These are a relatively new addition to the Lego line-up and it’s clear that they’re going to be a massive hit, as people have been crying out for Animal Crossing themed official sets for years at this point. It arrives in a fairly large box, bigger than I expected to be honest, though once it’s together the set compresses down into quite a small footprint. Which can then be separated, mixed and matched into other Animal Crossing & similar play sets from other themes. Of course, it’s mainly designed to match and integrate into the other Animal Crossing sets but I could easily see imaginative kids mixing this with stuff from the Ninjago, Hogwarts or Lego City sets.

I like that these sets have appeal for both the younger audience who will use it as a typical playset and also the older audience who would be more interested in collecting a unique set that easily works well as a display or collectible set. The design and colours are essentially like-for-like compared to the in-game buildings, props, and characters it’s based on, aside from a few minor details like the text on Nook’s store sign, which wouldn’t transfer well to the Lego aesthetic.

The build itself is far from challenging and would take a couple of hours at most for a young builder with some occasional adult supervision and prompting. The instructions live up to the usual Lego standard and do a wonderful job of guiding the process along. I didn’t come across any obvious pitfalls in the provided steps. If you want a more comprehensive and interactive set of instructions, the set is also compatible with the Lego builder app on android and iOS.

You do end up with a few random spare bricks, which is completely normal. Of course, with this being from Lego, the bricks are brightly & consistently coloured and are of excellent quality throughout. They’re the usual top-notch quality we’ve all come to expect from the brand, it’s what you’re paying for at the end of the day.

If you’re looking for a unique & giftable playset that has a ton of appeal for any fan, child or adult, of the Animal Crossing Franchise, then this is the one to go for. It’s hard to find anything to complain about here except for the usual expensive price point for a licensed Lego set, but that unfortunately doesn’t seem to be changing any time soon. It’s great that these Animal Crossing sets are independent of each other so you can pick and choose the characters and buildings you like the most.

An easy product to recommend as usual from Lego.