Subject:
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Review: 10152 Maersk Ship
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Newsgroups:
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lugnet.reviews
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Date:
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Thu, 17 Jun 2004 06:50:13 GMT
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Viewed:
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10156 times
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LEGO Set Review Form V2.4
created by Joshua Delahunty (Internet: dulcaoin@alumni.cse.ucsc.edu)
10152
Promotional / Maersk
Maersk Sealand
Ages 8+, 988 Pcs. (C)2004. 55 page manual: 1 models, 53 steps.
Price Range: $74.99 USD
RATINGS (Scale: Must-Have Excellent Very-Good Good Fair Poor)
Set: EXCELLENT. / Models: MUST-HAVE. / Playability: FAIR.
DECALS? Yes, Attractive, Covers-Multiple-Bricks
SPECIAL FEATURES/COMPATIBILITY
None.
SET DESCRIPTION
10152 is a large model of an ocean going container ship. Built in the colours
of the Maersk Sealand service, 10152 has three major colours: The famous Maersk
blue, an unusual tone of light blue with turquoise tinge; dark red for the base
of the hull; brown for decking; and grey for a bevy of cargo containers. Accent
colours include white, orange and black.
The set is unusual in that it appears to be somewhat of a realistic model but
isn't exactly to scale: Like normal Lego sets, it attempts to capture a "sense"
of the real thing by including key elements of a real cargo ship, yet is still a
cariacture in terms of true scale.
The model is constructed of normal elements including a number of slopes, basic
bricks, tiles and plates. A number of "naval" theme elements such as "Boat
Window" bridge pieces, porthole/airplane windows and spools are included.
Note: Set 10152 may return in a non Maersk colour scheme in the future.
SPECIAL ELEMENTS
-Several elements in "Maersk Blue"
-2x Boat Window 2x8x2
IMPRESSION
Lego promotional sets have been always appreciated by enthusiasts for their
quality models, selection of pieces and to some degree, their rarity.
Promotional sets are those designed and produced by Lego for a corporate
customer, sometimes in joint promotion (such as McDonalds or Kabaya),
travel/duty free (a number of ferries and airlines) or for private corporate
promotion. The latter category includes many Danish companies including the
Velux, a maker of skylights and Maersk, an international shipping conglomerate.
Access to any of the promotional sets has always been limited, in part due to
geographic location (ie, not everyone frequents some Scandinavian ferry) or
because they are not for public consumption, intended for a company's key
customers as gifts. Maersk sets seem to be quite prized, perhaps because they
contain an unusual colour of bricks that corresponds to the company's own
livery.
Without a doubt, when news of a new Maersk promotional set was announced,
enthusiasts hoped they'd have access to such a set. Fortunately, Lego Direct
offered 10152 to the public through Lego Shop at Home, allowing us a rare chance
to get very different set.
Let me take a minute to get academic. Three key axes may be used to describe a
taxonomy of Lego model sets: Detail, prototype and scale. Model Team has
always been detailed, but they were always cariactures of the real objects they
represented, using unusual colours or detailing only certain features and
representing a swath of different prototypes in a single generic model. The
Statue of Liberty, Sopwith/Baron airplane models and Santa Fe both aim to copy
real world prototypes including their colour schemes. Yet the Liberty figure
and airplanes plus the Star Destroyer aim to achieve some sort of realistic
scale, while the Santa Fe locomotive follows the unusually tall yet not wide
enough scale of Lego Trains.
The 10152 is unusual in that it has great detail, is based on a real world
prototype, but is not scaled accurately. Perhaps because the subject itself is
huge, realistic scale could not be achieved. But when you look at it, the ship
should be probably twice as large given the same sized containers.
It's really a unique set and eye catching, because it's a model of something
real. It transcends the notion that Lego is a toy, but a modelling medium. Of
course, enthusiasts have known this for years. Train fans have been building
"prototypical" engines for the longest time with such masters as Holger Matthes
and James Mathis. But it's different to see it from Lego as an official set,
especially on a subject matter that is industrial and non-traditional for toys.
Set Rating
EXCELLENT. In the vein of Model Team and Designer sets, 10152 has a beautiful selection of useful pieces that are perfectly saddled between basic bricks and single purpose bricks. They are the handy pieces that are good for building anything, from architecture to spacecraft.
Model Rating
MUST-HAVE. The model is extremely well done and quite attractive. If anything,
it is unique for its "serious" portrayal of a cargo ship minus play elements.
It looks nice as a display piece.
Playability Rating
FAIR. It's hard to call such a set "playable". While some provisions have been
made for playing, such as smooth carpet glides on the bottom of the flat hull or
removable container platforms, it's not the kind of set one would call a fun
toy. Its goal appears to be more of a display piece.
Likes/Dislikes
The only dislike I have of this set was the price, and at that, it was quite
reasonable at $75 USD. Even though at $130 Canadian it was expensive, it was
well worth it.
Scale
Something smaller that minifigure scale. However, the model is not uniformly
scaled. Parts appear at double the scale needed in some areas of the ship.
Errors
None found.
Extra Elements
Typical 1x1 round flat lights.
CONCLUSION
Yes. Highly recommended for enthusiasts, but not recommended as a gift to non
AFOLs.
REVIEWER INFORMATION
Review Written: June 17th, 2004
By: Calum Tsang, tsangc@mie.utoronto.ca
Age 27 Favorite Lines/Themes: Train, Town, Boats, Technic/Dacta/Mindstorms
I tend to buy these types of sets as display pieces.
COPYRIGHT
This review is Copyright 2004 by the author as named above. The
author grants publication rights for all uses, public and private,
with the following exceptions: all information in the document must
be published in full; any for-profit use requires express written
permission by the author for publication in full or in part.
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