I hope you've been practicing your airs and graces, because a Lego Downton Abbey set is on its way.
This thing feels as grand as the actual house itself with all that stately grandeur; Lego Downton Abbey challenges some of the best Lego sets with a whopping 4,711 pieces, and you flip the facade around to reveal some of the location's best-known spaces like the dining room, servant's hall, and library. There are over 10 minifigures included as well, ranging from The Dowager Countess and Lord Grantham to Mrs. Hughes. It's a pretty comprehensive cross-section of the cast from across the show and movies, so chances are your favorites are included.
Lego Downton Abbey will be available to order from October 4, or October 1 if you're part of the free Lego Insiders program.
UK: £269.99 at Lego
This kit is closing in on 5,000 pieces, so it's suitably grand; it measures at 12in (30cm) high and 18in (44cm) wide. It isn't just a face, either. You can flip it around to reveal the main hall, dining room, library, kitchen, and servants' hall, and Carson's office. (There's even a separate tree like one found on the grounds.) In terms of minifigures, you're getting The Dowager Countess, Lord Grantham, Lady Grantham, Lady Mary, Lady Edith, Tom Branson, Mr Carson, Mrs Hughes, Mr Bates, Thomas Barrow, Mrs Patmore, Anna Bates, and Daisy Parker.
This ode to the beloved period drama is actually based on a fan design submitted by Sebastian Veselka, whose build gained thousands of supporters and was eventually chosen by Lego to be turned into an actual kit.
"Rebuilding Downton Abbey as a LEGO set felt like the perfect way to celebrate the series in a personal way, bringing together my love of British architecture, my memories of watching the show with my family, and the atmosphere of the 1920s," says Veselka. "Seeing the project reach 10,000 supporters in just three months was incredible. I’m so grateful to everyone who supported it and can’t wait for fans to travel back in time and step inside the Crawley family’s iconic home in LEGO brick form."
In a sweet twist, there's actually a cute Easter egg referencing Veselka in this model; the newspaper features their initials, 'SV.'
Of course, that's not the only reference hidden away there. Fans of the series will spot plenty of goodies inspired by the show like Mr. Carson's candlestick telephone and plaques below bells for each room (including a cheeky new addition, the "Lego room").
Because so much drama takes place around the dining table, the minifigures for Lego Downton Abbey feature additional clothing elements that are especially designed to let them sit.
As a massive fan of the show as well as a longtime Lego nerd, I'm pretty chuffed with how this has turned out. It really does look the part and captures the most important rooms of the house, all while filling it with most of the iconic characters (honestly, I don't know if I could deal with the emotional damage of Matthew and Sybil being included). I've seen some criticism online that it doesn't feature the house's third floor where the servants sleep, but I don't think that loss detracts much. As noted by HeisenBergeron61492 on a reddit thread discussing the model, this would also balloon the cost: "It's already a 4,700 piece set for $350, where do you think an entire third floor with furnished rooms is coming from in that parts budget without massively increasing the price?" I'm with them, and don't think we'd gain much in exchange for the uptick in MSRP.
Lego Downton Abbey can be added to your own household this October, alongside a new Lego PlayStation and Lego Wallace & Gromit.
This isn't the only cool new kit to be revealed over the last few days; as it happens, we're also getting a new Lego Link & Epona kit based on Ocarina of Time.
- See the latest Lego kits at Lego
