Coming Soon: Natural History Museum
Right after the excitement of the reveal of the next Botanical set, Lego blew us all away with the reveal of the reveal of the next installment in the always coveted Modular Buildings Collection. Introducing set 10326 - Natural History Museum!
I came out of my Lego Dark Age (yes, that is a thing if you are not familiar) at the beginning of 2020. Not unlike most, the pandemic and subsequent stay-at-home orders drove me back to my beloved hobby as the need for indoor activities hit an all-time high. When I came back into the fold I was blown away but what I had missed from my near decade hiatus. Specifically, I was enamored with the Modular Buildings Collection - the prospect of ready-made sets to either start or add to your own Lego City I think appeals to most fans. However, I had missed so much and it simply wasn’t feasible at the time to try and go back and collect. Then came New Year’s Day 2021. As I alluded to in my Tiny Plants post, I went into one of Lego’s most anticipated release dates of the year completely blind… Always dangerous for the wallet. Swept up in the excitement of my first release day at a physical Lego store, I knew as soon as I saw the 10278 - Police Station, which had released that day, it was coming home with me. (PSA: If you are still wanting this set, it is set to retire at the end of this year and is currently listed as Last Chance)
Since I picked up the Police Station on 1/1/2021, the Modular Building releases have been a yearly staple for me and I’m beyond excited for the Natural History Museum.
The biggest surprise with “this year’s” Modular release is that it will not be releasing on New Year’s Day 2024. Lego is pivoting from the recent 1/1 release tradition - this one will be available December 1st! Not only that, it is currently available for pre-order!
The variables:
Set #: 10326
Theme: ICONS / Modular Buildings Collection
Name: Natural History Museum
Ages: 18+
Pieces: 4,014
Price: $299.99
Minifigures: 7
Release Date: December 1, 2023 (Pre-Order Available NOW)
The Angle:
Where do I begin with this epic release?
First, I think we have to address and give Lego props for the value of this set. No one is oblivious to the fact that Lego has a reputation for being expensive, and they were hammered at the beginning of this year for pricing increases in response to supply chain issues of the past few years as well as inflationary pressures. That’s not to say I don’t have my own gripes with Lego’s value and pricing in certain instances and with certain themes, but let’s give credit where it is due. Lego opened up the Fall/Winter 2023 season by giving us the biggest Winter Village set to date in the 1,517 piece 10325 - Alpine Lodge but maintained the $99.99 price-point of the last several years, despite the pricing pressures elsewhere. Now, with the Natural History Museum, they have now given us the largest Modular Buildings set (4,014 pieces) but maintained a $299.99 price point (similar to 10255 - Assembly Square released in 2017). With today’s pricing trends, this is easily a $350-400 set. I appreciate Lego’s apparent dedication to maintaining value with the in-house, fan-favorite themes, and this set is clearly no exception.
Next, Lego has advised this set will be full of Easter-eggs and references to classic Lego sets and themes. I can’t help but immediately think of 10273 - Haunted House from 2020. Aside from being staged as the manor of the villainous Baron Von Barron from the beloved Adventurers theme, the build is packed with homages to popular themes from the late 90s. I have this set in my personal collection and it truly was a stand-out experience for me because of the attention to detail and celebration of the themes I fondly remember from my earliest Lego days. It seems like they are continuing the trend with the Natural History Museum. In fact, many creators in the community are already drawing comparisons between the Museum Curator minifigure and Dr. Charles Lightning from the same Adventurers theme that inspired the Haunted House. Honestly, my brain can’t handle the excitement if they are continuing the Adventurers love and if that’s the case I can’t wait for the return of Johnny Thunder! Just throwing it out there as well, both the Haunted House and Natural History Museum have a sand-green base color scheme…
Finally, the build is exceptional as has become customary with the Modular Buildings. Just looking at the front of the building, from the rot-iron fencing to the Roman style columns and pediment, statues, banners, microfigure roofing details, and main dome, the architecture is everything you would expect to see in museum for a Lego City. The interior is packed with clever exhibit spaces and even facilities like a bathroom, curator’s office, and what appears to be a small artifact examination room. The minifigure selection is great and balanced between museum staff (and that window washer is absolutely fantastic) and visitors/pedestrians to populate the museum or modular street line - the highlight being the woman with the new prosthetic leg piece. Although I would’ve loved to have seen a classic T-Rex skeleton (which would’ve been a scaled down version from the IDEAs set) I think the brachiosaurus skeleton works better in this instance and highlights the creativity of the designer(s) as they let the skeleton extend up through the atrium and cleverly into the second level. My only nit-pick is I wish they would’ve incorporated a light-brick into the build. I know they aren’t typical to Modular Buildings sets but how cool would it be to be able to give the atrium a glow when the museum is closed (Night at the Museum vibes) or put an eerie spotlight on a particularly creepy artifact… Like an Adventurers Pharaoh Hotep sarcophagus?
The Answer: Day 1 purchase and arguably the best Modular to date, if not top 3. 9.9 / 10.0
Creator Highlight: Bricksie’s interview with the set designer!
Want to earn cashback at Lego.com and support the blog? Consider joining Rakuten - use my referral link to sign up and earn a reward with your first qualifying purchase!
