Lego unveils 4,000-piece River Steamboat set

Lego has just unveiled an all-new set that is joining its amazing Ideas range. This one is the biggest to slot into the category to date, as it's a 4,090-piece epic that depicts a river steamboat, often utilised in the 19th century in America. The set is designed to authentically capture the stylings and appearance of one of these engineering marvels, fit with a pilothouse, crew cabin, bathroom, music stage, restaurant, kitchen, and even a steam engine museum on board too.

The set even has some working elements, including a paddle that is connected to the steam engine, a rudder that turns with the ship's wheel, and removable decks to more easily see what's happening within the ship's interior.

The set was designed by an Illinois-based creator called Aaron Hall, who spoke about Lego deciding to make his vision a full, purchasable set by adding the following: "Growing up along the Mississippi River, I developed a deep interest in paddle boats, which naturally inspired me to create this steamboat model. The design process involved researching images to capture the essence of steamboats and selecting specific LEGO elements to bring my vision to life. I was determined to scale the model for minifigures and incorporate modular boat hull bases as a nod to the classic LEGO pirate ships."

For a set of this intricacy and scale, it should be noted that it will cost a pretty penny. You can expect to have to pay £289.99/€329.99 for it, all when it debuts on April 10 for all and on April 7 for Lego Insiders. You do get a lot of Lego for this price however, as the set is 69 cm long, 40 cm tall, and 15 cm wide.