Review: LEGO Art 31212 The Milky Way Galaxy

April 29, 2024 | 7

LEGO’s Art theme is quickly becoming one of my favourite themes. From stunners like Hokusai: The Great Wave to odd artistic play experiences like Modern Art, the theme has managed to evolve into a playful yet tasteful and classy LEGO experience that’s unlike anything you get from other themes.

May 2024 is a Space-filled month, and LEGO Art is also coming to the galactic party with 31212 The Milky Way, a stunning intergalactic mish-mash of colours and elements which launches for LEGO Insiders on 15 May 2024 ahead of a 18 May general release date.

Like most of the sets within the LEGO Art theme, this isn’t really for everyone and is targeted at adults looking for an aesthetically-pleasing buildable LEGO set with a touch of mindfulness built into it.

Let’s explore the expanse of our home galaxy, The Milky Way in this review of the LEGO Art set and see if it’s worth your attention!

See below for regional pricing and product pages

• 31212 The Milky Way [US] – US$199.99
• 31212 The Milky Way [AUS] – AU$299.99 [LEGO Certified Store]
• 31212 The Milky Way [UK] – £169.99
• 31212 The Milky Way [EU] – €199.99
• 31212 The Milky Way [CA] – CAD$259.99

If you’re thinking of picking the LEGO Milky Way set up, please consider using the affiliate links in this post. I may receive a small commission with each purchase which helps support the work I do on the blog!

Special thanks to LEGO for sending this review copy over.

31212 The Milky Way Galaxy Set Details

LEGO Art sets are usually designed with mindfulness and relaxation in mind. The build process is usually quite predictable and as you’re normally building on the large square plates, you kinda get into a nice rhythm and groove after you’re a few bags in.

The LEGO Art Milky Way has 3,091 pieces and 31 numbered bags, which might sound like a huge project, but I felt like this was a relatively quick build that you can knock out over a weekend, or even in one sitting if you feel ambitious!

There are 6 individual instruction booklets included which means that this is a Build Together set, and something that you can share and build simultaneously with 5 other people.

My seven year old daughter is enamoured by colours, and was quite keen on taking on this build, so she took on the lead building most of the set, and I helped in here and there to keep her company which I found was a really fun experience.

So yeah, even if this is billed as an 18+ set, it’s not very technical or challenging, but you do need to pay attention as there are a LOT of elements (197 unique elements!) in this set, and there’s hardly any repetition save for some tiley sections.

So unlike other LEGO Art sets like The World Map where you could kinda zone out and get into a groove, I thought it was a pretty engaging build.

Oh, and it’s also pretty educational, so if you do have an interesting in Space, or your kids are learning about Space and our Galaxy, this is a really fun set to teach them about this little spiral galaxy we call home.

One of the most interesting things about The Milky Way is the sheer variety of colours and elements included. Each bag is unique, and you get what’s seemingly the most random assortment of elements and colours, and as we were building the set, I got really invested in getting to the end and seeing how it all came together.

You slowly piece together these squares that connect in sets of 3 for each instruction booklet. There’s a sense of playfulness and finesse with the colours here, and I was thinking a lot about how the development and design of a set like this came about as it simultaneously feels like the most random of parts but at the same time, there’s a strong sense of intention with each element here.

Kinda like how our galaxy came together? A bunch of random bits of gas and dust to create a home for 3,916 solar systems within the Milky Way.

These slices form and very slowly, the Milky Way begins to take shape.

During the build, there are plenty of instances and moments where you’ll be surprised and delighted with the element choice, as some of the most unexpected elements get used! More on this soon!

In LEGO, this technique is called greebling, and interestingly, there wasn’t as much layering as expected, although all the elements used have different shapes, heights and of course colours which creates a very chaotic yet pleasing sense of texture to this galactic tapestry.

Once the slices are completed, you then affix them into the black frame.

Here, I deviated somewhat from the instructions, as we built all the slices first, and then placed them all in the frame at the end, as I felt like that would be a bit more of an epic conclusion to the build.

And here’s the final build when it all comes together! It’s quite breathtaking, with exceptional colour theory employed here to create a LEGO Art set that is beautiful when both seen from afar or up close.

The final model measures 40cm (16″) by 65cm (26″), so it’s a decent size for a LEGO Art set, although much smaller than the World Map.

Minifigure for scale (sorry the Blue Classic Space Astronaut isn’t included).

And if you’re wondering what it looks like next to the World Map, here’s both of them side by side! I wasted no time in hanging them up, and I do like that they both go well together as Art sets, but also a nice juxtaposition of our Earth, vs our galaxy.

Here’s how it looks like from the back. Plenty of Technic pins and plates used to lock the plates together.

LEGO is a toy, and LEGO is all about a sense of playfulness and fun, even for a “grown up” theme like LEGO Art, and this model is the most playful LEGO Art sets!

The fun really amps up when you peer closer into the Milky Way – as you build, you’ll continually be delighted with NPU (Nice Parts Usage) and just the choice of elements used.

Let me demonstrate some of the more fun things you can find in the LEGO Milky Way.

There’s a point within this Canvas that uses a glow in the dark Angry Birds crown as a marker for where we are in the galaxy. Oh, and a printed “You are here” tile is also there to drive that point home.

And yes, we glow! Here’s what it looks like when you hit the Milky Way with a blacklight. I was honestly expecting more!

Back to the little details!

There are several objects of note, like the GAIA Spacecraft, launched by the European Space Agency in 2013 to map the exact positions, motions, composition, temperature and luminosity of more than a billion stars and astronomical objects – just about 1% of the Milky Way!

There’s fruit and veggie in space – like this LEGO Peach and even purple carrots galore!

Kitchen utensils are also present here, with plenty of whisks and even a fork.

Oh and plenty of LEGO coffee mugs too. I love these and they were a delight every time one of them came up during the build!

There are binoculars, cupcakes and even hairbrushes!

And yes, that’s a bicucle helmet!

But some of the best surprises here are the LEGO animals that have managed to sneak their way in. We have a singular coral frog in space!

Nico Vas (designer of the Bonsai Tree) would be very pleased with this.

But the MVP of parts usage has to be this genius use of a LEGO Hermit Crab to represent the… Crab Nebula. Yup, I couldn’t believe they did that and when you look at photos of the Crab Nebula.. you know, it kinda works and I can see the resemblance.

Someone call the X-Files because the Truth is out there.

Final Thoughts

31212 The Milky Way wins on several fronts. It looks fantastic from afar as a decorative LEGO Art piece and yet, invites you to take a closer look and admire all the little details.

When seen from afar, the LEGO Milky Way is eye-catching and very aesthetically pleasing with just a joyful palette of rainbow colours to brighten up your living spaces.

The greebling and details you discover as you build evoke a sense of fun that you don’t typically get from LEGO Art sets, and will be something that most LEGO fans will be able to appreciate.

Because of the random assortment of elements, and how each slice is built, there’s little to no repetition here, and this was a very fun project to work on, especially if you get all the way at the end and see how this beautiful piece of tapestry comes together.

If you’re an adult fan of LEGO (AFOL) and are looking for a LEGO art piece to display in your home, office or living spaces, this set is a really easy one to recommend. Pricewise, I think there’s a lot of value here and it doesn’t feel overpriced, and you’ll definitely appreciate the burst of galactic colour that The Milky Way brings to your walls.

Oh and there’s probably a parable or lesson here, which I’m not sure was intentional from the designers. During the build, if you make mistakes like accidentally knocking an element out of place, or forgetting something, it really doesn’t matter. In the grand scheme of things (framed against our very big galaxy), little mistakes just seem to minor and inconsequential.

LEGO absolutely nailed the execution of 31212 The Milky Way Galaxy and I can see this one being one of the more popular LEGO Art sets.

Final Score

4

Build

Build is varied, engaging and I loved encountering all the random elements

3

Real Value

Pretty good value for plenty of hours and

4

Innovation

A really forward progression of LEGO Art that keeps things unexpected and fresh

5

Coolness

Plenty to like if you enjoy colours, unorthodox builds and love displaying LEGO without it looking explicitly like LEGO

4

Keepability

Great to hang up on walls if you have the space, and yet, also great to harvest for parts if you need to

Audience rating

How would you rate this set?

1 2 3 4 5

Thanks for reading! 31212 The Milky Way will be available starting 15 May 2024 from LEGO.com or your local LEGO Store.

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