REVIEW: 21324 LEGO 123 Sesame Street

[WhiteFang]

Hello everyone,

It excites me greatly to share with all of you with my latest reviewing project on this upcoming LEGO IDEAS 2020 set in the coming release in November 2020. I am very pleased to bring you the 32th LEGO IDEAS set since this theme started back in 2012 and we are very glad to see the first ever LEGO 123 Sesame Street being created right into our beloved hobby. Special thanks to TLG and Eurobricks Ambassador, Jim for facilitating this reviewing opportunity for the Eurobricks Community. Without further ado, let me bring you into the world of Sesame Street in LEGO bricks. 

Name: 21324 LEGO 123 Sesame Street
Theme: LEGO IDEAS / Licensed / 123 Sesame Street
Year: 2020
Pieces: 1368
Minifigs: 5 minifigures plus 1 character
Price: USD $119.99, GBP 109.90, EURO 119.90, SGD NA
Resources: Brickset, BrickLink, Brick Insights

An original box image of the 21324 LEGO 123 Sesame Street

Back view of the original box image of the 21324 LEGO 123 Sesame Street



Never in my wildest dream that I could ever see this in an official LEGO set


Growing up with Sesame Street in the 1980s was an enjoyable learning educational experience for me when I was a child. I enjoyed many fond memories of the Muppets which featured many short snippets of the scenes among these iconic characters. It brought me joy and laughter and more importantly, seeing all my time favourite Sesame Street character in LEGO minifigure brought me endless smiles. This set was also meant to coincide with 2019 (last year) Sesame Street - Celebrating 50 years of Sesame Street. 

All thanks to bulldozer aka Ivan Guerrero for achieving this significant milestone of 10k supporters in 2019 through the LEGO IDEAS platform and I am very glad to see this submission eventually being approved by the LEGO reviewing panel.

The LEGO Designers - Olle Gregory and Crystal Marie Fontan were in-charge of the designing of this LEGO IDEAS set. I will have to admit that the actual set itself and the project idea submission was very different from one another in terms of the design, size and scalability.

The original idea was designed similar to a doll-house playing concept instead of an open-back building for playability. I kind of guessed that the scale had to be pushed to a much smaller built like reducing about 50% amount of bricks to keep the selling price low instead of being aimed and targeted for pure AFOLs who have deep wallets. I have to admit that before I see the actual box in person and I am secretly hoping that it will be similar to the 75827 Firehouse Headquarters or equivalent. I do wonder what is the real consideration behind the change of the IDEAS and if the original supporters will be disappointed with the actual outcome. Some food for thought on this aspect. However, the overall design manage to retain a large portion of the iconic building charm. It also accompanied with revolutionary moulds for these newly created Sesame Street characters. 


The packets are placed close to the brim of the box



Overview of the illustrated built over the 6 milestones (preview)



The sealed box came with these building content which is a total of 12 sealed plastic bags. The instruction manual is printed in pristine black and the sticker sheet are kept in this manner. The entire built is divided into 6 significant milestones and it took me about 5 hours to finish building it. The overall pacing for the building experience was enjoyable and there are few occasions where I saw the colour palette shouting at me with Sesame Street colours. After the set was built, these are the remaining spare parts. I am actually surprised that a LEGO IDEAS set actually contained a sticker sheet. If memory serve me right, I believe most of the sets which I have built from LEGO IDEAS actually contained printed parts and I have no recollection to see any stickers application. The amount of stickers is required to create many needed details for some other Sesame Street characters and Easter eggs (bonus) for the fans to discover. I find it is quite a mixed bag of reactions to see so many stickers but I guess it was a necessary move in order to push the cost lower and to have the details included altogether.  


Bringing the most exciting LEGO Sesame Street Characters

Let's take a breath and digest the excitement of seeing these awesome LEGO Sesame Street minifigures. Well, there are actually 5 minifigures and 1 character design in a dustbin, but I still consider him as a character. From (left) to (right), we have Oscar the Grouch, Ernie, Bert, Elmo, Cookie Monster and Big Bird right here in front of our eyes. All of these minifigures are very well-designed with the unique moulds being done for their heads itself. You can see an image of their back view which Ernie and Bert contained back printing at their torsos. 

Quoting most information from the Muppets Wiki, I have relied it to obtain my understanding on the characters/background descriptions in order to give me a better appreciation of their origins. To be honest, I have always view them as it is and liked them as their characters. Oscar The Grouch is a furry, green Muppet who lives in a trash can on 123 Sesame Street. In fact, Oscar loves trash so much that he's rarely seen outside of his trash can. His mission in life to be as miserable and grouchy as possible and aim to pass that feeling to others as well. In the LEGO minifigure context, he is an interesting design with a new head and a round green minifigure head brick to place within the thrash can. 

Ernie and his best friend Bert share the apartment at 123 Sesame Street. Together, they form a comical duo, with Ernie acting the role of the naïve trouble-maker and Bert the world-weary foil. Ernie is well known for his fondness for bubble baths with his Rubber Duckie, he is also known for keeping Bert awake at night, for reasons such as wanting to play the drums, wanting to count something (like sheep) or to observe something like a blackout. In stark contrast to Ernie, Bert is a serious, studious, and tries to make sense of his best friend's actions. His own passions include reading Boring Stories, collecting paper clips and bottle caps, consuming oatmeal, and studying pigeons. While Ernie's best companion outside of Bert is Rubber Duckie, Bert has his pet pigeon, Bernice right on the rooftop. The LEGO minifigures for Ernie and Bert are standard torsos with new head moulds. However, the legs used for Ernie is standard short light blue legs, whereas Bert is the new medium short legs in dark green which allow it to bend and sit down. 

Elmo is one of the most famous character in Sesame Street. He is a furry red Muppet monster in 123 Sesame Street who self-described as three-and-a-half years old, with a high pitched voice and a contagious giggle. Elmo is enthusiastic, friendly and cheerful. However, he sometimes does not have the skills or knowledge to do what he wants. But that never stops him from approaching the challenge because he has a very positive, optimistic view of himself and life. Elmo's best friends are Zoe and Abby, and also his pet goldfish Dorothy. Cookie Monster s a ravenous monster. He is covered with blue fur and possessing a pair of googly eyes, Cookie Monster has an insatiable appetite. As his name implies, his primary craving is cookies, but he can consume anything and everything, from apples and pie to letters, flatware, and hubcaps. When Cookie Monster eats something, he makes a very distinct, loud munching "noise", often interpreted as "OMM-nom-nom-nom..." Both of these LEGO minifigures are very nicely designed in the aspect of the newly moulded minifigures' heads. The downside of these designs are the lack of "fur print" which are visible in the actual designs. This is a little disappointing to me, but is not exactly a show-stopper. 

The last character is the most iconic character in Sesame Street and is none other than Big Bird. He has been a central key character on Sesame Street since he debuted in the first episode. The big yellow bird can roller skate, ice skate, dance, sing, write poetry, draw and even ride a unicycle . Big Bird lives in a large nest behind 123 Sesame Street and and he has a teddy bear named Radar. Seeing the actual LEGO design for Big Bird, I have to admit it is the most excellent well-designed minifigure ever. The completed mould is very complex and it filled with many small details including the even proportion of the yellow feathers. The texture of the ABS plastic is towards firm and medium soft. It does contain a little sticky on the surface, similar to melted rubber to a smaller extent. I am not exactly sure if this is meant to be the exact outcome, but you might want to pay extra attention to it when you are handling the minifigure itself. 

My favourite Sesame Street Character - Ernie and he has been part of my journey in my life till now

Now, you know who is my favourite Sesame Street Character and it is none other than Ernie. I have the smallest soft toy (from the right) with me for more than a decade and it has remained in my heart in a very special place.   I just wanted to share this moment with all of you in this review and you will probably see them in the later part of the review segment too.  


The entire building content for Packet 1



The completed built for Packet 1

The first packet focused largely on the building of the base of the entire set and it also included Big Bird. When you flip to the base below, you will notice bright set of colours which somehow reminds me of Sesame Street characters like Big Bird and Oscar (yellow and green for example). If you also take a careful look, you will see a spider lurking at the basement of the apartment too. 


The entire building content for Packet 2



The completed built for Packet 2

The second packet focused largely on the building of the first level of the apartment and it also included Elmo. When you turn to the back of the building, you will notice the built up details of the room interior for Elmo. 


The entire building content for Packet 3



The completed built for Packet 3

The third packet focused largely on the building of the second level of the apartment and it also included Ernie. When you turn to the back of the building, you will notice the built up details for the second floor of Bert and Ernie room. It also focus on the building of bathtub and the main brick-built entrance at ground level. 


The entire building content for Packet 4



The completed built for Packet 4

The fourth packet focused largely on the continuation of building the second level of the apartment and the rooftop. This packet also included Bert. When you turn to the back of the building, you will notice the completed interior details of both levels including the rooftop. You can also discover Bernice at the rooftop too, where Bert is keeping it safely. At the end of the fourth stage, the main apartment at 123 Sesame Street is almost 90% complete. Now, onto the remaining last 2 stages. 


The entire building content for Packet 5



The completed built for Packet 5

The fifth packet focused largely on the building of Hooper's Store at the street corner. The content inside enable the two-level corner store to be fully constructed. This packet also included Cookie Monster. When you turn to the side of the building which focus on Hopper's Store, you will notice the street corner where Hopper Store exist. You can also take a glimpse on both levels of the store which also include Cookie Monster's room. 


The entire building content for Packet 6



The completed built of 123 Sesame Street layout

The last packet focused on the building surroundings which include Big Bird's nest as well. This packet also included Oscar the Grouch. With everything being put together, I am very pleased that the building is completed. The 123 Sesame Street s measured at a height of 24cm high, 35cm length and 20cm wide. The 123 Sesame Street is the most iconic apartment building where the front stairs towards the main entrance is often a frequent gathering place for the main Sesame Street characters. The Hooper's Store is also another significant building structure.

The entire layout focused on several play areas and key interiors which filled with many brick-built furniture such as chairs and beds. I am particularly fond of the windows it is just like the actual Sesame Street with the green windows design and in particular showing the windows being lifted upwards instead of showing closed windows. The side of the building also have a nice flower pots outside the apartment and you also noticed a secret stash of milk as well. Then when you enter the apartment building, you will also see the interior of the apartment with a lovely notice board with interesting notes and images. Then, we looked along and peep into Elmo's room where a family portrait with his Dad, a best friends photo, toys (including a train, rocket and bunny plushie) and his goldfish - Dorothy at a quick glance. As we moved upwards and you will see an overview of the second level of the apartment which feature Bert and Ernie's room. You can take a closer look and see their beds being placed side by side and of course, with the paper clips at the top of the bed - you have probably guessed that Bert is sleeping on that bed. I am particularly fond of the colourless print of the tiny Velociraptor dinosaur and the brick-built lamp. You can see Ernie's favourite hangout - bathtub along with his best friend (Rubber Duckie). At the top level which feature the incomplete rooftop, you can see the pigeons which Bert kept and of course, you also notice the mysterious flying object lurking around too. 


Showcasing Elmo



Showcasing Bert and Ernie



Showcasing Oscar the Grouch

Then as we shift our attention to the front at the junkyard or rubbish chute area, We will see an up close and personal with Oscar the Grouch and his beloved treasured belongings (namely thrashes and a rather special love note). Any idea who is that from? At the side of the rubbish chute area, you can see the entrance of 123 Sesame Street and the iconic stairs. The transparent brick which has a "123" is specially printed, while there is a book on oats which is meant for Bert. The iconic green street lamp also contained printed parts of "123" and "Sesame Street". As you walked towards the side of the apartment, you will see the nest of Big Bird, accompanied with an illustration of tub containing his skates and his teddy bear - Radar. You can see stickered tiles of Mr Hopper with Jim Henson signing off and Big Bird's imaginary friend of Mr Snuffleupaguses which I felt it was a very controversial move in my opinion made by the producer. I personally find the nest a little strange looking but I don't have a better approach on how to best represent it. It took me awhile to realise that was Big Bird's nest after building it. 


Showcasing Big Bird



A closer look at Hooper's Store entrance

The next part of the building coverage is onto Hopper's Store, which is the second most iconic place. At the above image, you can see Easter eggs on the stickered newspapers at the side of the entrance. Inside the store, they are many lovely goodies (which are printed tiles). There are customers walking at the front of the store to make their orders and a place for them to dine or have a chat too. You can see the full corner from this image including the lovely flower garden of Abby Cadabby too. At the second level of Hopper's Store, you will have a closer look at Cookie Monster's interior and his comfortable sofa. If you look upwards, you will see a very highly undesired incomplete rooftop which feature an air vent and a bat which I believe is a hint towards Count von Count - a terrible absence among the main cast.  


Showcasing Cookie Monster



Side view of the completed built



Back view of the completed built



Side view of the completed built



Everyone is happy in 123 Sesame Street



Another lovely day right here in 123 Sesame Street

To conclude, putting all of them into actual perspective, I have to admit this is more of an active playset but towards an incomplete building, especially at Hopper's Store that made me felt disappointed. I love the overall built and appeal of the main apartment and it capture the Sesame Street essence very well but the exposed open-back of the Hopper's Store and incomplete rooftop for both buildings really dampen the entire set appeal. My guess is that the designers are facing a shortage of bricks in order to retain it at a desirable price point when it is out in the commercial market, which is why they had to make their best out of their limited resources. Of course, they may have entirely design it from pure playing experience and having those open-back allow children to access and put the scenes quickly like how Sesame Street short skits are carried out. I was honestly expecting much more in terms of the building completion. Then again, this set is targeted at 18+ and above. So, I am really not sure what is the end-message for this attempt. 

While, I have been focusing on the incomplete building (minor rant), what could or may have contributed better is the actual inclusion of more characters like perhaps Count von Count and Grover which are very nice additions, but nonetheless the current selection of Sesame Street characters are equally impressive and I have no qualms about it. 

This is a very highly anticipated LEGO IDEAS set and many of us especially Sesame Street fans will have very high expectation of this set, especially given the original submission was meant to be a much bigger scale and a complete building. While many of us are focusing more of the buildings, I am still impressed that the designers manage to capture the essence and charm of 123 Sesame Street scene and the design of the newly moulded characters are unparalleled especially Big Bird, Bert and Ernie. There are some distinct trade-offs in the end product and I do hope we are able to hear some thoughts from TLG officially especially from the LEGO designers' point of view. It will be very interesting to find out more and allow us to gain better appreciation too. Nonetheless, as a Sesame Street fan, I am still equally elated to see this in LEGO bricks. 

Please note that all opinions and content shown in this Eurobricks pictorial review is from 'WhiteFang' and is not meant to represent LEGO official views. It is purely stated to share as a vantage point of a reviewer.

Summary review
Playability: 8/10 (Many scenes were created via the open-back approach which allow us to do short skits/role-play.)
Design: 6/10 (Excellent minifigures' design especially on the new mould but the building itself was quite a disappointment as it look rather incomplete.)
Price: 7/10 (Price is a little on the high side and as you are getting a rather incomplete set, I am afraid it might disappoint for some fans with regards to its SRP.)
Overall: 7/10 (Seeing LEGO Sesame Street set officially truly elated me, but I do hope this will not be the first and only attempt of LEGO doing a Sesame Street set)

I gave it a "4" based on my Review Score Card. What about yours?

I hope every one of you enjoyed reading this simple review of mine. Comments and Criticisms are strongly welcomed.
Pictures can be found in My Flickr

[WhiteFang]

Dear Eurobricks Community, 

I am very excited and pleased to share my latest review on this LEGO IDEAS set. I hope you will enjoy reading this coverage. Feel free to leave your thoughts and I look forward to hear about it.  

WhiteFang

[TheMainBricker]

Not really keen on the 18+ age rating for Sesame Street.

[JintaiZ]

Thanks WhiteFang for the excellent review!

I agree the build is a little inaccurate and way too overcrowded with details, but I still like the set.

Pricing seems a bit on the high side, especially compared to the Saturn V, but not entirely unreasonable in my opinion...

All in all I really like this set.

[makoy]

I'm not going to dwell on the building or the accuracy.

Let's get real. People will buy this for the minifigures. And for that, the building structure, extra build, etc, will be just "accessory" to the set.

I think the minifigure version of these muppets are really adorable. One disappointment is that Oscar barely had anything going on except for his head..... a very very round and shiny head. :)

I will also give it a 4 out of 5 for the merit of the minifigures alone. It is a very expensive way to collect the minifigures this way, but it is exactly that.

[MKJoshA]

I will probably buy this for my kids, let them keep the minifigures and then part out the buildings. There are some great pieces and new colors like the dark red 3x4 box! 

It is weird that this is labelled 18+. It very much feels more like a Friends set with the incomplete buildings meant to allow easy access for minifigure placement.

The "love note" to Oscar is actually his worm friend. Someone else will have to remember his name for me. 

And hold the phone! Is Snuffy just an imaginary friend? If so I totally missed that growing up. I thought for sure he interacted with other Sesame Street characters besides Big Bird.

[WhiteFang]

28 minutes ago, TheMainBricker said:

Not really keen on the 18+ age rating for Sesame Street.

I am wondering about that myself on the representation too. 

27 minutes ago, JintaiZ said:

Thanks WhiteFang for the excellent review!

I agree the build is a little inaccurate and way too overcrowded with details, but I still like the set.

Pricing seems a bit on the high side, especially compared to the Saturn V, but not entirely unreasonable in my opinion...

All in all I really like this set.

Thanks. Glad you like the set and I hope you will pick it up even though the build is very inaccurate to some extent. Get for the minifigs. 

22 minutes ago, makoy said:

I'm not going to dwell on the building or the accuracy.

Let's get real. People will buy this for the minifigures. And for that, the building structure, extra build, etc, will be just "accessory" to the set.

I think the minifigure version of these muppets are really adorable. One disappointment is that Oscar barely had anything going on except for his head..... a very very round and shiny head. :)

I will also give it a 4 out of 5 for the merit of the minifigures alone. It is a very expensive way to collect the minifigures this way, but it is exactly that.

Thanks Makoy. People will just gun this set for the minifigures and the temptation is real.  

1 minute ago, MKJoshA said:

I will probably buy this for my kids, let them keep the minifigures and then part out the buildings. There are some great pieces and new colors like the dark red 3x4 box! 

It is weird that this is labelled 18+. It very much feels more like a Friends set with the incomplete buildings meant to allow easy access for minifigure placement.

The "love note" to Oscar is actually his worm friend. Someone else will have to remember his name for me. 

And hold the phone! Is Snuffy just an imaginary friend? If so I totally missed that growing up. I thought for sure he interacted with other Sesame Street characters besides Big Bird.

Thanks Josh for the addition on the worm friend. As for Snuffy, when I was watching. I am very damn sure it was real. I was talking to my friend and he explained how unreal he was. I was very shocked. As I said I don’t know when it exactly change the stance too. 

[Kapowza]

No Count? Devastated

[Jim]

Thanks for the comprehensive review! Not an all-time fan of Sesame Street, so it doesn't trigger that nostalgic feeling for me, but I can understand the appeal of the set. The build itself is mediocre at best, but the minifigs are very cool. Although their heads look like fake-brand quality, a bit too shiny.

Easy pass for me, but I'm sure this set will be very popular.

[JintaiZ]

On 10/7/2020 at 7:58 AM, WhiteFang said:

Price: USD $119.99, GBP NA, EURO NA, SGD NA

GBP 109.99, EUR 119.99

[WhiteFang]

38 minutes ago, Kapowza said:

No Count? Devastated

Unfortunately, it is. I would love to have him. 

32 minutes ago, Jim said:

Thanks for the comprehensive review! Not an all-time fan of Sesame Street, so it doesn't trigger that nostalgic feeling for me, but I can understand the appeal of the set. The build itself is mediocre at best, but the minifigs are very cool. Although their heads look like fake-brand quality, a bit too shiny.

Easy pass for me, but I'm sure this set will be very popular.

Thanks Jim for your thoughts. I am very sure it hit hard on those who watched Sesame Street back when we are a child.  

The minifigures have definitely salvage itself and outweigh than the completed built. 

4 minutes ago, JintaiZ said:

GBP 109.99, EUR 119.99

Thanks, updated. 

[Kit Figsto]

3 hours ago, MKJoshA said:

And hold the phone! Is Snuffy just an imaginary friend? If so I totally missed that growing up. I thought for sure he interacted with other Sesame Street characters besides Big Bird.

According to Wikipedia, for a while he would conveniently disappear whenever other people came around, so nobody thought he was real, but at some point he started interacting with other characters.  

Great review, looks to be a pretty good set.  Realistically, while a $250-uber-realistic build would've been cool, I think they would've priced a lot of people out of the market, especially since a major draw here is the figures.  The Count and Grover would've been nice, I think 5 new molds is already a lot, especially when Ideas stuff typically gets none.  The build is nice enough and recognizable enough - kind of reminds me of the old 70s Fisher Price Sesame Street toys.  

The figures look fantastic, Big Bird especially.  I'm not sure if I'll buy this, just because the Cantina already made a big dent in my pocket, but the price seems fair for what you get.

[AFOLguy1970]

3 hours ago, MKJoshA said:

I will probably buy this for my kids, let them keep the minifigures and then part out the buildings. There are some great pieces and new colors like the dark red 3x4 box! 

It is weird that this is labelled 18+. It very much feels more like a Friends set with the incomplete buildings meant to allow easy access for minifigure placement.

The "love note" to Oscar is actually his worm friend. Someone else will have to remember his name for me. 

And hold the phone! Is Snuffy just an imaginary friend? If so I totally missed that growing up. I thought for sure he interacted with other Sesame Street characters besides Big Bird.

Snuffy would have to be a large mold, thus the exclusion.  I grew up in the 70s and 80s when Big Bird was the only one who could see him.  It was really a cruel thing for years.  The "gag" always went along these lines: Big Bird would try to introduce others to Snuffy.  While rounding them up to introduce them, Snuffy would slip away, and no one would believe him.  It was finally decided by the producers that a reveal to the others was necessary.  The biggest reason was that they were afraid kids would be afraid to report bad people like child abusers because no one would believe them, and Big Bird being ridiculed and accused of having an "imaginary" friend would only fuel the unwillingness for kids to speak out.  So at last, there was the episode where Elmo helped to keep Snuffy from escaping so everyone could know he was real.  

I could see how it would be impossible to have all of the characters in the set.  It is too bad that fuzziness could not somehow be represented and that Oscar is basically just a head.  

[Dragunov2]

Second time Lego ducked up a good Ideas set, first with the Flinstones and now with this one

[Ecclesiastes]

I think this could be a hit for kids, which normally isn't the case with IDEAS sets. So for me, it doesn't appeal at all but I can see it being a nice playset. And I might pick it up just for the figs if it would be on sale.

[Hive]

Excellent review, as always!

As for the set itself... below average. I'm not a fan of Sesame Street, so the minifigs does nothing for me - though I can see how fans would appreciate them. The building itself, with the exception of some nice furniture, is very bland. The facade looks like a not particularly detailed moc, to be honest. Very plain, very dull. Nothing exciting going for it.

For me, this looks like a very expensive minifig pack with some decent but unspectacular parts. I wouldn't even get it at 50 % off.

[paul_delahaye]

I can almost see if this set is as big a success as I expect it will be, we could in future even see a set of 16 collectable minifigures under the Sesame Street relationship.

I'm already thinking it's better value to buy the set for the minifigures than try and buy the minifigures seperately.  I'm thinking of making a wall display frame.

[mostlytechnic]

I haven't watched Sesame Street since I was a little kid in the early 80s, but this is still an absolute day 1 buy for me. I love the overall look. I'll probably mod it to not be a corner layout so it's easier to see both buildings on a shelf. I'll also mod to put Oscar to the right of the front door where he belongs 

I wish Cookie was fuzzy (I'm from the era when Elmo wasn't the star so I don't really mind him being smooth) but I know that would have meant another mold in a set that already got a bunch of them. 

I understand this isn't really a set for the current watchers of Sesame Street (it's not Duplo after all...) so I'm assuming the 18+ rating is just to make it clear this is intended for adult collectors. I think that's at odds though with the set being scaled down and only $120. I think MOST adults who want this as a collectable would have been happier with a $200 set with a couple more figs and more pieces... but there are SO many really expensive sets these days that I'm happy it's smaller and cheaper. 

[carebear]

My dream comes true!

Love this!

Only i do not like stickers!

Great Great Review!

Thanks!

Greetings!

[Another Brick In The Wall]

When you acquire a license like Sesame Street you should go all-in .  Not sure how you can justify a bigger Old Fishing Store or Pirate Bay over something like this. 

The Elmo and Cookie Monster minifigs are not good. 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Another Brick In The Wall

[BrickBob Studpants]

Thank you for this thorough review, @WhiteFang! Very enjoyable read, as usual 

One question though: how tall is the main building precisely? The description says 24cm, but it could easily be slightly above that. I’m asking because the shelf in the display cabinet I plan to display it on measures exactly 24cm, so this could become a problem 

[WhiteFang]

18 hours ago, Kit Figsto said:

According to Wikipedia, for a while he would conveniently disappear whenever other people came around, so nobody thought he was real, but at some point he started interacting with other characters.  

Great review, looks to be a pretty good set.  Realistically, while a $250-uber-realistic build would've been cool, I think they would've priced a lot of people out of the market, especially since a major draw here is the figures.  The Count and Grover would've been nice, I think 5 new molds is already a lot, especially when Ideas stuff typically gets none.  The build is nice enough and recognizable enough - kind of reminds me of the old 70s Fisher Price Sesame Street toys.  

The figures look fantastic, Big Bird especially.  I'm not sure if I'll buy this, just because the Cantina already made a big dent in my pocket, but the price seems fair for what you get.

Thanks! The attraction is definitely the minifigures and yes, 5 new molds is definitely a lot, but I would certainly like to have see a little more characters though. 

18 hours ago, AFOLguy1970 said:

Snuffy would have to be a large mold, thus the exclusion.  I grew up in the 70s and 80s when Big Bird was the only one who could see him.  It was really a cruel thing for years.  The "gag" always went along these lines: Big Bird would try to introduce others to Snuffy.  While rounding them up to introduce them, Snuffy would slip away, and no one would believe him.  It was finally decided by the producers that a reveal to the others was necessary.  The biggest reason was that they were afraid kids would be afraid to report bad people like child abusers because no one would believe them, and Big Bird being ridiculed and accused of having an "imaginary" friend would only fuel the unwillingness for kids to speak out.  So at last, there was the episode where Elmo helped to keep Snuffy from escaping so everyone could know he was real.  

I could see how it would be impossible to have all of the characters in the set.  It is too bad that fuzziness could not somehow be represented and that Oscar is basically just a head.  

Yes, you are right. I didn't know they had wrapped it up with the special episode to make him "appear real". Thanks for adding it. I didn't know it turn out this way eventually. 

17 hours ago, Dragunov2 said:

Second time Lego ducked up a good Ideas set, first with the Flinstones and now with this one

Definitely a good IDEAS set for Sesame Street fan, but there are definitely a lot more great IDEAS set too.  

16 hours ago, Ecclesiastes said:

I think this could be a hit for kids, which normally isn't the case with IDEAS sets. So for me, it doesn't appeal at all but I can see it being a nice playset. And I might pick it up just for the figs if it would be on sale.

Instant hit indeed and not exactly very easy to integrate with other sets too as I find it highly specialised. 

14 hours ago, Hive said:

Excellent review, as always!

As for the set itself... below average. I'm not a fan of Sesame Street, so the minifigs does nothing for me - though I can see how fans would appreciate them. The building itself, with the exception of some nice furniture, is very bland. The facade looks like a not particularly detailed moc, to be honest. Very plain, very dull. Nothing exciting going for it.

For me, this looks like a very expensive minifig pack with some decent but unspectacular parts. I wouldn't even get it at 50 % off.

Thank you very much. To some extent, yes it is an expensive minifigure pack but packed with completely new revolution especially Big Bird. 

13 hours ago, paul_delahaye said:

I can almost see if this set is as big a success as I expect it will be, we could in future even see a set of 16 collectable minifigures under the Sesame Street relationship.

I'm already thinking it's better value to buy the set for the minifigures than try and buy the minifigures seperately.  I'm thinking of making a wall display frame.

Buying the set than BL it, could be a much better choice in terms of value for money. 

11 hours ago, mostlytechnic said:

I haven't watched Sesame Street since I was a little kid in the early 80s, but this is still an absolute day 1 buy for me. I love the overall look. I'll probably mod it to not be a corner layout so it's easier to see both buildings on a shelf. I'll also mod to put Oscar to the right of the front door where he belongs 

I wish Cookie was fuzzy (I'm from the era when Elmo wasn't the star so I don't really mind him being smooth) but I know that would have meant another mold in a set that already got a bunch of them. 

I understand this isn't really a set for the current watchers of Sesame Street (it's not Duplo after all...) so I'm assuming the 18+ rating is just to make it clear this is intended for adult collectors. I think that's at odds though with the set being scaled down and only $120. I think MOST adults who want this as a collectable would have been happier with a $200 set with a couple more figs and more pieces... but there are SO many really expensive sets these days that I'm happy it's smaller and cheaper. 

Same era as you. Elmo was just pretty much annoying, but yes being noisy is the road to fame.  

I don't quite understand on the 18+ and sometimes I am thinking it is not about the built which is complicated, or rather this set appeal can only attract to builders or collectors who are 18+ and above, namely those born before 2002 and probably in the late 1990s who had watched Sesame Street as a child. 

8 hours ago, carebear said:

My dream comes true!

Love this!

Only i do not like stickers!

Great Great Review!

Thanks!

Greetings!

Thanks! Glad it is a dream come true for you. 

4 hours ago, Another Brick In The Wall said:

When you acquire a license like Sesame Street you should go all-in .  Not sure how you can justify a bigger Old Fishing Store or Pirate Bay over something like this. 

The Elmo and Cookie Monster minifigs are not good. 

The original ideas submission was suppose to be a mega built, but they had to scale down for much practical reasons. 

3 hours ago, Lego-Freak said:

Thank you for this thorough review, @WhiteFang! Very enjoyable read, as usual 

One question though: how tall is the main building precisely? The description says 24cm, but it could easily be slightly above that. I’m asking because the shelf in the display cabinet I plan to display it on measures exactly 24cm, so this could become a problem 

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it. Yes, it is 24 cm as I had measured it with a ruler with probably an error margin of +/- 1cm. I really hope it can fit into your display area nicely like I do. 

[Robert8]

Thanks for the review. The characters look great. No Count von Count is my only complaint here. 

Hope the Muppets will come next 

 

On 10/7/2020 at 5:58 AM, WhiteFang said:

His mission in life to be as miserable and grouchy as possible and aim to pass that feeling to others as well. In the LEGO minifigure context, he is an interesting design with a new head and a round green minifigure head brick to place within the thrash can. 

I thought the head was this piece recolored. So it wouldn't be new. Is it actually different? 

But even so, 5 new molds in a single Ideas sets is a lot. Even D2C sets get only 1. And I think the 89 Batwing had none 

[Vindicare]

37 minutes ago, Robert8 said:

Thanks for the review. The characters look great. No Count von Count is my only complaint here. 

Hope the Muppets will come next 

 

I thought the head was this piece recolored. So it wouldn't be new. Is it actually different? 

 

But even so, 5 new molds in a single Ideas sets is a lot. Even D2C sets get only 1. And I think the 89 Batwing had none 

It’s that piece. You can see the bottom of it in the pile of parts from the bags. 

[MKJoshA]

1 hour ago, Robert8 said:

But even so, 5 new molds in a single Ideas sets is a lot. Even D2C sets get only 1. And I think the 89 Batwing had none 

I can confirm that the Batwing had 0 new molds. A couple re-colors, but no new molds.