The 10366 Tropical Aquarium will be released in mid November. In our previous article, we looked at the overall build experience. The set is the most expensive LEGO® Set that is not based on an external IP, such as a movie, or large piece of architecture. The final model is also quite large. I suspect this will be a model that has its ardent fans, but a lot of people will, quite rightly, be put off simply by the $AUD699.99/USD379.99/ €449.99 / £399.99 price tag.

Despite the pricing, this set is not without its merits. Today, I want to show you some of my favorite learnings from the set, which can be translated into models of your own. If you think they are interesting things, download the manual, or look up the relevant parts of construction in the LEGO BUILDER App. In my next installment, I’ll look at some other ideas for customising the model, while I intend examine the value in fourth of my review series. I am grateful that the LEGO Group sent a copy of this set over for review: all opinions and thoughts in here are my own.

The Tropical aquarium is a premium LEGO® set, which at first glance seeks to tie the neat parts usage that characterises the Botanicals range, with the less official ‘Life Size Objects’ sub-theme that we have seen in recent years across LEGO ICONS and IDEAS. This represents a landmark in LEGO Set marketing: to date, it is the most expensive set released that does not tie in with any preexisting external intellectual property. I also recognise that if you are considering whether or not you are going to spend $AUD699.99/USD379.99/ €449.99 / £399.99, you probably want to be pretty sure that this is a set for you. The set represents a significant multifactorial investment – in monetary terms, display space and the time taken to assemble. I am grateful that the LEGO Group sent a copy of this set over for review: all my opinions are my own, as much as can be possible.

In this first part of a multi-post review, I will look at the set itself, including the building experience.

In our next installment, I’ll show you some of the things that I learned from building the set. In part three, we will consider some ways you mightchoose to customise the display. In our final part, we will examine whether or not there is actual value for money in the set.