Way back in 2014, LEGO struck up a partnership and ventured into the TV city of Springfield. The Simpsons made their LEGO debut with 71006 The Simpsons House, which was quickly followed the next year with the 71016 Kwik-E-Mart. Meanwhile, there were two Collectible Minifigure Series. And then the theme fell dormant. Now, after a decade-long gap, we are getting the newest addition to the line, under the Icons banner. LEGO Icons 10352 The Simpsons: Krusty Burger enters the scene as the next large set in the series, though smaller than the others. Weighing in at 1635 pieces, and including 7 minifigures, it will retail for US $209.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99. Join us for lunch as we tour the set, which will be available to LEGO Insiders on June 1 and to all on June 4th.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Disclaimer: Ironically, I live mere minutes from the town that gave the show its namesake, and my father was also teasingly gifted Mr. Burns memorabilia by his employees when I was a kid, but I have never personally watched the show in my life. I’m simply reviewing the set from a standpoint of a LEGO fan, and not necessarily a Simpsons fan, so please forgive me if I miss or mistake a reference.
Unboxing the parts, instructions, and sticker sheet
The box is of typical 18+ set size, with the new nesting lid format. The front depicts the building closed, while the back shows it opened up to expose the interior features.
Inside the box are paper bags numbered 1-12 and an unnumbered plastic polybag for the larger plates and Lisa’s skirt box.
The instruction booklet features a different angle of the building on its front. Like other 18+ sets, the first several pages are dedicated to information about the TV show and the production of the set.
There are two sticker sheets included with the kit. Combined, it’s a whopping 40 stickers! Comparatively, The Simpsons House has 2504 pieces with less than 20 stickers and the Kwik-E-Mart has 2160 pieces with 50 stickers. While the Kwik-E-Mart has more, at only 1635 pieces, the ratio here is bigger.
The build
Bag one of our build starts with the base of the Krusty clown car. My research tells me that this is actually Homer’s car, decorated to look like it belongs to Krusty, from the “Homie the Clown” episode where he impersonates him.
There are lots of fun color variants here, including a couple re-colors. Right away, our first stickers go on the sides of the car. There are no doors, so the minifigures must be taken in and out from the roof. The trunk/boot of the vehicle opens, but the opportunity to put something inside was missed. (More room for stolen grease, I suppose.)
After the car, we turn our attention to the building, starting with the exterior ordering menu (complete with Krusty’s face and hands) and interior microwave and soda fountain.
From there, we add the drive-thru window and then the bathroom. The technique used to make the trim around the window (stacking plate and tile sideways) is a nice touch. This will be the first of several times it is used.
In the bathroom, the toilet design is one that I haven’t scene before, but find interesting. The actual bowl is, well… a bowl. A life preserver forms the seat ring, which isn’t a new technique, however, the way it’s floating by mounting it to the wall with the tank via a handle element is clever. I also like the half-pin used as an empty toilet paper roll.
Moving right along, we put in the bathroom and front doors, as well as lay the groundwork for the next section of the building. Ultimately, it is somewhat broken up into roughly two quarters and a half. The sections are connected by hinges and unfold like a book.
Atop our lavender and aqua floor tile we furnish the building with fast food diner seating. Here, I love the techniques used for both the large booth and the smaller tables. Raising the chairs up by slotting the new 1×1 round plate with vertical bar into the holes of the round 1×4 plates takes me back to fast food joints from my childhood. As for the booth, it looks more complicated than it is, in a good way. I see myself replicating this technique elsewhere.
Along with the furniture, we get a trash can with sauce pumps, a wall of windows that open, and food on the tables. One of the food items is clearly a nod to the “ribwich” – something mentioned on the poster next to the bathroom and a spoof of McDonald’s McRib sandwich.
Next to our dining area is Krusty’s Kid Zone ball pit. With a rough idea of the show’s humor and what I’ve seen myself in real life, I can’t imagine going in there to be a pleasant experience. But the construction is fun, incorporating a number of Technic ball joints in various colors.
To close off this section, we put up a wall adorned with Bart’s graffiti and more Easter egg posters.
Our final building section is the kitchen area. It comes complete with cash registers, coolers, a broken ice cream machine, a mop bucket, and a few burgers. A box of coleslaw sits outside the coolers and is exceptionally expired – another nod to a specific episode. I find it odd that the coolers are completely empty, but perhaps it was a purposeful decision due to something related to that box. One of the registers shows an enormous total, which is mirrored by the drive-thru ticker saying 700 Krusty Burgers are up next. Apparently this is in reference to an episode where Homer orders them after being lost at sea.
On what would be the back wall of the kitchen sits the grill and fryer. This would’ve been a good opportunity to use the Friends spatula instead of a little fork, but that’s a nitpick.
I do like the use of Wolverine claws for fries, and that the fry basket comes out of the fryer. It’s a simple but very clever and effective use of a window with a lattice insert.
But clearly, there are serious issues with the fryer situation. There is a note on the notice board next to the bathroom saying to change the fryer oil. Meanwhile, the grease trap outside is oozing oil/grease. Next to that, the “MEAT-LIKE BY-PRODUCT DELIVERY ENTRANCE” (along with the numerous other shady references) make it clear that this is a concerning place to dine.
Moving on, the sections hinge together and fold up, and our next order of business is to put on the roof. Along the way, we’ve built a handful of supports along the walls for the roof pieces to clip into.
The top of the roof floats freely on the supports. It’s not snug, so it almost feels a little unfinished or not as tidy, but ultimately it’s not a big deal. There isn’t much interesting on the roof, but it is nice that the door and fan both act as handles for easily removing the top. The corners of the roof are also cleverly capped by using a 1×3 inverted tile slotted onto a nozzle element.
To wrap up the model, we turn to the giant Krusty Burger sign. Like in many other areas, his visage is prominently on display. Here and elsewhere, the new 2×3 accent plate, recolored in teal, is used perfectly for his wild hair. The sign itself is a sturdy plate-and-tile sandwich, while the pole below it utilizes the new long Technic connector introduced in the LEGO Ideas 21356 River Steamboat.
Now for my biggest gripe of the set. I’ve said it before and I guess I’ll say it again: I understand that stickers are a necessary evil. Sometimes I even welcome them. But if we’re going to have stickers – especially on an expensive 18+ set – they need to be done right. First and foremost, not all the stickers are perfectly aligned with their die-cuts. Krusty’s face here is a perfect example of how things aren’t centered or lined up. Neither of the stickers below are centered on their die. While my sticker placement may not be 100% perfect, the stickers themselves aren’t helping. No amount of careful positioning will line up the top of the mouth with the bottom.
Secondly, you may notice something else about the mouth below: the stickers aren’t centered on the parts. Most of the time, when you’re placing a sticker on a LEGO element of the same shape, the intent is for the sticker to be centered. But more than once in this build, you’re actually supposed to bring the stickers to the edges of the elements. The problem? This is not explicitly noted or demonstrated anywhere, so you have to be paying careful attention. Or, learn the hard way through trial and error (potentially damaging the stickers in the process).
With that less-than-glowing remark, let’s move on to the completed model!
The completed model
All four sides have some bit of detail, although it’s pretty clear which side is the back. Something I didn’t mention previously was the cartoon-ish hedge. It’s simple, but fits the vibe just right.
Interestingly, the building technically doesn’t open from the front. Instead, it folds open from the side. But this allows for a much better play and display experience. You can actually see and get to everything pretty easily; the menu board moves, and the bathroom wall is only secured by a couple jumper tiles.
The minifigures
Of course, what would the Krusty Burger be without its occupants? Here, we have Krusty himself, Homer, Bart, and Lisa Simpson, Sideshow Bob, Officer Lou, and the “Squeaky Voiced Teen” minifigures. All of the characters have custom-molded heads, signature to the Simpsons series. Let’s take a closer look…
Pedaling tainted plant-based burgers, Farmer Krusty and his employee, the Squeaky Voiced Teen, come with a pitchfork and mop, respectively. Both have dual-molded arms with front and back printing on the torsos. Overall, Krusty’s torso is the most interesting of the bunch, but that’s not saying much.
Sideshow Bob looks innocent enough here, but apparently he’s a pretty shady dude and the arch nemesis of Bart. He comes with a pie. Meanwhile, Officer Lou comes with a coffee cup. Both have generic legs, dual-molded arms, and simple front and back printing.
The Simpsons family follow suit with the others, however Bart and Lisa both have dual-molded legs, and Lisa has a red cloth skirt. Unfortunately, I do not have their counterparts from other sets or Collectible Minifigure Series to compare with. The molding quality seems nice, and the prints are decent too, albeit pretty plain.
Conclusions and recommendations
As I said in the disclaimer above, I haven’t watched the show. So naturally, I can’t appreciate the jokes the same way a true fan might. With that in mind, I’m basing my assessment solely on the quality of the build experience relative to the cost.
This was a pretty fast build. While seemingly packed with Easter eggs and features, there’s not a lot of 18+ complexity here. I would imagine that one of the biggest reasons for this being an adult set would simply be the show’s nostalgia appeal for older audiences. The stickers are numerous and sometimes frustrating to apply, so there’s that aspect I suppose. Overall I actually did enjoy building the model more than I initially thought I would, and I like the way it neatly folds and unfolds. I think it would be a nice display piece for a collector, and a fun model to build while watching the show. That said, it does not seem like a $200+ set. Not even close.
In short, if you’re ambivalent about the show, this one isn’t for you. There are other ways to acquire any of the interesting parts, and you can recreate the furniture for other purposes by using pictures or the free instructions. And if you ARE a big fan of the show and must have this for your collection, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed in the build experience, but I suggest waiting until it goes on sale.
LEGO Icons 10352 The Simpsons: Krusty Burger will be available starting June 4th, retailing for US $209.99 | CAN $259.99 | UK £179.99. You may be able to find it from third party sellers on eBay and Amazon.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
“I live mere minutes from the town that gave the show its namesake,”
You live in the state of North Takoma, Nice!