Pre-Release Thoughts

The Colosseum was announced a few months ago and was met with much speculation throughout the community, only adding to the discussion was the fact that it would beat out the Millenium Falcon to be the largest LEGO set of all time. I was excited to see what LEGO would provide to us, even if it wasn't minifigure scale. Lo and behold, a couple of weeks ago the set was revealed.

I immediately wanted it and hoped I could get it. I picked this set up on BF and began building right away. It took me around 14-16 hours to build. I am a slow builder, but I enjoyed every second of this build. I made a few mistakes, as I noticed I missed a technic pin down in the base.

Build Experience

The building experience is repetitive, but still fun as the builds variate. If you're not a fan of this, I suggest you don't buy this set. Still, I had fun building the large base and I learned some great building techniques (candle pieces for pillars was a genius idea). The instructions give in-depth detail about the model and how it was constructed, also including facts about the real Colosseum. I learned a lot about the model, and it taught me a lot of history about the Colosseum.

Model

The build itself looks GORGEOUS. The pictures do it no justice. It is magnificent and huge. You will definitely not expect the size of this COLOSSAL BEAST. I was expecting something sort of the size of the Manchester Stadium, but this is much bigger.

The model is certainly a display piece. As a person who enjoys having builds with a lot of play value, this would be the biggest turnoff for me, but it isn't. The play value may be low, but the display value is so high that I am willing to make that trade.

The tan and dark tan look perfect together, making a beautiful model from all angles. The base of the build uses technic on the inside and dark bluish gray and black slopes on the outside. I especially like the small details like trees and cars placed on top of the base.

The arena area looks splendid, using a lot of miniature details to make structures. The structures surrounding this area are built incredibly. The walls are tall and have been designed meticulously.

Value

This set costs $550 in the U.S., a very steep price. The price was definitely quite high, especially as a person who doesn't have too much money to spare. The piece count of this set is an astounding 9,036. I'd say that this model is sizeable and definitely feels like a 500 dollar set. With many small pieces, it is reasonable for the price to be much lower than the 1 piece = 10 cents ratio. There is a small amount of large pieces, which make up a bit of the price. Overall, I think the value of this set is gracious and fair, as we were all expecting $600. Even so, the inclusion of minifigures would've lifted the set's value.

Pros

• Beautiful display model
• The largest set (in terms of pieces)
• Reasonable value for money
• Interesting building experience, sure to keep you busy during these times
• Building techniques can teach builders
• Learn history about the real Colosseum

Cons

• Expensive
• Long and repetitive build
• No minifigures
• Low play value
• Hard to carry and needs large base to display

Overall

This model is gargantuan and glorious. Every single space is packed to the brim with detail. It is one of the best display pieces LEGO has ever made, alongside the Taj Mahal and the Millenium Falcon. It may be a bit disappointing that there are no minifigures, but I can forgive this set for that. The build process may be tedious, but it pays off in the end. I highly recommend this set for expert builders.

-Christmaskingcool

NO LONGER THE LARGEST SET! THIS HAS BEEN BESTED BY THE WORLD MAP SET! Also, this was my first review.