LEGO® Art review: 31206 The Rolling Stones

Products in this article were provided by LEGO®; the author's opinions are their own.

Two years ago, the LEGO Group introduced the LEGO® Art theme which has brought us 10 sets so far. These sets have a lot in common: They consist of a canvas made out of Brick Special 16 x 16 x 1 1/3 with Pinholes (65803) that is covered with 1 x 1 round tiles and/or plates to create a mosaic image, and as a finishing touch, a border is added. New Elementary has reviewed some of these sets already.

LEGO has now decided to change things up, bringing us 31206 The Rolling Stones: a 1,998 piece set available from 1 June for €149,99 / $149.99 / £129.99. Consider using our affiliate links if you're buying from LEGO.com; New Elementary may get a commission: USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop | UK LEGO Shop/for Europe 'Change region'. 

Will this shake-up have me shouting, "Wooo wooo" or will it have me saying, "I can’t get no satisfaction"?

First a short history lesson about the design we’re building today. Think of The Rolling Stones, and you’ll think of the iconic tongue. And that’s what I found in my research for this review (as I’m firmly in The Beatles camp, playing Abbey Road as I write) The “lips and tongue” was designed in 1970 by John Pasche and after appearing on the Sticky Fingers album in 1971 it became the official logo of the band. This year, The Rolling Stones celebrate their 60th anniversary so it’s only fitting to honour them with their own LEGO set.

The box for set 31206

Looking at the box, a few things directly stand out. Unlike most LEGO Art sets the box is not a flat square, but, like 31203 World Map, is smaller in surface and thicker. More important are the changes in the model: the canvas is not the standard square or rectangle, but rather follows the outline of the art depicted. Also, we don’t see the standard studs, but a mixture of angled plates, tiles and even curved bricks. A closer look actually reveals multiple layers of plates and tiles, providing extra texture to the model. 

 

I really like the looks of this art piece. Despite looking nice, the LEGO Art sets offer little in terms of build. I find adding the studs provides a nice feel of mindfulness, but after filling 40 canvas pieces for the 31203 World Map, I think I reached my limit. This is the perfect time to shake it up.

Opening the box shows additional things not seen before in a LEGO Art set. 

1. We get numbered bags for the first time, which makes sense as there are a lot more elements in this set. The instruction manual is also a bit thicker than normal, feeling more like a normal manual. 
2. The manual also has a new brick-symbol attached to some of the parts-to-gather boxes in the building steps. This signals that some of the parts you need to pick are not found in the numbered bags from the stage you are building, but come from unnumbered bags or are found loose in the box. 
3. This was also the first time I actually needed the yellow outline showing the placing of the new bricks. Adding a layer of red plates on top of a layer of red plates would get a bit challenging without them. 
4. I also found a small leaflet announcing that TLG is starting the move from single-use plastic bags to paper-based packaging. During this transition it’s possible to find both types of bags in a set, but no paper ones were found in my box.

The parts in the LEGO Rolling Stones set

Being New Elementary, we’re more interested in the parts in the set. The first thing to notice is that the model consists mostly of Black, White and Bright Red/Red, but we also get some other colours too. As you’ll see in a bit, there is a surprise hidden under the tongue, made out of 1x1 round plates, ranging from Dark Red to Cool Yellow/Bright Light Yellow and every shade in between. There are a total of 135 different elements in this set, while a ‘standard’ LEGO Art set usually stays under 40. There are some interesting elements in this group of 135.

We don’t get any new moulds, but there are a few other new elements:

• Plate 8 x 16 in Bright Red/Red (6013675 | 92438) is one of those elements that I would have sworn already existed. We get 5 of them here.
• A new print comes in the traditional 2 x 4 tile, here with a ‘The Rolling Stones EST. 1962’ print (6323891)
• Wedge Plate 6 x 2 Right is new in Bright Red/Red (6371578 | 78444), but annoyingly, we don’t get the Left version as well. We get 3 of them in this set.
• Plate Special 4 x 4 with Curved Cutout is new in Bright Red/Red (6394888 | 35044) comes with 3.
• We’ve already seen a couple of recolours for the 99563 Tile Special 1 x 2 with Sloped Walls AKA Money / Gold Bar [Ingot] lately, and now Bright Red/Red (6394880 | 99563) joins in with a quantity of 60.
• When I took this photo, the 79393 Tile 3 x 3 Curved, Macaroni was new in White (6373439 | 79393), but has since been found in 75342 Republic Fighter Tank. We get 2 of them here.

Other interesting elements:

• 30504 Wedge Plate 8 x 8 Cut Corner in Bright Red/Red (4514719 | 30504) is not new, but the last time we saw this element was all the way back in 2007. We get 1 here.
• 35787 Tile 45° Cut 2 x 2 in Bright Red/Red (6351892 | 35787) has been in 4 sets prior, but only in low quantities. This set gives us 29 parts.
• 79393 Tile 2 x 2 Curved, Macaroni in Bright Red/Red (6375825 | 79393) was introduced this year, and so far only has been seen in 80035 Monkie Kid’s Galactic Explorer.
• 6232 Brick Special 2 x 2 with Pin and Axle Hole in Black (6365577 | 42929) is another one that surprised me as we’ve only seen this element once in the 2021 21329 Fender Stratocaster. There is an older version without an axle hole, 4730, but that one has not been seen since 1994.
• 2462 Wedge 3 x 3 Facet in Black (4189116 | 2462) also isn’t new, but hasn't been seen since 2007.

Instead of a standard canvas, 31206 mostly uses LEGO Technic frames to get its shape. We get 5 of the standard 65803 Brick Special 16 x 16 x 1 1/3 with Pinholes in Black, along with 17x Technic Frame 6 x 8, 5x Technic Frame 4 x 6, 8x Technic Frame 4 x 4, and a couple of standard Technic bricks and Brick Special with Pin in various colours and sizes.

Building 31206 The Rolling Stones

The build is done in sections. We start with the top left and right section. First the frame is built, which gets covered with black plates, after which the red and white texture is added. The sides get a nice finish as well. The sections are joined and we move on to the bottom section.

This section takes some more work. Like before, we first make the frame, add the black plates, and the first layer of red plates is added. And then we come to the only ‘traditional’ LEGO Art part of the build. Under the tongue the designer has hidden a ‘60’ to honour the anniversary of the band. Standard 1x1 round plates are used. I like this idea, and the use of round bricks provides us with some 'Rolling Bricks' for the Rolling Stones. Now you get to choose: you can leave the model as it is now, or you can cover up the 60 and complete the tongue. The 60 gets covered in a layer of red plates and on top of that comes another layer of red and white texture. Sloped bricks add a great effect of the tongue popping up. 

 

The completed model measures 60x70 modules, making it bigger than the standard LEGO Art sets, which are 50x50 modules.

Conclusion

 

I love this new concept for LEGO Art. It comes at a time when I was getting bored by the original approach, and this feels fresh and new. In the New E group chat, Kev Levell described it as "bricksketchy", and that's a fitting description, as it is like a blown-up form of a LEGO Brick Sketches set without the straight borders. The added layers give a depth to the canvas and the unique shape makes it stand out creating a great display piece. I’m looking forward to seeing more of these sets coming out and I’m expecting this concept will spark many new MOCs as well.

 

If you don’t like the model, there is still some value to be found. We don’t get any new moulds, and just a few recolours, but the set is loaded with various sizes of Technic frames. You also get a load of angled plates in various sizes in black, red and white. If those are the colors you need, it's an interesting pack.  31206 The Rolling Stones can be preordered now and is available from 1 June for €149,99 / $149.99 / £129.99. If you're buying this set please consider using our affiliate links, New Elementary may get a commission: USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop | UK LEGO Shop/for Europe 'Change region'. 

In conclusion: for the right audience it's a gas, gas, gas! 

Editor: Chris Baginski

READ MORE:  The new LEGO chopsticks part: MOCs by Jonas Kramm

Help New Elementary keep publishing articles like this. Become a Patron!

Massive thanks go to our 'Vibrant Coral' patrons: Chuck Hagenbuch, Joe Fontana, Elspeth De Montes, Megan Lum, Markus Rollbühler, Baixo LMmodels, Andy Price, Anthony Wright, London AFOLs, Gerald Lasser, Big B Bricks, Dave Schefcik, David and Breda Fennell, Huw Millington, Antonio Serra, Beyond the Brick, Sue Ann Barber & Trevor Clark, and Kevin Gascoigne. Vale Iain Adams, a great supporter of New Elementary.

LEGO® Shop at Home
USA: Save up to 30%. See what's on sale!
UK: Free delivery when you spend £50 or more at LEGO!
Australia: Discover the latest promotions and offers on LEGO.com

All text and images are © New Elementary unless otherwise attributed.