Review: 21342 The Insect Collection, part 3
Posted by Huw,
After examining the butterfly and mantis in parts one and two of my review, in this article I put the third creature in 21342 The Insect Collection, the Hercules beetle, under the magnifying glass and draw conclusions on the set as a whole.
Summary
21342 The Insect Collection, 1,111 pieces.
£69.99 / $79.99 / €79.99 | 6.3p/7.2c/7.2c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
An outstanding set, the best to emerge from Ideas for some time
- Highly detailed and realistic models of fascinating creatures
- NPU (nice parts usage) abound
- Mini-habitats enhance the set considerably
- None, it's the perfect LEGO set, even the price is reasonable
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules)
The beetle is native to the rainforests in Mexico, central and South America. It's the longest beetle in the world as well as one of the largest flying insects. Including the horn, they can grow to around 17cm in length, so the LEGO version is pretty much life-sized.
They feed on rotting wood and fruit, so the mini-habitat of a section of the former with fungi sprouting from it is perfect.
It can be displayed with or without wings, which attach and detach easily from points under the wing casing (elytra).
The mini-habitats, which contribute so much to the displayability of the creatures, all consist of octagonal bases with brown plates and black borders. The wood, stem, or twig on them are all made from tan and dark tan elements and while they look good, I do wonder whether shades of brown would have looked better and more realistic.
The model is as formidable and awesome as the real thing. Its legs can be rotated and angled to some extent, and each one incorporates a click hinge, but they are not as poseable as those of the mantis. I'm not that keen on the bucket handles at the ends of them, although the creatures do appear to have two-pronged fork-like feet. Nevertheless, I think the small claw piece, as used on the end of its horn, would have looked better.
The wings do not fit under the elytra and have to be removed if you want to close them. That's not really a problem, though, you will probably prefer one configuration or the other and leave it like that when you display it. My preference is to remove them.
Verdict
This is an exceptional set which in my opinion is the best LEGO Ideas set for some time. The original ideas proposal was great, but LEGO's designers have taken it and elevated it to a whole new level, both with highly detailed and intricate builds of the insects themselves and the addition of mini-habitats that transform it into something very attractive and displayable.
I think it was right to focus on three creatures instead of all five in the Ideas proposal, primarily because they are all giant insects that can be modelled at roughly the same scale, so they therefore display well together. The bee and ladybird have not been forgotten, though: they are present too as mini versions at the same scale as the larger ones.
If I had to pick a favourite out of the three it would be the mantis, simply because they are such fascinating and interesting creatures and the LEGO version looks so life-like.
The LEGO Ideas platform may well yield far too many sitcom sets and others based on uninteresting IPs but every so often something like this comes along that restores my faith in it. Not only is it the best Ideas set since 21325 Medieval Blacksmith, it's a contender for the best set of 2023.
Furthermore, it's reasonably priced: at £69.99 / $79.99 / €79.99 for 1,111 pieces I can see these insects literally flying off the shelves!
There really is nothing to criticise, it's the perfect LEGO set which will appeal to discerning AFOLs looking for something different, and also to entomophiles who might not have considered buying LEGO since they were kids.
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28 comments on this article
I don’t know, something about this set bugs me.
Good review!
A darker color for the wooden twigs on the stands might've been realistic, but I'm glad they opted for the lighter tans—it provides a better contrast with the insect builds themselves. Details like the dark limbs of the beetle might've gotten lost on a darker brown wooden stand.
Love this set so much. It's always a joy when LEGO is employed for purely educational/aesthetic purposes. The models are really beautiful and would look great displayed in any home or office.
TLG owes you money, @Huw. I wasn't intending on buying this set, but your reviews definitely won me over.
I love this set.
Whenever I see a Hercules Beetle, I think of a nature show I saw a little while ago. It's the perfect anecdote for the mindless striving of our society.
The male beetle will climb a tree and perch on a branch in order to display himself to potential female mates. Other male beetles show up and try to take his perch on the branch. They wrestle with those giant claws and try to throw each other down (smite their ruin).
Well, this one beetle throws down rival after rival. He's so excited about all his victories that when the female approaches, he throws her off too!
Another one of those Ideas sets that I had practically no interest in once they were approved, but seeing the final version with finessing by TLG has greatly increased my interest. Those display bases add so much visual interest.
"The LEGO Ideas platform may well yield far too many sitcom sets and others based on uninteresting IPs but every so often something like this comes along that restores my faith in it."
My sentiments exactly. I really haven't cared much about any Ideas set lately. This one though? Definitely will be picking it up. Thanks for the review! Can't wait to get my copy.
Also, I bet these would look great next to all of my mom's Botanical sets... :)
@Lyichir said:
"Good review!
A darker color for the wooden twigs on the stands might've been realistic, but I'm glad they opted for the lighter tans—it provides a better contrast with the insect builds themselves. Details like the dark limbs of the beetle might've gotten lost on a darker brown wooden stand."
Very much agree! The tan was a good choice, here, and I like how the tan branch/wood builds help to visually tie all three models together.
Similar to 21301 by Tom Poulsom who also released "Birds from Bricks" book with instructions for other Birds he created. I wonder if the José Maria has instructions for other insects and could follow in Tom's path and release instructions for us.
Huw said "The LEGO Ideas platform may well yield far too many sitcom sets and others based on uninteresting IPs but every so often something like this comes along that restores my faith in it.", couldn't have said it better myself.
Looking forward to this set, thanks José for the great set.
The Hercules beetle makes me think of Animal Crossing New Horizons, and all those hours of trying to find enough beetles to get the model of them.
I might have gone with Wolverine claws for the feet. They better mimic the hooked pose, and a lot of the pics I’m finding appear to have a third toe that might function like a thumb.
My wife wants a butterfly collection... Help me Lego so I can get out of the dog house.
Excellent set and reveiw now all we need is Lego to do a couple more bug sets to extend this collection, even single creatures to add to this would be a great new line for Lego
The beetle and butterfly are nice (with the beetle being my favourite), the mantis is meh (notable when they're all pictured together, but I blame it on the source bug not the build itself).
The set represents what Lego art/craft can be, just like the botanical theme. While the price is right (even amazing if we look at it as a 2023 pricing), I think having them individually, like "Brickheadz", would've been nice and a start of a fun theme "Lego Insects". Maybe there'll be more later on, who knows.
@WemWem said:
"Love this set so much. It's always a joy when LEGO is employed for purely educational/aesthetic purposes. The models are really beautiful and would look great displayed in any home or office."
Lol but the Mantis is wrong as it lacks front legs and butterfly has wrong colors
Still this is outstanding set.
Another one that would work as a giant bug attacking minifigs, Them!-style. The butterfly might not work for that, as it's too small to be Mothra or something similar. "I can see these insects literally flying off the shelves!" Presuming the beetle has its wings attached, anyway.
@ordofdragonss:
Um, what? The mantis has four walking legs and two grabby legs. Six legs. That’s pretty typical for insects.
The butterfly is pretty easy to pose so you only see the top of the wings, which are really only missing the yellow spots along the hindwings. Otherwise it seems about as accurate as you could expect. The original project did have some of the veins, but they were a bit overstated, and came at the expense of any of the dots.
Thinking of getting these and MOCing up some Pikmin to attack the bugs.
@lordofdragonss said:
" @WemWem said:
"Love this set so much. It's always a joy when LEGO is employed for purely educational/aesthetic purposes. The models are really beautiful and would look great displayed in any home or office."
Lol but the Mantis is wrong as it lacks front legs"
The 'raptorial legs' are its front legs: all six legs are present and correct...
The mantis has all its 6 legs but the 'raptorial legs' are missing the 'tarse' part of the leg as the mantis doesn't walk on the tibia. In other words, it's missing its feet but that's understandable at this size.
I liked the set but wasn't on my wanted list but it's on it now after this review!
How many sitcom sets is too many, and does it not matter what the sitcoms are? I mean, not all sitcoms are created equal, and while I’m not especially interested myself in any of the five such sets released to date in Ideas (The Big Bang Theory, The Flintstones, Friends (Central Perk), Seinfeld, The Office) except as parts packs, I must admit I’d dearly love one based on Cheers and/or Frasier. Not that I particularly expect it (especially Cheers - I don’t think TLG wants to do a set of a bar), but I’d hate to have it precluded by something as arbitrary as whether or not they’ve done a certain number of other sets based on other sitcoms that don’t really have any bearing on these.
That out of the way, this is another lovely set, and I think it’s possible my household will get one or two copies, as I’m sure both my wife and I would each love this one.
@mcbbvb:
It’s also understandable given how perfect that element is for the look of the forelegs, even if the grabby bits should be one segment earlier.
@Blondie_Wan:
I mean…Cheers had that one scene that was on a boat, right?
Perfect set? Heh, tell that to the entomophob in me.
I love how vibrant the colours are, had feared that the official photo's where renders and exaggerated the colours, but they look as good in Huw's studio lighting (not to say the pics usually don't that is, just that renders often look too glossy).
Personally am not a fan of Lego's bright green, but with the dark pink and the blues of the butterfly, it all looks amazing!
Thank-you for the three part review, it's been a fun way to look at this unique set, which like you, I hope to see more of from the Ideas platform in the future :)
@Zink said:
"On what planet is 80€ a reasonable price? Also, you forgot about the negative that the lady bugs and the bee are wildly out of scale."
No, the original ideas submission was wildly out of scale. The ladybug was the size of a golfball and the bee was nearly as large as hercules. The new ones might be slightly off but they're still objectively much more accurate.
@Zink said:
"On what planet is 80€ a reasonable price? Also, you forgot about the negative that the lady bugs and the bee are wildly out of scale."
It really depends on the metric. If you go by "price per piece", this is an absolute steal, one of the best values per piece that TLG has cranked out in the last few years. If you go "price per weight", I'm not sure. I don't have the set yet, I can't weigh it. I could weigh the images, but they don't weigh anything (plus: they were free). Going by JANG's metric, "price per volume", there's really quite a lot here. I don't think JANG would object very much. But if we're going by "price per things I like", well, I think we're good to go.
I couldn't care less that the ladybug is out of scale. That ladybug is NEVER in scale. In a set with minifigs or minidolls, that ladybug IS a Hercules-bug in disguise since it's always larger than a fist. And if you think I'm not also going to use these insects as terrifying mutated incarnations of nature's revenge on man's hubris in a diorama with minifigs, then sir/madam/other, you wound me.
> The LEGO Ideas platform may well yield far too many sitcom sets and others based on uninteresting IPs but every so often something like this comes along that restores my faith in it.
Although I agree with this sentiment there are "too many IP-based sets" and they drive too much o Ideas, I always caution the use of 'interesting' and 'uninteresting' in sweeping statements like this - which IP are interesting is extraordinarily subjective, and whether they make a good set is as well. I don't like some of the sitcoms they've adapted but I also think some of them make neat sets. It's definitely driven too much of Ideas so I do agree with the sentiment and apologize for sounding so nitpicky!
Great set, great review! I put these nice little buddies on my wantedlist. :)