Review: 31206 The Rolling Stones
Posted by MeganL,
The last time I reviewed an Art set, I tried to fit as many references to the artist as I could. Memories from that did not fade away, so when 31206 The Rolling Stones set was announced, the hand of fate that is Huw wasted no time in telling me what to do.
The set is a departure from previous sets in the Art line, so I had no expectations as to what the build experience would be like. The only part I had mixed emotions about was – where would I display it?
Summary
31206 The Rolling Stones, 1,998 pieces.
£129.99 / $149.99 / €149.99 | 6.5p/7.5c/7.5c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
The iconic (and sizable) Rolling Stones logo in a great display format
- Accurate representation
- Absorbing building experience
- Large model for display
- It's huge!
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
While the package did not come from 2000 light years from home, when it did arrive it was much larger than I expected – in particular it was much deeper that previous Art sets. To let it loose, the box top lifts off, showing a smaller box inside, plus other loose bags and baseplates. In all, there are 20 bags numbered 1 through 12, three unnumbered bags with Technic squares and larger red and black plates, 5 larger Technic baseplates (aka Brick 4/3, 16x16 w/4.85 hole), and of course, an instruction book.
The size and style of the box is rather awkward – difficult to flatten, it won’t hold the completed model, making storage complicated. Because of the different size, it came packaged in a different sized box, but fortunately wasn’t torn and frayed. I’d have preferred a box similar to other Art sets, but you can’t always get what you want.
The instruction book has some basic facts at the start about both the logo and the Stones, but doesn’t have quite the cringey level of language that I found in the Elvis set instructions. There’s also a soundtrack available through a QR code, but as it’s before the release date the link is not active. I had everything I needed to start me up, as is the case each and every day of the year that I get to build with LEGO.
The completed model
The logo was created by a M.A. student, John Pasche, in 1970, for the sum of £50. The original logo was in black and white. As Mr. Pasche tells it, the first version did not meet with Mick Jagger’s approval, so he was encouraged to try a little harder and came up with the final product.
The version that we’re all familiar with was first used on the “Sticky Fingers” album in 1971, and has been featured on every Rolling Stones album cover all down the line ever since.
Pasche drew inspiration from the Hindu goddess Kali, and not Mick Jagger. Kali is known being portrayed with her tongue sticking out. One could say she was the original honky tonk woman, or perhaps she was a child of the moon.
As the Rolling Stones were unconventional for their time, this Art set is similar – it’s not bounded by the square proportions of the previous Art mosaic sets. Similarly, the parts usage is much more extensive than simply placing 1x1 round tiles on a plate. Paint-by-numbers LEGO this definitely is not, and those looking for a better build experience will be in heaven.
Time waits for no one, so I was happy to start the build. It’s clear from the start that the finished model is quite large. The following picture is just the first section, and takes up most of the space of my typical photo set-up. I had to get creative for some of the other pictures because of the size, especially once the connection was made between this first part of the build and the rest.
The top lips are only raised by one plate, with the white highlight on the upper lip one more plate than that. Little by little, you can see things come together.
The rest of base layer assembled quickly. With all the plates joined together, and the lips outlined, it was time to start work on the tongue, which adds another plate layer and includes the use of curved pieces to show the relief more. Interestingly, for the filler layer, the designer chose to put in an interesting design that appears to shine a light on the number 60 in a yellow to orange palette, presumably to commemorate the band’s anniversary.
Building the tongue was an interesting and absorbing process – the main challenge was that it’s mostly placing red pieces on other red pieces, almost like a jigsaw puzzle. The highlighting provided in the instruction manual wasn’t always clear. I had to do a lot of checking to make sure I hadn’t forgotten something, or making sure I had no spare parts.
When finished, though the tongue is a work of art. There’s a feeling of satisfaction when the model is completed by pressing the black “The Rolling Stones” tile under my thumb.
A close up on the tongue shows the texturing with the use of a nice variety of pieces, including 1x1 round tiles and ingot pieces, the latter which seems to be introduced in this set in red. Once it’s finished, you know it’s all over now.
The final product looks fantastic. It was a challenge to get a picture of it in my standard set up, so I ended up laying it on the floor and moving around and around to take a picture, trying not to sway.
The final dimensions, as shown on the box, are 22 by 18.5 inches, which is pretty sizeable. There are two of the special beams (aka Panel 3x5, w/4.85 hole) provided to assist with hanging. The next task was to find where to hang it! Undercover of the night, I was a beast of burden and hauled the set and my camera/tripod In a few different rooms around my house. The following pictures will also give you a sense of scale.
First, I tried the living room. While certainly colourful, it didn’t quite fit there. Time is on my side, so I looked elsewhere.
Perhaps the dining room? An interesting spot, but I could take it or leave it. I wonder if it’s the wall colour, or if I should paint it black?
As the Stones are the salt of the earth, I tried it in the entrance to the kitchen. Maybe I have a heart of stone, but I didn’t like it there either.
I didn’t want to play with fire any further, and decided to stop breaking down the photo setup. I tried one last spot – the upstairs hallway. I think it looks quite fine among the artwork of Mongolian wild horses.
Considering I didn’t have properly spaced nail holes in any of these locations, I had to depend on single nails holding up the piece, which did give me my 19th nervous breakdown hoping the set wouldn’t fall while I was setting up the photographs, leaving everything shattered.. I made sure in every spot the set wouldn’t fall off the hook. I was a fool to cry – a standard nail did perfectly well in keeping the set on the wall.
Overall thoughts
I’m out of time for this review! LEGO broke the mould of the Art theme with this model, and they’ve done a really nice job, even though the inspiration is it’s only rock and roll. It’s a very attractive model, and looks great when hanging on the wall – the extra dimension of the model really pops.
Some girls, like me, will find it to be a fun build experience, with a great looking model at the end. When the set was announced, some complained about the lack of uniformity of black around the outer edge. While I can appreciate the observation, I think the designer has done a really great job in assembling elements to resemble this admittedly unconventional and unusual shape.
Pop culture and Rolling Stones fans will not love in vain if they get this set, as will anyone who wants to try their hand at developing some skills on layering techniques and building some dimension in a sculpture. It may be a great building experience for a family or while waiting on a friend.
Another musical Art set review done! It was very difficult to work in the words of some of the Stones best known songs, such as Gimme Shelter, Sympathy for the Devil, or Jumpin Jack Flash. However, I did manage to work in several of their other song titles, including every Stones song mentioned in the comments on the original Brickset post. Can you guess how many?
121 likes
43 comments on this article
Not for me. I don't want a giant tongue on the wall. But great job on the review.
Not for me personally either - but IMHO it's an excellent set objectivity: faithful to the original while remaining clearly Lego, extraordinarily well-designed, and superior in depth and built experience to the flat, endless-1x1 art sets. I think it's great whether you have high expectations, modest expectations, or No Expectations.
And of course the review is a nice bit of Dirty Work, and really makes the reader Happy. :-)
The set number should be just :P
I'm glad the Art theme is expanding into something more than mosaics. I don't like the set but I can't deny that the use of plates creates a faithful representation of the logo, and the curved slopes add some texture and volume to it.
I can't wait for the inevitable Dark Side of the Moon prism in 2025 for Pink Floyd's 60th anniversary.
EDIT: Or in 2023 for the album's 50th!
Not that I really want to see one, but I'm in if they drop a Pink Floyd one. That's about it.
11/10 for execution on this though, looks amazing! Was just never a fan of the Stones, songs I like are covers anyways lol
Love it
Interesting take on the Art series. I’d love to see what else TLG can pull, now that we know that mosaic-style artwork isn’t the only way this can be done
@MeganL
*clap clap clap*
As others have mentioned, this is a great set and it'd be interesting to see which other household names will be tackled next. I haven't listened to much Rolling Stones outside of Weird Al's Hot Rocks Polka, but even then I was still able to catch many of the references in this review.
Wow, Megan appears to be living in quite a mansion. Impressive.
Or were the pictures taken in Mick Jagger's home?
;-P
Not a massive fan so this isn’t really meant for me, but looks great for fans.
I do feel like the hidden ‘60’ feels more like busy-work than an easter egg!
Way to get me to go back and re-read the review, twice, bravo! :)
Great review @MeganL!
I don't like the band, but the logo is iconic. The black border looks terrible though, I really think they could have done better with that, but I guess you can't always get what you want (c'mon, I had to throw one in)
Not a fan of the Stones, but I quite like this set, and this review is just brilliant. As for the number of references: considering I'm not a fan I must have missed a few, but I bet it's over 9000!
Not quite for me, but definitely liking the whole "not a square" part.
It’s a tongue. Wow.
I know that the Rolling Stones are very famous and have a lot of fans, but given the subject matter of the logo I'm not sure how many people would want to put this on their walls?
It's one thing to put band logo posters on the wall as a teenager but this is aimed at adults. Or is it just me? I do get a bit grossed out by lips and mouths so that may well be it.
I really dislike Elvis' music but if I was somehow forced to pick between that and this to have on the wall I'd take Elvis.
still waiting for the next art set after the Warhol one in the art line. seems to be as unlikely as another architecture inspired set in the architecture line.
as for the set on its own: neither the music of the stones nor the graphics design (my profession) nor the interpretation by lego is appealing to me ... make it quarter the size and I'm impressed if it's recognisable - at that size it's not close enough (don't say one can do it, but if one can't do it, don't do it).
to me this is a manifestation of Lego's attempt of hard-selling any set thinkable to non-lego-fan adult customers.
So now you have a bunch of nails in the house, without anything on them?
This is really one of the best reviews I have read. So entertaining, flipping between hints at the subject and experiences of the build process.
The set is not appealing to me, but the reading is definitely.
Keep it up, Megan.
Absolutely superb. Really looking forward to getting this. And for those who don't appreciate it.... you better move on :-)
Been a fan of the Stones ever since they played their 11th gig at my local pub.... or I would have been if I hadn't been only 2 at the time!
@AustinPowers said:
"Wow, Megan appears to be living in quite a mansion. Impressive.
Or were the pictures taken in Mick Jagger's home?
;-P"
I was thinking the same thing! :)
Thanks for the review, that was a fun read! I appreciate the design of this set, but it's not for me. One consideration is always if I can use the parts to build something else and in this case, that would be quite challenging. So I'm sticking with the 'regular' Art sets. Have had a ton of fun rebuilding those into numerous designs already, also as a fun family activity, so that's still a win.
Awesome job Megan. Very entertaining!
I like the Stones, and this set looks really well done, but it does feel very *specific* in where it would look very good.
A basement or entertainment room seem like the best options. My leisure room has a corner with a turntable and all my vinyl records, so a space like that would be ideal. But again, not a big enough fan.
IDK, maybe I’m wrong and there’s more Stones fans out there with rumpus rooms than I expect. Lord knows Deadheads have managed to keep the cottage industry of Grateful Dead merch alive 30+ years after THAT band ended.
Anyone else expecting dancing bears to be announced as an art set soon? I wouldn’t be shocked.
Fantastic review!
Congratulations, I have a great deal of Sympathy for the Devil of a job you had trying to work in song titles.
@Paperdaisy said:
"I know that the Rolling Stones are very famous and have a lot of fans, but given the subject matter of the logo I'm not sure how many people would want to put this on their walls?
It's one thing to put band logo posters on the wall as a teenager but this is aimed at adults. Or is it just me? I do get a bit grossed out by lips and mouths so that may well be it.
I really dislike Elvis' music but if I was somehow forced to pick between that and this to have on the wall I'd take Elvis."
I agree with everything you said, but that's why I want it. It's very cool and shocking to make a Lego/Man Cave/wotkout/media room statement.
Very nice and creative review. Love the vintage touches in your house as well.
Kinda ew.
I'm not a Stones fan (except for possibly three individual songs) but the way LEGO have created the tongue is very clever, although not as clever as your article, Megan. I might even dig out my original official RS tongue on a chain that I wore in the 70s to celebrate...
I can’t believe @MeganL won’t tell us how many songs she referenced. She’s So Cold!
Also she didn’t mention if she washed her hands before building it or if she had Sticky Fingers.
Good and fun review.
I think this is a great set. Even though a lot of us don’t have a need to buy this. I think we all want to build it just to see how all those plates are used.
@MeganL , very nice review.
Note: for me the very first image, and the image of Kali , dont zoom, 1st pic even throws an error. I have not checked all the many pics.
@AustinPowers said:
"Wow, Megan appears to be living in quite a mansion. Impressive.
Or were the pictures taken in Mick Jagger's home?
;-P"
I was going to say the same, that house looks beautiful!!!
I really like the wall photos, it shows really well how big it is and, though I wouldn't buy it myself, I think it looks kinda cool exposed like that, which I wouldn't have bet on without seeing it.
Super clever set and equally clever review. I had to shake my head a few times when I caught the song title. I like the Stones, but I can't say I'm a huge fan. I know a handful of their songs, but I know a lot slipped through, so well done on your research.
The shaping and texture of the set really add a lot of difference to the line. I won't be picking it up, but I could see LEGO doing it again with another band logo in the future. Maybe BTS? hehe
@TomKazutara said:
"an 6 year old."
you sound like "an" 6 year old
@AustinPowers said:
"Wow, Megan appears to be living in quite a mansion. Impressive.
Or were the pictures taken in Mick Jagger's home?
;-P"
Mick made me promise not to tell :-)
Great review Megan. I love the Rolling Stones and I can't believe Lego made this set. Your enthusiasm for the set and build were apparent in the review. Loved all the pictures of your house, they helped illustrate the scale of the set. I will be picking this set up.
@MeganL said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"Wow, Megan appears to be living in quite a mansion. Impressive.
Or were the pictures taken in Mick Jagger's home?
;-P"
Mick made me promise not to tell :-)"
I hope he's not cross that you hammered all these holes into his walls.
I bet he warned you too, don't hit the nail on the head! ;-)
For those of you checking back, there are 51 Rolling Stones song titles in the review :-)
@MeganL said:
"For those of you checking back, there are 51 Rolling Stones song titles in the review :-)"
I trust the prize is a complimentary copy of the set!