We’re getting an official look at the next LEGO Ideas kit today, with all of the buzz focusing around the upcoming Insect Collection set. This over 1,100-piece creation will be assembling several highly detailed brick-built bugs complete with plenty of intricate parts usage and fun techniques to bring a butterfly, beetle, praying mantis, and more to your collection.
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LEGO Ideas Insect Collection revealed
Arriving as LEGO set number 21342, the new Ideas Insect Collection has been in development for quite some time. It’s now finally releasing next month, bringing with it a series of intricately crafted bugs made out of 1,111 bricks.
The set really stacks up into three different builds, all of which feature the same attention to detail and fixation on bugs. The LEGO Ideas Insect Collection starts off with a recreation of a blue morpho butterfly, which is paired with a honeybee underneath. There’s also a Chinese mantis that has some incredible details, and pairs with a very small seven-spotted ladybug that arrives as a single printed stud.
But my personal favorite has to be the Hercules beetle, which sports some very nifty transparent wing designs and some equally vibrant floral arrangements underneath. In much the same vein, the other two models in the set are also packed with some plants to go alongside black hexagonal baseplates that round out the whole model.
One thing to really note with this Insect Collection set is that the design has changed drastically from when it was a project on LEGO Ideas. Originally, all of the bigs included got the same treatment, or at least more detailed recreations than the honeybee and ladybug included in the official set are. The other models have seen some changes too, but in the opposite direction. The beetle, mantis, and butterfly all received more detailed builds compared to the original designs. I honestly don’t mind the adjustments, and think that keeping the scale of all the different bugs consistent leads to a more fun model, even if you’re not getting quite as much.
Flying onto store shelves next month, the new LEGO Ideas Insect Collection will begin shipping on September 7. LEGO Insider members (formerly named LEGO VIP) will be able to score this set a bit beforehand, with early access going live on September 4. It retails for $79.99.
9to5Toys’ Take
Marking what looks to be one of the final LEGO Ideas creations of the year, I am thrilled to finally see an official look at the new Insect Collection. As a builder who proudly has one of the original LEGO Ideas kits in her collection – the Birds 21301 kit from back in 2015 – this feels like a perfect pairing and great continuity with the beginning of the fan-inspired theme.
The $80 price point does seem a bit steep to me though. I get that it’s a very detailed package of models, but it would have been great to have a fourth one of these display pieces included. That being said, it still looks like quite the neat bunch of creations, even if the designer did take a lot of artistic liberties in converting the model that won the fan vote into an official set.
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