LEGO® Marvel Super Heroes set review: 76178 Daily Bugle

Thomas Jenkins (@thomas_jenkins_bricks) completes his 2-part coverage of LEGO® Marvel Super Heroes 76178 Daily Bugle today, analysing the build. It is available now priced €299.99/ £274,99/ $299,99/ 499.99 AUD/ 399.99 CAD. Please consider using our affiliate links to purchase, New Elementary may get a commission: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.

76178 Daily Bugle is unlike any LEGO set I’ve built before. It’s part modular building, part playset, part diorama and it does all of these things really well. The accompanying host of minifigures are integrated into the design of the building itself, and sometimes quite spectacularly, too - as is the case of the Green Goblin bursting through the window of the second floor.

I analysed its pieces last time but there’s a ton of interesting building techniques, parts usage, and little details scattered throughout the build to still discuss. We’ll work our way up the building and take a look at them.

Ground Floor of the LEGO Daily Bugle

Starting at street level, there’s a news kiosk sitting in the shadow of the towering skyscraper. It makes use of those rare Green SNOT panels we talked about in the parts review.

It’s the perfect combination of parts with the thin panels providing ample space inside and the interior is accessible thanks to a clever clip and bar connection. An air conditioning unit (?) on the back helps conceal some of the ugly anti-studs.

The taxi accompanying the build has its fair share of clever NPU. There’s an exhaust pipe hanging off the bottom in the form of a Weapon Gun / Pistol Flintlock (2562).

But the headlights are what had me really impressed with this build. Those newly recoloured Yellow modified plates house a Technic pin, into which we insert a flick-fire missile to attach the headlights. It’s no Speed Champions but it’s still very clever!

Front and centre of the first floor façade you might notice a few Trans Clear bricks and in particular, a minifig posing stand. In the instructions manual the set designer Mark Stafford reveals that the set was intentionally designed to showcase the colourful cast of characters included in the set and this particular place is reserved for Daredevil, his favourite character from the comic books. It’s a fitting tribute to a character beloved by many and a minifigure that fans have long waited for.

The parts for Sandman are included along with the first floor. He is held aloft by a vortex of sand. Hinges are responsible for the slight arching shape and there are plenty more SNOT bricks to position the variety of Dark Bluish Grey tile broken paving slabs.

When placed on the pavement outside the Bugle and viewed at the right angle, the effect is quite convincing.

Unlike the floors above, the ground floor does not feature a removable front window. Instead, a sizeable section of the wall can be pulled out to allow access within. It's a cleverly concealed feature as the small gaps between the segments look like gaps in the masonry at first glance. You’ll notice here that the designers have included a couple of Technic holes to compliment an existing modular building layout.

Into the lobby, and we have a bright red vending machine containing four Dark Azure cans of ‘Web Juice’, according to the sticker on the side of the appliance. It isn’t functional, but it looks great. As you’ll see, the Daily Bugle offices are fully furnished with a number of cleverly constructed little fixtures such as this. This small build makes great use of SNOT elements, but the bottom of a headlight element to represent the coin return is genius. The keypad on the machine is a currently quite uncommon printed 1x1 tile, 6329583 Tile 1 x 1 with Keypad, Blue Slit, Red Button print (73777).

In the alleyway behind sit a couple of dumpsters filled with rubbish, including a couple of mouldy hotdogs! I’ve seen Sand Green sausages a number of times before, but I think this is the first time (at least for me) to see this specific element used in this way. Note the clever light fixture above the fire exit too, it uses Black paint roller handles in its construction.

First Floor of the LEGO Daily Bugle

Up to the first floor writers’ room. Coffee cups and stacks of papers create a great atmosphere.

On one wall we have a cute little kitchenette, complete with coffee jug. It’s extremely simple but efficient parts usage.

My favourite detail on this floor might be the writer’s desk lamp. As with the coffee jug, I’m impressed at how effectively just a few parts convey a distinctive shape, this time it’s the unmistakable design of an Emeralite (or banker’s lamp, apparently. I recognized the shape but didn’t realize it had a name).

And finally, no office would be complete without a water cooler, and we have a LEGO replica sitting by the back wall. Like the news kiosk outside, the build utilizes a ‘nipple’ (or 1x1 round tile with bar, 20482) to reverse the directions of studs, this time to create a pretty accurate water tank. The design even uses two shades of trans clear bricks to represent the water level. Just wonderful!

Second Floor of the LEGO Daily Bugle

On to the second floor, and I think the designers have tried to create the impression that Peter Parker drew the short straw with his office placement. The floor is littered with boxes and paper stacks which, along with a filing cabinet, obstruct the doorway to Peter’s room.

On the second floor we’re treated to another fantastic brick-built piece of office furniture, this time a photocopier. The cover even opens to reveal the scanner inside, represented by a window element. I think the only thing that might improve the design would be the incorporation of a control panel, perhaps like the one used on the vending machine on the ground floor?

As mentioned, the second floor is also the location of Peter Parker’s office- you probably recognize it from a meme. What a great inclusion in the design! It houses a rather grand desk which is created quite cleverly with some inset tiles. And on the wall is what looks like a bulletin board covered in post-it notes.

I was most excited to build the second floor as it depicts a dramatic scene of Green Goblin smashing through it on his glider.

The construction of this dynamic scene isn’t as complicated as it appears: I expected some interesting trigonometry and thought-out angles to fix the individual panels in place, but each element of the deconstructed window (there are four) is connected to the main structure by a Mixel joint. A simple solution but you can’t argue with the results- the scene looks amazing.

The window of this floor carries a little extra weight and extends out further than those above and below it, so there are a couple of extra concealed attachment points to prevent it from falling out. In this case, it is in the form of the anti-studs of a headlight brick. The designers have made good use of The System to seal off the window. I noticed that without this connection, this window panel would fall out if the one below it is also removed.

The construction of this area had me curious as there are two 1x2 plates with rail incorporated into the structure that don’t line up with the rest of the masonry. It turns out that the set actually includes enough pieces to build a complete (intact) window sans Green Goblin. In a Reddit 'Ask Me Anything' session, designer Mark Stafford confirmed that this was an intentional design choice. I thoroughly recommend checking out the thread as he talks about a number of Easter eggs hidden in the build and offers some interesting insights into the development of the set. Personally, the depiction of Green Goblin bursting through the facade is one of my favourite parts of the model, but maybe this may be an appealing feature for Modular Building fans as they can include a slightly more discreet version of the building to include in their city layouts. If you can call an almost 90cm tall LEGO skyscraper discreet.

Third Floor of the LEGO Daily Bugle

The third floor is the location of J Jonah Jameson’s office and the desk of his receptionist, Betty Brant.

Visitors to the third floor are greeted by Ms. Brant sitting at her desk. The build makes use of the rare Medium Nougat bracket plate to lay the arches parallel to the floor.

J Jonah Jameson’s desk is quite modest with a simple construction, especially compared to the one that sits in Peter’s office below. The highlights of this room are the trophies and geode atop the filing cabinet behind the desk.

The back of this module features a couple of interesting details. Above a slightly tattered billboard, an air conditioning unit sits on the wall. It’s here that a little bird has made their home. The nest is actually Minifig Neckwear Fur Collar in Tan (6153507|26066), a pretty rare element (appearing in just four sets so far) which it seems was initially designed for the Spider-man villain, Kraven the Hunter, having first appeared in 76057 Spider-Man: Web Warriors Ultimate Bridge Battle. It has since appeared as a nest in a couple of other sets over the last couple of years. It’s the perfect part: the element is even listed on Bricklink as a bird’s nest.

The Spider-Mobile is also parked on the wall of the third floor. It’s a simple build but one notable detail is the brick-built windscreen, a bit of a rarity in LEGO sets. This is a lso where our newly recoloured 2 x Wheel 18 x 8 with Fake Bolts and Shallow Spokes and Axle Hole in Light Bluish Grey (6357599|56903) appear.

Roof of the LEGO Daily Bugle

The excitement continues on the rooftop. We have a water tower and a massive pylon adorned with satellite dishes adding considerable height to the finished build, and of course, there’s that stunning lettering up front.

Let’s start with the water tower. The vessel itself is two Wheel Wagon Viking with 12 Holes in Dark Bluish Grey  (55817). A clever choice of part as the segmented surface of the wheel creates the impression that the tower is constructed from sheets of metal. 

It’s topped with a Ninjago conical hat. All in all, another neat trick for builders to add to their bag of tricks.

The cherry on top of this magnificent skyscraper is the brick-built Daily Bugle logo, very striking in its bright Red font. I really love the graphic design here. Removing the letters reveals jumper plates used to achieve that perfect kerning. The font is exquisite. I almost want to extrapolate it to make a whole typeface.

And finally, in the centre of the logo sits the eponymous bugle, built from some of our newly recoloured parts. Perfect.

The finished Marvel Super Heroes set 76178

Mark Stafford and the rest of the design team have done a great job of creating a skyscraper that would fit perfectly into the New York skyline. The extensive use of SNOT bricks paired with the rail element that span each floor makes for a super sturdy structure as well as providing a nice decorative touch.

With each floor stacked atop one another, the height of the building measures over 80 cm, which provides plenty of space to display the myriad of figures supplied with the set. Although it’s a part of the adult portfolio, I spent a lot of time creating little scenes for the figures: it makes a great playset. The interior is easily accessible too, and the windows of each floor can be removed independently of one another to reveal the building’s colourful interior. 

From a display point of view, the finished building is stunning and although you’ll most likely want to show off its front, it looks great from all angles, with just as much attention to detail paid to the back of the building. I particularly love the use of colour, the vibrant Red fire escape and Bugle logo  contrasting against the cold grey and glass of the building is a great design choice.

Conclusion

I really had a great time with this set. Some aspects of the builds were tedious (there are 347 windows to assemble, after all) but they are scattered throughout the build and there are plenty of fun details and clever sub-assemblies peppered throughout to keep things really interesting. I think a number of these small builds will serve as great inspiration for builders looking to furnish and embellish their own modular buildings. 

I’m sure this model will appeal to more than just the fans of the comic books. The parts selection will appeal to a range of builders, and the finished model will have its appeal too, in particular to modular building collectors- as thanks to the concealed pin holes in the base- it’s ready to slot right into an existing display. Plus, if you’re not a fan of the Marvel universe, the model can be customized relatively easily. 

It’s hard to ignore the large price tag of €299.99/ £274,99/ $299,99/ 499.99 AUD/ 399.99 CAD, but for the building experience, the parts, figures, and quality of the finished model, you won’t be disappointed. 76178 Daily Bugle is available now , and if you enjoyed these reviews please consider using our affiliate links to purchase, New Elementary may get a commission: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'.

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