Let's not lie to ourselves: the LEGO IDEAS set 21306 The Beatles Yellow Submarine is a niche product aimed first and foremost at Beatles fans, and possibly eventually LEGO fans.
Collectors of the LEGO IDEAS range will have no choice. They will have to pay the €59.99 requested by LEGO for this box of 553 pieces in honor of the group, or rather the animated film released in 1968 which features the animated alter egos of the members of the group.
As usual with the Ideas range, LEGO has worked on the product packaging, which uses many visual elements from the animated film in which this yellow submarine appears on all sides and even on the inside flaps. It's fitting, even if, in my opinion, it almost borders on visual overdose. At LEGO, the box being an important vector for promoting the product it contains (a bunch of plastic bits distributed in bags), I appreciate the effort. On the other hand, on the instruction booklet side, the few presentation texts for the set and the interviews with the designer of the LEGO IDEAS project and the LEGO designer who adapted the thing are only in English. At the risk of repeating myself, it's a shame.
The minifigs delivered in the box are based on the characters from the animated film. So these are versions of John, Ringo, Paul and George inspired by the largely cartoonish animated versions of John, Ringo, Paul and George themselves inspired by the "real" John Lennon, Ringo Starr, Paul Mc Cartney and George Harrison. Although these minifigs are very neat, oSo n gets a group of four characters that to my mind vaguely resemble the Beatles. To play Jeremy Hillary Boob, LEGO recycled a Le Messager from the Nexo Knights range. It is a lazy but timely choice.
At the risk of offending the unconditional fan of the group who is also a fan of LEGO and who will find here the perfect combination between two of his passions, this is more of a derivative product to assemble than a real LEGO set. The submarine will be assembled in a few minutes and it is not the few sausages used for the railing of the massif (turret) that save the furniture.
The work of the LEGO designer is not to be called into question on this file. This submarine is a completely acceptable version of the original project even if its design has been revised on certain points to meet the manufacturer's criteria. It's solid, you can remove the upper part to install (with forceps) the four minifigs inside, and the very compact set will be exposed wherever you want without invading your living space.
The good surprise comes from the inventory of this box: even if the submarine is obviously predominantly yellow and orange, LEGO had the good idea to provide parts in very varied colors (pink, lime green, purple, aqua blue, etc ...) for the parts that are no longer visible once the set has been assembled. As usual, no stickers, only pad printed parts. It will be difficult for most of them to find another use for them, but MOCeurs are creative ...
In summary, and this is only my humble opinion as a LEGO fan who is not a Beatles fan: Do you like the Beatles and LEGO? This set is for you. Do you collect sets from the LEGO IDEAS range? The question does not arise, you must acquire this box. You answered no to the two previous questions? Do you buy something else.
This box is available on the LEGO Shop at the public price of 59.99 € with the bonus set 40222 Christmas Build Up offered until November 20.
She is also available at the same price at Toys R Us where you can take the opportunity to pay yourself a collector's pack of minifigs for € 5 instead of € 14.99.
Note: We do as usual, you have until November 15, 2016 at 23:59 p.m. to manifest yourself.
