16 of the coolest Lego sets you can buy

16 of the coolest Lego sets you can buy

We love Lego. What could be more than an afternoon spent piecing together thousands of tiny pieces to make a multicolour model of epic proportions? Once you’ve finished helping the kids with their kits, though, you might well run out of blocky options. Thankfully, we’ve trawled the halls of Lego HQ to unearth some bricktastic kits to add to your Christmas collection

LONDON BUS

Hopping aboard the 109 in London will take you from Croydon Library to Brixton Station. If you’d rather go to Brickston (where you’ll presumably find all manner of brick-built buildings) you’ll need to take this No 9 Lego double-decker. Styled in trademark red, it’s packed with authentic touches, including an abandoned umbrella, a newspaper and some ruffians playing tunes on the top deck. Probably.

AIRPORT RESCUE VEHICLE

“Activate foam cannons!” If there’s a more exhilerating phrase in the entire practice of extinguishing fires, we’re yet to hear it. Get closer to your dreams of dousing flaming planes with this Airport Rescue kit. Equipped with twin-axle steering, pair the six-wheel blaze battler with the sold-separately Power Functions set for a motorised boom and, wait for it, flashing lights.

DEATH STAR

Celebrating an invention that brought death and oblivion to thousands throughout the glaxy is generally frowned upon as a recreational activity. Unless, of course, that invention is the Death Star – complete with its whopping great zapper capable of pew-pewing planets into dusty nothingness – in which case it’s perfectly appropriate to build a 42cm-wide model for your mantelpiece.

NASA APOLLO SATURN V

While Mr Musk and his plans for Moon trips might make spaceflight seem a cinch nowadays, the original effort is an achievement worth celebrating. Even if you think the landings were faked, the 1969 pieces (nice touch) in this kit should keep you off the internet for a while.

BIG BEN

“Big Ben is the name of the bell, not the tower!” While your granddad goes off on another tirade about the sorry state of common knowledge, you can get busy with this towering kit’s 4,163 pieces. True to form, the bell itself won’t actually ring. Unlike the real thing (which has been silenced until 2021 for rennovation work), that’s because Lego is made of plastic.

CATERHAM SEVEN 620R

A full-size Caterham is pretty much the ultimate Lego set. The next best thing? Lego’s Caterham 7. The result of one Lego fan’s eager imagination, this mini mock-up of the world’s favourite build-it-yourself speed machine is a beauty to behold. As with the real thing, you still get something to build while you wait for the turkey to cook – but sans oil and grease all over the carpet.

VOLKSWAGEN BEETLE

Say hello to hippy heaven in vehicular form. OK, so it’s a little more angular than the original, but this faithfully reproduced replica of the symbolic VW is straight out of the ’60s. Complete with surfboard, cool box and beers – to scale, sadly – tricks such as a tilting rear seat add extra authenticity to the alluring azure-blue paint job.

PORSCHE 911 GT3 RS

“I’ve bought myself a Porsche,” you’ll say. “What kind?” they’ll ask. The truth is up to you, but we’d be mighty proud of this feature-packed replica of the German marque’s magnificent GT3 RS. Watch the engine pistons pump as you ponder on what answer to give, before riposting with, “orange you jealous?”

BUCKET WHEEL EXCAVATOR

Who doesn’t want a giant marble-munching machine made of plastic? Sure, it might not actually chew through rocks with the same consummate ease as its bigger mining brother, but it’ll scoop up layabout Lego, no sweat. Motor-driven belts and buckets put paid to back-breaking brick-shifting, whilst the boom can be raised and lowered for optimum chipping angles.

CLASH OF THE HEROES

When you’re an all-action, mask-wearing hero-in-waiting, there’s no time to sit around perusing the instructions. Choose playability over build length and kick things up a gear by snapping together this mini-kit’s 91 pieces in a swish of your cape, before having Batman and Superman do battle over the Bat-Signal – bazookas and all.

SPIDER-MAN: WEB WARRIORS ULTIMATE BRIDGE BATTLE

Web-swinging action just got a table-top upgrade: this bridge-themed set is as much for players as builders, replete with trapdoors, exploding pillars and trash can catapults that’ll make easy work of a long afternoon. A menagerie of Minifigures means you can get your mates in on the action, too, with Spider-Man and Spider-Girl fending off the evil doings of Green Goblin, Kraven and more.

ARCHITECTURE NEW YORK CITY

Lego’s entire Architecture series is inspired by the detail-focussed finesse that drives the Kevin McClouds among us – and that’s very much the case with this New York City kit. Distinctly not for kids – as the website will warn you – this stylishly subtle set portrays the changing shape of the Big Apple’s skyline on a single base, from the Statue of Liberty to a 26cm-high Empire State Building.

OLD FISHING STORE

Replete with bait shop, lookout tower and office, the devilfish here is in the detail – with everything from harpoons and helmets to bottles and TNT boxes furnishing this nautical shack with seafaring realism. You’ll have to provide the festive fish yourself, mind.

YELLOW SUBMARINE

As the Beatles once sang, all you need is Lego – and psychedelic kits don’t come much cooler than this funky tub. Party like it’s yesterday with John, Paul, George and Ringo in mini-figure form, as turning propellors and a swivelling rudder see you rub-a-dub all the way to Pepperland. The soundtrack is up to you.

AIRPORT VIP SERVICE

As you climb the rain-drenched stairs to enter the cramped JollyFly cabin, you can but dream of boarding the shiny jet rolling along the apron, taunting your package deal. Crash the rich kids’ party with this complete VIP service. Oh, sure, it’s made from Lego, but with jet, limo and crew all included, you’ll be too busy offering flights to your friends to realise that it can’t actually fly.

HEAVY LIFT HELICOPTER

Prepare your best Arnie impression: this beast of a bird can be built two ways, both of which are tough enough to lift the heaviest of Lego. Motorised rotors ought to make an easy meal of hauling blocky cargo, whilst a working winch and operating rudders lend it a healthy dose of realism.