Review: 43290 Kevin & Dug
Posted by Huw,
43290 Kevin & Dug is the latest in what's become an impressive collection of large-scale Disney characters that have been released during the last five years or so.
The two creatures from Pixar's beloved 2009 film Up are particularly memorable and, in the case of Kevin, very colourful, so they should make great subjects for LEGO models.
Summary
43290 Kevin & Dug, 628 pieces.
£54.99 / $59.99 / €59.99 | 8.8p, 9.6c, 9.6c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Wonderfully colourful and expressive models of two beloved Pixar characters
- Both of the creatures' likenesses have been captured well
- Slightly expensive at full price
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Kevin
The giant female bird was found by Russell while exploring Paradise Falls and names her Kevin thinking that she's male.
Her bright and beautiful plumage does indeed make for an excellent and extremely colourful LEGO model that includes around a dozen shades of blue, pink, purple, orange and yellow pieces to replicate her feathers and beak. I particularly like the flower stalk and teal tulip heads that form her crown.
She stands about 30cm tall and is a little top-heavy, which is why she's firmly affixed to a small display stand using Technic pins.
The stand incorporates foliage, a balloon, a piece of chocolate to which she is rather partial, and a shelf at the front to hold the adventure book that Carl's wife compiled. There aren't many stickers in the set, but three are used here to decorate it inside and out.
Kevin's feet are constructed directly onto the stand and are not designed to be removed easily. However, it is certainly possible to do so, and she will stand on her own.
Articulation is limited to turning her head, closing her beak and flapping her comically small wings. The cylindrical neck pieces can also be rearranged (but not twisted) to have her look down.
Dug
In contrast to Kevin, the Golden Retriever is very monochromatic! In the film his coat is a slightly darker brown than the tan (brick yellow) pieces used here, but I suspect medium nougat would have looked too dark and warm tan is not prevalent enough yet.
Nevertheless, the hound's cheerful and naive character has been captured pretty well, as has his shaggy, slightly unkempt, coat.
He's provided with the 'cone of shame' which his pack makes him wear, but the thin flexible plastic piece is easily removed to leave him looking more normal, and happier!
His hips twist, tail wags and ears flap, allowing for some expressive poses. With the cone removed, the translator collar that converts his thoughts into speech can be more easily seen.
Verdict
Up is one of Pixar's best and most beloved films and this set does great justice to the cute and colourful characters that feature prominently in the story.
The 628-piece set costs $59.99, £54.99, €59.99 which does seem expensive for the amount of 'stuff' you get, but that's normal for Disney sets.
Nevertheless, it's a set that fans of the film will be delighted with.
104 likes
33 comments on this article
Nice review! I like that they've repurposed Donkey Kong's feet for Dug.
Also...
SQUIRREL!
@SetToBuild said:
"Nice review! I like that they've repurposed Donkey Kong's feet for Dug.
Also...
SQUIRREL!"
But he loves you soooooo much!
@SetToBuild said:
"Nice review! I like that they've repurposed Donkey Kong's feet for Dug. "
Thanks, I wondered where they'd been used before. They make perfect paws :-)
I like Dug's Nose, its so wide. Neat shaping
I can't wait to get this set when it's 20% off on Amazon in a month
I still want the 'Spirit of adventure' zeppelin as a set.... I would pay obscene amounts of money for a play scale one like good old 5956 !
Very nice review of a lovely surprise of a set - thank you!
I do have to say, with respect, that less than 10c ppp for an IP-licensed set is in no way, shape, or form “expensive for what you get,” (“slightly” or not). The “Lego has gotten crazy expensive” narrative is already out of control among AFOLs with folks rampantly ignoring inflation adjustment and other data - if we start going down the hyper-subjective path in reviews of how expensive it it “feels,” things will get even worse in the comment threads.
I feel it's a missed opportunity to use a brick separator in the beak
And when you open Dug up, you'll notice another Kevin inside ;>
@tmtomh said:
"Very nice review of a lovely surprise of a set - thank you!
I do have to say, with respect, that less than 10c ppp for an IP-licensed set is in no way, shape, or form “expensive for what you get,” (“slightly” or not). The “Lego has gotten crazy expensive” narrative is already out of control among AFOLs with folks rampantly ignoring inflation adjustment and other data - if we start going down the hyper-subjective path in reviews of how expensive it it “feels,” things will get even worse in the comment threads."
Fair enough. It is difficult for us to judge value when we haven't spent our own money on it, but I just felt that once it was built it didn't look like $60-worth of 'stuff', but that, and value for money generally, is subjective anyway.
Feels like I'm seeing UP products and in Disney marketing a lot more than I used to, which is interesting as it's unlikely to ever get a sequel. Guess the kids who watched UP when it first came out are in their mid-20s or older now so it's the whole nostalgia cycle kicking in. C'est la vie.
Set looks good! I wish LEGO could find a way to make the noodly neck pieces more articulated because they look like they SHOULD be able to be freely twisted around but I know they can't. Probably a friction issue over long term.
Whenever I read the term "beautiful plumage" in a review, it immediately makes me smile. :-)
i saw the cone of shame piece listed in New Elementary's new parts list for March and I had no idea which set would have used it (as it's also hard to gauge size in the thumbnails) but now I know.
@AustinPowers said:
"Whenever I read the term "beautiful plumage" in a review, it immediately makes me smile. :-) "
I like to slip it in at every opportunity :-)
Damn...that red balloon...
You'll float too, Georgie!
I like to guess the price of a set before reading the review. For this I guessed $49. So not too far off.
@Huw said:
" @tmtomh said:
"Very nice review of a lovely surprise of a set - thank you!
I do have to say, with respect, that less than 10c ppp for an IP-licensed set is in no way, shape, or form “expensive for what you get,” (“slightly” or not). The “Lego has gotten crazy expensive” narrative is already out of control among AFOLs with folks rampantly ignoring inflation adjustment and other data - if we start going down the hyper-subjective path in reviews of how expensive it it “feels,” things will get even worse in the comment threads."
Fair enough. It is difficult for us to judge value when we haven't spent our own money on it, but I just felt that once it was built it didn't look like $60-worth of 'stuff', but that, and value for money generally, is subjective anyway."
Thank you for your reply. Appreciate the dialogue. And BTW, Brickset is my favorite site for reviews - I think you all do a great job!
A great looking set but Wallace seems to have changed a bit!
@tmtomh said:
"Very nice review of a lovely surprise of a set - thank you!
I do have to say, with respect, that less than 10c ppp for an IP-licensed set is in no way, shape, or form “expensive for what you get,” (“slightly” or not). The “Lego has gotten crazy expensive” narrative is already out of control among AFOLs with folks rampantly ignoring inflation adjustment and other data - if we start going down the hyper-subjective path in reviews of how expensive it it “feels,” things will get even worse in the comment threads."
I have to agree with Huw on this. That is not £60 worth of Lego. The 'ppp' benchmark counts for little when most of the pieces are so small.
Cool set! Great review. Might have to pick this one up if I see it for a good price.
@tmtomh said:
"Very nice review of a lovely surprise of a set - thank you!
I do have to say, with respect, that less than 10c ppp for an IP-licensed set is in no way, shape, or form “expensive for what you get,” (“slightly” or not). The “Lego has gotten crazy expensive” narrative is already out of control among AFOLs with folks rampantly ignoring inflation adjustment and other data - if we start going down the hyper-subjective path in reviews of how expensive it it “feels,” things will get even worse in the comment threads."
I’ve always thought that PPP was a useless metric as the actual ABS is worth pennies. Most of the cost likely comes down to the design iterations, licensing, new molds etc. Competing brands cost about half as much for about the same amount of actual plastic, and while it’s hard to compare brands directly, it still gives us a rough idea of how much the markup is for the brand name. I still choose to buy Lego, but it’s never a bad idea to put value into perspective and have additional options.
@StudMuffin24: Oh I dunno...I'd be more concerned if there were 98 more of 'em...:)
Nice to see 3943 / 6606104 in red at long, long last. A fun looking model which could work well with Heihei 43272.
@brick_r said:
" @StudMuffin24: Oh I dunno...I'd be more concerned if there were 98 more of 'em...:)"
I didn't even see how badly messed up Carl's face looks in the Adventure Book...
@jkb said:
" @SetToBuild said:
"Nice review! I like that they've repurposed Donkey Kong's feet for Dug.
Also...
SQUIRREL!"
But he loves you soooooo much!"
He has just met us. And he LOOOOOOOVES us.
Great review, as usual. I’m not into F1, though, so it’s not for me.
Oh wait…I had that as a canned response, sorry.
Love these two characters. Will be buying once on offer
@The_Sly_Fox said:
" @tmtomh said:
"Very nice review of a lovely surprise of a set - thank you!
I do have to say, with respect, that less than 10c ppp for an IP-licensed set is in no way, shape, or form “expensive for what you get,” (“slightly” or not). The “Lego has gotten crazy expensive” narrative is already out of control among AFOLs with folks rampantly ignoring inflation adjustment and other data - if we start going down the hyper-subjective path in reviews of how expensive it it “feels,” things will get even worse in the comment threads."
I have to agree with Huw on this. That is not £60 worth of Lego. The 'ppp' benchmark counts for little when most of the pieces are so small."
60 is the USD price. The UK price is £55.
More importantly, I agree that ppp is not the same when "most of the pieces are so small" - but the crucial point is that's not the case here. This set has 10x2x2 curved slopes, a 10x10 curved plate, 4x6 leaf elements, large tube and ball-joint elements, 6x2 wedge plates, 4x4 round and conical bricks, and a bunch of 1x, 2x, and 3x bricks, plates, SNOT bricks, and sloped bricks - and that large custom cone piece for the dog. It's not a Dots set or art set that's comprised of 100s (or 1000s) of 1x1 studs and tiles.
And on top of all that, the ppp is not only less than 10c, but it's less than 10c for an IP-licensed set, which everyone knows is a crucial factor, and which everyone in the comments saying this "feels" too expensive is studiously ignoring.
This is exactly what I'm talking about - people start with the "it doesn't look/feel like it's worth that price" reaction and then they make inaccurate claims and ignore importan factors to try to back up their feeling instead of revising their feeling after examining the actual facts of the set.
Not something I'ld get but it looks cute and colorful. Thanks for the review.
For one moment I thought the lower mandible was a brick separator xD
I really like this. Generally I don’t get Disney sets because one must draw the mental line somewhere and also they tend to feel expensive even when the price per piece doesn’t, but if I saw a decent discount I’d be sorely tempted. Up’s a great film, even if, or possibly especially because, it traumatises people who watch it in the opening minutes.
You know, it's a shame that Dan Squirrel (https://brickset.com/sets/list-53447) hasn't worked on any any Up sets.
@Huw said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"Whenever I read the term "beautiful plumage" in a review, it immediately makes me smile. :-) "
I like to slip it in at every opportunity :-)"
And this was a particularly appropriate place to slip it in, as Kevin *is* sort of nailed to her perch...
Excellent 2 GWPs. Where is the $60.00 set?