LEGO Ideas and CUUSOO

The Globe

A spinning brick-built globe that makes any shelf look properly grown-up.

4.1/5

Set 21332 · 2022

Pieces2,585

Minifigsn/a

Year2022

Set number21332

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The verdict

If you want a display piece that actually does something, this one spins on its axis and looks the part.

The build gets repetitive in the middle, so temper your expectations if you want constant surprises. But the finished object is genuinely lovely, and the glow-in-the-dark oceans are a quiet delight. Grab it if you love maps, travel, or just want a talking point that isn't another car or castle.

Best for: Map lovers and travellers who want a display model with a bit of theatre

The full review

What it is

Let me tell you about one of the more charming things LEGO® has put out under the Ideas banner. The Globe (21332) is exactly what it says: a proper terrestrial globe, brick-built at 2,585 pieces, sitting on a wooden-look stand and spinning on its axis just like the real thing your geography teacher used to have. It came from fan designer Guillaume Roussel, and it's the kind of set that doesn't need a theme or a story to sell itself. You look at it, you get it, and then you find yourself giving it a little spin every time you walk past.

The catch

Here's the honest bit though. This is a display model first and a building experience second. The globe is made of 32 wedge-shaped sections, sixteen per hemisphere, and once you've built the first few you've basically learned the pattern for all of them. Reviewers were pretty united on this: the assembly gets repetitive, and the middle stretch of the build is more meditative than exciting. Some people love that zone-out repetition, others find it a slog. You should know which camp you're in before you commit. There's also the price. At around 200 dollars new it was never cheap, and now that it's retired (the run ended December 2024) you'll pay a premium on the aftermarket. And if you look closely, the continents have visible gaps between the plates, so the map reads better from a step back than nose-to-glass.

Who it's for

So who should grab it? If you love maps, travel, or you just want a display piece with a bit of theatre to it, this is a genuinely satisfying thing to own. It looks smart on a shelf, the spinning is oddly addictive, and the glow-in-the-dark oceans are a lovely surprise when you turn the lights off. If you're after a build packed with constant variety and clever surprises around every corner, this probably isn't your set, and you might find the wedge grind wears thin. But as a finished object that earns its shelf space and makes people go oh, that's cool, the Globe delivers. Brickset owners have it at 4.1 out of 5, which feels about right: a lovely thing held back slightly by the repetition and the price.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build breaks into three acts. First you assemble the stand and the Technic core that runs pole to pole, which is where the clever engineering lives, including the hidden counterweight wheels that keep the whole sphere balanced and spinning smoothly. Then comes the long middle: the 32 wedge sections that form both hemispheres. Each wedge is a mix of Technic framing and layered plates that curve to fake a sphere out of a fundamentally square system, and it works surprisingly well. The catch is you're repeating that same sequence over and over, so this stretch is calm and rhythmic rather than thrilling. The final act, clipping the wedges onto the frame and watching the ball take shape, is where it all pays off.

On the parts front, the headline is that there are zero stickers. Every continent label, the compass rose in the Atlantic, and the little vintage ship in the Pacific are all printed tiles, which is a big deal for a set this size and keeps it looking sharp for years. The oceans use glow-in-the-dark elements, so the whole globe softly lights up in the dark. Keep an eye out for the Easter eggs on Antarctica too: designer initials GR and the Roman numerals MMXXII (2022) are printed right there. It's not a set you buy for a big haul of rare recolours, but the printed pieces and that Technic spinning mechanism are the real value story here.

Fun facts

01Fan designer Guillaume Roussel from France submitted the design to LEGO Ideas on 3 February 2020, and it hit the 10,000 supporter mark in just over three months.
02The finished globe stands roughly 40cm tall and actually rotates on its axis using hidden counterweight wheels, just like a real desktop globe.
03There isn't a single sticker in the whole set: all 2,585 pieces rely on printed elements, including glow-in-the-dark oceans.
04Look at Antarctica and you'll spot the designer's initials GR alongside MMXXII, the Roman numerals for the set's 2022 release year.