LEGO Guardians of the Galaxy Headquarters 76253 Review

Welcome back to another LEGO review. Today we will be taking a closer look at the LEGO Marvel Super Heroes Guardians of the Galaxy Headquarters set number 76253. This set came out in 2023, has 67 pieces, and was designed for people 7 and up.

We were first introduced to the Guardians of the Galaxy headquarters during the Holiday Special and it would be a major setting for the Vol. 3 movie. The Guardians bought Knowhere from The Collector and moved their headquarters from inside their spaceship Milano to inside the severed head of a deceased Celestial currently referred to as Knowhere. This remote outpost is now the Guardians new home. Since Guardian members come and go on different missions, not everyone is home all the time. For this set, LEGO describes the scene as Groot and Star-Lord planning their next exciting mission around a table inside their headquarters filled with tools and technology. A very engrossing story.

Star-Lord Minifigure

The Star-Lord minifigure is available in a total of three sets. Since the dark blue leg and torso piece are designed to look like the Guardian’s uniform, these pieces can be found mixed amongst Peter Quill’s other minifigure team mates. LEGO did a great job with the heavy boots and thick padding around the hips. The details put into the front and back of the torso are just as detailed as the costumes worn in the film. The layers of fabric, straps and button were expertly recreated onto the plastic. The dark bluish grey belt might be a different color, but it does a better job showing off the detail of the dark belt. Of course they could not forget the team’s official insignia. The gold ravager-style flame with a Nova starburst looks fantastic. The dual sided head piece with reddish brown eyebrows and stubble pattern, along with medium nougat sideburns, moustache and cheek lines is extremely common. That has a lot to do with Chris Pratt infiltrating so many LEGO sets as Star-Lord and Owen Grady from Jurassic World. That being said, the piece does a great job of capturing the action star’s determined look and the actor's humorous facial expression. The medium nougat tousled hair that is swept to the left can be found on over 100 minifigures. While Star-Lord is not the only character using this short hair cut with sideburns and a widow’s peak, it is a great match for his character.

Dual Quad Blaster Accessory

Star-Lord is armed with his dual quad blasters. This minifigure weapon was created specifically to match Star-Lords uniquely shaped guns in the movie. When the piece was first introduced in 2014, it came in a pearl dark grey color. It would not be available in this flat silver plastic until 2021. No matter what color, the space blaster is a great replica of the movie handgun.

Teen Groot Minifigure

The Teenage Groot minifigure is exclusive to this set. The way LEGO used reddish brown on the dark tan plastic to create the bark plates making Groot’s skin is fantastic. They managed to perfectly balance the look of a plant and humanoid body. The sand green color adds the moss and vines growing on his body. The leg and torso pieces are found on a total of 3 teen Groot minifigures. It’s the dark tan armor shoulder pads with spikes on top and the head that make him unique. The shoulder pads have been around since 2010. While dark tan first came out the year this set was released, thanks to the Viking Village, Groot was not the first minifigure to wear this new color. The head piece is only available with this minifigure. The shape of Groot’s head with the jagged top and sand green moss growing along the top is unchanged. It’s the slight smirk and shape of the dark brown lines that are different from other Groots. The smile is not as big and closer inspection shows that the lines are slightly different. A unique smile is expected but to also change the bark lines is a detail that proves LEGO does not take short cuts in designing their minifigures.

Headquarters Build

The headquarters is more of a wall than a full room. By connecting 3 plates, we get a wall that is 14 studs long. The use of hinge bricks to attach the dark bluish grey 4X6 plate and 4X4 cut corner wedge plate add a nice angle to the wall. This gives the illusion of a larger enclosed room. On the left side of the wall we can see the technology in their base thanks to a large sticker put onto the side of a 1X4X3 light bluish gray panel piece. This panel piece is most of the wall. The sticker’s printing of minifigures, a planet, graphs and use of different shapes do a wonderful job bringing the electronic screen buzzing to life. Thanks to clips built into the wall, two tools can be stored. I am sure the spanner wrench will come in handy, but I am not sure what they will need the shovel for. Underneath the screen and tools a 2X4 plate creates a small work table sticking out from the wall. The right side of the wall has the entrance. The 1X6X2 arch used for the top makes sure this doorway is large enough for Groot. There might not be a physical door, but as Harrison Ford will attest to, doors in space are dangerous. A 3X3 inverted radar dish is used above the door for the lamp. This build is very recognizable and commonly used in LEGO sets. For me, it was the right side of the door that offered the funnest parts of the build experience. The 90 degree elbow macaroni piece stuck on the floor stud and resting against the side of the dark purple brick is simple but perfect for that industrial pipe look. The sign with Guardians of the Galaxy written in large aliens letters and the english letters on the bottom is what makes this set stand out. The 2X6 tile with a sticker attached is placed onto a 1X2 brick with side studs found on the right side of the door. The support beam underneath is purely decorative. A bar holder with clip is attached to a 1x2 plate with bar handle on end. A utensil candle is then stuck into the bar. That candle is holding a 1L bar with 1X1 round plate. The plate stud then gets a tile piece to smooth out the surface. While this support beam is not actually holding the sign up, a dark purple 2X2 corner plate is put on the back of the sign tile. The placement of this piece makes sure the beam is lined up to appear as if it is in the proper position to hold the weight of the sign. The use of log profile and grill bricks, along with bars and hollow studs helps add texture to a base cobbled together at the outer rim of the galaxy. The use of light bluish grey, dark bluish grey and dark purple coloring enhances the roughness of the environment. I am glad the purple Power Stone from the first movie set the theme colors for the Guardians’ franchise. It works well for these deep space themed LEGO sets.

Work Table

The table is a simple 3 piece build. A 2X2 plate with an octagonal bar frame was attached to a 2X2 round brick with axle hole and grill to create the base. A 4X6 tile with studs on edges was then placed on top to act as the table top. This tile piece is great for a work table. The studs along the edge allow the cup from the set or most other LEGO pieces to be securely attached to the table. The large flat area gives a nice space for odd shape pieces or items builders might want to place in more free positions. Our table currently has an axe and hammer laying out for our technologically advanced space heroes to use.

This set was okay. With only 67 pieces, this could have been a cheaper polybag rather than a more expensive small box set. I think it was the sticker sheet, along with the large panel and tile piece that allowed LEGO to sell this set at almost twice the price of a polybag. The minifigures are fine but nothing special. I do like Groot’s shoulder pads, but that is hardly a reason to buy a complete set. The Headquarters is an easy build for younger builders but doesn't offer a lot with pieces or build techniques. Each Guardians of the Galaxy movie had fewer and fewer sets. Volume 3 only had 3 sets in the theme. This makes me feel LEGO was running out of ideas and just needed to put something out.