LEGO's 2025 Lunar New Year (Year of the Snake) Collection: A Detailed Look at the Trotting Lantern
LEGO commemorates the Year of the Snake with three new sets. This review focuses on the most elaborate: a meticulously detailed replica of a traditional trotting lantern. Previous Lunar New Year sets, such as the 2021 Spring Festival garden and the 2024 Auspicious Dragon, set a high bar, and this lantern certainly meets the challenge.
The lantern's exterior is breathtaking. Intricate details abound: red lanterns hang from buttresses, gold accents adorn the borders, and the walls themselves depict a stunning cloudscape framed by rocks. The build is a masterclass in layering, adding decorative elements in stages, creating a sense of anticipation and delight. This echoes the joy experienced building the now-retired LEGO Carousel.
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Inspired by historical trotting lanterns from the Han Dynasty, the LEGO version incorporates a clever mechanism. A rotating rod activates a light brick, illuminating a clear piece with a black-lined image, projecting it onto the lantern's side. While the advertised wall projection is blurry and ineffective, the rotating image within the lantern is a charming feature.
The lantern's upper section opens to reveal three miniature scenes: a dumpling stall, a decorations stall, and a shadow puppet theater. This cleverly concealed detail adds another layer of surprise and delight. The set includes five minifigures, one in a snake costume, along with various accessories such as dumplings, a red envelope, a shadow puppet, and chopsticks.
The set's value depends on your priorities. While the light-up, rotating mechanism isn't groundbreaking, the aesthetic beauty and the intricately detailed hidden scenes make it a stunning piece. Despite its 9+ age rating, the complexity suggests a more mature building experience. At $129.99 and 1295 pieces, this visually impressive set is a wonderful celebration of the Lunar New Year, currently available at Amazon and the LEGO Store.
For more LEGO reviews, explore our selections of the best LEGO sets overall, the best Marvel LEGO sets, and the most expensive LEGO sets.
LEGO Trotting Lantern, Set #80116, is available now at Amazon and the LEGO Store.
