Initial Thoughts on 10234 Sydney Opera House

On my trip to BrickWorld 2013 in Chicago this past weekend, I had a chance to see the new 10234 Sydney Opera House in person. While I love the size and scale of this new mega-build set, I have some mixed feelings about the new model. First, here is a picture of the set and a link to the Lego Design video introducing it:

Pros

• Incredible detailed, and very realistic
• The nested band shells make the model - exquisite modeling for these
• Continues the world landmark sets
• Appears it will be a phenomenal investment set
• Smoky gray transparent bricks nicely mimics glass

Cons

• The base, while a great source of rare dark tan bricks, is so monotone and frankly, boring
• There is very little to bring it to life - it is strictly a model
• Light poles appear too chunky for the scale of the model
• "Water lines" similar to the Tower Bridge model could have provided an additional realistic detail
• Model will be very difficult to display given its footprint

Don't get me wrong, I still think this is an inspired model with a brilliant design, but the base really bugged me. Perhaps the designer wanted to feature the sweeping arcs of the nested bandshells, but I thought Lego missed a home run by not providing a little setting/detail for the base. One of the appealing details of the Tower Bridge was the designer's inclusion of the cars/lorry/bus for the bridge, and I just wish something similar would have been provided with this.

I also think the price point is a little high. At $320, it's nearly $100 more than Tower Bridge, a fairly sizable discrepancy.

10234 Sydney Opera House will be a no-doubt investment winner. Perhaps its high price point will depress sales and make secondary availability that much more appealing.