The 43rd project from LEGO Ideas is now here, the motorized lighthouse. The lighthouse has a motor, two lamps and a lens with which the rotating light and a small fireplace in the cottage are realized. The set will be released on 1st of September at a price of 299,99€.

The sets were generously provided by LEGO for taking pictures on BrickCentral, but the opinions are my own. In the following, I would like to share my first impressions of this set with you.

The Lighthouse

First of all, maybe I should confess that I am a bit biased, I love lighthouses! This LEGO Ideas Lighthouse is built from 2065 pieces and it looks great. Unlike the original design, the tower is built in minifigure scale, which in my eyes is not a disadvantage, but rather a plus point.

The tower stands on a  32×32 baseplate in Earth Blue and on it is a large rock, which hides the Power Functions and something that, of course, can not be missing in any LEGO set, a small cave with a treasure chest. 

The Power Functions are one 9V Battery Box Powered UP with two Switches, one Electric Motor WeDo 2.0 Medium to turn the light unit on top of the lighthouse and one Electric Light Unit Powered UP which is used to light up the light unit and a small fireplace inside the house. 

The rock looks really good and has nice details. At the edge, a small staircase leads down to the water, to a small pier. The entire base consumes about half the parts during construction.

The little house looks very cozy and convincing with a beautiful print above the door. Inside is a small lighted stove, a bed and a few small but nice details. Above the bed hangs a family photo, which is based on a photo of the fan designer. There is also a beautifully drawn map. 

Unfortunately, the photo and the card are not prints, but only stickers. 

The tower itself consists of a basic structure, with a ladder inside, which is covered with individual elements from the outside. On the back, the individual elements can be removed and thus allow a view into the interior of the tower. In the middle floor is a portrait, again a sticker, of a lighthouse keeper on the wall. 

At the top of the tower is the light unit. This is driven by a shaft from the motor at the bottom of the base and rotates continuously. The light shines from below via a mirror (sticker) into a specially made Fresnel lens. This bundles the light and makes it look like a real lighthouse. Everything is switched on via a hidden lever in the cave in the rock under the tower. 

The Minifigures

There are two beautiful minifigures included, one cat and a seagull. One of the figures is a woman in green fishing clothes with a green hat. I love this hat, already the yellow one from the Hidden Side fishing boat has me totally excited and to get now a green version of it, is for me a clear highlight of the figures. Together with the little dark gray kitty, sits the woman in a small white rowboat. 

The second minifigure is, of course, the lighthouse keeper. In dark blue with a dark blue captain’s hat and his beard, he looks like how I imagine him. Perhaps a „pin-on beard“ would have suited him, but even so he is a successful figure.

Conclusion

Overall, I like the lighthouse very much! 

However, given the very high price, I am very disappointed with the stickers. It is almost exclusively simple tiles, which could also be printed without much effort. 

The tower is very close to the original design, but I like the decision to switch to minifigure scale. Otherwise, the changes made make the tower look a little less clunky and enhance the build. 

I had a lot of fun taking the photos and look forward to many more. The tower is very photogenic and will also look great on the shelf. 

I also really like the decision to use Power UP instead of light bricks. This allows the tower to turn on and light up instead of having to permanently press a button to do so, plus the light is much brighter. 

All in one I rate this Motorised Lighthouse with 9/10, as I deduct one point due to the high price. 

Behind the Scenes

Also with the lighthouse, I was again at one of my favorite places on our riverbank. There I found a nice place where I could set up the tower well without sinking the electrics in the water.

In addition, I like the angle of the incident sunlight early in the morning at this location.

One should not forget only before loud photographing occasionally to look out for ships because you have to be really fast if you want to take all your stuff back home again.

I hope I could give you a little insight and share my joy in this set with you. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to join our Discord!