Over the past few months, I’ve built a couple of the LEGO Architecture skyline series, and have really enjoyed them. I’ve got London, Shanghai, and Venice on display right now. All were fun and unique builds (though Venice seemed so simple, compared to either London or Shanghai). So far, the only skyline I’ve built that matches a city I’ve not been to has been Venice (but it’s on my list of places to see!). Now, I add a second: Sydney! I’ve never been to Australia, but I’ve had a lifelong interest in Australia, dating back to even before I acquired a middle-school pen-pal from Australia (yes, I’m old enough to have had pen-friends that I wrote to by snail mail, delivered halfway around the world on thin paper stuffed inside red-and-blue-bordered thin envelopes with real stamps–45¢ per 1/2 ounce letter!–you had to lick; or the ever-popular aerogramme (39 cents!), the specially-cut writing paper that folds into a sealable, pre-stamped envelope for international correspondence). So, I know a bit about Australia. I want to go there, and will, eventually. So of course, I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to try a clone replica of a skyline set when I found out the skyline series is being cloned.

This one comes from Bela. Bela has produced a large range of clones, and this appears to be their third skyline (they also make London and Chicago). I am hopeful they will begin to produce replicas of discontinued Architecture sets. Surprisingly, I have never owned a Bela set before, and this was one of my first two Bela products purchased (I also bought a princess castle set made by Bela for my daughter, which will also get reviewed here soon!). I had heard reasonably good things about them, and I am happy to say, I am pleased with the outcome.

To begin, these skyline sets are clearly aimed at a more mature builder. Younger children will likely find these boring. However, older children in their 40s, such as myself, will delight in their cleverness and simplicity, as well as how much can be rendered so accurately with such simplicity. It’s actually a hallmark of the Architecture line: clever recreations of landmarks using mostly run-of-the-mill pieces. No specially created elements here! This set even includes lots of very traditional 2×4 and 2×2 plates, as well as the age-old hinge pieces that make up the Opera House.

The landmarks featured in Sydney’s skyline include the Sydney Tower, Deutsche Bank building, Harbour Bridge, and of course, the Sydney Opera House. But, I didn’t know the names of anything but the Opera House until I did some online research, since–likely as a result of the 2017 LEGO v. Bela lawsuit in China (result: clones legal, blatant reproduction of LEGO-copyrighted packaging and booklets illegal)–Bela does not merely reprint the Lego-produced booklet to include. In a Lego-produced Architecture set, one receives a very thick book featuring photos and background details on all of the set’s featured landmarks. In a Bela set, one receives a very basic instruction book featuring building instructions. Full stop. So, with no background on what you’re building, you may want to browse the Sydney tourist pages or Wikipedia to get a feel for the city you’re submitting to miniaturization in Bela bricks.

The instructions were great, though. Colours were spot on, producing no confusion (thankfully, there were no easily confused colours in this set, save for a few dark tan tiles and light tan tiles).

The first part of the build is the baseplate. I rather like that each skyline has a custom baseplate, built of traditional 2×4, 2×6, 2×8 and other similar plates. They all snap together solidly to make a perfect base. There was no bowing or sagging of the Bela plates, and everything stuck together perfectly.

Boats sail the clear blue waters of Sydney Harbour

The waters of Sydney Harbour are replicated by translucent blue 1×2 tiles, to great effect. Sometimes I wish the base underneath the water weren’t black, so the blue could look brighter. But the truth is that light bouncing off the “water’s” surface makes it look quite beautiful, better than can be achieved in a photograph.

The Harbour Bridge is quite an imposing structure in real life (and one, I learnt today, one could climb until this summer; but sadly, no longer!). It’s recreated in brick form by clever use of plate hinges, 1×4 tiles, and 1×2 offset plates with black Technic rods rising from the holed studs. Each end of the bridge, at ground level, has green tiles to represent the green space that exists in real life.

The next portion of the build is the Deutsche Bank tower. It’s an interesting structure, built of plates, hooks, and lots of white rods on the exterior. I think it looks rather attractive, and the colour scheme is pleasant. I did get tripped up whilst building it, however. The constant adding of plate upon plate, in slightly different order each step, meant that when I accidentally skipped a step (probably because it looked so similar in the instructions), I was left with a tower whose grabby claws were not in the right place to hold the rods. The end result, however, is quite striking, as a Bela-replicating-Lego-replicating-one of what seem to be apparently relatively few tall buildings in Sydney.

Up next was the Sydney Tower. I had no idea what this building was before I built it, but I thought it was cool! I really like its gold-painted satellite-dish pieces that nest, and the gold-painted wheel hub that sits on top of those. It’s very attractive. The gold colour is quite lovely, though inserting the white rod that culminates the build resulted in a bit of paint transfer onto the rod, on one side. That’s how I figured out those gold pieces are likely gold painted, rather than moulded from gold plastic. Or so it seems.

Anyway…The base of the building has some legit OG 2×2 bricks, as well as some translucent dark blue plates replicating the front windows. My only complaint with the Sydney Tower is that the top balances somewhat precariously, being held in only by about 5 mm of rod that is inserted into the open top of a Technic pin. It rests inside the top of the pin but does not click in. I wonder if back in the olden days this might have been considered an “illegal” building technique? At any rate, it’s no big deal, as this set is not meant for play, so it’s not likely to ever fall off…and if it does, it won’t be a problem. Like most builders of Architecture and skyline sets, I will place mine on display (in my dining room hutch, along with other skylines).

Finally, we arrive at the most famous feature in Sydney, the Opera House. It’s been recreated as a Lego Architecture set of its own, as well as on a grander scale in a Creator Expert set much like the Taj Mahal’s scale. Here, we see it on a miniature scale that actually looks very cool. The hinge pieces allow the white wedge pieces’ roof lines to fly skyward. It’s quite simple in its construction, and equally ingenious. It’s instantly recognizable and the perfect foreground for Sydney’s skyline build.

All in all, this was a fun build. I enjoyed learning a bit about Sydney’s buildings and I always appreciate the clever and unique building techniques that go into Architecture sets. Bela has done a fine job with this clone. As you’d expect, the bricks are not 100% Lego quality, but they’re darn close. I’ve seen others display their skylines and I always think they look sharp.

This Bela Sydney skyline is a worthy addition to my display. It looks professional, is nearly indistinguishable from its more expensive brand-name version, and adds an instant conversation piece to my dining room. I’ll be keeping an eye out for future Bela skylines and Architecture sets.

I’ve also seen that Hsanhe has some skylines, including non-clone designs such as Budapest. Perhaps I’ll check them out soon, too.

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