Statue of Liberty (21042) - Unveiling

As you may have guessed from the title, our next build is the Statue of Liberty! Thanks so much to Dave for this set. As we were working on the James Bond DB5 for him, he went on vacation to New York and was kind enough to pick this set up as a momento for us.

It's the first Architecture set that we have ever built and definitely an iconic one. At 1685 pieces, it's one of the smaller sets we have done.

Thus far, the build has gone very smoothly. After all the moving parts of the James Bond car, that isn't a surprise! I think this is a good breather for the intense concentration that was needed for that set!

We managed to get a lot of the foundation done over the weekend. The detailing is true to form and looks true to form.

The interior of the base is hollow, which will cut down on the finished weight of the set. I also appreciate the use of some colors with the internal pieces. The colors definitely help you to locate where additional pieces need to go and overall makes the build easier.

James Bond DB5 (10262) - Final Thoughts

Well, with the completion of the build comes time for reflection. Lego did a great job with this set. Visually, it looks very close to the real life version of the car. And the little tricks and gimmicks they included were well executed and true to the movies.

My favorite of the features has to be the ejection seat - the mechanics were cleverly integrated into the vehicle and work so smoothly. The seat gets some very impressive air when launched - it had to be at least a foot of travel.

Other neat gadgets include the extendable bullet shield, the hidden machine guns that rotate in and out with the running lights and the rotating license plate holders. I was also very impressed with the detail in the engine of the car.

If there is something I need to pick on as a critique, it is that the retractable roof segment does not sit perfectly flush with the rest of the roof. So, if you know what you are looking for, it's quite evident that there is something going on there. You can see in the picture below that there is a square that seems to be slightly elevated from the roof.

Aside from that though, this build is spot on. It's full of interesting gadgets and features and it is a MUST HAVE for any James Bond fan. Be aware that novice builders may have difficulty though. Lego wasn't joking around when they classified this as an expert set. As with many other builds that have a lot of moving parts, some portions of the build are tricky and if you aren't paying complete attention, it is very easy to miss something only to realize it later and have a lengthy fix ahead of you.

James Bond DB5 (10262) - Off the assembly line and ready for action!

This weekend proved to be a productive one as we finished off the James Bond DB5. I presented it to Dave not too long ago and he was thoroughly pleased with it!

Lego certainly saved the best for last as we got to build (and play with) the ejection seat. It launches the seat an impressive distance into the air! It's also very easy to reload the seat and reset the roof for the next unfortunate passenger.

A significant portion of the roof folds away, leaving lots of room for the seat and its occupant to take a little ride. The mechanics are very fluid - pulling back on the activation lever (which is cleverly hidden as part of the bumper) retracts the roof while pushing it back into position launches the seat into the air.

We also installed the tire shredders onto one side of the vehicle - they sure do look menacing!

This is going to look great on display at Dave's house. I can't wait to see pictures of it on his TV stand!

And Dave, remember that if you ever decide to expand your Lego collection in any way, we are happy to help you out! Tell your friends!