Hands-on with LEGO’s new 5,200-piece Avengers Tower

$500
LEGO Avengers Tower hands-on review

Last night, the LEGO Group invited me to come hang out at the flagship NYC retail store at Rockefeller Center. There was one main objective of the night, and that was to show off the shiny new Avengers Tower after it was revealed just earlier in the day. I’ve been looking forward to seeing the new set in person since we originally took a little wind out of LEGO’s sails by revealing it early, and now, I can finally report firsthand just how incredible of a model it is ahead of a full review.

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In case you’re just now catching up with the newest Marvel creation from the LEGO Group, we just saw the official reveal of the new Avengers Tower (76269) yesterday morning. It’s a set that has been rumored since way back in the spring, and now it’s finally about to hit store shelves. The set will officially debut on November 24 for $499.99.

In the meantime, I’m here to offer some thoughts on the creation after seeing it in person. This, of course, isn’t our full review of the new LEGO Avengers Tower, but it should offer a bit of extra insight into how this new model stacks up for anyone looking to make that day-one purchase.

There’s no getting around just how big the set is on paper, with 5,201 bricks stacking up to assemble a model that towers over any other building the LEGO Group has ever released, at 35 inches tall. But it wasn’t until I actually got to see the model in person that I fully realized just how utterly massive the set is. Walking into the LEGO Store at Rockefeller Center, I was immediately greeted by the set sitting right in the spotlight on a rotating podium – a very fitting display for a kit of this magnitude.

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What’s most impressive to me is that it manages to achieve such a height while still resting in what is a relatively small footprint. The set is hardly bigger than the baseplate used on last year’s Sanctum Sanctorum or the Daily Bugle, which kicked off these Marvel-themed Modulars a few years back. So not only does it fit in perfectly with those other builds, but it also isn’t going to take up a bunch of room on a shelf. That is such a big deal for me, as a builder who has almost no space left in her collection.

I’m sure a lot of other collectors have the same relationship with their kits, as shelf space ends up being a premium and the deciding factor between bringing home a set or not. So I can happily report that while this might be a very tall set, it isn’t going to take up any more room than any of the other Modular buildings – of the Marvel variety or just the standard releases.

Another detail that I loved getting to see in person was all of the different connection points for posing the included minifigures. Having 31 figures in the box means that there is going to be a lot of room for setting up different scenes from the MCU, or just your own mind, and the LEGO Group makes sure that you’ll be able to pull it off. Snuck right into the facade of the Avengers Tower are these 1 by 1 bricks with a Technic axel through the center that allow you to connect in one of the several included transparent supports. They don’t stick out at all when you’re not using these anchor points but are packed in by the plenty for setting up your minifigs in dynamic poses.

As much as I am waxing poetic about the exterior, I am a bit disappointed to note that the interior wasn’t quite as special. I get that this is a display model after all, and the interior furnishings are going to be something of a bonus for a lot of builders who just want a gorgeous skyscraper up on display – but I would have at least liked to see a little bit more packed in.

There are some nice scenes and areas that directly call back to the films that have inspired the set, but I don’t really see the same attention to detail on the inside as on the outside. There have to be trade-offs, sure, but I would have liked a little more attention paid to some of the builds lining the floors inside Avengers HQ.

Maybe my opinion will change when I actually build the set for myself come the end of the month. But until then, there’s at least one element of the set that keeps it from being flawless. I’ll be excited to circle back to this point in my full review of the LEGO Avengers Tower.

I almost would have rather had some of the side builds taken out if it meant that the LEGO Group would have used the bricks to fill out the interior. But again, it goes against the very clear intention that this is a set you want to put up on your shelf and not something you’ll be playing with constantly. And I would be mistaken if I didn’t note just how much the added vehicles play a role in turning this from a funky-looking skyscraper into the action-packed Avengers Tower that it is.

9to5Toys’ Take

I don’t want to speak too soon, but the Avengers Tower may very well be my favorite set of the year. I still need to actually piece it together myself, but the kit is a very strong contender right now. And recency bias aside, there really has never been anything quite like this before. It is just an incredible set from pretty much every angle. And if I don’t love the interior, the presence of its facade more than makes up for that.

I am getting a strong sense of Déjà vu from when I saw the Daily Bugle for the first time a few years ago – just beholding a set like this that doesn’t feel like it should exist but is very much real. I cannot wait to get the Avengers Tower and put it next to all of my other LEGO Modulars in my collection.

Do you have any questions you want answered about the new set? We’ll be getting our hands on the set come launch day on November 24 and publishing a review soon thereafter, so let us know what you want answered about the LEGO Avengers Tower.

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