As per usual, with four of the 2021 Advent Calendars, I’ll be updating this post daily. Each day will have an image of the day’s build, a quick comment, with a final overall review at the end of the month. If you want to keep up to date with the post, use the link to the right of the page – it’ll be there for the duration of December. I won’t be posting any pics on social media, so it won’t get spoilt by me!
Theme: Seasonal; Marvel
No: 76196
Release Year: 2021
Cost: AUD $49.95
Pieces: 298 (with seven minifigures)
It’s great to see Marvel get included in the Advent Calendar roster! I’m really excited to see what we have in store.
I’m really excited about this. As a big fan of LEGO Advent Calendars (we’ve been doing this for about 5 years now) and as a big Marvel fan, this was a sure fire hit for me.
If you’ve been along on this journey with me for a while now, welcome back! If you’re just new to the Advent Calendar season, then welcome. Each day I’ll open the new window and provide an image or two and my thoughts on the build, with a big wrap up at the end. I’ll post them at night, so there’ll be no spoilers during the day. This post will be updated each day (Perth, Australia time (GMT +8), so it’s all in the one spot. I’ve not seen any yet, so these are all raw thoughts!
I’d also really appreciate if you gave us a thought by using the affiliate link if you’re shopping for Christmas LEGO on LEGO.com. I get a very small commission if you buy something using the link, which really helps paying to run the site. I didn’t receive any of these sets for free this year – they were all bought by either me, or Cam in the case of the Star Wars one.
The display stand for the Marvel set is fantastic, mainly for one thing – no spoilers! It shows the top window and Helipad of the Avengers Tower, given the top down view of the skyscrapers in each corner. I love the look of the quinjet in the bottom too.
To get to each Day’s build, click the link to go straight there.
Day 1: Christmas Sweater Tony Stark
Day 2: Power Blast Elements
Day 3: Armour Stand & Wreath
Day 4: Black Widow
Day 5: Barbeque
Day 6: Picnic Table & Burger
Day 7: Yellow Blazer Spider-Man
Day 8: Present Wrapping Station
Day 9: Present and Arc Reactor
Day 10: E.D.I.T.H. Drone
Day 11: Thanos
Day 12: Helicarrier
Day 1: Christmas Sweater Tony Stark
Day 1 is a surprising but epic build – Tony Stark in a Christmas sweater! He’s got an Iron man helmet with him, and must be wearing the gloves and boots too, because he’s got energy blasts. I love the sweater, with a snowflake Arc Reactor on the front and TONY written on the back. It’s a brilliant one, and a build I definitely thought we’d see at the end!
It’s a shame the helmet is a one-piece version, as the blue HUD face is a bit of a waste, but either way, I’m chuffed! Bring on Day 2!
Day 2: Power Blast Elements
Well. That’s a huge disappointment. Just a bag of power blast elements. No building, just that. What a massive let down after a great start. Ugh.
Day 3: Armour Stand & Wreath
Today we’ve got what looks to be an armourless armour stand with a wreath at the back. It’s pretty simple, and I’m expecting we’ll get something to connect to it, given the clip and bar either side. We’ve seen this style of wreath many times before, but it’s always good to get some more green toilet seats.
Day 4: Black Widow
Time for another minifigure, and it’s Black Widow! The print quality on the torso is fantastic – printing on the arms too. There’s a double sided head, with neutral and angry. She’s also got her two batons, represented with trans-light blue 4L bars. One is even preloaded with a marshmallow! A fun addition.
Day 5: Barbeque
While it’s a fun build, I’m not sure why a barbeque is in a Marvel Advent Calendar, but hey, I’ll take it! After day 2, this is a pretty good one. It’s just a shame it doesn’t have a lid? Guess that’s just the Aussie BBQ fan in me.
Day 6: Picnic Table & Burger
Is this the burger that Tony Stark wanted after he was captured Iron Man? I kind of like it! The tabletop is great – nice and bold. The only thing missing is the sesame topped bun print! It would have been perfect.
Day 7: Yellow Blazer Spider-Man
This is a brilliant one – Spider-Man in a yellow blazer, in what’s possibly an awesome nod to Spider-Man Homecoming where Spidey is stuck in the Damage Control Deep Storage Vault and gets to know the voice in the Spidersuit. The differences here are the Spider-Man logo on the front and back, and the teal arms, but it’s still pretty cool. He’s also got a coffee and an absolutely brilliant churro! Love it.
Day 8: Present Wrapping Station
It’s another one where I’m not sure how it relates to Marvel (aside from the stand), but it is nice! The use of a door as a roll of wrap was very cool, and I like the scissors balanced on top.
Day 9: Present and Arc Reactor
Sorry about the delay! Long day at work. Today we got a very festive and appropriately coloured Spider-Man themed Christmas Present and an Arc Reactor on display – this is the one that Pepper Potts mounted with the inscription “Proof that Tony Stark has a Heart”. I love it.
Day 10: E.D.I.T.H. Drone
Another Spider-Man centric build here, with an E.D.I.T.H. Drone that Mysterio used to torment people in Spider-Man Far From Home. I really like the build, but this is an Advent Calendar! It should at least be Christmas colours. A nice effort though. I wonder if we’re getting something that’s not Spider-Man related tomorrow?
Day 11: Thanos
Another minifigure today – the big, bad Thanos, complete with Infinity Gauntlet, sack (of presents, or doom?) and a lump of coal! Very cool addition, and it’s nice to see us steering away from Spider-Man.
Day 12: Helicarrier
Our first microbuild for the Marvel calendar, and it’s superb! We’ve got the helicarrier today – the monstrous flying command centres that S.H.I.E.L.D. use. Upside down dishes as the turbines and the angled runway using wedge plates is really great. This was an exciting build for me today. I loved this one! Bring on more microbuilds!
Day 13: Christmas Presents
A bit more of a boring build today, with a couple of presents. I’m assuming the big one is for the Hulk, and the small one is for Captain America? Could also be Captain Marvel, but I’m guessing it’s the original Cap.
Day 14: Robot Arm with Stocking
I really like this build. It’s Dum-E, Tony Stark’s robotic arm. I love it! It’s carrying a stocking and uses a new bar and clip element that was introduced in the earlier 2021 Monkie Kid sets. This was a fun one.
Day 15: Captain Marvel
Another minifigure, and it’s a beauty! Captain Marvel! The print looks great but the power blasts are not the right colour. White is more for Spider-Man, but this should have been trans-orange. I’ve not had a Captain Marvel minifigure before, so this is great.
Day 16: Iron Legion Snowman
I’m really pleased to see a snowman in this calendar, with a Marvel twist! We’ve got an armed Iron Legion snowman today and it looks so good! The exclusive white unprinted helmet looks sleek and I like the dual blasters and the arc reactor on the chest. Very cool!
Day 17: Quinjet
Something that this calendar wouldn’t have been complete without is the Quinjet. The shaping is great, although the build is a little strange – there are large gaps in the body that do look odd, but I think the scale may be to blame? Either way, it’s an awesome build.
Day 18: Nick Fury
It’s Nick Fury today, the former Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. He’s got an old walkie talkie and a lever for some reason. He looks super grumpy – normal for Fury. He’s got his big black trenchcoat on and a grey beanie. I love the S.H.I.E.L.D. logo on the front.
Day 19: Avengers Tower
Oh this is cool! A microscale build of Avengers Tower! The shape is excellent and I love the comical use of a frying pan for the circular landing pad. It’s a shame the logo isn’t mirrored on the other side, so this is just a single sided build, but it’s still an iconic build and so great to see it included. 5 days to go!
Day 20: Hulkbuster
Day 21: Hall of Armour
A more simple build, but one that is very effective! We’ve got a microscale Hall of Armour (or Armor if you’re in the US). Where Tony keeps his various Iron Man suits, although it would have been nice to get a couple of different colours in this set. It’s simple and instantly recognisable. I like it.
Day 22: Thor
Another minifigure and it’s a strong one! On both levels…
We’ve got Thor today, with a red scarf (and a spare one) two white power blasts and Mjolnir. He’s also got the lightning bolt eyes as an alternate face, and some very nice printing. We’ve seen him before, but it’s nice to have another.
Day 23: Christmas Tree
Second last day! It’s a very barren Christmas tree. It looks like the bars poking out will be holding something, so maybe that’s tomorrow’s build. It’s a little odd.
Day 24: Infinity Gauntlet
The Marvel calendar has been a lot of fun, especially with the plethora of movies and TV shows to get stuck into over the holidays. It’s so great to see Marvel doing a calendar, and I’m really looking forward to next year’s offering! Loads of value, great parts included, and some really nice models. The best ones are the helicarrier and Avengers Tower for me. More seasonal variant torsos would have been better, and it was a bit underwhelming to get the best torso of the bunch in the first day, but there’s always room for improvement.
Merry Christmas to all!
