(Written by William)
Once upon a time, there was an ogre who lived in a swamp and had nothing to do with LEGO and its bricks, until… For years, it seemed unlikely that LEGO would do anything involving Shrek. It was an intellectual property with a massive amount of toy lines already, and LEGO was just never one of them. So, having an upcoming LEGO Collectible Minifigures Series, a LEGO BrickHeadz set, plus a full sculpture model was a nice surprise! I was particularly interested in the , so I thought to check it out.
Shrek, Donkey, and Puss in Boots by design are very dynamically shaped characters. They feature a measure of depth and sophistication that came out of animating tools being pioneered in the years right before the first film was released. This made recreating those same characters out of LEGO bricks challenging, to say the least. This probably explains why there may not have been a Shrek set in the last couple of decades.
However, each year LEGO has been adding new elements. Slopes with more subtle curves. Bricks with more connection points. And LEGO designers also refined their art and crafting with all these new elements. Thanks to all these upgrades, it seems now is the right time to finally have a Shrek set. So, let’s see what it has in store for us!
LEGO SHREK MODEL – ANCHOR POINTS
Building a dense model usually results in a very stable structure. The weight of the model holds it down, and all the connection points keep things secure in place. However, when it comes to statuary, the weight of a model can become a problem. Shrek, by design, is an extremely dense model with very few gaps in his underlying structure. On top of that, he is a top-heavy model. This means a solution is needed to prevent the statue from falling over.
This is where we have anchor points. Each anchor points not as a structural frame, but rather to keep the weight distributed on the correct spots. Each of Shrek’s legs has a small ball-joint under each foot to lock the model’s center mass in the right spot. His legs are thin compared to his torso, but sufficient if centrally balanced.
Having two points of contact does provide a fair bit of security. However, they also present a slight issue. Two ball-joints in a line also create a possible hinge. Shrek’s feet do act as a prop to prevent this natural hinge from activating, but it will help to have a third anchor point to put too much strain on these elements.
This is where Shrek’s hand on Donkey comes into play. It is slightly off-center from the other two ball-joints to act as a third leg in his construction. And the fact that Donkey has four legs adds even more points of stability.
Funny thing is, Shrek is so heavy that even Donkey needs to be secured into the base of the model. Each of his front legs is extended so that they can be built into the rock that they are standing on, which is locked into the base using two long LEGO Technic pins.
All of this heavily restricts the amount of posing that can be done with the model. The upside is that it has a reasonable chance of staying upright, despite the structural vulnerabilities found in the design.
LEGO SHREK – POINTS OF ARTICULATION
Expect most of the variability to come from Puss in Boots. He is a basic minifigure, so is engineered to do a lot more than a brick-built statue. There is, of course, an action element on Shrek’s shoulder if you want him to stand there. But this is merely a suggestion, and you have the freedom to put him anywhere.
As for Donkey, his legs are attached by small ball-joints. However, his two front legs are locked into a rock. As for his back legs, they are busy balancing out the rest of his mass and providing stability to Shrek, so it is not advisable to move them either. This leaves his neck to rotate, ears and mouth to move, and his tail to be repositioned.
Finally moving on to Shrek. He is probably the most expressive and least mobile of the three characters. He has large ball-joints in his shoulders and under his head. His left arm is a bit stuck, since it is built into the anchor that attaches his body to Donkey’s back. This also means his wrist that twists and fingers that hinge are equally locked into place in order to keep the illusion of nonchalance.
Just like his left arm, both legs are locked in at the top and bottom with small ball-joints for anchoring purposes. This does allow him to sort of twist his legs in and out, but don’t expect much from them.
As mentioned before, his right shoulder and what serves as his neck are on large ball-joints. This does give them the ability to move around. However, each of these parts is restricted heavily by the parts around them. His head is practically locked in place by the surrounding torso. Thankfully, you can move his ears around to get a bit of expression.
As for his right arm, you might not want to raise it too high since this will knock off the elements covering the top of his shoulder rather quickly. Still, Shrek’s right arm is where most of the expression happens. Unfortunately, his elbow is locked into a 90-degree angle, but you can twist his wrist and reposition his four fingers to enable him to hold items.
LEGO SHREK – FINAL THOUGHTS
The $129.99 price tag of this set might seem high, but you do get the value in parts. The model has little to no gaps in it, which is very different than other sculptures. And the end result looks very movie-accurate. Plus, fans of minifigures will love having a version of Puss in Boots.
With that said, fans who are used to having a very expressive ogre might get a bit frustrated due to the limitations of this model. It is not at all designed for play. Even trying to build the model had me knocking off flowers and decorations repeatedly. All this means is you need to make sure you really like the pose you see in the pictures since that will be what you’ll be locked into displaying. In the video below, I discuss the set in a bit more detail.
Overall, the build is satisfying, especially when they use ball-joints to add a tilt to Shrek’s torso. There are even some hidden surprises in Shrek’s stomach. And the sculpting is some of the finest I’ve seen in a model trying to hide clumsy LEGO joints. If this sounds good to you, then ogres are no longer onions or cake… ogres are LEGO bricks! If you want to check it out, it’s available at the Online LEGO Shop.
What do you think? How do you like this LEGO sculpture of Shrek and company? Do you have it already? Feel free to share your thoughts and own reviews in the comment section below!
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The designers did a great job on this. But brickbuilt characters look accurate, and “cute”. But there is a lot of reliance on new specialized slopes. I wonder how often these elements will get reused in the system
I’m not a big fan of these display sets only. There is no playability. But I understand some people only care for displays.