Review: 31156 Tropical Ukulele
Posted by benbacardi,
Continuing our reviews of the upcoming Creator 3-in-1 sets, we're taking a look at 31156 Tropical Ukulele. One of the mid-sized sets in the wave with 387 pieces, we can build either a surfboard or a small dolphin diorama as an alternative to the titular ukulele.
The overall colour scheme is very similar to that of 31148 Retro Roller Skate, which we recently reviewed, with an abundance of light aqua parts, some of which are new to the shade.
Summary
31156 Tropical Ukulele, 387 pieces.
£24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99 | 6.5p/7.7c/7.7c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
An excellent main model in a lovely colour scheme, but the set lets down the 3-in-1 promise with the lacklustre alternative models.
- Excellent ukulele
- Fun colours
- Looks great on display
- Dull alternative models
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Ukulele
Despite being a fairly small set, there are two numbered bags inside (the new paper style, like the rest of the new year's Creator releases). An instruction manual is provided for each model, and the largest primary design is the ukulele.
It comes together quickly, and stands at around 24cm tall. Ukuleles are traditionally available in many different colours beyond the standard browns, and the model looks great in the aqua chosen by the designers. I particularly like the contrast with the fretboard, and the slight gaps that are left when placing tiles adjacent to each other creates a great representation of the frets.
The model feels excellent in the hand, too; solidly built and a nice size.
Four plastic strings connect to the saddle on the body of the instrument, and at the head. When I first attached them they were quite loose, but they're held under tension once you snap the head of the ukulele backwards slightly on its click hinges, which is accurate to some ukulele designs, although not all. It's a slight shame that they all terminate at the same place on the ukulele's head, as they ought to run to each of the tuning pegs, but that really is a very minor complaint!
The tuning pegs themselves look excellent, even from the rear, and are very simply made. The back of the model is the most unsightly, with plenty of visible anti-studs, but that is to be expected.
The neck and central part of the body are build studs-upwards, with the two identical sides attached using SNOT bricks incorporated into the body. It's simple and effective, leaving no exposed studs on the exterior of the ukulele. I particularly like the use of wheel arches to create the sound hole, and the surrounding body is cleverly constructed to leave no unsightly gaps around the hole.
Moving on from the ukulele, a small sand base is built, complete with a pair of tropical flowers. The base is built sideways, leaving just two studs on the front visible. A brick with a technic pen protruding upwards provides a way to attach the ukulele, using the corresponding hole in the bottom of the instrument.
Finally, a third flower is provided to be attached to the rear of the ukulele where the neck joins the body, and completes the tropical display. There's also another large leaf that's meant to be attached to the yellow flower, but it fell off while I was moving the model for photography and I didn't notice until I had already packed up. The flower can be angled to peek over the body of the instrument, and the overall look of the model is quite tropical and pleasing indeed.
Surfboard
The second model is rather disappointing—a very basic surfboard, on a sandy base finished with a couple of small flowers and a radio. The radio is my favourite part, and looks good for the small scale, but the surfboard itself is very dull.
It's not attached to the base at all, but rather slots into a hole that holds it upright, although not very steadily.
Like the ukulele, but on a much smaller scale, the surfboard is built with two identical studs-sideways halves attached to a central SNOT column.
Dolphin
The third model is a small diorama of a dolphin leaping out of the surf next to a small beach. The transparent pieces holding the dolphin aloft were hidden inside the main body of the ukulele, and are used to good effect here to lift the aquatic mammal from the base.
The beach houses a small palm tree and pink flower, and a shell with a pearl inside. The shell can be opened and partially closed, which LEGO optimistically calls "packed with features" in its description, along with the ability to remove the surfboard from its stand! The dolphin itself is also somewhat odd looking, managing to look both blocky and chunky rather than elegant and graceful as the creatures are known to be.
Conclusion
I love the ukulele. The colours are great, and although the model is a little squat in comparison to the proportions of a real thing, it looks fantastic. When displayed on the stand, it feels very tropical surrounded by the colourful flowers, and I would happily have this on a shelf or sideboard somewhere around the house.
The alternative models, however, are pretty poor, and it really feels like LEGO came up with the original ukulele idea and struggled to think of anything to pair it with. Perhaps they could have done more justice with more parts, but the surfboard particularly feels uninspired. The secondary models are rarely as good as the primary models, but they are the big selling point of the 3-in-1 range and I am disappointed here.
However, the set is worth it for the ukulele alone, and perfect for anybody who plays (or even those who don't!). I would love to build a few in different colours to have on display together. Perhaps LEGO will do what they did with 10271 Fiat 500 and 31136 Exotic Parrot, and re-release it in an alternative colour scheme at a later date!
31156 Tropical Ukulele will be available on LEGO.com from the 1st of January for £24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99.
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36 comments on this article
Beautiful colors.
This could make a great companion to my VIDIYO sets, but I do think these 3-in-1 sets can strain credulity a bit sometimes.
I'm not a fan of this trend of using a mass of same-color SNOT tiles to make a big, blocky shape. Sets like this, the new parrots, etc....the final builds look very boring and un-lego like.
My local Walmart had a ton of 2024 sets early (I don't remember if this was one of them), and me and my brother were so stoked. But all that quickly faded when we tried to purchase 31149 as a Christmas gift for our neighbor and the barcode wouldn't scan.
An employee came up to us and explained that all the 2024 LEGO sets were on recall because they weren't supposed to be released yet.
Such a shame.
Absolutely love this! Definitely needs to be built to the sounds of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's Somewhere Over the Rainbow!
It's a cute model, I'd be tempted to buy one to display on a shelf in my beach house, if not for the fact my crippling Lego addiction is just one of the many reasons why I'll never have a beach house.
I just love all the features packed into that shell
I'm completely indifferent towards the guitar but I absolutely want the flowers as (part of) a tropical-themed botanical collection set.
@AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
"My local Walmart had a ton of 2024 sets early (I don't remember if this was one of them), and me and my brother were so stoked. But all that quickly faded when we tried to purchase 31149 as a Christmas gift for our neighbor and the barcode wouldn't scan.
An employee came up to us and explained that all the 2024 LEGO sets were on recall because they weren't supposed to be released yet.
Such a shame. "
Ran into that Thursday morning when I tried to get 31149. Was able to get 42168 & 60405 the night before at a different Walmart.
I want this set for the scallop shells. Might be able to use all the aqua bricks to make Lilo's house so the palm leaves will come in handy too.
@AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
"My local Walmart had a ton of 2024 sets early (I don't remember if this was one of them), and me and my brother were so stoked. But all that quickly faded when we tried to purchase 31149 as a Christmas gift for our neighbor and the barcode wouldn't scan.
An employee came up to us and explained that all the 2024 LEGO sets were on recall because they weren't supposed to be released yet.
Such a shame. "
Happened to me with 76278 Rocket's Warbird vs. Ronan. Walmart really needs to get their sh** together.
@560heliport said:
" @AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
"My local Walmart had a ton of 2024 sets early (I don't remember if this was one of them), and me and my brother were so stoked. But all that quickly faded when we tried to purchase 31149 as a Christmas gift for our neighbor and the barcode wouldn't scan.
An employee came up to us and explained that all the 2024 LEGO sets were on recall because they weren't supposed to be released yet.
Such a shame. "
Happened to me with 76278 Rocket's Warbird vs. Ronan. Walmart really needs to get their sh** together."
To be fair, Toys R Us did it all the time. Kohls typically does it too, but usually only a day or two ahead.
I like the ukulele, but not the alternative designs. I did wonder what the surfboard was at first, it looked like a healing crystal.
I think the colour is lovely and the flowers.
The dolphin's not too bad, especially if you think of it as a stylized sculpture not meant to be realistic. The various tropical flowers would make a good addition to a bouquet of other Lego blossoms. Converting the surfboard into a healing crystal isn't a bad idea at all, @daniellesa !
The price seems very reasonable, so this set might be useful for making a low GWP threshhold. At any rate I'm more likely to buy this than the rollerskate, since I'm not really into footwear!
I quite like the ukelele and how it is displayed, but not enough to spend €30 on. The side builds are utterly disappointing though, this is a 3-in-1 set in name only.
Interesting, in Canada (at least, in my god forsaken area) the Walmart employees can barely put anything on the shelves and in the US they put stuff ahead of time... (I think they still blame it on the covid-19 and the pandemic)
I'm not sure if I like ukelele music enough to display the instrument in my home, but it sure looks lovely as a LEGO model.
@sjr60 said:
"Absolutely love this! Definitely needs to be built to the sounds of Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's Somewhere Over the Rainbow!"
Or Tiny Tim’s Tiptoe Through The Tulips.
@AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
"My local Walmart had a ton of 2024 sets early (I don't remember if this was one of them), and me and my brother were so stoked. But all that quickly faded when we tried to purchase 31149 as a Christmas gift for our neighbor and the barcode wouldn't scan.
An employee came up to us and explained that all the 2024 LEGO sets were on recall because they weren't supposed to be released yet.
Such a shame. "
You might want to try Target. I just bought four 2024 sets this morning, eight days ahead of their release: 40725 Cherry Blossoms, 31149 Flowers in Watering Can, 31152 Space Astronaut, and 76963 Baby Dinosaur Rescue Center.
I also saw a shelf full of 76281 X-Men X-Jet and a few more piled up by a self-scanning tablet. Evidently some prospective buyers of the X-Men X-Jet balked when they saw the retail price of $84.99.
Saw several other 2024 releases on the Target shelves, mostly of the Creator 3–in-1 and new City Space line.
I tried to get 21345 Polaroid One-Step SX-70 Camera but that one was strictly not purchase-able until 1/1/24, as the cashier discovered when ringing it up.
As usual The Lego Group has followed its new company policy of never using realistic colours under any circumstance. Nougat/light nougat to represent the wood of a ukulele? Naahh, dental 'mint' please....
Ukulele cannot be played, 0/10, would not buy. Just kidding, I actually want this one.
I personally don't mind the alternative builds. I've always seen the point of 3-in-1 as a lesson or reminder that there can be more to a LEGO set than just what's on the front of the box. 3-in-1 shows a similar philosophy to the old "back of the box" builds, including the varying quality of the alt builds.
Not every set is meant for us AFOLs, obviously, but at times I think there's still something valuable to be (re)learned from them.
I think the best take away from this theme is: Creativity doesn't require perfection.
Sorry to get a bit preachy there, but it's something of an important topic to me.
Makes me think of Elvis for some reason, but I don't think he ever played a ukulele. I'm not much of an Elvis fan (I'm more a Beatles guy), so I could be wrong.
@Brickchap said:
"As usual The Lego Group has followed its new company policy of never using realistic colours under any circumstance. Nougat/light nougat to represent the wood of a ukulele? Naahh, dental 'mint' please...."
Ukuleles are very commonly found painted in bright or pastel colours.
@TheOtherMike said:
"Ukulele cannot be played, 0/10, would not buy. Just kidding, I actually want this one."
I'm actually tempted to try to build functional machine heads for this to tune it. Doubt it will work, but it still looks nice! I will probably display this alongside the Stratocaster; the aqua will contrast very nicely with the red.
@Brickchap said:
"As usual The Lego Group has followed its new company policy of never using realistic colours under any circumstance. Nougat/light nougat to represent the wood of a ukulele? Naahh, dental 'mint' please...."
Here I am loving when Lego does things in unusual colors. The Vespa, Natural History Museum, Boutique Hotel, are a few of my favorite examples of unconventional color usage. The Retro Roller Skate's with their pink wheels look great.
@cflyg said:
" @AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
"My local Walmart had a ton of 2024 sets early (I don't remember if this was one of them), and me and my brother were so stoked. But all that quickly faded when we tried to purchase 31149 as a Christmas gift for our neighbor and the barcode wouldn't scan.
An employee came up to us and explained that all the 2024 LEGO sets were on recall because they weren't supposed to be released yet.
Such a shame. "
You might want to try Target. I just bought four 2024 sets this morning, eight days ahead of their release: 40725 Cherry Blossoms, 31149 Flowers in Watering Can, 31152 Space Astronaut, and 76963 Baby Dinosaur Rescue Center.
I also saw a shelf full of 76281 X-Men X-Jet and a few more piled up by a self-scanning tablet. Evidently some prospective buyers of the X-Men X-Jet balked when they saw the retail price of $84.99.
Saw several other 2024 releases on the Target shelves, mostly of the Creator 3–in-1 and new City Space line.
I tried to get 21345 Polaroid One-Step SX-70 Camera but that one was strictly not purchase-able until 1/1/24, as the cashier discovered when ringing it up."
I just got 76278 Rocket's Warbird vs. Ronan at my Target. ??
@benbacardi said:
" @Brickchap said:
"As usual The Lego Group has followed its new company policy of never using realistic colours under any circumstance. Nougat/light nougat to represent the wood of a ukulele? Naahh, dental 'mint' please...."
Ukuleles are very commonly found painted in bright or pastel colours.
"
I am aware of that, but a more regular colour would have been preferable.
@curtydc
Those are all terrible. Now, if Lego made them in regular colours but also allowed for them to be in less common ones, that would be better.
@Murdoch17 said:
"Makes me think of Elvis for some reason, but I don't think he ever played a ukulele. I'm not much of an Elvis fan (I'm more a Beatles guy), so I could be wrong."
Spot on. It's very Elvis..... Blue Hawaii.
@Brickchap said:
" @benbacardi said:
" @Brickchap said:
"As usual The Lego Group has followed its new company policy of never using realistic colours under any circumstance. Nougat/light nougat to represent the wood of a ukulele? Naahh, dental 'mint' please...."
Ukuleles are very commonly found painted in bright or pastel colours.
"
I am aware of that, but a more regular colour would have been preferable. "
A more regular colour might have been preferable for when I'm cleaning windows, but for a TROPICAL Ukulele this is perfect!
I was not aware of this set so I’m grateful for the review. The ukulele looks awesome in aqua, actually my daughter has one in the exact same color. I don’t find the surfboard dull either, I mean real boards look pretty basic and I can’t see how Lego could’ve made it any more realistic - anyway I love the vibe!
That's disappointing; from some of the promotional images, I was excited for the dolphin display, but it is a little too lackluster. Glad the ukulele holds up.
Where are the beach houses?
I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts...
Nice color pack. The uke is cool.
The surfboard looks like a memorial to dead surfers. ;p
@Brickchap said:
" @benbacardi said:
" @Brickchap said:
"As usual The Lego Group has followed its new company policy of never using realistic colours under any circumstance. Nougat/light nougat to represent the wood of a ukulele? Naahh, dental 'mint' please...."
Ukuleles are very commonly found painted in bright or pastel colours.
"
I am aware of that, but a more regular colour would have been preferable.
@curtydc
Those are all terrible. Now, if Lego made them in regular colours but also allowed for them to be in less common ones, that would be better. "
Ah yes, the PANTONE-000 Regular Colors™?. It was strictly forbidden by Danish Royal Decree No. 3672 in 2018 to produce “plastic pläy-elements in such impure and irregular colors as aqua, crumble-brown, ultralight very light dark grey, trans-neon, etc etc...”
I will inevitably die on the hill that part 75347pat0001 is a gift from the Lord himself, however.
wonder how this will look with the Stitch figure that's been announced, 43249 !