Review: 31386 Majestic Lion, part one
Posted by Huw,
Creator 3-in-1 animals are among the best sets released in recent years, offering great-looking models, unrivalled creativity, and excellent value for money.
This year there seems to be more of them than ever, including 31386 Wild Animals: Majestic Lion, one of three that have just been released.
Unusually, all three models are variations of the same species of animal, in this case lions, of course.
I suspect that the first thing you wondered when the set was revealed was whether its rear end is anatomically accurate, or whether certain features are missing...
Summary
31386 Wild Animals: Majestic Lion, 839 pieces.
£59.99 / $69.99 / €64.99 | 7.2p, 8.3c, 7.7c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
An exceptional Creator 3-in-1 set, all three models are excellent
- Lion's articulation permits multiple poses
- Head and mane are superb
- Certain anatomical details missing
- You'll want to buy three copies to get a whole family
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Construction
The parts can be used to build a male lion, a lioness, or two cubs. Parts are in numbered bags, as usual, and they are opened in sequence when building the main model of the male lion. If you want to build one of the other models before building the lion, you'll need to open them all at once.
There's not a lot to say about the construction of the lion, but it's interesting to see pieces buried inside the body that don't need to be there but which are required for the alternate models: ball joints and so on.
Note the heart tile in the centre!
The mane and the beast's head are very cleverly designed, with the head held at an angle within the mane using small ball joints.
The completed model
The lion and the rocky outcrop it stands upon incorporate all of the set's 839 pieces. It's about 30cm nose to tail and the king of the jungle looks very fearsome with his mouth open!
His body incorporates a fair amount of articulation: the head can be rotated and tilted, although not by much, all four hips can be rotated, and the knees of the hind legs are hinged. Plus, the tail can be swooshed!
Like the body, the outcrop has a lot of pieces hidden away inside that don't need to be there but which are needed for the other models.
Unfortunately, as you can see in the photo below, the rear end is not as anatomically accurate as that on 31129 Majestic Tiger.
I particularly like that it can be posed in a crouching/laying position: the hip joints and the surrounding areas of the body have been designed with this in mind, which is why it looks slightly gappy in front of the hind legs when standing up. I think that's a fair trade-off in order to be able to pose it like this, though.
Alternate models
I was so impressed with the lion that I went to my local LEGO store on the 2nd June in order to buy a second copy of the set so I could build the lioness without taking the male apart.
Unfortunately, it had either sold out or not received stock yet, and I've not had a chance to go back since. I'll get one when I can and show the two together. In the meantime, you'll have to make do with the stock photos of the female feline and her cubs. Both models look to be as good as the main one.
Verdict
I have a fondness for these large-scale Creator animals and this is undoubtedly one of the best. The lion is excellent, especially its mane and head, which is the hardest part of any animal to get right, and the lioness looks as if it's equally good. I am sure the whole family of big cats together will look spectacular. Hopefully I'll soon be able to find out.
The 839-piece set is priced at £59.99, $69.99, €64.99, so as is always the case with Creator sets, it's good value for money, without licencing and minifigs to inflate the cost. Plus, being a regular retail set it'll be reduced at Amazon before long, I am sure.
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40 comments on this article
The 3-in-1 sets have been on a really good run lately of needing to buy 3 sets for all the alternate models.
It will certainly look good when the whole family comes togather. And I must say, I don't need them to look "anatomically accurate" to the extreme, if you know what I mean...
There are many things on this earth at the moment that I simply wouldn't have believed if you told me about them five years ago.
The Lego big cat butthole running gag is one of the most important.
Excellent realistic model... Waiting for a nice offer to justify buying 2 (or maybe 3!)
I do love these big brick-built Creator animals—how does this compare size-wise to the tiger? Are they roughly equivalent scale?
Stop making me look at feline buttholes, Brickset!
Aaron Newman’s excellent designs of animal anatomy were enough to make me buy his Iron Man figure, and I will continue to collect his 3-in-1 sets as long as he keeps them coming. Truly a wonderful addition to the LEGO model design team!
Recolored into gray/dark gray this would be a nice statue for a massive temple or a public library :D
@benbacardi said:
"I do love these big brick-built Creator animals—how does this compare size-wise to the tiger? Are they roughly equivalent scale?"
I recently disassembled the tiger but I think the lion is a bit smaller.
This set is awesome! I guess not many pieces are left with alternative models, so it's truly 3in1. Amazing job from designers.
Great review!
@Huw Could You take a few photos of animals from Creator 3in1 together? Sets which you have. Maybe make separate post for it? Would be great to see how they look together. I mean those bigger and wild ones like Pandas, Giraffe, Tiger, Lion, Rhino, Red fox, Wolf, etc
Release the butt cut, LEGO
Why part one?
@FARLANDER said:
"Why part one?"
as he said, he will do another article once he gets more.
The head looks great from the front but less so from the side or back, it's too flat, transition to the body could be smoother. Maybe this is to allow for the head to be posed but still.
Also, I'm not convinced about the cubs: their heads look too bear-ish to me.
@1947andallthat said:
"There are many things on this earth at the moment that I simply wouldn't have believed if you told me about them five years ago.
The Lego big cat butthole running gag is one of the most important."
Look, I'm outing myself as a member of the LGTBQ mafia with this reply, but LEGO releasing THIS SET at the start of Pride Month minus certain aspects of anatomy is downright homophobic. (TONE: Not serious, complete joke)
Even better lion build that the B-model in 31150!
I love how the butthole tiger still gets referenced.
On a related note, I had to explain the butthole tiger to my boss at work last week.
It looks magnificent!
I don't really see 65 euro here though. It just seems too small to me. It's probably stuff full of parts (many for detailing no doubt) but at that price I just expect a larger model.
Disappointed there was no mention of 2005's 4884 Wild Hunters. It felt like it was one of the three great animal Creator sets, following 2004's 4506 Deep Sea Predators and 4507 Prehistoric Creatures, both of which have had modern sets that felt like spiritual remakes of them ( 31088 Deep Sea Creatures & 31381 Fierce Shark with Treasure Chest and 31151 T. Rex for main model, 31379 Fierce Dinosaur for color colors, and debatably the brick built Jurassic Park T. rex models.)
It's nice to see this one finally get a modern and more realistic take on it.
@Huw said:
" @benbacardi said:
"I do love these big brick-built Creator animals—how does this compare size-wise to the tiger? Are they roughly equivalent scale?"
I recently disassembled the tiger but I think the lion is a bit smaller."
Which sounds about right as tigers are generally larger than lions.
@Iguanaboy said:
"I love how the butthole tiger still gets referenced.
On a related note, I had to explain the butthole tiger to my boss at work last week."
Ha ha, why?
@darthnorman said:
"Recolored into gray/dark gray this would be a nice statue for a massive temple or a public library :D"
It could even look more natural, because the ball joints are already gray.
@Iguanaboy said:
"I love how the butthole tiger still gets referenced.
On a related note, I had to explain the butthole tiger to my boss at work last week."
"Butthole Tiger" sounds like a great name for a Punk Rock band!!
Swooshability of the tail?
Excellent :o)
Is all three models being so good that you’ll want to get multiple copies to have them built simultaneously really a con though? Seems like the set did its job of providing 3 appealing alt builds.
"Head and mane are superb"
Lol what?
The fact that the manes look soo bad is what makes me NOT buy this set.
It is a disk around the head, come on, that's not how manes look....and the back especially looks horribly bad!
@Okay said:
"Is all three models being so good that you’ll want to get multiple copies to have them built simultaneously really a con though? Seems like the set did its job of providing 3 appealing alt builds. "
I can see why some people would consider it a con but I think it should also be a pro.
"The Lion doesn't concern himself with a Brickset review"
The 3-in-1 Creator models are some of the very few things that keep me interested in current LEGO sets at all.
Most of the rest has me questioning the hobby, at least as far as the "leading brand" is concerned.
@BelgianBricker said:
""Head and mane are superb"
Lol what?
The fact that the manes look soo bad is what makes me NOT buy this set.
It is a disk around the head, come on, that's not how manes look....and the back especially looks horribly bad!"
I have to agree here...
The manes look superb when viewed from the front, but from the side and back: yikes, they don't look natural or realistic at all! And yes, I get that truly realistic manes are hard to achieve at this scale, would bump up the piece count and that compromises are necessary for the articulation of the head, but still: appearance does matter in this case.
Very well done alternate models, though!
Nice set, nice review thank you. Just to nick pick: lions don't live in the jungle, but in the savannah. So they are king of the savannah.
@Blockwork_Orange said:
" @Iguanaboy said:
"I love how the butthole tiger still gets referenced.
On a related note, I had to explain the butthole tiger to my boss at work last week."
"Butthole Tiger" sounds like a great name for a Punk Rock band!!"
https://xkcd.com/1025/
@Brick_t_ said:
"Nice set, nice review thank you. Just to nick pick: lions don't live in the jungle, but in the savannah. So they are king of the savannah. "
I know but
"The lion is universally renowned as the "king of the jungle," a title born from their commanding presence and apex predator status. Ironically, lions primarily inhabit grasslands and savannas, not dense jungles. The term traces back to the Sanskrit word jangala, meaning arid, uninhabited wilderness"
Reminds me of set 4884 Wild Animals from 20 years ago when it was probably the best set to collect for the tanned slope pieces. Today, it’s the Golden Retriever. Haha.
@AustinPowers said:
"The 3-in-1 Creator models are some of the very few things that keep me interested in current LEGO sets at all.
Most of the rest has me questioning the hobby, at least as far as the "leading brand" is concerned. "
Like many of the regular readers on Brickset, we wonder “why you are here, if you dislike LEGO so much”!?!?!…..
@BelgianBricker said:
""Head and mane are superb"
Lol what?
The fact that the manes look soo bad is what makes me NOT buy this set.
It is a disk around the head, come on, that's not how manes look....and the back especially looks horribly bad!"
Facepalm!
I’d like to see you do better!….
I think it looks fantastic from the front.
It’s a Creator 3-in-1 model, NOT a $500 Icons set …. Some comprises from certain angles are expected!
@lemish34 said:
" @AustinPowers said:
"The 3-in-1 Creator models are some of the very few things that keep me interested in current LEGO sets at all.
Most of the rest has me questioning the hobby, at least as far as the "leading brand" is concerned. "
Like many of the regular readers on Brickset, we wonder “why you are here, if you dislike LEGO so much”!?!?!….."
There is a clear distinction to be made between
a) LEGO and Brickset
and
b) LEGO (the current company, it's policies, products, quality and other issues) and
LEGO (the historic company that provided me with endless hours of joy and happiness in my childhood, youth, and several years after the end of my Dark ages)
Brickset is my main resource for managing my collection of sets from a timespan of almost fifty years. I highly appreciate what @Huw and his team are offering.
I also love to read the reviews. I don't have to love each and every product.
Yes, I do very much dislike what has become of the company. How they have given up on their former edict of "only the best is good enough" and replaced it with "only what makes us the most money for the least effort is good enough". I truly hate the current management for that. I hate how they have butchered themes I used to cherish beyond recognition, particularly Technic, which was my favourite theme for decades.
I also hate the overabundance of and overreliance on licensed sets. When I was a kid the only licenses LEGO had were Shell and Maersk, and of the latter you didn't even know as a normal customer because the few associated sets were not available to the general public anyway.
Everything else was original and neutral themes with no story lines or preconceived worlds. Everything was up to your own imagination.
There was also no electronics apart from the trains and a couple of lights in certain sets of the Basic line.
But the nice thing is that Brickset is awesome whether you are into current sets or into sets from the that past that I so used to love.
So why am I here? That's why.
I am not here because of the current lineup of sets but in spite of.
As a matter of fact I have stopped buying current LEGO products almost entirely.
For current brick related products I mostly just buy awesome sets from better manufacturers like Pantasy, Mattel Brick Shop, Lumibricks, CaDa, Cobi, Kiddicraft, BlueBrixx or Mould King, to name but a few of the best.
But I do still also buy plenty of LEGO sets - used ones that is.
As I have mentioned several times over the past few years, I have started to track down many of the sets that I would have loved to get as a kid/teen but never got.
Thanks to Ebay, Bricklink etc. it is now easier than ever to fill those gaps in my collection.
And I can't stress enough how satisfying it always feels to make a bargain and find as new copies of classics, like when I got 6990, 6952, 8868, 8862 and so on. Even better when they sometimes turn out to include their original boxes in almost as new condition.
All in all, I love LEGO (and consequently Brickset). Just not the LEGO of today.
@sparkbears said:
" @Iguanaboy said:
"I love how the butthole tiger still gets referenced.
On a related note, I had to explain the butthole tiger to my boss at work last week."
Ha ha, why?"
There was a can of iced tea in the staff room. The tea had “juicy and delicious” written under the illustration of a tiger, specifically where its butt was. I pointed it out and joked that it was the “butthole tiger” all over again. I forgot that my boss was not as familiar with LEGO as my friend group is. Resulting, she was rather confused so I had to explain (with pictures) what the “butthole tiger” was with context to my near-retirement-age boss.
@Iguanaboy said:
" @sparkbears said:
" @Iguanaboy said:
"I love how the butthole tiger still gets referenced.
On a related note, I had to explain the butthole tiger to my boss at work last week."
Ha ha, why?"
There was a can of iced tea in the staff room. The tea had “juicy and delicious” written under the illustration of a tiger, specifically where its butt was. I pointed it out and joked that it was the “butthole tiger” all over again. I forgot that my boss was not as familiar with LEGO as my friend group is. Resulting, she was rather confused so I had to explain (with pictures) what the “butthole tiger” was with context to my near-retirement-age boss."
I forgot to add that the comparison stemmed from both being inclusions that unintentionally called attention to the butt of the tiger.
If that's what you fancy, just place a 1x2 jumper plate (plus optional pink flower) on the rear and voila, you have yourself a bumhole Lion! ;)