10331 Kingfisher Bird announced!
Posted by CapnRex101,
LEGO has announced another avian-inspired 18+ set, 10331 Kingfisher Bird!
The set contains 834 pieces and will be available on the 1st of February, costing £44.99, $49.99 or €49.99.
View more images after the break...
What do you think of 10331 Kingfisher Bird and do sets in this style appeal to you? Let us know in the comments. Additional images are available on the set details page.
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101 comments on this article
Nice! What element is the eye? Can't recognize it.
Wait look at the newish 2x2 upturned corner tiles in trans-clear in the water!
@DrGenie said:
"Nice! What element is the eye? Can't recognize it."
A minifig microphone piece in black, I'd assume.
@darthnorman said:
" @DrGenie said:
"Nice! What element is the eye? Can't recognize it."
A minifig microfone piece in black, I'd assume."
Mounted in a headlight brick. You are right. I can see it now.
But not labelled in the Fauna collection...
@DrGenie said:
"Nice! What element is the eye? Can't recognize it."
Could it be the microphone minifig piece?
This set looks really appealing. I'd definetly buy it.
The eye position looks a bit strange to me.
I was excited about this set when I saw a fuzzy leaked photo, but now it's clear I'm not so sure. I think the eye being in the wrong position really throws it off. Maybe it'll look better in person.
Don't think they've got the head or beak shape quite right, the 'cheeks' are far too flat, but its a decent compromise in design on this scale. Do rather like the concept and think they've done well with the body shape though.
I don't recall the Fisher King from Doctor Who having wings.
Wait a second...
I've been duped!
I've been hornswoggled!
I've been cheated!
This isn't Doctor Who related at all! THIS KING SITS ON A THRONE OF LIES!
;-P
Is this what the new orange was developed for? I love this set
Having missed the ideas birds (cuusoo) I'm glad to see a return to the natural world, in addition to the excellent bugs
I really want to like it, but the sides of the head look weird.
I love this, kingfishers are some of my favorite birds and I love the water effect. Great shaping overall, but I think the angle is a little strange, i'll have to see it in person.
This is disappointing, to say the least. When I first heard the rumours, I was pretty excited! The insect collection came out really well and I was hoping a bird would be just as successful…
And then I see this.
The colours used are… somewhat questionable. I can see where they’re coming from, but the real bird is definitely a lot brighter - I would’ve gone with dark azure and something like bright light orange, though maybe that’d be too bright. It’s times like this when I wish they hadn’t retired medium orange. The tan used for the feet is straight up wrong, they’re supposed to be bright orange.
And then there’s the head. My god, the head. It looks like a crude drawing translated into 3D. It’s a 4x4 block with tiny, goofy-looking eyes stuck on it. The eyes are so small and nowhere near where they should be positioned, and… I just can’t see how they got this wrong. Take a look at a picture of the real bird, then look back at this. I think it could’ve been salvageable if not for that atrocious head.
I really wanted to like this set but it could’ve been so much better. I’ll still take a look through the instructions when they’re released and see if I can put together a more accurate one, as the general body shape is still fairly good.
Oh, and nice to see CCBS is still kicking, somewhat. Those dark blue armour pieces on the tail will be super useful.
@N1majneb said:
"Is this what the new orange was developed for? I love this set
Having missed the ideas birds (cuusoo) I'm glad to see a return to the natural world, in addition to the excellent bugs
"
I suspect this was the initial prompt for the new orange
Not quite convinced. The head just looks wrong and the overall proportions also look off. The back looks just plain crude and unattractive. They should have built it up from multiple smaller parts instead of using the large wedge piece. Might pick this up for a good discount, but otherwise I'll most likely pass.
I love large scale Brick-built animals, (the Insect collection might be my favourite lego set of all time), so I'm happy to see this lil' guy. Hoping there's more on the way, and not just birds.
@fourstud said:
"Wait look at the newish 2x2 upturned corner tiles in trans-clear in the water!"
that's gonna be sooo awesome for MOCs!
I'm not quite convinced with the bird head shaping, but I love the price! I look forward to seeing more of these sets in the future. The water effects are well done as well.
Cool. Wish it had the crest though.
95% of this looks fantastic - the eye area will need some work, but it's Lego, so that shouldn't be difficult. Glad to see more sets like this though!
I've never seen a kingfisher in real life, but I did enjoy Kingfisher beer when I was in India.
@N1majneb said:
"Is this what the new orange was developed for? I love this set
Having missed the ideas birds (cuusoo) I'm glad to see a return to the natural world, in addition to the excellent bugs
"
This is dark orange, not reddish orange.
@N1majneb said:
"Is this what the new orange was developed for? I love this set
"
Looks like Dark Orange to me, not the new Reddish Orange.
@Zink said:
"I think I can speak for everyone: yuck!"
Think twice next time, because you don’t speak for everyone. I for one think it’s overall an attractive set despite a handful of flaws.
My wife has always loved birds and recently started becoming very interested in birdwatching. We talk about Kingfishers a lot, so I think I have my anniversary present dialed!
This looks amazing! My dad is a birdwatcher and I'm certain that he would LOVE this!
I’m afraid for me the survey needs another option: “No, it does interest me, but sadly I just don’t like the look of it”
Yass, fish on, you absolute king! Hand clap emoji!
Awesome set! I love those transparent Asian roof tile things, I'm already thinking of so many cool modern furniture applications...
I'm already curious about the poll/own/want statistics towards the end of the year.
I guess I am in the minority, but i think this looks beautiful. And the price per piece is great too!
The shaping and composition look great (aside from the head, yikes) but this looks in dire need of some colour swaps. Dark blue is going to look so much darker in person.
@ChocolateCrisps said:
"95% of this looks fantastic - the eye area will need some work, but it's Lego, so that shouldn't be difficult. Glad to see more sets like this though!"
I agree, seems like lowering the eye to be in line w the beak would resolve a lot of the head’s “wrong” feeling, and that seems do-able fairly readily
@DrGenie said:
"Nice! What element is the eye? Can't recognize it."
it's the microphone
Quite liked it at first glance, but one you spotted the flaws you just can't unsee them, Should be fixable though.
That said, things like these always make me wonder how apparently no one at Lego came to that conclusion before they released this.
IMHO needs more bright orange on the chest.
The single piece on the back ist disappointing considering that this would be a >>brick<<-built animal.
As others have said, the head doesn't look quite right. But in my mind, the first thing I noticed is the connection of the head to the body also doesn't look natural. And it's too smooth, like the huge wedge piece on the back.
It feels like it's trying to depict a bigger bird than it is.
It's one of those sets that's fun to review but have no use after. Not sure if I'm a fan of this new theme.
Absiltuely going to grab this—it's so refreshing! Remind me a lot of the IDEAS insect set, too. I hope this becomes series; I much prefer this approach to the one taken with the parrots.
Would love it but the eye position is so off it ruins the whole set for me. The theme choice is nice, though.
I will say, something about the head looks off to me
The problem with sets like these is that you’re targeting a special kind of fans. Fans of birds to be specific. And these bird fans are very much on the detail. So, if those details are not correct it irks them.
Good try though.
The coloring looks right to me but I agree the proportions are slightly off. The eye is slightly too small and too high on the head. Beak is a bit small in the vertical dimension but this depiction is pretty good within the Lego part inventory. The position of the feet is unrealistic for the midflight pose. The feet should be tucked back as the bird exits the water in flight. Kingfishers perch and do not float, nor to they catch fish with their talons. Here is a good photo of the bird in action in nearly the exact situation modeled: https://cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/irishnews/WDTC4GWDPZIKHKLLULL5HILPOQ.jpg
Also, FYI the modeled variety is the common kingfisher found throughout Europe and parts of Asia. The Belted Kingfisher is found in North America, along with the Ringed and Green varieties.
Looks lovely to me. I showed it to my mom, who loves birds and she likes it too. Sometimes people are too picky.
"Kingfisher Bird"? Why is all the news stating a Kingfisher Bird? Did the Lego announcement say that?
I mean, the box says Kingfisher. The thing's a kingfisher. There ain't no kingfisher amphibian. We're not calling the creator tiger a Tiger Mammal, are we?
It does interest me, but I don't really like it... Don't know what it is exactly, it is one of my favourite birds and I'm lucky to have seen quite a few of them, but this looks a bit off. I own 21301 and 910017 and for some reason they seem more appealing to me. Maybe it's the pose and the stand?
I don't see what's wrong with the head or the colours. I really like this and birds aren't usually something I like.
Can’t speak for the bird, but the cattails look wrong to me. I’ve never seen them with twisty stems like that. They grow straight, and bend gently with wind and the weight of the seed cluster. They don’t do the recurve thing.
@Murdoch17 said:
"I don't recall the Fisher King from Doctor Who having wings."
Robin Williams was never on Doctor Who, and that was hair on his back, not wings.
Yeh, I was looking forward to this.
I’ll be honest, I’m not sure I’ve ever been so disappointed in a set on its reveal. And the more I look at it, the worse it gets.
The idea is great but the result is pretty awful.
I never want to rag on a set, I’ll just stay quiet usually but this is so wrong in so many areas.
It’s just a very sad and sorry ‘No’ from me I’m afraid
I really don't like it.
You know it's a kingfisher because you know it is.
On itself it doesn't convey the idea though.
@DrGenie said:
"Nice! What element is the eye? Can't recognize it."
I think it's the minifigure microphone piece.
Nice looking build but I prefer seeing birds in the wild. At the right discount might buy it for a parts pack as there seem to be a lot of interesting parts.
@PurpleDave said:
"Can’t speak for the bird, but the cattails look wrong to me. I’ve never seen them with twisty stems like that. They grow straight, and bend gently with wind and the weight of the seed cluster. They don’t do the recurve thing.
@Murdoch17 said:
"I don't recall the Fisher King from Doctor Who having wings."
Robin Williams was never on Doctor Who, and that was hair on his back, not wings."
I can't tell if you're just continuing the joke so: The two episodes are 'Under the Lake' and 'Before the Flood' from the 12th Doctor's run. The Fisher King comes into the picture in the second one, but you don't know what's going on unless you watch the first part. ;-)
The 1st time I saw a picture of this, 'blue bird reading an orange book' was all that struck me!
Looks better having seen a few different angles, but I still need a few more pictures to be convinced.
@billydeewilliams said:
""Kingfisher Bird"? Why is all the news stating a Kingfisher Bird? Did the Lego announcement say that?
I mean, the box says Kingfisher. The thing's a kingfisher. There ain't no kingfisher amphibian. We're not calling the creator tiger a Tiger Mammal, are we?"
Kind of like the “Space Astronaut”. Yeah. As opposed to what exactly?
@billydeewilliams said:
""Kingfisher Bird"? Why is all the news stating a Kingfisher Bird? Did the Lego announcement say that?
I mean, the box says Kingfisher. The thing's a kingfisher. There ain't no kingfisher amphibian. We're not calling the creator tiger a Tiger Mammal, are we?"
I agree it sounds silly, but the official name on LEGO.com is 'Kingfisher Bird'.
@billydeewilliams said:
""Kingfisher Bird"? Why is all the news stating a Kingfisher Bird? Did the Lego announcement say that?
I mean, the box says Kingfisher. The thing's a kingfisher. There ain't no kingfisher amphibian. We're not calling the creator tiger a Tiger Mammal, are we?"
Well why would we call it a Tiger Mammal, when clearly it would be a Tiger Cat. Jeesh
They have managed to make one of the most vibrantly coloured birds look dull, bland and underwhelming.
Wow. That looks really bad.
Head shape could be less blocky. But, I like this, and will be getting it. The execution,
subject matter, pieces, and price all point towards purchase.
All the proportions look way off.
first glance i thought ooooh i like this.
then second glance i properly looked at the head and thought no it looks off. I doubt i could do that much better though...
I like it , but more as a parts pack rather then something I'd put on display for long.
The orange does look like Dark Orange, rather then the new color, sort of a missed opportunity. I mean, this is such an abstract model already, might as well have went for a brighter display of color.
On photos the bird might look more brown, but the orange in real life can be very vibrant.
Would be fun to see someone make a mecha-kingfisher out of this + 70351 : Clay's Falcon Fighter Blaster (Dark Blue, Azure and orange + bird just reminded me of that set)
That splash of water is fantastic!
I like that. Lots of nice Space parts in there!
@Murdoch17:
And The Fisher King was a movie. I haven’t seen it in a few years, but I think it’s the one where Robin Williams dives into a pool wearing nothing but his hair (I’ve seen that clip far more recently in a special about his life). It certainly would explain why it got an R rating.
Oddly enough, just on the wild chance he ever did appear, I did a search to make sure before I posted that he never had, and someone made an AI trailer with him as The Doctor. Someone else made what I’m assuming is a fake version of one of those fandom wikis that claims he played the Sixth Doctor in the 80’s. His character in The Fisher King was quite delusional, though, so I suppose it’s fitting.
@Bricklunch:
This definitely looks nothing like the Ruby-Peacocked Hummingparrot.
Not for me. My favourite bird but this just looks wrong to me. Pass.
Hm, I really wanted to like this. I love Kingfishers, the set comes out on my birthday, and the price isn't crazy. But that head really doesn't look right. Hopefully someone comes up with a good mod...I'll try my own hand in the meantime. The head build doesn't look that complicated. (Which might also mean that it is hard to improve without changing drastically.)
edit: oof, and the colors. Dark blue is acceptable, but dark orange? I thought that the subject might have been chosen as a showcase for the new vibrant orange color. Even the old shade of orange would have been okay though. Yeah, I'm going to say that they dropped the ball on this one. The shaping, proportions, and colors are all off. Cool pose and stand though, I guess?
I'm just waiting for a parrot, preferably a Norwegian Blue. Only if I did get him, he'd probably just be pining for the fjords...
So dark...
@PurpleDave said:
@Bricklunch:
This definitely looks nothing like the Ruby-Peacocked Hummingparrot.]]
Now that's an idea for Lego Ideas.
@TheOriginalSimonB said:
"But not labelled in the Fauna collection..."
LEGO® Icons
nice if these icon,flower,bird sets start turning into star wars ect marvel(sets come out)
I'm going go broke.
More birds sets are always welcome. Will pick this up for sure, but I see the issues people are bringing up. They tried for a very energetic pose, and I'm not sure it worked. I would like to see it in person before expressing anything directly negative about it. There has been a trend of photos not doing sets justice.
Anyone have an idea size-wise how this will compare to the Ideas birds?
Earlier today, I replied "maybe" to the poll, but now that I've watched the designer reveal video and seen the kingfisher up close from lots of different angles, it's a definite yes. It's a lovely set and congratulations to the designer for such good work!
@jrathage said:
" @Zink said:
"I think I can speak for everyone: yuck!"
Think twice next time, because you don’t speak for everyone. I for one think it’s overall an attractive set despite a handful of flaws."
Not the first time that user has assumed everyone here has the same tastes as theirs, when a cursory read of the comments before theirs would prove otherwise. See here: https://brickset.com/article/103128/next-ideas-set-revealed-early-by-retailer!
I like the look of this and always applaud LEGO developing more nature sets. Animals, plants, parks, nature scenes. All good stuff!
@TheOtherMike:
Alas, the Polaroid does not include a picture of the Kingfisher.
Probably about 10% of you would have noticed the eyes on your own and out of those maybe 10% would have been bothered enough to say something. Now that 1% has been loud everyone is now noticing "eye positioning". What's most entertaining is that many people who probably wouldn't have noticed the eyes on their own are now virulently against this set because they can't ignore something once barely noticeable; even to them. People are funny.
@RoboticJesus said:
"People are funny."
I can't help but find that comment funny, considering your username.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @RoboticJesus said:
"People are funny."
I can't help but find that comment funny, considering your username."
You'll find it even more funny once you see my 3,000 piece set that can walk on water and shoot projectile arrow lasers from its spring loaded eyes in the next Ideas qualifying sets post.
I’m a biologist by trade who has spent many a year with all sorts of birds, ranging from songbirds to cormorants to raptors. I can definitively say that kingfishers do not have microphones on the sides of their heads.
@yellowcastle said:
"I’m a biologist by trade who has spent many a year with all sorts of birds, ranging from songbirds to cormorants to raptors. I can definitively say that kingfishers do not have microphones on the sides of their heads."
Best comment yet.
As for the set itself, I like it on the whole, but like many I think the head looks strange. To me it's not just the eyes, which did indeed look totally wrong to me even before I read the first comment, but somehow the whole shape seems off. Plus that back with just that one simple plate also needs improvement.
The good thing is, it's brick built, it can be changed. Plus the rest of the set looks great imho, so at the right discount this will definitely find a way to me.
@yellowcastle said:
"I’m a biologist by trade who has spent many a year with all sorts of birds, ranging from songbirds to cormorants to raptors. I can definitively say that kingfishers do not have microphones on the sides of their heads."
Maybe they did that to please the "Birds aren't real" people? Or, crazy as it may seem, it seemed like a neat part usage at the time so they ran with it. But that wouldn't be logical, so it must be the former reason...
I want to like this but it just looks odd. Like others have mentioned, the head doesn't look right and I really don't like how the wings look like they are attached to the belly and not the "shoulders". The wings and the belly, especially in the first photo, just create this strange solid U-shape and it just looks weird. Definitely a miss for me.
Agree with a lot of comments here. It should be my dream set, but it just looks totally wrong.
It seems to form continuous curve across the wings and the chest, which is just all wrong. The panel on the back looks too simple a shape. And the spread feathers shouldn't be all spiked and lumpy at the ends - on the real bird they would still be overlapping. And I've no idea why there's another colour in there. And the feet are the wrong colour and the eye is in completely the wrong place.
I might buy it for the setting and to see if anything can be done better with the parts. But as it is, it's nowhere near the standard of other LEGO bird sets. It's pretty ugly.
All hail the King.
@DrGenie said:
"Nice! What element is the eye? Can't recognize it."
I think it's a microphone!
@DrGenie said:
"Nice! What element is the eye? Can't recognize it."
Looks like a black minifigure microphone piece in a reversed headlight brick to me.
I think its a clever build. There is not much holding it up in that position. I like that they decided to go for such a pose, having the Kingfisher just ascending out of the water doing what it does best.
at first glance I went wow got to have it.... then I looked again and the head is just so weird.
Why didnt they start with the head, get that right and let that set the scale for the rest of the bird.
somehow for a smaller set this rebrickable one looks a lot better
https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-123324/SKABRAM/kingfisher/details
@DrGenie said:
"Nice! What element is the eye? Can't recognize it."
According to a biologist…it’s a microphone.
I think this is striking. beautiful contrasting colors, dynamic, eye-catching pose, stunningly good ppp ratio... this is a winner in my book. Definitely going on my wish list.
You can tell how often people post without reading very many of the comments by how often @DrGenie's question has been answered.
Has anyone already noticed that creative use of a microphone?
@TheOtherMike said:
"You can tell how often people post without reading very many of the comments by how often @DrGenie's question has been answered."
Yes, very interesting. Still we have high agreement between the different responders. ;-)
@WizardOfOss said:
"Has anyone already noticed that creative use of a microphone?"
If anyone has a picture of a microphone with little kingfishers on each side, now would be the time.
The colors are perfect for a Belted Kingfisher, and IMO the head would be much better too. Not, I think, a difficult conversion as most of it would involve swapping orange pieces for white. I love this set--such a feeling of movement and drama!
(Of course the fish could be slightly larger too--but it's Lego. None of this is a deal breaker!
I really like this set. And I'd rather have it with all it's imperfections than a perfect rendition with way to many highly specialised parts.
I think it's lovely. So what if it isn't perfect? What, built of Lego, could be? No one complains about the weird hand shape of the minifigs or the funky holes in their feet because we all understand that compromises have to be made. They didn't have the perfect pieces to make the eyes in the right place or the feet the correct color, but they did catch the spirit of the kingfisher in flight.
I'll get one, probably sooner rather than later as soon as it's available.
It looks intresting