Last year, LEGO released theirs the longest– ever set, the HMS Titanic. Soh this year They decided to break vertical records and announced an Eiffel Tower set funny high.
While the Titanic consisted of 9,090 pieces and was 135 cm (54″) long, the Eiffel Tower is flat greaterstanding 149cm (58.5″) tall, and consists of 10,001 pieces. That’s enough to make it biggest LEGO set ever made, although technically –at least by LEGO’s own standards-not the largest-tYou count a set’s size by the number of bricks used, not by its physical dimensions.
By these metrics, the “biggest” set in the world remains the LEGO Art World Map, which consists of 11,695 pieces. But that’s a bullshit formality as they’re all tiny dots, so let’s ignore that and just focus on the immense size of this great French tower instead.
You know what, let’s focus on two things. One is the tower, the other is the guy who stars in all of LEGO’s commercials, whom I’m going to call Francois. I assume he’s French because he’s a) the biggest Eiffel fan in the world judging by all those posters, and b) wearing a tie.
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Look how much he’s into it! He is absolute loving it. “Finally,” he says aloud to himself: “I know how it feels to be Gustave Eiffel when I see my grand vision come to life.”
The construction of the (LEGO) tower is actually the culmination of a decades-long dream of Francois. A giant Eiffel Tower nerd since he was a little kid, Francois dreamed of recreating his favorite LEGO building and asked his parents for a LEGO Eiffel Tower every year. However, in the 1990s, Francois’ parents had no internet and therefore no idea if this was a real thing or not, and so they would go through the same tragic routine on Christmas morning every year.
“Is it here, dad? Did you get me the Zee Tower?”
“No, my son. Not this year. I’m sorry.”
Ah, but this year finally, fulfillment. And it’s everything he could have dreamed of! The “arches, supports, cross braces and railings” are all faithful to the original, a detail that has been extended right down to the construction of the tower, which is done in sections and mimics the 1887 construction of the original. There’s even a replica of the parkland below and a small French flag to display at the top.
Look how happy he is to put the finishing touches on it. It is the culmination of a lifelong ambition. For Francois this is it. The books, the documentaries, an apartment full of Eiffel Tower prints (even one on an easel), a series of broken relationships (“It’s always about fucking Tower with you, Francois!”); everything led to this moment. Now that it’s done, he can hop on his old bike, return to his studio, and get back to work designing bathrooms for Parisians who want their sinks to look “baroque.”” He will be happy, but deep down he also knows that the rest of his life is all downhill from here.
The Eiffel Tower will be released on November 25th and will cost $630.
