What makes a good LEGO buildable creature?

The LEGO Group has released a fair few buildable characters over the years, with some hits and a fair few misses – but what makes the difference between the two?

The official reveal of the completely adorable 43249 Stitch alongside that of the somewhat chilling 76282 Rocket & Baby Groot has laid bare the fact that some brick-built creatures tick every box – and others don’t. As one Instagram commenter eloquently put it: “Rocket and Chewbacca tripped so Stitch can run”.

There’s no denying that the tiny blue alien, soon to come on March 1 in a 730-piece set, is cute. While he’s inexplicably dressed in a Hawaiian shirt that he’s rarely seen in his show, 43249 Stitch captures the essence of the animated character, complete with posable ears and optional accessories.

Arguably, the LEGO Group had a similarly adorable subject matter to work from for 76282 Rocket & Baby Groot – but with differing results. Yes, Rocket might be a gun-toting interplanetary criminal but he has his charm and, on the surface of it, he’s a cute fluffy animal that could well have turned into just as appealing of a set as 43249 Stitch. Unfortunately, that’s not quite the case.

Where Stitch’s eyes are large and rounded, printed onto cohesive elements, Rocket’s are rather oversized, with heavyset eyebrows made up of plates with enough gaps to make the face seem disjointed. The jaw is also too large, putting greater emphasis on the raccoon’s tooth than his on-screen version ever has. While the body itself is fairly accurate and in proportion, the face is clearly what lets the model down – and it’s not the only buildable character to receive the same treatment.

Eyes are, after all, the window to the soul and it’s the eyes of the LEGO Group’s characters that tend to push them over the line from fun to forbidding. Another recent example is 75371 Chewbacca, whose beady eyes glare out from his face, once again paired above some surprisingly prominent teeth. When you think of the on-screen Chewie, you rarely think of teeth as a major feature – but you wouldn’t know that from looking at the LEGO set. It’s a shame that his facial features let him down, as otherwise, 75371 Chewbacca is an impressive set in capturing the shagginess of Chewie’s fur through static plastic elements.

In other cases, the LEGO Group has clearly learned from its mistakes with eye placement. 75255 Yoda had overly hooded eyes and some printed eyeballs that gave him a thousand-mile-long stare, rather than the wise gaze of a Jedi master. However, the LEGO Star Wars designers seemed to improve upon this design with the release of 75318 The Child a year later, where Grogu had larger pupils and darker colouring to his eyeballs, as well as a less prominent hood.

Of course, 43249 Stitch appears to have an advantage of specific printed eye elements for his build that certainly do a lot for his cute-ability (yes, we’re coining a new word). However, this isn’t the only way to ensure that the eyes of a buildable character stay on the right side of Uncanny Valley. 76217 I am Groot proved popular enough to get a follow-up set, 76249 Venomised Groot. His eyes, once again, stay pretty close to his cinematic look but through the use of black shields, rather than a new printed piece like 43249 Stitch.

Ultimately, the aww versus ahh reaction of a buildable creature seems to ultimately come down to the eyes. Even sets like 76282 Rocket & Baby Groot and 75371 Chewbacca, where the main body of the build is impressively accurate and well-proportioned, are let down when vital facial features like eyes and teeth go wrong. Similarly, Stitch randomly sporting a bright orange shirt can easily be glanced over, so long as his floppy ears and wide eyes are perfectly captured, as indeed they are.

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