Well it's about time that I got a chance to build some more. As you can see by the title, I assembled WALL-E which is set number 21303. WALL-E is part of the LEGO Ideas program where fans build sets and submit them onto the site. Then other fans can vote on them. If a design received 10,000 votes, the LEGO Ideas team will review the set to see if they will consider it for production.
WALL-E was picked up as a 2015 set and released on 25 September 2015. It costs $59.99 in the US and contains 677 pieces. That works out to $0.088 per piece so around the average. Here are a few pictures of the front and back of the box.
Like many of the previous LEGO Ideas sets, this set comes with a thick instruction book that starts with some information about the designer and the set itself.
The set contains 9 bags along with the instructions. The bags are not numbered like some sets are so you have to open them all and build at once. One of the bags contains just the treads to WALL-E's tracks. The set also contains an orange piece separator.
The build itself was not overly challenging, but my guess is some younger children would need some help with some of the parts that are a bit more challenging to put together. I built the set over a few nights of free time. I completed through #38 in the instructions after my first night.
You can see most of the main part of WALL-E's structure here and the start to the door that he opens to crush garbage into blocks. After the second night I had a good chunk of it done minus an eye and his hands.
After my third night of building, I finished the set. Here are some pictures of the final product.
Overall, I think the design is well done. They did a great job capturing the design of WALL-E. Having the plant is a nice touch. It always amazes me how people can use LEGO to construct things that look very close to the real thing.
One note is the design of the head. The swivel is rather loose and it doesn't stay in one place. LEGO has come up with a new design for the swivel. It includes some additional pieces and new instructions. If you bought the set early on, you can find the instructions and some details here. I e-mailed LEGO customer service to ask about how I can get the new pieces and instructions. I will do another post once I get an answer. In the meantime, from reading the various LEGO fan sites, it looks like if you buy WALL-E now, you will get the upgraded design. If anyone has purchased it recently, let me know.
Should you buy this set? In my opinion a lot depends on whether you are a fan of WALL-E or not. Those that don't know the movie or didn't enjoy it may not enjoy having this set. As a fan of the movie, I thought it was great and am glad I got it. The price is about on par with other sets on a price per piece ratio so not too bad. The build is very creative and if you want to take WALL-E apart, there are some great pieces to build other designs with. I'm sure a lot could be done with the tracks. Another bonus to the design, there was no sticker book. All of the pieces that would have stickers are printed onto the parts themselves.
If you got this set and have built it, please let us know what you think in the comments area. I'm curious to hear what other fans have thought.