Typewriter
A working sand green typewriter in brick form, and it actually types.
Set 21327 · 2021
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If your mate loves clever mechanisms and has a desk that deserves a proper centerpiece, this is an easy yes.
The carriage genuinely slides across when you press a key and the center typebar pops up, which never stops being fun to show people. It is not cheap and the opening chapters are a bit of a slog, but the payoff is one of the best display models LEGO has ever done.
Best for: grown-up fans who love mechanical builds and a statement desk piece
What it is
Every so often a LEGO® set comes along that makes people who do not even build LEGO stop and go wait, that is made of bricks. The Typewriter is one of those. It recreates a classic 1950s-style machine in soft sand green, complete with round keys, a platen roller, and a paper table sticking up at the back, and the whole thing has real presence on a desk. This started life as a fan submission on LEGO Ideas from Steve Guinness before the official design team turned it into a proper 2,080-piece set, and you can feel the care in it.
The catch
Here is the honest part. The magic is the mechanism, and getting there takes patience. The first chunk of the build is the guts of the machine, a lot of Technic framing and repeated sub-assemblies that are not the most thrilling hour you will ever spend. Push through, because once the keys, typebars, and carriage go in and start talking to each other, the mood flips completely. Price is the other thing to flag. It launched at 199.99, which is a fair chunk for a display piece, and now that it has retired it tends to cost more than that on the secondary market. A small number of people also hit snags with the carriage needing careful alignment, or the occasional missing bag, so keep the box and your receipt handy.
Who it's for
So who is this for? Grown-up fans who love a mechanism, anyone who writes for a living, and folks who want a display model that does something rather than just sitting pretty. If you only care about minifigures or fast, breezy builds, this one will test your patience in the early going and you might be happier elsewhere. But if the idea of a brick typewriter that genuinely types makes you grin, grab it. It is a real conversation starter and one of the most satisfying Ideas sets going.
The parts story
What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.
The build splits into two moods. The opening act is all internals, the Technic skeleton and the linkage that lets a keypress raise the center typebar and nudge the carriage along. It is mechanical, precise, and a little repetitive, so settle in. Then the personality arrives: the sand green shell gets shaped, the platen roller and paper table go on at the back, and the ring of keys goes down one by one. Feeding a real sheet of paper into the roller and watching the carriage step across as you press keys is the moment the whole thing clicks, and it is worth the earlier grind.
For parts people there is plenty to like. The 31 letter keys are printed 2x2 round tiles rather than stickers, with a bespoke symmetrical typeface the designers drew just for this model, so the caps look crisp and are handy for your own creations. The star element is a new fabric ink ribbon in black and red that threads across the front like the real thing. Sand green fans get a big haul of that lovely muted color in useful plates and slopes, and at 2,080 pieces for its original 199.99 the value stacks up well, especially with all that printing and a genuinely working action baked in.
Fun facts
- 01The sand green color and overall shape were inspired by the vintage Erika 10 typewriter that designer Steve Guinness bought and studied while prototyping the model.
- 02The sticker on the back hides a personal Easter egg reading SG NGUOYD, which stands for Steve Guinness: Never Give Up On Your Dreams.
- 03The set ships with a booklet containing a letter from Thomas Kirk Kristiansen of LEGO's owner family, printed in 43 different languages, nodding to the typewriter used by LEGO founder Ole Kirk Kristiansen.
- 04It launched as LEGO Ideas set number 35 in June 2021 and retired at the end of 2024, with prices climbing above its original 199.99 tag afterward.
What other builders say
This write-up is grounded in real reviews and builder discussion, not just one opinion. A few worth reading:
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