Review : LEGO Ideas 21333 The Starry Night

Today we are quickly interested in the content of a novelty in the LEGO Ideas range, the set 21333 The Starry Night, which will be available as a VIP preview from May 25, 2022 at the retail price of €169.99. No need to be an enlightened art lover to recognize the subject treated in this box of 2316 pieces, it is an interpretation of the famous painting The Starry Night (The Starry Night) painted by Vincent Van Gogh in 1889 during of his passage to the asylum of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. The work has been exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York since 1941.

The set is inspired by the project Vincent Van Gogh: The Starry Night submitted by legotruman (Truman Cheng) on ​​the LEGO Ideas platform, validated by 10.000 supporters and definitively approved by LEGO in February 2021. It was obviously reworked by a brand designer to lead to the product which will be available on the shelves of the official store.

The selection of this rather original creation corresponds perfectly with LEGO's ambitions in terms of seducing the adult public who occasionally like to assemble a few bricks: It's art in LEGO sauce and the object can be displayed on the dresser of the living room without looking like an adult who still "plays" with his ships and other LEGO trucks.

The manufacturer has retained the aesthetic bias of the carrier of the initial project with a table that gains in depth thanks to a beautiful 3D effect. We therefore leave here the usual diverse and varied mosaics which even if they are gathered in the range entitled "LEGO ART" have nothing really artistic apart from the fact that they reproduce photos, objects or known characters.

We cannot blame LEGO for having distorted the reference creation, the designer who took over the file in hand strictly respected all the intentions of the creator. Only the background of the sky is flat, everything else from the cypresses to the swirls of the sky passing by the stars and the village with its lights is in relief. The creation goes out of the frame and takes on volume, it's successful if you consider that it was the intended objective.

LEGO provides a minifig of the painter with an easel that features a reproduction of the reference painting. One might wonder if these elements were really necessary, but the manufacturer has found how to integrate them effectively into the overall volume via a small remote platform.

It is nicely executed and the presence of this minifig changes the whole perception of the construction: the painting is not one, it is the real starry night seen by the painter from his room which is proposed to us. The resulting work is therefore on the white plate placed on the easel.

The assembly of the product is not what one would call "relaxing" and that's LEGO's fault. Beyond the relative complexity of the construction, it is especially the instruction booklet that spoils the pleasure with a big problem of colors: we do not really find the different shades of blue and green over the pages and the confusion inevitably arises at certain stages.

You have to go by deduction to use the right pieces in certain places and get the desired result. Since it is a question here of stacking layers of parts, it is better to be vigilant not to have to dismantle several rows of elements in order to correct a possible inversion of parts. Take my word for it.

In the end, I found the assembly phase really laborious and it was the pleasure of finally being able to observe the finished product that allowed me to forgive the technical errors of the manufacturer and the impression of working on the assembly line for hours. .

The construction needs to be seen from a certain distance to have its small effect. Up close, however, only the cypress and the spiral in the sky seem a bit crude to me, the rest can be seen as an artistic interpretation of the reference work. The tree clearly protruding from the frame, you will have to be careful not to catch a branch when moving the object to find the right place for it.

The micro-village is successful, we take pleasure in discovering the different techniques used to create the houses with their colored roofs or the church with its bell tower. For the rest, it's stacking of parts without much interest which only makes sense when the last page of the instruction booklet is turned.

The frame is also very successful, it is thick and its design gives it a truly stunning appearance. It would almost be mistaken for a real one. Only regret: many black parts are marked or a little scratched and it's a shame on a high-end exhibit.

The minifig is also very convincing, LEGO did not skimp on the pad printing so that the tribute to Van Gogh is up to par. Since the character is accompanied by his pad-printed work on a plate itself placed on an easel, it will be possible to dissociate the main construction from the rest and to exhibit the two sets separately: the painting on the wall, the painter with his easel on the corner of a desk.

You understood it thanks to the photos that I propose to you, we assemble the creation itself and then slide it into a frame, or a window, which gives it character and which allows you to install this 3D painting on the wall. On the back of the object there is the hook usually supplied with the mosaics of the LEGO ART range, the finish is really very correct with two studs which allow the painting to be kept perfectly vertical.

It will also be possible to exhibit the painting on a piece of furniture, it is stabilized by a crutch placed on the junction between the frame and the platform which accommodates Van Gogh and his easel. There are no stickers in this box, so you get a few nicely pad-printed pieces to embody the stars and the moon.

I have long wondered if LEGO would manage to get by with the selection of such an atypical and complex project, I must admit that I find the "official" version of the product both very successful and respectful of the original creation of reference. This is far from always the case in the LEGO Ideas range.

This product should meet at least a success of esteem, it will only really appeal to those who are sensitive to the work of Van Gogh or collectors who strive to collect all the products marketed under the LEGO Ideas banner. This is not my case, but I think that many art lovers, not necessarily LEGO fans, should largely find their account there even if the set will probably not work miracles in terms of sales volume .

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at 27th May 2022 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate.

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