Five differences between LEGO Ideas 21347 Red London Telephone Box and the original project

A lot has changed to 21347 Red London Telephone Box in its transition from LEGO Ideas project to an official set, despite its similar appearance.

The Red London Telephone Box was designed and submitted to LEGO Ideas in 2022 by John Cramp and its final design has now been revealed ready for the set’s launch on February 1 for LEGO Insiders or February 4 for everyone else.

As well as the piece count changing from 1,856 to 1,440, much has been modified during the development of 21347 Red London Telephone Box but the core of the model (mostly) remains the same. Here are a few differences you might not have noticed between the original design and the official set for the LEGO Ideas Red London Telephone Box.

5 – The telephone box placement

In the initial project, the telephone box was located in the middle of the model but in 21347 Red London Telephone Box, the key component is now situated to the right, making space for one of the set’s main features and a new addition to the design.

This also allows for a fence to be added, changing part of the models’ appearance but otherwise, it’s surprising to see just how much of the overall build made it into the final set.

4 – Functionality

Something that the original project couldn’t do was act as a stand for your smartphone. The same can not be said for 21347 Red London Telephone Box.

The extra space to the left of the phone box allows for a smartphone to be displayed between the fence and the bollards, showcasing multiple eras of phones in one display. It’s a clever addition to the design and one that the original layout didn’t unfortunately allow for. You may be thinking that the light brick is a new feature too, but it was proposed in an update to the original project. Unfortunately, the pigeon trio added in that update didn’t make it into the set.

3 – The missing postbox

The smartphone functionality means that something major has had to be removed from the official set. 21347 Red London Telephone Box does not have the red postbox that the original project proposed.

This might be purely because of the smartphone functionality, or it may be a lack of a licensing agreement between the LEGO Group and Royal Mail. It could even have been changed to not draw the eye away from the similarly red telephone box that is next to it in the project. Whatever the case, it’s missing in 21347 Red London Telephone Box.

2 – A thinner lamppost

The piece count and scale of 21347 Red London Telephone Box has been downsized, though you may not have noticed. It’s most prominent when looking at the lamppost, which is much thinner now than it was in the initial submission.

Rather than being a 2×2 assembly on a 3×3 half-cone element, it’s now mostly a 1×1 Technic structure with a modified design for the lamp as well as a shorter segment. The overall appearance has been retained despite this though, even including some scaled-down hanging baskets.

1 – An alternate interior

The original design by John Cramp for 21347 Red London Telephone Box only included the classic rotary telephone on one of four shelves, accompanied by a phone book, papers and some loose change. While much of that interior has been kept and arguably upgraded with drum-lacquered silver pieces, one major change has been made.

You can now change the interior space to fit a modern telephone using extra elements provided in the model and it comes with a different assortment of adverts to boot.

The press release notes that many of the red telephone boxes in use today have been refitted with facilities other than telephones including small libraries, defibrillators and more via BT’s Adopt a Kiosk program. The ability to change the interior opens up plenty of opportunities to reimagine the inside of the telephone box, potentially referencing this program.

21347 Red London Telephone Box launches February 1 for LEGO Insiders or February 4 widely for £99.99 / $114.99 / €114.99. Click here to find out more about this upcoming LEGO Ideas model.

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