Wirecutter - Our favorite Lego sets for adults

Annam Swanson

A friend gave this set to my family a few Christmases ago, when it was brand new and we’d never heard of a Lego bouquet. We were delighted to find that it was both a fun and easy set to put together and something we’re proud to display—in a vintage vase—in my home year-round. We recently added another pair of Lego roses to the mix, and we’ll add brand new sunflowers in time for summer. How cool is it that some of the pieces are made from plant-based materials?

‌

—Annam Swanson, managing editor

Lego

In sixth grade I rode the bus to school—even though school was within walking distance—so I could make friends with the other kids on the bus route. My efforts were going miserably. One day, after a ride where a kid entertained his friends by slugging me with a sock full of quarters, I got home and built a Lego Technic helicopter. I enjoyed it so much that I consciously remember thinking: I don’t need people anymore, I have Lego. I wanted to show it off on the bus the next day, but I knew it would be immediately destroyed. Instead, I put it on a shelf and took it down once a year, to dust it off and make sure the rotor could still spin.

‌

I hadn’t built any other Lego sets until recently, when I started doing them again with my kids. I thought of the old helicopter as we were building the Lego City Fire Ladder Truck. It was amazing the way the extension ladder worked, how the hose could reel into a perfect coil, the way the tools and gear clipped onto the outside of the truck. Almost immediately, I got overprotective of it. Who took the shovel off the fire truck? Where are the wheels? What’s this loose ladder doing over here?

‌

I rescued and rebuilt it time and again, supervised my kids using it, put it away when they stopped paying attention to it, and told myself I should relax and let them play with it next time. Whatever happens, happens! I didn’t really believe that, though. The fire truck is currently in my closet, in the dark, on a high shelf, hidden under hats. One day, I might take it down and dust it.

‌

—Harry Sawyers, senior editor

Marilyn Ong

Admittedly, I didn’t build this. My husband put it together with our oldest son. However, I have put parts of it back together, when the cranking mechanism on the TV falls apart due to the tiny chaos engines that live in our house.

‌

I love this set because it reminds me of afternoons spent playing Super Mario Bros. with my cousins. I can practically hear that bouncy 8-bit tune just looking at it. The build can get a bit tedious, with all those flat surfaces and rectangular shapes. But in the end you’re rewarded with some really cool mechanics. The image in the TV scrolls, and little Mario, on a wand attached to the side of the screen, will bounce over features in the “game.” And I love how you can actually pop a “cartridge” into the gaming system, and it will spring up and down inside. I have to resist taking the cartridge out and blowing on it every once in a while, just for old times’ sake.

‌

—Marilyn Ong, supervising editor

Erik Erickson

I originally fell in love with Lego during the heyday of its castle theme, in the mid-’90s. Those older sets now go for hundreds of dollars on the secondary market. This portcullis-shaped hole in the lineup had me starved for new sets. So when Lego released the Medieval Castle set as part of its Creator 3-in-1 line last year, I ordered it immediately.

‌

Building this castle brought back so many memories. It forms a square courtyard walled on all four sides, which can be opened to form a long wall, like a stronghold between fiefdoms. In the years between its older castle sets and this current one, Lego has advanced its parts manufacturing and building technique, ensuring this is a far-more-detailed and interesting build than the previous sets. Until Lego comes to its senses and fully relaunches its castle line, this set is the best thing to quench my thirst.

‌

—Erik Erickson, senior engineering manager, data platforms

Connor Grossman

Picking up this Lego set was like buying a time machine, transporting me back to my childhood. As a kid, my bedroom floor was almost entirely swallowed up by a Lego city, sprawling with cars, homes, and at least three fire stations. My citizens were very well protected.

‌

The Ship in a Bottle set was a perfect reentry into the hobby. It provided a couple hours of meditative building on a winter afternoon, and I ended up with a sleek final product. I love that it doesn’t have the obvious appearance of a Lego creation. But more than anything, I love that I built a ship in a bottle without having to actually build a ship in a bottle. Such is the magic of Lego.

‌

—Connor Grossman, audience development strategist

Joshua Lyon

Part of the Lego Fairground collection, the Haunted House is a working free-fall-elevator ride called Manor Von Baron. The massive house swings open to reveal a highly detailed interior—the pipe organ alone is masterful—packed with Easter eggs from long-retired Lego sets. It’s a trip for adults who recognize details like the sphinx head from 1998’s Sphinx Secret Surprise (5978).

‌

—Joshua Lyon, editor

Erik Erickson

I was surprised that Lego decided to release a large-scale version of the Batwing. It had a relatively minimal presence in the 1989 Batman movie (which was my favorite as a 10 year old). It seemed like fate that Lego released the set not long after I got back into building them, so I had to grab it. It didn’t disappoint.

‌

The Batwing has some very unique construction techniques, including the use of rubber bands to achieve the curved edges of the plane's wings. It’s large and unwieldy—but part of the structure includes a point to allow it to be mounted on a wall. Although I haven’t yet hung it up, I did recently clear some wall space for it. Hopefully this time it won’t come crashing down.

‌

—Erik Erickson, senior engineering manager, data platforms

Lego

As a Wirecutter Lego tester, I’ve amassed a collection of “uh-oh” Lego pieces—all of the bits and bobs I find in corners (thanks, cats) or under my desk long after I’ve disassembled sets and returned or donated them. Pastel and primary, Minecraft and Frozen, all living in harmony in a little ceramic bowl on my desk.

‌

An assortment of Lego bricks is the perfect fidget toy. When a Zoom call goes long, I mindlessly transform them into creatures and skyscrapers. With the Creative Brick Box, you can quickly assemble various Lego pieces in a bowl for your desk, dining table, or anywhere else you like to let your mind wander. This set has a nice mix of coordinating colors and size pieces—no disembodied heads or surplus of 1x1 bricks, like an organically grown “uh-oh” bowl (unless that’s what you’re into).

‌

—Signe Brewster, senior staff writer

Joshua Lyon

Not to be confused with the huge Lego Creator Taj Mahal, this smaller version of the stunning mausoleum is just as grand as its now-retired predecessor, and it’s much easier to display on a shelf. It’s also a pleasantly simple build, for something that looks so complex. And I appreciated all of the informative tidbits peppered throughout the instruction booklet that detail construction of the actual UNESCO World Heritage Site.

‌

—Joshua Lyon, lead editor

Joshua Lyon

I love the Star Wars franchise, but I never found Luke and Leia’s daddy all that interesting. So I was surprised to find myself so drawn to Darth Vader’s Castle. I dig all of its sleek lines and sharp tips. Whenever I display this model, it feels less like a toy and more like a piece of art spotted in the background of a horror film—a sculpture that you just know is going to end up lodged in someone’s back by Act 3.

‌

—Joshua Lyon, editor