LEGO has revealed a new set based on Nike’s iconic Air Force 1 sneaker.
The set contains 1,093 pieces and will be released on September 1. Preorders will not be available, but LEGO has already confirmed the set will be priced at $99.99, equating to just under 10 cents per brick. Several images of the set are now available on LEGO’s website and can also be seen below.
This may come as somewhat of a surprise, but this is far from the first time LEGO has collaborated with the athletics giant. This is, however, the first LEGO set based on what I consider one of the best set of sneakers in the game.
Like previous Nike sets, LEGO isn’t just giving you a white shoe to build. Instead, the Air Force set is a whole ‘scene,’ which has the sneaker taking off like a rocket. A real winning element for me is the minifigure, a new take on the Classic Spaceman who you can pose to shoot hoops on top of the AF1 logo.
The sneaker itself seems to be based on the low-top variant of the AF1. While that is 100% what I have in my closet right now, I do think it could have had a bit more personality if LEGO tried to capture the strap you get with the mid or high-top versions. Of course, it shouldn’t be any surprise that the company went with the base white color scheme, but it looks like you can swap out the Nike swoop to be either gray (like the original colorway from 1982) or orange.
Whether you call them sneakers, trainers, runners, or something else I probably won’t agree with, Nike’s a classic. I bought my first pair of Air Forces back in middle school, and instead of growing out of them, I’ve ended up just buying the same pair every couple of years. Yes, I know there are ways to take care of them, but these are truly my everything shoes, so I wear them until the heels are a genuine danger.
Whether this set captures the Air Force magic, or whether I would have ever asked for the sneaker in LEGO form? Those are different questions.
This set definitely seems part of a continued trend toward display over play, but that just might be the trend among sets I’m paying attention to. The company is seemingly trying to make sets for literally every generation and fandom, so I don’t think one more sneaker scene is going to take away from massive architecture builds or more interactive sets for kids.
Blythe (she/her) is an Audience Development Coordinator at IGN who spends way too much time in character customization screens and tracking down collectibles.
