You might think there are three LEGO Pokémon sets launching the new theme – but you might have missed 40911 Mini Pokémon Center, hidden with the Insiders zone. Find out what the Blocks expert view is on this new set.
Three detailed sets are launching the new LEGO Pokémon collection – 72151 Eevee, 72152 Pikachu and Poké Ball and 72153 Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise. They will start shipping from February 27 and may be available to preorder now at LEGO.com, depending on where you are located.
Every time you buy sets at LEGO.com, you earn Insiders points (just sign up for the free scheme). You can use 2,500 points to acquire 40911 Mini Pokémon Center, starting February 27. There is also a second freebie bonus set – 40892 Kanto Region Bladge Collection, reviewed here.
Theme: Pokémon
Price: 2,500 Insider Points at LEGO.com
Recommended age: 18+
Pieces: 233
Minifigures: 0
It’s not always easy being a Pokémon trainer – there are not only tough wild Pokémon lurking in tall grass ready to attack but also other trainers looking to test their skills with anyone they lock eyes with.
Luckily, however, there are Pokémon Centers with facilities to heal your team so you can take them back out on your adventure. Like the other Pokémon sets released as part of this first wave, this is based on earlier iterations of the series, as since Generation VII Pokémon Centres have combined with Poke-Marts and various other Poké-businesses.
However, it seems there’s no direct inspiration for this model in the Pokémon games. Although it’s a fairly close match to the rounder Center architecture seen in 2018’s Pokémon Let’s Go, Pikachu & Pokémon Let’s Go, Eevee, it’s more an amalgamation of various design tenets over the years, including the red and white colour scheme (often red on the top, white on the bottom), sliding doors and a large, central Poke ball logo.
The build is simple, but enjoyable. SNOT techniques create the main desk, which the healing station is built into. A stickered plate depicts three Pokéballs having treatment. Other details include a PC and a few seating areas. For the outside, SNOT building is again used to great effect, creating the main curved frontage that connects to some exposed studs. Red and white elements are interspersed throughout the front, creating some effective colour contrast.
The roof is built in two halves. The sliding doors are held in place by the front of the roof, with two studs slotting neatly into a gap on the underside of the plate when closed, whist the back half can be removed to access inside the Center.
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It is disappointing that the main logo is a sticker and not printed onto the rounded tile – it occupies such a key position and is vital to the model’s final look, but getting stickers to sit perfectly on circular plates is a challenge.
At 8 studs deep and 12 wide, and made up of only 233 pieces, 40911 is diminutive. Its size gives it a cuteness that works well on display, although it might get lost amongst the larger sets released as part of this first LEGO Pokémon wave.
LEGO Insiders need to exchange 2,500 points to get their hands on 40911, which approximately translates to spending around £315 or $380 without any double points deals or offers. Purchasing 72151 Eevee or 72152 Pikachu and Poké Ball will certainly help towards that target, while purchasing 72153 Venusaur, Charizard and Blastoise will reach it.
Pokémon Centers are essential in every mainline Pokémon game, so they’re likely to come up again as part of this new LEGO theme, hopefully as a large(r) model. But as an extra build for this first wave, 40911 delights in its LEGO treatment of a key part of the Pokémon world.
SCORE: 60
VERDICT: This compact Pokémon Center manages to achieve a lot with little, with many of the key features of the building present without being tethered to one specific game.