I bought this for The Boy as a Happy New Year gift - he has been whining about this being a retired set since we got in to building Lego over the first UK lockdown. Lo and behold Lego did me a solid and re-released it.

Once again my lack of being able to translate written measurements in my head to what they will be in physical form let me down. I was pleasantly surprised at how big this was finished and how detailed. Generally looks great on display, or it will when we find a permanent home for it.

A couple of things to look out for - the piece count may be high but 284 of those pieces are the little blue dots that make the water in the bottom of the bottle. Also, when you site the ship it looks like it will be toot all for the bottle. The Boy had a little breakdown as he was sure he had done something wrong. I had a quick look and advised him to keep going and trust the instructions as I could see off the book and the pieces that were going to make the top of the bottle over the ship had enough leeway to allow for the mast tops - helps to keep the ship in place.

Nicely detailed build with some fun techniques that he thoroughly enjoyed. Definitely makes a good talking point as his non-Lego friend group were all impressed with it in their group chat.

Number Of Pieces: 962

Approximate Price Per Piece: £0.07

Build Time: 2 Hours

I got this set more as a desire to build something versus a desire to build THIS. However, after it's been on my shelf for a while, I've come to realize I'm darned impressed. The stand is a piece of art unto itself, with a movable compass, printed globes (which happen to be mini-earths!), and a well-adorned plaque reading "Leviathan". The bottle is well made, combining some very clever techniques to make a base and symmetrical build. The design of using normal square and rectangular plates on the bottle in order to lock it into the stand is also very clever. The cork is a little extravagant for my tastes, but I think it adds a good flair to the overall build. The actual ship is very nice; its three masts allow for some movement and manipulation, and I think the loose studs around it are a good choice for water design. For me, I have added some candle flames to the cannons to give the impression of them firing, two clip pieces on the side to act as anchors, as well as a sloped piece on the bow to make it look more complete in the front. Overall, I am surprised at how much I have enjoyed this build.

I purchased this because I was excited to display the finished piece in my living room. It looks fantastic. I like the idea of a ship in a bottle, but find them a bit over the top, decor wise. The Lego version is cool, creative, and an awesome conversation piece! This was my first time building a Lego set. I found that everything was reasonably straightforward and doable, although the transparent bottle construction challenged me a bit. I found it impossible to connect the flat base of the bottle with the round corner pieces, and this made the overall construction of the bottle feel precarious. Not sure if I did something wrong, but in the end I got a fully constructed bottle that seems to be in okay shape. It might not be perfect, but it should hold up as long as no one goes and knocks it about aggressively.

Overall, I had fun building this, and would love to see more similar items from Lego! The other kit I'm coveting is the Piano, but that's a bit pricey for me for now. Maybe someday! I'd love to see more pieces that function as nice decor elements in the home.

I m glad this retired set is back. This set is a great ideas. It inspired me to swap out the ship to something else on day one. This set had a solid foundation with the bottle for me to fit anything inside it - the sky is the limit.

Liked:

- Cool printed bricks, no sticker

- Amazing details on the bottle holder with compass and mini-globes

- Awesome bottle design

- Nice decoration to fit anywhere in the house

Disliked:

- Clear glass pieces were not in the individual package and they just throw in the box, they might get scratches easily during transportation (Mine were ok condition, but not perfect.)

- Ship design can be more detailed. It would be nice if an alternative build for the ship.

- Need to get more trans-blue rounds to fill up the seawater in the bottle.

- Feel like this more likely an age 16+ set. Since this set is more for display, but not very playable with hands-on. My friend decided to pick up my displaying bottle to have a look, but the bottle fall apart and he dropped it on the floor. Luckily this is a LEGO set, we rebuilt it together.