LEGO Ideas 21362 Mineral Collection has gone through some changes since the original design, so we took a closer look.
21362 Mineral Collection has been officially revealed, refined by the LEGO Ideas team but originally designed by Italian fan designer Dario Del Frate. When comparing the final set to the first concept that gained 10,000 supporters, there are some obvious changes to take note of.
While the frame that the minerals sit on has remained largely the same, the brick-built samples themselves have gone through some changes. Not least among them is the fact that Dario's emerald has been swapped out for blue fluorite. However, while all the other minerals are technically the same, even their designs have been adapted.
Let's walk through each one and break down how different they are.
Golden pyrite
The golden pyrite has been adapted, likely to manage costs. Drum-lacquered gold elements are pricey, so some have been swapped out for brick yellow elements around the base. These pieces have also broken away from the all-square look of the original design, making it look as though the pyrite is 'growing' out of some sandy rock. That more natural look fits in with the other minerals, with this being a common change throughout 21362 Mineral Collection.
Blue fluorite / emerald
The biggest change is obviously the swap from emerald to blue fluorite. Considering we've lost some blue in the tourmaline (more on that later), this splash of different shades of blue keeps a strong variety of colours in the LEGO Ideas set. It's also a creative use of what appears to be all-transparent pieces, creating a dynamic mineral to put on display.
Tangerine quartz
Also using largely transparent pieces, the tangerine quartz has gone through some colour swaps, changing from a white base to a nougat one. White transparent caps top off the quartz stems, two of which are much shorter than the original design from Dario. This could be another cost-saving exercise, or simply a way to create more diversity and depth in the build.
Watermelon tourmaline
Another mineral that's gone through quite a major change is the tourmaline, switching from black tourmaline with aquamarine to a watermelon tourmaline. The tourmaline now stands alone, with a gradient of green, yellow, and pink for an eye-catching set. The signature cloudy look of tourmaline is achieve by encasing the coloured elements in transparent white bricks, to great effect.
Purple amethyst
Once again, there's another colour swap, going from a brick yellow rock to dark grey. That swap helps the purple slopes within pop a bit more, helped along by the inclusion of pink transparent bricks interspersed with white ones. The shape of the mineral itself has also been made less smooth, making it look a lot more like a real-life item.
Reddish-pink rhodochrosite
The rhodochrosite has gone through the least changes of all of them, with only the size of some of the red chunks adapted. Otherwise, the look and shape of the mineral has remained the same from Dario's original design.
Generally speaking, the changes made only serve to help the colours pop more and make the minerals look even closer to how they would in real life. In particular, the changes in sculpting and shape make them feel a lot more like real minerals, rather than something brick-built.
21362 Mineral Collection is available to pre-order from LEGO.com right now ahead of its release on October 1, retailing at £54.99 in the UK, $59.99 in the US and from €59.99 in Europe.
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