The Wizard of Oz and its various companion pieces feature many iconic locations. But since the release of Wicked, those locations have been fleshed out to become major parts of Glinda and Elphaba’s backstory. This upcoming LEGO® Wicked set features two buildable structures, the colourful Emerald City and the dark, foreboding Kiamo Ko Castle. Both are packed with neat details and Easter Eggs related to the upcoming Wicked sequel and the wider world of the Wizard of Oz. Here’s a closer look at set 75689.
Product Details
Set Name: Emerald City & Kiamo Ko Castle | Set Number: 75689 | Pieces: 860 | Theme: Wicked
Number of Bags: Bags x 5 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Sticker: sheet x 2 | Mini-dolls: Glinda, Elphaba & Flying Monkey
RRP: £74.99/79.99€/$79.99/129.99AUD/99.99CAD
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & LEGO retailers
Beyond the Yellow Brick Road and Munchkinland, one of the most iconic locations in both The Wizard of Oz and Wicked is Emerald City. The colourful home to the mysterious Wizard is a great source of inspiration for LEGO builds, and this mini recreation is another great example of that. The miniature castle-like structure can be opened out to reveal two small room-like displays with an additional section found at the rear of the building. This can be fully removed to reveal a map of Oz and some of its best-known districts.
The two-fold out panels don’t create rooms as such, but they certainly represent them. The left side panel includes a flip-down bed and an ornate cupboard topped with various bottles and statues. The opposite side features similar details and seems to represent a dressing room. Several foil stickers are used here to create some of those details. But for me, the enclosed Emerald City is the most impressive aspect of Glinda’s side of the set. The use of green and gold elements is perfectly paired with transparent green pieces to capture the grandeur of Emerald City.
The opposing part of the set is known as Kiamo Ko Castle, better known as the Wicked Witch of the West’s castle. As you’d expect, this structure has a darker tone to Emerald City. The castle also features two fold-out side panels. But opening them revealed a far less detailed interior. One side features a door, which leads to nowhere and the other, a barrel. But the interior does include a fun play feature. The dead centre of the castle is a circular platform, which can be rotated. One side of it features a curved panel, decorated with a sticker featuring a witch’s hat in a puddle of water. Placing a mini-doll on the platform and replicating the famous scene from The Wizard of Oz, in which the Wicked Witch is melted by water. Despite the lack of detail of the interior, the exterior features plenty of details, including the Castle’s gravity-defying turrets.
Despite the castle being a dark and dreary place, it features a surprising pop of colour in the form of a rainbow. The curved arch of colour springs from the side of the castle into a small pile of cloud. Despite the rainbow being a colourful feature more suited to Emerald City, it doesn’t act as a bridge between the two sections of the set.
The set includes two mini-dolls. Glinda is unique to this set and features the good witch in a pink dress with a small tiara. Despite the character’s cheery disposition, her mini-doll in this set doesn’t look too happy. When Elsphaba is featured in her witch’s robes, there is little to differentiate her mini-dolls. This version uses the same hat piece and robes but ditches the material cape for an element which adds detail to her shoulders. The main draw of the set is the first figure representation of a Flying Monkey. They haven’t just recoloured a monkey figure and slapped on some wings. It’s a new mould and features the blue-furred aerial ape in green armour and gloves. The wings are a separate piece which connects to a stud in the monkey’s back. It’s a shame the set only features one, and that additional ones can’t be found in other Wicked sets. The Flying Monkey can be fixed to a transparent rod on Kiamo Ko Castle, giving it the appearance of being in flight.
It’s an interesting set which skirts the line between being a play-focused set and a display piece. It may not include any particularly unique or rare elements, but it does offer a great selection of pieces in great colours. The basic play features are fun and link to original Wizard of Oz stories, but I think it works better as a display piece. Although not a unique issue with this set, something needs to be done in regards to the production marks on some elements. There are a couple of examples of them on this set, and they are very noticeable and appear to be getting worse. Set 75689: Emerald City & Kiamo Ko Castle, launches on September 1st and can be pre-ordered now.
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