New York City

Name: LEGO New York City 21028
Brand: LEGO
SKU: 21028
Rating: 4.78 (8784 reviews)

82 · HIGHLY RECOMMENDEDINVESTMENT GRADE: A2016598 pcsHigh agreement · 97%

Expert reviews

3analyzed

Owner ratings

8.8K+

Consensus

BUY

BrickScore

Highly Recommended

Owners

Synthesized Verdict

"With a BrickScore of 81.6 and an owner rating of 4.78 across nearly 9,000 reviews, the New York City skyline set is a well-validated Highly Recommended display piece for architecture fans and NYC enthusiasts at an accessible price point."

Reviewers broadly praise the LEGO Architecture New York City skyline as a satisfying, accessible display piece that captures iconic landmarks in a compact, affordable format. The 8,784 owner ratings average 4.78 out of 5, with 86% recommending it, confirming that real buyers align closely with the expert consensus. The set earns its BrickScore of 81.6 as a Highly Recommended display piece rather than a playable model, and most reviewers treat it as precisely that.

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LOVED (6)

01Compelling representation of iconic landmarks including the Empire State Building, Chrysler Building, One World Trade Center, Flatiron Building, and Statue of Liberty
02Clear plastic bricks on the Chrysler Building catch light and simulate an illuminated appearance
03Accessible build difficulty that works for adults returning to LEGO and for children building alongside a parent
04Compact footprint that displays well on shelves and pairs naturally with other Architecture Skyline sets
05Included booklet with historical details on each building
06Satisfying sense of completion when the skyline is assembled

CRITICIZED (5)

01Parts are not sorted into numbered bags by building, making it harder to work through one landmark at a time
02Some reviewers found the Statue of Liberty figurine disproportionately small and slightly awkward at this scale
03Certain building connections feel fragile and pieces detach easily
04A few reviewers noted the geographic ordering of the buildings does not match the real skyline
05More street-level detail such as taxis or ground features would improve the overall scene

What reviewers are saying

"Of the three cityscapes I think this one is probably my favourite, for several reasons."

Brickset Reviews

"this is an especially good Lego set for adults who aren't very familiar with Lego maybe not even familiar with it at all or haven't been involved with it at all since they were children"

JANG's LEGO Reviews

"the New York City skyline set is out of stock and the majority of that time that means this set is retired now I don't know what's going on this has not been on a retirement list"

Wolf of Bricks

Ecosystem

21002 Empire State Building — The new Empire State Building in this set is much better than the original 21002 standalone model from 2008/9. The original was very basic and vastly overpriced. This version (15 bricks high) looks far better with improved likeness and use of 1x2 grill tiles for cladding effect.

21027 Berlin — Unlike Berlin (and Venice), the New York set looks as good from the back as from the front. New York is the favourite of the three cityscape releases.

21029 Venice — Unlike Venice (and Berlin), the New York set looks as good from the back as from the front. New York is the favourite of the three cityscape releases.

Standalone Flatiron Building set — The NYC Skyline version is necessarily simpler due to smaller scale, but reviewer does not complain given the constraints and notes it was tough even for the larger standalone set

ArchitectureTier 2Investment Grade

By Reviewer · 3

Avg score

Consensus

BUY

Brickset Reviews

Editorial Source

BUY

"Of the three cityscapes I think this one is probably my favourite, for several reasons."

Key Pros

✓Greater variety of construction techniques than previous cityscape sets
✓Height of buildings makes for a more impressive model at first glance
✓Features universally known landmarks with broad appeal

Key Cons

✕Chrysler Building color representation criticized as white rather than light grey (per comments)
✕Some buildings may be too simple or generic at this scale

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JANG's LEGO Reviews

Expert Video Source · avg of 2

BUY

"this is an especially good Lego set for adults who aren't very familiar with Lego maybe not even familiar with it at all or haven't been involved with it at all since they were children"

Key Pros

✓Fully 360-degree viewable buildings—not just camera-friendly from one angle
✓Iconic buildings faithfully represented to scale
✓Good, clear instructions

Key Cons

✕Some sections quite repetitive, especially on One World Trade Center
✕One World Trade Center less visually successful from straight-on angle

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Wolf of Bricks

Expert Video Source

"the New York City skyline set is out of stock and the majority of that time that means this set is retired now I don't know what's going on this has not been on a retirement list"

Key Pros

✓Strong resale value appreciation
✓Available at retail price on Amazon
✓Historic high demand during Q4

Key Cons

✕Out of stock status unclear
✕Retirement status ambiguous despite strong secondary market performance

JUMP TO REVIEW

Dimensional Analysis

Investment Layer

Investment score 80

Buy now (1)Wait for sale (0)

Exclusivity

Wolf of Bricks: Not mentioned as exclusive.

Resale

Wolf of Bricks: Strong upside potential. Jim notes highest price during Q4 was $142 and describes it as 'printing money.'

Minifigures & Standout Parts

Standout parts (per reviewers)

Roof Tile 1X2 45° W 1/3 Plate in sand blue
New in this set; 32 pieces used to form the diagonal sides of One World Trade Center
1x2 grill tiles
Used extensively on Empire State Building for cladding effect
Wedge plates and 1x1 rounds
Used for Flatiron Building construction
Sand green recolored trophy piece
Used for Statue of Liberty; originally a mini-fig scaled trophy, repurposed effectively for this larger scale
Grill pieces in tan
Used copiously on Empire State Building to create realistic detailing
Four cone pieces in metallic silver
Used for the Chrysler Building's iconic stainless steel cap

What Owners Say · summarized from 60 written reviews (LEGO, Amazon, Walmart)

Owners love the iconic NYC landmark designs and enjoy the accessible build experience, but frustrations center on the Statue of Liberty looking undersized and poorly detailed, unnumbered parts bags causing confusion, and some feeling the set lacks depth compared to other Architecture releases or standalone building sets.

COMMON PRAISE

+Fun and satisfying building experience with good final display appeal
+Excellent representation of iconic NYC buildings (Empire State Building, One World Trade Center)
+Affordable price point relative to quality and size
+Perfect display size, not too big or small for shelves

COMMON COMPLAINTS

−Statue of Liberty looks undersized, poorly detailed, and hard to recognize as intended
−Parts bags are not numbered, leading to confusion sorting mixed small pieces during build
−Chrysler Building design lacks detail with bland white and transparent piece pattern
−Less content for the price compared to other Architecture city sets like Paris

Nostalgic NYC connectionBeginner-friendly Architecture entry pointDisplay-ready miniature skylineDetail and accuracy tradeoffsBuild accessibility concerns

Buyer Ratings

Amazon4.8

8,088 reviews

89%