LEGO Minecraft 21277 The Pickaxe Mine review

LEGO Minecraft 21277 The Pickaxe Mine continues the series of upscaled item structures to great success, innovating in an important way.

21277 The Pickaxe Mine follows up 2023's 21244 The Sword Outpost with a more in-depth build at a similar price point. It expands the possibilities of this interesting series by nearly completely recreating the titular item and allowing it to be disconnected from the main build. This is where the collection needed to go next, and it's not the only way that 21277 The Pickaxe Mine innovates the concept.

21277 The Pickaxe Mine

Release: Jun 1, 2025

Retiring: Dec 31, 2026

Price: £49.99 / $54.99 / €54.99

Pieces: 530

Minifigures: 3

Following in the footsteps of the uniquely designed 21244 The Sword Outpost is no easy feat, but 21277 The Pickaxe Mine takes on the challenge by expanding on a part of the 2023 set that was sorely missed. The back of the build in 21244 The Sword Outpost is completely bare, but since 21277 The Pickaxe Mine is a functional mine shaft, it needs these additional details.

21277 The Pickaxe Mine balances an extensive exterior and interior by using the back of the giant pickaxe to its advantage, allowing you to place five ores for the minifigures to reach and mine. It's a clever use of what would otherwise be an unused space, but it admittedly highlights the empty gaps in the pickaxe that lead to the exterior.

The other play feature in 21277 The Pickaxe Mine's interior makes use of some track laid out on the ground to launch a TNT Minecart towards a wall, blasting open a way to the outside. Alternatively, take the TNT out, and it's a helpful method of transporting material when your inventory is full. The minecart is adequately big enough to fit the chest inside for this purpose.

This is, for all intents and purposes, a fully-functional LEGO Minecraft mine, as well as one that is much more vertically spacious than any other official set. The set almost focuses too much on the mine part, though, leaving the exterior somewhat barebones in comparison and bereft of any major features. It's not the main focus of the set, but it inevitably pales in comparison to the interior, save for the giant pickaxe.

Unlike 21244 The Sword Outpost, the giant pickaxe can be pulled out of the main build as a near-complete LEGO recreation of the item. It's held simply but sturdily in place by a shaped space in the set and a single Technic axle. Remove that axle, and the huge pickaxe is yours to wield as you please. It's a huge improvement on the previous LEGO Minecraft upscaled item set, but for many fans, it won't add any additional value.

The minifigures are another great part of the set, including Alex, a miner who bears a striking resemblance to a character from the recent movie, a Stray, as well as polar bear and spider figures. The figure selection offers enough variety for you to populate the inside and the outside of the mine at the same time, while everything continues to make thematic sense. This further increases both the display and play value of 21277 The Pickaxe Mine.

The topic of play and display value of LEGO sets is an interesting one to approach when analysing 21277 The Pickaxe Mine. Most LEGO Minecraft playsets wouldn't be something for fans to have on a desk at their place of work, but by representing the Minecraft icon, this set successfully balances the line between play and display, offering an adequate interior while providing something interesting to look at.

For £49.99 / $54.99 / €54.99, 21277 The Pickaxe Mine's more literal value is adequate at best. It's by no means generous with its contents, but between the minifigures, interior and features, this is one LEGO Minecraft set just good enough to grab at the asking price without waiting for a sale.

LEGO Minecraft upscaled items comparison

Compared to 21244 The Sword Outpost, 21277 The Pickaxe Mine takes the concept of a playset built around a giant Minecraft item embedded in the terrain and innovates where necessary. The set is just as displayable but with more play value. Admittedly, the debut of a new mob similar to the Allay in the 2023 set would have been even better, but the 2025 model isn't lacking because of it.

21277 The Pickaxe Mine is an improvement on 21244 The Sword Outpost in every way that matters, all while keeping the price just as reasonable as it was in 2023 for the included piece count and contents.

Our honest opinion: The latest upscaled LEGO Minecraft item set is a resounding success, perfectly blending fun features with display value in a playset with interesting minifigures. It's a great option for a new Minecraft fan or those familiar with the game.

This set was provided for review by the LEGO Group.

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