Icons Eiffelturm Paris (10307)

Product Information

medium unmarked bag: containing 8x – 8×8 plates with grille (part 4151) in 199 Dark Stone Grey Dark Bluish Gray. Given that the Eiffel Tower is the tallest set ever created, comes in a larger box than the Millennium Falcon, and has the second largest part count, I feel comfortable giving it the title of the “largest” LEGO set ever created — based on a rough assessment of its overall volume. Closing Thoughts These red and yellow lifts, which you may remember from the original 10181 Eiffel Tower also make a welcome return! Do you have plenty of room to store the set? This set is massive and will take up a lot of space when stored away. Make sure you have plenty of room before purchasing this set. So if you're short on storage, you might want to pass on this one.

The metalwork looks great, although you’ll want to spend some time aligning the crossbars once the weight has settled. Completing a smooth base is one of the first milestones in every LEGO Architecture model, which is why I was looking forward to completing bags 9+10. The last four holes in the base are covered by four more 16×16 x 2/3 Road Tiles (part 69958) in 330 Olive Green. The rest of the studded gaps are finally covered with a lot more tiles, and 1×2 tiles in 192 Reddish Brown which I believe are meant to represent park benches.The official reveal of the tallest LEGO set yet – 10307 Eiffel Tower! Coming in at 10,001 pieces and measuring 1.49 m (58.5″) high, this is one of LEGO’s most impressive model ever and is an ambitious take on the Parisian icon, one of the most well-known landmark and feats of engineering in the world. Fun fact, the Eiffel Tower was meant to be disassembled after 20 years following the Exposition Universelle in 1889, but Gustave was a savvy and cunning operator, and managed to keep the tower intact by making it host scientific experiments, as well as radio antenna, which the French military found useful, and they decided to extend the life of the Eiffel Tower, and it ultimately stands to this day. There’s no denying it – this is a massive set and a huge investment. The model’s dimensions are 58.5 in. (149 cm) high, 22.5 in. (57 cm) wide and 22.5 in. (57 cm) deep, so you’re going to really have to plan out where to display this as it’s almost as tall as an adult. When I compare it specifically to the Colosseum — the most recent architectually focused set in the Icons lineup (formerly Creator Expert) — The Eiffel Tower wins hands down. While I enjoyed building the Colosseum, and in particular learning more about the building while assembling the model, it is not a very captivating display piece. The circular shape does not catch your eye, and I don’t find myself wandering over to look into the centre of the arena very often. To be fair, both of these sets teach you about the LEGO model and real building as you go.)

But, putting the camera down at “ground level” you really get a feel for how immersive this model is going to be when complete. It already looks like a gorgeous day in the park. Plate Special 2 x 2 with Only 2 studs in Sand Yellow/ Dark Tan (6396392 | 33909) was introduced in October in 21336 The Office. The center of the room is dominated by a large beam from the tower structure. This sub-build attaches to the floor via the yellow clips on that 2×2 turntable I mentioned earlier. The connection is pretty firm, and the beam will survive the jostling it’ll endure as the other apartment furnishings go in. The end result is stunning, one of the most awe-inspiring retail models that LEGO has ever produced. Seriously, if you were to see 10307 Eiffel Tower at a LEGO Fan Convention, you’d walk away impressed and awed, so being able to translate that into a set you can walk into a store to buy, AND make it accessible, even for new adult builders cannot be overstated.Eiffel Tower looks amazing, it is resplendent and serves wonderfully as the ultimate, one-of-a-kind LEGO experience that anyone spending hundreds of pounds, dollars or Euros on would hope for. It pays such loving tribute to one of modern world architecture’s most famous buildings and stands so impressively once built. Building larger LEGO sets often involves repetition and that was certainly the case here. I was pleasantly surprised by the nature of that repetition though. Whereas the construction of 10276 Colosseum involves building identical structures of several hundred pieces, 10307 Eiffel Tower instead focuses on small sub-assemblies, including 168 similar cross-braces, as one example. A dark red 2x2 tile is placed inside the cupola, denoting the location of Eiffel's apartment on this level. The overhanging 2x2 round plates at the corners look superb, while occasional exposed studs provide some texture. I think the balance between smooth surfaces and mechanical detail is excellent here. Moreover, the complex network of braces and beams casts shadows throughout the model, so it never looks bland. The projecting terrace around the second level is accurate and I applaud the use of dark bluish grey sausages, recreating the fence posts which surround the outdoor terrace in reality. The modern glass-fronted structure on this floor is omitted, matching the first level.

Are you planning on displaying the Eiffel Tower or playing with it? If you plan on displaying it, then it's worth the investment as it will look stunning on any shelf or table. But if you plan on playing with it, then keep in mind that this set is intended for ages 18+ due to its size and complexity and there might be other sets that are more enjoyable. Ultimately, it depends on what you want to do with the set.Proving once and for all that price-per-part is a pointless metric, the World Map remains the record-holder for the most pieces in a LEGO set. Whether it is mind numbing, or relaxing is up to you.

Construction starts with a x2 assembly of the tower’s leg. As we saw in the base, the north/south and east/west legs are color coded red and yellow. This means that rather than a x4 slog, you have to go through two sets of x2, with the only difference being the accent color on a few plates and tiles. The outside of the apartment has some necessary-feeling railings and a couple of telescopes. I wasn’t able to find anything to indicate how true-to-life these details are, but they seem pretty reasonable.

Value

Plate Round 1 x 1 with Hollow Stud and Horizontal Bar 1L in Dark Stone Grey / Dark Bluish Gray (6388118 | 32828) is another element introduced in 21336 The Office. The box is absolutely huge and features the 18+ / ‘Adults Welcome’ branding along the bottom edge — which seems very appropriate for size of this scale. The color of that band is 199 Dark Stone Grey Dark Bluish Gray, which makes sense since almost every piece inside the box is in that color! The legs slot into the base and lean together, matching up using the red and yellow color keys. The Technic beams at the top are connected, and a layer of plate is applied to help get things into alignment. I had some issues at this point, as the plates at the top of each leg kept detaching due to stress from not having them “lean in” at the correct angle on all four legs. As it was, you can still see some real bowing of the plates on the connection ring at the top. To be fair, even when some of the most talented AFOLs build MOC’s based on key landmarks, they take similar shortcuts to achieve the right ‘look’ without re-creating the structure in the same way. Overall, it is perfectly acceptable, but falls short of exceptional. Value