The Best Lego Sets for Adults, According to Our Staff

I’m a senior staff writer at Wirecutter covering home and decor. Since 2020, I’ve also written about all things Lego, including our guide to the best Lego sets for kids, a guide to Lego Botanical Collection sets, a deep dive into the world of AFOLs (Adult Fans of Lego), and a guide about how to clean grimy Lego pieces.

• I’ve built countless Lego sets over the course of my life. The first one I can recall from childhood was Lego Lion Knights King’s Castle 6080 in 1984. I picked up my first Lego set as an adult in 1999, and I began collecting in earnest around 2012.
• Like all Wirecutter journalists, I review and test products with complete editorial independence. I’m never made aware of any business implications of my editorial recommendations. Read more about our editorial standards.

When it comes to Lego sets for adults, one person’s dream build can be another person’s meh experience, promptly followed by buyer’s remorse. Due to Lego’s breadth of themes, a ranking of the best sets can really exist only within one’s personal collection.

But that doesn’t mean you’ll find a hodgepodge of arbitrary picks here. In evaluating sets and assembling this list, I paid close attention to engagement with each build. Does the process become repetitive? Are familiar pieces used in new and interesting ways? Is the end result impressive enough to keep on display?

Personal preference still plays a role with many of the picks here. But I’m lucky to have a Slack channel full of fellow AFOL (Adult Fans of Lego) co-workers with different perspectives and opinions, and many of them have also built sets that we’ve included here in our final list.

If you’re buying a Lego gift for another adult, you shouldn’t feel like you always have to take the 18+ suggestion under consideration. Much like when you buy a Lego set for a child, when you buy for an adult, it’s more important to keep their specific interests in mind than to simply observe a number on the box—unless that number is the price tag. Costs keep creeping ever higher, so do keep an eye on that.

Top pick

Lego Retro Radio 10334

Do touch that dial

This vintage-inspired transistor radio plays 12 different audio clips, thanks to an internal Lego Sound Brick. A cell-phone-sized slot inside also lets you hide your phone and play music from within.

Buying Options

$100 from Lego

Described as a replica of a 1970s transistor radio, the Lego Retro Radio 10344 has a late mid-century modern flair, thanks to its pale green casing and faux-wood paneling—details that caught the eye of Erik Erickson, Wirecutter’s director of platform engineering.

“We live in a mid-century home and have tried to decorate it keeping with its age,” Erik said. “I thought this set would look neat on a shelf, and maybe my wife would be okay with me keeping it in the living room instead of my Lego display cabinet.”

Erik, who loved Lego building as a child and began building as an adult in 2017, found the set deeply satisfying. “The Lego designer took what could have been a boring and repetitive build and organized the instructions to make things interesting. You start with the internal mechanics, and it’s not clear how it’s all going to work. Eventually, I started to see how one element toggles another, which affects another, and so on. It was a wonderful mystery to unfold.” He appreciated that the tuning dial, with station numbers, is made up of printed tiles, rather than stickers.

The Retro Radio even works, sort of. Turning the dial activates one of 12 audio clips in a Lego Sound Brick (a building element that looks like a Lego brick but plays sounds); the clips include a surf-rock rendition of “Everything Is Awesome” from The Lego Movie. And inside the radio, there’s room to place a cell phone against the speaker’s grille, so you can play anything you want using your phone’s speaker.

Erik ended up getting his wife’s permission to display the set in their living room, and it has become an interactive experience for the whole family. “Everyone’s turning the knob once a day to see what sound clip they get,” he said.

Number of pieces: 906

Builder tip: Erik says to be sure to count the layers as you work. “This set is made up of many flat tiles, and it’s easy to miss a critical layer. I had to disassemble a good chunk of it once I got to the last bag because I had missed a single 1x4 that was critical to the whole structure.”

He also said to note that the on/off switch purposefully makes it so the tuning knob can’t move across the whole dial. “It’s a feature, not a bug.”

Top pick

Lego Motorized Lighthouse 21335

A set that shines, figuratively and literally

For adults who want a stately, grown-up display with stealth play features, this sophisticated lighthouse sparks many an imaginative tale.

Buying Options

$300 from Amazon

$300 from Walmart

If you find a ship in a bottle charming, the Lego Motorized Lighthouse 21335 strikes a similar nautical chord, and as a display, it has a similar gravitas. What I love most, though, is that the set speaks to the inner kid who still wants to play, pose figures, and create stories of their own, without all of the existing lore that comes with a licensed theme, such as Star Wars or Marvel.

Thanks to a simple motor hidden in a cave beneath the cliff, the beacon atop the tower spins and shines, guiding ships to safe harbor. The light is even designed to concentrate its beam, like a real Fresnel lens, and the wire leading from the on/off switch is disguised as a climbing vine on the side of the house.

The same motor also lights up the fireplace inside the humble home of the couple who keep the seas safe—just lift the roof off for a peek into their lives.

Around the perimeter of the craggy island, asymmetrical clear pieces are fastened atop a dark blue base, mimicking surf crashing against the rocks. Along the shoreline, you’ll find a pirate’s treasure chest hidden inside the same small cave that houses the set’s motor.

Tiny details abound, such as a compass for the rowboat, a pet cat, a seagull, and a small plume of smoke rising from the chimney. And you can remove panels on each floor of the lighthouse to see details of the interior, including a portrait of a former lighthouse keeper.

Perhaps more than any of our other picks, the Lego Motorized Lighthouse strikes an ideal balance between stately and whimsical.

Number of pieces: 2,065

Builder tip: This is more of a shopping tip—several Lego pundits believe this set is ripe for retirement in 2024. The rumors are unconfirmed, but if this set interests you, consider acting fast to avoid secondary-market price-gouging.

Top pick

Lego Tranquil Garden 10315

A garden with secrets

This soothing teahouse tableau allows you to rearrange how the garden grows whenever you like.

Buying Options

$110 from Amazon

$88 from Walmart

$110 from Best Buy

Like many sets on this list, the Lego Tranquil Garden 10315 is part of the company’s Icons line, which Lego describes as builds that “showcase impressive landmarks, modular buildings, classic vehicles, pop culture favorites and beautiful home décor sets.”

The Tranquil Garden is most definitely the last type, but it also incorporates modular-building tactics. You can easily lift the garden’s various elements—cherry blossom trees, bamboo shoots, small pines—out of their slots and place them in different configurations, to customize the set to your preference.

Perched on a slightly elevated base, the diorama includes a pavilion with a tea setup inside, including full cups of green tea, a teapot, and even a tiny whisk. An arched bridge stretches across a koi pond filled with printed fish and lotus flowers, and the grounds are peppered with stone lanterns and a winding pathway. By the time you’re finished, you’ve got a lovely little showstopper.

Number of pieces: 1,363

Builder tip: Don’t feel like you have to stick with the greenery as outlined in the instructions. You can instead use the modular plant bases to hold your own tree and shrub creations. Fill each slot with giant flowers, for example, or get weird with bushes made up of minifig heads.

Top pick

Lego Vincent van Gogh – The Starry Night 21333

A three-dimensional dreamscape

The famous painting comes to vivid life in this textural, multilayered build.

Buying Options

$150 from Amazon

$150 from Walmart

$151 from Best Buy

I’ve yet to see a photograph that does justice to the undulating layers, vibrant colors, and textural beauty of Lego’s Vincent van Gogh – The Starry Night 21333, a set so striking that even the Museum of Modern Art’s gift store sells it. The night sky and gnarled tree, seen from the painter’s window during a stay at the Saint-Paul asylum, form a mysterious world that you can reach out and touch. The back of the frame even comes with a hook holder, for easy hanging.

In case you’re wondering, the included Vincent van Gogh minifigure isn’t missing part of his ear. (Like most minifigs, he doesn’t have any ears.)

Number of pieces: 2,316

Builder tip: Assemble this set in a well-lit area; you’ll be working with many different shades of blue, and it can be a bit difficult to tell them apart in the instruction booklet. Consider this an opportunity to try out the Lego Builder app, which features digital instructions on your phone or tablet; with your device’s brightness level cranked up, color-matching the right hues to the corresponding bricks becomes much easier.

Top pick

Lego The Lord of the Rings Rivendell 10316

A not-so-little piece of paradise

This massive, spectacular beauty is packed with charming details and nods to Tolkien’s cultural impact, but you need plenty of free space to build and display it.

Buying Options

$550 from Amazon

$20 from Lego

Lego’s first Lord of the Rings sets, released in 2012 and 2013, now fetch major money on secondary markets. Fans rejoiced when the company reintroduced the popular theme in 2023 with The Lord of the Rings Rivendell 10316, a wallet-busting, table-sprawling model of the land that power-player elves in Tolkien’s Middle-earth call home.

Among many other vignettes, the upper main structure houses Bilbo hard at work on his memoir, There and Back Again, and a weapons forge sits in the lower quarters. Follow a curved bridge across a stream to an ornate gazebo where Aragon and Arwen can pitch woo.

Additional minifigs build out the full Fellowship of nine, along with elders such as Elrond, Galadriel, and Glóin, plus a couple of extra elves for a total of 15 characters and an additional six minifigs in the form of statues representing legendary elves of yore. Boromir comes with an additional face print that very nearly matches his expression in the “One does not simply…” meme.

Creepily and ingeniously, a hidden eye of Sauron, buried beneath the entire structure, keeps watch on the heroes. It’s the constant discovery of these small, thoughtful details among all of the splendor that makes this build such a delight.

Gown-clad elves come with extra bottom halves that allow them to sit. But it’s not a perfect fix, and it’s part of my only overall quibble—I had trouble getting even the regular minifigs to stay put in their seats as the Council of Elrond solemnly surrounded the One Ring. The issue may or may not have something to do with the chairs being built out of repurposed sausage and frozen-pop pieces.

Number of pieces: 6,167

Builder tip: Nothing struck me as particularly difficult about this build, but don’t rush it. Allow yourself several days (or, in my case, weeks) to complete it, so you have time to savor all of the tiny moments. The nightmare prospect of creating perfectly symmetrical roof tiles is thankfully removed, thanks to the instructions’ clever tip of running a plate between each line to straighten them out (as this video demonstrates).

Top pick

Lego The Lord of the Rings Barad-Dûr 10333

High and mighty

Representing the dark side of Middle-earth, Sauron’s ominous lair stands a massive 33 inches tall, but luckily the modular building style keeps it from falling over as you build higher and higher.

Buying Options

$460 from Lego

Following the success of the Rivendell 10316 set, Lego released The Lord of the Rings Barad-Dûr 10333, a Lego exclusive and the home of Middle-earth’s Dark Lord Sauron; this lair is as ominous as Rivendell is idyllic.

The gothic fortress, topped with Sauron’s iconic flaming eye (it lights up via a Lego Light Brick), stands on a base of lava and rocks. The lower caverns inside contain a dungeon, a forge, and a hidden cave for Gollum, one of 10 included minifigures.

Additional interior details—which the designer had to imagine, due to a lack of source material describing Barad-Dûr’s decor and architectural layout—include a dining hall, a study for crafting evil plans, and Sauron’s throne. The throne splits in half to reveal a secret room with a palantír (a magic stone that allows him to spy and to gab with pals) and a map of Middle-earth.

After completing the base, you build subsequent sections of the tower as standalone modular rooms that slide into place. This construction method helps to prevent accidental mid-build topples, and it allows you to create an even taller structure, if you can afford to purchase more than one Barad-Dûr set. But at 33 inches tall—almost 3 feet—just one already takes up plenty of space.

Number of pieces: 5,471

Builder tip: The task of affixing several large stickers to the curved interior created a lot of misalignment anxiety for me. I usually tout the brick-separator method (video) for attaching Lego stickers. But this time I found it easier to use my hands, which provided more dexterity for smoothing out any air bubbles that got trapped beneath due to the concave surfaces.

Top pick

Lego Architecture Taj Mahal 21056

Fit for an emperor

For all its tiny details, this miniature version of the UNESCO World Heritage Site is a surprisingly easy build.

Buying Options

$96 from Amazon

$96 from Walmart

$120 from Best Buy

Not to be confused with the huge, now-retired Lego Creator Taj Mahal 10256, this smaller version of the stunning mausoleum, Lego Architecture Taj Mahal 21056, is just as grand as its predecessor, and it’s much easier to display on a shelf. It’s also a pleasantly simple build for something that looks so complex when finished.

The top dome lifts to reveal the central chamber; remove a second dome to reveal the crypt and tiny sarcophagi. Informative tidbits about the history of the real building are peppered throughout the instruction booklet.

Number of pieces: 2,022

Builder tip: The four towers on each corner are fairly thin and will easily tilt or fall if you place this model on a high-traffic shelf.

Staff pick

Lego Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ Cottage 43242

A loving homage to Disney’s first full-length animated film

This treasure for adult fans of Disney is packed with impressive attention to film details, down to the tiny lipstick kiss on Dopey’s head.

Buying Options

$220 from Amazon

$220 from Walmart

$220 from Best Buy

When Lego Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs’ Cottage 43242 was first revealed, I didn’t think it would end up as a pick in this guide. But the film’s poisoned-apple iconography has long been my iPhone’s wallpaper, so I decided that I should revisit the source material and build this set while watching the 1937 film.

Problematic plotline aside, the movie revolutionized animation with its artistry, and Lego’s loving re-creation of Ms. White’s temporary safe home contains a delightful amount of accuracy, from printed tiles of owl faces carved into wooden beams to a gorgeously goth glass coffin.

An assortment of tiny animals—birds, squirrels, and rabbits—make up Snow White’s coterie of forest friends. And the house is packed with movie references, such as a tiny pipe organ, a cuckoo clock, and boxes filled with gems from the mines hidden away in the attic. Each tiny bed even has a footboard marked with each dwarf’s name.

However, those beds are also my biggest nitpick about the set. They’re squished so close together in the cottage that it’s impossible to get a good look at their wonderful detailing without awkwardly rearranging the furniture. Also frustrating is Lego’s confusing choice to have the cottage swing open from the front, instead of the back, which would have provided a much clearer view of the interior rooms.

The set comes with 10 minifigs—our heroine, the prince, the queen in her witch disguise, and of course all seven dwarves. They each come with a double-printed head, for changing expressions; this is a particularly thoughtful touch for Sleepy and Sneezy, since it prevents them from having to endure eternal states of fatigue and involuntary bodily anguish.

Disney fans and anyone with respect for the history of animation will likely appreciate the love that clearly went into designing this set.

Number of pieces: 2,228

Builder tip: I tend to be a stickler for following Lego instructions, but the frustrating setup of the dwarves’ beds finally made me veer off-script. You can easily rearrange their bedroom by attaching a single 1x2 plate with one knob beneath each bed and then lining six beds against the back, footbeds facing out, with a single bed perpendicular to the rest (see images below).

I have no doubt that more-sophisticated alternate builds exist, but I like that this way you can easily see all of the bed names.

The set includes enough of these 1x2 plates for you to use one beneath each bed. I made Happy’s bed my standalone bed because that’s how the new layout made me feel.

Top pick

Lego Architecture Great Pyramid of Giza 21058

The Seventh Wonder of one’s collection

Remove the exterior shell to reveal the method by which many archaeologists believe the pyramids were built.

Buying Options

$119 from Amazon

$120 from Walmart

$120 from Best Buy

Technically, the Lego Architecture Great Pyramid of Giza 21058 set creates only half a pyramid, and this initially bummed me out. I also bristled at Lego’s suggestion of buying two and placing them back-to-back to form a whole one. It turns out that half was all I needed. The flat back makes it easy to place this set against a wall, and the exposed exterior comes with a neat detail: The build creates a rendering of the design inside the pyramid, with air shafts and corridors that branch off to different chambers.

Curved pieces along the sides form wavelike sand dunes shaped by the wind, and tiny boats float down the Nile. This model is clearly not to scale—the real Nile is located around 5.5 miles away from this particular pyramid—but the blue water and palm trees add some much-needed color.

The entire top of the structure lifts off to reveal a scene of a ramp and a rope winch ferrying the tip of the pyramid upward—the method by which many archeologists and architects believe the pyramids were built.

Number of pieces: 1,476

Builder tip: If you want a full pyramid but aren’t down with spending money on a second set, one Lego builder drafted these genius alternate build instructions, which create a proper four-sided pyramid with a single box’s existing pieces. I love how this alternate build still shows—and even expands on—the vignette.

Staff pick

Lego VTOL Heavy Cargo Spaceship LT81 42181

Technic(al) skills

Don’t let Lego’s suggested age of 10 and up fool you. With its many gears, pins, and axles, this build requires deep focus. The payoff is a vessel far larger than you might expect at its lower (for Lego) price.

Buying Options

$110 from Amazon

$110 from Walmart

$110 from Best Buy

Lego describes its Technic line as an “advanced and complex building experience.” I heartily agree, and therefore I stay away from those sets because I prefer a more relaxing experience. Plus, many Technic sets, particularly those labeled for the 18+ age range, tend to be based on real-life vehicles like the Lamborghini Sián FKP 37 and the Ferrari Daytona SP3, and cars have never captured my imagination.

I suspect that many Wirecutter AFOLs feel similarly, because I hear crickets whenever I ask for a Technic staff recommendation. But Erik Erickson, Wirecutter’s director of platform engineering, recently found one he loves, the Lego VTOL Heavy Cargo Spaceship LT81 42181 set. It’s meant for ages 10 and up—but never let the suggested age on a box deter you from a set that looks interesting. And in Erik’s case, his 3-year-old son loves playing with it now that it’s built.

VTOL stands for “vertical takeoff and landing,” and, as the rest of the name implies, the spaceship is designed for transporting heavy cargo. “I’d seen it online and thought it looked neat, but then I saw one on display in a Lego Store and realized this thing is massive,” he said. “There are very few Lego sets of this scale priced at $100.”

Erik admits that it was quite a different build than what he’s used to. “Technic is intense; you have to really focus.” For him, the payoff was well worth it. “It’s got engines, thrusters for the vertical takeoff, and a huge carry handle built into the frame for the purposes of flying it around and having fun with it.” A small space rover even fits inside a cargo pod.

Like many other space-themed Lego sets, this one comes with an orange Airlock element. This is essentially a piece that allows you to connect the VTOL Heavy Cargo Spaceship to almost any other space-themed set, no matter the suggested age, to create an interlocking world of space-exploration–themed play and display.

Number of pieces: 1,365

Builder tip: Similar to my experience with Lego’s The Starry Night, Erik said he found following the instructions using the Lego Builder app on a tablet particularly helpful for building a Technic set. “The ability to zoom in and change perspective makes things a lot easier,” he explained. “With most Lego sets I build, it’s normally pretty obvious which side is being worked on at each step, but I didn’t find that to be the case with this.”

If applying stickers evenly makes you nervous, keep in mind that the VTOL Heavy Cargo Spaceship comes with a lot of them, and many are large and a bit unwieldy to work with.

This ship will go on and on: Lego Titanic 10294

Erik scooped up the massive, 9,090-piece Lego Titanic 10294 set back in 2022 and then allowed himself nine months to gradually build the almost 4.5-foot-long vessel. The time investment helped him justify sinking so much money into this model, which currently retails for $670.

Many of our Lego suggestions above are expensive, but this one tips the scales a bit too far for me to include it as an official pick. That said, Erik recommends the Lego Titanic set if you can swing it and have 53 inches of display space available.

The build is divided into three stages—the stern, bow, and center. His favorite parts include the tiny staterooms, visible as you construct the cross-sections, and the massive moving engine, which extends through much of the length of the boat.

Wild and weird: Lego Dreamzzz

Like the VTOL Heavy Cargo Spaceship LT81, the Lego Dreamzzz line is aimed at kids. The theme even has its own digitally animated streaming series.

But with concepts so wonderfully bizarre—including a food truck that turns into a flying turtle (Mrs. Castillo’s Turtle Van 71456) and a beast that traps kids inside its belly (Grimkeeper the Cage Monster 71455)—Dreamzzz has much to offer any adult who is into fantasy-world building. These odd sets are also a nod to the types of freeform builds that many grown-ups remember and love about their own childhood Lego experiences.

We asked kids to test several Dreamzzz sets, and though the visuals appealed, our younger builders found that many pieces came loose a bit too easily, so we didn’t select any of these sets as picks in our best Lego sets for kids guide. I’ve experienced the same loose-brick issues, but as display sets on a shelf, the Dreamzzz series holds up great.

I don’t buy Lego for resale purposes, but I suspect that this eccentric and imaginative series will appreciate over time. I can’t wait to build The Never Witch’s Midnight Raven 71478, which features an alternate build of a house on chicken legs that’s clearly inspired by the Slavic legend of Baba Yaga.

Adventures await: Lego Dungeons & Dragons Red Dragon’s Tale 21348

I had a blast building Lego Dungeons & Dragons Red Dragon’s Tale 21348, and the only reason we haven’t named it as an official pick here (yet) is that I haven’t had a chance to play the included D&D campaign based on the set.

Even if you bought the Red Dragon’s Tale set and didn’t know it had an accompanying D&D game (available as a free PDF), the way this build unfolds just feels like a mystery in motion. You create doors only to hide them away, and you place monsters waiting to pounce in secret rooms. Something is going on here, and I plan to find out. (I also appreciate that all of the included minifigs come with two heads, so you can select traditional masculine or feminine looks for each character.)

For many AFOLs, an impulse purchase sometimes means that the set goes unbuilt for months. Lego’s customer service is top-notch, and it will replace any missing elements for free. But if too much time has passed, and a set with pieces specific to it has retired since you bought it, you’ll have to pay for replacements on a secondary market, such as BrickLink. (This has happened to me.)

Don’t feel like you need to count each individual piece right after you purchase a set. But it is wise to open the box and do a quick check for anything major, such as a missing bag or absent stickers, so that your build doesn’t come to a screeching halt after you’ve finally carved time out of your schedule to relax into the project.

Lego regularly retires its sets in order to introduce new stock. We’ll be updating this guide at least twice a year to replace any picks that have moved on to the great secondary market in the sky. For our next update, we’ll be looking at the toothy Lego Jaws 21350 set, the whimsical Lego Disney Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas 21351 set, and the intriguing, Instagram-ready Lego Tuxedo Cat 21349 set, among others.

This article was edited by Daniela Gorny and Erica Ogg.