LEGO 21358 Minifigure Vending Machine is surprisingly accurate

A new official video for LEGO Ideas 21358 Minifigure Vending Machine showcases the surprisingly accurate mechanism that makes it work.

As with most major LEGO reveals, a video for 21358 Minifigure Vending Machine has been shared by the LEGO Group to promote the new LEGO Ideas set and demonstrate its main function, and how similar it is to the real thing.

The video, initially shared on the LEGO Group's social media pages before being uploaded to YouTube by uniekebricks, demonstrates the main function of 21358 Minifigure Vending Machine. There are some angles of the model that you won't see when the set is fully built, as well, allowing you to appreciate the interior mechanism.

By inserting one of two provided LEGO coins into the slot, a spinning tower of pieces jostles the capsules inside the vending machine, forcing one to fall into a slot at the base of the build. The capsule is rolled into a hole, in turn being led out of the prize machine at the open archway.

It sounds simple, but it's a mechanism that relies heavily on physics that likely wasn't easy to perfect in an official model. Compared to the real-world equivalent of this machine (with prize capsules instead of gumballs), the only difference between the two is that you get your coin back after the experience in the LEGO Ideas set.

Jared Owen's video demonstrates how the real machine's mechanism works, allowing for a comparison with the official LEGO Ideas set.

21358 Minifigure Vending Machine will cost £149.99 / $179.99 / €169.99 with 1,343 pieces (including 16 minifigures) when it launches on June 1 for LEGO Insiders or June 4 for everyone. From then on, you can admire the accurate mechanism in person.

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