best lego yacht

The Howorths

The Lego Superyacht

Who knew that fans of Lego in Belgium and Holland had their own version of the Great British LegoMasters a TV reality show in which teams compete to build the best Lego project?

Now, thanks to Heesen the Dutch based superyacht builder the whole world does!

Rather cleverly, and in a bid to promote their, off the peg speculative builds, the PR and Marketing team have pulled off another masterstroke by laying what might be the ultimate Lego builders challenge.

Heesen loves challenges. While they are currently busy building one of the world’s largest and fastest full-aluminium motor yachts the 80-metre Project Cosmos they wondered if it would be possible to recreate her using Lego bricks.

Since the shipyards engineers and craftsmen are more used to dealing with lightweight aluminium, they instead challenged the two finalist teams from the Dutch-Belgian television show called Lego Masters.

Recreating the company’s flagship yacht using only Lego bricks proved to be almost as challenging and spectacular as building the real thing.

To be able to include actual LEGO® Minifigures (commonly referred to as minifigs) on board, the scale needed to be 1:42, which means the models they had to build were nearly two metres long

With Hessen throwing down the gauntlet down, it was left to two teams of Lego nuts to pick it up.

Two teams shape up

Martijn Brinkman and Jos van Uum (both 21) from the Netherlands made television history on Lego Masters with their gigantic red dragon. But both claim that building Cosmos is their biggest challenge yet. Visiting the real deal at the shipyard was a great inspiration for the team from Deventer. They transformed their living room table into a drydock and used 12,000 bricks to recreate the largest Heesen yacht to date.

Björn Ramant (40) and Corneel Clarys (22) from Belgium impressed millions of Lego fans with their creations on Lego Masters. But the challenge of building the first ever superyacht in Lego stunned even these pros, especially when they toured Project Cosmos and saw the size and complex lines of the yacht in real life. 

“We had to get those curves right, because that’s what makes the yacht unique.” 

In the end, it took 150 hours to digitally design the yacht in BrickLink Studio and another 60 hours to build it.

Discover, Vote, Win

Which team did the best job?  Well that is for you to decide.  Whether you are a Lego fan, a Heesen aficionado, a smart engineer or all of these together, you now have the opportunity to discover these amazing creations and vote for your favourite.

Enter the website cast your vote and you could win an exclusive Heesen LEGO® Fan Package!

What have you got to loose?

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The Brothers Brick

World's no. 1 source for lego news, reviews, and fan creations., tag archives: yacht, in the lap of lego luxury.

Sometimes owning a mega-yacht just isn’t enough. It turns out the owners of this particular M/Y Dytan also wanted a LEGO model of their luxurious ocean cruiser. Thankfully, Arjan Oude Kotte has a certain set of skills that make jetsetters dreams even more dreamy than they already are. This 1/68 scale model is 110cm long and 27 cm wide. Arjan tells us the original 74m Dytan yacht was built in 2012 by Nobiskrug. She features an exterior design by Reymond Langton and an interior by Reymond Langton and Mark Berryman. She cruises at 12 knots and reaches a top speed of 14.0 knots. She can sleep up to 12 guests taken care of by a crew of 21.

The main image looks a bit render-ish, which it is, but here is a secondary shot of the impressive brick-built model within the context of a real-life LEGO workspace.

If being on a boat is your jam, then navigate on over to see another large oceangoing vessel by the same builder.

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Yacht else do you want from a LEGO build?

Apparently, Ed Diment doesn’t JUST build 22-foot LEGO aircraft carriers . He also makes yachts, like this one titled “Moonlight.” Ed told one follower that this was a passion build for him, and it shows. The rigging immediately draws focus, from the size to the taut roping, and the limited colors of the yacht play off each other well without becoming dull.

One element that helps this LEGO creation stand out from its peers is that Ed doesn’t just focus on the yacht itself. He includes several minifigures throughout the yacht, letting mini-stories play out from helm to stern.

On a fun note, our own Ralph Savlesberg helped build the stand that was used for the LEGO yacht. The lettering here is really well done; it looks fluid and contrasts nicely with the black.

A hull of a pair of pleasure boats

At first glance, it is easy to mistake these two boats by ER0L as wooden or plastic models, rather than LEGO creations. In part, this is due to the impressively constructed curved hulls, which is not the easiest thing to do. However, building a memorable LEGO boat is about more than just smooth curves. The smallest detail can make a big impact. One such detail on the larger Sirius is the white rubber band used as a hatch seal. With the smaller Mona , the use of some older hinge plates to line the inside of the rear compartment is genius.

I’m on a boat!

Are you aware that a hedge fund has nothing to do with shrubbery? Do you use the word “summer” as a verb? Have you ever summered in the French Riviera? Do you lack the ability and the know-how to change the channel on your theater sized TV because you have people do that for you? Does your walk-in closet have a heated swimming pool? Then you, my new friend, are a billionaire and you might be quite familiar with the super yacht. You know, for when a regular yacht just won’t do! I don’t know if Arjan Oude Kotte has a super yacht in real life, but it is a sure bet that he, if nothing else, has a massive LEGO collection. This model of an M/Y Scout Super Yacht is more than 48 inches long (123cm) and is built from roughly 14,000 pieces.

Here is a video of the undertaking. My favorite detail is this handsome minifigure enjoying a beverage on the aft deck proving, once and for all, that rich people do it better. All kidding aside, I strongly encourage you to check out the rest of Arjan’s work, as he is no stranger to building intricately detailed models of ships and boats. Now where did I leave my Henri IV Dudognon Heritage Cognac Grande Champagne?

A sailor’s paradise

What better way to relive that perfect holiday than to recreate it in LEGO! Paul Trach has the right idea, building this stunning Dufour 520 Grand Large yacht bobbing on an azure Caribbean sea. The gradients of blue, created by layering trans-blue tiles over suitably selected black and grey plates, evoke the Antiguan paradise perfectly.

The yacth is a beauty too, sleek and elegant, and filled with accurate nautical details. Check out its beautifully laid timber deck, splendidly precise sail and rigging, and plate thin hull. All that’s left to do is kick back and enjoy the scene.

Sail the seas in style with this classic 1926 yacht

The 1920s witnessed the birth of some beautiful boats, such as the  Olmaha , built by J.M. Martinac of Washington state in 1926. Markus Ronge has artfully recreated this classic yacht with impeccable detail, complete with convincing curves from bow to stern. In the cabin, 2×2 “crate” pieces have been used to great effect and give off the impression of ornate woodworking. The surrounding waves feel organic, and I love the way Markus has used white bricks to form the ship’s wake.

When not in the water, Markus props the Olamaha up to show off its bright red hull.

7 Cool LEGO® Ship Sets Everyone Must Have

LEGO®, the popular line of construction toys consisting of interlocking plastic bricks (Also called “LEGO® bricks”) that can be assembled and connected in many ways, has drastically expanded its fan base over the last few decades.

Though the initial thoughts of LEGO® indicate a favourite pass time for kids, the rapidly expanding “LEGO® Universe” clearly states that the LEGO®s are not just for kids.

Many adults are being pulled in by the addictive LEGO® sets, which have become so famous among older people that some fans say adults spend more than kids and account for almost half or more revenue at the LEGO® stores.

The sheer joy of building attracts adults and kids to these massively popular construction toys, which are now available in various themes, ranging from cities to trains to robots. Nothing is hardly left that has to be converted into a LEGO® set.

If you are from the shipping industry or have an infatuation for floating structures and a particular liking towards LEGO®, there are some super-interesting LEGO® sets that you must check out.

They are not just for kids but a great hobby during your free time on ships or during breaks at home.

Let’s take a look at each of these excellent LEGO ® ship sets:

1. maersk triple-e container ship lego® set.

This is one of the finest ship-themed LEGO® sets in the market today, featuring one of the world’s largest container ships – Maersk Triple E. Built from over 1,500 bricks, the model recreates the actual vessel in great detail.

The set includes rare colours such as dark red, sand blue and sand green. There are rotating gold-coloured screw blades leading to the brick-built twin propeller engines, which you can view through the window built into the ship’s port side. You can even customise it by adding or removing the containers.

This authentic set includes a display stand and fact plaque with detailed information about the ship, and, as a finishing touch, there’s the gold coin that is added under the mast of all Maersk Line ships for good luck on their voyages. This model is perfect for LEGO® fans!

• Build the famous Maersk Triple-E (EEE) container ship in Lego form
• At 25 inch (65cm) in length, the final model will impress you and your guests alike
• Features include rotating gold-colored propeller blades, brick-built twin 8-cylinder engines, viewing window into the engine compartment, adjustable rudders, detachable lifeboats, removable containers, rotating crane arms and a special ‘good luck’ coin
• Includes rare medium azur, dark red, sand blue and sand green colored elements

2. LEGO® City- Port

Create a port, crane, and floating ship with this great LEGO® set. Includes two containers, pallet, cargo truck, speed boat, captain, fisherman, three worker mini-figures and many accessories!

In this LEGO ® set, you can use the massive pier crane and cargo truck to empty the cargo ship and prepare it for its next destination. The cargo ship floats and measures 23″ (58 cm) long. You can also raise and lower the ship’s anchor. The crane is over 19″ (48 cm) tall and spins 360 degrees. Crane’s arm moves side to side and up and down. Raise and lower the crane’s hook to load and unload containers.

3. LEGO® Ice Breaker Ship

This solid LEGO® icebreaker set includes seven mini-figures with accessories: 4 explorers, a captain, a pilot and a scientist.

The Icebreaker features an anchor with winch and chain, a snow scooter, a removable bridge with a steering wheel, windows and steps, two bunk beds, movable ladders, two cargo containers with equipment and a helipad.

The helicopter features a cockpit for a mini-figure, turning rotors, turning the rear propeller and a winch function. Explorer’s base features an opening door and walls, radar and antenna, laboratory with a desk, microscope, fridge, bed, computer and ladder.

This is an excellent set for all LEGO® lovers.

• We will ship from Tokyo, Japan
• It will take 10 to 17 business days as your goods arrive since your payment.

4. Maersk Sealand Container Ship

Maersk container ships are favourite among LEGO® designers (Probably also because LEGO ® and Maersk are from Denmark). If you are a fan of the world’s number one shipping company and its container vessels, then get on the journey to build one of the most accurately detailed freighters among LEGO® sets with 990 pieces.

• Measures 27 inches long when completed

5. LEGO® Pirates Flagship

Want to go back in history and build those magnificent ships with sails? Here’s the perfect LEGO® set for you.

This excellent LEGO® set of the pirate theme includes a ship’s captain, his daughter, a pirate captain prisoner with shackles, the ship’s cook, a lieutenant, and four soldiers; the amazingly detailed and realistic ship features three removable sections.

The ship’s main hull contains four firing cannons, ammunition crates, muskets, torches, cannonballs, a prison with a rat, a saw shark mini-figurehead, a moving rudder and a fully-equipped ship’s kitchen with fish, turkey legs and a carrot.

This is a highly detailed ship and a must-have for all LEGO® fans.

• Includes 9 minifigures: The ship's captain, his daughter, a pirate captain prisoner with shackles, the ship's cook, a lieutenant, and 4 soldiers; amazingly detailed and realistic ship features 3 removable sections
• Main hull contains 4 firing cannons, ammunition crates, muskets, torches, cannonballs, prison with a rat, saw shark minifigurehead, a moving rudder and a fully-equipped ship?s kitchen with fish, turkey legs and a carrot
• Raise and lower the working anchor; open the front deck's working doors and play inside; Imperial Flagship is equipped with masts and rigging
• Open the back house deck's doors to reveal the captain?s chambers complete with a map, poison bottle, organ and even a treasure chest filled with jewels and gold; features 6 opening windows, a telescope and sextant as well as 3 deck lanterns
• 1,664 pieces

6. LEGO® Transport Ferry

Make your LEGO® ferry and load it up with vehicles using the working back ramp to transport your cargo safely across the sea.

Also, use the geared lever to open the front doors and unload at your distant destination. Turn the gear to lower the ramp to drive the car onto the ferry and then raise the ramp to set sail.

Unlatch the front doors, turn the gear to open the doors, and drive the car off the ferry. A ferry is on wheels so that it can move in any direction—this is an adorable set with some great details.

• Includes instructions to rebuild into a transport hovercraft or a cargo plane
• Includes a car with trailer attached to load onto the ferry
• Unlatch the front doors, turn the gear to open the doors, and drive the car off of the ferry
• The ferry is on wheels to move it in any direction and measures 16" (41cm) long and 5" (13cm) wide
• Contains 1,279 pieces

7. LEGO® Coast Guard Patrol

Build the ultimate Coast Guard Patrol boat with this LEGO® set. Launch the submarine and helicopter from the boat and rescue people with the life preservers.

The set includes three sharks and six mini-figures with accessories:

Pilot, captain, crew member, rescuer, man and woman. It also consists of a dog, crab, two life preservers, two life jackets, a walkie-talkie, a hat with headphones and ice cream.

This is a great LEGO® Set to Have Fun with.

• Features 2 water cannons, submarine launcher and radio antenna, helicopter, submarine, dinghy, lighthouse with rocks and 3 sharks
• Accessories include a dog, crab, 2 life preservers, 2 life jackets, walkie-talkie, hat with headphones and an ice cream
• Coast Guard Patrol boat and dinghy really float; deploy the submarine with a turning propeller; submarine measures over 1" high, 3" long, 2" wide
• Lighthouse with rocks measures 6" high, 5" wide, 2" long; dinghy measures 2" high, 7" long, 3" wide; shark measures 2" long, 1" wide, approx. 1" high
• Coast Guard Patrol Boat measures over 7" high, 15" long, 3" wide; helicopter measures over 2" high, 6" long, 2" wide

LEGO® Cruise Ship

Many great LEGO® Ship sets are still not in the market for consumers, especially those based on the LEGO® Cruise Ship theme. However, a few cruise ship companies and individuals have made their cruise ship LEGO® sets.

In 2018, the world’s largest LEGO ® cruise ship was made by Dream Cruises to mark the launch of its new World Dream Ship. The LEGO ® cruise ship model was constructed using more than 2.5 million LEGO ® blocks that weighed over 2,800 kg and measured 8.44 m (27.7 ft) long, 1.33 m (4.36 ft) wide and 1.53 m (5 ft) tall. Click here to learn about the most extensive  LEGO ® cruise ship set. 

Similarly, in 2015, Cunard Lines made the then-largest LEGO ® cruise ship model of the famous Queen Mary Ship. The project took four professional LEGO ® builders over 250,000 LEGO ® bricks and almost four months to complete.

The Cruise ship set was set in the Shipyard and was surrounded by Bright Brick building stations where children and LEGO ® enthusiasts could make their version of the ship or anything else that comes to mind.

Additional LEGO ® Ship Sets:

1. lego ® movie metal beard’s sea cow.

• Steer the ship with the mini MetalBeard with sword and treasure chest! Rotate the giant side turbines! Fire the cannons to fend off attackers!
• Open the top to access the captain's cabin and check out the maps, treasure chest, MetalBeard portrait and more!
• Watch The LEGO Movie to see all your favorite characters in action! MetalBeard's Sea Cow measures over 22" high, 24" long and 7" wide
• The Micro Manager (large) measures over 3" high, 4" long and 4" wide. The Micro Manager measures over 1" high, 2" long and 1" wide
• Mini MetalBeard measures over 4" high, 5" deep, and 5" wide. Double-decker couch measures over 3" high, 3" wide and less than 1" long

2. Seawolf Submarine

Do you know any other interesting LEGO ® set with a ship theme that can be added to this list?

Let’s know in the comments below.

References and Image Credits: Amazon

Disclaimer: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning we get a small commission if you purchase through our links at no additional cost. You can read our full disclaimer here.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. do the lego city boats float.

The LEGO City Speed Boat Transporter set has an excellent truck and a boat that can float. It is a fabulous building set for kids who love ships.

2. What is the largest LEGO boat set?

3. what is the biggest lego pirate ship.

The Skull’s Eye Schooner is LEGO’s most giant pirate vessel ever constructed. It has everything a person can ask for. The 912-piece set is quite extensive and very detailed. It has six cannons, a captain’s cabin and nine mini-figures.

4. Which Cruise Line has a partnership with LEGO?

MSC Cruises is the only Cruise Company that has LEGO play areas on its ships, allowing passengers to play with free bricks and all LEGO equipment. The Sailor Walk About is LEGO’s official mascot onboard the cruise ships.

5. Why does LEGO retire its sets so frequently?

To keep the company’s brand image and values high, LEGO has to develop unique designs every year, as repeating the same old structures would get boring, and even the sales would go down. Hence, LEGO comes with new and exciting sets each year.

We earn a commission if you make a purchase through an affiliate link, at no additional cost to you.

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About Author

Raunek Kantharia is a marine engineer turned maritime writer and entrepreneur. After a brief stint at the sea, he founded Marine Insight in 2010. Apart from managing Marine Insight, he also writes for a number of maritime magazines and websites.

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One comment.

Both the Seawolf Submarine and the US Navy Aircraft carrier are megablocks and not LEGO! Besides that the pirateship shows a picture of the Imperial Flagship.

If you want more interesting ships check out the History LEGO has with Maersk. They first created the Regina Maersk in 1959 as agive-away to retailers (this have not been seen for sale for ages). Next in 1974 they released their for Maersk container liner ship (lego id 1650). Followed indeed in 2004 and 2005 by the 10152 Maersk sealand container schip. In 2006 the same 10152 was released but now with the name Mearsk Line on the side of the ship instead of Maersk Sealand. In 2011 the same ship was released under a different Lego ID nr (10155, as shown in the article above). The latest one is indeed the Maersk Triple-E (legoID 10241).

Drop me a line if you want more info or pictures.

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The Best Lego Sets for All Ages, According to Lego People

Lego sets — from the smaller kinds for kids to the far more intricate (and expensive) ones for adult builders — have deservedly ascended to the pantheon of classic toys that will never go out of style. Anyone who played with the colorful blocks as a youngster knows what makes them particularly appealing: Hours can pass as you follow each step to complete a set, or just get imaginative and create a Lego-scape of very own. But a number of older fans we spoke with told us that Legos have a unique appeal for adults who want to relax and unplug, too. “They have been a lovely way to just sit, focus, and chat, away from screens and other distractions,” says Canadian government analyst Stephen J. MacDonald.

MacDonald is one of multiple Lego fans — who range in age from 5 years old to 50-plus — that we talked to (some, via their parents) about their favorite sets. While all of our Lego fans’ picks would generally be appropriate for builders of any age beyond toddlerhood, we’ve categorized them based on whether they come recommended for kids or adults because, according to Anna Golson, editor of Lego blog TheBrickBlogger , “while kids and adults may be interested in the same Lego sets and themes, their way of enjoying the hobby is usually different.” Specifically, children play with Legos, she says, while adults are “more focused on the challenging building techniques, the accuracy of the models compared to their real-life counterparts, and their display value.” (We’ve noted Lego’s suggested age range for each set next to its name, too, for anyone who wants to heed those suggestions.)

The Best Lego Sets for Kids

While they admit they aren’t parents themselves (yet), two of our Lego people say that kids they know have really taken to the brand’s “Friends” line, which refers not to the television series but to the five Lego friends that the settings are built for. The sets in the series feature “lifestyle scenes from sports games to school classes, camping , and volunteering,” according to Golson, and all come with humanlike figurines that kids can move around the sets once they’ve finished building them. This magical treehouse is a favorite of multiple Lego fans, including Smith College student Kira Seshaiah, music teacher Liz Aleksander, and Women’s Brick Initiative director Megan Lum. “There’s a lot going on: It’s got several different floors, a wind power generator, an elevator. It’s super fun and has lots of play value, and it looks great on display,” Lum says. “It’s probably the most fun I’ve had building a set this year.”

Like many toys these days, Legos are not only found in boxes but on big and small screens alike. Lego Ninjago is a television series that Variety editor-at-large Kate Aurthur told us was the “gateway drug” for her 9- and 7-year-old sons’ obsession with the physical blocks themselves. Golson shared similar sentiments, explaining that “Ninjago is one of the most popular Lego themes for kids today.” If you know any children who have watched the show, this particular set is based on a dragon they’ll recognize from the series.

Golson recommends this set — which is based on the workings of an ocean-rescue center and was designed in collaboration with National Geographic — for any animal - or ocean-loving children. Another from the Friends series, the set’s more than 600 pieces are used to build a rescue boat, lighthouse, sea lions, dolphins, a coral reef, and more. It also includes two different figurines to use within the landscape when complete.

Mother and life-insurance administrator Rebecca Stevens admits that “this isn’t the biggest or flashiest Lego creation,” but promises that “it has staying power for the beginning builder, and takes approximately 30 minutes with the help of an adult.” Stevens adds that her 5-year-old “doesn’t build often from sets, but really enjoyed this one.” Because the boat comes mostly in one piece, the builder only needs to assemble the top, she says, making it “not too frustrating” for first-timers. Stevens adds that once assembled, its various parts (such as the boat, shark, and buried treasure) can all be used in free play. “Using this set, our figures have had boat races, diving missions, pirate adventures, and many close calls with the shark,” she says.

Financial analyst Ramya Dwarapu told us she bought her 5-year-old daughter this set as a reward for doing well at school — and though she expected that she would have to build parts of it for her daughter, Dwarapu reports that “surprisingly, she did it herself with minimal help, thanks to the excellent instruction book.” Dwarapu adds that since her daughter finished it (in about 30 minutes), she has been role-playing with the set, “selling and buying ice creams, driving, skateboarding, and petting the dog that came with it.”

If you’re looking for more budget-friendly options, Lego’s Creator 3-in-1 sets, which allow you to build three different scenes using the same pieces, are great for providing as much bang for your buck as possible. Customer service representative Stephanie Regan picked up this ocean-themed set for her 8-year-old son Andrew because she was drawn to its bright colors. “Back when I was a kid, Legos just came in the primary colors, but now there’s hundreds,” Regan says. “This one has all the blues, the greens, the pinks.” The set has three potential scenes: a dolphin and a turtle, a seahorse and a sea snail, and a fish and a crab, and Andrew was eager to build all of them. “There weren’t that many blocks, so I think he was trying to figure out how it was possible to come up with three different configurations,” she says.

Another “bang for your buck” build is this sleek race plane from the Technic line, which focuses on creating more advanced models that come with complex technical functions. Choral director Liz Puleo received it in a giveaway and called it “the coolest little set for ten bucks… I was blown away.” Its intricate design allows the plane propeller to spin and the wings to fold in and out, but it’s still held up after her 9-year-old son played with it. “No one’s talking about these little Technic sets, but I thought it was so cool. I think it’s one of Lego’s unsung heroes,” Puleo declares.

The open-ended Bricks and Functions set is a bit different from the sets above, in that the pieces don’t fit together to form one complete model; instead, it comes with an assortment of pieces that encourages kids to use their imaginations to free-build whatever they can think of. Erin Laundry, a contestant on Season 3 of Lego Masters , likes it because “it has so many gear pieces, and it also has some very basic models for incorporating motion into your build.” When Laundry hosts workshops to teach more advanced building techniques, she brings this set with her to recommend to parents whose “children are looking to learn a new skill.”

Educator Karen Engelkenjohn, who has used Legos in her classrooms for over 25 years, recommends Duplo bricks for toddlers who are still developing their coordination and motor functions — they’re scaled up to be twice the size of regular Lego bricks, so they’re “easier for small hands to snap together, and if they put them in their mouth, they can’t swallow them,” Engelkenjohn told us. This 295-piece STEAM park set contains everything from slides to seesaws to steamboats, and helps teach science, technology, engineering, art and math concepts.

For the tween set, this Tallneck model, from the video game Horizon Forbidden West, was on Alixandria Wells’s 12-year-old son’s holiday wish list, since they enjoy playing the game together. “We’re definitely a house of geeks here,” Wells says, adding that she appreciated how the build uses more mechanical techniques. Toy photographer Anna Bitanga also keeps this same model on display in her office. “It’s so striking. It kind of looks like Star Trek meets a giraffe,” Bitanga says. “I think Lego did a really good job re-creating the look, which is sometimes not easy to do.”

In 2016, Lego came out with a line called Brickheadz, which includes many holiday-themed and animal sets as well as re-creations of iconic characters from pop culture properties like Marvel, Star Wars , and Harry Potter — they’re basically the Lego versions of Funko Pops. Bitanga says her 11-year-old son doesn’t have the patience to puzzle through intricate builds, but Brickheadz are fairly simple to put together and “highly collectible, so he just likes to line them up.” Wells and her sons are also Brickheadz fans, since they’re “fun to make and more affordable than some of the bigger sets.”

The Best LEGO Sets for Adults

If you’re an adult wondering if you can really buy yourself a Lego set, our older panelists all say that the sooner you do, the happier you’ll be. They point out that you won’t be building the same things you did as a child, as Lego’s more mature offerings range from replicas of homes designed by Mies van der Rohe and Frank Lloyd Wright to iconic skyscrapers and landmarks , stadiums, luxury sports cars and space stations. And, like the real-life feats of design that inspire these sets, once complete, many are more like trophy items than playthings (which is why some come with far higher price tags and can be found in museum gift shops in addition to your local Target).

However, for adults who are just dipping their toes into the Lego waters or haven’t touched a Lego brick since they were a kid, the super-sophisticated sets can be a bit intimidating, both in their complexity and their hefty price tag. Lum says this colorful display, which celebrates diversity, positivity, and kindness against a rainbow backdrop, is the “perfect set to introduce an adult to Lego” because “it’s relatively easy to build but so eye-catching, and it really makes a statement around inclusion.” Aleksander agrees that it’s a “simpler build” than other ultra-elaborate Lego displays, but loves its message and how “aesthetically pleasing” it is.

In recent years, Lego’s botanical collection has exploded in popularity (A$AP Rocky even gifted Rihanna a Lego bouquet for Valentine’s Day ). Ranging from orchids to sunflowers to bonsai trees , these realistic re-creations are perfect for those cursed with black thumbs. Laundry is a fan of the succulents in particular for their compact size and flexible display options: “You can have nine individual potted plants or you can connect them in a cluster,” she says. “You can tuck them in your bookshelf or keep some on your desk.” Seshaiah keeps a few scattered around the lounge in her dorm and says she and her friends “have a lot of fun moving them around. It’s nice because you can’t kill them but they still look really good.”

Every year Lego unveils a new addition to its modular-buildings series, which contains some of the most complicated and time-consuming sets. This year, the company came out with the Boutique Hotel. According to Lum, the trademark of these buildings is “that they’re highly detailed. So in this hotel, you have the ground floor, you’ve got the check-in lobby, you go upstairs and there’s the hotel rooms. You’ve got the bed and the bathrooms and all of the furnishings.” Bitanga adds that there’s “a lot of storytelling in a modular set,” which is very fun for her to photograph.

Four older builders we spoke to told us their favorite sets come from Lego’s “Architecture” line, which launched in 2008 and allows builders to re-create historic landmarks and skylines from around the world. Danish digital consultant Bubber Outzen told us he loves the architecture series, because “you can truly feel what each architect wanted to do with their work by building it yourself.” (Some sets that Outzen has completed include replicas of the Guggenheim Museum and Flatiron Building along with skylines of Chicago, Berlin, London, Paris, Venice, San Francisco, and Sydney).

While some of the Lego Architecture sets can go for several hundreds of dollars, this replica of the Statue of Liberty is a more affordable option from the line. It comes recommended by MacDonald, who told us he first discovered Lego’s Architecture series during a team-building exercise at his office: “I had so much fun with it, I kept buying more.” Lady Liberty is among his favorite sets, in part because he put together its 1,685 pieces with his wife. “It’s the biggest set we’ve built,” he says, “and took us two nights to complete.”

When it comes to Outzen’s favorite of all the Lego Architecture sets, he says nothing beats this one modeled after Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater. He describes it as “another way to visit if you aren’t able to go to the real thing” in Pennsylvania. According to Outzen, assembling the set’s 811 pieces “gave me a sense of what Wright wanted to achieve with the building. When you start it’s very solid and square, but then you discover a lightness through the terraces, the trees, the water. It really has all the elements, and you grasp that only through construction.” By the time you finish, Outzen says, the sculpture has the same “solid, unbreakable feeling” that fans of the real thing say they feel in its presence. Just note that because the set is retired and new versions are no longer in production, it can be harder to find.

Outzen also pointed us to this 800-piece Lego Architecture replica of Farnsworth House, German-American architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe’s historic residence outside of Chicago. “As you build, you can really feel the lightness of the whole construction, and when you’re done, it’s almost floating,” Outzen says, contrasting its density to that of the Lego Fallingwater replica. In addition to their many pieces, all of the Lego Architecture series’ sets come with booklets that explain the history of their structures, and Outzen says the one included with this set was particularly memorable. Again, because new versions of the set are no longer in production, it can be harder to find.

If you’re more interested in designing your own buildings than rebuilding other architects’ famous creations, Paul Wellington, the founder of Lego Architecture–focused blog ArchBrick , recommends this 1,210-piece set for doing just that. He calls it his favorite of the Architecture line’s many offerings, saying the stripped-down collection of “only white and transparent elements” and no fixed instructions “allowed me to focus on textures and patterns rather than color.” Ultimately, he adds, this helped him “become a better builder.”

A considerably more affordable way to create your own inventions is this classic starter set, which contains 790 pieces and sweetly claims to be appropriate for ages 4 to 99. It comes recommended by the anonymous creator of popular Twitter account LEGO Grad Student . “You cannot go wrong with a Creative Brick Box,” they say. “The pieces offer endless possibilities and the widest variety of colors and shapes to build some version of nearly any small item that comes to mind.”

Lego’s line of luxury sports cars is one of “its most sophisticated yet,” according to Huw Millington of online Lego database and set guide BrickSet . Millington says these are a great choice for someone who wants a longer project, as the “very challenging build will take even an experienced builder a good 10–12 hours.” The Bugatti Chiron contains a whopping 3,599 pieces, including a lot that you can’t see from looking at the outside of the car, such as a gearbox, engine, and tan-leather interior. And according to Lego itself, the instructions “mirror the way a real Bugatti is assembled.”

One way Lego has responded to increased demand from adults in recent years, according to Golson, is through the launch of its “Ideas” line, which offers a range of sets specifically based on original ideas that older fans have submitted to the company. The Ideas line, Golson tells us, “covers everything from pop culture to space exploration and nostalgic favorites.” This Grand Piano Ideas set comes recommended by Aleksander, who loves its interactivity and complex design: “The lid to the piano opens, the bench goes up and down, there’s pedals and wheels that move.” It can even connect to your phone via Bluetooth, and the keys will press down while playing music.

In keeping with the music theme, Aleksander also likes this more affordable set from Lego’s Ideas line. While most characters in the Lego universe appear as minifigures, these jazz musicians in the midst of a jam sesh are more fleshed out. “They’re so dynamic in all their different poses,” Aleksander says. “All four of the characters have different skin tones, which is becoming more common in Lego, but not as common as it should be. And it’s definitely true to the history of jazz as well.”

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Set sail across the ocean blue with our LEGO® Boat sets! Will you go out spotting sea animals or venture to an island to find buried treasure? Our boat toys make the perfect gifts for the maritime explorer or swashbuckling pirate in your life! From Viking longships to rescue boats, there are LEGO® ship model sets for ages 4+ to adults , so get ready to haul up the anchor!

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