More Human Than Human? LUMIBRICKS Protein Farm Living Quarters Review

LUMIBRICKS Blade Runner 2049 Protein Farm Living Quarters 23002 — Review

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“It’s a protein farm. Wallace design.” — Sapper Morton

I was always going to be biased with these models. Not only am I getting an excellent quality brick set, with amazing lighting and quality design, I'm getting a set based on a series of films I absolutely adore. Following K's Spinner, the Protein Farm Living Quarters is the second part of the Blade Runner 2049 collection for me. I loved the Spinner, so I was really looking forward to this one.

And honestly, this was the right scene for LUMIBRICKS to build. It's dirty, weathered, cluttered and atmospheric. It's not the neon-soaked Blade Runner location you might immediately expect them to go for, but that's actually part of why I like it. There is so much here that suits what LUMIBRICKS does well. At 2,400 pieces, this is also a very different proposition to K's Spinner. This is a proper building with a developed interior, exterior landscaping and that huge tree sitting alongside it. You get a lot of model here.

Packaging & Presentation

The box feels quality. I adore the artwork approach LUMIBRICKS has taken with the Blade Runner 2049 sets. The instruction manual is beautiful as well and the whole thing feels like a quality product from the moment you open it.

I've said similar things about LUMIBRICKS packaging before, but it matters even more with a licensed set like this. The presentation doesn't feel separate from the model. From the artwork on the box through to the manual and then the finished build, it all feels part of the same thing. There isn't really much more I need to say here. It's very well done.

Instructions

I really do need to stop talking about LUMIBRICKS instructions. Discussing them at any depth is becoming ridiculous at this point because there is simply nothing left to labour. They're immaculate.

The manual is perfectly designed to set you up for an amazingly enjoyable build experience. Everything is clear, everything works and the quality of the manual itself is excellent. I've said it before and I'll probably say it again: the instructions are excellent. Moving on.

Build Experience

Wow. I enjoyed every minute of this build.

There are some grat techniques throughout and a few times I found myself building something in a slightly different way whilst still operating within the traditional systems of brick building. The door sections are a really good example. Nothing is overly complicated and nothing feels like it's trying to be clever for the sake of it. It's just a really enjoyable build.

There were delight moments everywhere. The kitchen was one and the bathroom was another. These are areas that could easily have been forgotten about when so much of the visual impact comes from the exterior, but they haven't been. The wall was another great moment. I love that LUMIBRICKS gives you two options here. You can use the smashed wall from the film following the initial conflict, or install the solid wall and leave the building intact. Both options work and you can decide which version of the scene you want to display.

And then there's the tree. The tree. Beautifully done.

The root system is fantastic and I honestly couldn't have done it better or wished for more. I build a lot of my own MOCs and occasionally you come across a technique where you stop building and start studying it. This was one of those. I will absolutely be replicating and adapting that root system in my own MOCs moving forward. For me, that's a massive compliment to whoever designed it. I'm not just looking at the finished model and thinking it looks good; I've actually learned something from building it.

Across 2,400 pieces there was plenty of opportunity for repetition to creep in, but for me it didn't. The interior, exterior and different features kept changing what I was doing enough to keep the build interesting. I just enjoyed it. The build made me smile. Simple as that.

“I don’t retire my own kind because we don’t run.” — K

Design & Interior

This was the right scene for LUMIBRICKS. There is so much going on without it feeling like there is too much going on. The interior is properly developed, with a sleeping area, kitchen, living room area, bathroom and even the decontamination showers. I particularly loved the bathroom. It's beautifully designed and another of those areas where the smaller details make the build enjoyable. None of those rooms feel like they're simply there because an empty building needed filling either. There are details throughout that make you want to look inside once the model is finished.

One of my favourite design decisions is the way the whole building opens up. Closed, you have the Protein Farm Living Quarters as a really strong display model. Open it up and you expose the interior and can actually see all of those individual spaces you've spent time building. That matters. I've built sets before where you spend ages creating a detailed interior and then effectively hide most of it when you put the final walls on. That's not the case here. LUMIBRICKS gives you a reason to go back inside.

It also gives the model genuine playability. You can open the building, access the different rooms and interact with the interior. Add the option of swapping between the intact and smashed wall sections and there is far more going on here than I initially expected. It's a display model first for me, absolutely, but it hasn't been designed as something you're only supposed to look at. There's stuff to discover inside it.

And the exterior detail is just as on point as the interior. Nothing feels like it got all the attention at the expense of something else. Open it up and there is detail everywhere; close it and the exterior still looks fantastic. You can tell the LUMIBRICKS design team really invested in this one, not just in terms of pieces, but in understanding the location and deciding which details mattered. You can tell someone cared about this.

Colour Palette

I really enjoyed the colour palette. Having watched Blade Runner 2049 a few times, there were actually points during the build where I was a little confused by some of the colour choices. Looking at individual bricks going down, there were colours I wasn't entirely convinced by.

Then it all comes together.

The tree and the base are probably the best examples. They absolutely nailed the colours here. When you're putting down individual bricks, some of the choices don't necessarily make sense, but when you stand back and look at the finished thing, they do. The different colours give the ground and roots that dry, dirty and weathered appearance from the film.

This location needs to feel dusty, worn and a little miserable, and it does. I questioned some of the colour choices during the build. I wouldn't change them now.

Lighting

The lighting is wonderfully done. We have solid static lights, flashing elements and smaller accent lights, and it's a really great design and setup.

Importantly, they haven't just put lights everywhere. That's something I'm appreciating more and more with LUMIBRICKS. More lights doesn't automatically mean better lighting. Some areas need to be lit, some just need an accent and others benefit from the flashing elements. It's the combination that matters.

And this is Blade Runner. The lighting matters.

It doesn't completely transform the model into something different when you turn it on either; it enhances what's already there. The colours and physical design have already done the work and the lighting adds another layer. Switch everything on and it looks fantastic.

Display

Size-wise, this set takes up some significant real estate. You really do need space if you're taking this one on. The building, base and tree give the model a substantial footprint on their own, and because the building opens up you'll probably want enough room around it to actually use that feature rather than wedging the whole thing tightly onto a shelf.

But it is definitely a beautiful display piece.

Then put K's Spinner outside and that's when it really works for me. The Spinner looked fantastic as a standalone model, but sitting outside the Protein Farm Living Quarters it suddenly has a home. The two sets just work together. You're no longer displaying a vehicle and a building; you're displaying the scene.

And that's where I think this Blade Runner 2049 range starts to become really interesting. K's Spinner was a great model in its own right. The Protein Farm Living Quarters gives it context. If LUMIBRICKS continues building locations from the film, there is the potential to build out an actual Blade Runner world.

I love it. But seriously... you need space.

Minifigures

And here we go again. I've never particularly liked LUMIBRICKS minifigures. There isn't anything specifically wrong with the quality of them; I just don't particularly like the design choice LUMIBRICKS has made with its figures.

That's entirely personal preference, though. They clearly have their fans and I can completely understand that other builders will feel differently about them. They're just not for me.

It's also easily fixed here. I'll replace them in my own display and move on. But I'm reviewing what comes in the box, and they came in the box, so they count.

Value

LUMIBRICKS continues to produce quality at value, and this is no exception. The Protein Farm Living Quarters proposed retail is not clear at time of writing, but for what you're getting here, coupled with Lumibricks outstanding value, I think we will be happy.

You're getting 2,400 pieces, a substantial model, a properly developed interior, loads of exterior detail, genuine play features and an integrated lighting system. Then there is the quality of the instructions, packaging and overall design. There is a lot here, and this is something LUMIBRICKS continues to get right for me. Value isn't just about how many bricks are in the box; it's what those bricks actually give you at the end of the build.

Here I'm getting a build I thoroughly enjoyed, a model with a detailed interior and exterior, lighting, playability and something I genuinely want to display afterwards. That's value.

“Because you’ve never seen a miracle.” — Sapper Morton

Overall Thoughts

I adore this set. I was always going to be slightly biased. It's Blade Runner. I love these films and I was excited about this set before I even opened the box, but that doesn't automatically make the set good. It doesn't make the instructions immaculate. It doesn't make the build enjoyable. It doesn't create the lighting, the colour choices, the design or that bloody tree. LUMIBRICKS still had to get all of that right. They did.

Again, LUMIBRICKS has taken an IP and, frankly, smashed it. I think the design team deserves some serious credit and acknowledgement for what they've done here. It's not just about putting Blade Runner 2049 on the box. They've understood the scene and then actually invested in recreating it properly. The interior, exterior, opening building, lighting, colour choices, alternative wall and all those smaller details come together into something that feels like far more than a licence stuck onto a brick set.

If I was scoring this purely on how much I enjoyed it, this would easily be a 10/10. I'm trying to find some room for improvement and be at least a little objective. So... the minifigures. Half a point. Hahaha.

Beyond that, I'm genuinely struggling. I loved building it. I love looking at it. I love opening it up and seeing all those interior details, and I love it even more with K's Spinner sitting outside. I'm also taking a building technique from that tree straight into my own MOCs. That's probably one of the biggest compliments I can give any brick designer.

This gets one of my highest scores for a LUMIBRICKS model. They took an IP I adore and did it justice.

9.5/10

Review Disclaimer: This set was provided to me free of charge by Lumibricks for the purpose of review. They provided no instructions, requirements or editorial input regarding the content of this review. All opinions expressed are entirely my own.