The new LEGO Jaws set, available exclusively in the LEGO Storeis a tribute to the 1975 horror classic. The original “summer blockbuster” Jaws changed the way Hollywood produced and marketed films. It put director Steven Spielberg on the map and is a masterpiece of suggestion and good editing. Spielberg, like Hitchcock before him, knew how to “make the audience suffer.” The slightest splash of water and the perfect sound were enough to increase the audience’s fear. We don’t get a clear glimpse of the shark until halfway through the film, but its presence dominates the entire film.
LEGO Jaws
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Set no. 21350, contains 1,497 pieces.
LEGO Jaws depicts the moment after the big reveal, with Chief Brody delivering a dry, iconic understatement: “You’re going to need a bigger boat.” The quote is even printed on the model’s black base, along with the film title.
This is a LEGO set designed primarily for display, not role play. You can explore the ship’s quarters by removing the top level, and you can dig into tiny details on the boat deck. But the point of the build is to capture that quintessential Hollywood moment. And it does so in a way that breaks the fourth wall.
The LEGO Jaws set consists of three kits in one. First, you build the Orca, Quint’s dilapidated, battle-worn boat. Its color scheme, dark brown and black, is the same as that of the LEGO Titanic – an ominous tribute to doomed seagoing ships that challenged nature and lost.
In a building full of details, several stand out. We see Quint’s chair mounted on the deck, which he straps himself into before attempting to catch the shark. In the ship’s quarters, we see the Amity Gazette with a headline warning of shark attacks. We see a map of the area, showing us where the Orca is yet to explore. We see a pair of shark teeth mounted on the wall – a testament to Quint’s hard-won experience.
The rigging is attached to the bottom of the boat and is looped around a pulley system. The model’s mast is disproportionately high. It makes the boat appear unbalanced – as if it could tip over if attacked by a huge predator, for example.
How many LEGO buildings for adultsthe ship is quite fragile, with single connection points connecting accessories to their bases. But in this case, whether intentional or not, it serves to reinforce the visual language of the film. These people, with their artificial insignia, are the underdogs in this fight against a monolithic force of nature.
Then you build the shark, which is suitably massive next to the boat. In LEGO form, the shark is decidedly more cute than menacing; it has small button eyes and several rows of teeth, which you build separately as individual “dentures” and then insert piece by piece into the model’s mouth.
Lastly, build the sea water – a long, rectangular black base lined with blue bricks and accented with white curved pieces. The curves give the impression of ocean waves and sea foam. Once this is complete, place the orca in the “water.”
You have two options for displaying the shark. The first is to display it separately on a mounted black stand. Below that, you can display the three minifigures included in the set: Sheriff Brody (with a sidearm), Richard Hooper (with binoculars) and Quint (with a harpoon).
All three minifigures are beautifully detailed and instantly recognizable by their clothing, accessories and facial expressions. If you place the minifigures on the stand and look at them at eye level, you’ll see the shark from a low angle. It looks just like the famous movie poster.
Your second option for representing the shark is to place it in the tableau. The shark is divisible down the middle and you can join the front half to the water surface to give the impression that it is rising from the depths of the ocean. Of your two options, this is clearly the more preferred and threatening one.
As I was putting the three building elements together – the boat, the shark and the ocean – I noticed my favorite detail. When you place the ship on the rectangular ocean base, it doesn’t “fit.” Instead, it extends far beyond the edge of the display, as if the shark were chasing the orca out of the frame.
Or is it perhaps a metaphorical way of saying that the scene is too exciting to capture? Either way, this model breaks with convention. And that’s a fitting sentiment for a film as terrifying as Jaws, which inspired a generation of moviegoers to get out of the water.
LEGO Jaws, set no. 21350, costs $149.99 and consists of 1497 pieces. It is available exclusively at LEGO® Store.
Kevin Wong is a freelance contributor to IGN specializing in LEGO. He has also been published in Complex, Engadget, Gamespot, Kotaku, and more. Follow him on Twitter at @kevinjameswong.
