The expansion of LEGO® sets based on interests beyond the usual core themes and movie franchises has really blown up since the introduction of LEGO for Adults. A great example of this is the sport-based football stadium. The first transformed Manchester United’s Old Trafford before Barcelona’s Camp Nou joined the range now Real Madrid’s iconic Santiago Bernabéu Stadium is the latest stadium to be recreated from LEGO bricks. The review has taken a little longer than expected due to various real-world issues such as hospitals visits but here’s a closer look at the set.
Product Details
A build to capture the heart of any Real Madrid fan. This LEGO® Real Madrid – Santiago Bernabéu Stadium (10299) building kit for adults lets you build an accurate scale model version of one of the most celebrated football stadiums of all time. So kick back and take your time discovering all the details packed into this collectible model.
Match-day drama
Relive experiences of this legendary stadium as you build the ticket office, seating, tunnel, dugout and pitch. Celebrate historic moments with the scoreboards, goals and banners. Enjoy building iconic details like the 4 corner towers, plus the exterior walkway and stairwells. The model splits in half and the roof lifts off, so you can view the interior before placing your model on display.
- Set Name: Real Madrid – Santiago Bernabéu Stadium
- Set Number: 10299
- Pieces: 5876
- RRP: £309.99/$319.99/319.99€
- Number of Bags: Bags x 40
- Stickers: Sheet x 1
- Instructions: Booklet x 2
- Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
The set comprises of a whopping 40 bags split across two thick instructions manuals. As with previous sets, the instructions also provide a little history of the football club and their home ground. It also mentions the upcoming changes to the stadium, which will completely change its appearance. Something I’ve seen people joke about in regards to the LEGO set. To be fair the current look of the ground provides a much more interesting build compared to its future makeover. Plus it’s a nice way to capture a moment in Real Madrid’s history. There’s also a sheet of stickers and this features quite a few decals to add to the stadium’s exterior and pitchside advertising.
By their nature, football stadiums are fairly large structures and even when shrunken down into microscale and built from LEGO bricks, it still dominates a lot of space and a fair few LEGO bricks. The build begins with an important part of any stadium – the pitch. This is fairly simple and comprises a trio of special printed plates. These feature the unique pattern found in Real Madrid’s play surface. Unlike the other stadiums, the pitch area just covers the pitch. It doesn’t have any border to it and so it sits directly flush with the stands of the stadium.
The stands of the stadium are built in four separate sections. Each one connects together via a couple of Technic pins as well as a few additional elements, which can only be added once the stand sections are brought together. The unique architecture of a sports ground may seem simple but that doesn’t mean the build to recreate them in LEGO form is. Getting all the angles of the exterior of the ground as well as the seating areas inside means you’ll be using a lot of small elements; as well as connecting them in unfamiliar ways. For example, the seating in the stands use sections of textured bricks, these are then clipped into place using bars.
Overall the build is basically two different sections which are both mirrored. This can make it feel rather repetitive in many places. But it’s to be expected with a building like a stadium. There is a little variety, once the sections are the stands are connected together you add a few extra elements to bring it together. With all four pieces slotted together, you can also add two different sections of a partial roof. One section connects directly to the back section of the stand and the other sits over the three sides of the stadium. This is the section that features the large Real Madrid plates. Thankfully, these are printed as they would look awful as stickers.
Although the different sections of stadiums are very similar in their look and thus their build, it’s still an interesting and engaging build experience. The use of textured elements really helps to add to architectural flourished found both inside the stands and around the exterior of the stadium. Thankfully, the seats within the stands only feature a couple of stickers, with the rest featured on the advertising boards and a few other sections around the stadium. It will obviously have a greater appeal to fans of Real Madrid and to a lesser extent, football fans in general. But looking beyond the connection to the club, it showcases how LEGO bricks can be used to create almost anything, no matter its size.
Review Round-up
I fully understand these stadium sets aren’t for everyone, they don’t have the general appeal of the Architecture sets, but do offer a similar build, on a vastly bigger scale. First and foremost fans of Real Madrid will appreciate the set the most, with football fans also gaining something from the set, especially if they own others. It may not grab the attention of the average LEGO fan, however, it does provide an intersting and indepth build experience.
For
+ Interesting build experience
+ All sections of the build come together well
+ Will keep you busy for plenty of hoursAgainst
– Lots of stickers
– Quite repetitive in places
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This set was provided by the LEGO Group for purposes of review. The thoughts within this review are that of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
14th March 2022
Fabulous and fantastic love that wish to be part of the players .