Groot, the lovable living tree from the Guardians of the Galaxy series, was making baby versions of characters cool long before Grogu introduced the term “Baby Yoda” to the pop culture lexicon. As Rocket Raccoon’s loyal partner in crime, he steals scenes by just repeating the words “I am Groot” for all of his dialogue (and, let me tell you, the urge to turn in this review with “I am Groot” repeated over and over was strong). Now LEGO is releasing a 1:1 scale build of this extraterrestrial Ent in his youthful form so you can have a Baby Groot of your very own. 76217 I Am Groot is a 476-piece set releasing June 1st in the UK and worldwide August 1st for US $54.99 | CAN $69.99 | UK £44.99
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Unboxing the parts and instructions
Baby Groot arrives in a rectangular thumb-punch style box with the “Infinity Saga” branding on it. Groot is shown in a dancing pose beside his included cassette tape accessory.
On the back of the box, Groot and the tape are joined by the included info placard.
Inside the box, you’ll find three numbered bags of pieces, a sticker sheet, and an instruction book.
The parts
There are numerous parts of interest in this set, including a ton of old parts in dark tan for the first time, such as droid arms, inverted curved slopes, and a vehicle mudguard.
Besides the dark tan pieces, there are also some old parts now available in reddish-brown and olive green, as well as a minifigure shield in black with an eye lens printing.
The final model
Unusual for sets that contain an info placard, this element is the first thing the instructions have you build. It’s just the familiar black ramp piece, propped up with a bracket on the back. The sticker includes plenty of info about Groot, but you’ll need to be able to decipher his language to understand it.
Next up is the included cassette tape, which can stand in for Peter Quill’s Awesome Mix Vol. 1 or Awesome Mix Vol. 2, depending on which sticker you have face-front.
You’ll know which side of the cassette is the front, because it uses a 1×6 tile on the back to hold the spools of tape (made by a couple of tires) onto the frame.
The tape is about as close to a 1:1 scale cassette as you can achieve with LEGO, although the final model is too thick to slide into a cassette case, and definitely won’t fit any tape players you might happen to have held onto over the years.
Groot himself is the bulk of the build, and his body and limbs are a familiar affair. Brackets and ball joints work together with a lot of curved slopes to create the shape of his body, in a manner similar to many of LEGO’s recent mech-style sets from themes like Ninjago and Marvel. Twigs, leaves, and whips acting as vines decorate the body to emphasize Groot’s plant-based anatomy. He’s got plenty of articulation in his limbs, and can even swivel at the waist.
The back of the model has just a few visible anti-studs and has plenty of stickers used to give the model a pretty cohesive look no matter which direction you look at it from.
Groot’s head is the most interesting portion of the build. Studs Not On Top (SNOT) bricks are used on all four sides of his head. In between those, bars and pieces with holes are used to create an octagonal SNOT frame that helps give his head a surprisingly effective round shape. The dark tan mudguard is attached upside down to form his mouth.
As mentioned, this model seems to be a pretty close to 1:1 representation of the on-screen character. In theory, this makes him too large for play with any other Guardians of the Galaxy sets you might have. But, then again, in a universe with Pym Particles, I guess it’s possible that Baby Groot could find himself towering over everyone else.
Conclusion and recommendation
The final Baby Groot model is an adorable addition to your LEGO shelf. While it is a little on the pricey side for the part count, the numerous pieces in new colors help soften the blow a bit. If the Guardians movies aren’t your cup of tea, this is probably an easy pass. But if you can’t keep still when you hear Electric Light Orchestra, you might want to consider adding this to your home décor. He’s easier to care for than a real house plant, and cuter, too.
76217 I Am Groot is a 476-piece set releasing August 1st for US $54.99 | CAN $69.99 | UK £44.99. It may also be available from third-party sellers on Amazon or eBay.
The LEGO Group provided The Brothers Brick with an early copy of this set for review. Providing TBB with products for review guarantees neither coverage nor positive reviews.
Nice review, Looks great as a display piece.