We Review LEGO Disney Stitch 43249 and We'll Be Darned.....

ALOHA! Today we look at the LEGO Disney Stitch 43249 set, released on 1^st March 2024. The model comprises of 730 pieces and costs £59.99. There seem to be quite mixed opinions about this set, but the one thing that everyone agrees on is the overall cute factor - Stitch really is adorable!

This is the fourth rendition of our loveable blue alien. Previously, we have had two LEGO Minifigures; the first in 2016 included in the LEGO Disney CMF Series 1 and the second in the 2023 LEGO Minifigures Disney 100 Series. On 1^st February 2024, we saw the release of the LEGO Brickheadz Disney Stitch (40674) and a month later we now see the larger scale, 43249 set join the ranks.

Stitch not bad. Stitch fluffy!

One of the first observations to be made is that the blue colours seem to be a little bit too bright. When looking at the original Disney movie from 2002, Stitch does appear to be a couple of shades darker. Also, unlike other buildable characters that we have seen from LEGO Star Wars, this set does not provide us with a stand, information plaque or even a LEGO Minifigure of the character. It would have been neat to have had LEGO Disney Stitch come with a Lilo character LEGO Minifigure.

Let’s look at the body first - it's nicely proportioned but it's a shame that the legs and arms are in fixed positions. It would have been great to add some articulation to these appendages, but for now, we'll have to settle for the articulated claws on his hands. The claws on his right hand enable him to hold his ice cream cone, which from the colour seems to be raspberry, which is Stitch’s favourite flavour. The base of Stitch’s feet has used tiles to create a pad shape and then the rounded bricks make little toe shapes so if he were to spill his ice cream and step in it he would leave cute little paw prints.

LEGO Disney Stitch features a vibrant yellow Hawaiian shirt covering most of his body, with cleverly used pieces to form the rounded shoulder shape. Unfortunately, there are a few exposed studs in that area, which is a minor flaw in our eyes. The hibiscus flower design on the shirt utilises 14 stickers, which were a little tedious to apply. The shirt has caused controversy amongst people as some aren’t advocates of him wearing it but we think it is in homage to his adopted Hawaiian roots. Potentially if there was a way to have him displayed with or without it that would appease people (there might be some clever AFOLs out there that have created an MOC of this already).

Moving onto LEGO Disney Stitch’s head, the most striking thing straight away are his two enormous eyes which are newly printed pieces and they are absolutely stunning; they really do capture his little fluffy face a treat. The humungous ears are attached using LEGO Bionicle type ball joints and as a result, enable Stitch to display a variety of emotions. LEGO has cleverly incorporated Stitch’s wedge out of his ear, which is one of his iconic traits. As well as the ears being able to have a great range of movement, the head can rotate a full 360 degrees, however, there is no movement to the jaw unfortunately. For some reason, LEGO Stitch’s nose does rotate but is attached using a clever SNOT technique ironically enough. Looking at the back of the head again, LEGO has done a great job replicating the shape, but as with the shoulders, there are a few exposed studs.

The bright pink hibiscus flower on Stitch’s head is easily removable as it’s only attached by a clip stem on a round 1x1 with a bar and pin holder. Once this is done though, Stitch is left with an exposed stud on top of his head which would’ve been cool if LEGO had provided a 1x1 blue tile to cover this should you wish to remove the flower for display purposes.

OVERALL OPINION

The Disney Stitch (43249) set was a straightforward build, with a few Technic elements to create the base structure, as is usually the way with these sorts of builds. The recommended age is 9+ and we would agree that seems to be an appropriate age for the build, however, there is no real playability with this set. The arms and legs don’t have movability and there are only so many times a child can reposition the ears for fun. This model seems more akin to a display piece rather than a toy and would be the perfect collector addition for a Lilo & Stitch fan.

OUR SCORE: 8/10

Enhance your display with a bespoke acrylic display case, which includes an optional Hawaiian-themed printed background.

Are there any other Disney characters that you think LEGO should produce in buildable forms, if so who and would you want them to have more playability to them or be more statue-like?