Football Stadia represent the tribal Colosseums of the modern world. In their simplest form, they represent places where your tribal heroes don colours and fight it out with the opposition, in front of their supporters. Of course, we live in a far from simple world, and before long, the trappings of big business and high finance enter the fray.
In 2020, we have seen the Old Trafford football stadium as well as the Roman Colosseum released in LEGO form. These structures are similar in form and purpose, although the nature of the contests within may vary. Perhaps it is only appropriate that this year, as the LEGO Group release a 5500 piece version of Camp Nou, the home base for FC Barcelona, it has been designed by Rok Zgalin Kobe, who has been responsible for the majority of sets released with the architecture badge in the last few years, as well as the Colosseum.
Certainly this model features a part count in between that of 10272 Old Trafford and the 10276 Colosseum, and more blocks of colour than were offered in the Colosseum set!
The new LEGO FC Barcelona Camp Nou set is fantastically detailed. Features include the stands, pitch, team tunnel, media boxes and even the team’s coach. The score board also references the club’s momentous 5-0 win over rivals Real Madrid in 2010 and two of the stands proudly feature the “Mes que un Club” motto that is known by fans around the world.
Talking about the how he approached the design of the set, Rok Zgalin Kobe, LEGO Set Designer commented: “To create the Camp Nou in LEGO form was a really enjoyable challenge, from bringing the stands to life to envisaging the players walking down the tunnel to the pitch, you can almost feel the atmosphere of a roaring home game. It is an impressive build – perfect for both FC Barcelona and LEGO fans.”
To celebrate the launch of the new LEGO® FC Barcelona Camp Nou set, the LEGO Group and FC Barcelona are searching for the club’s superfans through a competition where the winners will be rewarded with the new set, a personalised minifigure in the famous red and blue football strip and a certificate recognising your superfan status.
The new LEGO FC Barcelona Camp Nou set allows you to create a spectacular 5,509-piece model that is sure to take centre stage in any fan’s home. To mark the occasion, the LEGO Group and FC Barcelona are putting football fans to the test with a special quiz. Featuring 10 questions about the great football club, the quiz has been designed by FC Barcelona historians and can be taken at www.lego.com/fc-barcelona. Get all 10 questions correct and you could be in with a chance with winning.
You need to be a LEGO VIP member (sign up is free) to enter the competition and be in with the chance of winning one of the 46 prizes – one prize for each of the members of FC Barcelona’s female and male first team squads. Terms and conditions apply.
Top Ten Highest Part Counts in LEGO Sets.
when I was a brand new LEGO Fan, there were 2 sets with a part count of more than 5000: the original UCS Millennium Falcon, and the original release of the Taj Majal. With 5500 pieces, this set earns a place in the top 10 largest (by virtue of part count) LEGO sets of all time. As a brief refresher:
#1 31203: World Map, July 2021. 11695 Pieces
#2 10276: Colosseum, November 2020. 9036 Pieces
#3 75192: Millenium Falcon, September 2017. 7541 Pieces
#4 71043: Hogwarts Castle, September 2019 6020 Pieces
#5 10256: Taj Mahal, December 2017. 5923 Pieces
#6 10189: Taj Mahal, August 2008. 5922 Pieces
#7 71741: Ninjago City Gardens, January 2021 5685 Pieces
#8 75978: Diagon Alley, September 2020. 5544 Pieces
===> #9 10284: Camp Nou, September 2021. 5509 Pieces
#10 10179: Ultimate Collectors Millenium Falcon. October 2007. 5197 Pieces.
Knocked out of the top 10 is 2000409 Window Exploration Bag – with 4900 pieces, this set has been used by Serious Play facilitators since 2013. If you wanted to think in terms of ‘Consumer sets, the next one would be 70620: Ninjago City September 2017, with 4867 Pieces
Some fun facts looking at this list:
- All of the top 10 sets has more than 5000 pieces
- 8 have been released since September 2017
- 5 of these sets have been released since September 2020!
- 4 are based on movie franchises. (2 HP, 2 Star Wars)
- All are based on buildings, except for the world map, and the 2 Millennium Falcons.
- 2000409 was in fact a collection of 100 polybags with 49 pieces in. The top 10 now consists of ‘proper’ consumer sets.
At the rate in which the LEGO Group are adding large sets, I don’t expect the 10179 UCS Millenium Falcon to remain in the top 10 by Christmas time. Indeed, it is quite likely that Camp Nou will have a limited time in the top 10.
In the mean time, Camp Nou goes on sale September 1st at LEGO stores, at the recommended retail price of $349.99 / £299.99 / €329.99 / 499.99 AUD / 449.99 CAD. Does this Contemporary Colosseum appeal to you? why not leave your comments below, and until next time…
Play Well!
The Rambling Brick 
[…] As a side note, the release of this set will push the original UCS Millenium Falcon out of the ‘Top 10’ Largest LEGO Sets, where it has been since its release in […]
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