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Introduction
*Cue Empire State of Mind by Jay Z*
I recently built the LEGO New York City Skyline set. It’s a part of the Architecture series (that I absolutely adore).
The set features 5 different iconic buildings and landmarks in New York: Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Chrysler Flatiron Building, and the One World Trade Center.
It was a neat build and I have some thoughts about it. The rest of this post will go over the set and my experience.
Set Specs
- Set Name: New York City
- Set Number: #21028
- Theme: Architecture Skyline
- Piece Count: 598
- Release Year: 2016
- Designer: Rok Zgalin Kobe
- Retail Price (USD): $43 on Amazon (original $59.99)
- Estimated Build Time: 2-6 hours
- Model Dimensions (WxHxD): 9” x 10” x 1”
- Display vs. Play: Pure display piece
First Impressions
It came nicely tucked away in a little black box. You can tell by the size of the box that it will not be a very big build.
I always love the instruction booklets for the Architecture series builds.
This one includes commentary and pictures of all the structures in this build.
As an American, I feel like many of the facts contained in the booklet I should have already known but come on… You know me.
One thing I found strange was that the bags were not labeled. It was a sequential build from left to right with 5 unique buildings.
So why not just make it easier and put labels on the bags?
All of the bags contain small pieces. I knew it would be a little tedious especially since my big dumb hands are always dropping pieces.
Build Experience
You start by building the base. Easy.
This includes adding the New York City nameplate which I think is always a nice touch found in the Architecture series.
Then, you move on to building each landmark/building from left to right.
Once again, kind of annoying because you have to open all the bags to get the different pieces.
The first is the Statue of Liberty.
1. Statue of Liberty
Okay, I am just going to flat out say this was the saddest part of the build.
I was baffled when I finished it after like two layers of bricks.
There is even a little dinky green guy they put to emulate Lady Liberty. In fact, LEGO included two of them in my set.
It’s like a mini-trophy figure with no torch, crown, or tablet. But they did get the color right.
This was not a good start to the build. It took 30 seconds and made for a very poor reflection of the actual Statue of Liberty.
If you are very sad about this, LEGO dedicated an entire set to the Statue of Liberty. You can check it out here.
2. Empire State Building
After I got over my sadness from the Statue of Liberty, the next building was the Empire State.
This one was pretty fun to build. It stood much taller than the Statue.
It mainly consisted of tan grated pieces which do a great job of emulating the actual building.
I felt like the design of this building was well done. It was satisfying to finish it and aligned better with my expectations.
3. Chrysler Building
The third building was the Chrysler Building. This one was cool but not a very accurate representation of the actual building.
The layering of white and transparent bricks gave it a nice look.
The upper portion used unique bricks to try and capture the unique steel ‘crown’ of the building itself.
I do have to say I liked the colors on this one.
4. Flatiron Building
This one is weak sauce as well. It’s a few more layers than the Statue of Liberty but overall not very big or sophisticated.
The set is supposed to represent all the buildings in the appropriate scale. This is why the Flatiron Building was so small.
I think the Flatiron Building is a weirdly amazing building but it feels awkward in this set.
It fills in the gap without adding too much vertical so maybe it was just right pick. Idk, go ask a New Yorker.
5. One World Trade Center
This was the crowning jewel of the entire set. The overall design was very well configured.
Each section felt sophisticated in the way it was designed.
The lower section is attached to the base differently than the others.
It feels like the WTC was very well thought out in this set compared to the others.
The true architectural details of the building were apparent in the LEGO design.
Completed Set Overview
Overall, it was a decent build. It was just under 600 pieces and most of them were quite tiny.
Usually, tiny pieces means I won’t like it but there was enough variety in the build that it didn’t feel too monotonous.
This set would be dope if it was a much bigger scale. It was small, which is cool if you want to display it on a shelf.
However, given the sheer size of these buildings in real life, this set could’ve been way bigger.
It’s worth mentioning that they could have included other NYC landmarks like the Brooklyn Bridge but I’m not a New Yorker so my opinion doesn’t matter.
I am a nerd so I enjoyed learning about the buildings as I built them. It inspired me to want to visit NYC again and really take the time to check out these icons.
Pros: Diverse build throughout, One World Trade Center, cool display piece
Cons: No numbered bags + sad little Lady Liberty
Final Thoughts
If you’re a fan of the LEGO Architecture series or have a sentimental tie to New York City, I would recommend the NYC Skyline set.
It was a cool learning experience and a nice way to spend an afternoon.
Difficulty: Easy
Would I build it again: Maybe
Build score: 5/10
>> PRICE DROP! Buy the LEGO NYC Skyline here
Have you built the NYC Skyline? Are there other LEGO Architecture sets you’d recommend?
Drop a comment below and share your thoughts! I’d love to hear about your favorite builds, tips, or even what you’re planning to build next.