Review : LEGO 10299 Real Madrid Santiago Bernabéu Stadium

Today we quickly go around the contents of the LEGO set 10299 Real Madrid Santiago Bernabéu Stadium, a large box of 5876 pieces that I have just finished assembling and which will be available from March 1, 2022 at the public price of 349.99 €. As the title of the product indicates, this is a question of assembling a reproduction of the Real Madrid club's residence stadium and it is already the third set of the same type to join the LEGO catalog after the two references already marketed on the same theme, the sets 10272 Old Trafford - Manchester United (2020) et 10284 FC Barcelona Camp Nou (2021)

What the name of the product does not reveal is that this reproduction of one of Europe's most popular stadiums is already on its way to being permanently obsolete. The real Santiago Bernabéu is indeed currently being renovated with delivery scheduled for the end of 2022 of the new version of the enclosure.

The stadium will frankly change its appearance and the version offered by LEGO will therefore be nothing more than the memory of a glorious but bygone era. Real Madrid fans can always console themselves by saying that they own the version of the enclosure whose lawn was trodden by Cristiano Ronaldo between 2009 and 2018.

I have already spoken to you in detail about the two other stadiums offered by LEGO and this new reference walks directly in the footsteps of its predecessors, with its qualities and its defects. You can imagine because of the appearance of this new stadium, we risk being bored during this "experience" of editing for adults which is broken down into about forty sachets. It's the subject who wants it, we assemble almost four times the same thing except for a few details over the pages of the two thick instruction booklets.

We start as usual with the lawn with here the signature motif of Santiago Bernabéu. The white lines are more or less aligned this time, there has been great progress on the pad printing of the three plates used. A detail: the pad printing of the central plate is in fact slightly lighter than that of the other two and you will notice this difference in color under certain lighting.

Even knowing that we will not escape long repetitive sequences thereafter, the discovery of the first quarter of the stadium is interesting with the construction of the support composed of Technic beams and large colored elements, followed by the addition of the elements architectural elements which then make up the exterior of the enclosure which measures on arrival 44 cm long by 38 cm wide and 14 cm high.

As for the two other stadiums already marketed, the blue bleachers are symbolized by striated parts separated here by orange lines, we are definitely in symbolism and minimalism. The repetitive nature of the assembly will inevitably give confidence to those who lend themselves to the exercise and it will be advisable not to be too pretentious by keeping only a distracted eye on certain sequences of the instruction booklets: there is everything even a few variants that should not be missed or you will have to go back a few pages. Take my word for it.

The sticker party starts quickly with a board that contains about sixty stickers and the few stickers that quickly take place on the bleachers are not really connected with their support. The graphic designer has once again tried to reproduce the reflections of the different streaks but it is in my opinion too coarse to be credible and sufficiently discreet.

The adjustment between the different bleacher modules is very approximate depending on the area and there are still a few empty spaces in places, but this stadium is designed to be observed from a certain distance and the whole remains visually coherent in my opinion. Unlike the set stage 10272 Old Trafford - Manchester United, the corner stands, with the exception of the smallest modules at the foot of the lawn, are here made up of striated pieces which contributes to the very homogeneous rendering of the whole.

The construction is designed to allow a separation in two of the enclosure. On both sides, the stadium quarters are attached to each other and you will have to remove a few pieces to separate them and store them when the time comes to make room on your shelves. The roof is removable, just to let you admire the interior of the stadium with its dozens of stickers. It's a detail that doesn't actually add much, there are only bleachers to contemplate and the roof could also have been firmly attached to the structure.

There are some subtle differences in color on the white parts, some of which go from a very clean white to a creamy white which will give you an idea of ​​the color of the roof after a few months of exposure. Even though LEGO has long since changed the recipe for the plastic used for parts by removing Tetrabromobisphenol-A, a flame retardant that caused elements exposed to UV to yellow prematurely and whose use is now banned, roofs will inevitably end up tarnishing. and the stickers of the stands by suffer from prolonged exposure. Small consolation, the two large white plates flanked by the mention Real Madrid are pad printed.

If the construction is generally solid and easily transportable, there remains, as for the two other stadiums based on the same principle, some slightly annoying points of fragility: the edges of the stands on which some stickers are stuck have an annoying tendency to come off if, for example, we try to readjust a block of seats after having made the junction between two quarters of the structure. It will then be necessary to completely unhook the block concerned, reconnect the support and then put the steps back in place using the retaining clip. To avoid this inconvenience, it is better to just grab the two halves of the stadium by the outer edge of the construction and not try too hard to manipulate the stands.

The parallel with certain products from the Architecture range might seem obvious, but the extreme miniaturization of the places to keep a construction of a reasonable format will undoubtedly leave fans of this range unsatisfied even if there are some rather convincing architectural details. on the outside of the enclosure. It is only a stadium, even if Santiago Bernabéu is an enclosure with very original facades, expanded and modified according to the different phases of renovation since 1947.

The forecourt of the stadium is decorated with a few trees and the club bus that transports the players. No stickers on the sides of the bus, it's a shame, two stickers more or less wouldn't have changed much. The name of the stadium and the emblem of the club plated on the pediment of the place are on the other hand stamped, it is always taken. Regarding the fidelity of the reproduction, I think that the designer delivers a very convincing job even if the external walls of Santiago Bernabéu are not so beige, that the four side towers are missing some spirals and that some areas have obviously given him some a hard time with the arrival of techniques that are a little surprising but always interesting to discover.

Once again, die-hard Real Madrid and LEGO fans may be won over by this cumbersome model of the club's home stadium. Some may hesitate to spend the 350 € requested by LEGO on a "souvenir" version of a speaker with a glorious past but already obsolete and it will be in my opinion wise to wait a few months to pay for this derivative product much cheaper than its starting public price or change your mind and finally give up. If this niche product ultimately meets with a simple success of esteem, nothing serious for LEGO, the buzz is made and the marketing department has largely found its account.

This high-end merchandise costs more than a jersey, now it's up to you to see if your love for this club is worth spending such a sum to add this stadium to your shelves. Stadium collectors who now have three different copies will find it difficult to ignore knowing that the range effect is well respected with three models on the same scale which use the same tricks to symbolize, for example, the bleachers, bases matching look and similarly designed stickers.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at March 4, 2022 next at 23pm.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.