First pic of Taj Mahal!

[BillytheKid]

The model looks good, but with 6000 pieces it will costs around 600 euro. Too expensive, besides I have no room to place it and the quality bricks is not that good as 10 years ago. With this in mind, I will not buy it.

I keep it with 12v trains, starwars and Harry Potter.

[gonknoggin]

I found the Taj Mahal set on S@H, unfortunately there are no pictures yet but it's listed with a €299 price tag (for Europe). Currently it's not available in North-America, so no US-$ at the moment. According to the site the set will ship October 1st, 2008. Dimensions are 51cm wide and 41cm high.

Check it out yourself: Taj Mahal

[metalandi]

Actually you can only pre-order it at this time it will ship on october 1st.A shame there are no pictures yrt, but i guess theyll come sonne ror later..

[Legodt]

EUR 299 Pre-order with Delivery commencing Oct. 1, 2008. I expect a price of US$399 - $429 for the US.

Build the breathtaking Taj Mahal!

The famous Taj Mahal palace of India is known all over the globe for its incredible beauty and elegance. Now you can recreate this modern wonder of the world for yourself! Designed for experienced builders, the LEGO Taj Mahal model features advanced building techniques, rare elements and colors, and realistic details of architecture. With over 5,900 pieces, the Taj Mahal makes an awesome addition to any LEGO collection!

* Amazingly detailed model features the base, minarets, domes, finials, arches, and stairs in the front!

* Measures over 20" (51cm) wide and over 16" (41cm) tall!

Edited August 7, 2008 by Legodt

[Dragonator]

Oh look, it's only $429.99 NZD, that's pretty good really. Same price as the Eiffel Tower (although I got mine for only $360 ). I probably won't pre-order though, as shipping costs $80... They better not put the price up or anything, that would make me mad.

[blueandwhite]

It may be 299$-349$ in the US regarding the 199$ price of the Eiffel tower and its 3000+ parts. Which means 350-400 Euro at S@H's 'exclusive' exchange rates.

Note: Someone said that there were no royalties to pay like on the Star Wars stuff. I thought that those kind of buildings like the Eiffel Tower were trademarks. Atleast, the unknown Atomium here in Brussels actually is and a very expensive one.

It's been a while since I finished law school and I'm not a practicing lawyer, but I think you're mistaken about trademarks. From what I recall, a trademark is a label or other identifying mark associated with branding (ie. LEGO, Toyota etc.). Essentially trademarks are things which a company or an individual may use to 'mark' his business for goodwill purposes. Even popular characters (Luke, Leia etc.) may become trademarks when associated with a business (Lucasfilm). The Eiffel tower is a national treasure for France, but I doubt that there are any trademark issues.

The other concern would be copyright. That being said, copyrights are finite and expire after a specified period (I believe that it's 75 years after the author's death). As both the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower are far older than this, I would imagine that there are no royalties being paid to anybody for these sets. The VW Beetle is a bit different as the VW trademark (and likely any associated copyrights) are still good meaning that LEGO would have to pay VW. The same is true of most of LEGO's licences.

As for the Automium; André Waterkeyn the architect who created the Automium only passed away a few years ago. The copyright on this work would still be valid. If on the other hand, the Automium had been constructed several hundred years ago there would be no copyright issue as the copyright would have long since expired. Of course, things are considerably more complex then that. Still, I suspect that LEGO probably didn't need to pay anybody in this particular situation.

[metalandi]

It has now disappeared again from S@H, seems they wanted to tease us once again.

[Mirandir]

I just got in time to catch a glimce off it on S@H and it is way cheaper than I expected. Just hope they don't go and do a "Death Star" on it...

Edited August 7, 2008 by Mirandir

[pedroagnelo]

New pics and some info via TBB

[Big T]

Wow that is simply awe inspiring. Amazing model, and while I know I won't be able to afford it, I love that Lego are making such beautiful pieces available for sale. And I would adore them if they made a Sydney Opera House too.

Thanks for the pics, they give a lot of detail. Love how they have done the domes

[brickzone]

For Ireland it is also listed at €300 on S@H. Now if I could afford to spend that, it is really good value for the volume of bricks. I'm guessing despite the hue given by the lighting of the model that it is in fact white not tan.

I like the detail of how some elements are done, such as the tiled area using 2x2 turntable bases, and the windows using headlamp bricks for the supports and 1x3 arch on top of them - works nicely with the stud that is visible at the bottom of such brick-built castle-style windows.

[Mirandir]

It's back again on S@H and now the releasedate is earlier than before. Now it'll ship by 15 september rather than 1 Oct

[gonknoggin]

For Ireland it is also listed at €300 on S@H. Now if I could afford to spend that, it is really good value for the volume of bricks. I'm guessing despite the hue given by the lighting of the model that it is in fact white not tan.

I like the detail of how some elements are done, such as the tiled area using 2x2 turntable bases, and the windows using headlamp bricks for the supports and 1x3 arch on top of them - works nicely with the stud that is visible at the bottom of such brick-built castle-style windows.

But the product description on S@H actually states:

"the LEGO Taj Mahal model features advanced building techniques, rare elements and colors" So perhaps it's not just plain white!?

[CopMike]

But the product description on S@H actually states:

"the LEGO Taj Mahal model features advanced building techniques, rare elements and colors" So perhaps it's not just plain white!?

Well if you look at the picture you might see other colors than white!

CopMike

[LEGO-master]

And a sidenote, at LEGO World Oslo one of the Creators designers who were there said the Taj Mahal looked absolutely amazing, and well, now I believe him.

It does look absolutely amazing, this one I must have. Which could be something of a problem with no S@H in Norway, but something can always be arranged.

Taj Mahal from LEGO World 2008 Oslo, Norway:

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Legolend...lo/dsc05989.jpg

And this is AFOL, who build Taj Mahal and Ekaterininsiki Dvorec from Russia, St. Peterburg and I. He is from Russia (like me), but he live in Germany and speak only English.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Legolend...lo/dsc06134.jpg

Edit by Hinckley: Images turned to links due to massive size. Please check out the site guidelines and tutorial index for posting guidelines and helpful tips. Thanks so much.

[F0NIX]

Taj Mahal from LEGO World 2008 Oslo, Norway:

And this is AFOL, who build Taj Mahal and Ekaterininsiki Dvorec from Russia, St. Peterburg and I. He is from Russia (like me), but he live in Germany and speak only English.

First off all I dont think it was Taj Mahal but the "blue mosque" or something like that, but I could be wrong there...

And he does not live in Germany but he lives in Oslo in Norway. But he IS a fabulous LEGO builder. I know him as Michael on Brikkelauget, that is why I know he lives in Norway.

There is more picture of the Katarina palace here.

He certainly like building LARGE buildings with LEGO :)

[WisrthanU]

Yes, to me, with the given picture, it looks a little more alike the blue mosque in a white design.

[dhaas06]

$299 USD really isn't as bad as I expected... it's so tempting!

http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?...QS=preorder_btn

[agrotic]

hop, ordered today in S@H France. shipped for September 15th.

299 Euros.

groovy !

[BillytheKid]

After a few weeks, we can pay 500 euro......like the death star. Yeah sure. We know their jokes right now. No thank you!

[Lockt]

Very nice exclusive! Price is not that bad considering the parts.

I was looking towards the "floor" around the construction. Is it made by blue underground covered by turntables 2x2? (http://www.peeron.com/inv/parts/3680)

[Wout]

Are that blue baseplates unde the white turntables?

That would be cool if they would make them again. Or they still had some and use these set to get them away.

[Anubis]

Ohhh... but what's the price going to be?

Yes, to me, with the given picture, it looks a little more alike the blue mosque in a white design.

#$^#$^#^!!!!! $299??

[hollisbrick]

Wow looks awsome! Can't wait nfor a better pic

[Quarryman]

Taj Mahal from LEGO World 2008 Oslo, Norway:

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Legolend...lo/dsc05989.jpg

First of all, I was discussing upcoming sets with the particular designer, and he talked about the Taj Mahal that they had in the office. So no, it clearly wasn't Michael's mosque we were talking about.

First off all I dont think it was Taj Mahal but the "blue mosque" or something like that, but I could be wrong there...

And he does not live in Germany but he lives in Oslo in Norway. But he IS a fabulous LEGO builder. I know him as Michael on Brikkelauget, that is why I know he lives in Norway.

"A mosque, just inspired by Khiva, Buchara, Samarkand..." (for those too lazy to check the Brickshelf-link )

Actually, he lives in Sandefjord, Norway. Unless he's moved to Oslo lately? (that Ryanair and other el cheapo airlines call Sandefjord airport Torp "Oslo airport Torp" doesn't change the fact that it's a long way from Oslo ) But this is somewhat off-topic though...

I was looking towards the "floor" around the construction. Is it made by blue underground covered by turntables 2x2? (http://www.peeron.com/inv/parts/3680)

Are that blue baseplates unde the white turntables?

Yes, it certainly looks like it's 4 blue 32x32 baseplates covered by white 2x2 turntable-bases. This picture clearly shows that the ground is only baseplate+tile height, while this picture clearly shows that the ground beneath the white 2x2 turntable bases is blue.

Edited August 11, 2008 by Quarryman