The 25 Best Lego Sets for Adults, Because Yes, You Are That Bored
Life got pretty damn dull there for a minute. Or rather, an entire two years. Even the unrelenting stream of terrible news was boring in its own macabre way. What did you do when you were bored as a kid (besides kick pine cones and ignore your beleaguered mother's suggestion to go drink a glass of water if you're hungry, lunch is in an hour)? You pulled out the mega-box of Lego pieces, the one with no blueprints for a finished product, just a million blocks in all sizes, and got to building with the kind of work ethic you have never once managed to channel in your adult life. That killed a few hours.
If you've been out of the Lego loop for the last few decades—growing up will do that—you might be surprised to learn that Lego makes sets specifically for adults, because even with age, the act of creating with small pieces still delights. These sets are less whimsical and more mechanical. They reference adult movies or adult art styles. They will kill a few hours or more, depending on how intense the set you select is. Some get punishingly intense. The Millennium Falcon, for example. That one could cow George Lucas.
These are 13 of the best. Pandemic-based boredom might soon wane, but boredom in general—with our phones, with our thoughts, with our lives—is the human condition. Buying things always gets the adrenaline going. So Legos it is. It's tackle one of these sets, or give kicking pine cones another go. You're a Lego hobbyist now.
1,508 PIECES
Optimus Prime
LEGO
P10,999 AT LEGO
It’s a Lego transformer that actually transforms. If that isn't the future of engineering, I don't know what is.
1,326 PIECES
LEGO Ideas Seinfeld
LEGO
P4,380 AT AMAZON
The classic Seinfeld squad and apartment in Lego form. Now you can reenact all your favorite bits about nothing brick by brick.
3,778 PIECES
Ferrari Daytona SP3
LEGO
P24,999 AT LEGO
One of the coolest, fastest cars out there, built with insane details and plastic mechanics.
2,064 PIECES
Super Mario 64 Question Mark Block
LEGO
P9,312 AT AMAZON
Following the success of the NES set, Lego and Mario are taking us to a minimalistic rendition of scenes from classic platformer Mario 64.
9,036 PIECES
Colosseum
ICONS™
$550 AT LEGO
Just like the actual coliseum, this one's a massive undertaking. With over 9,000 pieces, this is no build for the faint of heart.
802 PIECES
Death Star™ Trash Compactor Diorama
STAR WARS™
P6,299 AT LEGO
Star Wars and Lego are a match made in heaven—hell, these were some of my original Lego sets! Now Legos creates dioramas of some of the most notorious Star Wars scenes, my personal favorite being the Trash compactor.
3,066 PIECES
Boutique Hotel
Adorable, cute, and a monument to boutique architecture. The perfect set for when you want a clean classic Lego set.
2,316 PIECES
Vincent van Gogh - The Starry Night
IDEAS
P10,999 AT LEGO
A brick'd recreation of the classic masterpiece in color and abstraction—complete with a Vincent mini-figure.
731 PIECES
LEGO Adidas Originals Superstar
LEGO
P5,999 AT LEGO
For the sneaker head, or someone who just wants a plastic shoe, this one comes adorned in shoebox packaging with its own display stand.
1,125 PIECES
LEGO Ideas Sonic The Hedgehog
LEGO
P3,835 AT AMAZON
The Blue Blur is making quite the comeback with movies and new games. So it checks out that this recreation of the first eggman fight in Green Hills Zone would make an Lego-fied appearance.
5,509 PIECES
Camp NOU
LEGO
P19,999 AT LEGO
Football Club Fever is at an all-time high here in the States, mainly due to the loveable Ted Lasso (ok, and maybe the upcoming World Cup), so why not build one of the world's most renowned football stadiums in plastic bricks?
508 PIECES
Ghostbusters Ecto-1 21108
The classic ghostbusters in a quick hit 500-piece set. You need it!
2,646 PIECES
Nintendo Entertainment System
Think of the years and fears and tears poured into hours of NES game time in your mom's basement—what a beautiful thing. Lego released a kit that helps you recapture a bit of it.
3,036 PIECES
Tree House
IDEAS
P10,904 AT AMAZON
If the last year didn't give you a deeper appreciation for the earth's natural wonders, then reexamine every aspect of your personality, maybe? But if it did, this extensive tree house kit, whose bricks are made with plant-based polyethylene plastic (as in, they're ecologically sound), will strike a chord.
7,541 PIECES
Ultimate Millennium Falcon
STAR WARS™
$800 AT WALMART
Lego wouldn't exist without Star Wars, and Star Wars wouldn't exist without Lego. The relationship is symbiotic. And this monstrous set is peak Lego Star Wars: more than seven thousand pieces of Millennium Falcon and crew, for an outrageously collectible price. (Get a less-realistic, more Lego-y Millenium Falcon set for a fraction of the price.)
625 PIECES
Boba Fett Helmet
STAR WARS™
P4,500 AT LEGO
If only because Lego's Baby Yoda building set is a bit...babyish. This helmet is some supreme Star Wars nerd shit, but it's not as if Star Wars nerds are few and far between.
962 PIECES
Ship in a Bottle
IDEAS
P5,257 AT AMAZON
There comes a point in every grown human's life when, after suffering countless disappointments and setbacks, they ask themselves, Should I just phone it in and start building ships in bottles? The answer is obviously a resounding "yes." For a low-stakes starting point that won't result in broken glass and splintered wood, look to Lego.
1,295 PIECES
James Bond Aston Martin DB5
CREATOR
P13,615 AT AMAZON
The most iconic car to ever be filmed, Bond's Aston Martin DB5, laden with gadgetry, first appeared in Goldfinger. Recreated in Lego form, it has all the same bells and whistles, down to the ejector seat.
1,077 PIECES
'Fast & Furious' Dodge Charger
TECHNIC
P4,383 AT AMAZON
And then there's the second-most iconic car to ever be filmed: Dom Toretto's 1970 Dodge Charger from Fast and Furious, the dragon-loud muscle car that inspires grown men to live their lives one quarter of a mile at a time, the one that is continually mangled then resurrected throughout the series. Much like its main characters, actually.
1,070 PIECES
Central Perk
IDEAS
P3,549 AT AMAZON
A Lego set to go with the poster of the whole Friends gang sipping milkshakes. You know, the one hanging on your wall right now.
231 PIECES
Women of NASA
LEGO
P2,734 AT AMAZON
It's a big year for space. Perseverance is tearing it up on Mars, Dune and its sandworms will be revived, and long-overlooked Venus is emitting signs of life. Without these women—Sally Ride and Mae Jemison, Nancy Grace Roman, and Margaret Hamilton—we'd know a lot less about it. They make great desk decor, once you're done building.
2,933 PIECES
The Beatles
Half puzzle, half wall art, this set really makes you decide once and for all on the best band member (it's George); there are only enough pieces to construct one of the portraits. Build it, frame it (that's included), hang it on the wall, and get back to debating your dad on whether Rubber Soul or Revolver is the definitive Beatles album.
547 PIECES
Tokyo Skyline
ARCHITECTURE
P3,280 AT AMAZON
Travel's been off the table for a year. However, Lego pieces can be strewn upon it. Lego's Architecture line hops from Paris to London to San Francisco, but Tokyo's got the coolest skyscrapers.
910 PIECES
Dinosaur Fossils
IDEAS
P5,424 AT AMAZON
Old bones to complement your weary ones. Featuring the three coolest dinosaurs, this set is another that you can transition from activity to decor.
294 PIECES
Forma Koi
LEGO
$350 AT EBAY
A couple of years back, Lego experimented with a crowd-funded Forma line of mechanical fish installations. The goal? To help de-stress frenzied adults. The line was retired, but if stress is eating you from the inside out, you can dig around the internet for leftover box sets.
From: Esquire US
