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Best LEGO sets for kids, big and small

The Best LEGO sets are all you need to keep your mind occupied.

Best LEGO sets for kids, big and small

LEGO is one of the few toys that never seems to age. And, sure, if you don't like LEGO being called a toy, some of the sets below prove your point.

There are sets so complicated and expansive LEGO itself only recommends them for 18+ age builders. And as big kids ourselves, we have a major soft spot for these giant construction projects.

UPDATE:LEGO has come up with a great new Batman set, and it's a whopper with almost 4000 pieces. It's a recreation of the bat cave, and is ideal if you want a set you an actually make part of your home decoration.

Today, we're looking for the Lego sets that stand out, the kits with real stature and personality. However, we've avoided including ones that are no longer readily available, which tends to see their cost rocket off into the stratosphere.

We have Star Wars LEGO, recreations of iconic real-world monuments. And, because not everyone wants to spend weeks on a LEGO set, there are a couple of simple kits in here too.

Upvote the LEGO set you want to see as the best LEGO set, and leave suggestions at the bottom for all-time-great LEGO you think we should add to this shortlist.

Best LEGO sets

Best LEGO sets

1. LEGO R2-D2

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This one took us the best part of the weekend to construct but, boy, was it worth it. Standing tall at 13-inches (31cm), this LEGO R2-D2 is made of 2147 pieces, has a retractable mid leg and even has Luke's lightsaber hidden inside a compartment. Full of the Star Wars flourishes we wanted, this one is a must for fans.

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Best LEGO sets

2. LEGO Ideas Home Alone

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This Home Alone LEGO set that recreates Kevin McCallister's house, complete with some fantastic booby traps, famous moments from the film and other fantastic geeky details. The set uses nearly 3,000 pieces and comes with a number of Minifigures, including Kevin, The Wet Bandits and more!

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Best LEGO sets

3. LEGO NASA Apollo 11 Lunar Lander

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A beautifully presented LEGO set, this recreation of the Lunar Landing is made up of 1087 bricks and was made in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the Lunar landings. There are detachable sections, you can recreate the One Small Step famous moment and it includes two astronaut inifigures.

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Best LEGO sets

4. LEGO Creator Colosseum

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This is the biggest set LEGO has ever constructed and will take a long time to build. In total there are 9036 pieces - all pretty much the same colour - and the set comes with a 360 degree design that shows off the amphitheater in all its glory.

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Best LEGO sets

5. LEGO 1989 Batwing

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Following on from the 1989 Batmobile, the 1989 Batwing is a stunning LEGO set that comes with 2363 bricks. It's a really good interpretation of Tim Burton's Batwing design. It includes a mounting bracket and three exclusive mini figures.

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Best LEGO sets

6. LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System

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Yes, we have two Nintendo-LEGO linkups in this list but that's because they are so good! The LEGO Nintendo Entertainment System is another fantastic reproduction of something from (our) childhood. Made of some 2646 pieces, the kits is very faithful to the original NES and you also get bricks to make a Game Pak cartridge, too. There are some nice touches, including a TV that has a handle, crank it up and you control the 8-bit Mario on the screen. Lovely stuff

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Best LEGO sets

7. LEGO Millennium Falcon

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This is one of the all-time classic LEGO sets. There have been more than a dozen LEGO takes on this Star Wars Millennium Falcon model over the last 20 years. But this whopper first introduced in 2017 is the most extensive of the lot. It features 7541 pieces, and is 83cm long when fully constructed. There are even removable outer panels to get you dig into the ship's inner workings. The Guinness World Record for its construction is 10 hours 21 minutes — it's going to take at least double that time for the rest of us.

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Best LEGO sets

8. LEGO Typewriter

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This is a wonderful product, created with fantastic care and attention. The retro typewriter, when assembled, has working keys, with a moveable carriage. There's a place to feed paper into the thing and there is a black red ink spool that can be attached. Another brilliant touch is that the typewriter is based on one that was used by LEGO founder Kirk Kristiansen.

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Best LEGO sets

9. LEGO Batcave – Shadow Box

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This is one of the more impressive new LEGO sets of recent years, and it works on two fronts. Your first take will be the Batman Batcave Shadow Box is purely a presentation kit, the kind of thing you might put up on a shelf alongside other geeky wares. Sure, it can be. However, it also opens up doll house style, turning this into an actual play centre, including a Batmobile and seven minifigs. This set is comprised of a chunky 3981 pieces and is recommended for 18+ builders.

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10. LEGO London Skyline Model Building Set

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If you're more into realistic scenes than haunted houses or Harry Potter, this is for you. Picturing a beautifully detailed London skyline, you'll build the London Eye, Big Ben and Tower Bridge – it even includes the National Gallery and Nelson’s Column.

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Best LEGO sets

11. LEGO The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell

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An epic LEGO set of an epic scene from an epic movie series. The Lord of the Rings: Rivendell recreates the elven home from Fellowship of the Ring, including the scene where the key characters are all sat in a ring on chairs. Classic stuff. This set is comprised of 6167 pieces and is a pretty complicated project, recommended for builders of age 18+.

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Best LEGO sets

12. Adventures with Mario / Luigi Starter Course

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The Adventures with Mario and Luigi Starter Courses are superb. They are interactive LEGO sets that marry the fun of the Mario games with traditional LEGO. Both Mario and Luigi versions of the sets are available. We tried out the Luigi one and it comes with a LEGO Luigi who shows reactions via LCD screens and a speaker, and platforms and blocks to create a course. Building instructions are done through the LEGO app, which adds to the fun. While you only need one kit to start, the magic really happens when you start combining courses.

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