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80121 Ancient Moon-Gazing Inn
- Release date: 1 June 2026
- Pieces: 1530
- Ages: 9+
Price:
- US$ 129.99 on LEGO.com US
- CA$ 179.99 on LEGO.com Canada
- GB£ 99.99 on LEGO.com UK
- AU$ 179.99 on LEGO.com Australia
- 109,99€ on LEGO.com Deutschland, Nederland, France, etc
Interesting parts
Recolour
- 15x Fence 1 x 4 x 2 Ornamental Asian Lattice Round with 4 Studs in Dark Brown (6614243 | 5103)
There's only one recolour. The piece is fitting, as it was originally designed for the Chinese Festival theme, and the quantity is good for MOCs. However, only one recolour in a 1,530 piece set is a very low rate.
New print
- Animal, Bird, Small with White/Black Bands on Face, Black Eyes print in Sand Blue (6589865 | 116101)
This bird is interesting. It is almost the same as the bird featured in set 11372 Autumn Cottage Garden (see Thomas' review of the LEGO cottage garden set), but without the chest print. This new version actually appeared in official parts data in April, was and made available on LEGO® Pick a Brick (PaB) on 11 May – a rare instance of an element being sold on PaB before its release in a set; presumably in error.
Rare parts
- 9x Plate 1 x 3 in Medium Nougat (6590759 | 3623) - in 2 other sets
Medium nougat is now a relatively common colour, so I was surprised that this basic plate remains uncommon.
- Brick 1 x 1 in Warm Pink (6584821 | 3005) - also in 42691 Garden Restaurant (see Elspeth's review of the LEGO Garden Restaurant)
- 3+1x Plant, Flower, Plate Round 1 x 1 with 5 Petals in Warm Pink (6605053 | 24866) - also in 40957 Spring Wreath
- 2x Door 1 x 4 x 6 Smooth with Chamfered Handle Plinth in Tan (6539354 | 35291) - in 1 other set
- Plant, Carrot in Dark Green (6568020 | 20086) - in 2 other sets
- 3x +1 Tile Round 1 x 1 with Gold Coin, Tan/Dark Red Decoration print in Pearl Gold (6574685) - also in 80118 Fortune Firecracker
- Plate Special 1 x 2 with Clips Horizontal [Open O Clips] in Dark Red (6584061 | 49563) - in 2 other sets
- Plate Special 2 x 2 with Horizontal T-Bar Underneath in Medium Nougat (6596463 | 5066) - also in 72151 Eevee
The other rare parts are quite random.
Minifigures
One of the figures (centre) is a historical figure named Su Dongpo, a famous poet of the Song Dynasty. He joins Shakespeare and Verne in the gallery of men of letters recreated as official LEGO minifigures.
He's the only minifigure with a printed lower part. I like the head a lot too, with his expression of tough artistic pursuit.
All pieces in Su Dongpo are new:
- Hair, High Bun in Black (6601199 | 8163) - new mould
- Hips and Legs Under Dress/Robe with print in Sand Blue (6618191)
- Minifig Head with double-sided Su Dongpo print in Yellow (6618341)
- Torso with print in Sand Blue (6620661)
The two other torsos are new, too, and splendid:
- Torso with Medium Nougat robe print in Lime (6620724)
- Torso with Bright Light Blue robe print in Light Aqua (6622255)
These three men have new torso prints:
- Torso with Dark Orange lining and Dark Red belt print in Tan (6619948)
- Torso with ornamental Sand Blue sash print in Dark Red (6619959)
- Torso with Medium Nougat belt print in Tan (6620734)
It's always nice to have medieval torsos without apparent armour.
The rest of the torsos are also new, and the unprinted dress piece is a recolour in medium lavender:
- Torso with Dark Green ornament print in Sand Green (6620727)
- Torso with colourful quilt print in Tan (6620740)
- Torso with golden decoration print in Medium Lavender (662074)
- Hips and Legs Under Dress/Robe in Medium Lavender (6445384 | 36036)
The figures are diverse, expressive and delightful, and the prints are well-designed. While most of the heads are not new, they fit the characters well.
However, the lack of leg/robe print on all figures except Su Dongpo seems to be a conscious decision, presumably on budget reasons – an interesting choice, as the price for 1,530 parts and 9 minifigures is unusually low. While the printless legs look decent on the figures with regular legs – the mould creates some shadows and shapes – the plain, smooth robe pieces look very bland next to the ornamental torsos.
Sticker sheet
There is a relatively high number of stickers. Fortunately, the stickers are very nice, featuring two-dimensional things like drawings and artworks, rather than three-dimensional items presented in two dimensions – a common thing I dislike in LEGO® Friends sets, for example.
The stickers are applied on universally useful, simple pieces, mostly tiles. This makes it very easy to reuse them. I'll definitely use some of the tan ones as tattoos on my character MOCs.
The Moon Gazing Inn
The set features an inn with a restaurant terrace, two guest rooms, small kitchen and what is presumably an apothecary shop.
Unlike most minifigure-scale Chinese Festival sets, this doesn't display traditions seen through modern-day festivities, but is rather a historical set entirely set in Song Dynasty China. The Song Dynasty lasted from 960 to 1279 (Anno Domini, in Gregorian standard), roughly corresponding to the High Middle Ages in Europe.
I argue that this counts as a Castle set, unofficially. However, in contrast to most Castle sets, there are no soldiers or warriors to be seen: instead, the set focuses on peaceful everyday activities, spiced up with some cultural production. Splendid!
The model consists of the main building, connected to a tower with a bridge. This forms a romantic, picturesque composition, great for play.
The well and the tree are initially separate submodels, and the ends of the L-shaped main build features axle-holed rocks to connect them.
The colours are nice and refined; peaceful while not being dull. My only gripe in the architecture are the gable ends. I feel there should be some kind of eaves in the ends, overlapping the white gable end by one module. Instead, the slope top surface is clealrly visible, which looks unpolished – and impractical from a rainproofing standpoint. Furthermore, the shadow cast by the eaves would have made the composition even more picturesque.
I tried to find out whether vernacular Song Dynasty buildings have eaves on the gable ends, but most of the examples I found are from grander temples and pagodas – as is usual with architectural history. However, a study of Song Dynasty urban pavilions by Yang (2024) suggests eaves in secular buildings, too (see figure 6 in the linked article).
The upper storey and the roofs are removable, to access the interiors for play.
Despite the high piece count, this set is not aimed at adults especially. Instead, its age mark is 9+ and features simple, common building techniques. Despite the high part count, it only took me about 70 to 80 minutes to build. This makes the set less exciting for an adult hobbyist, but I don't think that it's a shortcoming per se.
The first floor features a red reception disk and a dining area. A cabbage is being boiled in the kitchen. The studded, non-tiled floor indicates that the model is intended for play rather than (merely) display.
The apothecary shop has a colourful shelf with jars. The corner tiles under the eaves form credible wood construction details.
The two guest rooms are small but inviting, furnished with beds and authentic (stickered) calligraphy pieces.
This view to Su Dongpo's room is especially serene.
The poet himself is working on the balcony with an impressive brush. I envy his creative work in this open-air retreat.
The upper storey of the tower features a grilled table which I think represents some sort of musical instrument: possibly the plucked zither called a guzheng, but I'm definitely not an expert in medieval Chinese music. The figure's head print fits the assumption.
My favourite detail is the cat's dining area. The kitty has lots of cat food, and even a motivational poster featuring a yawning tiger. How cute is that?
Conclusion
80121 Ancient Moon-Gazing Inn is a successful set with indisputably good value of 1,530 pieces for £99.99 / US$129.99 / €109.99 / AU$179.99. I think it's great that such sets are available targeted at children. I would have liked a medieval set with a poet as the main character, and no weapons to be seen. I was that kind of a kid.
It's not exciting at all from the New Elementary perspective: focusing on new parts. Neither does it have the technical prowess of some of the sets aimed at adults. However, it is mostly well-designed – save for my small gripe about the eaves – and is a nice-looking model; truly a playset of many possibilities.
For me, there is exceptional value in the way this set represents a peaceful yet narratively unlimited snapshot of Mediaeval China, a subject hitherto rare among LEGO sets. There is a certain elegance in that.
US$129.99 / £99.99 / €109.99 / AU$179.99
READ MORE: Also coming in June from LEGO Chinese Traditional Festivals: set 80120 Prosperity Carp Leaping
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Nice review, thank you! I hugely appreciate this type of peaceful historical set as well.
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