LEGO has learned its lesson from 21337 Table Football

The reveal of LEGO Ideas 21346 Family Tree suggests that the LEGO group have learned a lesson following the retirement of 21337 Table Football.

After months of sales before its retirement at the end of 2023, just over a year after its launch, 21337 Table Football presented at least one lesson-learning opportunity for the LEGO Group. The full reveal of 21346 Family Tree indicates that the retired LEGO Ideas set may have helped shape the 2024 model.

The upcoming 1,040-piece set is based on a contest-winning model by Ivan Guerrero but there's one major difference between the proposed project and the final design – a distinct lack of minifigures.

To best represent as many families as possible, matching with the main function of the set, 21346 Family Tree would have needed to rival and possibly overtake the diversity of minifigure elements in 21337 Table Football as well as find a place in the build to store them all. The base is already sufficiently full with the photo holders and other accessories, but that's not the biggest issue with this concept.

While the exact reasons behind the pricing of 21337 Table Football have not been confirmed, its 22 included minifigures and a wide variety of head and hair pieces almost certainly didn't do its cost any favours. By avoiding minifigures entirely, 21346 Family Tree circumvents this issue and instead presents the option to add custom minifigures of your family separately.

Reacting to the set's reveal on LEGO Ideas, many comments on the LEGO Ideas blog have been quick to point out the lack of any minifigures compared to the price but there's every chance that including minifigures and a bevy of customisation options would have raised the £79.99 / $79.99 / €89.99 cost to a less affordable level.

Considering the online community's penchant for creating custom minifigures of themselves, recreating family members in the same way should be no trouble and the accessories provided in 21346 Family Tree will help to complete the scene with a family of custom minifigures.

You can find out more about the set by clicking here to watch our new YouTube video all about 21346 Family Tree. The new LEGO Ideas model launches on February 1, 2024, for £79.99 / $79.99 / €89.99 and you can pre-order it now.

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