Review: 31203 World Map
Posted by CapnRex101,31203 World Map certainly provides remarkable potential, including some 11,695 elements which exceeds previous LEGO sets. The design features reasonably realistic shapes alongside impressive colours, although these outlandish shades could provoke considerable division.
Personally, I was anticipating more conventional map colours, perhaps reflecting diverse terrain features around the world. Instead, any detail focuses exclusively upon the oceans, where vivid colours represent different depths. The land masses therefore seem relatively bland, although this design may prove appealing on display.
Box and Contents
Reflecting the enormous size of this model, the packaging for 31203 World Map is substantially deeper and wider than previous LEGO Art products. The artwork seems remarkably drab, given the spectacular colours. However, the cardboard quality is superb, matching 42115 Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 and previous Technic supercars.
While the box seems unusual, the internal packaging corresponds with previous LEGO Art sets. Forty 16x16 mosaic panels are packaged in their own box while the vibrant 1x1 round tiles and plates are separated between bags. The instruction manual remains consistent too, displaying each mosaic panel from above and identifying the various colours using numbers.
The instruction manual also contains some welcome information about the design process, as Fiorella Groves explains that development began with a more conventional map. The colourful oceans and white land masses were introduced afterwards. I find this quite disappointing since the traditional design sounds preferable to me, although many people will doubtless favour this artistic interpretation.
The Completed Model
31203 World Map measures nearly 104cm across when assembled, thereby achieving superb presence wherever this design is displayed. Inevitably, constructing such an enormous mosaic occupies considerable time and this process is relatively tedious, although I enjoyed identifying certain recognisable land masses on each mosaic panel throughout assembly.
Mapping the three-dimensional Earth onto a two-dimensional surface is famously challenging, demonstrated by the numerous projections which have been developed. The modern Equal Earth Projection provides primary inspiration for this creation which is an interesting decision, although certain interesting modifications were necessary to create a rectangular shape since the original projection features curved edges.
For example, Greenland is infamously enlarged on the classic Mercator Projection, hence this projection reduces its size. However, altering its size has distorted the whole island, which has been noticeably squeezed and appears rather wide. Iceland seems equally awkward, albeit for entirely different reasons as the limited scale has entailed some obvious compromises.
India appears conspicuously inaccurate as well. The entire subcontinent looks absurdly small between the Arabian Peninsula and Indochina, even leading me to check whether I had made an error during construction. Modifications could certainly be integrated but no such alterations should be necessary, so this deviation from reality is disappointing.
Otherwise, I think the shaping of the various continents and islands is impressive. Most seem immediately recognisable and I appreciate the realistic distribution of islands across the globe, including South Georgia and the French Southern and Antarctic Lands which are both notably isolated. Several enormous lakes are also present, such as the Great Lakes of North America and Lake Victoria in Africa.
Dark blue 1x1 round tiles are placed to the east of each land mass, creating an impression of depth. This certainly appears effective for the larger continents but causes problems for many intricate regions. Italy seems especially affected by the presence of dark blue elements, which distort the distinctive Italian Peninsula. Nevertheless, I believe these artificial shadows improve the complete map.
Unfortunately, the colour scheme overshadows such qualities from my perspective. I recognise that some people will enjoy such vibrant colours throughout the oceans, which are intended to represent different depths, but I dislike the bright orange and coral shades. Moreover, omitting detail from the land was a mistake in my opinion, given the potential presence of varied terrain types and even texture.
Vibrant coral, orange, flame yellowish orange, tan and various shades of both blue and green constitute the oceans. These colours create a bathymetric map, with shades nearer to vibrant coral denoting shallower waters and oceanic ridges. I certainly appreciate some colour across the oceans but these appear much too lurid. Myriad shades of blue and green are available so those would have been more appealing for me.
The decision to use plates for the land and various 1x1 round tiles throughout the oceans also seems interesting. Plates feature distinct texture and their studs create tiny shadows, perhaps further distinguishing land from water. I am curious to experiment on that subject and discover whether employing white plates or tiles produces a substantial difference.
An attractive white frame surrounds the map, contrasting with earlier LEGO Art designs which have included black frames. The actual structure remains consistent though and is particularly important for strength here, ensuring that the considerable weight of the model does not cause certain sections to detach accidentally. Furthermore, I think the white frame looks marvellous.
Forty white cones are provided to identify locations around the world, perhaps marking those you have visited or wish to visit in the future. Each cone can be colour-coded using the round tiles which is a nice idea, but these markers become lost when positioned near coastlines. An exclusive colour chart also accompanies the mosaic and helps to identify the different colours during construction, therefore integrating printed columns of numbers.
10,240 elements are combined across the structure, excluding those which comprise the frame and base. Several hundred 1x1 round plates and 1x1 round tiles therefore remain unused after completion, including numerous orange and vibrant coral 1x1 round tiles. However, I anticipate the teal 1x1 round tiles, 1879 of which are supplied, will prove especially appealing as they are exclusively available here!
Overall
31203 World Map could prove extremely popular and does provide outstanding value, costing £229.99 or $249.99 which is significantly cheaper than I anticipated. However, I fundamentally dislike the colour choices here. Upon receiving the World Map, I was quite disappointed to find such unconventional colours and the decision feels surprising because a traditional map would presumably be more marketable.
The packaging encourages customisation of the oceans and such vibrant colours are perhaps useful there. Unfortunately, I have no desire to customise the oceans with random patterns, so these elements provide limited utility. Their incredible quantities are definitely appealing though and some colours could comprise a more realistic world map, including teal and medium azure.
Removing any detail from the land masses was another error, in my opinion. I understand that including national borders may have been challenging, especially in Europe and Southern Asia where nations are commonly rather small. However, including terrain features would have been achievable and would have considerably enhanced my appreciation for the World Map. Instead, this design is extremely disappointing.
This set was provided for review by The LEGO Group but the review represents an expression of my own opinions.
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167 comments on this article
Those colours hurt my eyes ??. I wish they'd used more conventional colours such as shades of blues for the oceans, and greens and browns/tans for the land masses. Had potential but I won't be buying this unfortunately.
I totally agree with you. If they had gone with more traditional land colours and added some terrain features it could have been fabulous. As it is, I'll pass.
Maybe the reason why they went with this particular layout is because it deviates enough from known MOC's and thus avoiding calls of plagiarism? Or maybe in order to be different enough from the IDEAS globe which should also be in production?
Great review and fully agree with your assessment - would much prefer shades of blue and green for the ocean and geographic detail on the land masses. no way they could do borders but just colours and shades to highlight deserts, forests and mountain ranges would do and significantly improve it. Even more annoying with that being an art set and all others in the range containing extra pieces for alternate builds I feel this could easily have been added as an official option
I may be in the minority but I like it. What's the point of buying a carbon copy of a traditional map? It is different and Artsy. The fact that the land masses are white give space for some easy customisation. Not day one purchase but will definitely consider it.
Yeah, I'll wait for the Approved IDEAS Globe set to show up.
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/b7b83cfe-5fcb-4080-a8b2-298716b11791
What a bizarre design decision by Lego. I am a huge Lego fan and map fan, and so I would have thought this would be an instant purchase. But the colour scheme and other issues identified in the review are enough to put me off. I will probably go for one of the MOC models around, which adopt traditional colour schemes and much more interesting land details.
I've been tasked with designing a world map once, and opted for a Miller cylindrical projection. This set might be even more extreme, like the Compact Miller projection.
Looks nice, but I have no desire to assemble 10000 1x1 plates :)
What a waste of a great idea.
The landmasses look totally drab, and the oceans look like some psychedelic drug fantasy.
Yuck.
What's wrong with a traditional colour scheme?
A well, money saved I guess.
“The decision to use plates for the land and various 1x1 round tiles throughout the oceans also seems interesting. Plates feature distinct texture and their studs create tiny shadows, perhaps further distinguishing land from water.”
I suspect the main reason is so you can, as you touch on later in the review, build upon the continents. Add in the “been there” and “want to go” markers, topographic features, maybe oversized landmarks and such
Also, maybe it’s just the pictures and it looks better in person, but it looks grainy and fuzzy at a distance and close ups are just pixelated static. Genuinely not particularly fun to look at for me
In the contraindications, in addition to boredom, they should write: "It could cause epilepsy" ...
I love geography and the world map, but LEGO was really wrong in this case.
No sale. Besides the issues pointed out in the review as a parts pack it is also completely useless. 1x1 plates would've been excellent, but I can't recall where I might have needed multiples of round tiles, especially in them solid soft colors.
Any new warning messages on the box?
The color scheme reminds Friends, not 18+ to me - could someone mock up a Friends-themed box design for this?
And I thought building Big Ben was tedious!
I really like it. I like the art vibe of it, and I think the continents look clean. That being said, I can understand why people would prefer a more topographical interpretation, I assume there's a production reason for the final version - given the colour choices for the waters I imagine a full colour map would be quite loud.
it would have been more interesting if they had made it so you could see the different levels of terrain rather than the levels of the sea.
When the first rumours appeared about this set, it was immediately at my 'short list'. However, seeing how the actual product has become, I'll skip it altogether.
I totally agree with the verdict; they've should have gone with a traditional map instead of this detailed ocean perspective. Too bad...
Terrible design choices. Oceans should have been varying shades of blue, while lands should show mountain ranges, forests and deserts. Possibly with some 3D pattern for mountains to give it some depth. And that India ... lol
With only a few modifications, you could turn this into a pretty cool board for Risk.
You wouldn’t need to recolour all the landmasses. Border colours would do, possibly with coloured tiles on the existing white plates.
As a fan of mosaics and maps... this is an interesting one. I can see some of the reasoning to put more detail into the oceans, because they take up significantly more space than the land. If land had been the focus, then the majority of the map would've been blank oceans... and if they tried to fit details into both the landmasses and the oceans, it might look too messy. As it is, it looks enough like an ocean depth / temperature / currents map that works out for me. I'm glad it's not the full Mercator Projection, that one is just the worse, way too Eurocentric with the fact that it highlights the northern hemisphere at the expense of the equator / southern hemisphere. (Cartography ranting aside).
While I agree that a more conventional map would be more appealing, I think there are a lot of design complications that would bring up. More particularly, I feel like it's kind of a wasted opportunity that this set doesn't promote the idea of making other more localized maps, either of the separate continents or even individual counties. There's always room for fan designs to take over, but it would've been neat to have instructions for an alternate design of Europe or something.
I like it. I will probably add a few topographic features to the land areas myself.
I would buy it if the colour was like in the traditional map. WIth colourful mountain range, forested region and coastal desert area. But only a white map...well, it is too bland for me
I'm with the majority - if this had been a traditional (proper) colour scheme it would have been a day one purchase. Like this, it's an opportunity missed due to poor design decisions.
Saves me £200+ though, so not all bad.
I can see where LEGO was coming from. It’s definitely unique, but they might have made the right choice as far as the color choice. Having it be just white and various shades of blue would be boring. They could have colorized the land based on terrain type, but I don’t think that would be effective. Separating the land by countries or even by contenents I think would be even less appealing and difficult to achieve, particularly for smaller countries which would have been critiqued even further.
I think the issue is the target market. Like many others I’d imagine, I am short on display space, so I probably will not be purchasing it. People won’t be buying it for educational value, they could just buy a cheap accurate wall map. For those that want this as an art piece I can’t see hardly anyone rushing to the opportunity of assembling 10,240 1x1 round plates which honestly sounds dreadful, and I thought the Sith Art took long enough. Also, disassembling this would be a nightmare
Was this set only made to have this year another highest number of pieces set? Who is the target audience for this set? Bricklink sellers who will part out the big 16x16 frame pieces and the tiles for a profit? I don't see any appeal in the color choices or the type of map used for this. Who cares about the ocean depth other than ocean explorers who will use a real map anyway? Wasted potential with this set and there are far better plate built map MOCs out there.
P.S. And you know what happens to white LEGO pieces if they stay on display in a well lit room... :(
This is really ugly.
The odd shapes, the flat landmasses with a shadow for relief effect, the weird colors that resemble a heat map, and the general CRT look (or a LCD with a poor CRT scanlines filter on it) makes it hard to even look at.
I'll take one of those "old world map" jigsaw puzzles 10 times over this.
Wait, I have one, waiting in a box for years...
@R0Sch said:
"Was this set only made to have this year another highest number of pieces set? Who is the target audience for this set? Bricklink sellers who will part out the big 16x16 frame pieces and the tiles for a profit? I don't see any appeal in the color choices or the type of map used for this. Who cares about the ocean depth other than ocean explorers who will use a real map anyway? Wasted potential with this set and there are far better plate built map MOCs out there.
P.S. And you know what happens to white LEGO pieces if they stay on display in a well lit room... :( "
It actually looks stunning in real life. It's hugely impressive, dominates a wall space and is incredibly stylish looking once complete. I too was put off when I first saw it but having built it and displayed it I have to say it is very, very impressive - just shows, each to their own eh!
I can't begin to imagine the tedium of this build with all those tiles. Plus like the majority this would only appeal to me if it was largely shades of green and blue. That's what makes our planet's surface so uniquely beautiful (of those we are capable of observing).
Okay, seeing some of the alternate background designs for the oceans on the actual shop.Lego.com page actually look a lot better than the ocean depths designs. Which those had been highlighted a bit more in the press release, some look pretty cool and gives me fun ideas for customization.
As per above...… Colours not great, maybe the idea is you add your own land mass, if you are interested in Cities or Mountains, or as they suggest places you have been / like to visit. Or maybe they are setting up for an expansion pack of "Land" or "Ocean".... the correct Blues.....The ultimate question is would you buy a map in that colour whether it be a £30 printed one or more expensive 3-d ish one.... its rather unusual.
I know there were probably many, many hours put into refining the shapes of the landmasses and ocean patterns - but even so my first impression is somebody just stuck a map into a freeware graphics package and hit 'reduce to 8 colours'. I'd have imagined a Lego map would use elevation as well, given that it's, y'know, Lego - lift the landmasses up a tile rather than wasting space with a fake shadow, use studs instead of smooth tiles for mountain ranges, even add an extra stud's height for the tallest peaks, have the ocean trenches actually recessed... I mean what even is the point of this, versus just framing an actual map? Just to show off how many 1x1s you can be bothered buying and assembling? I don't enjoy being negative (it'll be fine, I'll grab the Daily Bugle next week and feel better), but honestly the way I see it, it's a bad map and bad Lego.
As soon as the Rockies and Appalachian Mountains were added to the map and their elevations shaded accordingly, the United States would have looked awful. Europe would be even worse. Mainland Europe is three Dots wide. How do you shade the Alps? The Pyrenees are literally one Dot.
TLG created true-to-life flowers at a much cheaper price-point, and the AFOLS of Brickset littered the comments section with “Why should I buy these when I can buy artificial or real flowers cheaper?” Now, I’m expected to believe that AFOLS would buy a $250 copy of a map they can buy at an office store? Come on...
First ever Lego set over 10,000 pieces and it's this thing :(
Perhaps there will be a 2nd instruction online to switch ocean colors with landmass colors. Still, it would not be conventional, plains and lowlands being green/teal, montains orange/coral and oceans white. But it could manifest nicely.
And, after all, it's LEGO, you can freely experiment with your choice of colors.
@TeriXeri said:
"Yeah, I'll wait for the Approved IDEAS Globe set to show up.
https://ideas.lego.com/projects/b7b83cfe-5fcb-4080-a8b2-298716b11791"
Me too even thought I love this.
I think people are forgetting that the map is never the reality. Maps always present a different view of the world than what is really there, which has been a massive issue with regards to colonial and imperialist world views that permeate the development of cartography. In this case, LEGO’s World Map is in a similar vein to the LEGO Art series, so just treat it as an artistic representation of the world rather than looking for accuracy where you won’t find any!
The colours of the Earth are beautiful. This is not. I was really looking forward to this set, but I won't be buying it now. Unfortunately, I can't see this being hugely successful for LEGO, and they likely won't release another version with natural colours.
@ericjohn said:
"As soon as the Rockies and Appalachian Mountains were added to the map and their elevations shaded accordingly, the United States would have looked awful. Europe would be even worse. Mainland Europe is three Dots wide. How do you shade the Alps? The Pyrenees are literally one Dot."
I agree that targeting absolute realism would be impossible and produce a cluttered design. However, there are certain terrain features which could be represented, even if exaggerated. Scattering some 1x1 pyramid elements to portray the Himalayas and Andes may be effective, for example.
Yuck!!!
A waste of R&D. I'll wait for the globe. Also, i recall see a mini map on Pinterest that i much preferred and would be a good GWP:
https://pin.it/6iOsPek
It was a good base for us to recreate our world with other colors. It was possible to "paint" with different colors the countries where we passed, but it is a very expensive base
Total failure from Lego, this empty discolored map has no interest and will not be popular at all...
The only thing this set has going for it is the price. I don't want to build it nor look at it.
There's a great wall mosaic of the London skyline on the stairs at the London Lego shop which I would easily pay my money for a smaller 1m x 0.3m tiled version showing just Westminster, Tower of London and Buckingham palace. Alternatively, any other famous world skylines of Paris, New York, Sydney or even better if there were enough varied pieces to do whichever took your fancy that month! Maybe next time, also prefer studs throughout with the Lego logo rather than tiles.
Looks great. I may be forced to remix my annual Lego purchase plan for this. Can't wait to make my own fictitious map with the pieces, and the amount of mosaic bases is great for the MOCs I have in mind.
I understand where criticism of the set comes from. I do also know there are people who will buy this just so they can say they have the largest Lego set ever created (and yes, that would include me).
This is a wasted opportunity to produce something with broader appeal, judging by the comments so far, which I agree with.
I love maps but see no point in this. I'd rather the ability to create more regional - and therefore more detailed - maps.
Am I the only one who thinks the colours are actually accurate, for what they are trying to do? If you look in an atlas at topographic projections of the seabed, this is very similar to what is used there, with the red end of the spectrum for higher and the blue end for lower. The colour scheme is actually the one bit of this I like.
I think this is strangely specific though. Like yes, it's interesting to see a map of the underwater topography, but would I want to pay $300 to hang one on my wall? Not really.....
I think something that's gone unnoticed is how low the resolution of the map is. It measures 128x80 studs, which means 300 km per pixel at the equator. I think that's one of the reasons they didn't try to add details to land masses: they would have looked odd and distorted.
That's also why you don't recognize some of the most iconic shapes like Italy: Italy's body is less than a pixel wide.
I was really looking forward to this after hearing the rumor and my reaction pre-review was already negative. I tried to like it while looking at pictures and I just can’t. Hoping the globe doesn’t suffer the same fate.
Something about this screams 'Customize me!'
The plain land masses - being plates instead of tiles - location markers aside, I feel like there would be so many changes for anyone the buys the set. Since I buy sets for my kids, and usually avoid display sets I will probably skip this, although with customization in mind, I think my kids would actually play with it a lot. I love the idea of playing Pandemic or Risk on the surface. It's an interesting. Drawing so much attention to the oceans piqued my curiosity about the oceans, and map choices in general. Not sure is that was the intent, but anyways, somewhat thought provoking. The continents are borderless, feels like one world, no division/distinction.
Anyways... It's an attention grabber for sure.
I can concerned by the number of negative comments, but maybe it's just controversial and there are some fans that will buy it anyways? Time will tell.
It seems like half a set. Judging by the comments I’m not alone in thinking the landmass is a missed opportunity, and the opportunity to moc the rest of it is tempting (wedge tiles would provide neat contrast), but am I that interested in the first place?
A tip:
By dropping the whole antarctica strip on the bottom (and shifting the rest of the map 3 studs upwards) you will still get a full world map - AND 8 spare mosaic baseplates to play with!
Even better PPP! :-)
What world map shows red oceans? What kind of map is this?
https://www.google.pl/search?q=earth+map&tbm=isch&ved=2ahUKEwje0Kvg4-TwAhWWuioKHe7VA_EQ2-cCegQIABAA&oq=earth+map&gs_lcp=CgNpbWcQAzICCAAyAggAMgIIADICCAAyAggAMgIIADIECAAQHjIECAAQHjIECAAQHjIECAAQHjoECCMQJzoICAAQsQMQgwE6BwgAELEDEEM6BAgAEEM6BQgAELEDUOgIWJYVYK0XaABwAHgAgAFIiAHjBJIBATmYAQCgAQGqAQtnd3Mtd2l6LWltZ8ABAQ&sclient=img&ei=O-asYJ7HBJb1qgHuq4-IDw&bih=910&biw=1280 +
Those colours hurt my eyes
@V_14 said:
"I've been tasked with designing a world map once, and opted for a Miller cylindrical projection. This set might be even more extreme, like the Compact Miller projection."
I came here to say this. This is definitely a Miller cylindrical projection rather than a Mercator. A strange choice, but like @xccj said above, it "fixes" the Eurocentricity of the Mercator. Albeit at the cost of Greenland's waistline.
It's unfortunately probably the best option for a rectangular map with no ocean cut-outs.
This seems to be based on the equirectangular projection, though the horizontal axis is compressed a fair bit (by about 20%). It's definitely not the Mercator projection, though.
( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equirectangular_projection )
Greenland and the Weddell Sea in Antarctica were my initial visual queues, but doing an overlay showed that Africa, South America, and everything else were nearly identical as well.
If you're a map projection nerd like me and want to investigate yourself, I overlaid different map projections over this with transparency. When looking at the equirectangular projection in particular, I scaled the two maps to be the same x-y size, then shifted the transparent top layer until the two geographies were aligned, and it was almost a perfect match.
And if you want to see a bunch of different map projections side-by-side for comparison, there are probably better actual references, but https://xkcd.com/977/ adds a bit of humor.
I feel there could be an expansion pack in the pipeline. The land areas could be built upon due to the use of the studs, might have pushed the price through the roof if also included?
I do actually quite like this, including the choice of colours, and will probably get it at some point. However, with the amount of really good sets coming out on June 1st, this is a fair way down the shopping list!
@myth said:
"Looks nice, but I have no desire to assemble 10000 1x1 plates :)"
You've hit the nail on the head! I did one of the first Art sets and it had some novelty value, but generally it was deadly dull to put it together. Not the same as a regular LEGO building experience, by a long shot. At least building the flowers has the three-dimensionality going for it. I love maps (my degree is in geography) but this feels like a dreary repetitive project that I will not be partaking of. A globe, on the other hand...
@Huw Absolutely correct! A waste.
The longer I stare at it, the more blurred my vision becomes. Maybe because I'm old, have gone too long w/o an eye exam, or because I have the attention span of a caffeine addled bunny. I too would have much preferred to see accurate colors for the land, as well as some height used to show terrain features, such as mountain ranges. I would have still kept some detail for the ocean depths, but limited that to 2-3 blue shades. I suppose for those wanting to create their own Dot-ish map several copies of 41935 Lots of Dots could be bought, which seems to be around the same super low .02 - .03 cents/piece.
I rather like it, but I agree with most about only using white for land. I think it may have been better served with other colours. I think the black and white version looks the most striking.
@Huw said:
"This is a wasted opportunity to produce something with broader appeal, judging by the comments so far, which I agree with."
I think the comments here actually show that this is produced for broader appeal - it very much does not surprise me that Bricksetters aren't big fans. I can see the "mindfulness" market really going for this sort of thing.
For me, the end result doesn't look worth the tedious effort to put it together . I have a couple of big problems with it: on any image I can find of this, the "shadow effect" only works for me a relatively large viewing distance - I reckon I'd need to be about 6m away for it to look good. Otherwise it looks odd. And the multi-coloured oceans just don't work well visually. Every other large-scale world map I can find works on a uniform range of tones for oceans, focussed on blue for most. This is a dizzying mash of colours. It's almost like the colours were chosen as "parts we've got available" rather than the best selection for the product. The alternative shown on Lego.com with none of the ocean tiles places, leaving it black, looks far better, which means you have thousands of 1x1 tiles on your hands.
Even if I ignore the excess of tiles and 1x1 plates, this does look pretty good value for a parts pack, especially those 40 16x16 Technic bricks.
Sometimes creative people are "too creative", and limit the potential audience to a small section of a much larger pool.
I was interested until I saw the end product. Too bad as this had some potential.
CapnRex wrote: "The decision to use plates for the land and various 1x1 round tiles throughout the oceans also seems interesting. Plates feature distinct texture and their studs create tiny shadows, perhaps further distinguishing land from water. I am curious to experiment on that subject and discover whether employing white plates or tiles produces a substantial difference."
A few years ago I designed for my LUG a map of Europe on a 48x48 baseplate, and I made the same choice of using tiles for the sea and plates for the lands.
I made drafts on LDD and using all tiles or all plates was a bit more chaotic. The difference in pieces helps convoy the difference of the represented area
All of these dot "art" sets are utterly lacking in creativity. Anyone with an infinite supply of dots and a free paint package (e.g. GIMP) can turn a favourite image into a mosaic. If this is the future - paying hundreds of pounds to turn yourself into a robot, methodically and repeatedly sticking thousands of identical pieces onto a base-board - then it's not for me.
Where's the mindstorms or boost set which builds these pictures automatically by taking as input a picture and working with bins of dots and placing them mechanically onto a background? Or where's the 3D element to the artwork?
LEGO bricks are capable of being so much more than stickers on a page.
Swing and a miss by TLG.
The idea is interesting, and this might look decent on display somewhere. But, for being so big with such a repetitive building process, there just isn’t enough payoff in the end.
The resolution of this map is just too low. The inaccuracies are a bigger issue for me than the ugly colors. I could see having something like this to customize with, say, markers of places that one has traveled or visited. But the res is just too low for that. It's a no-win situation, b/c it really can't be larger than it is, so the resolution can't be improved. No modding can adjust that. So, I agree with many that while this is a good concept, the actual product falls short. Hope the globe is better.
Yeah this is . . . okay, but it's not great.
On top of being an incredibly tedious and repetitive build, it seems like the map itself could have been much better.
To me it seems like using a mix of plates and tiles and wedges of various sizes could have made a more effective map, capturing the shapes of things better while allowing for some texture and detail in the landmasses and reducing piece count while also being a more varied and interesting build.
I'm honestly shocked they expect to sell this for 250 bones with this colour scheme. It's such a poor choice and it seems like they're leaving money on the table by not presenting a more realistic colour scheme.
Looks to me like a weather reporter map for rain showers and heat waves haha, maybe thats why its odd colours?
Has LEGO released any statements on their approach with this set? I wonder if they were trying to draw attention to the oceans for sustainability purposes?
It's very hard to focus on in on it...I'll pass....maybe if the colors were more pleasing to the eye.
I will be giving this set a miss, it looks awful!
I love the concept of this map, but like everyone else, I'm not a fan of the color choices. Had this been colored like a standard map, I would have jumped on this as a way to mark places we've visited. Another nice touch would have been if the continents were topographical, representing mountains and such.
It would be cool if they turned this into a series, where future sets could represent specific countries or continents, and provide more details. In the US, it's quite common for people to set goals like, "visit every state" or keep track of all the cities they've been to.
I'd probably be even more excited for a US map (in standard colors, of course) with mountains, lakes and rivers; although I appreciate that regional country- or continent- specific maps would also decrease marketability.
EDIT: The silver lining to this hideous looking set is that we can probably expect discounts to move it.
Hard pass. To me it just feels very very ugly.
I feel like the red patches in the ocean represent the heat map of plastic swirling around in the seas.
Anyone who's ever completed a large cross-stitch project nods in appreciation.
3 dot additions after the quickest of quick glances - Easter Island, the Canaries, Great Salt Lake.
Maps (a globe would have been even better) are a great reminder of how small we all are, and how much we're all in this together.
To be honest, I kind of like this map design. I do agree that a more conventional colour scheme would've looked lots better. Just a casual dark blue water with bright, or even dark green land would have looked better.
Looks like a weather map. I dig.
This map kinda feels like a bland eyesore in my opinion. No offense to the designers intended, but the color scheme just ruins it. You can get a much better map of the world for far cheaper that’s also much more helpful
If you've been to more than 5 countrires in Europe and want to place a marker, you've pretty much covered the whole continent. Who is this really for?
Oh dear! Not a fan of this at all. How tedious attaching 10000 plastic dots in order. No not for me.
The continents being white won't be a problem. After this has been on the wall next to a window for six months, all will be lovely shade of brown.
@PixelTheDragon said:
"This map kinda feels like a bland eyesore in my opinion. No offense to the designers intended, but the color scheme just ruins it. You can get a much better map of the world for far cheaper that’s also much more helpful"
I doubt anyone looking to buy this set, is buying it as a "helpful" map....
@matrox2001 said:
"Oh dear! Not a fan of this at all. How tedious attaching 10000 plastic dots in order. No not for me.
The continents being white won't be a problem. After this has been on the wall next to a window for six months, all will be lovely shade of brown. "
Ooph, that's a good point I hadn't considered. If you display this anywhere where it gets sunlight the white is gonna discolor awfully.
I agree, I don’t like the colors. I wonder if downloading the instructions and fixing the colors from BL orders would be an option.
@xccj said:
"As a fan of mosaics and maps... this is an interesting one. I can see some of the reasoning to put more detail into the oceans, because they take up significantly more space than the land. If land had been the focus, then the majority of the map would've been blank oceans... and if they tried to fit details into both the landmasses and the oceans, it might look too messy. As it is, it looks enough like an ocean depth / temperature / currents map that works out for me. I'm glad it's not the full Mercator Projection, that one is just the worse, way too Eurocentric with the fact that it highlights the northern hemisphere at the expense of the equator / southern hemisphere. (Cartography ranting aside).
While I agree that a more conventional map would be more appealing, I think there are a lot of design complications that would bring up. More particularly, I feel like it's kind of a wasted opportunity that this set doesn't promote the idea of making other more localized maps, either of the separate continents or even individual counties. There's always room for fan designs to take over, but it would've been neat to have instructions for an alternate design of Europe or something."
I totally agree with you, particularly about the missed opportunity for alternate builds. Given the number of pieces and size of this mosaic, it would definitely have been possible and the precedent has already been set with the other art sets.
I also understand the disappointment that people have that it isn't more traditional, but personally, as an aesthetic decision, I prefer this rendition.
Looks more like an Ishihara test plate than a map to me! So much so I'm HONESTLY intrigued as to potential Ophthalmological deficiencies among the design team. I can also see, at only a cursory glance there are multiple issues with the claim of a bathymetrical representation of the oceans as there are several instances where areas, while providing corresponding colour differentials, fail to match those colours on a global scale.
SUPER disappointing, but will be interesting to see how readily available TLG make the colours (blues, browns and greens) to 'correct' it available. Maybe they know EXACTLY what they're doing...
I need a LEGO map of Earth because I am both a megalomaniac and a LEGOlomanianc.
That's no moon...
Personally I don’t have a stance on the color debate, but I will offer a solution: just use the white pieces for the land masses and forgo the rest. This should create a minimalistic white on black map.
To me, it is clear why TLG took the direction they did. Reversing the approach where the water lacked detail and the continents did would have resulted in losing much of the readily recognizable shapes of the continents, putting the emphasis on the shapes of the oceans. It may seem counterintuitive but having all of the continents be "negative space" makes the more recognizable shapes stand out. We have a perceived knowledge of what most if not all of the continents look like without seeing a map, but the oceans? Try drawing the shape of the Atlantic, Indian or Pacific oceans from memory. At this scale, if TLG had taken the reverse approach the continents would have appeared as chaotic, distorted, or scrambled masses ruining the effect of the instantly recognizable map. And since they weren't going to go the "realistic" approach I can appreciate the risk they took in making the continents white with the dark blue shadow, which to me is actually particularly attractive, as opposed to say green or tan and works beautifully with the white frame, making the map more of a piece of wall art than a functional map, which again at this scale would have been near impossible. This is after all part of the "art" series.
I do understand that they could have compromised, and many suggestions here (particularly Huw's suggestion that white 1 x 1 pyramid tiles could have been used to show some key areas of elevation) would have been good. However, for whatever reason LEGO has as part of the brief that only round 1 x 1 plates and tiles will be used.
I appreciate the ability to create your own patterns in the ocean areas but wonder how many people will actually do this. I also scratch my head a bit at the choice to make the "pins" the same color as the map. IMO they should have been the traditional map-pin bright red or black.
I am a big fan of mosaics, both building them and designing them, but even for me, I wonder if a mosaic this size in this limited color range might be a bit tedious. I may still buy it just for the part value in my own mosaic use.
Ugh the colours are giving me a migraine.
@Iguanaboy said:
"Personally I don’t have a stance on the color debate, but I will offer a solution: just use the white pieces for the land masses and forgo the rest. This should create a minimalistic white on black map."
That's one of the options presented on the product page
@biyitch said:
"And I thought building Big Ben was tedious!"
It's actually a really mindful, relaxing experience - which completely surprised me!
I had hoped there would be three building options: the America's, Europe/Africa and Asia/Australia and that you could combine these three into one world map. That way you can display much more detail, eg terrain and maybe even some suggestion of borders. Unfortunately, despite being a fan of world maps, I have to pass on this set. I had really high hopes for this set! Too bad...
I assume that this set is going to hold the record the "biggest LEGO set" for a very, very, very long time, which is very sad, imo, because it just doesn't deserve this honour.
For how long can one claim to have the biggest Lego set?
@DoonsterBuildsLego said:
" @Iguanaboy said:
"Personally I don’t have a stance on the color debate, but I will offer a solution: just use the white pieces for the land masses and forgo the rest. This should create a minimalistic white on black map."
That's one of the options presented on the product page"
Ok. I haven’t looked at the product page yet, but it will be good to see what it looks like as just the land masses.
I look at this and think "8-bit computer wargame map"...
... and not a very good one, either.
What if I want to mark Andorra, Monaco, San Marino, Liechtenstein, Malta, and Vatican City?
@Hotzenplotz said:
"I assume that this set is going to hold the record the "biggest LEGO set" for a very, very, very long time, which is very sad, imo, because it just doesn't deserve this honour."
Who even cares.....
@THEMIDDLEBRICK said:
"To me, it is clear why TLG took the direction they did. Reversing the approach where the water lacked detail and the continents did would have resulted in losing much of the readily recognizable shapes of the continents, putting the emphasis on the shapes of the oceans. It may seem counterintuitive but having all of the continents be "negative space" makes the more recognizable shapes stand out. We have a perceived knowledge of what most if not all of the continents look like without seeing a map, but the oceans? Try drawing the shape of the Atlantic, Indian or Pacific oceans from memory. At this scale, if TLG had taken the reverse approach the continents would have appeared as chaotic, distorted, or scrambled masses ruining the effect of the instantly recognizable map. And since they weren't going to go the "realistic" approach I can appreciate the risk they took in making the continents white with the dark blue shadow, which to me is actually particularly attractive, as opposed to say green or tan and works beautifully with the white frame, making the map more of a piece of wall art than a functional map, which again at this scale would have been near impossible. This is after all part of the "art" series.
I do understand that they could have compromised, and many suggestions here (particularly Huw's suggestion that white 1 x 1 pyramid tiles could have been used to show some key areas of elevation) would have been good. However, for whatever reason LEGO has as part of the brief that only round 1 x 1 plates and tiles will be used.
I appreciate the ability to create your own patterns in the ocean areas but wonder how many people will actually do this. I also scratch my head a bit at the choice to make the "pins" the same color as the map. IMO they should have been the traditional map-pin bright red or black.
I am a big fan of mosaics, both building them and designing them, but even for me, I wonder if a mosaic this size in this limited color range might be a bit tedious. I may still buy it just for the part value in my own mosaic use."
I agree completely with you. Treating the land as a negative space helps them stand out more. I suspect we will see some MOC's from people that reverse it, and then we will be able to compare. As one other person pointed out, reversing it would have also resulted in the majority of the mosaic being a single color of water. And let's face it, if they reversed it we would still see a lot of complaints. There are complaints on EVERY single new set......
Its a real shame there was not some texture added to land like mountains and large land marks, sure some could of been added and no doubt many will add, but when buying some thing like this would hope to not have to MOD it really.
Imagine knocking over the bowls/pots used for the dots.......
I like the overall look of this set, and I think the white continents was the correct choice for this scale — adding topographical detail would have muddied the look and made the entire piece less recognizable as a world map. As it stands, the continents “pop” nicely.
However, I would like to see a version where the oceans are represented only in shades of blue, and possibly green. It might be less colorful, but more pleasing to my taste. (I expect we’ll see some nice MOCs of this in the next few months.)
There’s a good chance I’ll buy this set eventually, though I plan to wait a while, hoping that they release a similarly sized (and therefore more detailed) map of the USA. Or possibly release alternate instructions for this set? I went on a 50-state road trip back in 2010, and I’d love to highlight the route or key moments on a large Lego map of the USA.
There's a ton of potential with a world map set, but the colors aren't good and I wish it wasn't a mosaic. Maybe it's just me, but putting down thousands of 1x1s just doesn't seem fun or enjoyable.
Like so many others, I love the idea of this but find the execution quite poor. My eyes literally start hurting after looking at it for more than 10 seconds.
@STL_Brick_Co said:
" @PixelTheDragon said:
"This map kinda feels like a bland eyesore in my opinion. No offense to the designers intended, but the color scheme just ruins it. You can get a much better map of the world for far cheaper that’s also much more helpful"
I doubt anyone looking to buy this set, is buying it as a "helpful" map...."
Well the map clearly doesn’t have looks going for it, so that’s not exactly a point in it’s favor either.
As a West Wing fan, I have to know if you can make the Peters Projection Map with this set (and if you can hang it upside down)! https://youtu.be/AMfXVWFBrVo
Considering the space you need for this - it is quite large and you need to be at a good distance from it to see something decipherable without being struck by an epileptic attack - I suppose a given segment of AFOLs will get it (maybe some in secret!). Personally, not for me - too tedious and not even a good part pack - if those would be 1x1 plates/tiles instead of rounds then it would be different. Also not pleased with colour choices - should be different shades of blue for oceans and tan, brown and shades of green for landmasses; white only for arctic poles. Let's see the globe now...
On another topic, I have been asking myself this for a while now: Back in the days, Lego would produce catalogs a few times a year and you would get to discover the WHOLE line-up of what was coming for the next few months in one shot. Am I the only one preferring this format instead of the release of one set per week?
I like the idea where the ocean can be treated like wallpaper for some creative designs. Trying to do the same on the continents would be limiting due to their size and shape. And I do like how the blank continents allows for one to mark areas of personal importance.
I think the color scheme comes from satellite imagery of sea floor depths. Not the most unconventional choice, it’s easy to find other maps in the same exact color scheme.
I can only imagine how boring this would be to assemble if they’d stuck with blue for the oceans.
My region is missing. 0/10
Could it BE more boring?! It’s a DOTS overdose.
I like the appearance over all, when considered as a display piece. But I don't think I'm likely to get it unless I see it discounted quite a bit because there's other sets and building experiences that I think I'd rather spend money on.
I think I'm much more likely to buy the Ideas globe set.
Complately agree, would have been much more interesting to be able to customize the land masses instead of the oceans. Terrain, or population density, etc. Should have used the various shades of blue for sea depth. It's a neat set, but not $250 neat.
No Diego Garcia, no sale!
@rljf311 said:
"As a West Wing fan, I have to know if you can make the Peters Projection Map with this set (and if you can hang it upside down)! https://youtu.be/AMfXVWFBrVo"
YES!!!
@Meltdownmonk:
It gives me a definite “whiteboard” vibe. Beyond travel markers, I could see people adding landmarks, text notes, and sigfigs. I could also see them releasing alternate map packs so you can zoom in somewhere. I’d be tempted to build the Great Lakes area and add markers wherever I’ve done shows with my LUG.
@mhinck said:
"I love maps but see no point in this. I'd rather the ability to create more regional - and therefore more detailed - maps. "
Or have different options like
Sea depth
Currents
Countries
Amount of minifigures per capita
Etc
It feels like a wasted opportunity when all the other Art sets have different options.
very meh
I'm rather surprised that so many have issue with the bathymetric map of the oceans. As a geologist, I quite appreciate that it shows the spreading ridges and I think it looks much more interesting than purely blue oceans would be.
It's still rather expensive for something that's not a particularly interesting or challenging building experience so despite being a major fan of maps, I'm afraid it's a pass for me.
After seeing the bright custom mosaics like the octopus and such in the official images, I can understand the color choices better.
I can't help but to comment after seeing this rather 'weird' Lego creation..
1) Due to the limited pieces that are possible to be used here, in comparison to the details that a typical world map should consists, this rendition is best classified as an art and not an atlas. 2) From an artistic point of view however, the color and contrast doesn't seem to be attractive at all.
Thus in my opinion it seems a lot of waste of time, money, and plastic. The world does not need to be represented by these many useless plastics (plus the manufacturing procedures behind it).
Definitely one of the worst and tedious builds ever. Wonder how many people do it 100% correct 1st try. Agree with some people that this is a complete waste of plastic.
I love maps. I buy interesting maps.
I love Lego. I buy interesting sets.
I don't love this map ... I don't think I'll buy this map.
it's such a missed opportunity to me that a 3D building system doesn't use its strength but goes for a flat low-detail mosaik instead (and then decides for a strange depiction on the way ...). technique like "sketches" would have been a great way to add altitudes. or colors. or ...
there is no reason this has to be released in the "art" series (but neither is this art, nor is most of the "art" in the "art series" art, at best it's pop art, at worst it's kitsch). so using a mosaic technique is no must-have at all for a world map.
It's just a pity this take on a world map will postpone any better take for many years ... might be a MOC project for me then.
Not very appealing, esecially for set this big.
Nice review! To be honest, while this is definitely the least obvious or straightforward approach LEGO could have taken with a world map set, I find that the more I look at it, the more I'm struck by the many creative decisions the designers made, and the many different display possibilities that it offers.
Personally, I actually find the default "depth map" design for the bodies of water pretty stylish, and not at all ugly or painful to look at. Judging from my experience with other brightly-colored sets in themes like LEGO Dots, I suspect it's even more visually pleasing (and potentially even harmonious or calmingto look at) in real life compared to the experience of viewing it as a glowing image on a computer screen.
At this point, I've seen plenty of comments from people who thought certain LEGO Ideas sets (e.g. Treehouse, Pirates of Barracuda Bay, and Medieval Blacksmith) or Creator Expert sets (e.g. Ferris Wheel, Downtown Diner, and Carousel) excessively colorful or even garish when they were first revealed online, but then had a much more positive response to seeing them on display at a LEGO brand store. I suspect this difference between the reflective color of physical plastic bricks and the emissive color of computer screens often plays a non-negligible role in giving people such different impressions of sets when they see them in real life for the first time.
The suggestion of creating more abstract custom patterns is a great way of encouraging the sort of freeform creative potential that remains a core aspect of the LEGO experience. And the inclusion of such an wide variety of differently colored tiles also opens up the possibility for patterns that might be much more palatable to people who would prefer something simpler and easier to "read" than the default build, such as color-coded stripes arranged by latitude, longitude, or time zones. Some of these possibilities might have been much more limited if all of the water tiles had been in shades of blue rather than a varied rainbow assortment.
Another display possibility for those bothered by the "psychedelic" look of terrain maps is to leave the bodies of water blank, without tiling them at all (and in fact, this option is actually shown in one of the official images). Naturally, buyers choosing to take this approach still have to pay for the water tiles no matter WHAT colors they are, so some might see it as a bit of a waste. But on the other hand, those tiles are still a pretty great value even as loose parts — especially since they encompass such a a varied range of hues, rather than just different shades of one specific hue.
While critics do have plenty of respectable reasons not to like this set's default appearance, I do feel like some of the complaints fixating on the lack of "realism" feel a bit misaimed. Haven't we all seen maps in which different countries, continents, or territories are all arbitrarily color-coded using bright or pastel colors to differentiate them from their neighbors? I can understand having a preference for maps using solid fields of color over ones using gradiated colors, whether based on their aesthetics or how easily you're able to decipher/interpret them. But even so, neither of those approaches is actually any more "realistic" than the other.
(Continued in next comment)
(Continued from previous comment)
Initially, I was very surprised and even slightly disappointed that the set did not include alternate instructions with white bodies of water and more varied, brightly-colored landmasses. After all, other LEGO Art sets all include alternate models with entirely different patterns than the main model, and swapping the colors of the land and water seemed like pretty obvious and intuitive way to repurpose the same parts from this set's main model in an entirely different layout.
However, this decision makes more sense now that I realize the continents have been left blank and studded specifically to allow builders to mark "places of interest" or other details above the map surface. This is honestly a super nifty feature, and it feels particularly thoughtful of the designers to include parts for "push-pin" style markers and a key/legend (including brand-new printed number tiles), which builders are free to use in whatever way best suits them!
Despite all the positive impressions I have of this set, I'm undecided about whether to get this set myself just yet. The price seems pretty good for what it includes, but before I make any purchasing decisions, I would need to give some thought to where I'd actually end up displaying it. By contrast, it was no trouble at all for me to immediately commit to purchasing the recently announced "Everyone is Awesome!" set, since not only does it have a lot of personal meaning to me, but it is also a small, affordable set that does not take up too much display space on a shelf, table, or desk.
Then again, flat, wall-mounted sets like the ones in the LEGO Art theme generally don't take up space that could be used for other sets or other types of home decor. Plus, they would be very easy to pack up and transport when my wife and end up moving out of our current apartment after she finishes her PhD — unlike, say, the Ideas Grand Piano which we got as a Christmas gift last year, and which remains the largest set we have on display. So maybe it wouldn't be such a bad idea to get this set even before I fully settle on where it would look nicest on display. I'll definitely give it some thought before I place my next LEGO.com order.
In any case, I think the designers made some very clever and creative choices here, even if it clearly doesn't appeal to everyone. I'm certainly more impressed than I was when the first rumors of an upcoming "World Map" set emerged. ^_^
@Aanchir : as for those Ideas sets that were changed to brightly coloured versions of the original submissions: I am currently building the treehouse, and the more I get on with it the less I like it. Actually it's one set I actually feel buyer's remorse about. It's just not what I would have expected. The build is awful, putting those houses onto the branches and attaching them safely without breaking anything is a pain in the..., and even the quality of the build itself leaves a lot to be desired. Just seeing that the walls of those house elements don't form proper 45 degree angles but look askew ruins the look for me totally, and the bright and almost garish colours versus the original submission...
Just like with this world map I am totally disappointed.
Offers a lot of possibilities for creative MOCs , but isn't making me reach for my wallet. I don't think there's much reason to kick up a fuss if you don't like/want it; it is what it is, rather attractively done IMO, and goodness knows there are plenty of other sets being released this summer if this one doesn't appeal to you.
I was really excited when I saw the link to this set review, and then completely deflated on seeing it!! Opportunity missed here. The review is spot on - what's with the grey bland countries/continents??? At least put some colours in to represent mountains, forests and cities?
Lego needs better focus groups. At least, I assume they do have focus groups of SOME kind to see consumer reaction before releasing a large set. If they don't, they need to start. If they do, they need different people in those groups than the people they have now.
Looks like a colorblindness test.
I really prefer the look of the simple black and white version (the dark blue "shadows" are included too). Also makes it easier to see the coastlines.
I'm definitely looking forward to https://ideas.lego.com/projects/b7b83cfe-5fcb-4080-a8b2-298716b11791
I'm glad that this one isn't replacing it.
TL;DR
I like it. The non-standard map pallet & the extra quantities of tile are strong invitations to be truly creative and artistic, as opposed to strictly modeling the earth. I think a set full of blue, green, brown and shades thereof wouldn’t provide as much creative range for personalizing the map.
Not my cup of tea but I can see its appeal. Several commenters have pointed out the various reasons for leaving the landmasses undecorated with terrain (allows addition of markers, would look too cluttered, the scale is too small, etc.). As for the color scheme of the oceans, it is a representation of actual bathymetric maps for those who think the map looks nothing like any real life maps. While I personally would also prefer a more traditional map color scheme (or possibly in the style of an antique map), the people who cannot understand why LEGO would release the map designed/colored as such (e.g., comments about lack of focus group testing) also need to try to view the set from the point of view of other "artsy" types who may form a large target market. When viewed as a piece of "modern" art (this is in the Art theme) rather than as a map, the design and color scheme of the set make a lot more sense and I can see it appealing to certain aesthetics.
@Alatariel:
With teal being introduced in this set, there are now nine shades of blue ((blue, bright light blue, dark azure, dark blue, light aqua, medium azure, medium blue, sand blue, and teal). There are nine shades of tiles used on this map. Would doing a straight conversion of the oceans to different shades of blue work as well, do you think? Are any of those colors (particularly the lighter ones) too weird for oceans?
If that works, it might then be possible to redo the landmasses in warm colors for a full topographic map.
@NotProfessorWhymzi:
Of course not. The land has little bumps. It's just the oceans that are flat.
It’s a great parts pack for mosaic builders but that is all. I hope is sells well so that AFOL mosaic builders continue to get great parts packs like this from LEGO.
I am disappointed that there are no pictures showing how the map looks with the markers. I really wanted to see how they look when added to the continents!
I wish they would have included different colors for the markers but that would probably would distract from overall look. What kind of tile remover comes with this set? I guess I will have to look that up.
I’m glad there’s so much hate on this…I think it’s fantastic, so a definite buy at an inevitable hefty discount!
Try to look at this set from another perspective: this set is not aimed at us AFOLs. It is rather aimed at our significant others. Or at parents walking into a LEGO store to buy something for their kids and walking out with a world map, which they can hang on their wall. LEGO got the target group 100% right imho. The only question is: how efficient will it reach its target group and how well will it sell?
@Gadzooks said:
" @V_14 said:
"I've been tasked with designing a world map once, and opted for a Miller cylindrical projection. This set might be even more extreme, like the Compact Miller projection."
I came here to say this. This is definitely a Miller cylindrical projection rather than a Mercator. A strange choice, but like @xccj said above, it "fixes" the Eurocentricity of the Mercator. Albeit at the cost of Greenland's waistline.
It's unfortunately probably the best option for a rectangular map with no ocean cut-outs."
Personally, I find that in terms of how the landmasses are scaled relative to each other, the Lego map more closely resembles a vertically compressed Gall-Peters projection.
This is particularly noticable with how Europe is significantly smaller compared to Africa on the Gall-Peters than on either the Mercador or Miller Projections, making it better suited for avoiding a eurocentric depiction.
Though a direct representation of the Gall-Peters would be ill-advised for a broadly appealing commercial product, as it is relatively obscure representation of the world. The general public are likely more familiar with the Mercador projection, so Gall-Peters' elongated land masses may seem strange to those unfamiliar with it.
However, compressing the Gall-Peters doesn't necessarily compromise the integrity of the map, since any kind linear distortion would be applied to all land masses equality, preserving their relative surface areas.
So for me, it feels like an interesting compromise between delivering a more accurate, less eurocentric map while retaining a familiar appearance, to the extent that many may not even realise this isn't a Mercador projection at all.
@CapnRex101 said:
" @ericjohn said:
"As soon as the Rockies and Appalachian Mountains were added to the map and their elevations shaded accordingly, the United States would have looked awful. Europe would be even worse. Mainland Europe is three Dots wide. How do you shade the Alps? The Pyrenees are literally one Dot."
I agree that targeting absolute realism would be impossible and produce a cluttered design. However, there are certain terrain features which could be represented, even if exaggerated. Scattering some 1x1 pyramid elements to portray the Himalayas and Andes may be effective, for example."
Speaking of realism, I note that this design perpetuates the Northern Hemisphere view of the world, where for example Greenland (2 million sq km) is as big as Australia (7.7 sq km). So my grandchildren won't be getting this :-(
It looks like world with burning oceans. I don't like it
@THEMIDDLEBRICK:
I’m not sure if this supports or conflicts with your statement, but around where I live, a lot of people have a bumper sticker that shows an outline of Michigan, surrounded by the Great Lakes. Except one day, I realized it included Lake Ontario, which is the only one of the five that does not border Michigan. It was then that I realized it was actually a bumper sticker of the Great Lakes, but that because so much of Michigan’s borders (both Upper and Lower Peninsulas) is defined by those lakes, most of the state’s outline is present, and your mind fills in the rest. On the actual bumper stickers, though, there’s just unprinted clear sticker material where the landmass would be.
@netlife:
Australia is only 7.7 square kilometers? I think my old home town is bigger than that, and we only had about 6000 permanent residents!
About the projection. From Brick Architect's review, https://brickarchitect.com/2021/review-31203-lego-art-world-map/ :
"When consulting with a geo-scaping expert, the map projection that is recognizable to most people is the Equal Earth projection. We based our LEGO design on the Equal Earth projection but we had to take some creative license to ‘square’ out the sides so that we could offer consumers the option to build the map in sections, and therefore arrange the map in one of three possible ways depending on how they see the world. … For this reason, we say the world map was inspired by the Equal Earth projection, rather than replicating it."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equal_Earth_projection
@shokwave2 said:
"Those colours hurt my eyes ??. I wish they'd used more conventional colours such as shades of blues for the oceans, and greens and browns/tans for the land masses. Had potential but I won't be buying this unfortunately. "
I was thinking the same thing! It was hard to read the review because the pictures were bothering me.
@shokwave2 said:
"Those colours hurt my eyes ??. I wish they'd used more conventional colours such as shades of blues for the oceans, and greens and browns/tans for the land masses. Had potential but I won't be buying this unfortunately. "
I was feeling the same, but as I am somewhat colorblind I that it was only me! Nice idea, bad execution.
After reading the review I realized that this is the first set that I will be buying mostly for the parts. I have never bought a set for parts before. They finally have teal tiles!!!
I also plan on making a map for my area (Michigan) with the Great Lakes, and edges of the surrounding states & Canada, which would also make this my first MOC. I am very excited. I like the white plates for the land & plan to make some micro builds to attach to them, or to add minifigs to it.
I like it personally! Its different sure but different isn't necessarily bad although by these comments you would think so. I am on the side of the minority but thats okay! I'll definitely consider purchasing this.
Good idea, absolutely HORRIBLE colour scheme.
Definitely a pass for me.
I love the vibrancy of the colours (blue and green are fine, but also very meh), whereas this has some personality and creativity in what is otherwise an overly familiar image.
I love it.
@rljf311 said:
"As a West Wing fan, I have to know if you can make the Peters Projection Map with this set (and if you can hang it upside down)! https://youtu.be/AMfXVWFBrVo"
as a fan of social equality (and The West Wing), I am wondering the same!
I don't find the coloring that bad (though I feel like there would be better ones) I personally feel annoyed by all these 1x1 mosaic images. I always feel like they could at least have done something impressive wither different dimensions for the plates...
I have just bought thousands of Dark Blue, Blue, Med and Dark Azure, Bright Light Blue and Med Blue Round 1x1 tiles ready for ordering this set on 01 June. I think I'll go for shades of blue ocean and although Im tempted to leave the land masses white, I think I will add a bit more profile to the mountain ranges etc...lets see what happens!
I'd very much like to build this, keep the oceans as they are and use different colors for the continents/landmasses. Antarctica can stay white.
I disagree with critical reviews.
The map is quite original and provides scientific value to children, focusing on the largest but-not-much-explored area of our Earth, the oceans.
Landmasses are easily customizable, what's the problem? Just do it.
Look at realistic scientific maps or charts of any type, and you will instantly recognize the colour scheme, which is quite common in scientific literature - it doesn't make any reasearcher puke or get epilepsy, as someone above said :)
personally, I think it's a very nice set!
Not a fan of this design. I think it would have been really cool if the focused on the land masses. They could have made the structural elements blue and then left all the ocean area blank. Then for the land masses they could have made it a topographic map and had it actually be 3D! That would look slick!
I agree that trying to color the continents in the way a typical "physical" map of the world is done would have been difficult with the resolution they had to work with but I am still a little disappointed anyway. This set left my wish list as soon as I saw the pictures.
I think this is a rather disappointing set for the largest Lego set ever at 10k+ pcs. I would have at least expected more accurate colours. You call them vibrant, but I think they're rather bland. Ideally I would have loved to see the new square and quarter round 1x1 tiles being used here to outline the land
This reminds me of diamond art, where small, colored diamonds are put in according to number. For example:
https://paintwithdiamonds.com/
That said, i'd rather have this Lego version than wasting money on fake gems on a short-lived new hobby. Even then, this is far down my "want list" and i do want it.
i realy do love the idea of a worldmap out of lego. But this is very ugly. giving the fact that this set represents the biggest set ever (partwise) but its just freaking dots! so actualy this means nothing.
what a redicilously boring build. Before i get into pushing thausands of 1x1 round tiles into baseplates i rather buy a large worldmap poster with lot of more detail for not even a 5th of the price of this creepy set. this should be a dots set and not an art set. whats wrong with using many different lenght and shapes of tiles? why not use stud pates as well, whats wrong with that? it seems that the designers at lego need some creativity pills...they are stuck with flat dots... unfortunatly.
I made a mosaic maker that allows you creating custom images and different map types from this set. You can find it on my page.
https://hvitis.dev/mosaic-art-maker/
Let me know if you need more functionalities!
Best regards community! : -)
The biggest LEGO set of which 97.26% is gravel (read: elements which are rather useless in any construction proccess). To be honest I don't buy the fairy tale abut it as the biggest set - especially in matter of volume and weight- and 320 useful bricks dont persuade me to have a set of about 1 gbp per brick in my collection. I wouldnt pay for it more than 70 gbp