LEGO Old Trafford - Manchester United (10272)

The build breaks into five chunks: the pitch base first, then the four stands that clip onto it with Technic pins, across bags numbered 1 to 21. The pitch section is quick and rewarding thanks to those printed grass tiles, and it hooked me early. Then you settle into the stands, and this is where the set shows off. There are genuinely inventive techniques for the tiered seating and the sweeping cantilever roofs, lots of sideways building and angled sections to get those distinctive rooflines. It is clever work, but it is also where the repetition bites, since each stand runs a similar recipe and the roof detailing in particular can feel like a grind by the fourth pass. Take it in sessions and it stays fun.

On the parts front there is real treasure for collectors. The pitch uses brand new printed tiles, including an 8x16 tile with the penalty and goal box lines and 6x6 tiles carrying the halfway line and center circle. Two elements showed up in white for the first time here, the T-piece and the 3.2 shaft with 3.2 hole (72 of the latter). There is also the first appearance of a 1x4 brick in Medium Nougat, a color that had skipped that basic part for a decade. Recolor hunters get the Plate 1x3 with 2 knobs in red (25 of them) plus white 1x8x3 slopes and a big pile of white outside-bow plates that blew past the previous single-set record. At roughly 8 cents a piece it was fair value at launch, and those parts alone make it a fun one to strip for a MOC.