LEGO Creator 3-in-1

Three sets with three classic tropes; what is worth your while?

We’ve been sent three LEGO Creator 3-in-1 sets to review and we’ve got mixed feelings about some of them. How many LEGO Main streets are there? Is the Space Rollercoaster good enough to send you to the moon? Is a pink parrot spelling the end of traditional LEGO consumerism and the foundation of a toxic consumerist cycle?

LEGO Main Street (31141)

I’m honestly not sure how many main streets we have. Are there multiple? Is there one singular main street that stretches miles long? I don’t know!

This particular LEGO Main street set is reminiscent of the LEGO Icons modular building line. Grand Emporium, Parisian Restaurant, Jazz Club and Detective’s office are all represented here in one way or another. We have hints of these things through the flag, roof and coffee shop sign designs, as well as choice uses of colour on some buildings.

The main build, much like other LEGO building sets, comprises of a shell of a build, giving a dollhouse feel to the other side of the buildings and allowing easy enough interactive play. I enjoy the fact that LEGO have opted to include a record store, as well as a small music shop into the mix of what can only be described as the 50th hotel and 175th coffee shop.

I do wish there was some versatility from these typical LEGO tropes, but if it works, it works, and you can’t fault it.

I’m also huge fan of the line-up of figures in this set. We get a cheaper and easier way to get a hold of the musician torso from the Jazz Club Modular, as well as the newspaper boy CMF hat making its way into normal LEGO sets. Love these aspects here.

The alternate build of this set, the tower, I can see as also being a popular option for people to build for their LEGO cities.

LEGO Space Roller Coaster (31142)

Okay, hear me out, but this is probably one of the best LEGO non-motorised LEGO rollercoaster sets to date. The LEGO Space Roller Coaster is a set that brings familiar elements of previous Creator and Friends rollercoasters. But really doubles (if not triples) down on the subject matter to come together and make a fantastic set.

First off, the default model, although quite spaced out (hurhurhur), makes use of the large footprint to fill the void with as much space references as it can. Being able to use the negative space for things like a rocket taking off, a lunar rover on the planet surface, planets, asteroids and even a small space station is a fantastic use of the area. Being able to interact with an alien wall feature, satellites and even a spaceman of your own makes this a really good set for people who missed out on previous space sets.

And then with the alternate builds, it gets better. The second build for this set is a UFO ride, which reminds me of the astronaut space training that they have to undergo. The other? A full on ride dropper alongside an actual SPACE SHUTTLE BUILD? I was honestly blown away that the parts for this build were scattered somewhere in the original build, and am definitely looking forward to playing around with these alternate builds.

The figures for this set are amazing too. You get everything that you need for a space themed ride! An astronaut, a space technician, a classic-space baby, and a few extra figures to enjoy the ride!

This is a set that I am 100% confident in that people are going to want to have all three versions of if they are making a space park. And I’m probably one of them.

LEGO Exotic Pink Parrot (31144)

Although not the first instance of this happening. LEGO have released a set that is a new colour release of a previously released set. It has been done previously with the 3-in-1 dinosaur set, as well as the Fiat 500 in a royal-light-blue, but this is probably the strangest.

I’m always a big fan of new recolours of parts, but this isn’t how I would expect to receive them. For people that have the old set, there is nothing new here as far as building techniques go. As much as I enjoy the build of the parrot and seeing the new colours, it feels like a cheapened experience. If you placed this set alongside the original and told me to rate them as to which is better. I would honestly have to vote for the original. Why?

Colour consistency. The main build is fine with an alternate colour palette, but this set is a 3-in-1 Creator set, which means all other models are judged with fair game. And the box art tells us that this colour palette does not carry over well to the other builds. The bright vibrant blues of this set just harshly contrast with the alternate builds, rather than being a smooth gradient with the parrot. It just doesn’t hold up.

To summarise here, love the new parts and colours, but feels like a cheapened build experience and ultimately worse off when looking at all three models.

Verdict

The three sets that we have reviewed have been a rollercoaster of emotions (pun, haha!).

The first set we looked at, the Main Street, is a classic run-of-the-mill Creator 3-in-1 set that is honestly not that bad. It is certainly elevated on a level that you just don’t get out of some of the other classic builds. And the LEGO Modular feel to it is a nice touch.

The rollercoaster is simply phenomenal, and one of my favourite LEGO Creator 3-in-1 sets of this year. I would 110% recommend this.

And the parrot? Well, I’ll be honest, I don’t like what this means in the long haul. I love the new colours we get to play with. Fans of the other parrot set would easily pick this up to complement it, but what does this mean? I’m worried that fans are being tricked into accepting this as normal.

We are going to get more sets like it. It leaves me uneasy about what is coming out of LEGO, as the 3-in-1 aspect feels ultimately dejected at the chance for a cash-grab from people that have the original set.

It’s like they ‘realised’ that the model on the box is all that mattered. Let the rest of the set suffer for it so they could change the colours and resell it to those who bought the first one. I don’t like the tone that that sets.

But to round this out on a more positive note, if these things interest you, they are in no way bad sets at all. I will definitely find myself picking up another rollercoaster set, just for the simple fact of having a dropper alongside the rollercoaster with that big fancy rocket right next to it. I’m seriously impressed.

 

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