LEGO 21340 Tales of the Space Age lets you build a retro, minimalist scifi artwork on a budget

April 12, 2023 | 16

LEGO Ideas has officially unveiled 21340 Tales of the Space Age, the 48th LEGO Ideas set that oozes retro minimalist sci-fi vibes.

After a slew of pricey LEGO Ideas sets, fans can breathe a sigh of relief as 21340 Tales of the Space Age veers on the affordable side of the spectrum.

This 688-piece set will retail for US$49.99 / AU$79.99 / £44.99 and has a release date of 5 May 2023 for LEGO VIPs on LEGO.com, ahead of a 8 May general release.

See below for regional product pricing and links.

• 21340 Tales of the Space Age [US] – US$49.99
• 21340 Tales of the Space Age [AUS]  – AU$79.99 
• 21340 Tales of the Space Age [UK] – £44.99 
• 21340 Tales of the Space Age [EU] – €49.99
• 21340 Tales of the Space Age [CA] – CAD$64.99 

LEGO fan designer Jan Woźnica (john_carter on LEGO Ideas) wowed LEGO Ideas voters and the team, when it was approved alongside 3 other submissions in October last year.

As you can see from the original design above, LEGO have largely kept the aesthetic of these minimalist postcards, but have gone one step further, adding a fourth “Tale”, a moody green landscape with a ringed planet, and oozy pitch-black landscape.

The set delivers on the unique proposition of Jan’s Ideas submission, which were inspired by a love of sci-fi, classic sci-fi book covers, and 80s posters.

Jan recounts that she saw the potential in LEGO’s Art theme, but that 1×1 tile mosaics weren’t her cup of tea. She was then moved to enter the Out of This World content on LEGO ideas, which led to the =brick-built picture format and the first of the “tales”

Like LEGO Art sets, and because Tales of the Space Age is geared towards those who want more aesthetically-pleasing builds (as opposed to minifigure-based play sets), each postcard can be displayed on its own, or together as a series.

There are LEGO Art brackets affixed to each postcard that facilitate hanging on walls. Perfect if you want to spruce up a wall in your home, or are running out of surface display area.

The LEGO Tales of the Space Age designs are dreamy and I just love the composition, colours and simplicity of it all.

They don’t look like terribly complicated sets, or rely on sophisticated building techniques or interesting elements, but rather considered composition and design to deliver what is one of the most beautiful retail LEGO sets.

Placed on display together, these are just great, and I think a really underrated feature is the 3D-effect and depth of these designs, which will likely look a lot better in person than these images on-screen.

There’s also something really un-LEGO-like with these designs, that I think will draw a lot of people in, and can be one that you can easily display without looking it looking like a toy.

The modular nature of the design also allows you to connect them together, and mix around how you’ll display them, so they can work in unison as a longer piece, or as individual display pieces.

At US$49.99 / AU$79.99, these are well within the impulse purchase category, and one of the cheapest and most accessible LEGO Ideas sets that we’ve seen since in a long, long time.

These are more art pieces, and will be geared towards those with an eye for design and aesthetics, as opposed to licensed movie/pop culture characters or minifigures.

21340 Tales of the Space Age isn’t for everybody, but it’s undeniably a thing of beauty, and I will be personally very interested to see how this one performs.

For those with a love of retro sci-fi aesthetics, or want something really classy to display that looks nothing like LEGO, I’d wager that you’ll really appreciate what the LEGO Ideas team have put together here.

Keep an eye out for a review closer to the release date!

21340 Tales of the Space Age will be available from LEGO.com on 5 May 2023 for LEGO VIPs, ahead of a 8 May 2023 general release.

What do you think of 21340 Tales of the Space Age? Will you be picking it up in May?

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