Though the chance of the LEGO Asia-exclusive sets Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner (80101) and Dragon Dance (80102) arriving in US LEGO Stores is close to none, LEGO was kind enough to give us the opportunity to build our own. The LEGO Customer Service portal was updated once again, and the building instructions for these regional exclusive sets are now uploaded for everyone to use. These Asia-exclusive sets are understandably gaining a following among the LEGO community, considering their thoughtful design and attention to detail. The cultural references to the festivities involving the celebration of the Chinese New Year are quite spot on.
These sets are considerably large in themselves. For example, the Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner (80101) consists of a total of five bags with 615 parts in total. For most LEGO builders, the selling point for this set is its interesting range for colorful printed tiles, especially those found on the dinner table. Of particular interest is the printed 1×2 tile that shows a pair of chopsticks and a spoon. It also has its share of its stickers, particularly those found inside the build representing family photos. You may download the building instructions for the Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner (80101) set right here.
The second set, Dragon Dance (80102) offers a wider range of play features similar to what was introduced in LEGO Forma sets. It comes in 622 parts placed in four bags. Since 2019 marks the Year of the Pig in the Chinese zodiac calendar, it’s quite clever of LEGO to throw in the Piggy Guy Collectible minifigure from 2014’s LEGO CMF Series 12. Additionally, the collection of festive minifigs dressed in brightly red, dragon-inspired clothes make the Dragon Dance (80102) a must have for collectors. If you wish to build your own Dragon Dance set then be sure to check its building instructions from this link.
Another of these LEGO Asia-exclusive sets is also slated to be released in the first quarter of the year in the form of the still-to-be-revealed LEGO Dragon Boat Race (80103), loaded with a huge amount of minifigs – 15 in all. Watermarked preliminary images of this set can be found on eBay if you want to take a look. Both the Chinese New Year’s Eve Dinner (80101) and Dragon Dance (80102) sets are currently available in LEGO certified stores in Malaysia and other parts of the Asia-Pacific region. It is also currently offered at shop.LEGO.com’s Korean portal. If you’re located outside of Asia, then your choices are quite limited if you wish to add this set to your collection. You may try to check with third-party resellers such as those found on eBay if you wish to get these sets.
