LEGO Ideas 21359 Italian Riviera is a stealth One Piece set
One Piece fans may want to add 21359 Italian Riviera to their upcoming shopping lists, with the LEGO Ideas set based on some familiar locations.
The LEGO Ideas theme officially announced 21359 Italian Riviera today, with the 3,251-piece model based on Alex Sahill’s successful 10K fan submission. The upcoming model represents a brick-built version of one of the most beautiful regions of the world, with the colourful set also accompanied by an impressive 10 minifigures.
In addition to LEGO Ideas shoppers who are already planning on purchasing 21359 Italian Riviera, One Piece fans may also want to consider obtaining the model when it launches next month. That’s due to the build being a sneaky stealth LEGO One Piece release in all but name, based as it is on some familiar real-world locations.
Although the first season of Netflix’s live-action One Piece series was primarily filmed at studios in South Africa, the Italian coastline and adjacent Mediterranean Sea areas were a major inspiration on the Straw Hat Pirates universe.
For starters, the harbour of Loguetown is based on the coastal town of Sorrento in Campania. On the left of the image below is the Imperial Hotel Tramontano and on the right is Villa Astor, which overlooks the Bay of Naples.
Although the majority of Loguetown’s main square was a CG creation, it was the Florentine Gothic style of architecture seen in the Florence Cathedral that inspired the distinctive look of the World Government building in the show.
That same approach also applied to Shell’s Town, the headquarters of the 153rd Marine Branch in the One Piece series, which took its appearance from the seaside village of Positano on the Amalfi Coast, with a CG fortress nestled on top.
Although none of next month’s upcoming LEGO One Piece sets take their cues directly from any real-world Mediterranean buildings, we suspect it won’t be long before some creative customisers out there have tweaked 21359 Italian Riviera and incorporated the LEGO Ideas set into their own brick-built Straw Hat Pirates collections.
LEGO Insiders members can grab 21359 Italian Riviera from August 7, alongside a free Mediterranean Scene GWP from August 7 to 14 (while stocks last), plus an A5 notebook reward from August 7 for 1,500 points. Everyone else will be able to pick up the LEGO Ideas set from August 10, with the model priced at £249.99 / $299.99 / €279.99.
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