I really love this set. Some parts of the build is quite fiddly though. I can't say this has more building techniques than the newer architecture set. A lot of the builds are repeating i just can't recommend this set too much as much as i love London.

This set was in the second wave of Skyline sets within the Architecture theme, presenting a selection of iconic London-based buildings, rather than a single structure as had been the focus previously.

Box / Instructions

The box is the usual high-quality Architecture affair, with the set picture contrasting nicely against the black background. The instructions are also in the premium bracket, including not only the (very leisurely paced) building instructions, but also information about each of the featured structures, as well as interesting facts about certain features as you get to the relevant stage in the build.

Parts

The colour palette is dominated by parts in white and tan, with black plates and tiles and dark grey pieces rounding the set out. There are also a surprisingly large number of trans clear pieces – 40 of the 1x2 tiles (the most of any piece in the set) and 23 1x2 plates. As could be expected from a set where large architectural details need to be replicated at miniature scale, a large proportion of the total piece count consists of small parts, with around two thirds of them the same size or smaller than a 2x2 plate.

Exclusive parts include the name tile and a printed 2x2 brick, one side of which features a printed clock face (of which more later). A white Technic suspension piece, four short flexi tubes in blue, and four long flexible tubes in white are all also unique in those colours.

The Build

The build is taken at a decidedly slow pace in the instructions, often with only one or two pieces placed per step. The necessary, but uninteresting, layering of plates to make the base gives way to placing to tiles and jumper plates - suddenly adding all 40 of the 1x2 trans-clear tile in one step is a bit of shock, but they form a pleasing geometric pattern, broken up by 1x2 trans-clear plates.

Tower Bridge is the first actual structure to be built, with a little SNOT build for the piers and a lesson in Lego geometry for the bascules which fit perfectly between them. Placing a headlight brick on its back to provide detail while also taking advantage of the two-plates height of the element in this configuration is interesting, and a corner cut out brick accommodates the additional space required by the ‘top’ stud internally while maintaining the continuity of the outer wall.

The National Gallery is fairly straightforward, making use of bricks with studs on the side to mount grill tiles vertically for the façade. Various rounded elements slide onto a bar to make up the dome and spire.

The London Eye rolls out a more Technic approach, with vertical supports made from suspension pieces anchored via friction pins, the offset alignment allowing them to meet at the top and connected by a bar. The actual wheel itself goes together fairly quickly and I did follow the tip in the Brickset review of using a 1x2 brick with a tile on the top as a spacer for the placement of the London Eye ‘capsules’ along the tubing, which was much easier than using the guide in the instructions. The tubing is curved into a wheel and connected with a small technic connector pin at the top and angled brackets at the bottom. The whole structure is fixed to the base in a simple yet clever technique which utilises the clutch power of a bar inserted into a Technic friction pin which in turn is connecting the two angled technic connecting elements which are themselves providing the connection points for the flexible tubes which make up the wheel!

The Houses of Parliament are bit of an anti-climax as they are just so much brick stacking, except the placement of four of the old ‘Space Gun’ parts of the roof which are then twisted to form a representation of the gothic detailing on the real building. Nelson’s Column and a sailing boat finish off the build.

Completed Model and Overall Opinion

The final result does what it says on the tin – bringing together some of the most iconic and recognisable buildings from the London skyline into a well presented and visually balanced set that looks great on display. All the structures feature enough detailing to clearly represent the familiar architectural details, from SNOT-mounted ‘toothed’ plates for the gothic revival Tower Bridge, to the white and glass aesthetic of the London Eye. The 1x1 vertical clips to represent the lion statues around the base of Nelson’s Column are a bit of a stretch, but not much else could be done at the scale – it does at least provide an approximation of the texture.

On the negative side – and I know I shouldn’t grumble about printed elements – the clock face just seems to stand out in a bad way. So much of the set and theme is about using Lego elements to represent architectural details at reduced scale that the more ‘realistic’ printing here looks out of place. The whole set does feel a little small for the RRP, though this is common to many Architecture sets due to the number of small pieces required, and can be good value if it can be found on sale. The lack of any of the modern buildings that have sprung up over the past ten years or more is noticeable (Eye excepted), especially as some of them would have provided a more interesting building challenge then the Houses of Parliament or the National Gallery.

Having said that, all the chosen structures are well arranged, eschewing scale and geographical accuracy for something that just feels right – and from this perspective, the sets succeeds wonderfully. It’s a great display piece, breaking out of the linear approach taken by its predecessors to properly show off the iconic buildings of in the capital city. Now some years have passed since this set was released, maybe a second London skyline is called for, showcasing buildings post Victorian Era like Canary Wharf, The Shard, Walkie Talkie, the DLR…?

I love London! So I thought I would get this model. The model is good, don't get me wrong. The finer tourist details of the city are there in all representation. The problem is, the detailing is not very good unless you are looking at it from a distance. The Big Ben clock face is very plain as well as the actual Elizabeth Tower roof detailing being lacking. I was expecting it to at least have ridges along the break where the tower point meets the tower proper but it does not. It is just a smooth transition from clock face to roof point. It does have detailing on the lower 3/4 which is nice. I also liked the Lego accent on top of Nelson's Column (it's a Lego figure). The best detailed part of this set, though, was on The National Gallery. The columns in the building are represented with grate like pieces that snap onto ridge imprinted blocks. It was quite a clever illusion to the eye that looks very realistic as a building with columns. The cleverest overall item was the London Eye. The wheel was made up of two flexible plastic rods that were held together by a Lego piece in a ring. These rings then had the "cars" snapped between the rods at equal intervals. The rings then attaches to the BASE. There are no support structures in the middle of the wheel, again using an illusion to the eye that the rings are supported from the middle. The trickiest part of building the Eye was lining up the car pieces. They help you a lot with a real scale picture in the instructions to line the cars up on the rods. My nick-pickiest part was the Tower Bridge. This is my favorite London Landmark and when I first saw it put together it did not meet my expectations. Like Big Ben, I was expecting more detailing in the towers and walkways. Once I had it together though, it grew on me and I found it ... acceptable. The support wires are made of flexible rubber compressed between base and tower. That was really clever to get the sag in the cabling.

With all this said, the set is worthy of your collection. It can be used as a shelf piece, like I'm going to do, or a mantle piece. The model does not look bad from a few feet away. The use of illusions to trick the eye is good enough to trick the keenest of eyes. Someone could only know the details if they get close, or they are a London Architecture aficionado. I really doubt anyone would even notice the imperfections.

This London Cityscape is pretty

During the build there are a number of trivia snippets in the instructions.

There are many pieces in the box the base plate is made of loads and could have been simplified to give better buildings.

Unfortunately all the buildings are not to scale to each other and are a mere representation of what the building sort of looks like.

Some of the very notable things that the

London eye has 16 pods half that of the real one. There are no stay wires to the centre. The eye does not move.

Tower Bridge the arches over the road could have covered the road.

Houses of Parliament the main feature is St Stephens Tower (AKA Big Ben) The clock only has one face whereas it should have 4.

Trafalgar Square I loved the little tiny legoman Nelson for the top. The Bronze Lions were a letdown as they were not the right part selected to depict a lion. There could have easily been an additional two fountains and/or the 4 plinths (where the statues are) The National Gallery in the background was well done.

I bought this set a few weeks back and decided to do a quick build last night so set about this Skyline series build. I'd been waiting for it to go on general release since first hearing about it, as it was initially released only in the new flagship Store at Leicester Square.

It's a fun build with a couple of nice touches especially with Tower Bridge although I was a little disappointed with the lack of arms on the London Eye.

Overall build time was approximately 1hr. Overall it's a nice set but I felt a little overpriced for what it is.