Today I'll be reviewing set 21110, the Lego Ideas Research Institute. Sadly, it's currently sold out on Lego's online shop, but if you're lucky, they may still have some in Lego's brick and mortar stores. This set should retail for $19.99, so be wary if you try to purchase it off Amazon or eBay, I've already seen it listed for over $70. I know this was supposed to be a limited run, but hopefully Lego will realize there is a demand for this set and get more on stock on shelves.
The Research Institute is a fan created set, thanks to Lego Ideas, and was created to increase the overall number of female minifigures and to show that girls can become anything they want. This is one of the reasons why I wanted this set so bad. There are female minifigures available, but most of Lego's popular themes, such as City and Superhero, are dominated by male characters. The Friends line is definitely geared towards girls, but the minifigures are at a different scale than standard Lego minis, and I know from experience that a lot of girls would prefer the Batmobile over Stephanie's Ice Cream Shop.
In standard Ideas' fashion, the Research Institure is packaged in a clamshell box and comes with a glue bound instruction manual that goes into further detail about the creation of the set, as well as job descriptions for each minifigure. Surprisingly, this is the first Ideas set I've seen to come with numbered bags, most likely due to it dealing with mostly small pieces (although that didn't matter for the Exo Suit) and three builds are independent of each other.
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This set comes with three minifigures, a Paleontologist, a Chemist, and an Astronomer.
I was actually surprised by the detail that went into each minifigure. The outfits are great, and to be honest there isn't much to set apart an astronomer from a paleotologist, or from any other profession, to be honest, but they work with this set. I especially love the scarf on the astronomer. As you can see, each minifigure comes with two facial expressions, although I wish they were a bit different. Maybe a look of excitement instead frustration and uncertainty.
While the astronomer doesn't come with any accessories, the chemist comes with two styles of beakers and two syringes, which I'm pretty sure are supposed to be pipettes, and the paleontologist comes with a magnifying glass that actually works, which is pretty cool.
Each minifigure comes with a vignette that shows their profession in action. The astronomer build come with a telescope and star map that is used to explore the galaxy. The chemist build comes with a work station, more beakers, bottles, flasks, and a beaker holder. And coffee mugs that can be stored in the cabinets and drawers. The stand out of this set is the paleontologist vignette, which comes with a model tyrannosaurus rex, along with a microscope and a dinosaur bone for closer examination.
The Verdict
This set was a lot of fun. It's not a complicated build, and only takes times because there are a lot of small pieces involved. But the focus of this set was to highlight three profession that aren't normally associated with women, and in that regard it succeeds wonderfully. I'm really happy with this set, and hopefully anyone that wants it will be able to get their hands on one.
Today I'll be reviewing Lego Set 21109, the Exo Suit. It's one of two new releases to come out from the Lego Ideas line; the other is the Research Institute, which I'll be posting about in the coming weeks.
The Exo Suit comes packaged in the Ideas clamshell box, containing the 321 pieces across four unlabeled packages along with it's instruction manual, and retails for $34.99. In regular Ideas fashion, the manual stands out from standard Lego manuals, containing information about the creator of this set, Peter Reid, how this set came about, and an in-universe story explaining the motivations of the minifigures involved. It's pretty neat to get this background story since it's not something that's usually included with a Lego set. Although it doesn't quite touch upon why Pete seems so upset. Maybe he'd be happier if he actually got the pilot the suit.
Just look at him, so much anger.
The two minifigures included in this set, Pete and Yve, are modeled after the classic spacemen of the 70s and 80s. For the most part, these minis are pretty simple: a full green body with the Classic Space logo printed on the front, and accessories in the form of a helmet and air tank. Both minifigures share the same body, the only differences are their facial features that distinguish them as male and female. I think was a smart move on Lego's part, as it remains true to the Space theme and shows that once the minis are in their spacesuits, they're pretty much the same.
Since I happened to have a couple classic spacemen laying around, I compared the two and they are almost identical. The only difference is that the minifigures packaged with the Exo Suit use the modern helmet design. It would've been neat if they came with the classic helmet but it's understandable. Lego would have to create a new mold to match the original design, which doesn't make much sense since this set is supposed to be a limited run.
The set also comes with a platform and two barrels to set the scene, and a Robot Turtle to help our spacemen on their mission, although it looks more like a robot dog than a turtle to me.
The Exo Suit was a lot of fun to build. It's a very intricately designed set, and amazing that it's designer was able to accomplish this. The types of pieces used to create this build is almost as incredible as the amount used. When I first opened the box I couldn't imagine how this jumble of pins and joints would come together to form a cohesive build, but they did. Just by looking at it, you can see how clever the design is.
It also has a very modular design. While the instructions are there to guide you along, it's easy to see how you can modify the set by adding or subtracting pieces. Sadly, this may be necessary in some instances as the suit is very sturdy in some places, while being flimsy in others. The legs and body are very well designed, but the arms are easy to pull apart. If you simply pose the figure and leave it be it'll be fine, but if you plan on playing with it, this could pose a problem.
Problems with the arms aside, this build is actually incredibly flexible. I was surprised at what kind of positions I could pose the suit in. The suit is also well balanced, allowing for a lot of poses to be maintained without outside support.
The Verdict
Few problems with the sturdiness of the build aside, this is an incredible set that is more than worth the $35 dollar price tag. It's a complex build that really shows just how modular Lego can be. The minifigures are a great throwback to the simpler designs of past minis, and the inclusion of the Robot Turtle is just awesome. I really loved that design.
Ovelall, I'm just really happy with this set, and thankful that I decided to pick it up. To be honest, I wasn't too keen on it before I got my hands on it, but it won me over. Pick one up if you can, I'm sure you'll enjoy it too.
