Review: LEGO 21265 Minecraft The Crafting Table
5
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Some of the very first LEGO sets I ever bought as an adult (and this is going back over a decade, mind you) were the Minecraft Micro Worlds. Released between 2012-14, these four tiny, blocky dioramas pre-dated the “full-size” Minecraft sets that continue to release today. I did eventually start building a collection of those as well, only stopping when I moved states and couldn’t justify taking it all, but it’s those earliest models that I think back on most fondly and would’ve jumped at any chance to revisit.
Enter the new 21265 Minecraft The Crafting Table, which launched August 2024 as an 18+ build, separating it from the wider series of 8+ sets that we usually see from the LEGO Minecraft theme. This 1,195-piece throwback celebrates 15 years of Minecraft and aims to capture the adorable look of those initial Micro Worlds, in particular the original Forest set, scaled up to include a handful of mini-builds in one and tucked inside a LEGO-fied Crafting Bench as seen in the game.
Running at US $89.99 / AU $129.99 / £89.99, it’s certainly not going to mine your wallet for all it’s worth, and the Aussie price actually seems quite favourable against other regions, compared to similarly-priced sets.
Check out the global pricing and regional product pages below:
- 21265 Minecraft The Crafting Table [US] – US$89.99
- 21265 Minecraft The Crafting Table [AUS] – AU$129.99
- 21265 Minecraft The Crafting Table [UK] – £79.99
- 21265 Minecraft The Crafting Table [EU] – €89.99
- 21265 Minecraft The Crafting Table [CA] – CAD$119.99
If you’re planning on purchasing or pre-ordering this set, please consider using the affiliate links in this post. We may earn a small commission with each purchase that helps support the work we do on the blog!
21265 Minecraft The Crafting Table Set Details
21265 Minecraft The Crafting Table
21265
Minecraft The Crafting Table
None
1,195
US $89.99 / AU $129.99 / £89.99
Minecraft
1 August 2024
Isaac Snyder
Build experience and overall impressions
I always love flipping through those first few pages of the instruction manual for a celebratory set like this, and The Crafting Table doesn’t disappoint in that aspect. Unboxing and opening up the book, you’re greeted with a brief note on the origins of Minecraft itself, dating all the way back to the earliest public build in 2009, as well as those original Micro Worlds which were conceived back before LEGO Cuusoo had been retooled into LEGO Ideas. There’s also a short foreword from designer Isaac Snyder, an introduction to the micro-sections that make up this Crafting Table and a timeline of the video game’s evolution over 15 years.
Where the original Micro World sets focused on a single biome each within a 12×12 footprint, The Crafting Table instead references a whopping 12 biomes bundled into the same length and width, albeit with much more height and surrounded by extra environmental details and the table itself – making it reasonably larger. There are five smaller 6×6 sections that make up the Micro World portion of this build, each split across one of the 10 bags, and the idea seems to be that you could either follow the full build as shown, rearrange the micro sections within or even display them separately, small as they are.
Going into this build, I admittedly was a little nervous about the scale, thinking back to building those Micro Worlds and spending way too much time ensuring my 1×1 plates were all lining up nice and flush as I stacked them. Thankfully, The Crafting Table has a nice balance of these miniature sections and larger portions that aren’t so cumbersome, and there’s a nice progression as you go through the bags where you tend to alternate between building up the outer walls of the table, the decorative elements just inside the rim and then finally the tiny biomes – it’s roughly a 6×6 micro section every second bag.
As thoughtful as this particular pace is to my dwindling attention span, The Crafting Table also includes some fun bonus elements that make getting through each bag feel rewarding. Right in the first bag you’re given six black plates and a set of stickers to go with them, one bearing the Minecraft logo and the others with the kinds of randomised flavour text you see on the main menu screen of the actual game. It’s a cute touch – and these ones offer some encouraging messages to keep you going through the build.
These plates act as little plaques, one on either of the open edges of the table, and they also house another little reward system for making your way through the build with eight tiny Minecraft characters that slowly populate as you progress. The first is, of course, the iconic Steve, but you’ll also find animals like the pig and cow, villagers and of course a Creeper. These extra-tiny NPCs (and PCs) are smaller than the old Micro World ones but just as cute, and their little faces are all printed onto 1×1 places in appropriate orientations – save for the Creeper which is its own, single piece.
The inside of the diorama is where most of the action is, of course, and I’m quite happy with how well LEGO (and Isaac) have managed to capture elements of all of these distinct biomes at such a small scale. I had a lot of fun figuring out which bits represented what and seeing how the designer thought through details like turning a stack of two green 1×1 plates on its side to imply the texture of one of the blocky cactus plants in the game, or the way water flows from right near the snowy section at the top all the way down through multiple layers to the bottom. It’s really quite dynamic and pleasing to the eye. Having a few added decorative elements between these five sections and the edge of the table also gives it a nice sense of depth.
The actual crafting table part of the build is also pretty neat, taking advantage of the much larger scale to be a fairly accurate representation of the in-game model, blocky textures and all. It’s slowly built up as you go through each bag, both on the outside and with an inside layer that acts as a blue sky backdrop to the miniature world, complete with a squared-off sun and clouds. It’s a pretty sturdy shell once finished, despite missing two walls, and there are regular enough efforts to reinforce it as you go to ensure it stays stable all the way through.
Builders are also encouraged to think about showing off or using the set in different ways, like separating the five modules and displaying them on their own, taking the “table” part away to make it more of a diorama or even using the table as a base and displaying this or other Minecraft sets on top – you can easily spin the table around to look show the detail on the two back faces, as seen in LEGO’s example below:
Overall, a great job has been done across every aspect of this build, and I’m considerably impressed by how well it all comes together despite the fact you’re working in multiple scales the entire time. The end result is absolutely gorgeous, too, and immediately went up on my shelf next to my Super Mario 64 Question Mark Block – another great (though much more complex) take on video game worlds-within-a-cube.
How does it stack up?
As much as I enjoyed building this set and think the finished product looks fantastic, I did also want to dig into how it actually compares to the game itself and how well each element has been represented at this incredibly-small scale.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to boot up Minecraft itself and try to replicate the scene in-game, as the very last page of the instruction manual actually includes exactly what I was looking for – a look at all of the actual assets and scenery that inspired the design, just as you would see them in the game. Putting one next to the other, it’s a charming little glimpse into the process and what each piece in the set is supposed to represent. I love the clips representing clumps of grass and sugarcane, and the duller hue of the water in the swamp biome!
What I liked:
- A great throwback to the first Minecraft sets
- Build is nicely paced and varied throughout
- Interesting and well-thought-out representation of game elements
- The mini characters and mobs are adorable
- Finished product makes a fantastic and versatile display piece
What I didn’t like:
- Putting together a lot of 1×1 tiles is always finicky
- Quite small for the price
Final Thoughts:
Overall this was a fun trip down memory lane, both in how it recaptures those early Minecraft Micro Worlds sets as well as how it celebrates the history of the game itself with some truly iconic imagery. Setting this tiny diorama inside a crafting table, one of the most ubiquitous and important items in the game, is a stroke of genius and the end result looks great.
Crucially, the build itself manages to not get bogged down in the tedium of carefully putting together a lot of small pieces by alternating nicely between sections and breaking up the longer and more complex bags with some fast, foundational stuff that keeps it feeling like you’re making progress.
Whether you’re a LEGO Minecraft tragic, or just a fan of the game looking for a fun way to dip into LEGO and a great display piece to show for it, this set is easy to recommend. It might seem priced a little steep for the actual size of the completed build and very few unique pieces, but it’s still a solid 3-3.5 hour endeavour that’ll look fantastic on a shelf.
Final Score
Audience rating
21265 Minecraft The Crafting Table is available from LEGO.com or your local LEGO Store.
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