This is our look at Lego WALL-E (21303), an awesome Disney/Pixar themed set from last year. This is £39.99 and has 677 pieces, which is an amazing 5.9p per piece – a bargain for a branded set.
The build itself is straightforward, although it did take me a little longer than expected simply because of all the workings that go into the tracks, arms and head and neck pieces. The finished model is just so full of character, WALL-E’s shape just naturally lends himself to the Lego treatment. Everything is posable, the arms, the hands, the neck, eyes – and of course the tracks turn too. You can also open up his front to get access to his storage area (which you can see in the video that Noah loves) and he even has the little cockroach on top and the plant in his hand.
I picked this one up back when it was originally released, so I had the well reported problems with the head and neck design. This caused WALL-E’s eyes to just flop completely forward, rather than stay upright. After speaking with Lego customer support, they furnished me with a set of instructions and some new pieces that could be used to fix the problem. The nice thing about the fix is that taking it apart and rebuilding it again with new parts lets you understand where things went wrong, and makes you also wonder how it ever passed design review in it’s original state. Not only is the new design stronger, but it uses less and far more common pieces – including a simple ball joint that should have been their solution from the start.
I cannot recommend this set enough. It is perfectly priced, builds well, and looks amazing on a display shelf when complete. Easily one of my favourite Lego sets over the past few years, and still available for purchase today.
