Realizing that 2020 has given people lots and lots (and lots) of free time at home, today Lego announced the largest set the toymaker has ever released: the 9,036-piece Roman Colosseum letting anyone visit one of Italy’s most historic landmarks without risking their health by traveling.
The previous record-holder for largest Lego set was, of course, the magnificent Ultimate Collector Series Star Wars Millennium Falcon set announced back in August of 2017. At 7,541-pieces it dwarfed the previous record-holder, the 5,923-piece Taj Mahal, but both of them now seem like brief lunch break distractions compared to the new Colosseum.
However, while the UCS Millennium Falcon also came with an $800 price tag, the new Colosseum, despite having 1,496 more pieces, will be available for $550 starting on November 27. Maybe there is such thing as a Star Wars tax?
The SPQR Colosseum (which stands for Senātus Populusque Rōmānus, a phrase referring to the government of ancient Rome) is part of Lego’s efforts to continue to push the building toy as a legitimate hobby for those over 18, and not just a toy for kids. Given its tremendous scale, it doesn’t appear to be officially part of Lego’s Architecture series, but it’s doubtful that those who’ve been collecting Lego’s miniature skylines will be able to pass this one up.
Because the set is based on the Roman Colosseum as we know it today—the victim of almost 2,000 years of decay from earthquakes and natural disasters, as well as centuries of onslaught from the sun fading its original finish—the Colosseum isn’t as colorful as the UCS Millennium Falcon set. Most of the scale structure is built from just three different shades of brick, which forced Lego’s designers to focus on the minute details and recreate as many architectural elements as possible to give it depth and detail.
A matching base includes tiny modern elements like cars and miniature trees, but unlike the real thing, this version of the Colosseum isn’t crawling with tourists. Lego hasn’t included any microfigures with this set, neither modern day gawkers with cameras around their necks nor ancient gladiators. That’s probably for the best, however, as Lego undoubtedly wants to downplay exactly what went on inside these walls.