21304: Doctor Who Review

It’s good being British every now and then, this is one example of why. Thanks to Britain being the home of Doctor Who we have been sent an early copy of the new LEGO Ideas Doctor Who set. This comes just over a week after it’s official release. Only a select few sites have gotten a set and we are honoured to be one of them.

The review set arrived yesterday morning and I built it after work yesterday, It took me just over an hour and as a big Doctor Who fan I enjoyed every minute of the build and I would say it’s right up there amongst the best LEGO Ideas sets released. I currently only require the first two and Wall-E to complete my collection so from my view point it is up there with BTTF and Ghostbusters. Read on to see why this set is a must buy for fans.

Official description

Construct a stunningly detailed LEGO® version of the iconic TARDIS® and role-play the Doctor’s time-travel adventures! Created by fan-designer Andrew Clark and selected by LEGO Ideas members, this set is based on the BBC’s popular and long-running television series about a Time Lord – the Doctor – exploring the universe in a blue police box. Due to trans-dimensional engineering, the TARDIS is bigger on the inside than the outside and this cool multifunctional set includes the console room that houses all the flight controls.

lego

2132281-o_1a0s11p8b1v6c1j2rf8k1rmg1l4qa-blog-huge

Regenerate the Doctor and defeat the evil Daleks™ and a Weeping Angel with the help of his extraordinary companion Clara. Then close the doors of the TARDIS and launch into another dimension! Includes 4 minifigures with assorted accessory elements: the Eleventh Doctor, the Twelfth Doctor, Clara Oswald and a Weeping Angel, plus 2 Daleks™.

  • Includes 4 minifigures with assorted accessory elements: the Eleventh Doctor, the Twelfth Doctor, Clara Oswald and a Weeping Angel, plus 2 Daleks™
  • Features an opening TARDIS®, detachable interior console room with assorted flight controls, exclusive graphic details and steps.
  • Build an authentic replica of the iconic TARDIS® time machine in LEGO® bricks!
  • Great for display or role-playing scenes from the TV series
  • Accessory elements include the Eleventh Doctor’s Fez and the Doctor’ssignature accessory – The Sonic Screwdriver for the Twelfth Doctor
  • The Doctor fits inside the TARDIS® when closed
  • Includes a booklet about the fan-designer and the BBC television series
  • The perfect gift for LEGO® and Doctor Who fans of all ages!
  • TARDIS® measures over 4” (11cm) high, 2” (6cm) wide and 2” (6cm) deep
  • Console room measures over 5” (14cm) high, 6” (16cm) wide and 8” (21cm) deep
  • TARDIS with console room measures over 5” (14cm) high, 6” (16cm) wide and 9” (23cm) deep

The review

2133006-o_1a0slu9hp1ed2qrf1v9h15892vja-blog-huge
The Box is similar in size to the recent Big Bang Theory box and I’ve said it before but all LEGO sets should be packaged in these boxes as they are only ones I keep. Inside the box all the parts are in clear unmarked bags, so nothing is dumbed down for the build. The instruction booklet has same quality we now come to expect from an Ideas set. The booklet is 127 pages with advert for LEGO Ideas and LEGO Dimensions in the back. We also get two page spread from the project owner Andrew Clark and the two senior LEGO people behind the set.

2133010-o_1a0slv7l227fqec11ka1rmkk9f-blog-huge

Throughout the booklet there are loads of Doctor Who snippets of information to enjoy while building. The build is broken down into the minifigures, the interior, the Daleks and then the Tardis itself. Parts wise as I cleary predicted there are no stickers. Everything that looks like a sticker is in fact printed. We get not 1 but 2 sonic screw drivers. Tops of the Daleks are printed so are the monitors, plus we get dark blue 1x2x2 window frames, the glass are either dark blue or printed white ones. Also we get a window panel printed in white to look like the door for when the tardis attaches to the centre console.

2132293-o_1a0s187a5mmo9ne1pq1t8gcndk-blog-huge

Minifigures we get both the 11th and 12th Doctor, Clara, two brick built Daleks and one scare weeping angle. The printing on the minifigures are outstanding, with all 4 minifigures getting two face prints, the 11th Doctor also gets his Fez Hat.

2132289-o_1a0s15ibo1kp1d4j1inp1h8o1fkkf-blog-huge

The build after sorting all 623 parts plus spares on my kitchen table it was down to the build. Boy was this build fun. The main build is the center console that the Tardis can attach to, this allows for the illusion of bigger on the inside. Each step tells you what parts are required, the build is rather straight forward. I like how the designers did the steps up to the console and something I will use in my modulars. We get broken down sections to build including the center piece, this includes a lot of back to back elements you don’t often see but the overall look is stunning. Then each console is it’s own seperat build as you go round the center piece anti clockwise. Each console is different.

After 30 main steps the inside of the Tardis is completed with the two flat screen panels. Then we move on to the Daleks. I just love these and already want to make more of them in different colours. They take 17 steps to build and I build them both side by side. I personally think LEGO did a great representation at minifigure scale.

2132285-o_1a0s12pa1g5b13ikcf1oi41nnga-blog-huge

We then finished with the actual Tardis aka phone box this is mainly in dark blue and I appreciate how they left this till last, it was like the other parts were just the starters, this was the main course and boy was it worth the wait. It is by no means a hard build and some might find it slightly repetative due to all 4 sides being almost identical but when it is such an iconic vehicle you can kinda forget that and just enjoy seeing the build come together.

The fact that there are no stickers means the Tardis just looks stunning once complete, it is sturdy and a joy to look at. All I need now is the sound effects to propper fanboy out with this set.

I have to say it was well worth the wait, I have enjoyed every Ideas set so far, some more then overs but this for me is the best set released under LEGO Ideas, what ever follows this set will have a hard time topping it. If you are a fan of Doctor Who this set is a no brainer and if you are fan of LEGO Ideas it is another excellent set to add to your growing collection. My only problem is these sets are so damn good, when I look at upcoming retail sets it’s like looking at a clone brand. Everything from the box, instructions, to the build simply put normal LEGO retail sets to shame and is why besides Mixels and CMF I have not bought a single retail set this year.

Massive thanks to Norton PR for sending us this set! look out near Xmas as we are going to give one set away as our main Xmas prize. The set is out 1st of December priced £49.99

Author Profile

Rich
Founder of Brick Fanatics. I'm Richard Hayes a 34 year old runner based in Sheffield. However I'm better known as the Mohican Runner due to my very distinctive hair style. I've gone from 20st to a runner, I've raised over £1.3 million for charity by doing various running challenges.

I'm supported by Absolute360,SockMine and Tribesports.

Currently I have a 17:20 5k PB, 36:02 10k PB, 81:11 HM PB & 3:08:24 for the marathon.

You can find me on my blog http://mohicanrunner.co.uk

Rich

Founder of Brick Fanatics. I'm Richard Hayes a 34 year old runner based in Sheffield. However I'm better known as the Mohican Runner due to my very distinctive hair style. I've gone from 20st to a runner, I've raised over £1.3 million for charity by doing various running challenges. I'm supported by Absolute360,SockMine and Tribesports. Currently I have a 17:20 5k PB, 36:02 10k PB, 81:11 HM PB & 3:08:24 for the marathon. You can find me on my blog http://mohicanrunner.co.uk

3 thoughts on “21304: Doctor Who Review

  • 14/10/2015 at 08:13
    Permalink

    Does Clara have molded legs, or is the printing just on the front and sides of her legs?

    Reply
    • 14/10/2015 at 09:18
      Permalink

      As photo above shows Clara has standard printed legs

      Reply
  • 13/10/2015 at 22:30
    Permalink

    No stickers? This has just jumped to the top of my wishlist.

    Reply

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *