Lego has gone out of its way to make itself more appealing to more folks. And this from a company that already has an awful lot of goodwill (unless we’re checking our bank statements to see how much we’ve spent on it). Only now, instead of AR-enhanced ghost stories or specifically-targeted builds, the brick company is offering up art. Of a sort.

The new Lego items have Art in the name and, we guess, are art in that you can hang them on a wall. But if you thought that art might work out being cheaper than traditional Lego, you’re… probably mistaken. There are four art ‘projects’, based on The Beatles, the works of Andy Warhol, Marvel’s Iron Man and Star Wars, due to launch in the next few months and, like the company’s 3-in1 builds, you can use one set of pieces to build three different images.

There’s got to be a catch

There is, of course, a catch. If you want to build all three bits of artwork, you’ll need three sets of Lego Art. And just in case you don’t feel like doing that, there’s also a larger project for each category. That’d be a unique artwork that combines three sets of Lego Art to put together. Want that long Iron Man portrait? Pay up, buddy.

It’s not just a question of buying a set and making some 2D art with it, however. The builds each come with their own soundtrack, in case you need some inspiration while assembling up to 3,100 bits of Lego into something you can hang on the wall (and will hopefully not drop, ever).

The sets are due to launch internationally (which would include SA) from 1 August. Pricing in the States is set at $120 per set, or about R2,100. Local pricing tends to stay in line with overseas costs so we’re not expecting anything much above that. But… bear in mind that to display everything (three small portraits and the long version of each) you’ll wind up buying six sets. That could add up rather quickly if you’re a touch obsessive.