It was only a matter of time as to when Pooh would be forever immortalised in LEGO form, and with big thanks to fan designer Ben Alder and his original concept that he submitted to the LEGO Ideas platform, we now have an official LEGO Ideas Winnie the Pooh (21326) set!

I managed to grab this set on the VIP release date of 18th March, along with two GWP (gift with purchase) freebies, LEGO Easter Chick Polybag (30579) and LEGO Rabbit Carrot House (40449).

Also as part of the VIP launch you could redeem points to purchase five limited edition Winnie the Pooh art prints. I managed to secure one which depicts all five characters, I feel very lucky to get one as they sold out extremely fast, some were gone well within 15 minutes of their launch.

Limited edition LEGO Winnie the Pooh prints

I planned on building this with my Family as the subject matter spans multiple generations and we would all enjoy it. As I’ve mentioned in previous reviews my Wife isn’t a LEGO fan, at all, but she has a fascination with Modulars and interesting sets that she couldn’t wait to get building – also her love for Winnie the Pooh is crazy.

We crack the box open, which is packed surprisingly well, no space spared here, and started reading through the instruction manual. As usual with LEGO Ideas sets the booklet features information and details about the original fan designer, LEGO designers, and the history and back story of where the idea originated.

Manual front cover

We meet Ben Alder and his Family and he gives us a short introduction into the set and why he choose Winnie the Pooh as an idea. We also see his original creation, which I must say LEGO didn’t stray to far from. The big tree is there, Pooh’s house is quaint, and the characters are stood out front. If you would like to know more about Ben and his journey you can read the two interviews we had with him, the first was around this time last year (2020) and the other was very recent and in conjunction with the VIP release (2021).

Ben Alder introduction

First interview / Second interview

The Build:

The build itself is spectacular and nothing short of greatness, the oak tree is sturdy and well put together and Pooh’s house is small and quaint, just how it was in the books and films.

There are seven bags in total, the first four make a start on the base and house and the remaining three build the tree and finish everything off. I like the way the set flows and isn’t boring in any way, it has a natural progression and ends on a high with placing the camp fire and log.

Seven bags in total

As you can see the instructions have reverted back to the old style and no longer have black backgrounds, in my honest opinion this is great, no more squinting or playing trombone with the manual!

There are two sheets of stickers included with one being on a shiny foil type paper which makes a mirror and a map both found within Pooh’s house.

I’ll quickly run through each bag to give you an idea of what each one adds, I like this style review and think it works well, our review of the recent LEGO Ideas Medieval Blacksmith (21325) went down well and was written in the same style.

Bag one:

The very first bag, as usual, constructs the base on which the whole set will sit. It also makes a start on the house by adding tiles, studs for furniture, and the first layer of bricks.

The colours in this set are bright and the base is made up of two shades of green. Overlapping the curved plates is a nice touch and is easy on the eye.

Bag two:

Bag two adds a little more to the front of the house, building up the walls which will become the door and hallway.

Each side of the house you’ll find tree stumps, these were pretty much the same design although space for the trunk was left on the right side. There is a very interesting technique hidden away inside the stumps which allows the unique angle of those leaf elements. It involves a Technic clip and those new transparent ‘superhero’ stand pieces, it’s one of those things that you’d never think of unless shown and is definitely one to keep in mind for future MOCs!

Bag three:

The house is starting to take shape now with the addition of windows and their shutters, also two supporting archways have been added ready for the small loft space and roof later in the build.

Interior pieces, such as curtains, pooh-coo clock, bed, chair etc are added. It’s a little cramped inside the house once it’s closed but open it up to play and it looks good, Pooh can comfortably sit in his chair and read his book.

Bag four:

This is where we start construction on the tree itself, first adding a thick root where the space was left in bag two. It continues over the top of the door frame adding the ‘Mr Sanders‘ sign and the roof of the hallway.

Bag five:

As you can see from the photo bag five builds the entire tree trunk measuring almost 24cm tall. There are SNOT (studs not on top) techniques galore in this stage and it sees us constructing unique angles and smoothed edges to make quite an impressive tree!

I’ve always found it a tricky job cresting LEGO trees, some of my past MOCs have called for a small tree but I just don’t have the appropriate skills to make one look decent. The designers here have done a really good job, it’s very sturdy and looks gnarly, just like an old oak tree should.

The top five branches each have a socket at its tip, this is for the foliage to be added from bag seven later.

Bag six:

We leave the tree for this stage in the build and head back to the house to add the finishing touch, the roof.

Each side is essentially the same with the 1×2 cheese wedge pieces in a different order, and a space for the chimney on one side.

Some more foliage is added to represent fallen leaves from the tree above.

Bag seven:

The final bag, bag seven, has a lot of parts which seems to make up a  big chunk of the part count, which is 1265 pieces.

We flesh out the tree with its foliage, beehives, and bees. When turning the page within the manual and seeing the branch and foliage build process is daunting and a little bit of a mind bender. It asks for you to build six of the base connectors and each of them requires four mini foliage builds, totalling thirty separate builds, once you’ve figured out that part and compiled the parts needed you then pop the balls into the sockets and hey-presto the tree is finished!

One of the many highlights to this set is the 1×1 circular transparent Bee tiles, which are printed pieces, we get nine included in the box as one is a spare. The design is basic but works so well, the print is sharp and being on clear tiles the colours are vibrant. They all sit on Technic parts that spin once flicked, this is another well thought out play feature and again works well. There are two Beehives in total although one is hidden somewhat at the back of the tree.

Also finished off is the base, a handful of 1×1 and 2×2 circular tiles are added to represent a path and give it that well trodden look.

Image of campfire

There is a campfire area complete with a log seat which has a space, two bare studs, for Pooh to sit. The end 2×2 tiles are printed and are an enlarged image of the smaller 1×1 wood tiles, which is great to have and perfect for MOCs.

Smaller details such as the Snail and Mushrooms look great and are very simple & straightforward builds, consisting of no more than three pieces.

We can’t leave out the two very cool shoutouts to the fan designer Ben Alder and his two Children. One is found within Pooh’s book inside the front cover, in Pooh’s very distinctive handwriting is ‘Ben A‘, as if to say ‘this book belongs to… ‘. The other is inside the house on the wall, and is hidden within the two Bees picture, their trails form the letters E and J. Ben, his two children, and family must be so proud and to have their names forever immortalised in LEGO must be a dream come true!

The Minifigures:

Onto the Minifigures now and wow what a treat they are!

We have Winnie the Pooh, Piglet, Tigger, Rabbit and Eeyore, although Eeyore isn’t really a Minifigure in the traditional sense.

Winnie the Pooh is the head honcho and his Minifigure counterpart is just as recognisable with his iconic red shirt.

LEGO have done quite an impressive job with Pooh’s head mould and has all the traits of the original character. His smile is spot on and in turn makes me smile back.

When I first saw Pooh’s torso I immediately thought it was a crop top and totally disliked the look of it, having seen it in the flesh/plastic I have to say that it’s so much better than any picture can show, the only real bad point is printing on a slightly darker colour it washes out the small patch of yellow on his neck and belly. The design and printing is again top notch and crisp and done to LEGO’s high standard!

Tigger has to be my personal favourite as he is funny, energetic and full of personality. LEGO have again done a superb job in re-creating such an iconic character, from his perfectly moulded head piece to the tiger print on his body, legs, and tail

I’m pretty sure Tigger will be in the running for our ‘Minifigure of the Year‘ awards at the end of the Year, he’s such an awesome Minifigure and I bet you can tell its my favourite of 2021 so far!

Rabbit is the character I liked the least and I’m not entirely sure why. His Minifigure is still cool though and once again the moulded head really sets it apart from other similar sets.

His printing is minimal with just his chest and tail the most prominent features.

Piglet is most likely up there has no.2 in command and a fan favourite for many. He’s sporting the red scarf that he wore in the originals and it suits the Minifigure well, along with the dark pink torso and dark striped pattern.

They opted for short legs for Piglet as he is a short fellow in the books and films, it’s unfortunate that LEGO didn’t include possible short legs as it would of given him most movement and options for display/posing.

Eeyore makes use of a whole new mould entirely and looks incredible, they really went all out on this one!

I don’t know anybody that doesn’t like Eeyore, he’s such a sad character that we always feel sorry for as he can’t catch a break it seem.

The colours, mane, ears, and tail with bow are spot on and compliment each other nicely, it’s nice to see LEGO do this and the other characters justice, it truly is.

Conclusion:

Looking at the set as a whole I feel LEGO and fan designer Ben Alder have done a superb job in bringing Winnie the Pooh to life in plastic form and I am happy that I have this set in my collection.

The build of both house and tree are straightforward and easy enough to complete without too many issues and would make for an e joyable Family experience.

The Minifigures are the gem in this set and take it to the next level, all the new and unique moulds found on every Minifigure is outstanding and should be done more.

I do feel the price of this set is somewhat high-end and to me seemed to suit a lower price bracket, maybe similar to the LEGO Friends TV Show or LEGO The Flintstones sets at around £64.99. The premium cost is likely caused by the Minifigures, as essentially the build is mostly a tree.

As with most LEGO it will retain its value and become a collectors piece once discontinued, maybe years from now, so if you’re after this set I’d grab it while you can!

Thank you so much for reading my review of the LEGO Ideas Winnie the Pooh 21326, I hope you enjoyed it and found it of use. Please let me know what you make of the review and the set (if you have it) in the comments. Don’t forget you can give this a reaction rating using our unique emots below.

Gallery:

This fun advent calendar can be used year after year…

Ben Alder’s LEGO Advent Calendar

You may recognise the name as Ben is already a 10k Club Member with his winning Winnie The Pooh set, due for release sometime soon.

Ben is back and with a Christmas themed idea this time round. He’s gone for a traditional advent calendar with a modern LEGO twist. You can open each present and be surprised Year after Year with whatever takes your fancy, from small builds and Minifigures to chocolate treats!

Pop goes the Reindeer

The presents look really well thought out and the construction is simple and it works. Using hinges to leave the present accessible to pop in a treat of some sort.

Hello there!

You can also position and display it how you want as the set is built to be separate presents which connect to one another, giving you the freedom to either have it as a centre piece or in a straight line on the mantlepiece. Personally I’d opt for having it on my window seal in the front room so my Family could see and interact with it.

Taadaa!

Of course an Advent Calendar wouldn’t be complete if Santa didn’t make an appearance. Ben has brick-built two characters, Santa himself and one of his Reindeer, Rudolph!

Santa and Co.

Very similar to LEGO BrickHeadz but with Ben’s personal twist to them. I like the SNOT (studs not on top) construction as it adds so many new layers and options to a build than most straight forward methods. Santa’s beard and hat stand out for me with all the curves and unique angles.

They both sit within the main present at the centre of the Advent Calendar, just like a cherry on the cake!

Enough room for two

Overall the idea is fantastic and I’d love to see this choosen once it hits 10k supporters. I would buy this in a heartbeat as, apart from the Minifigure advent calendars, there isn’t much choice when it comes to brick-built ones. The build would be a family event just before the countdown starts and would get everyone in the mood for the holiday season.

Please head over to Ben’s LEGO Ideas page to find out about this creation and more, he has a few on the go currently and they’re all worth a look and your support!

Good luck Ben! 

To support the above LEGO Ideas submission please click the following link:

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/c6211de4-cb7b-4d1e-819c-9f188cfc3e6b

Please check out the creators Social Media platforms:
Instagram – https://instagram.com/benalder1?igshid=n2t6xm1lpt88

We were lucky enough to have a chat with Ben, to find out what inspired him to take on such a beloved character, to his first reaction when hearing the amazing news.

How and when did you become interested in LEGO?

I have always been interested in LEGO from as early as I can remember. I remember sitting for hours with my parents building and creating things whilst they helped me find that one tiny part I was looking for. My love for LEGO has continued and is now even bigger since having two young children that I share my love of LEGO with.

As well as creating models do you collect official sets too?

Yes I love the modular buildings, my first modular building set was the Parisian restaurant. I also love some of the one off sets like the recent Treehouse. I also have a huge love for minifigures and really enjoy collecting them.

What was the inspiration behind this project?

I have always loved Winnie the Pooh and wanted to create my two children a set that they could sit and recreate our bedtime stories with. So my inspiration for making it was certainly my family and the love of Winnie the Pooh.

Did you experience any difficulties along the way when developing this project?

It was quite tricky to get the tree in proportion with the house.

How long did the project take from initial idea to finished model and how many pieces did it take to complete?

I can’t quite remember. It took a few weeks to come up with the basic design and then I just kept adding and changing it a bit once I built it out of bricks.

What changes do you think LEGO would make, if any?

I’m not sure to be honest.

What were your thoughts when you first heard your project had successfully passed review?

I was in total shock and still am. I genuinely can’t believe that it is going to happen. It’s made both mine and my families dream come true. It’s just amazing. I can’t thank everyone enough for there support and kind words that everyone has made.

How do you feel knowing that fans will be able to purchase your creation?

I still can’t get my head around this but feel very honoured. My little boy is so excited to be able to go into a shop and buy a set that “Daddy” designed which is all rather exciting as well.

What words of wisdom would you give for others planning to submit their own projects to LEGO Ideas?

Make a project that you are passionate about and enjoy making. Then hopefully your love for making it will come out in your build.

What else have you been working on that might give you a 2nd success?

My latest creation is a Looney Tunes build which was fun to do. Looney Tunes – Bugs Bunny’s House

Many thanks Ben for taking the time to talk with us and we wish you all the best with your future projects!

Show your support and head over to Ben’s LEGO Ideas creations page.