Review: LEGO Ideas 21338 A-Frame Cabin

Today we take a quick tour of the content of the LEGO Ideas set 21338 A-Frame Cabin, a box of 2082 pieces which will be available at the retail price of €179.99 as a VIP preview from February 1, 2023.

This new product from the LEGO Ideas range, freely inspired by the creation A-Frame Cabin submitted by Andrea Lattanzio (Norton74), is at first sight rather respectful of the work of the fan designer, but as often with LEGO everything is played on the details and the manufacturer does not deprive himself of some shortcuts and other savings.

Before going into detail, it must be admitted that the assembly experience of this product is quite interesting. It comes close to what the best offer Modulars with an intelligent alternation between the most repetitive sequences and those which allow you to vary the pleasures a little by focusing on the interior fittings.

The result is a modular product with different removable structural elements that allow easy access to interior spaces. the 2000 pieces are there, the construction using many small elements including a slew of Tiles which dresses the walls and the roof of the chalet.

The theme of the wooden cabin lost in the middle of the forest is therefore generally respected, but LEGO gets rid of the original context which featured a somewhat dilapidated construction populated by trappers and flanked by deer antlers above the entrance door. entrance to make it a second family residence with a "cleaner" appearance. Too bad for the atmosphere "RMC Découverte" which goes a little by the wayside, the official version of the product loses in my opinion a little of its cachet.

You don't have to be a keen observer to see that LEGO has also reduced the density of the surrounding vegetation. The bushy pines, and probably a little too fragile, of the initial project give way here to trunks with sparser foliage. It's a bit of a shame, we go from a slightly more austere forest context to a Disney atmosphere with its birds, butterflies and leaves in shimmering colors. This aesthetic choice will undoubtedly appeal to many fans, you have to know how to please the majority of potential customers. A family space, the cabin is equipped with everything you need to spend a long weekend there without depriving yourself of the amenities available in any modern home.

The various fittings are convincing and largely of the level of what one finds in a Structure and it is the rustic nature of the premises that limits the level of detail of certain equipment here, particularly in the kitchen. The shower installed at the back of the hut is nicely executed with its showerhead, tap, soap and towel. We can possibly see in the white door a roll of toilet paper, the presence of the shovel hanging right next to it also goes in this direction...

The hut being in the shape of an A, the floor logically offers a very limited space which simply allows you to pile up a bed and some furniture. the designer has not spared a staircase that allows you to navigate between the levels, it is appreciable.

The two roof sections are well designed, they are thick and sufficiently reinforced not to deform. It is possible to remove them and reinstall them easily, they are not fixed to the framework of the premises, but there remains an implausible ridge with a channel that would have deserved to be covered with a gutter. LEGO has logically chosen to play only on the alternation of the different lengths of Tiles and their positioning more or less set back from the treated surface to create a texture with a wood effect, impossible on an official product to leave a few pieces half sunken to reinforce the dilapidated effect. As a result, it's very smooth and a little too clean not to evoke a well-maintained Center Parcs chalet. No shutters on the roof windows and these are fixed.

The two islands of vegetation to be built can be attached to the main building or grouped together to obtain an independent display element. Why not, the possibilities that arise from this choice are interesting, I am thinking in particular of those who want to integrate the chalet into a diorama without necessarily wanting to encumber themselves with the trees provided or of those who would like to have fun reaching this small island by canoe .

The most observant will have noticed, there are only two rows of hammers left at the base of the chalet, the creator of the reference project had installed three. The railing of the exterior staircase disappears, the brick chimney is replaced here by a simple black pipe and the front door is now embodied by the most commonly used basic element. This is also the case for the windows on the ground floor, I would have rather seen sets of four small openings rather than the usual large elements. There really isn't a bad choice, but in my opinion it's all of these aesthetic decisions that significantly change the mood of the product. We'll do with it.

In the radius of easter eggs, these more or less subtle references scattered throughout the construction, we note the nod to the nationality of the fan designer at the heart of the foundations of the chalet, the presence of a micro-version of the tree from the LEGO Ideas set 21318 Treehouse in the upstairs bedroom, the use of the colors of the fictional Octan brand at the back of the house or the painting on the first floor inspired by the Blue Cottage, another project imagined by Andrea Lattanzio (Norton74). The typewriter reference from the LEGO Ideas set 21327 Typewriter is a little more subtle: the object installed on a desk on the ground floor is black and it is therefore the color of the table top that makes the link with the color Sand green of the €250 version.

There are also no stickers in this box, all the patterned elements are stamped such as the doormat stamped with the LEGO logo, a Tile 2x4 originally delivered in the LEGO ICONS set 10290 Pickup Truck, the blacksmith's sign from the LEGO Ideas set 21325 Medieval Blacksmith, the treasure map of the LEGO CITY set 60355 Water Police Detective Missions, the vinyls from the LEGO ICONS set 10312 Jazz Club or both front pages.

LEGO also takes the opportunity to reuse the canoe seen in the LEGO set 10292 FRIENDS Apartments, it's in the theme. As for the animals provided, the squirrel is the one already seen in several boxes since last year, the only otter provided is also delivered this year in two copies in the LEGO CITY set 60394 ATV and Otter Habitat, birds are very common, and oversized butterflies are from the set 80110 Lunar New Year (2023) Display. No net to catch these butterflies in this box, it's a shame, we had to go through with the idea.

The four minifigs provided let you imagine a family on a weekend at Center Parcs, nothing crazy, but the endowment is sufficient to bring a little life to this diorama and possibly vary the staging. The pad prints are correctly executed, I do not note any particular defect on these different figurines with common heads and two of which inaugurate torsos that we will obviously see elsewhere later in the year.

A subtle detail: on the official visuals of the product, LEGO encourages fans to swap haircuts between the different minifigs, it's up to you who will pay the black raspberry on the head, that's also the inclusiveness.

To conclude, I think that this product is a relatively convincing conversion of the original idea which it more or less respects the spirit of, even if LEGO changes the atmosphere of the initial project a little. This Structure forester is interesting to assemble, it is correctly laid out, its various interior spaces remain easily accessible and even if we lose a little of the dilapidated side of the chalet, the exercise seems successful to me. In any case, the potential customers of this product are more likely to have spent a relaxing weekend in a themed lodge than a few months hunting otters in Alaska.

This toy is sold for 179.99 €, we can't even conclude that it's a little expensive or too expensive or much too expensive, we all know here that the brand's products are sold at public prices that are difficult for everyone to access. fans and you regularly have to choose between one set or another to stay within the fixed or imposed budget. I would have appreciated the presence of a luminous brick which probably easily fit into the budget, but it's not me who decides.

Note: The set presented here, provided by LEGO, is as usual involved. Deadline fixed at February 5, 2023 next at 23:59 p.m. Just post a comment under the article to participate. Your participation is taken into account regardless of your opinion.

Update : The winner was drawn and notified by email, his nickname is indicated below.