LEGO Creator Expert Camp Nou FC Barcelona (10284)

Product Information

The final bit of the build is adding some decorative touches to the top of the stands and to the grey base. We’ll cover those enhancements in the next section. The Camp Nou is one of the symbols of FC Barcelona. We are therefore very proud to get the opportunity to jointly create this reproduction of the stadium with the LEGO Group that fans will be able to build from bottom to top and which represents the home of all Culers”. Statement by Rok Zgalin Kobe, designer of the LEGO Camp Nou: Given that Man United and Barcelona have fan bases that go way beyond their local areas I can see why they have done them.

Camp Nou is a stadium that has borne witness to some of club football’s most revered and decorated teams, and celebrated some of the game’s most gifted stars. Written into its history are names like Johan Cruyff, who brought a Dutch footballing philosophy to Barcelona that is still followed to this day; any number of foreign greats like Diego Maradona, Hristo Stoichkov, Michael Laudrup, Ronaldo, Rivaldo and Ronaldinho; and, held with such pride, youth team graduates from La Masia who among others include Pep Guardiola, Carles Puyol, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta and Lionel Messi.

Being neither a ManU nor a Barca fan, these sets don't interest me at all and the chances of getting a Tottenham Hotspur Stadium / New White Hart Lane are probably next to zero! ;-) I'm not sure I'd spend this kind of money on even that, to be honest. Messi has recently left his longstanding club, thus dropping the allure of buying this particular set (for some).

That’s not to say that 10284 Camp Nou – FC Barcelona is a carbon copy of 10272 Old Trafford – Manchester United. There’s a base template and set of construction rules that both stadiums (and presumably any more that may come) follow that provides the framework that the more expressive and individualistic elements of the respective stadiums are then built around. 10284 Camp Nou – FC Barcelona may remind you in places of 10272 Old Trafford – Manchester United, but it’s also very much its own beast of a 5,509-piece LEGO set. (More on that later.)I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then. The completed first section reveals that there’s a decent amount of gap between the wedge sections as you move away from the center. It’s a little distracting when seen here, but isn’t as noticeable once the full set is together. It’s a reasonable trade-off for the smooth curve to the overall building’s shape. Putting the two stand sections together with the playing field gives you an idea of how things are progressing. This “half-shell” amphitheater would almost work as a smaller display option, except for the exposed scaffolding under the seats. It wouldn’t be super difficult to custom build a “cover” for the sides if you wanted to, though. From the outside edge, things continue to look good, with the “Camp” tile lining up with the “Nou” on the previous chunk. You build the stadium in quarters and these wrap around the central pitch to complete the model, and whatever resentment you may feel for how long that took you, it all dissipates because what sits before you just instantly sings as a LEGO set. The contrast in colour between the exterior and interior is perfect and as vibrant as the real thing, and the sheer size of the set is as impressive as you would hope it to be.