There is a large part of the LEGO® community who enjoy brick-built trains. This is why large-scale displayable trains have become more prevalent recently. Over the last few years, the humble train has broken free from the LEGO City theme to capture the magic of the Wizarding World of Harry Potter and recreate a staple of Swiss railroads. Now a similar format which was used to recreate Hogwarts Express and the Crocodile Locomotive has been used to transform The Orient Express into the latest LEGO Ideas set. Ahead of its arrival on December 1st, here’s an early look around the 52nd LEGO Ideas set – The Orient Express.
Product Details
Hark back to the golden age of train travel as you build this stunning LEGO® Ideas display model (21344) of the Orient Express. An ideal gift for lovers of trains, travel and history, it features brick-built versions of the locomotive, tender, dining car and sleeping car, plus train tracks. Removable roofs allow easy viewing of the many authentic interior details of the dining car and sleeping car, including the inlaid panels and a mirror effect above the bed in the sleeping car’s first-class room.
All aboard!
There are also 8 LEGO minifigures, including a railway station manager, duchess and a film director (based on the fan designer who created this set!). Find instructions in the box and on the LEGO Builder app to guide you through every step of the immersive creative experience.
- Set Name: The Orient Express Train
- Set Number: 21344
- Theme: LEGO Ideas
- Pieces: 2540
- RRP: £259.99/$299.99/299.99€
- Number of Bags: Bags x 23 + loose elements
- Stickers: Sheet x 2
- Minifigures: Passengers x 4 + Train staff x 4
- Insiders QR: Yes
- Instructions: Paper Booklets x 4 + Builder App
- Availability: LEGO Stores & LEGO Online from December 1st
As with all LEGO Ideas sets, the seed of them is planted by incredibly talented fan builders. The Orient Express was originally submitted to LEGO Idea by French fan designer Thomas Lajon. It was announced just over a year ago, that Thomas’ brick-built tribute to The Orient Express would become a future LEGO Ideas release. Now the original submission model featured a dark green engine and as you’ll have noticed this has been changed for the final model. More on that later in the review.
The Orient Express first began serving customers in the late 1800s. The service was inspired by the ‘sleeper’ trains commonly found on US railroads. Unlike many famous trains, the Orient Express doesn’t actually refer to the steam engine, but rather the ornate carriages it pulls. In fact, depending on where the Orient Express was travelling, how it was pulled would often change. This is partly why the engine featured in the final set, looks so much different to the original fan design. It’s not only a different style engine but the colour has also been changed to match the carriages. The set has been created in partnership with the company which now operates the Orient Express, they agreed the engine should match the style of the carriages to align the set with the upcoming relaunch of The Orient Express service. The history of The Orient Express, as well as some insight into the fan design and the LEGO designers who helped turn it into a set, are detailed in the set’s instruction booklet. In fact, it has a few pages of additional information, which is really interesting to read.
The set is split into four sections and begins with a long strip of track. This uses many of the loose plate elements found in the box. These combine to merely create a black strip of track which becomes a display plate. The actual track rails are built as opposed to being sections of track used in other themes. Unfortunately, although this section holds the train and carriages, there isn’t anywhere to display the minifigures, which is a great shame.
The Orient Express is famed for providing a luxurious travel experience and this is largely achieved through its carriages. The set includes two of them, one is a dining car and the other is a sleeper car. Although the exterior of both is mostly the same, with travel stops and logos being printed pieces, the interior is very different between both carriages. Inside of the carriages can be accessed by removing the roof panel Although the space is tight, the rear carriage offers a couple of tables and a small bar area. I love the little mirrored wall behind the bar, especially as the bird pattern has been given a LEGO tweak. Although a little trickier to see, both carriages feature panelling of Art Deco-style patterns.
The second carriage is a sleeper car, which features an on-board bedroom to sleep in style. The bedroom takes up most of the carriage and contains a large bed at one end and a small bedroom at the other. There’s even room for a sofa and a work desk. The build of the furniture is similar to what you’d find in a Modular Buildings Collection set or some of the LEGO City buildings, just a little more ornate. I particularly like the area around the bed, with a couple of pearlescent DOTS jewels to represent lights and a round mirror above the bed, which reflects a fish-eyed image of the room. This carriage also has a smaller room towards the end of the carriage, which features a pair of bunk beds.
As mentioned above, The Orient Express experience is mostly provided by the carriages so the engine isn’t as famous as the the carriages it pulls. The original fan design included a Pacific PLM 231 K 8 locomotive engine, which is a French steam engine and also has a passing resemblance to the legendary LEGO train – the Emerald Night. This is been changed for the final set, so it’s more of a generic, classic-looking engine. I personally think it fits the overall style of the set better. It’s fair to say the change in the engine does mean the detailing has changed a little. It would seem the engine in the final set is less detailed but there are different types of trains so it’s only expected that the features would be different. Although the train no longer looks like the Emerald Night, its name, Sapphire Star, honours that much-loved set.
If the domes lined up behind the steam stack, along the top of the engine look familiar, that’s because they are recoloured Minion heads. Yes, the same elements used to recreate those babbling yellow creatures from the Despicable Me films make perfect regulators for a steam train. Minifigures pen elements also double as whistles.
Just a brief mention about the set’s stickers. It appears there was a slight product error, so the first batch of sets may include incorrectly coloured shiny stickers. You’ll be able to request the correct stickers from Customer Service once the set has been released. The stickers shown in this review are the correct type.
The set features 8 minifigures, split between four members of staff and four passengers. The Orient Express staff members include a waiter, who appears to be carrying a car door, but this is actually meant to be a towel. The train crew include a train driver, who is the most generic of minifigures, plus a conductor and a station manager. Their royal blue uniforms with gold trim go nicely with the colour of the train and carriages.
The passengers offer a group of great minifigures. There’s an older gentleman, who is referred to as a scientist, apart from having a vague appearance of Albert Einstein, there is little to place him as a scientist. The aptly named Duchess is an amazing minifigure, her dress features some great print detail and the furry neck accessory coupled with a recoloured hair wrap, first used for the Potter in Series 24 minifigures, perfectly captures a bygone era. As great as the Duchess is, for me the director is my favourite minifigure in the set. I love the reuse of the paper seller’s cap also from the Series 24 LEGO Minifigures. Finally, in a nice nod to the old Orient Expedition theme, famed explorer Pippin Reed makes an appearance in the set. She’s had an update but it’s nice to see a classic LEGO character appear in a modern-day set.
Overall
Similar to the large-scale Hogwarts Express, it’s a rather large set to display. This makes it both an impressive sight behold but also a cumbersome thing for most people to have room for. Thankfully, it also features the train, carriages and a section of track, so you haven’t got the addition of a chunk of platform to try and squeeze in as well. I would say it’s a shame the set doesn’t feature a display stand for the minifigures to be placed on. Especially as they are so charming and capture the magic of the golden age of travel on The Orient Express. The carriages are certainly more impressive than the engine, but both go hand in hand.
Yes, the final set is quite a bit different compared to the fan design, but I must say it’s for the better. The engine being the same colour as the carriages makes more sense visually and the highly detailed interior of the carriages makes the set a delight to build. There will be disappointment from some, that this is a different scale to other most other LEGO trains and that fact it can’t easily be motorised. But I’d much rather have a nicely detailed set than one which has to accommodate expensive motors and battery boxes. I can see why The Orient Express is so beloved, it captures an era of luxury that hasn’t really been recreated since and this LEGO version certainly manages to showcase that golden era of travel. (Please note – Johnny Thunder is not included in this set)
Available December 1st: UKIrelandUSCanadaMexicoGermanyFranceDenmarkAustraliaNew Zealand
The LEGO Group provided this set for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
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