Review: 10326 Natural History Museum
Posted by Huw,10326 Natural History Museum is the 19th set in the official modular buildings collection and the largest by piece-count: its 4,014 trumping the previous record-holder 10255 Assembly Square by 12.
Rather than squeeze several buildings onto a single 32-stud wide baseplate, as has been the case with recent modulars, the museum has a full 48-stud width to itself, which has allowed designer Chris McVeigh to create an imposing and impressive structure befitting of such an institute, with ample space inside to fill with exhibits.
Summary
10326 Natural History Museum, 4,014 pieces.
£259.99 / $299.99 / €299.99 | 6.5p/7.5c/7.5c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
An impressive and imposing building with an equally impressive interior
- Interesting exhibits inside
- Novel architectural style
- Olive green is a bit drab
- Not as visually strking as some previous modulars
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
The completed model
The façade of the building is dominated by two Greek Ionic pillars flanking the entrance, supporting a decorated pediment above. It's an architectural style that has not been seen before in the modular building series since 2012's 10224 Town Hall.
A pair of grey statues also flank the entrance, a male on the left and a female on the right. Unusually for a modular building, the main structure is symmetrical around its centreline.
An attractive tree in full spring blossom adds much needed colour to what is otherwise a drab-looking model. Olive green looked fine on 10243 Parisian Restaurant, where it was used fairly sparingly, and was a rare colour at the time, but here I think it's a bit too overbearing.
Two banners advertising current exhibits hanging from the architrave also provide colour and interest, and a window cleaning platform on the left helps provide balance to the model.
Other than a door and a drainpipe, the back is featureless, but what's most impressive about it is that there are no odd patches of colour on the walls, either on the back or the sides, which is a problem that often plagues modular buildings.
Two semicircular skylights on the roof provide natural light into the galleries. The dome in the middle houses the museum curator's office.
The advertising banners can be removed easily to reveal the windows behind.
A couple of birds are pecking at a biscuit on the pavement (US translation: cookie on the sidewalk) and I suspect this is a homage to the baked goods thief in 10278 Police Station, which was designer Chris McVeigh's first modular.
The tree features the relatively new 37695 3-leaf plant piece, here in white for the first time.
Ground floor
The ground floor consists of two exhibition galleries either side of an entrance hall in which there's a ticket desk. Behind the hall there's a small laboratory and a lavatory. The right-hand gallery houses dinosaur exhibits and the left-hand one contains a collection of ancient pots and a geology display.
The ticket desk also sells souvenirs, including books and magnifying glasses.
The wall behind it can be removed for a better view of the rooms at the back. A white Technic toilet roll piece has been put to use as toilet roll and in the lab next door there's a microscope and pot on a table.
Exhibits in the dinosaur hall include a fossil, a sabre-toothed tiger's skull, and dinosaur eggs.
The Brachiosaurus skeleton dominates the gallery and its neck extends into the first floor. It's been designed to be removed easily for closer examination.
The other room on the ground floor is on two levels. The lower part contains old pots, while up the stairs there's a geology exhibition, including a model of a volcano.
Unfortunately, one of the pots has been slightly damaged...
Stairs -- made from 45 degree roof ridges -- lead to the first floor.
First floor
This floor is occupied by the 'Explore the Future' exhibition advertised on one of the hanging banners, and a LEGO history display.
Miniature versions of 6285 Black Seas Barracuda, 6054 Forestmen's Hideout and 375 Castle together with headgear from the minifigures in them make up the LEGO display. It's an unusual thing to find in a natural history museum, but very cool anyway!
An orrery of the solar system is the highlight of the space display. It uses a mixture of minifig microphones and heads, and 'voodoo balls' for the planets. Saturn's rings are present and correct.
A model of a moon base in classic space colours and other space-related items complete the futuristic exhibition.
Roof/attic
Stairs from the first floor lead to a horizontal door through which the roof and museum curator's study in the dome can be accessed. I am sure it's nice and quiet up there, but the access arrangements are not ideal for the elderly gentleman...
The back can be removed from the central dome to reveal the small room stuffed with books and artefacts.
Minifigures
Seven minifigures are provided to occupy the building:
Window-cleaner and museum curator, who bears more than a passing resemblance to Dr. Kilroy, who was last seen on an Orient Expedition in 2003.
Three museum visitors, who might be granny, mum and child. The mum has a blade prosthetic leg which has only been used twice before.
Two museum workers, one to man the front desk and another one to sweep up broken pottery.
Construction
Construction is relatively straightforward and, as has been the case for most large sets released recently, parts are distributed across many numbered bags, 33 in this case, so it's very easy to dip in and out of building it over a number of sessions.
Laying the tiles on the ground floor takes time, but it is quite satisfying seeing the pattern come together.
Building the walls is interspersed with constructing the exhibits, which helps to keep the process interesting.
While there is some 'nice parts usage' evident in the model, there was nothing that really blew me away: perhaps that was because I am becoming jaded, given we are overwhelmed by new pieces and techniques nowadays.
Nevertheless, it's a very enjoyable and satisfying build.
Verdict
Museums are often housed in imposing and impressive buildings and there is no doubt that this one is just that. It's the biggest single structure in the series, bereft of buildings with different architectural styles tacked onto the sides, so arguably it is not as interesting and visually appealing as some of them when viewed in isolation, but as you will see in the follow-up article I'll publish over the weekend, it looks great when lined up with previous ones.
The predominant use of olive green divided opinion when it was revealed, and I have to say that I find it a bit drab. I can't help wonder whether a combination of tan and dark tan, or even light grey, would have looked better and more typical of this kind of building, although I concede that it might look similar to past buildings if tan had been used.
Perhaps unfortunately, 10297 Boutique Hotel set the bar very high both in terms of design and colour for modulars and those released since have had a lot to live up to. In my opinion, neither this, nor last year's 10312 Jazz Club, have done so.
However, where this one has excelled is inside. The huge building's ample interior space has allowed for some marvellous and detailed displays which are not the usual items of furniture that often occupy the insides of modulars. One could argue that it looks a bit empty, that more could have been added, but it seems more realistic, with plenty of room for crowds of minifigs to move around and browse at their leisure, than the crowded spaces inside, say, the Jazz Club.
Overall, then, it's a solid addition to the modular series but perhaps not as visually striking as some of them.
Rather than having to wait patiently over the festive period to buy the next modular building, this year you'll be able to get hold of it beforehand, and you can already pre-order it at LEGO.com. It may be as well to do so if you want to guarantee getting it before Christmas.
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103 comments on this article
It's really cool how they managed to blur the lines between world history and Lego's own history. Great looking set overall!
Thanks for the detailed review. I do not dislike the olive green colour, but I wonder how the museum would look in sand green or sand blue. Sand green could actually work quite well: some buildings in Eastern Europe have a similar colour.
I am not a collector of modulars. In fact, I have none of them, but the museum would also be very nice as a stand alone set. Perhaps I will get this set some day, but it depends on other releases. If the rumours are true, then 2024 could be a rather expensive LEGO year for me.
Looks great on it's own, but fear it might be too short next to the other modulars. Would love to see it next to as many other modulars as possible
When I was a young pup, the orrery had nine planets.
An excellent set, would be perfect if it wasn't olive green.
It's quite nice. Not as good as the Boutique Hotel, but not as bad as the Jazz Club, which I'd personally rank as, respectively, the best and worst modulars. As for this one, I'd probably rank it 6th or 7th out of all 19. A solid effort!
Jog my memory, did people complain this much about olive green when the Parisian Restaurant was released?
Thank you for the great review.
You noted that the facade was an architectural style we hadn’t seen in the modulars before. Does it not remind you a bit of the Town Hall?
It would be pretty cool if builders figured out how to easily swap out exhibits with their own creations! You know, like how museums often have temporary rotating exhibits.
Are the two museum employees Pippin reed and Jonny Thunder?? I think that Chris’s Police station is the absolute best making this one a must buy eventually!
American translation although not needed was greatly appreciated!
The cut out in the floor to allow the dinosaur's neck to poke through makes sense but the mirroring of the hole on the other side of the building seems to be a wasted opportunity as there is no corresponding tall exhibit poking through.
Either one should have been added or the void filled to allow more exhibit space upstairs (IMHO).
For me the Modular series has lost its appeal. Last year's set did nothing for me and this is even worse. I really dislike olive green as a colour, and on this set in particular.
Also, while it's nice that there is stuff inside, to me the Modulars have always been about cool building techniques, NPU and a striking appearance from the outside, since they are sitting in a display case in my room and never get opened anymore once built. For me they could be empty inside like Cafe Corner or Green Grocer, as long as the exterior looks impressive.
And while this might be the largest in terms of piece count, Assembly Square to me looks so much more interesting, and Town Hall so much more imposing that this has nothing redeeming for me.
Perhaps next year will see a return to form for the series.
Also, as for the architectural style, I think it copies quite heavily from Town Hall actually.
The commenters on the reveal article are such hypocrites. They complained that it wasn't "tall enough" but if it was taller it would have more pieces and they would complain that it's too expensive.
Don't listen to them though,this set is still incredible and a top 5 or 3 modular.
I’m just throwing it out there that there’s ample room on the sidewalk to add a replica of the smallest museum in the world.
@AustinPowers said:
"For me the Modular series has lost its appeal. Last year's set did nothing for me and this is even worse. I really dislike olive green as a colour, and on this set in particular.
Also, while it's nice that there is stuff inside, to me the Modulars have always been about cool building techniques, NPU and a striking appearance from the outside, since they are sitting in a display case in my room and never get opened anymore once built. For me they could be empty inside like Cafe Corner or Green Grocer, as long as the exterior looks impressive.
And while this might be the largest in terms of piece count, Assembly Square to me looks so much more interesting, and Town Hall so much more imposing that this has nothing redeeming for me.
Perhaps next year will see a return to form for the series.
Also, as for the architectural style, I think it copies quite heavily from Town Hall actually. "
That's just your opinion,I, for one wouldn't put my 200 dollar or so purchase in some box and never do anything with it again, but to each their own.
Also, I don't get the hate for the jazz club,it's a great set.
Also also, I don't get the hate for this set either! You Middle aged adults really love to hate.
Nice job, Huw.
The grand architectural style is somewhat reminiscent of 10224 Town Hall which is a good thing, but I agree with you about the colour - the swathes of olive green don't really work for me on a building like this. That said, I'm looking forward to seeing your photos of the museum in situ with other Modulars, and overall I think it's a worthy addition to the Modular line-up.
Now if only we could get Dr Kilroy back in action. Maybe he can chase after a Dial of Destiny with the serial numbers filed off, since Dr Jones didn't make it? How about, I dunno, Adventurers: Time Trials?
@Zink: I think it's just a reference to the Classic Space logo.
Honestly I expected the review to sell me on it a bit better, and it didn't. There's just not enough interesting design going on here to really excite me.
I guess it's a nature of museums, that they're often symmetrical with very open floor plans. The exhibits are cute, but not as fun or charming as interior details in other modulars.
A bit of a letdown. I'm sure it looks good in a modular line-up but as a standalone it's not selling me.
And I am in the "dislike the olive green" camp. Can't help but feel the whole thing would "read" as a museum banner if it were in white or light gray.
I mean, remove the banners off the front and ask a non LEGO fan to ID the building on sight alone, without opening the roof. I think most people would say "library," "mansion" or "haunted house lol
Thanks, @anthony_davies, I had forgotten about the Town Hall, because I never got round to building it!
@Zink said:
"Does anyone know what the designer meant by his remarks, that the trajectory of the rocket on the world map is a hidden easter egg to something? What is it refrencing?"
Does the trajectory of the rocket across the globe remind you of any famous theme logos? Perhaps the most famous logo of all...
9 minifigs if you include the two statues ;)
I absolutely love it, but unfortunately have nowhere to display it. Agree that modular buildings peaked with the Hotel
@CapnRex101 said:
"Does the trajectory of the rocket across the globe remind you of any famous theme logos? Perhaps the most famous logo of all..."
It looks nothing like Blacktron at all! ;)
"Other than a door and a drainpipe, the back is featureless, but what's most impressive about it is that there are no odd patches of colour on the walls, either on the back or the sides, which is a problem that often plagues modular buildings."
I actually like this problem in the other modular buildings because it usually means that there were some cool techniques used on the interior details. I know the designer prioritizes a clean look on the back but I think it is at great cost to the overall build experience as it turns into simple brick stacking most of the time. The reality is the back wall doesn't ever have to look "clean" because most modulars are either displayed on a shelf with the back facing a wall unseen, or in a city layout the back faces an alley where the "odd patches" help enhance the back alley feel.
I like the olive green: it's the white on the front that I dislike. I think the columns etc. would be better in a tan or nougat.
Pots... hats, helmets, ships, castles... moon bases, rockets... this ain't a natural history museum.
Personally disappointed they didn't stick to the theme and fill it with geology, palaeontology, zoology, etc.
@GenericLegoFan said:
"That's just your opinion, I, for one wouldn't put my 200 dollar or so purchase in some box and never do anything with it again, but to each their own.
Also, I don't get the hate for the jazz club,it's a great set."
See, and that's just your opinion.
Everyone has the right to their own opinion(s).
But as for "putting a 200 Dollar purchase in a box", for a start it's a glass display case. Secondly, I have countless sub-200 Dollar sets to play with or to build and rebuild. I've only got my Modulars and a handful of other sets on display, perhaps 25 sets altogether. Don't see anything wrong with that. But like you say, to each their own.
I think the colorsheme is great.
Finally, the remade Adventurers trio is complete (along with the minifigures from 71025-7 and 60267 )
@JavaBrix said:
"When I was a young pup, the orrery had nine planets."
Did you hear about Pluto? That's messed up, right?
So the set has some redeeming qualities. I like olive green usually, but I agree sparingly helps when it comes to a large imposing building. I don't love the masonry brick being uniform just by the windows. I suppose that is a design choice, but I don't understand why.
I think it might be the transition from dark tan to dark brown plate to olive green that doesn't work for me.
It has potential for sure. I like the symmetry. I like the front center area with the pillars and arch. The roofline looks sharp. I even like the fencing out front. I understand statues could be used in a larger museum build, but I feel the scale doesn't work to allow these statues.
If I do get this (and I don't know if I will since I'm 3 modulars behind already thanks to finances), I will have to heavily mod it or not build it at all and come up with my own version. Always choices.
Another one that's less a question of cost and more a question of, "Where would I put it?"
@JavaBrix, @Sethro3: I'm going to be "that guy" and point out that if we're counting Pluto as a planet, there are multiple other object in orbit of our sun that count, as they're at least as big as Pluto.
@GenericLegoFan said:
"Also, I don't get the hate for the jazz club,it's a great set.
Also also, I don't get the hate for this set either! You Middle aged adults really love to hate."
As someone who is not only middle-aged but a huge jazz fan, I love the jazz club. One of the top three modulars I own. (Full disclosure: I only own three: 10246, 10270, and 10312.)
@billydeewilliams said:
"Pots... hats, helmets, ships, castles... moon bases, rockets... this ain't a natural history museum.
Personally disappointed they didn't stick to the theme and fill it with geology, palaeontology, zoology, etc."
Time to break out the caveman minifigures and do a proper display...
The prosthetic leg was also included in the street skatepark set. 60364
Magnificent! I love it. Colour scheme is perfect for a museum. Yes, a bit bland, but it should be... it's not the Heartlake City Community Centre after all!
The amount of exhibits is also perfect. Any more and it would start to look more like a cluttered second-hand shop than a museum!
All in all, stylish and classy. Will get it as soon as suitable points and/or prizes are available.
@aes1982 said:
"Thanks for the detailed review. I do not dislike the olive green colour, but I wonder how the museum would look in sand green or sand blue. Sand green could actually work quite well: some buildings in Eastern Europe have a similar colour.
I am not a collector of modulars. In fact, I have none of them, but the museum would also be very nice as a stand alone set. Perhaps I will get this set some day, but it depends on other releases. If the rumours are true, then 2024 could be a rather expensive LEGO year for me."
Excellent suggestion on the sand green. I had been thinking about swapping the olive green for a different color that would contrast sufficiently with the white columns and the dark tan masonry on the bottom. I hadn't thought of sand green, but I think it would match nicely, and I have a lot of that colored brick!
I really thought the red fossil and white sabre-tooth skull were Bionicle themed. In fact, I may just assume they are.
There's a subplot in this build that has a dog making off with one of the bones from the fossil, and a museum employee in pursuit. When I display this model, that's what I'll be showing.
@MeganL said:
"There's a subplot in this build that has a dog making off with one of the bones from the fossil, and a museum employee in pursuit. When I display this model, that's what I'll be showing."
Perhaps it's the one in the bin round the back. The dog is positioned near it in the instructions.
@TheOtherMike said:
"Another one that's less a question of cost and more a question of, "Where would I put it?"
@JavaBrix, @Sethro3: I'm going to be "that guy" and point out that if we're counting Pluto as a planet, there are multiple other object in orbit of our sun that count, as they're at least as big as Pluto.
@GenericLegoFan said:
"Also, I don't get the hate for the jazz club,it's a great set.
Also also, I don't get the hate for this set either! You Middle aged adults really love to hate."
As someone who is not only middle-aged but a huge jazz fan, I love the jazz club. One of the top three modulars I own. (Full disclosure: I only own three: 10246, 10270, and 10312.)
"
I didn't mean everyone on this site,but there's a real lack of positivity on here.
I will be very interested to see what it looks like next to other sets - one of my standard mods with Modulars is to add an extra floor, my Town Hall, Hotel (2 extra floors and a side extension) and the Emporium (extended upwards and sideways) plus many of the others have been added to so it will be interesting to see if the Museum, with its additional width, ends up looking a bit squashed in comparison...
@chrisaw said:
"Jog my memory, did people complain this much about olive green when the Parisian Restaurant was released?"
I don’t recall there being a big fuss back in the day, but as the review pointed out, it wasn’t as prominent or noticeable on the restaurant. It’s pretty prevalent in this model, and might feel a bit boring since we do already have a building with it. It’s bound to happen as more buildings are made; we will start seeing similar colors and styles that don’t feel as exciting.
I always look so forward to the annual modular reveal. And those initial impressions do tend to change over the years for some (i.e. Town Hall, Corner Garage) but as of right now, this one is just OK for me. I wonder if it might not have been better to stick with the Assembly Square orientation and then just put the large skeleton out in the open square. IMHO, they recognized that the modular exterior design wasn't oohing and ahhing enough which is why they pull the skeleton out in the marketing. I agree with our Colt 45 friend @billlydeewilliams above in that I think I would have preferred if they had stuck with paleontology, zoology, geology, etc.
When I get this, and yes, I'm sure I'll get this, I'm pretty sure I'm going to find a way to fold in more animal skeleton displays, maybe steal from the simply perfect 21320. :o)
I really like this one. The relative simplicity of the exterior looks really good to me. Sometimes Modulars have an unrealistic amount of detailing on the exteriors. This one keeps it nice and clean. And there is a good amount of stuff going on inside as well. Modulars are already slightly outside my price range as it is, so I likely won't be getting this, but it is nice to look at.
@TheOtherMike said:
"Another one that's less a question of cost and more a question of, "Where would I put it?"
@JavaBrix, @Sethro3: I'm going to be "that guy" and point out that if we're counting Pluto as a planet, there are multiple other object in orbit of our sun that count, as they're at least as big as Pluto.
"
I was actually quoting the tv show Psych
@billydeewilliams said:
"Pots... hats, helmets, ships, castles... moon bases, rockets... this ain't a natural history museum.
Personally disappointed they didn't stick to the theme and fill it with geology, palaeontology, zoology, etc."
To be fair, the printed tile on the front only says "Museum."
On the height question, Lego Modular’s are an ideal starting place for even the most novice MOC’er to add another floor, just copy the one below and ‘tweak’ as required. It is Lego after all….
I know this building is trading off by being unusually wide, but I can't get past the lack of a third floor making the piece seem lacking in content. It doesn't come across to me as the same standard of intricacy and detail overall for the series. I'm not excited by or sucked into the environment.
I find it odd that they called it a Natural History Museum. The rockets and ancient artifacts exhibits, even though they would be temporary, makes it more close to a history or science museum. A Natural History Museum usually has more animals and plants, not only fossils.
Lovely building but simply too large.
I don't understand at all the many remarks about the olive green.
Tan or sand would have been cliche and easy.
Fantastic review, and a great set! I definitely will get it… someday…
It may have been mentioned, but there appears to be two Sand Green Microfigures (85863) under the desk in the gift shop/ticket counter. Would this be considered a new color for this part?
Bricklink doesn't have it associated with any sets, only printed versions of it in several of the board games. Any I can find for sale are rather expensive. (leading me to believe they may be customs with removed printing)
I know LEGO fans love the easter eggs and callbacks to earlier themes that the sets often incorporate these days, but at least for this one I wish the designer hadn't felt the need to do that. There's not a lot of room for the exhibits, so it would've been nicer to see something new rather than another tribute.
I don't think those parts are even integrated into the design that well. For example, for some reason there are random Castle and Forestman bits in the middle of a Space exhibit, which makes it look more like the "wacky hat" section of a gift shop rather than part of a larger exhibit. And the micro-micro models of the old Space sets in the corner are cute, but something new and more clearly discernible could've been there instead.
Again, I know many folks probably like the set better *because* of these callbacks, but I think at times all the self-reference can be a bit of a crutch. Hopefully this comment doesn't seem too negative because I do think it's a cool set overall.
A missed opportunity to have the entire building hinge open in the manner of the sets of the late 1970s. I quite like the idea of the museum, but I’m getting a bit tired of these closed doll’s houses with no way to show off the increasingly detailed interiors. I’m sure they’ll keep releasing them - and with ever increasing price tags! - but I’d quite like to see greater innovation within the theme. I don’t want to detract from the many positives like the interesting and novel ways to use elements or to build snot. I think I’m feeling just a little jaded. But it is still a good model.
Such a fugly building. My opinion, should have been a reddish brick-like building. Old-school looking.
Yes. Does look a bit drab and boring. But it is a Museum I spose. Definitely needs another level.
I can't believe that nobody's spotted the obvious mistake. The dinosaur is actually very clearly a Brickiosaurus. Fundamental error!
I'm not sold on the Olive Green either but I very much dislike Sand Green & think this would look totally hideous in that color. It's a big build. In my experience many museums are usually red brick, or some sore of marble, sandstone or granite so white, gray, beige colors for the most part. I don't think any of those colors other than a brick tone would have made the building look any more pleasing.
I'm still on the fence with this one. I like the interior for the most part but agree with what someone posted elsewhere that the Dinosaur should have been in the center with just open floor on the upper level in the center so the floor space on the sides of the upper floor could have been better utilized for other displays.
Again, no mention of the dino poop in the fossil exhibit. Other than that a good review that hasn't helped make my decision whether to buy or not.
@kyrodes said:
"I find it odd that they called it a Natural History Museum. The rockets and ancient artifacts exhibits, even though they would be temporary, makes it more close to a history or science museum. A Natural History Museum usually has more animals and plants, not only fossils."
I wonder if this is partly because a lot of people get bummed out by taxidermy. I think I'll replace the nostalgic callbacks to dead themes with some animals from the recent wildlife City sets.
@Soundwavves said:
"It may have been mentioned, but there appears to be two Sand Green Microfigures (85863) under the desk in the gift shop/ticket counter. Would this be considered a new color for this part?
Bricklink doesn't have it associated with any sets, only printed versions of it in several of the board games. Any I can find for sale are rather expensive. (leading me to believe they may be customs with removed printing)"
They aren't that style of microfigures, they're the trophy figs (53017), which has appeared in four other sets in that color (starting with 21028 where it was used for a microscale Statue of Liberty).
@Lyichir said:
" @Soundwavves said:
"It may have been mentioned, but there appears to be two Sand Green Microfigures (85863) under the desk in the gift shop/ticket counter. Would this be considered a new color for this part?
Bricklink doesn't have it associated with any sets, only printed versions of it in several of the board games. Any I can find for sale are rather expensive. (leading me to believe they may be customs with removed printing)"
They aren't that style of microfigures, they're the trophy figs (53017), which has appeared in four other sets in that color (starting with 21028 where it was used for a microscale Statue of Liberty)."
Ahh, thank you for the clarification. I was very confused because I thought for sure I had seen it used as the statue of liberty before.
I never thought I’d see Uranus on Brickset.
I'm delighted that we've finally got a new modular that makes full use of it's base. It's even better than it's 50% wider than normal.
Trying to squeeze two or three separate buildings onto a single base just makes them too crowded.
The Town Hall is one of my favourite modular, so finally seeing another one in the same format is great.
I don't get the complaints about the colour. Combined with the white pillars and grey roof I think it works perfectly. For me, it is certainly more visually appealing than the garish multi-coloured Jazz Club.
The only complaint I do agree with is the rather bizarre Lego display. Yes, it is (sort of) clever but seems unnecessary when there is so much more scope for other natural history related displays.
Also, maybe a third floor would have been nice but given the borderline obsession with the cost of Lego on here I think the place would have imploded at a £350+ modular.
As I own (and have on display) all the modulars from the Fire Station onwards I will definitely buy it though with the Boutique Hotel and Jazz Club still to be built, there's not really an urgency!
@yellowcastle said:
"I always look so forward to the annual modular reveal. And those initial impressions do tend to change over the years for some (i.e. Town Hall, Corner Garage) but as of right now, this one is just OK for me. I wonder if it might not have been better to stick with the Assembly Square orientation and then just put the large skeleton out in the open square. IMHO, they recognized that the modular exterior design wasn't oohing and ahhing enough which is why they pull the skeleton out in the marketing. I agree with our Colt 45 friend @billlydeewilliams above in that I think I would have preferred if they had stuck with paleontology, zoology, geology, etc.
When I get this, and yes, I'm sure I'll get this, I'm pretty sure I'm going to find a way to fold in more animal skeleton displays, maybe steal from the simply perfect 21320. :o)"
The 21320 skeletons are huge, wildly out of scale with minis, but they are certainly wonderful! When I did a MOC museum I used them as outdoor statuary (Pteranodon on the roof). Inside was a dino egg, caveman, human skeleton, and a Nanoblocks mammoth (I know, naughty).
@Jackthenipper said:
"I never thought I’d see Uranus on Brickset."
Just wait. I show it off all the time.
Fantastic review. Incredible photos! I agree that the only flaw (in the review) in the lack of focus on the fossilized scat.
So, here's a lil' extra: bo-ba-be-doop-dappidity-dung!
A fair review. I'm not a massive fan of this one so far, I own all the modulars and this probably sits somewhere in the lower half due to the bar being set high by some historically strong entries in the series.
I feel its not as strong as assembly square in terms of being the largest and flagship set available. The former being more detailed, colourful and visually appealing both inside and out.
The few interior details are what shines here for me. The exterior styling is appropriate for this era but I'm not swayed by the colour if im honest. It feels like some good ideas thrown together but doesn't quite come together. The town hall is the most obvious comparison, a civic building with a bold but well balanced colour scheme. It even has the neat feature of a working lift. It was designed over a decade ago with older techniques and parts available and probably tops this IMO.
As much as I'm a stickler for old buildings, many new modern museams have been made around the world and are visually striking. This would of been a great opportunity for TLG to branch out a little and maybe be a bit bolder. The boutique hotel moved the line forward in terms of design and colour but this much like the jazz club plays it a bit safe. An out there design one year and a safe one the next is fine, but two in a row - bit disappointing.
More hopeful for next year!
Looks sort of like a library too.
"Kilroy was here!" (sorry, I just love that they've brought him back. Long live Adventurers!)
@gatorbug6 said:
"Looks sort of like a library too."
That would be a really good way to MOD this set.
Lego designers are obsessed with toilets. Could it be a running gag among designers to add a toilet whenever possible?
@merman said:
"Lego designers are obsessed with toilets. Could it be a running gag among designers to add a toilet whenever possible?"
If you've got the space for a toilet, why not? It's honestly fairly unrealistic when a home or business DOESN'T include one.
Toilets make a bit more sense than the gratuitous frog placement.
@AustinPowers said:
"For me the Modular series has lost its appeal. Last year's set did nothing for me and this is even worse. I really dislike olive green as a colour, and on this set in particular.
Also, while it's nice that there is stuff inside, to me the Modulars have always been about cool building techniques, NPU and a striking appearance from the outside, since they are sitting in a display case in my room and never get opened anymore once built. For me they could be empty inside like Cafe Corner or Green Grocer, as long as the exterior looks impressive.
And while this might be the largest in terms of piece count, Assembly Square to me looks so much more interesting, and Town Hall so much more imposing that this has nothing redeeming for me.
Perhaps next year will see a return to form for the series.
Also, as for the architectural style, I think it copies quite heavily from Town Hall actually. "
Green Grocer didn't have any interesting building techniques...so I'm not sure what you're thinkin bout
Is the roof room a writer or researcher in residence, instead of the curator? The little statues look like awards?
So I was on the fence when I saw the announcement, and now reading the review I'm still not sure. I'm not averse to the colour, although it's not my favourite I think it's not unrealistic for a museum and makes a nice difference against the other modulars. The interior details are nice, but seem a bit of a mix, in fact the whole layout isn't great, in my opinion.
I'd be tempted to try to restructure it so the skeleton sits in a central double height atrium, while the two side wings have normal floors, that would give enough space for 4 good size exhibits. Maybe downstairs 1 as admin / laboratory / storage / toilet with the ticket counter opening to the atrium, downstairs 2 as a caveman exhibit as suggested by someone above, upstairs 3 consolidating the space stuff (ditching the castle / forestman exhibit, which, although cool, is out of place, and that still leaves another room for another exhibit....
I think I said something similar about the jazz club last year though, the idea is very cool but I'm not 100% convinced about the execution.... lucky it's lego and possible to tweak!
Also, the positioning of the skeleton is wrong. The natural history museum in London famously updated theirs to a more horizontal pose, that this should follow. But that might be a period detail, it's not quite clear if the modulars are supposed to be contemporary or historical....
@Lyichir said:
" @merman said:
"Lego designers are obsessed with toilets. Could it be a running gag among designers to add a toilet whenever possible?"
If you've got the space for a toilet, why not? It's honestly fairly unrealistic when a home or business DOESN'T include one."
Yes, and as for this obsession with doors... They seem to sneak them in at the slightest opportunity!
@CapnRex101 said:
" @Zink said:
"Does anyone know what the designer meant by his remarks, that the trajectory of the rocket on the world map is a hidden easter egg to something? What is it refrencing?"
Does the trajectory of the rocket across the globe remind you of any famous theme logos? Perhaps the most famous logo of all..."
I mean. I guess if you zoom out far enough, it might turn out to be a Batman logo…
@Brick_Master said:
"Also, the positioning of the skeleton is wrong. The natural history museum in London famously updated theirs to a more horizontal pose, that this should follow. But that might be a period detail, it's not quite clear if the modulars are supposed to be contemporary or historical...."
The NHM sauropod is a Diplodocus, while judging from the banner this one should probably be Brachiosaurus or its close relative Giraffatitan. I think this is probably meant to resemble the famous mount of Giraffatitan in Berlin (or perhaps the Brachiosaurus in Chicago), in which case the neck is fine as far as a Lego rendition goes, but the tail should be a bit more horizontal as you suggest.
@SirRobin said:
"Green Grocer didn't have any interesting building techniques...so I'm not sure what you're thinkin bout"
Considering when it came out and that it was only the second set in the line I found some of the techniques quite interesting, plus some NPU even back then.
Also, it has a presence that many of the newer Modulars lack due to their diminutive sizes. Put the GG next to Jazz Club. The latter is tiny compared to it. And that's not even beginning to talk about TH for example.
Ymmv of course, but like I said, to me the exterior visual presence is what makes a Modular interesting, be it by its size or by faszinating details, like with DO, PR, BH, PC or AS, to name but my favorites. This new one to me just seems so bland. And drab due to the depressing colour scheme. If it wasn't for the out of place looking blossoming tree it could pass as a haunted mansion or sanatorium.
@merman said:
"Lego designers are obsessed with toilets. Could it be a running gag among designers to add a toilet whenever possible?"
There is that and also the banana and sausage recolour. In this set, there are white bananas - not new, was done before. I don't see any sausage in this set - so no recolour there either. There was a time, it seems, designers were trying to use the sausage in their model in any colour possible.
The banana was made in 9 colours so far; the sausage 14.
I was really looking forward to the Lego NHM when I first heard rumours but I am disappointed. I love the NHM in London. The whole experience is fantastic, from the gothic building to the incredible exhibits..
Three things are wrong with this model for me. It is drab and architecturally unappealing. It should be three storeys (although I appreciate there is a cost issue here). And finally, it’s a Natural History Museum, so why does it have a whole floor dedicated to the future? I’m a huge fan of classic space, but come on.
I was hoping for an imposing, gothic building, with a dusty feel. I don’t mind the olive green, I was just expecting more than this. A museum should really stand out, it should impose itself on the other buildings, and have grandeur inside and out. You can’t expect miracles at this scale, but I think they went in the wrong direction and played it safe when it could’ve been so much more.
@GenericLegoFan said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"Another one that's less a question of cost and more a question of, "Where would I put it?"
@JavaBrix, @Sethro3: I'm going to be "that guy" and point out that if we're counting Pluto as a planet, there are multiple other object in orbit of our sun that count, as they're at least as big as Pluto.
@GenericLegoFan said:
"Also, I don't get the hate for the jazz club,it's a great set.
Also also, I don't get the hate for this set either! You Middle aged adults really love to hate."
As someone who is not only middle-aged but a huge jazz fan, I love the jazz club. One of the top three modulars I own. (Full disclosure: I only own three: 10246, 10270, and 10312.)
"
I didn't mean everyone on this site,but there's a real lack of positivity on here."
There is plenty of positivity when it’s deserved. But I think this set rightly has its critics.
Yellow Castle!
"the largest by piece-count: its 4,014 trumping the previous record-holder 10255 Assembly Square by 12."
I wonder is the reason we had the window cleaner was to bump up piece count to over Assembly square, we had a window cleaner in a carriage with the grand emporium, so why again. Couldn,t the designer think of another mini build to bump up piece count ?
After seeing this review (thanks for that) i am even less interested i guess. It just isn’t a good museum. I don’t think it’s visually striking at all. Due to its colors, but also the architecture. Maybe they should have made the second floor a bit higher, but smaller windows to trick you in believing there’s a third floor. It wouldn’t cost a lot of extra bricks even. Also it is a real blocky build. Blocky and big ain’t a good match imho.
Then the exhibition; it just lacks. I also think that all the lego easter eggs are getting a bit out of hand. It would have worked if they made like a few exhibitions that we could swap out. Like a natural history exhibition with fossils, rocks & minerals, stuffed animals and cavemen. An exhibition about space, with more stuff than that they gave us now. Maybe an astronaut suit (classic space suit in a different color to reel in space fan collectors) and references to old space sets. An exhibition about history with old armory, weapons, banners and old castle sets and some paintings and some jewelry and a crown. And an exhibition with classic and modern art. Some wellknown and popular artpieces but legofied. That would reel me in
I like the olive green and I really don't like sand green. I think it would have looked better dark red, but I think the olive green is fine.
Really don't get how Jazz Club and this Museum are worse than the Boutique Hotel. Boutique Hotel looks like a half baked MOC due to its unusual shape. It may look great from certain angles but there are strange gaps. On top of that the whole structure seems to belong to South American countries or France when every other building in the line is decidedly modern, american or central european. For the same reason Palace Cinema and the Pick a brick market street are also bad designs. Gettings buildings from all over the world sounds nice but then the modular aspect is missing or gets too complicated to incorporate. I would prefer more central european and american buildings from different time periods because those can be justified standing next to each other which can't be said about the Boutique hotel with its palm tree or the chinese theater.
The color scheme is alright but I may also rather turn it full tan or dark tan. For such a high price it definitely needs to be a rare color like olive.
I like the Modulars but the markups just have priced me out and on top of that Lego doesn't have the quality advantage it had a decade ago. Before 2020 you could get a Modular house for about 100€, now the minimum is 195€ and only when I am lucky and find a discount. This is definitely not offset by the meager piece increase of +300 or 400 per model in 2400 piece sets. Last one I got was Police station and I may get Jazz Club because it is one location I always wanted but Boutique Hotel needs too many changes to be worth a purchase. I may re-evaluate my decision to not buy this Museum once it reaches discounts of less than 200€ to get into the price range of Assembly Squares discounts but right now I am certain that I would rather use cheaper off brand pieces to drive down cost, change the color scheme to shades of tan while I am at it and probably end up paying 120$ for a model of equal quality since most brands have caught up to Legos color matching and clutch. Lego can only keeps me by lowering prices or by doing more special new molds but there isn't all that much innovation to be found, especially in modular houses that are all about basic shapes which have long lost their patent and trademark protections.
Thanks for the review. Overall, it would seem that this is not for me. I have nothing against the olive green color, I think it is just that the single use building is too large for my liking. It also seems odd to have an entire floor dedicated to the future in a history museum....
There are some cool individual display builds that I may make use of at some point.
I kind of love the idea and sone of the execution. If it wasn't far too big for my limited space and funds and time I would have wanted to own one (I usually cycle through building sets and packing them away. Sets like this are not fun in that way).
Also love some of the builds for the exhibits!
The color is not particularly a problem for me either. It's very american old building.
What irks me more is how it's an all-in-one museum, leaving little room for one thing. It makes it feel smaller than it actually is.
And sorry to say it, but J'm getting sick of seeing homages to the yellow castle, galaxy explorer (and the '79 CS colors and ONLY those colors). This is the umpteenth mini model and at this point we've had several midi scale and even some full-sized versions. Sometimes inside other versions. I get it, those were the first themed sets. Can we please give some more love for other classic sets?
All this talk about not liking the olive green. I guess the price of pink bricks will be going up when everyone decides to recolor this.
@TheOtherMike:
And that’s exactly the problem. They didn’t define “planet” and realize Pluto didn’t fit. They set out to oust Pluto specifically because they realized how hard it would be to catalog them all. Geologically speaking, it’s spheroid, which is how it got classified as a planet. Charon is also spheroid, and they orbit a point somewhere between the two, so technically it’s be a binary planet, not planet and moon (Earth and Luna orbit a point inside of Earth, hence Luna is a moon).
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pluto/media/File%3AAnimation_of_Pluto_orbit.gif
This graphic shows Pluto’s orbit in relation to the other “outer planets”. The white lines show how far out of the solar plane the orbit gets. All that space is pretty clear, but in order to use that as justification to demote Pluto, they only referenced a top-down view where anything orbiting in a plane above or below Pluto was deemed to be “in its orbit”, and that therefore it had not done a sufficient job of clearing everything.
If you look at the graphic, not only does it show that, technically, Neptune has failed to clear Pluto from its orbit (yet Neptune didn’t get demoted), but the distance between Pluto and the orbital plane can be about the same as the distance between the orbits of the other outer planets, which would far exceed the distances between any of the inner planet orbits. So, they basically wanted to come up with a way they could justify demoting Pluto, without calling it a moon, and without creating classification issues with Luna or any of the other recognized moons that have been documented. And they did a really bad job of it, but they’re clearly willing to die on that sword before backing off of that position. Ask a geologist, and they’ll tell you a different story. To them, Pluto bears all the hallmarks of a true planet.
@PurpleDave: My point was that there is no definition of "planet" that lets our solar system have exactly nine.
I think it's great. I think a building like this is meant to be customised.
I been planning a museum for possibly over a decade! As always I have accumulated shed loads of relevant side-builds/ accessories/ stickered and printed parts/ figs/ BB dinosaurs etc etc....., but never got around to the actual building.
Now .....how to fit all that Adventures, Indiana Jones, medieval accessories, pirate stuff etc into it!?!
2 would do it - double depth and use the spare 'back wall' bricks to build another floor. Would be nice to be rich as well :o)
PS. IF that's Johnny Thunder, then he should NOT be pushing a broom around.
I need it.
@Anonym:
One of the big complaints I remember about the Downtown Diner, and to a lesser extent about the Corner Garage is that “they look too American”, and “why can’t they stick with a European style”, but now you don’t hear that anymore. With time, and with previous sets to build off of, eventually it’s going to become like the “new greys”, where people will instead start complaining if you _don’t_ do them anymore. With one release a year, and without just switching cold every five years or so, it’s going to take time to transition into different architectural styles. That doesn’t mean they should steer clear of ever doing so.
@Binnekamp:
I mostly agree on the classic color schemes (I _NEVER_ owned a Classic Space set with the blue/light-grey/tr-yellow colors prior to 70816, so have very little attachment to it). However, Easter eggs will usually be things that hold meaning for the person who included them, and they should be highly recognizable if you want anyone else to recognize them. There was a City set recently that had a few toys, and most people were trying to match them to real-world toys when someone recognized that one was a Rock Raiders set. The designer was probably younger, and grew up on Rock Raiders and other contemporary themes, but the other models weren’t recognizable enough that people immediately picked up on what they were supposed to represent.
"The Brachiosaurus skeleton dominates the gallery and its neck extends into the first floor (US translation: second floor)."
Great review, I was honestly surprised to see that both you, and a couple other reviewers shared my skeptical attitude to this most recent addition to the series.
I gave it a 3/5 rating, which I describe as 'Good' but we usually get great out of the Modular series. In my review at Brick Architect, there are a few additional details your readers might find interesting:
- I debuted a completely new metric to try to assess value: price-per-minute. (Only includes sets I built for fairness purposes, and the main discovery is that some sets are a lot faster to build that others, and part count alone doesn't predict this well since some sets are a lot easier to build than others.)
- I ranked the last six modulars from best to worst. I wonder how close your ranking would be? (1 Police Station, 2 Boutique Hotel, 3 Jazz Club, 4 Bookstore, 5 Natural History Museum, 6 Corner Garage.)
- I offered a bit more analysis of the architectural styles being used here, and while I don't prefer the Olive Green color, it is historically accurate.)
LINK TO REVIEW: https://brickarchitect.com/2023/review-10326-lego-icons-modular-natural-history-museum/
Sincerely,
— Tom Alphin
This is a fantastic addition to the modular building collection, and it looks great. But.......
With the onset of so many large adult builds, in the 500-800 dollar range that are selling well, I feel that they could have made this building larger so that is was on 2 32x32 baseplates. This would have allowed them to have a larger multiple door entry like most museums. A larger front door would lend itself to 4 pillars instead of 2. A wider footprint would allow them to then have the space for a large atrium in the middle. That would have allowed for a taller or beefier brachiosaurus skeleton, etc....
Lastly, I dislike the color. I do not know why they picked olive, but this was a perfect opportunity to create a new color...eggshell...light medium stone ( aka light bluish light bluish gray ) , light tan, off white marble, ANYTHING except green....
I will buy it regardless, and replace all of the olive peices with white, to mimic marble.
I like this overall. The exterior is commendable- maybe not spectacular but solidly designed, and I don't dislike olive green. All of the angles are also decent. The interior (which I probably factor fairly highly) is especially spacious, with the first floor's having laudable tilings and details. I guess the second floor's interior leans on the sparse side, but a museum is supposed to have a plethora of open space, so it's reasonable. But this does not give a visual impact and presence as 10255, which is still retailing the same price now, and due to budget and space constraints, I don't plan to purchase this set anytime soon.
I feel like the biscuit is more likely a reference to the prohibition smuggling in 10246 Detective's Office .
I think the bar has been set pretty high in the modular series. Naturally, not all the sets in the series will meet up to that expected standard. This is one of those sets. Not bad, but not great either. In my opinion, I feel Chris McVeigh did a better job on his previous sets.