The thing I love about LEGO Creator is the wide variety of sets available. The theme is great at introducing different builds, techniques and elements to younger fans, to whom this theme is aimed at. I sat down with my 3 year old to build a couple of sets that were kindly sent to me by LEGO – 31115 Space Mining Mech & 31116 Safari Wildlife Tree House. They’re quick builds so this shouldn’t take too long!
31115 Space Mining Mech
Theme: Creator
No: 31115
Release Year: 2021
Cost: AU $32.99
Pieces: 327
LEGO are quite adept at mechs, with the majority of them being from the various superhero themes. It’s nice to see a bigger one in Creator. It’s imposing (at a smaller scale) and comes with some sort of geode and a cute little alien that looks like it’s letting out a terrified scream at the sight of the mech. There’s also the obligatory two other builds, as this is a classic 3in1. There’s a two-legged comical looking walker, and a crawly-grabby thing. I’ve just built the A model. There’s four bags with the goodies, all un-numbered.
The mech is big and bulky, with large round shoulder pads, a big sawblade right hand, and a regular left hand. The arms are decent for articulation, but the legs are not great. The only points of articulation are at the hips and ankles. None at the knees. It does balance fairly well, and it’s fun to make it seem like the mech is trying to step on the little alien, with those big clodhopper feet. The build is unsurprising, with a standard format for assembly. Some of the nice details include the backpack that can hold a geode. The coloured stripes are also well used to break up the monotonous white. The big sawblade is surprisingly sturdy, with two clips on each tooth to connect it to a circular plate with bars.
I love the alien! It’s so emotive for such a basic build of 13 parts! It’s happy and bitey and terrified all at the same time. I can just imagine it letting out a high pitched scream of terror! I also kind of like the robot box that controls the mech, but c’mon – a space minifigure would have been perfect.
All in all, it’s a fun set. Good parts, fun to build, and if you’re so inclined to build those other builds (especially the bonkers walker), then you’re probably in for a bit of fun to come. If you see this one for sale, definitely pick it up.
31116 Safari Wildlife Tree House
Theme: Creator
No: 31116
Release Year: 2021
Cost: AU $49.99
Pieces: 397 (with two minifigures)
The next one is back on terra firma, but not at the same time, as it’s a treehouse. The treehouse itself is quite simple, but there’s a twist – inside there’s a basin and toilet! There’s two minifigures included, a woman and a boy. They both have torsos that aren’t overly exciting, with plain legs.
The build also contains a couple of brick built animals – a giraffe and a flamingo. These look just brilliant! The giraffe is perfect. All it’s missing is the spots. I love the little horns, and the black studs along the neck. I did find that after a while the neck does lose strength in the friction, so it droops quite dramatically, with the poor giraffe headbutting the floor. The flamingo is great, using a couple of heart tiles as wings. The beak is good, but I’m not a fan of the stud on top. I also wish there was a bit more water for the flamingo, as it doesn’t seem to really connect with the treehouse.
The treehouse is fun. I like the African picture tile above the couch, unique to this set, although thinking about the couch, it must have been a pain to set the treehouse up! A toilet, basin and couch – lots of heavy lifting. While the colours are beautiful for a treehouse, I don’t think it would work all that well in a safari setting. The blue roof is beautiful, using large sloped bricks staggered to create some texture. Up on the roof is a bird and a weather vane, that happily spins away. I do think there could be more greenery in the tree canopy, as it’s very lacking.
This is another 3in1 set, with a biplane, a lion, and a bird in a tree, with a partial skeleton underneath! This is great. There’s also a catamaran and a rigid looking crocodile. Those teeth look great! It doesn’t appear that the mouth can open though. I didn’t build these, as my daughter didn’t want us to break down the giraffe, but they do look great.
Another set that’s a lot of fun to build. If you see them cheap, pick them up.
A special thank you to LEGO for sending me a copy to review. All thoughts on this set are my own and are not influenced in any way, shape or form. The provision of sets for review does not guarantee a favourable review.
