It has been just seven months since the beginning of 2019 and LEGO has already introduced boatloads of awesome sets, but this one here, LEGO Ideas 21318 Tree House, is possibly the company’s most important set ever. Important not because, it is the largest LEGO Ideas set ever at 3,036 pieces; it is because it contains the highest number of sustainable bricks ever in a LEGO set.
Plant-based polyethylene is not new to LEGO though; it first appeared in the LEGO 10268 Creator Expert Vestas Wind Turbine last year. However, with the LEGO 10268 Creator Expert Vestas Wind Turbine, only the plant elements were made from the sustainably-sourced plant-based plastic.
The LEGO Ideas 21318 Tree House, however, has 185 plants and leaves that are made from sustainable materials derived from sugarcane. That’s right. The treetop canopy with interchangeable sets of green summer leaf elements and yellow and brown fall leaf elements are all made from sugarcane. And no. It will not attract ants to it, if that’s what you are thinking. It has none of the sugar that the plant had.
Anyways, the model was a fan-submitted project. It was submitted by France-based Kevin Feeser who channeled his passion for great outdoors into an impressive LEGO set.
Here are the highlights straight from the horse’s mouth:
• This LEGO® Ideas set includes 4 minifigures: mom, dad and 2 children, plus a bird figure.
• This challenging, 3,036-piece building toy features a landscape base, tree with interchangeable sets of green (summer) leaves and yellow and brown (fall) leaves, and a LEGO® Tree House with 3 cabins—main bedroom, bathroom and kids’ room.
• The treetop and cabin roofs are removable for easy access and play.
• Landscape base features a buildable picnic table with 4 minifigure seats and assorted elements to create a picnic, plus a buildable stream, swing (hanging from the tree), bonfire, hidden gem element, plant and bush elements, and a ladder to the cabins.
• Tree foliage features over 180 botanical elements made from plant-based polyethylene plastic using sustainably sourced sugarcane. Assorted plant elements around the tree are also made from this plant-based plastic. This is the first milestone in LEGO® Group’s ambitious commitment to make products using sustainable materials by 2030.
• Main bedroom cabin features a buildable bed, and assorted elements including hidden scissors (as a reference to the fan creator’s day job as a hairdresser), ship in a bottle, compass, clock plus a balcony with a hand-operated, wind-up crane to lift items up to the cabin.
• Bathroom features a buildable bathtub, toilet and sink.
• Kids’ room features bunk beds and assorted elements such as a book and treasure map.
• This LEGO® Ideas creative toy comes with a booklet with building instructions and information about this awesome set’s fan creator and LEGO designer.
• Measures over 14” (37cm) high, 10” (27cm) wide and 9” (24cm) deep.
LEGO Ideas 21318 Tree House is available starting today to LEGO VIPs and it will be available publicly to everyone else who are willing to drop $199.99 for it, starting August 1, 2019.
All images courtesy of LEGO.
