LEGO Marvel 76286 Guardians of the Galaxy: The Milano review

The latest LEGO Milano is the ultimate homage to Marvel's spacefaring squad – but is it enough to get you hooked (on a feeling)?

76286 Guardians of the Galaxy: The Milano landed on shelves in August, paying homage to the Guardians throughout their trilogy of movies. At over 2,000 pieces, it's the most detailed version of the Milano we've ever had in LEGO form, with plenty of play functionality built in for when you dare to remove it from its stand.

Does that level of detail pay off, or will 76286 Guardians of the Galaxy: The Milano come in for a crash landing? We've got all that and more in our in-depth review.

Release: October 28, 2024 Price: £159.99 / $179.99 / €179.99 Pieces: 2,090 Minifigures: 4 (plus Groot) LEGO: Order now

A unique spaceship done true justice

76286 Guardians of the Galaxy: The Milano is a recreation of an eye-catching ship, one that acts more like a bird than a vehicle when in flight. The Guardians can zip to the rescue so quickly because the on-screen Milano can turn on a dime, thanks to its 'feathery' wings, with three sections that can move independently for agile flight.

The LEGO Marvel designers have expertly captured this dexterity by attaching the segments using ball joints, so all six wings are fully adjustable, as well as the four thrusters at the back. The dramatic changes this provides to the shape of the ship can be seen in the picture below, where each side has been posed in stark opposition to the other.

That means you can accurately pose 76286 Guardians of the Galaxy: The Milano to take a steep dive, glide, or swoop through the air, lending the enormous ship to play more easily than most sets of this size. When positioned on the display stand, it looks as though it's preparing to dive, offering the best view into the cockpit through the specially-printed windscreen.

The build process involves creating various smaller segments that slot and slide into place gradually, making a mammoth task fly by. It also means you don't need any explanation at the end of the build about which parts can be posed in which direction – the nature of the build means you get to know the brick-built ship as you go.

An impressively detailed interior, if you can reach it

Zooming in on the interior of 76286 Guardians of the Galaxy: The Milano, there's an impressively detailed inside to the ship, with various stickered elements that capture the history of the Guardians. There's even an extra character inclusion, with Yondu phoning in to say hi to the Guardians.

The walls at the back are decorated with a stereo for Peter to listen to his beloved mixtape on and plenty of room at the front for three minifigures to sit, visible through the transparent cockpit. There's even a plate for Baby Groot to slot into, keeping him front and centre in the ship.

This interior is narrow but accessible when you peel away the roof, which clips in and out of place easily. However, the structure of the vehicle means that the middle and back of the interior are much harder to reach, even with small fingers. It would perhaps work better if you could lift off the ceiling rods with the rest of the roof but, presumably, that would affect the integrity of the ship.

As it stands, any scenes you might want to recreate need to happen at the front of the ship, despite the fact that there are plates throughout the ship with studs for the minifigures to attach to. Clearly, there's an intention for the entire ship to be accessible for play options but in reality, it's not quite as simple as that.

The uniforms make sense – but who wants logic?

Moving on to the minifigures, four of the five Guardians are kitted out in red suits to give them a uniform look – apart from Groot, of course, who's dressed only with a pot. Each minifigure has some slight differences – Gamora's green skin is visible around her neckline and Drax's torso is bare to show off his tattoos, for example. However, the red costumes, while making sense logically in unifying the team, do mean that the minifigures end up feeling a little same-y.

In particular, Rocket poses a conundrum. He naturally needs shorter legs to avoid being oversized (and he still is quite oversized) but that does mean he needs to stand, rather than sit, if posed in the cockpit. His brick-built gun, although suitably massive to suit his gun-slinging habits, is too heavy for his shorter stature, tipping him forward if not resting on the ground no matter how you pose it.

Every minifigure has their own weapons – although none quite the size of Rocket's – that helps each one to stand out. However, considering 76286 Guardians of the Galaxy: The Milano is supposed to be the Milano to beat all previous Milanos, it would have been nice to see the Guardians with more diverse clothing. Nonetheless, it makes sense to see the superheroes in a unified look. Our only reservation is, at this size and price point, do you want logic or do you want the best overall look?

As far as the ship itself goes at least, 76286 Guardians of the Galaxy: The Milano is two for two on that front. Come and get your love LEGO as soon as funds allow.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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Honest opinion: An undoubtedly impressive set that's just as rewarding for display as it is for play.