LEGO Ideas 21340 Tales of the Space Age review

LEGO Ideas journeys into the cosmos with 21340 Tales of the Space Age, a striking voyage to the stars that should probably have stuck to the script.

Given the green light in October 2022, Jan Woznica’s picture-perfect design has been fast-tracked to shelves as the cheapest LEGO Ideas set since 2018. And for the most part, it stays firmly faithful to the Polish fan builder’s original vision, offering a cosmic collection of postcard-sized images inspired by incredible interstellar moments in the history of space exploration.

The LEGO Ideas team has boldly taken things further, though, adding a fourth image to the collection – resulting in one small step for 21340 Tales of the Space Age’s design, and one giant leap away from what this set might otherwise have been. Which is to say: even cheaper, and even better.

— LEGO Ideas 21340 Tales of the Space Age set details —

Theme: Ideas Set name: 21340 Tales of the Space Age Release date: May 8, 2023

Price: £44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 Pieces: 688 Minifigures: 0

LEGO: Available now

— Where to buy LEGO Ideas 21340 Tales of the Space Age —

Most LEGO Ideas sets enjoy a temporary window of exclusivity at LEGO.com and in LEGO Stores, before popping up through at least one other retailer after a few months. Expect the same for 21340 Tales of the Space Age. You can find the latest prices below.

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— LEGO Ideas 21340 Tales of the Space Age build —

We say ‘even better’ in that intro up above because, to put it simply, 21340 Tales of the Space Age is a very good LEGO Ideas set. It’s a display model that’s surprisingly stud-free – the comet has no studs showing at all, while others have just one or two – and doesn’t immediately scream ‘LEGO’, so you might have an easier time blending it in with the rest of your furniture and artwork.

And you’ll definitely want to, because almost every one of the four builds here is a brilliant cocktail of colour, style, format and inventive part usage, doing a whole lot with relatively little. Each of the ‘80s-inspired 3D postcard designs – a comet, a rover in front of an eclipse, a space shuttle launch and a black hole – comes together in relatively the same way, with a backdrop two bricks deep sitting on a stack of plates four studs deep, its height reinforced with Technic beams for stability.

To that end you might find it’s the perfect set to share with friends or family, but even if you’re flying solo the build isn’t long enough to feel truly repetitive. It’s also kept fresh by the strong grasp on the LEGO colour palette on display here, with each vignette employing multiple shades of its respective hue. The pinks and greens especially will remind you of just how many different colours the LEGO Group has in its library, and how well they all complement one another.

The designs that decorate the front of the four builds are each relatively simple, but nearly all boast interesting use of pieces to bring their images to life. The rocket combines dishes, 2×2 tiles and boat tiles with a curved slope for an effective trail, with unique 1×1 printed star tiles able to be rearranged into different constellations; the comet vignette turns magic wands into shooting stars; and the eclipse’s use of 8×8 round dishes to recreate a crescent moon is inspired.

Things start to stall when it comes to the black hole, however, which is the LEGO Group’s unique and original addition to Woznica’s submission. A green-hued postcard isn’t a bad idea next to the blues, oranges and pinks of the other three, but the application of that idea feels lacking: pretty much everyone who spotted this build on our desk over the past week asked why the London Underground logo is in space, and we didn’t have a good answer for them.

It’s undoubtedly the weakest of the lot, and while you can always use the base for your own design, it’s hard to ignore that 21340 Tales of the Space Age might have been even cheaper, even more accessible, and much more consistent had the LEGO Group followed the original pitch more closely. The good news is that the other three postcards are almost worth the entry price alone.

It’s worth shouting about the flexibility baked into 21340 Tales of the Space Age for a moment, because how you display these designs is really up to you: they’re balanced enough to stand individually on a desk or table; you can clip them together with Technic pins to display as a row; and they each incorporate a LEGO hanging element borrowed from the LEGO Art theme, making them just as ready to be popped on a wall. The choice is yours, and that’s never a bad thing.

— LEGO Ideas 21340 Tales of the Space Age characters —

21340 Tales of the Space Age comes sans characters, which is to say there are no minifigures in the box. That’s in-keeping with the original Ideas submission, and makes total sense: a random astronaut would have felt misplaced, and out of touch with the direction of the rest of the set. No complaints here.

— LEGO Ideas 21340 Tales of the Space Age price —

Believe it or not, 21340 Tales of the Space Age is the cheapest LEGO Ideas set since 2018’s 21314 TRON: Legacy. Every other set in the past five years has shot above the £50 mark, with many climbing higher and higher into triple digits. That makes this an attractive prospect on paper, offering an entry point into an innovative theme that doesn’t require breaking the bank.

But 21340 Tales of the Space Age still needs to provide good value for its price tag, regardless of how much it costs, and from that perspective it’s not perfect. The build is over as quickly as some Speed Champions sets, which retail for half the price, and it’s not filled with interesting pieces – but the volume of the finished product is substantial enough that you still won’t feel short-changed. In the grand scheme of things, £45 is just about right.

— LEGO Ideas 21340 Tales of the Space Age pictures —

— LEGO Ideas 21340 Tales of the Space Age pros and cons —

Very few LEGO Ideas sets survive the journey from submission to shelf unscathed, but for the most part the design team’s changes are for the better. With 21340 Tales of the Space Age, it’s hard to say that’s the case. What could have been an even more affordable and attractive set has been lumbered with an odd duck of a design, inflating the price without much cause.

The good news is that it doesn’t diminish the impact of Woznica’s original efforts, and the result is still a real gem of a LEGO Ideas model. Each of the other three images is a work of LEGO art in miniature, as evocative as they are simple, and a testament to this theme’s ability to continually extract original concepts from the community some 48 sets in. Basically, we’re not yet at the final frontier…

21340 Tales of the Space Age pros	21340 Tales of the Space Age cons
Faithful recreation of the three original designs	Build is short and not terribly exciting
Attractive and cost-effective display piece	Black hole design might have been better on the cutting room floor
Smart use of the breadth of the LEGO colour palette

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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— Alternatives to LEGO Ideas 21340 Tales of the Space Age —

Looking for another display-friendly LEGO set, but have slightly more cash to spend? 31208 Hokusai – The Great Wave and 21333 Vincent van Gogh – The Starry Night are both well worth your time. For more aesthetic builds in the same price range as 21340 Tales of the Space Age, you could do worse than the Botanical Collection, with models like 10311 Orchid and 10313 Wildflower Bouquet.

If it’s space vibes you’re after specifically, there’s 10497 Galaxy Explorer, which would actually also make for a neat display piece next to 21340 Tales of the Space Age.

— LEGO Ideas 21340 Tales of the Space Age FAQs —