Review: 21313 Ship in a Bottle
Posted by CapnRex101,Jacob Sadovich's Ship in a Bottle, The Flagship Leviathan LEGO Ideas project proved incredibly popular when it was submitted towards the end of 2016, gathering the 10,000 votes required to reach the review phase in less than two months!
However, 21313 Ship in a Bottle received a mixed response when it was revealed in January. The revised model is considerably smaller than the original submission and the miniature galleon at the core of the set appears less detailed as a result of its restricted size. Furthermore, the price of £69.99 or $69.99 feels rather high in relation to many other LEGO Ideas products. Nevertheless, I love the idea of a LEGO ship in a bottle so have been looking forward to building this unique set very much indeed.
Box and Contents
21313 Ship in a Bottle is packaged in a box with a flap which is made from a thick cardboard stock, as with most LEGO Ideas products. The artwork is comparatively muted but suits a traditional model like this one and I think it looks superb, showing the bottle resting on a table alongside plans for the ship inside. I like the brass porthole in the background too.
Nautical designs continue onto the sides and back of the box where the galleon is shown in more detail. The graphics include an octopus, a compass rose and the Leviathan itself, all of which look marvellous and are intended to resemble scrimshaw, a historic art form in which intricate designs are carved into bone or ivory. This style of engraving is most frequently associated with sailors so is ideally suited to 21313 Ship in a Bottle.
The box contains a single instruction manual which features a short interview with Jake Sadovich, the creator of this LEGO Ideas project, as well as Tiago Catarino and Mark Tranter who designed the final model and the printed elements respectively. Seven bags of pieces are included, numbered between one and four. These are unusually packaged as the second bag consists almost entirely of trans-clear parts while those printed with the number three contain all 284 trans-light blue 1x1 round plates that will form the water!
Construction
The first bag contains a selection of relatively small pieces which are used in construction of the ship. Several bricks with studs on the side form the core of the hull and there are a few notable parts found inside as teal 1x2 plates are included alongside a pair of the new 1x2 rounded plates. These elements could prove vital in other creations and are employed to good effect here, providing a rigid connection between the masts and the deck.
Curved slopes form the sides of the hull and these are topped with dark orange 1x3 panels which have only appeared in two previous sets. The tan deck is three studs wide and nestles between these panels almost perfectly, demonstrating the ingenious geometry of LEGO. Unusually, one of the plates on the deck is not initially attached to any studs but a tan 1x3 plate towards the stern, added during the next step, ensures that it is held down properly.
The three masts are intricately constructed using aerials, telescopes and 1x1 round plates with a hollow stud which are new in reddish brown! They are very narrow so appear fragile, much like a real ship in a bottle, but I am quite impressed by their sturdy structure. Moreover, both the gun ports and the taffrail consist of further parts in new colours as the 1x1 curved plate with shaft is used in both reddish brown and metallic gold.
Construction of the bottle takes place next. This consists primarily of large panels but the base consists almost entirely of trans-clear headlight bricks alongside 1x1 and 1x2 plates, forming a round translucent panel which is remarkably strong given its depth of a single brick. The frosted effect is not consistent throughout the model but I think it works well here, loosely resembling the punt in a real bottle as the large trans-clear panels at the centre of the base contrast with the layers of smaller plates around the edge.
The sides of the bottle are assembled quickly using a selection of different trans-clear panels. I was concerned about the potential fragility of these panels but they are anchored in place using layers of 1x2 plates which is surprisingly effective even before the bottle is complete. Four dark orange jumper plates secure the ship on the base of the bottle and more panels are then attached, slotting over each of the taller masts very neatly.
Once the Leviathan has been fitted in place, the 284 trans-light blue 1x1 round plates are poured into the bottle. This is not the first time that a set has included loose pieces but they have never been used in such a high quantity before. The shoulder and neck of the bottle are assembled next and include four 6x6x9 convex corner panels which have not appeared in trans-clear since 2001. Finally uniting the two halves is very satisfying and one must then shake the bottle to evenly distribute the 1x1 round plates around the ship.
A detailed stand for the ship in a bottle is also included and this represents another change in the style of building. The central section is built with the studs facing upwards but features rows of brackets on each side to which the corners are attached sideways. This forms a smooth edge around the entire stand and it looks equally impressive when viewed from above as the only exposed studs are those surrounding the compass.
The compass is cleverly printed on the convex surface of a trans-clear 6x6 parabola so the design shows through on the concave side. A similar technique was used in 10253 Big Ben a couple of years ago but it continues to impress here, particularly when integrated with the 4x4 curved tile and 4x4 plate with curved cutout. The latter element is new in reddish brown and there are yet more interesting parts found inside the stand, including teal 2x2 round plates, teal 2x4 tiles and two purple minifigure heads inside the decorative globes!
The Completed Model
I was pleasantly surprised at the size of the completed ship in a bottle, measuring 31cm in length which is about the same as a standard wine bottle. Even so, its size has been reduced a great deal in relation to the original submission and was presumably dictated not only by the price but also the dimensions of the 6x6x9 convex corner panels which are integral to the structure of the bottle. Personally, I rather like the revised shape which matches a real bottle and consists of fewer panels, thereby reducing the number of seams between them.
The stand for the model is intended to resemble a piece of carved wood and I think it looks fantastic, including very few exposed studs and a perfectly consistent colour scheme. A printed 2x4 tile displays the name of the ship and features some lovely coiled rope designs while printed globes are attached at two corners and these can rotate to show the entire world. The pearl gold accents sprinkled throughout the model are also very attractive.
A printed compass lies at the centre of the stand. This features a detailed compass rose which stands out within its reddish brown surround but suits the traditional styling of the entire set very well. Naturally, the compass is not actually functional but the needle does rotate on a Technic pin so can be aligned in accordance with its position on display.
The bottle includes a decorative stopper which looks splendid in reddish brown, pearl gold and black. A delightful wax seal is printed on a red 2x2 tile and this is decorated with the initials of the set designer, Tiago Catarino. The elegant curvature of the bottle's shoulder is similarly impressive and this area of the model features very few seams so is almost entirely transparent, giving a tremendous view of the ship inside!
Smaller panels are used at the sides of the bottle so more joints are visible. However, these become indistinct when the model is viewed from a distance and there are far fewer seams on this version of the ship in a bottle than there were on the original project, an inevitable result of its reduced size. This is undoubtedly disappointing but I believe it to be a worthy compromise as being able to see the ship clearly inside is vitally important for display.
However, this has also forced the designer to reduce the size of the ship and in this regard I think Jake Sadovich's original model was superior. The larger vessel, known as the Leviathan, included far more detail and its masts have been truncated to fit inside the bottle which looks rather awkward. On the other hand, I like the dark orange colour scheme of the hull which appears distinctive against the reddish brown stand and the white sails are very striking.
These include a brand new printed design which might prove popular among builders of medieval or pirate-themed models. The sails on Jake's ship featured red and white quarters with a rampant lion at the centre, taken from the recent Kingdoms Lion Knights. The graphic designer has replaced the lions with golden leviathan creatures to match the name of the ship and they look magnificent. I also like the crow's nests at the top of each mast and the reddish brown yards from which the sails are suspended look very realistic.
Three open gun ports line the port and starboard sides of the vessel and the cannons are run out from each one. They look splendid and I love the pearl gold lids above the gun ports which match the taffrail around the poop deck. Tiago Catarino comes from Portugal so a fitting red and green flag flies from the stern. Of course, you could easily swap this for a flag in the colours of another country if you prefer but I think the Portuguese flag is appropriate given their enormous influence on historic naval exploration.
The Leviathan measures a little over 14cm long so is almost exactly the same size as the miniature 6285 Black Seas Barracuda found in 40290 60 Years of the LEGO Brick. I am not sure whether this was intentional but their comparable sizes have caused many fans to wonder whether the Black Seas Barracuda would fit inside the bottle and I am delighted to report that it does! The flags at the top of the masts must be removed but this colourful vessel looks fantastic to me and you could certainly choose to display it in this form.
Overall
LEGO Ideas provides a perfect opportunity to produce a selection of unusual sets, not all of which have impressed me. Fortunately, 21313 Ship in a Bottle is an absolute delight! The shaping of the bottle and its stand is superb while the joints between the panels are far less noticeable than I was anticipating, giving an excellent view of the ship inside. Jake Sadovich's original design for the Leviathan was brilliant and the reduced scale of this model is therefore somewhat disappointing, although it still looks pretty good in my opinion and includes some interesting building techniques as well as charming detail.
However, the price of £69.99 in the UK feels expensive in relation to the size of the set. Using so many large panels has an inevitable effect upon the price but nearly 300 1x1 round plates are included as well so one might expect these to counterbalance the cost of the trans-clear panels. $69.99 in the US seems more reasonable to me. Ultimately, this is an outstanding set for display and I would therefore recommend it but the price is too high in certain regions so waiting for a sale may be beneficial. Nevertheless, I would like to congratulate Jake Sadovich, Tiago Catarino and Mark Tranter on their marvellous creation!
I hope you have found this review informative. Let us know by liking this article and share your thoughts on the set in the comments below.
This set was provided for review by The LEGO Group but the review is an expression of my own opinions.
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70 comments on this article
... but did we ever get an answer over whether the bottle can hold actual wine?
I had been thinking about getting this and now I have to have it.
So I thought at first... quite a nice set but expensive.
And when I saw the picture with 5 small bags and a few trans-clear panels... yeah, that's when I >>really<< laughed.
Anyway, I might consider getting it at around 30% off - we'll see.
@Zordboy - I wouldn't recommend it!
I wanted to get this but the redesigned ship ruined it for me.
Curious that it isn't Jacob Sadovich's initials on the seal...
Probably because it is such a deviation from the original idea.
Why is the wax seal decorated with the initials of the Lego set designer, Tiago Catarino, and not the fan designer, Jake Sadovich? The initials "JS" would have been much more appropriate in my opinion.
Hothbricks has put a picture in their review of this set's bottle put next to a selection of alcohol bottles: https://www.hothbricks.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/lego-ideas-21313-ship-bottle-npu.jpg
Great review; I love that you even showed us how the Black Seas Barracuda looks in the bottle!
This set looks like a really fun and varied build and a great display piece, and I'm gutted to realise I still can't justify buying it at that price.
Such a beautiful set. Thanks for the review, Capn!
The OCD in me cannot stand 1x1 round plates lying upside-down. Will this set drive me absolutely crazy?
Good review! For my part I wasn't especially disappointed with the reduction in size, since to me the bottle was the integral part of the model, and this makes that so much more streamlined and realistic. Without the bottle, it's just a microscale ship — a good one, mind you, but conceptually nothing we haven't seen before and won't see again. I also feel like the ship is in some ways improved from the original model, such as its curvier and less heavily studded hull, even though it's lost some detail due to the reduced size and removal of fiddly aspects like the rigging.
I suspect that having the ship much larger would have made the bottle completely out of proportion to most alcoholic bottles, making it look rather less realistic.
...Até os comemos!
@CapnRex101 I've noticed recently that you guys don't have Volrton listed as a 2018 ideas set.
A simple improvement that could have been done to allow a larger, more detailed ship would be to rotate the bottle 45 degrees around its central axis with a stand redesign to suit. I might get this in a sale and try to make a better ship. I think the stand and bottle are very good. The price is ridiculous, if its $70 then it should be closer to £50.
Great review. Nice set, even though a bit pricey indeed. But when it does go on sale I am sure I will get it, especially as it includes so many interesting pieces, including that lovely printed compass piece. I really liked that technique on the Big Ben clock faces and it looks equally impressive here. And once again my most favorite part of these Ideas sets (at least most of them): no stickers whatsoever.
The set is selling at 85euro for Irish customer for whatever reason, I was thinking to get it with the 60yr anniversary but I'll pass for that price this time around. Truly outrageous.
It's a $5 boat in a $65 bottle and stand. It's really insane.
@BrickHelix - I don't think the set number has been confirmed yet so we have not added it to the database. We do have a set number without a name though (21311) so perhaps that will belong to Voltron.
@USSNCBB55 - Excellent point, thanks! The review has been updated with that information.
@coenstegeman If they don't sell well they go on sale. 21305 was on sale for a while.
In the United States at least, I really think this set is a fair price. Sure, 284 pieces make up the water, but subtract that from the total: 962 - 284 = 678, or about 10.3 cents per piece. Not to mention, you get quite a few large transparent panels.
I have some beef with people complaining about the price of this set, at least in the US. (It is more expensive outside the US, so people there may have more of a point.) As @TheMikeAwakens mentions above, if we remove the 1x1 trans-light blue round plates entirely, we still end up with 678 pieces in the set. And they are include, as noted in the review, several large, bulky curved pieces. On top of having some rather large parts, I count 10 printed pieces, 8 of which are unique to this set... including a large trans-clear inverted dish, the printing of which required the development of a new printing technique for LEGO. And then, of course, we have the normal higher quality packaging and instruction booklet that come with all Ideas sets.
If we look at all of this, and then consider a price per piece of 10.3 cents for the set in the US, without considering the hated trans-light blue plates at all, it's pretty clear that this is a COMPLETELY reasonable price for this set. Historically, 7 Ideas sets have had higher prices per piece than SiaB sans trans-light blue plates, and 11 have had low prices per piece. (This split is actually the same if LEGO RRP is considered for Euros as well.) And of the sets that have a lower price per piece, it appears that none of them have large pieces that can compare with the large pieces in this set, and (with the exception of possibly the Old Fishing Store) none of them have printed parts who's number and size competes with those included in this set.
And to see several people right next to each other complaining about the ship and bottle being downsized, and then complaining about the price immediately prior or after, just takes the cake. I wonder what those same people would have had to say about the price of the set if it was the size of the original model, which was significantly larger!
If this set isn't for you, I get it. Different people like different sets. That's fine. If this set isn't for you AT THIS PRICE, that's cool too. We're not all made of money, and we often have to make hard choices and budgets in this expensive hobby. But lets not pretend like this set is hugely overpriced or a rip off at RRP. Because it's not at all, even if we take away the 1/3 of the pieces that so many people seem to hate because they think they are driving the price of the set up. The price is completely in line with other sets in the theme, and I for one can't wait to go pick up my copy at my local LEGO store tonight.
it's growing on me......
I would’ve bought this if they had stayed more true to the original, but now since they shrinked it and 1/3 of the pieces are “ocean” pieces, I think I’ll just skip this one
Would it be possible to leave out the two 1 plate seams in the middle of the bottle to remove those unsighty gaps around the curves, or would the bottle fall apart then? Such a shame about those gaps in an otherwise great looking model, but seeing as you didn't even mention them they may not look that bad in reality? Must say I think it looks better with the Black Seas Barracuda inside!
Nice set but I'd rather spend £70 on a bottle with something decent in it, like a well aged single malt whisky...
This is not how you build a ship in a bottle. I want to see a video of someone doing it correctly!
The fact that it doesn't use the original designer's initials (Jake Sadovich) annoys me, I think he deserved that personal touch for coming up with the idea, especially because his idea was changed a lot. I think having his literal stamp on the set would have been appreciated.
I also think this model is very overpriced. I hope the price is reduced.
I DEFINITELY wasn't going to buy it, but Fizyx's reasoning, and Hardwax's rotation idea are persuading me...
a bit expensive but the printed tiles are very cool. the flags would be great in castle sets, along with shields printed with the same emblem
I think it is a joke that the Lego designer's initial is used instead of its original Lego Idea designer. Lego is big on defending their intellectual properties but dropped ball on this one.
Hey, you didn't build the ship inside the bottle!
@DuDuLook... i don't disagree with your sentiment but in the end, the original designer handed over the IP rights... and will be compensated according to whatever agreement there is in place.
coenstegeman, it will be on sale. At least half of Idea sets have been 20%+ off. BttF, Ghostbusters, Exo Suit, Birds, Big Bang, Wall-e, Doctor Who was half off, Caterham 30% off. Even Women of NASA has been $4 off on Amazon, I got mine for $16.
Good review. I really like the set and there are some great parts I'd like for Mocs. I'd actually really like a couple of these, but the price is definitely a bit high.
I'd have liked to see a choice of perhaps three ships to put in it and with different name panels to choose from.
I've ordered two for €70 each (germany) so i also triggered the 60 years set. Wanted to have it right after it was confirmed and think it made sense to scale it down. Price is IMO reasonable and would likely be much too high in the original scale. The initials should be SC for both designers last names.
j.
Looks so awesome! Will totally have to put this next to Metalbeard's Sea Cow! ;)
Really disappointed in the ship. It is supposed to be a tall ship. Instead it is a squished ship.
Pass.
Something doesnt look right with the bottle
Considering there is no open neck to the bottle, I don't know why people keep saying "how come you didn't build it traditionally?". Otherwise a decent enough set that I would've bought in a heartbeat at £50, perhaps strained to get it at £60 but just a flat no at £70. At least for now.
@The Rancor: I think people are saying that it should have been designed so that you DO build it like a real ship in a bottle, and that because you can't it's pointless. Which makes about as much sense as saying the Birds set is pointless because it doesn't make you hatch the models from eggs.
"But lets not pretend like this set is hugely overpriced or a rip off at RRP..."
Nobody has to pretend that the set is hugely overpriced or a rip-off, no.
For all the complaints this set gets, I think it actually looks very nice. I think a lot of people are hung up on what the original submission looked like. But taken on its own, it's an elegant, well-designed model. Even the price isn't all that bad. For a custom, probably low production set, even taking out the 284 1x1 rounds, you're still barely above that magic 10c per piece mark ($70/678 = 10.3c/pc).
It is growing on me but that cost kills it so far. Seeing the Barracuda fit into the bottle makes me want to place them in a fierce combat on a miniature display.
Several people have posted comments relating to the initials on the wax seal in this set which I think must be addressed.
Past LEGO Ideas sets have always been designed in collaboration between the creator of the original project and the set designer, often by meeting in person or through video calls. I have no personal knowledge of how 21313 Ship in a Bottle was designed but presume the process was similar, in which case it seems highly unlikely that Tiago Catarino's initials were printed on the seal without Jake Sadovich's approval.
For instance, 21310 Old Fishing Store is named 'Anton's Bait Shop' so has no obvious relationship with the fan designer of the set, Robert Bontenbal. Instead, Robert agreed that the store should be named after the son of LEGO set designer, Adam Grabowski. Presumably Jake also gave permission for the seal in this set to include Tiago's initials rather than his own.
Great review mate, and it does look nice. I like the overall look of it, and the neck of the bottle looks excellent. However, I don't think this will be as popular as some of the other Ideas sets. The price on this is ridiculous in Australia. $120 for 962 pieces, where over a 3rd are really small pieces? That's 12.47c per piece, on an unlicensed set. Madness.
Considering that you can buy the 21309 NASA Apollo Saturn V for only $50 more, with over twice as many pieces (that's 8.6c per piece) and you get one of the best Lego sets ever made, the appeal of the Ship in a Bottle is reduced dramatically for me, and likely for many others.
Lego made a real mess of the pricing on this one.
Lovely stand. I'd pay for a set that just makes the stand. But the rest of it I would not pay for, as I agree with many of the not-so-positive comments above. I love the Ideas series, and I have about half of them, some in multiple copies. But this will be in the other half.
This set is definitely growing on me, I really wasn’t sure at first but after reading this review I’m feeling inclined to buy it.
Some ideas sets go on sale, Adventure time did, the yellow submarine did and I think the maze did too.
I love that the mini 6285 will fit inside, this is a great little set to go on the mantelpiece and I currently have £50 in VIP points so for £19.99 it is a steal. I have no interest whatsoever in wine or any other alcoholic beverage as I don’t drink so it won’t be going alongside any real bottles of plonk.
@CapnRex101 I have to respectfully disagree - while I understand your point of collaboration, I look at it thusly: the person submitted the Ideas set is the architect, while the Lego designer is the engineer. Architects draft the concept and engineers make it practical. Thing is, right or wrong, in the actual architecture world, its ultimately the architect who gets credit for the design, not the engineers - I can think of quite a number of Frank Lloyd Wright designs and couldn't name the lead engineer of any of 'em if my life depended on it. So I think it's a similar vein that has people miffed about the wax seal.
I think part of the problem people have with the pricing of this set is that prices vary so widely from country to country.
While the price seems not cheap but quite ok in countries like the US or Germany, it grows from annoying to outright ridiculous in countries like Ireland, Finland, New Zealand or Autralia. I especially don't get why the price varies so widely in different Euro countries.
As for discounts on Ideas sets: over here most Ideas sets are available at retailers like Kaufhof after an initial "exclusive" period where they are only available directly from LEGO. These retailers regularly offer discounts. That's how I got my Saturn V for 95 Euro for example. But some Ideas sets are also available at our local LEGO store during their sale events.
Should have made a version with the Black Pearl in it.
Personal opinion, it's a nice display piece and well designed considering the limitations of Lego parts and it's different enough from the normal run of the mill sets to make it one to pick up.
As for building it like a traditional ship in a bottle, it's Lego, why would you? If you want to build a proper ship in a bottle, go and do it with the real thing and see how much patience you really have. It's not easy with scale parts that are meant to be built that way, with Lego bricks it would have been nigh on impossible to do properly.
I picked up a copy yesterday to qualify for the 60 year promo set. I circled the shop 3 times trying to find something better to make up the 100 and in the end just decided the free 60 year set made the price acceptable. I would have gotten multiple copies if it had been on par with the USD exchange rate price as I think it's terrific and has a lot of potential for moc uses
@Fizyx. People just love to complain.
I'm a little lost as to why they didn't set the bottle at a 45 degree angle, for reasons beyond it being a major deviation from the original. The extra height from the bottom to the top of the inside of the bottle that would be gained from having it at a 45 is about an inch and a half. It may not seem like much, but that would have given them a lot more room to work with for the boat. Additionally, having it canted would result in the 1x4x3 panels being angled upwards and downwards, rather than facing straight out. You would instead be looking straight on at the big curved panels, which are bigger and have fewer seams between them, giving you a more unencumbered view of the ship. Also, and this was in my opinion the real brilliance of the original, by virtue of you seeing the curves instead of the flat side of the bottle it dispels the squareness of the bottle and almost gives the illusion of it being round, especially from a further vantage point. I hope this was followable; I'm only just starting my second cup of coffee.
I don't know anything about the creation process, but a lot of people seem to think that Lego Ideas just entirely stole the original idea and made a new project without any permission from the designer. I don't think that's the case here. I don't have anymore insight than other people, but I have to believe what CapnRex said. To say he's wrong is, quite frankly, an insult to his work and his vast knowledge.
Looks very cool. I'm in the minority with loving this set, but hey, it is just my opinion.
I don't know anything about the creation process of this particular Ideas set, but the initials are a dead give away - original creator did not think the redesigned set had anything to do with his design (and it doesn't really - it's a completely different polybag-style ship inside a more streamlined and elegant - and also completely different - bottle), so he didn't want his initials on it. I wouln't either, honestly. It'd be unethical to claim something as mine when it really wasn't.
OTOH, I heard a very detailed hour-long presentation about the Exo-Suit where it was clear that the designer worked really, really hard to make sure the set was as true to the submission as possible while using the current part set and trying to conform to various design/safety standards.
The bottle parts are useful but the rest is meh.
For all those people assuming the creator is or should be somehow bothered or offended by the changes — he has shared his thoughts on the final set in one of the Facebook groups I'm in, and the long and short of it is that he loves it, is really impressed with Tiago's work on it, and is honored that something he created became a set. Suffice it to say, he also knows better than anyone how many aspects of his original MOC might not have been viable for a finished set (he did not originally create it with the express purpose of putting it on LEGO Ideas, after all).
Yes, because in no way does earning a percentage from each set sold motivate the creator to post good things about it. That, and likely a clause in his contract that requires him to participate in set promotions.
@Sammael: Amazing how someone who thinks as highly of the original submitter's building talent thinks so little of his honesty. The idea that project creators are contractually obligated to lie about their opinions on the sets that result from their projects (even in private FB groups with no connection to or endorsement by TLG) is laughable.
I think it's a matter of pragmatism. Also, you can call me jaded all you want, I've seen many contracts which required one party to promote a product they did not truly believe in.
Besides, if it's a private group where conversations are limited to members, I wonder if @Aanchir has obtained his permission to post here or not? If so, please disclose the statement in its entirety so we can judge for ourselves. If not, please refrain from posting information without author's permission.
Adore this set.
Think it is much better than the original submission (which was way too big).
Nor do I have an issue with the initials on the bottle either, as Jake is given credit in many areas of the set - including a full page in the instructions. I honestly thing the original submission and later design are both fantastic.
Shaping up to be one of my favourite sets.
@Sammael: *shrug* Fine, I'll let you persist in your ignorant belief that the creator of the Ship in a Bottle hates the set he helped create. I had thought I might be doing a favor by trying to dispel some of the baseless assumptions people were making about him, but apparently sharing that another person LIKES A SET without their permission is some huge invasion of privacy? Or something? Much better to just let people slander him as some kind of reluctant corporate shill who secretly has all the same biases they do and just isn't allowed to admit it.
i don't like all the seams where the trans-clear pieces connect
Call me crazy but the entire box of this set is a waste of resources. Why not do it the 5956 Expedition Balloon style where the bottle is a hinged or screwed together two pieced affair that contains all of the pieces in polybags? You could get rid of most of the seams in the bottle that way. Ah well, no new molds for the ideas line, even though a huge bottle could have a myriad of creative uses in other things to help pay for the mold. Like a white bottle as an airplane fuselage.
I saw this on display at The Lego Store last night and it looked fantastic to me. I plan to get it at some point in the near future.
"Furthermore, the price of £69.99 or $69.99 feels rather high in relation to many other LEGO Ideas products."
Really? Because not counting "Women of NASA", it's cheaper than the previous two. In fact besides Women of NASA the last Ideas set that was cheaper was Adventure Time. It's cheaper than the Old Fishing Store, the Saturn V Rocket, and the Caterham 7.
No complaints here with the set; I think it looks amazing, and if the ship is not as impressive as the original fan design, it makes up for it by being better in every other way. At the more reasonable scale, it's easier to display and significantly cheaper than it would be otherwise.