Category: Vonado

The Plus-Size Tallneck: Vonado’s 7,401-Piece Answer to “What If It Was Bigger”

Toy Review · Purchased April 14, 2022 · $450.00 CAD via Vonado

Giant Horizon Tallneck brick build
Plus-Size Tallneck, C7809. Photo: HeroToyz

The Setup

LEGO’s own official Tallneck (76989, more on that one later this year) is a nice little 1,222-piece set. This is not that. Listed on Vonado as an “Ultimate Collectors Series” Tallneck, it’s actually an unofficial, fan-designed “plus-size” clone build (item code C7809) that runs a full 7,401 pieces — roughly six times the official set’s piece count — with no LEGO branding or affiliation anywhere on it.

The Review

This is, without question, the single biggest build I’ve taken on from Vonado to date, and it shows in every part of the experience: multiple evenings of dedicated building time, a PDF manual that takes real effort to follow at this scale, and a finished model that genuinely dwarfs the official LEGO version sitting near it on the shelf. The posability holds up well across that much bulk — the neck and legs articulate believably, and the machine reads as unmistakably a Tallneck even from across the room.

The trade-offs scale up right along with the piece count. There’s no printed manual, no minifigures, and the clone bricks show some color and clutch-power inconsistency across a build this large — more noticeable here than on smaller Vonado sets simply because there’s so much more surface area for it to show up on. At $450 for something six times the size of LEGO’s own official take, it’s a genuinely different proposition than the official set — less a toy, more a room centerpiece.

What I Liked

  • Genuinely massive, impressive scale that the official set can’t match
  • Posability holds up believably across the whole model
  • Unmistakably reads as the Tallneck even at a glance from across the room

What I Didn’t

  • Multi-evening build with a PDF-only manual that’s hard to follow at this scale
  • Color and clutch-power inconsistency more noticeable across this much clone brick
  • No minifigures included, unlike the official set
  • Takes up a serious amount of shelf or floor space once finished

The Verdict

Rating: 4/5

The biggest, most ambitious build in my Vonado collection so far — not a toy so much as a statement piece, and it earns that distinction.

Where to Buy

  • Discontinued/varies by reseller — search “C7809 Plus-Size Tallneck 7401”

The Three Broomsticks: A MOC That Reminds You Vonado Isn’t Just Star Wars and Horizon

Toy Review · Purchased January 3, 2022 · $100.00 CAD via Vonado

The Three Broomsticks Hogsmeade Winter Village MOC brick set
The Three Broomsticks, MOC-58042. Photo: MOC Brick Store

The Setup

This one is a good reminder that Vonado’s catalog isn’t just Horizon machines and oversized Star Wars ships. MOC-58042, “The Three Broomsticks – Hogsmeade Winter Village,” is a fan-designed brick recreation of the cozy inn from the Harry Potter films, sold as a roughly 1,176-piece clone-brick kit rather than anything LEGO themselves have ever released. LEGO’s own Harry Potter lineup has never given the Three Broomsticks a standalone set — the closest official version is a tiny microbuild tucked inside 76388 Hogsmeade Village Visit — so this is the only way to get a dedicated model of the place at any real scale.

The Review

As with every Vonado build, the instructions come as a PDF and the bricks are generic clone parts rather than genuine LEGO elements, which means a slightly different clutch power and color consistency than an official set. Where this one earns its keep is the design itself: the snow-dusted roofline, warm window glow, and half-timbered Tudor-style walls capture the Hogsmeade wintertime mood better than I expected from a fan MOC, and at 1,176 pieces it’s a manageable weekend build rather than the multi-day commitments some of my bigger Vonado purchases have been.

It’s designed to sit alongside official Harry Potter sets on a shelf, and it mostly succeeds — the proportions read correctly next to genuine LEGO Hogsmeade builds, even if a close-up comparison gives away the clone bricks. For a hundred dollars, filling a real gap in official LEGO’s Harry Potter catalog is a fair trade for a few cosmetic compromises.

What I Liked

  • Fills a real gap — LEGO has never made an official standalone Three Broomsticks set
  • Snowy Hogsmeade details and window lighting effect look genuinely charming
  • A reasonable weekend-sized build at 1,176 pieces
  • Displays convincingly next to official Harry Potter sets

What I Didn’t

  • Clone bricks have a slightly different feel and color match than genuine LEGO parts
  • PDF-only instructions, no printed manual
  • Close-up scrutiny gives away that it isn’t an official set

The Verdict

Rating: 3.5/5

Not every Vonado purchase needs to be a 7,000-piece Horizon machine to be worth it. This is a smaller, charming way to plug a genuine hole in LEGO’s own Harry Potter lineup.

Where to Buy

  • Vonado product page (if still listed) — otherwise search “MOC-58042 Three Broomsticks” on reseller sites like MOC Brick Store

The Fifth Element Flying Taxi MOC, a Genuinely Weird Left-Field Pickup

Vonado | Bought July 24, 2021 | $150 CAD from Vonado

Fifth Element flying taxi MOC brick model
Photo credit: lesdiy.com

Why I Bought It

Two weeks after the Ebon Hawk, I was still in a MOC-browsing mood and stumbled on a build of Korben Dallas’s flying taxi from The Fifth Element. It’s about as off-the-wall a choice as I’ve made for this collection, but the movie’s one of my all-time favorites and I’d never seen anyone build the taxi in brick form before, official or otherwise.

Living With It

It’s a smaller, faster build than the Ebon Hawk, and the designer did a great job capturing the taxi’s chunky, battered-future-noir look with a clever use of angled plating. It doesn’t get the same double-take from guests that a Star Wars ship does — most people just ask what it is — but for anyone who knows the movie, it’s an instant grin.

The Good

  • A genuinely unique build you won’t find anywhere else
  • Captures the taxi’s distinctive battered, boxy shape well
  • Quicker build than the larger Vonado ships

The Bad

  • Niche enough that most visitors won’t recognize what it is
  • Smaller scale makes it easy to overlook next to bigger builds on the shelf

Final Call

Rating: 3.5/5. A fun oddball pickup for fans of the movie, less essential if you’re not.

Grab One Here

A Vonado Ebon Hawk MOC, a Fan Build That Outdoes What LEGO Never Made

Vonado | Bought July 10, 2021 | $350 CAD from Vonado

Ebon Hawk MOC brick model
Photo credit: lesdiy.com

Why I Bought It

LEGO has never made an official Ebon Hawk set, which is honestly baffling given how iconic the ship is to anyone who played Knights of the Old Republic. Vonado fills exactly that kind of gap with fan-designed MOCs (my own custom creations, essentially, just professionally kitted and sold), and their Ebon Hawk build had been on my watch list for months before I finally pulled the trigger this July.

Living With It

The build is a multi-day project, not a weekend one, and the instructions are noticeably less polished than an official LEGO manual — a few steps needed a second look to figure out. But the finished ship nails the asymmetrical, cobbled-together silhouette that makes the Ebon Hawk instantly recognizable, right down to the boarding ramp. For a ship LEGO has ignored for two decades, this is about as good as it gets.

The Good

  • Fills a real gap in official LEGO Star Wars offerings
  • Accurate, distinctive silhouette that’s unmistakably the Ebon Hawk
  • Opening boarding ramp and cockpit detail add real play value

The Bad

  • Instructions are rougher than an official set and require patience
  • Not cheap for a third-party build without official LEGO backing

Final Call

Rating: 4/5. If you want an Ebon Hawk on your shelf, this is currently the only real way to get one.

Grab One Here