LEGO has recently introduced a new line of sets: Book Nooks, which unfold to present scenes from the novels they are based on. The first of these is based on Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes books, and gives us a scene from Baker Street.
The LEGO Icons Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook, set #10351, is a 1,359-piece LEGO set that includes 5 Minifigures. When opened, the set is over 8 in. high, 14.5 in. wide and 2.5 in. deep. Of course, like other book nooks it can be displayed on your bookshelf closed. The set retails for $129.99, and can be purchased at LEGO stores or off of the LEGO webstore.
There are 10 bags of bricks total, as well as an additional base piece, sticker sheet, and instruction book. Given the smaller size of the set compared to what I usually build, there’s a correspondingly smaller instruction book. However, it is still full of information on how the set was developed:
There are some bricks that were screen printed specifically for this set, but nevertheless, there are also some stickers that you will end up applying in the build.
There are some iconic characters, including Sherlock Holmes himself, Dr. Watson, and Moriarty. I appreciated that LEGO added a bit of diversity by making Irene Adler a black woman. As usual, the assembly of the Minifigures is spread out through the build.
In a nod to The Hound of the Baskervilles, Doctor Watson even carries a clue in his briefcase:
As there’s only 10 bags to put together, we’ll just look at all the stages at once:
Here’s the finished set, fully open:
And here’s what it looks like when it’s closed and acting as a book nook:
As you can see, you can arrange the Minifigures so that they fit with each other whether the book nook is in its opened or closed position.
While these won’t show if you have the nook nestled between books on your shelf, there are even book covers that you build for the outside of the nook. The back cover is fairly plain:
But as you can see, the front cover for the book nook is another story:
Besides a plethora of Sherlock Holmes Easter eggs throughout the build, there are also a couple of hidden features. Turning one of the chimneys raises a secret door, revealing Moriarty!
Opening one of the upstairs balconies reveals Sherlock Holmes’ study, complete with his Stradivarius violin.
As the first of their new book nooks, LEGO really hit it out of the park with Sherlock Holmes. It manages to pack in a ton of details while still roughly maintaining the same size and shape as popular craft book nook kits. And as opposed to those kits, this LEGO set can open up into a display form so that you can enjoy the interactive features! That said, like many other Icons sets, the Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook is more suited for display than for play. Of course, the 18+ rating already tends to suggest that.
The build was a lot of fun, especially discovering the hidden features during the build. The engineering of the set works very well, as it’s effortless to operate those features. The nook itself opens and closes with ease. And with 10 bags, this is definitely a set that you can accomplish in a long, lazy afternoon, or spread it out over a few days if you want to take your time.
After building the LEGO Icons Sherlock Holmes: Book Nook, I’m definitely excited for future book nook sets. This one was so thematic and dynamic, LEGO has already set themselves a high bar. But I’m confident they can rise to the challenge.
Disclosure: LEGO sent me a set for evaluation, but had no input into this review.
Source: geekdad.com