A couple of years ago, LEGO released the #21349 LEGO Ideas Tuxedo Cat. This set was originally a submission at LEGO Ideas by LEGO fan Damian Andres, a.k.a. Yellow Brick. Apparently, the set has been so popular that LEGO is releasing a second fabulous feline companion, the #21376 LEGO Ideas Orange Cat.
While the two LEGO cats are very similar, they also have a personality of their own. The Orange Cat isn’t just a recolor of the Tuxedo Cat. It also features different parts and building techniques. To get a deeper insight into Orange Cat’s creation, the LEGO Ideas team spoke to the fan designer and one of the LEGO Ideas designers behind the sets.
“Originally, I just wanted to build a model for myself that looked like our own cat, Miro, so my original design was inspired by his colors and personality,” says fan designer Damian.
Damian even measured Miro to make sure everything was in proportion! But not everything about the creation was straightforward.
“I didn’t have much experience building organic shapes, so it wasn’t easy!” he says. “The biggest challenge was the head. Finding a well-shaped face that looks realistic was very difficult.”
Damian submitted his creation to LEGO Ideas with no expectations and was happily surprised when it was chosen to become an official set.
“It’s been amazing to see people all over the world having fun with the Tuxedo Cat,” he says. “I’m very grateful to be part of LEGO Ideas and for everything this platform makes possible.”
Enter LEGO Designer Chris McVeigh. Although Chris is a dog person in real life, he quickly fell for the charms of Orange Cat!
“This is a very special occasion because it marks the first time LEGO Ideas has offered a color variation of an existing LEGO Ideas product,” he explains. “Tuxedo Cat has been extremely popular, and many fans have been asking us for cats in different colors.”
Chris and the team first developed the cat in the new color – ‘medium-ougat’ – before presenting the idea to fan designer Damian. “He was absolutely thrilled to see that his original submission had inspired a second product!” says Chris.
Changing the color wasn’t the only thing the designers tweaked to make Orange Cat stand out from his black-and-white buddy, though.
“There’s a little bit of asymmetry to the face now, a larger patch of white fur on the chest, and an all-new articulated mouth that opens and closes,” explains Chris. “The tail has moved to the other side of the cat, which allows both the Tuxedo Cat and Orange Cat to sit side-by-side.”
The final updates also give Orange Cat its own unique cat-itude!
“We’ve used part 4190 (sometimes called the ‘pagoda plate’) to add whimsical tufts of fur here and there,” says Chris. “Lastly, we’ve included two new sets of eyes (green and brown) that are backwards-compatible with the original cat.”
Chris’s dream for Orange Cat is simple: “I hope people love the new cat as much as the original!”
In the video below, you can see a comparison of the two LEGO cats by former LEGO designer Tiago Catarino.
It’s really wonderful to see this fan-designed LEGO Ideas submission achieve unprecedented double success! It’s also interesting that the two versions are listed on the same LEGO Ideas page, and you can toggle between them to add the one you want to your shopping cart. This is also a first in LEGO’s history! Check it out at the LEGO Ideas section of the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Ideas kitties? Do you have the first one already? Are you planning to add the second? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below!
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