So what is featured? We get a Blue morpho butterfly, Hercules beetle and Chinese mantis on a decorated display stand. The stands are mostly based on treebranches and some other elements like flowers or mushrooms.

Parts selection

The parts selection for this set is quite good. Most bricks, plates, slopes and tiles are rather versatile and standard bricks. The colour choice is rather muted as well with a lot of (dark)tan parts. I consider this a positive because it adds versatillity for MOC usage.

Some bigger specific parts are used, like the dark green windscreens for leaves, but luckily the set doesn’t heavily rely on those.

Another great thing is the absence of stickers. All decorated elements are printed. There are quite a few parts recolored for this set as well, making their first time appearance. Like the rather recent leaf piece (3565) in bright green.

I wouldn’t recommend getting this set if you’re looking for a good partspack however. There are not really parts in bulk quantities present. So it’s not the best starting point for your own builds.

The building process

Like mentioned in a previous review, I prefer to use digital instructions over paper ones. This saves space on the table and makes building a set less messy for me. However, the quality of the online PDF booklets is not ideal. Because this frustrated me again, I decided to download the LEGO builder app. This was an even worse experience. I won’t rant about it too much right now, although I’ll no doubt get back to it in a future blog. It did impact my building experience so in the end this will be considered when grading the set.

The build itself was quite good actually! In bag 1 we start with the stand for the butterfly. This is quite a satisfying process. Wedge plates and modified tiles are used to great effect, fitting neatly to get the desireed shapes. The branch has a few neat tricks (like creating the angle towards the top and is quite interesting to learn new things for building terrain in MOCs.

Bag 2 continues with a rather lush Bromeliad flower. And before we get to the butterfly we first build an excellent little bee. The NPU choice to use a printed egg is a great pick!

The butterfly is mostly a mosaic style build. Not a technique that excites me, but once again, the combination of modified angled and curved tiles looks great in the end. Due to the subtle colour differences and shades, the instuctions were especially annoying here.

Bag 3 stars with the display stand for the Hercules Beetle. All 3 builds share the same basic shape for the base. But once you get building the branch or other decorative elements, all 3 are rather different so I never really got bored with repetition while building the set.

Underneath the branch 2 larvae can be found, with white croissants used for this.

We finish the stand in bag 4 with the blue mushrooms. These are representing Clitocybula azurea. After this we switch our attention to the beetle, building the main part of its body.

In bag 5 we finish the beetle with its limbs, wings and elytra. The set is designed in such a way that displaying is possible with wings spread out from under the elytra or having it closed.

The final model is the Chinese mantis. In bag 6 we once again assemble a treebranch for a display stand. This one is quite a bit more fragile compared to the others. Connections for leaves and flowers aren’t very strong and took me a few tries before everything stayed in place.

The large dark green leaves are added from bag 7. To be honest, I’m not really fond of the colour combinations with the leaves. Maybe having the smaller leaves in dark green would have improved this stand. The mantis itself is a rather simple yet elegant design. It features some of the funniest NPU choices like recolored swords and pistols on its limbs and eyes that are both fun and creepy at the same time. Which is true for most insects as well of course…

Display value

These are some great shelfsitters! The size is reasonable and they are a bit more easy to display in a cabinet or something like that. With the detailed display stands, it shows quite an impressive development in the way LEGO releases sets like this. More detail, more variation etcetera.

Value For Money

The set has been a LEGO exclusive in The Netherlands so far, which means no discount on this set (yet). RRP is €/$79.99 and £69.99. With 1.111 pieces, that’s a bit more expensive than I’m usually willing to pay (when considering Price Per Piece). It is however in a different price bracket than a lot of other Ideas sets over the last few years. I don’t have the budget or space for most of those so that’s a positive for me. And where I usually take sets apart within 24 hours for parts, this one was actually bought to keep on display. So what I’m trying to say, there’s some bias for me here. The set is right up my alley and because the things I just mentioned, I don’t mind the price. It’s not an irresistible good price, which is why it took me a few months after release to pick it up. It’s not terrible either.

Overall

This is a great set! Because of all the SNOT building and techniques, it reminded me a lot of the 21301 Birds set, one of my all time favourites for the building techniques. Only with an update in parts used. Where the birds used mostly traditional plates and bricks, this set has quite a lot of more recent (curved) parts to create more complex builds that have more decoration as well. Some of these new parts feel a bit redundant, but overall parts are used to great effect.

I think it’s the right choice to go for 3 big insects instead of 5. The ladybeetle might have been rather similar with the wings and body to the Hercules beetle so that doesn’t really add a lot to this set. The honeybee is done in such a nice way that I just wished there were 1 or 2 more, but I don’t miss a big one with these designs.

I’d recommend this set to anyone interested in nature builds. Also if you want to learn more SNOT techniques etc for MOCs this is a great set to get inspiration or ideas from.

So these are my thoughts on this set. So what do you think of this set? Are you buzzin’ to get your hands on it? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The entry consisted of brick built versions for: Blue Morpho Butterfly, Hercules Beetle, Asian Lady Beetle, Western Honey Bee and Praying Mantis.

In the final design the Honey Bee and Lady Beetle are replaced by smaller versions or a printed 1×1 round tile. I can understand this choice since it will reduce the price significantly and with all the big and expensive Ideas sets these last few years, this one is rather appealing.

Looking at the final product it’s clear that LEGO made quite some changes. While I’m often critical of this, this time I think the designers have really nailed it. There’s a great variety of building techniques and adding the small bases adds some colour to the builds. It would have been cool if these insects got a printed tile with their name added like the previous Birds Ideas set. But since it’s easy to order some custom prints I wouldn’t call this a major flaw.

The butterfly features some exclusive printing and a beautifully printed bee is also included on this base. The new leave pieces are also featured in the side build.

The Hercules Beetle is more accurately colored in this final version. With the moveable body parts it adds some extra realism.

And finally the Praying Mantis. Maybe my favourite from this set looking at the pictures. The eye print looks cool to me amd the swordlike pieces used for the limbs are a brilliant NPU.

At first I wasn’t convinced about this Idea being picked. But seeing set pictures I must admit that the LEGO designers did an awesome job here. I can’t wait to get my hands on this set!

The LEGO Ideas 21342 ‘The Insect Collection’ will be in store on September 4th and will retail for £69.99 / $79.99 / €79.99

What do you think of this set? Is it a must-buy, maybe or pass for you? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

Official details:

LEGO® IDEAS THE INSECT COLLECTION – CAMPAIGN PRODUCT PRESS RELEASE

Unveiling the LEGO® Green Noise Playlist: The LEGO Group launches Green Noise Playlist to celebrate an unbug-lieveable new set

• Introducing the LEGO® Ideas The Insect Collection, originally conceived by LEGO fan José Maria, from Spain.

• To celebrate the launch, the LEGO Group unveils Green Noise, a new nature-inspired ASMR playlist with LEGO clicks and sounds reimagined as the unique sounds of each insect.

• Created in partnership with award winning and Emmy-nominated Foley artist, Sanaa Kelley, an expert in recreating the sounds of species out of everyday items, the playlist features a soundscape up to 45 minutes, bringing the insects to life via audio.

• A new behind the scenes LEGO film captured at Sanaa’s California-based Foley studios shows how the Green Noise playlist was brought to life.

• The LEGO Green Noise playlist can be streamed at LEGO.com/insects.

The LEGO Group today unveils the LEGO® Ideas The Insect Collection, originally conceived by LEGO fan José Maria (@hackiroku24). To celebrate the launch, the LEGO Group has created Green Noise, a new nature-inspired ASMR playlist with LEGO clicks and sounds reimagined as the unique sounds of each insect using Foley techniques.

Created in partnership with award winning and Emmy-nominated Foley artist, Sanaa Kelley, an expert in creating sound effects out of everyday items, Sanaa has recreated each insect’s own unique sounds in nature using the iconic LEGO brick. Showcasing their beauty and shining a new light on insects around the world, the playlist is inspired by the three extraordinary insects from the new set: the Blue Morpho Butterfly, the Hercules Beetle and the Chinese Mantis. Each track is up to 45 minutes long and created entirely from the flutters, clicks and snaps of LEGO bricks and packaging from the new set alongside a variety of Foley techniques.

With the LEGO Play Well 2022 Report revealing nearly 3 in 5 adults (58%) are spending less than one hour a day relaxing, the playlist is designed to help listeners find a moment of zen in their day, making it the perfect audio accompaniment for LEGO building.

The new LEGO Ideas The Insect Collection – the 50th product from the fan-sourced platform – includes each insect on a separate display based on aspects from their natural habitat. The Blue Morpho butterfly sits on a branch in the South American Amazon Rainforest. Next to it lies a buildable flower with a honeybee hovering over it. Move across to Central America afterwards and build the longest beetle in the world, with the male Hercules beetle sitting atop a decaying log. Its wings can be removed, and the shell closed to allow two display options. Finally, perched on a thin branch from an Asian forest, a Chinese Mantis prays on a small seven-spotted ladybug hiding amongst brick flowers.

Talking about his inspiration for the design, José says: “I studied science and fine art and have always been fascinated with the intricate details of the natural world. Also, as a lifelong LEGO fan who has come up with a range of new set ideas before, I find inspiration for new builds through my hobbies, which include photography and nature.”

Talking about developing the set, Federico Begher, Head of LEGO Product Group comments: “When we saw José Maria’s brilliant design, we knew it would be an instant hit with our fans! The intricate design is testament to José’s impressive academic background, and passion for photography and nature. His excellent designs enabled our team of talented designers to really capture the essence of these remarkable creatures, from the colours to the structure and size. Every detail has been carefully crafted in LEGO bricks, resulting in a one-of-a-kind LEGO collection of three insects from around the world in one set. We are thrilled to share this magnificent build with the world and cannot wait to see the joy it brings to fans.”

Taking fans on a journey behind the scenes, a new LEGO film captured at Sanaa’s California-based studios, Reel Foley Sound, shows how the Green Noise playlist was brought to life with the sounds of the LEGO bricks.

Foley artist Sanaa Kelley comments: “I’ve had the most enriching time working with the LEGO Group to create the Green Noise playlist. Our collaboration has felt like a full circle moment as a few years ago I embarked on a course to learn more about insects to debunk my fears and enhance my knowledge of the sounds they make! Now with the LEGO Group I have finally been able to put my studies into practice and bring to life the sounds of the Blue Morpho Butterfly, Hercules Beetles and Chinese Mantis using their corresponding LEGO bricks and packaging. This was a first at my studio and challenged me to be incredibly creative with my approach to Foley.”

The LEGO Green Noise playlist can be streamed via LEGO.com/insects.

The LEGO® Ideas The Insects Collection will be available globally via LEGO Stores and at LEGO.com/insects from 4th September 2023 for LEGO VIPs and 7th September for all at the recommended retail price of $79.99 / €79.99 / £69.99.