(Written by William)
My first encounter with a LEGO set that was meant to be a statue was the #43179 LEGO Disney Mickey and Minnie Mouse from 2020. Since then, I’ve experienced a wide range of sculpture-like models. I must admit, they are extremely fun to build. I think the biggest reason for this is because they are not anything I’d build as a creation of my own, thus I often find the designs rather novel and interesting. I have noticed that LEGO designers think of shapes in a much more fluid and dynamic way than I do.
I’ve also found it interesting that some of the more recently released statues have more posability than previous models. Both the #40649 LEGO Up-Scaled Minifigure and the #76217 LEGO Marvel Super Heroes I Am Groot have a crazy amount of flexibility without giving up their incredible aesthetic. So I had to know, given how mobile Stitch is in the movie, would LEGO Designers give him that level of movement in the newly released #43249 LEGO Disney Stitch set? Or would his very rounded almost roly-poly-like shape demand too much for this to be the case.
LEGO DISNEY STITCH – STICKERS & PRINTING
Before I touch on anything else though, I should stop and discuss the decorative elements in this set. As you may or may not know, statue models like this are often geared more towards adults. They are viewed as home décor that also happens to provide a building experience. And LEGO has found that adults really don’t like stickers.
This model has both stickers and printed elements. All the flowers including the half ones that decorate Stitch’s Hawaiian shirt are stickers. The good or bad news is these stickers don’t have to be entirely precise in their placement (precision is something adult LEGO fans often stress about).
Stitch’s eyes on the other hand are printed. Eyes are so important, as their placement can make the difference between something that looks cute and cuddly and a terrifying creature from your nightmares. So, it is a bit of a relief to know that the shape and position of the eyes are correct since they are printed. LEGO did something similar for the Mickey and Minnie statues. These are the only printed and stickered elements in the set.
LEGO DISNEY STITCH – MOBILITY
As you build the model, you can see all the fancy connections that will be used. For instance, each leg is connected using two locking finger-joints. The left arm, which touches the ground, uses two small ball-joints. Even the mouth is connected using clips and bars. So, there’s a lot of movement, right?
Well, no. You see, all of the connections I mentioned are simply there to allow that section of the model to be attached at a particular angle. In fact, I had a hard time putting the legs on because as soon as I thought they were locked in, I’d try to move them and they would fall off. This is because they weren’t actually meant to move. But that’s not to say Stitch is completely motionless.
The neck and each ear are built for movement. And since Stitch is designed to look good from every angle, you can have him look in the desired direction to suit your needs. Each ear is on a large ball-joint which can be seen in certain positions, but there is plenty to distract so they aren’t that noticeable. I also really like the neck connection. It uses an R2D2 droid body – in solid blue, of course – to securely lock in the head with LEGO Technic elements, and attach to a LEGO Technic axle with friction gears in the body to help hold any position. I mention this technique in the review of the Up-Scaled Minifigure model where it is used to hold the arms in position.
You may not think about this, but often the weakest part of a model is at its joints. So, seeing methods to reinforce an axle and the speed it can turn is pretty handy information. Especially when attaching something the size of Stitch’s head, which is comparable to a softball including its weight.
LEGO DISNEY STITCH – FINAL THOUGHTS
For a $64.99 price tag, this is not a badly priced set. I know I’ve spent more for similar-sized models. The piece-count is a bit low for the price, but that just means there are some larger elements in the set. LEGO fans often judge the price of a set based on piece-count, but LEGO prices them mostly by weight. The more plastic something has, the more it costs to make. In the video below, I talk a bit more about the set.
If you’re considering picking this set up for parts, you’re probably doing it for all the blue slopes, but you do also get a serious amount of SNOT (Studs-Not-On-Top) bricks and a lot of brackets as well. In other words, pieces great for sculpting. As for unique elements, I did find an unusual ring-shaped piece that makes up the base of the flower. I’m unsure what its basic structure is meant to accomplish, but it is a hoop you can stand upright on a stud and use clips all around its hoop. Unfortunately, you only get one in the set.
I think the major drawback of this set is that it is first and foremost a decoration. You have something that is really only meant to be built once and then put on a shelf to look cute. Fortunately, it does that very well, but make sure you like the pose you see since that’s about all you’ll get out of it after the building experience is over.
What do you think? How do you like this brick-built version of Stitch? And what do you think of brick-built sculpture sets? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below! And if you would like to get your own copy of the set, you can find it at the LEGO Disney section of the Online LEGO Shop.
And you might also like to check out the following related posts:
Haha, as an adult collector, even stuff that is designed to have play value pretty much just ends up as display pieces anyway.
I’m not the target demo for Lilo & Stitch, but that’s a pretty cute model.
Not a set I would get, but it’s adorable.
As far as sculptures go, I think this is one of the best ones. And yes, like you said, the eyes are a huge factor.