Theme: LEGO Minecraft
No: 21188
Release Year: 2022
Cost: AU $199.99 | US $129.99
Pieces: 1,252 pieces (with six minifigures)
I play Minecraft a lot. I have done for the last 12 years. I don’t, however, have a lot of the Minecraft LEGO sets. I don’t really know why, so when I see one that’s a little out there, I grab it. This one – a giant Llama house – definitely piqued my interest. It’s weird, a good size and has six minifigures – an illager, a pillager, two villagers, a llama herder and a llama knight (whatever that is).
The minifigures are good. Pretty standard quality – the prints don’t need to be all that detailed as they’re meant to be quite pixealted, however they are still quite bright and defined. It’s good to see an assortment of tools too. The villager torsos are interesting – I’ve not come across these before. They’re longer than standard torsos with the crossed arms, but with the short legs they end up being the same height as a regular minifigure. It’s interesting. I’m also quite pleased to have an illager in the mix. Honestly though – the Llama Knight is just a little odd. While the beauty of the game is you can make your character unique with a custom skin, as a fan of the game, I’d rather have another type of character in the game. Sure, some people might want an alternate skin, but that’s just me. That being said, it is a cool minifigure. I’m sure the llama knight is just a random skin that goes better with a giant llama house when it’s got the matching moniker and back print, but hey, it’s still fun.
Also included in the mix are two llamas (brown and a slightly smaller white), and a pink baby sheep.
On to the builds! There’s a collection of six side builds:
- a patch of farmland with what I can only assume are wheat and potatoes
- A village well and fun little brick built bell
- One of the most minimalist flower patches I’ve ever seen – it’s two little plants on a green 6×12 plate. I’m not sure what the point of this side build was, honestly.
- A little stall with something on a table
- A llama pen with some hay bales
- And a forge area – this one is the most detailed, and my favourite so far.
The llama itself is a typical LEGO Minecraft build. Chock full of bigger bricks, there’s not a great deal of fancy (or even beginner) techniques here. What is good about it is the size. It’s pretty big! It’s also adorned with the decorations of a Trader Llama. I also appreciate the little details in the build. The use of columns dotted around the legs and neck for some texture, the hanging draperies and fines, the little acacia tree, and even the hidden play feature. Pull the red brick behind the head and the llama will spit water out, mimicking the attack feature of the animal in game.
The body of the Llama is a hidden house, and while I like the balconies looking like chests that a Trader Llama would carry, I’m stumped to figure out how the inhabitants of the house would get up to the top. There’s no ladder anywhere.
The interior of the house is nice, with a couple of beds, a bookshelf, some work spaces and an aquarium in the base of the neck. The roof comes off neatly for play access, and the side of the building opens up as well, so getting access to it is really good, but the ladder is a bit of a glaring omission for me.
Being a Minecraft set, there’s a truckload of builds LEGO could do, and having a giant Llama house just sounds like a cool idea. It’s wacky and perfect for both LEGO and Minecraft. It’s a good build for a younger fan, and if nothing else, it’s a nice little boost to your brick collection.
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A special thank you to LEGO for sending me a copy to review. All thoughts on this set are my own and are not influenced in any way, shape or form. The provision of sets for review does not guarantee a favourable review.
