The June 1st LEGO wave is nearly here, and with it, some pretty neat models. One of the most anticipated of which is LEGO Ideas 21357 Disney Pixar Luxo Jr. Originally created in LEGO by fan designer Toby Brett (@toby1kenobi_lego), this adorable set made it through the selection process at the end of last year. With 613 pieces, the kit comes with the little lamp himself, his iconic ball, and a small display stand. You can get it tomorrow, retailing for US $69.99 | CAN $89.99 | UK £59.99. Read on for our full review!
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, instructions, and sticker sheet
The relatively small, squarish box features an azure greeble strip, with the Disney Pixar and Ideas logos, along with LEGO Ideas #065, and, of course, the name “luxo JR.” in curly cursive. Multiple different iconic images of the little lamp grace both the front and back.
Inside the box are polybags numbered 1-4, the new giant printed lampshade elements, and the instructions. Interestingly, most of the sets I’ve opened recently have had the new paper bags. However, all the ones I’ve opened from this June wave have been plastic. As usual, the first several pages feature information about the fan designer and the history and legacy of Luxo Jr.
The build
We begin our build with the core of Luxo’s iconic ball. Here, tribute is paid to several of the most noteworthy characters from Pixar’s history in the form of Easter eggs. Can you guess them all? I’ll give you a second…
Okay, here we go! From left to right in the image below, we have: (back row) Woody and Buzz from Toy Story, Sulley and Mike from Monster’s Inc, Alfredo Linguini and Remy from Ratatouille, Carl and Russel from Up, and (front row) the main characters from The Incredibles (Edna Mode, Frozone, Jack Jack, Syndrome, and, obscurely, the rest of the loveable superhero family – Bob, Dash, Helen, and Violet).
The characters from the back row are built into blocky support structures. Meanwhile, the Incredibles characters are situated around a central column on two octagonal assemblies.
Arms with clips connect triangular sign elements to the 1×1-with-bars. The two octagonal assemblies connect to the blocky core via both studs and a central axle.
To finish it off, new 6x6x1 round domes form the exterior of the ball, while the triangles cover the gaps. The ball appears to be almost identical to the original design. My one complaint here is that the dark azure on the ball is made a bit more turquoise from being printed over the yellow. You can see the difference by comparing it to the internal brick at the center of the image below. However, this a minor nitpick and you don’t really notice the difference.
Moving on to the base of Luxo, we come across some more Easter eggs. Oddly, the characters in the ball are much more identifiable, yet they are noted in the instructions while these characters remain largely a mystery for the builder to figure out for themselves. The only other characters identified in the instructions are the most obvious ones: Dory and Marlin from Finding Nemo. They are depicted in bricks in the center of the build.
Some of the rest are easier than others to identify, like Joy and Sadness from Inside Out (on Marlin’s right). Lightning McQueen and Mater from Cars appear to be on Marlin’s left. Miguel from Coco along with the marigold flowers seems to be situated to Dory’s left (top). To Dory’s right, it seems we have Flik and Princess Atta from Bug’s Life. However, this one is not entirely convincing with the lime flowers for their bottom halves. Another hypothesis is Luca and Alberto (in creature form) from Luca, however, this seems less likely. Least convincing of all are the red 2×4 and green structure, but my best guess on those is Mei from Turning Red (in red panda form), and Arlo from The Good Dinosaur.
From there, we cover everything up with curved slopes and tiles, making a nice, smooth and solid base. I’m a fan of the clever trick used to install the vertical support axle: a Technic ball joint securing the axle to a socket brick.
If the Easter eggs were a bit more substantial, rather than a couple stacked plates, I would be a little more sad to see them covered up. However, in this case it’s just kind of fun to know they’re there, and have that as part of the build experience.
Next up is the segmented lamp body of Luxo. The fixed angles are achieved with the help of A-frame angle plates. Metallic silver studs provide detail as the “screw” at the joints.
With the help of the new Technic 3-way connector, the perfect angle is set at the bottom. Bars through Technic beams help solidly lock things together, while maintaining pivot points.
Then we feed light bluish grey rubber bands through pearl grey ribbed hose pieces to give us the “springs” that bring him to life. Grey rubber bands have not been seen in ages! We’re talking decades!
To cap it all off, we build the head, starting with the “bulb” that contains another Easter egg: the Pizza Planet truck. Unfortunately Luxo doesn’t work as a real lamp. Instead we have to use our imagination. A light brick would’ve been nice, but I personally think it’s fine this way. The bulb itself is a recolored 3×6 hollow half-dome in bright light yellow.
Previously mentioned and also new in the set are the bell-shaped panels used for the lampshade. With some spacing help from a few Technic elements, the whole thing fits together nicely. I’m anxious to see this new element, unprinted and potentially in other colors, used elsewhere in LEGO sets.
Popping the head onto the rest of the body wraps up the build. Check out the next section for the finished product!
The completed model
This build is fast, but lots of fun and easily recognizable as the beloved Pixar character. The shaping is well done and, in my humble opinion, does right by Luxo while enhancing the original fan design.
He has just the right amount of springiness…
And I love that he moves almost like a puppet, bringing him to life.
I also love that, with the included stand, you can recreate the iconic pose of Luxo Jr. bouncing on the ball. Having the option to display him either way is nice too.
Conclusions and recommendations
Overall, I found this set to be quite charming. Like the character himself, it’s funny how a lamp can have so much personality. He released my inner child, and I find myself getting distracted bouncing and puppeteering him all over my desk. I’m pleased that they included the Easter eggs, although there’s not much to them. It’s certainly better than simply having a bland interior. A light brick would have also been nice, but it looks good nevertheless. The set is a tad on the expensive side, largely due to the “Disney tax” placed on IP sets, but not horrible compared to other recent releases… All told, there are a few negatives, but in general, it’s a fun one, and I would recommend it to any Disney Pixar fan.
LEGO Ideas 21357 Disney Pixar Luxo Jr. is available starting June 1st, retailing for US $69.99 | CAN $89.99 | UK £59.99. You may also be able to find it from third party retailers on Amazon and 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.
