Last year, we featured a terrific LEGO tiger from DeRa that was so good it made onto our Creation of the Year shortlist. As it turns out, that was just the latest iteration of a design that DeRa has been gradually improving over the years. Now, we have another update to investigate! In some ways the changes are subtle. The overall shaping is just as good, and its excellent posability has been retained. But the devil is in the detail, and that’s where this big cat truly shines.

Let’s start with that posability though. This tiger can now sit as well as prowl around, and here we get a great view of the cat’s open maw. Presumably there’s a zoo-keeper dangling a nice cut of meat just out of shot.

Some of the poses are great. I couldn’t resist the urge to include this one just so I could go ‘ooooh, big stretch!’

The midriff has seen a bit of a re-design to make the tiger look a bit… Shaggier, for want of a better word. Tigers are surprisingly furry – some of them do survive in the harsh climate of Siberia, after all! Here we can see how this part has been shaped, with 1×2 round plates providing both texture and articulation. The little bit of scenery is neat too!

Those plates also allow the brick-built stripes to shine. What really sells them is the use of the elongated tail piece in black and dark orange, allowing stripes to hug the neck and haunches in a very life-like manner. All the better to camouflage it against its surrounding – but boy are we glad it’s presented in all its glory here!