Plenty of non-LEGO media sites picking up on 10307 Eiffel Tower

10307 Eiffel Tower justifies enough superlatives to attract the attention of editors outside the regular LEGO fan media base.

Biggest. Tallest. Expensive. More than 10,000 pieces. Terms like this are catnip to the editors of websites all around the world. Which is why the LEGO Group’s latest offering, 10307 Eiffel Tower, from the Icons theme has been making headlines on websites that wouldn’t normally be reporting on our favourite brick.

Most hobbies have a ‘perimeter’ if you will. A line around a group of people who are in the know, and there is usually a dedicated media base to serve them. For example, most people will never have looked at ‘Bow International’ magazine, but if you’re an archer, then you’re probably quite familiar with it, because you’re ‘inside the circle’.

And so it is with LEGO. There are magazines and websites dedicated to it, but for the ‘non-LEGO-building / collecting’ segment of the world (let’s just take a moment to feel sorry for them – they don’t know what they’re missing), it just passes them by. But now and again, a set appears that crosses those boundaries and breaks into ‘regular’ media circles, and the new Eiffel Tower set has done just that.

HITC, which appears to focus on football with side orders of music, gaming and news, has simply done a cut ‘n’ paste on a press release for most of their article, but helpfully mentions that the set will only stand 59 inches tall, “Once all the bricks are placed together in the right places”. Good to know.

Meanwhile, the Independent has done a more in depth piece and, in describing the height of the model, has gone with ‘it’s as tall as a twelve year-old child’. Quite specific and, as we shall see, controversial. We feel, though, that they hadn’t spoken to any AFOLs before writing the piece, as they suggest that ‘this truly massive Lego kit will keep you busy for days (probably weeks)’. Short of a major injury, we don’t know anyone who would be able to string a build out over weeks.

The Economic Times, we think, is probably venturing into the world of LEGO for the first, and probably last, time. To say they feel out of their comfort zone is putting it mildly, but they do have a helpful two-question FAQ which includes “What exactly is a LEGO set?”, the answer to which is “The Lego Group, located in Denmark, manufactures a well-known range of plastic building toys.” They do create the potential for online ‘beef’ with the Indy though, as in their eyes, the four foot eight inch tall set ‘puts it at the same height as a 10-year-old child.’

Ten year-old child? Twelve year-old child? Which is it? Enquiring minds want to know.

Finally, Kotaku, a pop culture site who, to be fair, do know their way around a LEGO set, decide to basically ignore the set completely. After dismissing the fact that it’s only the second largest set after 31203 World Map ‘on a bull**** technicality’ they decide instead to focus on the guy in the lifestyle shots released as part of the press pack. 

They decide that his name is Francois and that he must be French as he’s wearing a cravat. They then spend the rest of the article coming up with an elaborate backstory for him, where his obsession with the tower came from, and they imagine what his childhood must have been like. It’s amusing and well worth a look.

However, if you’re actually interested in 10307, then you can find plenty of helpful information right here on Brick Fanatics, including our review which will tell you everything you want to know about this epic set. It’ll be available on November 25, has 10,001 pieces and will cost £554.99 / $629.99 / €629.99.

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