WE ALL recognise Lego as that company from Denmark that makes those interlocking plastic bricks that are painful when stepped on.
But did you know that the company recently released two Asia Pacific exclusive sets that celebrate Chinese culture, just in time for Chinese New Year?
The sets numbered 80101 (Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner), and 80102 (Dragon Dance), are notable for being Lego’s first region exclusive cultural sets. They are also the first sets designed by the company’s designers in China.
The Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner set features key elements that make the annual celebratory family gathering unique.
Among the 616 pieces that make up the set are six never seen before minifigures, representing three generations of a family, and a rotating dining table with printed traditional Chinese food and utensil elements, just to name a few.
Putting together the set was a fiddly process. Most of its components are small bricks, studs, and plates. Stickers add to the complexity of the build.
However, the interesting building techniques used will hold a builder’s attention throughout the process.
The end result is an open, dollhouse-like dining room, complete with a stone paved front garden.
While the Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner set is a diorama, the Dragon Dance set has an action feature.
The new dragon dancer minifigures bop up and down in time with the dragon, while the dragon ball spins when you turn the handle at the side of the finished set.
The Dragon Dance set is made up of only 122 parts. Built from the ground up, the mechanical toy only becomes apparent at the very end of the construction, which makes for a very satisfying play.
Lego enthusiast and Synergy Lego Users Group ambassador Bruce Lee said that as a custom Lego builder, he was most excited for the many golden heart-shaped pieces that come with the Dragon Dance set, and the printed food pieces that came with the Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner set.
“Collectors would also appreciate the Chinese costumed minifigures that come with both sets,” added Lee.
According to Malaysia & Singapore Lego senior brand manager Sylvie Ting, although the two sets are exclusive to Asia Pacific and limited in production, Lego has made sure that enough sets are produced to satisfy the market.
Ting added: “The sets took about one year to design. All the sets produced are from a single production order that we made about a year-and-a-half ago. We won’t make the sets any more, but there will be plenty to go around.”
However, the two sets are already sold out at most official retail location and online channels.
This is mainly attributed to collectors who find these limited and hard-to-get sets too attractive to pass.
The official retail price for the reunion dinner set is RM269.90 while the dragon dance set is priced at RM249.90.
Meanwhile, Lego has also released a Limited-Edition Year of the Boar set as a free ‘gift with purchase’ (GWP) when you buy a minimum of RM238 of any Lego products.
Spend RM688 on Lego products (excluding the Chinese New Year sets) and receive an exclusive Lego Lion Dance set as a GWP.
This offer is only available at the Mid Valley Lego certified store, and at the Lego lunar new year booth at Mid Valley which opens until Feb 11.
