Another goal kicked for LEGO with the release of Camp Nou – FC Barcelona 10284 and the Light My Bricks team are cheering from the stands! Let's take a closer look at what will no doubt be a Barca fan's must-have set.
Ever since we lit up the wildly popular LEGO Old Trafford 10272, we've been wondering what football (soccer for our North American friends!) stadium will be released in brick form next. Well, after a few months of rumours we got our answer at the start of September, with the equally famous Catalan stadium available for purchase. *click* add to cart - gracias!
Once our set arrived, we set to work and actually built it quite quickly all bricks considered. The build design follows a very similar structure to Old Trafford (if it ain't broke don't fix it right?) and while the piece count of Camp Nou is considerably higher (3898 vs 5509 respectively) we were able to get in a good clicking rhythm in order to finish the build more or less in a single sitting.
Those of you who followed along a few months ago as we attempted to build the Colosseum, will remember the repetitive nature of that behemoth set caught us a little off guard and the team ended up dragging their heels a little to get it done! The quadrant design of these stadium sets presents a similar situation, as once you have completed one section there is little variation moving forward. Fortunately with these stadiums, the issue is not presented at the same scale and this time we were aware of what we were getting into!
Once the build was complete the lighting designers went to work laying cables and positioning Bit Lights. Traditionally the rule is, the bigger the LEGO set, the more complex the lighting design process is. However, despite its size, Camp Nou proved to be one of the easier to light! This again, came down to both its symmetrical construction - the way it is designed to be separated into four quarters. Then, by pure chance to top it off - the set also features an abundance of open space between bricks. Much more so than your average LEGO set which utilise traditional building techniques.
The main goals were kicked by two of our most dependable components, the always versatile White Strip Light and our handy Spotlights, who formed the perfect all-star team and lit the stadium from the stands to the fields (with lots of support from both our large and regular Bit Lights of course!) The Strip Lights being were easily adhered under the roof and the Spotlights connected easily to the outer walls at several strategic points, in order to highlight different details featured in the set.
The main design challenge faced by our designers was whether to amplify the stadium's colours by adding extra red and blue coloured Bit Lights in various locations? Or to remain faithful to the architectural angle and not take any creative license, utilising only neutral coloured lights. ultimately the latter was opted for, as while the red and blue bricks are tastefully striking, adding red and blue lights was just that *bit* too much - even for the most die-hard Barca fan!
And that's time to blow the whistle on this blog entry! Just like FC Barcelona is more than a club - the 10284 is more than a bunch of LEGO bricks, it's a real statement display piece for the Catalan football fanatic out there! Whether you're adding Camp Nou to an already huge collection, or it's the first set in a sports room - this is a great addition to any Barca display! Be sure to send us your review on the kit or tag us on social media, show us your colours!