Quick look: 31173 Tropical Toucan
Posted by Huw,
The designers of Creator 3-in-1 sets have been knocking it out of the park recently with their large-scale animal models, and 31173 Tropical Toucan looks to be another winner, especially at its almost pocket-money price.
Summary
31173 Tropical Toucan, 225 pieces.
£12.99 / $17.99 / €14.99 | 5.8p/8.0c/6.7c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Another excellent and good value Creator 3-in-1 set!
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Toucans are native to Central and South America and their large and colourful bills make them one of the most distinctive and beautiful birds in the world. I have not been able to find pictures of examples with a bill coloured quite like the one in the model but, nevertheless, it looks suitably vibrant.
The bird is perched on a small section of branch from which a yellow flower is growing, and it's clutching a slice of watermelon in its bill. The lime green and coral of the fruit add pleasingly to the riotous mix of hues already in the model.
It'll stand upright without the perch, and its beak can be closed. The wings are connected using ball joints and the tail feathers with a bar/clip combination, allowing them to be posed to some extent.
The 8-petalled flower would not look out of place in a Botanical set.
Alternative models
The alternative models are a butterfly and tropical fish. They look OK, but I did not feel the need to dismantle the bird to build them.
Verdict
The model looks bigger than you'd expect for a set containing only 225 parts, so, like most Creator sets, it's excellent value for money.
We've been treated to some lovely exotic birds over the last few years, and this is a wonderful addition to the collection.
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35 comments on this article
My favourite type of the Creator set.
The beak needs a little modification to make it yellow at the top and the rest orange, but then it should go well with a black pint glass.
As far as "lovely exotic birds" go, I would also list the sulphur-crested cockatoo of 31133 (which could have easily been the main model). Maybe there were already too many 'birds' for sale at the time.
Nice set and I quite like the 'alternates' as well. It is already a good value as it is but I'm sure we will get it a bit cheaper down the road.
@CCC - The Guinness Toucan is most likely a Toco Toucan and it should be fairly easy to do the colour conversion as https://brickset.com/parts/6435045/1-4-sphere-3x3x1 is available in bright orange and flame yellowish orange.
A group of toucans is called a party!
where are the froot loops.
Excellent, and not to be confused with 30688 Tropical Toucan which I nearly got in error!
@sjr60 said:
"Excellent, and not to be confused with 30688 Tropical Toucan which I nearly got in error!"
I got this on purpose and quite like it. He will live in my Antonio’s Animal Sanctuary.
@Mister_Jonny said:
" @sjr60 said:
"Excellent, and not to be confused with 30688 Tropical Toucan which I nearly got in error!"
I got this on purpose and quite like it. He will live in my Antonio’s Animal Sanctuary.
"
Yes, good if you know what you're getting. I initially saw it on Amazon for £7.99. Thought at first it was a bargain 31173, then realised it was a ripoff 30688
I'm running behind on many 'modern' elements and this also looks like a great parts pack once done displaying the animals.
Toucan play it that way.
The 3 in 1s are all so good. Best line out there right now.
The pips in the watermelon look too much like eyes for my taste. I fear the watermelon is sentient.
@sjr60 said:
" @Mister_Jonny said:
" @sjr60 said:
"Excellent, and not to be confused with 30688 Tropical Toucan which I nearly got in error!"
I got this on purpose and quite like it. He will live in my Antonio’s Animal Sanctuary.
"
Yes, good if you know what you're getting. I initially saw it on Amazon for £7.99. Thought at first it was a bargain 31173, then realised it was a ripoff 30688"
I'm not sure how 30688 can rip off 31173 since the former was released in January 2025 and the latter just this month.
@bgruner said:
"I'm not sure how 30688 can rip off 31173 since the former was released in January 2025 and the latter just this month."
Ripoff as in overpriced. 30688 is supposed to be £3.49, so £7.99 is an absurd markup.
@ohrmazd said:
"where are the froot loops."
Just follow your nose!
Always up for another fish!
Lovely day for a Guiness!
@gearwheel said:
" @bgruner said:
"I'm not sure how 30688 can rip off 31173 since the former was released in January 2025 and the latter just this month."
Ripoff as in overpriced. 30688 is supposed to be £3.49, so £7.99 is an absurd markup."
Precisely. Polybags tend to be an absurd price on Amazon (marketplace)... obviously nothing wrong with the set itself!
Already have 30688, and while this bigger ones looks good too, I don't think it actually adds that much. I like small stuff....
@ohrmazd said:
"where are the froot loops."
One apparently went to space.
Made quite a Bang. Kind of a Big one.
At least that's my Theory.
:-)
Saw this today in B&M and assumed it was £17.99 as it didn’t have a price tag. May reconsider getting it finding out it’s only £15
It seems like it was just yesterday that LEGO was dabbling with recolors of sets. Is the new plan to just release near identical sets at different scales?
Simba 43243 vs 43247
Toucan 30688 vs 31173
@yellowcastle said:
"It seems like it was just yesterday that LEGO was dabbling with recolors of sets. Is the new plan to just release near identical sets at different scales?
Simba 43243 vs 43247
Toucan 30688 vs 31173"
Well, by that logic you could also ask why they release several different scale versions of Millennium Falcon ;-)
@WizardOfOss said:"Already have 30688, and while this bigger ones looks good too, I don't think it actually adds that much. I like small stuff...."
I love 3 in 1 polybags. You don't have to spend too much time taking one model apart to build another one.
@yellowcastle said:
"It seems like it was just yesterday that LEGO was dabbling with recolors of sets. Is the new plan to just release near identical sets at different scales?
Simba 43243 vs 43247
Toucan 30688 vs 31173"
The two toucan sets don't have the same secondary models. 30641 and 31165 do, though.
@AustinPowers said:
" @yellowcastle said:
"It seems like it was just yesterday that LEGO was dabbling with recolors of sets. Is the new plan to just release near identical sets at different scales?
Simba 43243 vs 43247
Toucan 30688 vs 31173"
Well, by that logic you could also ask why they release several different scale versions of Millennium Falcon ;-) "
Or F1 this year: F1 minifig ???, F1 City, F1 Speed Champions, F1 Icons, F1 Technic.
I understand it's a lot of effort, but it would be nice if 3in1 set reviews had all three of the models actually reviewed. (That said, it has been hard for me to take apart some of them.)
Looks like a fun little set. Nice colors, although not a huge selection of any one of them besides black. Oh well.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @WizardOfOss said:"Already have 30688, and while this bigger ones looks good too, I don't think it actually adds that much. I like small stuff...."
I love 3 in 1 polybags. You don't have to spend too much time taking one model apart to build another one.
@yellowcastle said:
"It seems like it was just yesterday that LEGO was dabbling with recolors of sets. Is the new plan to just release near identical sets at different scales?
Simba 43243 vs 43247
Toucan 30688 vs 31173 "
The two toucan sets don't have the same secondary models. 30641 and 31165 do, though."
At least the Simba and Panda sets have slightly different titles. The Toucans are word for word identical! (which makes it even more ridiculous that they've stopped including the set number on order confirmations)
I got the smaller one somehow, and it’s quite fun.
My question for this set is who cut up the watermelon so this toucan could enjoy the slice? Those things aren’t exactly easy to open.
@AustinPowers said:
" @yellowcastle said:
"It seems like it was just yesterday that LEGO was dabbling with recolors of sets. Is the new plan to just release near identical sets at different scales?
Simba 43243 vs 43247
Toucan 30688 vs 31173"
Well, by that logic you could also ask why they release several different scale versions of Millennium Falcon ;-) "
Not at the same time, though! :o)
Maybe my mind is going but it felt odd to me when we first saw the concurrent Simbas..but then these Toucans…
Whatever happened with the recolor initiative? Or the LEGO lighting trial?
Inquiring minds want to know. :o)
Creator has become another non-lego-fan person oriented theme. I have friends getting the pink typewriter, or the roller skate set just for the fun of it. The evolution of Lego is incredible.
@xccj said:
"I understand it's a lot of effort, but it would be nice if 3in1 set reviews had all three of the models actually reviewed. "
It is a lot of effort, and not worthwhile from a purely business point of view. Would this article have been read by three times as many people had I spent three times longer on the review? Almost certainly not.
@Huw said:
" @xccj said:
"I understand it's a lot of effort, but it would be nice if 3in1 set reviews had all three of the models actually reviewed. "
It is a lot of effort, and not worthwhile from a purely business point of view. Would this article have been read by three times as many people had I spent three times longer on the review? Almost certainly not."
I doubt more would have read it but I myself would have gotten 4% more value from it. :o)
@Huw said:
"
It is a lot of effort, and not worthwhile from a purely business point of view. Would this article have been read by three times as many people had I spent three times longer on the review? Almost certainly not.
"
Hah, fair. Since I do have over a decade's worth of experience writing reviews, I have above average expectations for them now. But I also was doing it as a hobby and not a business, and did not have to post nearly the same quantity as Brickset. :D
Lovely review for a lovely set! I already have two toucan sets (2163 and 30688), the latter of which is like a mini version of this one scaled. Definitely gonna keep my eye on it in the long run ;D
I really like the 3in1 series.
This dumb biRb looks good on my shelf.
Fast and simple build!
10/10