on the table, would that make Dagny more visible?"
Yes it does. Thanks for the suggestion. I've added a couple of new images showing the difference a red top and rearrangement makes.
@dkressin said:
"Is there a build-specific reason for the lone headlight brick on the back of the cabinet?"
Yes, one of the models is connected to the stud.
Did anyone notice that her diploma is spelt ‘diplom’?
I mean absolutely no disrespect to the first masterbuilder or the designer but her head to me looks like a dog's head more than a human. But in general i really like how unique are the subject for Lego House Exclusive sets, I really appreciate that approach.
I have seldom been so tempted to overpay for a Lego set. Loving the train and flag on top of the cabinet, and the lamp on the desk.
@RaiderOfTheLostBrick said:
"Did anyone notice that her diploma is spelt ‘diplom’?"
It's the Danish word for diploma, so it makes sense..
@Huw said:
" @darthnorman said:
"How about putting the giraffe aside and the duck on the table, would that make Dagny more visible?"
Yes it does. Thanks for the suggestion. I've added a couple of new images showing the difference a red top and rearrangement makes."
I really like the last couple of "what could have been" additions. This one is great for showing how configurable this model really is. I prefer the rearrangement here.
@dkressin said:
" @RaiderOfTheLostBrick said:
"Did anyone notice that her diploma is spelt ‘diplom’?"
It's the Danish word for diploma, so it makes sense.."
Ah, fair enough.
@Huw:
There’s an elephant print in the VIP Rewards Center (or at least there was), so there has to be a story behind the inclusion of an elephant in this model. No idea what it is, though.
Lots of great little details. You’re right about the figure being lost in the mix and the white shirt though, I didn’t even notice it when images first came out.
If she had pink skin too that would be better - can you update ?
These LEGOLAND macrofigures still scare the hell out of me.
Once the giraffe is put on the floor so she can work on the duck and/or the delightful elephant, I don't think she needs a red shirt to stand out. It's more that having the giraffe on top of the table really seizes all the viewer's attention--I not only didn't see Dagny, but didn't appreciate that cabinet behind her. In fact, if the giraffe was moved out to a base of its own, I think the remaining vignette would be much improved.
@sklamb said:
"Once the giraffe is put on the floor so she can work on the duck and/or the delightful elephant, I don't think she needs a red shirt to stand out. It's more that having the giraffe on top of the table really seizes all the viewer's attention--I not only didn't see Dagny, but didn't appreciate that cabinet behind her. In fact, if the giraffe was moved out to a base of its own, I think the remaining vignette would be much improved."
Agree, also, how can she work on the giraffe without a ladder nearby? Most unrealistic set in Lego history.
@Aanchir said:
"Ugh, I just spent a while on a reply and it disappeared when I clicked "post comment". I will come back later to comment in more detail, but before I step away to do some chores, I do want to say I'm very thankful for this detailed review, especially getting to see a lot more details of the set much more clearly than in the official pictures!"
I believe it happens when a significant amount of comments have been posted in the time between clicking the article and publishing a comment, so especially annoying for long comments. An easy fix is to copy it before publishing just in case, so then you can just paste if it deletes the comment
@Slobrojoe said:
" @Aanchir said:
"Ugh, I just spent a while on a reply and it disappeared when I clicked "post comment". I will come back later to comment in more detail, but before I step away to do some chores, I do want to say I'm very thankful for this detailed review, especially getting to see a lot more details of the set much more clearly than in the official pictures!"
I believe it happens when a significant amount of comments have been posted in the time between clicking the article and publishing a comment, so especially annoying for long comments. An easy fix is to copy it before publishing just in case, so then you can just paste if it deletes the comment"
It happens when you leave it more than 20 minutes between loading the page and posting the comment. Your session times out. It can be increased, but that has unwanted side effects.
While I think the miniland scale is great to look at, I'm a minifig man. This is however a great parts pack. Let's see, driving 8 hours to get a Lego set? Hmmmm
@Lamarider said:
" @sklamb said:
"Once the giraffe is put on the floor so she can work on the duck and/or the delightful elephant, I don't think she needs a red shirt to stand out. It's more that having the giraffe on top of the table really seizes all the viewer's attention--I not only didn't see Dagny, but didn't appreciate that cabinet behind her. In fact, if the giraffe was moved out to a base of its own, I think the remaining vignette would be much improved."
Agree, also, how can she work on the giraffe without a ladder nearby? Most unrealistic set in Lego history.
"
More unrealistic than the cabrio spaceships, the snowplow on an ice planet, the Indiana Jones Temple of Doom and the Monkie Kid Galactic explorer?
To me the cabinet alone with all those lovely microbuilds are worth it for me.
This is an amazing display set and would be alotta' fun to build all those micro models.
Maybe the best way to display is break it up horizontal. Moc out the base to extend the sides so on the left hand side show the cabinet to see all the lovely details, then center Dagny at her work bench w/some micro models on it, then right hand side the cart with the micro buildings and giraffe, etc.
@Reg said:
"If she had pink skin too that would be better - can you update ?"
Ooh, and if she wore a mermaid suit, a Viking helmet and a fake moustache, she would be even more visible. Can you update?
Just kidding! :D
That is a good set.
I’ll be going to The Lego House in September, so I felt some personal stakes in their exclusive set for this year. At first I was a little underwhelmed when I saw images of this set — it looked a little messy.
But this review has really shown off the details, and now I am excited to pick up this set. (I’ll probably swap the positions of the giraffe and the duck, because I prefer the balance of that layout.)
Thanks for a great review, @Huw!