Does LEGO 40601 Majisto’s Magical Workshop stay too close to the original?

LEGO 40601 Majisto’s Magical Workshop is a faithful version of the original – but in staying so close to the original, it is missing the spirit of a remake?

In many ways, 40601 Majisto’s Magical Workshop and 6048 Majisto’s Magical Workshop are twins. They are almost identical in size, with the same characters depicted as minifigures and almost identical in design and accessories throughout. However, when LEGO YouTuber Cheesey Studios puts the two side by side for a comparison in his video, even two very similar sets have their differences – and one comes out on top.

Looking at the minifigures first, Cheesey Studios describes the 1993 knight as “clearly superior”. Indeed, there’s certainly a lot more detail in the helmet and shield, something that carries on throughout the design of both minifigures. The original Majisto has a printed torso, whereas the modern version has no printed elements, leaving him looking rather plain next to the original minifigure.

Moving on to the main build, the YouTuber highlights that the 2023 version offers “a much more polished, much more piece-intensive version of the same build”. Even down to the elements used, the 2023 set uses BURPs to form the base of the trees and large castle wall elements, rather than building them all brick by brick, in line with common modern building techniques.

There are some differences, of course – and this is where the two start to really separate from one another. For example, 6048 Majisto’s Magical Workshop includes stud gems inside its chest, while 40601 Majisto’s Magical Workshop’s is empty. The scroll is a sticker in the 2023 build, rather than a printed object, requiring a transparent piece for Majisto to be able to hold the scroll. When it comes to decor, there’s a standard blue plume on the upper floor instead of dragon plume and no parrot perched on the trees.

With all of those smaller details lacking in an otherwise identical set, Cheesey Studios comes to the following conclusion.

“The new set is a very faithful remake of the old one, something that I cannot praise enough,” said Cheesey Studios. “That’s what these remakes are all about; you want to relive that experience from 30 years ago, or experience it for the first time if you weren’t alive. But one of these sets is better than the other – and that’s the original.”

Indeed, it raises the question of what makes a good remake. Is it a virtual one-to-one recreation, as with 40601 Majisto’s Magical Workshop, where almost everything stays the same? Or is it preferable to take an approach like 10305 Lion Knight’s Castle, where the same inspiration was used but added to? The LEGO Castle remake expanded to include proper interior rooms, as well as realistic features, like thatched roofs, arrow slits and a greater array of greenery around the castle exterior. It took everything that fans loved about the original and then added to it, making for a continually popular final set.

There’s likely room for both types of remake in the wide world of the LEGO system but, as Cheesey Studios points out, it does leave sets like 40601 Majisto’s Magical Workshop sometimes looking plain next to its original counterpart.

Featured image: Cheesey Studios

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