The summer novelties for 2024 have been on offer for a few weeks now - and in addition to the many new building sets, there is also a fundamental innovation for all LEGO customers: LEGO is experimenting with packaging!
LEGO packaging 2024: everything included!
By the summer of 2024, things were pretty clear: Almost all regular LEGO sets came in a box that was closed on one side with transparent "seals" or a self-adhesive tab. After being cut or pressed, the colorful bricks fell onto the building table. The (only) exception: LEGO Architecture usually used higher-quality boxes with hinged lids. This solution is now being supplemented by a new one - as part of the LEGO Summer Innovations 2024, boxes consisting of a separate lid and base element appeared for the first time. One of these sets reached me as a review copy with the subject Monkie Kid.
Two parts
Both parts are connected with self-adhesive seals - after cutting, the lid can be lifted off. The base element is also quite stable without a lid, because it is covered at the top with a rim of about three centimeters wide.
The edge gives the floor element stability
Both elements can be easily folded together and unfolded again to save space.
Advantages
The advantages of this new solution are obvious: in addition to the fact that you can now store a LEGO box completely “non-destructively” in a space-saving manner, the new solution is also ideal for storing completed LEGO sets again, to be stored and taken outside for playing or displaying.
Problems
I have already heard of at least one problem with the new boxes: Since both the base and the lid are printed and can be clearly assigned to a set, you should make sure that matching bases and lids are used when packing - what sounds banal seems to have already caused problems - I have already read about a customer who, according to his description, received a set with the top of the LEGO City Police Island and the bottom of the LEGO City Harbor. Of course, I cannot verify this at the moment, but I do not think it is excluded either. Whether this case will occur more often remains to be seen in the future.
Conclusion
After a long time, LEGO has once again focused on packaging - and introduced a new variant in series production in the summer of 2024. Initially only for a few selected large sets, the future will tell whether this approach can also be extended to smaller kits. I find the new packaging form very pleasant and much better than the previous solution, because the packaging folds neatly, but also the finished sets or other items can be nicely stored in the boxes.