Review: LEGO Architecture 20151 Tokyo Skyline

Today we are quickly interested in the LEGO Architecture set 20151 Tokyo Skyline (547 pieces - 64.99 €), a box that will join at the beginning of 2020 the already long list of panoramas of different cities converted with LEGO sauce. Here it is Tokyo that it is about with some emblematic structures of the Japanese capital, the Tokyo Tower, Gakuen Cocoon Tower mode, the park Chidorigafuchi, a view of shibuya, tower Tokyo skytree and the exhibition center tokyo big sight all placed in front of Mount Fuji with a forced perspective effect.

La Tokyo Tower is quite convincing, we find this red and white Eiffel Tower side of the 333-meter construction visible from all parts of the city, but without the lightness of the structure which is here embodied by solid parts. So we hesitate a bit with Tintin's rocket, but it was undoubtedly difficult to do better on this scale. At the foot of the Tokyo Tower, we find what appears to be the temple of Sensoji, a pagoda surmounted by a golden element. Nothing is specified about this structure in the instruction booklet.

La Gakuen Cocoon Tower Mode is in my opinion a little less successful. The 204-meter-high structure that accommodates several thousand Japanese students is a little more elegant than the LEGO version and the pad-printed pieces with a simple geometric pattern struggle to reproduce the "nest" effect visible on the real building.

Further in the skyline, there are two emblematic places of the Japanese capital: the path of Chidorigafuchi which runs along the moat of the Imperial Palace with its cherry blossoms in spring and the intersection of the Shibuya district, an incredible place that sees thousands of people crossing the street at the same time and in all directions without jostling each other.

Even if you've never been to Japan, you must have seen this place at least once in a movie. I was able to go there during a business trip and it is a strange feeling to find myself in the middle of the flow of people who cross this simple crossing.

The LEGO version obviously does not convey any of these emotions, but the presence of this place in this set is a detail that I particularly appreciate. There are buildings with their colorful signs, giant screens that display advertisements and ground markings that make it easy to recognize the place.

At the end of the display, we find the exhibition center Tokyo Big Sight with the very particular structure of its conference space relatively well reproduced here. Just behind, we install the Tokyo Skytree, a 634 meter high structure whose LEGO version is in my opinion unconvincing.

The metallic mesh which covers the tower is symbolized here by a few flexible tubes too far apart to produce a credible effect. Once again, I am well aware that the scale of these skylines does not allow all the fantasies usually seen on the sets of the Architecture range which only feature a single construction, but I am still a little disappointed .

It's hard for me to criticize the choice of buildings that make up this Tokyo skyline, I don't live there. Everyone will have an opinion on the subject depending on what they may have learned from their visit to the Japanese capital, but from my point of view as an occasional tourist, I think the selection is quite representative of what best symbolizes this city.

I remain a little on my hunger concerning the Gakuen Cocoon Tower Mode and the tower placed to the far right of the model. Mount Fuji, despite its rough finish, brings a bit of depth to the product and helps highlight the two elements that I think are the most successful here: Chidorigafuchi and Shibuya.

Overall, this set is a nice souvenir for those who have already been able to go to Tokyo and who have taken the time to visit the city a little without spending their entire stay in Akihabara ... The district would have deserved to be included in this skyline, with a few micro-buildings adorned with illuminated signs.

Lovers of micro-constructions based on LEGO bricks will also find their account there with a set that offers varied and always ingenious assemblies. Some structures, on the other hand, are a little fragile, but as it is a pure exhibition product that you do not touch after mounting it, this is not very serious.

Note: The set presented here, supplied by LEGO, is as usual in play. Deadline fixed at December 20, 2019 next at 23pm.

Update : The winner was drawn and was notified by email, his nickname is indicated below. Without a response from him to my request for contact details within 5 days, a new winner will be drawn.