Review: 40569 London Postcard

Don't forget the pigeons.

I notice London and Paris both have flags.

I like these Postcard sets, they are a nice creative series that is unique to LEGO. As opposed to the dots sets where they are just used to make pictures, for example. To me those dot art sets are totally uncreative and diminish LEGO's brand where these types of things are what make them special.

what a skinny skeleton tower

Thirteen stickers in this set is ridiculous. Outrageous! I agree with your review. I especially like the left side of the postcard.

Are the numbers/hands black or dark blue? I think the restored clock is much more beautiful.

@Cooking_Steve said:
"London with a blue sky? Seems impossible"
They wanted to show one of the few times in years Britishers get sunlight, hence the dramatization.

I like the postcard sets. But I'm waiting for the day they remember of the Southern Hemisphere. We have Lego stores here as well...

Piccadilly Circus really? With all there is in London, they picked a billboard in Piccadilly Circus! (Which is not 'by the water' it must be said.) The fountain is not even there.

Might have to get it anyway and replace the Elizabeth tower on my 21034 (however the scale is not the same (2x2 vs 3x3) and might not be readily doable without important changes)

Good lord look at the Eye. Someone's OCD is gonna be triggered...

@daniellesa said:
"Don't forget the pigeons.

I notice London and Paris both have flags."

So does New York (not Beijing, though).

@HOBBES said:
"Piccadilly Circus really? With all there is in London, they picked a billboard in Piccadilly Circus! (Which is not 'by the water' it must be said.) The fountain is not even there.
"

-Bricadilly- Circus. My favorite part of this one is the little hat and mustache on the "London" label.

Just like with the previous Postcard sets, I'm so on two minds with these. I absolutely love the concept, but the execution is lacking. Overall I do think this London set looks pretty good, you can't mistake this for any other city than London. Big Ben (sorry, I'll always keep calling it that...) looks particularly good for this scale. Piccadilly Circus wouldn't have been my first choice but it's good for the pun. The bus is a nice microbuild. But the Eye....that's where things start to fall apart. At first glance it looks decent, but once you've noticed the flaws you just can't unsee them. I feel they could have done better.

And again those stickers...considering the price I can somewhat understand those, but I would have gladly payed a little more for prints.

I do think it looks much better than the Paris set though, that one looks rather bland and uninspired. So far my ranking:
1) New York
2) London
3) Paris
4) the one that is supposed to resemble Beijing

@ao_ka said:
"I like the postcard sets. But I'm waiting for the day they remember of the Southern Hemisphere. We have Lego stores here as well..."

I think you raise a good point...I am trying to think of somewhere in South America that could be represented, but the only place I can come up with is Rio and obviously they arent going to do the most recognized landmark there.

No sarcasm here--I would be interested to hear other people's thoughts on somewhere that could be represented on that continent.

@ohrmazd said:
"I am trying to think of somewhere in South America that could be represented, but the only place I can come up with is Rio and obviously they arent going to do the most recognized landmark there.

No sarcasm here--I would be interested to hear other people's thoughts on somewhere that could be represented on that continent."

I'm equally blank on South America, but Sydney is an obvious choice from the Southern Hemisphere. Unfortunately all the splendid mental images I have from Africa tend to be of natural formations, which I feel don't translate very well into Lego vignettes.

@ohrmazd said:
" @ao_ka said:
"I like the postcard sets. But I'm waiting for the day they remember of the Southern Hemisphere. We have Lego stores here as well..."

I think you raise a good point...I am trying to think of somewhere in South America that could be represented, but the only place I can come up with is Rio and obviously they arent going to do the most recognized landmark there.

No sarcasm here--I would be interested to hear other people's thoughts on somewhere that could be represented on that continent."

That is a little bit of a problem indeed.

I did a search for top tourist destinations in Brazil. I got tons of 'places': Porto de Galinhas, Campos do Jordao, Lencois Maranhenses National Park, Florianopolis Beaches, Praia de Pipa, Buzios, Aparados da Serra National Park, Ilha Grande, Chapada dos Veadeiros National Park, Jericoacoara, Parati, Copacabana, Ouro Preto, Pelourinho, Fernando de Noronha, Bonito, Historic Center of Olinda, Salvador Beaches, Pantanal, Amazon River, Iguaçu Falls.
A few buildings: Teatro Amazonas, Cathedral of Brasilia, Museu do Amanhã, Niterói Contemporary Art Museum.
And of course the main attractions: Christ the Redeemer and Rio Carnival.
Note: Of course this list in non-exhaustive - I just did a quick search.

I suppose the problem is: the main attraction is a religious site.

If you are a nature lover, Brazil seems to be (never been) a paradise but for a Lego postcard designer, this is not the place with the most famous buildings to represent. Representing a beach or a fall at that scale does not render justice to the real thing at all (unfortunately).

@ao_ka said:
"I like the postcard sets. But I'm waiting for the day they remember of the Southern Hemisphere. We have Lego stores here as well..."

Well, one from Sydney doesn't seem that unlikely to me.....but I guess that's not what you're hoping for ;-)

But if not a postcard, how about Maracanã as the next big stadium set? Shape might be a bit difficult though, for that reason alone I'd rather expect them do a set of La Bombonera, as far as southern hemisphere stadiums go...

@WizardOfOss said:
" @ao_ka said:
"I like the postcard sets. But I'm waiting for the day they remember of the Southern Hemisphere. We have Lego stores here as well..."

Well, one from Sydney doesn't seem that unlikely to me.....but I guess that's not what you're hoping for ;-)

But if not a postcard, how about Maracanã as the next big stadium set? Shape might be a bit difficult though, for that reason alone I'd rather expect them do a set of La Bombonera, as far as southern hemisphere stadiums go..."

As others have said, I think Sydney is definitely on the short list if the line continues.

Another point--it would not be difficult to modify 40564 to have a flagpole and blank red brick (like the original version but not violating the "no licensing the Chinese flag" rule). IMO this would blend better with the other postcards. I can see why TLG decided to remove the flagpole as well as the flag but if I decide to collect this group of colorful and inexpensive sets I will want the unifying feature of the flags, especially given the assortment of styles in the city titles.

@ra226 said:
" @HOBBES said:
"Piccadilly Circus really? With all there is in London, they picked a billboard in Piccadilly Circus! (Which is not 'by the water' it must be said.) The fountain is not even there.
"

-Bricadilly- Circus. My favorite part of this one is the little hat and mustache on the "London" label.

"
Because all Londoners wear bowler hats and have little moustaches, including the women and children.

I might have to get this. I've already got 21034 and 854012, so another mini-London would be cool.

@Trigger_ said:
" @daniellesa said:
"Don't forget the pigeons.

I notice London and Paris both have flags."

So does New York (not Beijing, though)."

That was my point, that Beijing doesn't and therefore it looks odd being the only one without it.

So, looking on Rebrickable, the 2x2 jumper plate is used in medium blue in a couple of Friends sets this year -- 41704 Main Street Building and 41722 Horse Show Trailer. Unless this is one of those "Dark Turquoise" vs. "Teal" kind of mismatches? Lego has made a lot of shades of blue over the years...

@Jackthenipper said:
" @Cooking_Steve said:
"London with a blue sky? Seems impossible"

Not at the moment. It’s missing the dog poo on the streets though."

RSOTD has got you sorted my man https://brickset.com/article/79856/random-part-of-the-day-1x1-decoration-top-no-2

Why is this not available in the US? It appears in the LEGO.com catalog I received today in the mail.

@ohrmazd said:
" @ao_ka said:
"I like the postcard sets. But I'm waiting for the day they remember of the Southern Hemisphere. We have Lego stores here as well..."

I think you raise a good point...I am trying to think of somewhere in South America that could be represented, but the only place I can come up with is Rio and obviously they arent going to do the most recognized landmark there.

No sarcasm here--I would be interested to hear other people's thoughts on somewhere that could be represented on that continent."

The Southern Hemisphere has always been sorely underrepresented in Lego, some notable destinations in South/Central America follow. Nothing from Brazil since @HOBBES already has a nice list. Also, not sure how *well* these could be represented in Lego ;)

South America:

Machu Picchu (Incan) / Cuzco, Peru
Lake Titicaca, Bolivia & Peru
Buenos Aries, Argentina
Cartagena, Columbia
Torres del Paine, Chile
Angel Falls, Venezuela
Montevideo, Uruguay
Salar de Uyuni, Bolivia
Quito, Ecuador
Easter Island
Galapagos Islands
Patagonia
Andes Mountains
Atacama Desert/ ALMA Observatory
Tierra Del Fuego/ Strait of Magellan

Central America & Caribbean:

Tikal Ruins (Mayan), Guatemala
Panama City, Panama
Panama Canal, Panama
Copán Ruins (Mayan), Honduras
Yucatan Peninsula/ Chichén Itzá (Mayan)/ Cancun, Mexico
Mexico City/ Teotihuacán Ruins, Mexico
Baja Peninsula/ Mexican Riviera/ Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Belize Barrier Reef/ Great Blue Hole, Belize
Old Havana, Cuba
Willemstad, Curaço
Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Dry Tortugas National Park, Florida