LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox – What does the fox say?
Now, I know what you’re thinking. You love the new LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31150 Wild Safari Animals released back in January, and as well you should because it’s a great set. But you were hoping for something with a color scheme that’s more LEGO Icons 10325 Alpine Lodge. Well, does next month have the set release for you! Clocking in at 667 pieces, LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox adds to the creatures currently available in the Creator line, seemingly targeting kids and adults at the same time. But how does this new set stack up? What surprises does it offer? And what is the noise that a fox makes? You’ll have to read on to find out. LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox is available from LEGO’s website starting on March 1st, and retails for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99.
The LEGO Group sent The Brothers Brick an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
The unboxing
Clad with the LEGO Creator logo in the upper left corner and a 9+ age range, set number 31154 displays all three builds on the cover of the box. The titular red fox is the main construction, and its parts can be recycled to create either an owl perched on a branch or a squirrel grasping an acorn. The back of the box boasts some more detailed pictures of the three models, showcasing some of the pose-ability in the fox and squirrel models. Despite having the look of more adult-targeted Creator sets we’ve seen lately, there’s the promise of potential playability in these models.
Two glorious thumb-punches later, and I’m emptying the box onto my table. Inside, I find three instruction booklets, one for each of the potential 3-in-1 models. To my delight, I also find five paper bags. This is the first time I’ve personally run into this packaging, and my trash can is very grateful. As we’ve reported previously, the paper bags have only been used for the outer bags thus far. But with this set, there was absolutely no plastic packaging, with all small bags appearing in the same style. It feels like big victory for sustainable packaging, and something many of us fans have been looking forward to for some time. We’ll show the contents of each bag as I plow through the instructions later on.
Before heading into the builds, we should talk about a pair of items that were missing from this set. That’s right, I was short two pieces. While I suspect this may have something to do with the new small bag packaging type throwing off bag weights, it’s certainly an error that’s very relevant in a review set. While I am foreshadowing the article a bit, it ended up being a pretty big black mark on what otherwise would’ve been a sterling review. Thankfully I had replacements on hand, so you’ll get to see what the set should look like with all of its pieces.
Build #1: The fox
I grab the instruction booklet for the set’s main build, set my Spotify playlist to something build-friendly, and get to work on the red fox. Bag 1 contains a turquoise build separator, and I swear the orange ones have now flipped into the minority. This first step just sets up the torso of the fox with plenty of connection points for the legs, head, and tail later on. I did notice some studs-not-on-top (SNOT) construction techniques that felt very similar to those employed in 31150 Wild Safari Animals. Throughout the build process, my thoughts kept going back to constructing the giraffe amid some strong Deja Vu. It’s safe to say that 31150 and 31154 could be considered sister sets.
Bag 2 adds an neck and face to this beautiful fox. The head here is a gloriously-compact design, with studs pointing every-which-way and a movable mouth. OF the whole model, I’ll say that there’s no particularly notable parts usage. However, a mastery of brick jointery is on full display. We have consistent use of ball-and-socket to create natural angles in the models, with appropriate coverage by the surrounding brick to make the design feel like it’s one piece, but still allow for pose-ability. The fox’s neck and squirrel’s tail are the two best instances of this, for sure.
Bag 3 provides all four legs of the beast, minus its paws. While the model is capable of unfurling its back legs, the instructions have us build it in a sitting position. From this angle, you can finally take in all the wonderful texture in the fox’s coat. Tons of slopes, curves, wedges, and even teeth help to create the illusion of fur. It’s a technique I wish I was more skilled in for my own models.
The fox is finished off using bag 4, adding on a quartet of simple paws and a large, floofy tail. Once again, ball joints are used to great effect, giving the tail a proper bend, curling around the fox’s body slightly when in the seated position. Overall, it’s a continuation of the techniques that have already made the body an excellent vulpine facsimile.
Rounding out the overall model, bag 5 contains the parts for a small, spindly pine tree and a stump amid a snowy landscape. The technique employed to create the round trunk is impressive, based around a 2×2 round plate with octagonal bars. It’s surface looks appropriately rough and natural. I also appreciate the simplicity of the tiny pine bough popping up through the snow.
Build #2: The squirrel
I’ll try to quickly cover the alternate builds here without letting this review go on too long, first covering the squirrel and then the owl. Unlike above, there’s no bags to help break things up, so I picked a few places to stop during the process. We start out with the torso of said squirrel. The back section, which will become the tail, is connected via a click hinge to the rest of the model, granting a little bit of play to this section. It’s a pretty cool bit of engineering to hide an effectively-frozen hinge in the design.
Next up, the rest of the tail is fleshed out. As I mentioned previously, this involves some wonderful work with the large ball joints. The shaping of this piece is glorious!
Finally, the head, arms, and legs come into shape. This is probably the most pose-able of the three models, but also the smallest. And just like the fox, it’s got some outstanding textures at play here. Plus, check out that cute little acorn!
Build #3: The owl
Our last model in this kit is the owl. As with the last two, we begin with a block of torso. A bevy of textured slopes and wedge plates create the breast of feathers on this nocturnal hunter. It’s astounding the number of different textures that the designer has evoked using the same array of pieces. I’m in awe of such skill!
Next, wings, claws, and a tail are added to the bird. There’s nothing terribly noteworthy for this section that hasn’t already been said. You can see the connection point for the head: a white click hinge.
The owl’s head may be my favorite part of this entire set. Those eyes made from technic balls and sockets are enchanting! I included a pic with some of the internals below. There are studs pointing every direction in there.
Even though the owl can easily stand up on its own, this hunter is going to need a place to perch. The last section roughs out a verdant stand for our feathered friend, connecting onto two dark orange brackets. Making up this portion, it hit me how much I adore the color palette chosen for this set, all browns, tans, and umbers with highlights of white.
Conclusions and recommendations
Sets like LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox don’t come along all that often. All three models have both play and display potential, to such a degree that I’m still split between the fox and the owl as to which one is my favorite. The designer’s artistry shines brightly, a brilliance found throughout the build process as hinges are connected and textures are crafted. While not containing anything special, the parts palette sure has plenty of the essentials in great colors, and is top tier for a LEGO Creator set. And with a price point that puts it well below the 10 cent-per-part threshold, I cannot recommend this set enough! You’re going to enjoy both the build and the final result, for sure. Just make sure you find one with all the pieces included.
LEGO Creator 3-in-1 31154 Forest Animals: Red Fox will be available from LEGO stores and their website beginning on March 1st. The 667-piece set will retail for US $49.99 | CAN $64.99 | UK £44.99
P.S. – The fox is known for making many different types of noises, including barks, screams, howls, and squeals. After that title, I didn’t want to leave you hanging.
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