123 Sesame Street LEGO Ideas Review

LEGO Ideas is one of the greatest things the corporation has done in recent memory, allowing fans to submit their own designs and ultimately picking some of those designs to turn into actual LEGO sets. The majority of these LEGO Ideas sets hit on nostalgia while others just look really, really cool. While a Sesame Street set might seem more appropriate for someone in the 6-12 age range, this LEGO Ideas set is banking on adults fondly remembering their time on Sesame Street as a kid. And after I put my set together, I understood how deeply having this set hits home.

The Build

This is a first for me – we have reviewed a ton of LEGO blocks in the past, I’ve always followed the same system – allow the kids to build the sets while I sit back and take notes from afar. Again, the average LEGO set is aged for kids 6-12. This one, however, falls into the 18+ category, and the build quality and difficulty definitely represents an older fan base.

My 6 year old definitely helped me put this together, but there were many aspects of the set that were much to difficult for him. Most of it, however, comes down to all the pieces in each step of the building process. In sets for kids 6-12, each step within the book are pretty minimal, where as with this 18+, a lot more pieces are added each step of the way. As a larger build, the instructions are also ‘zoomed’ out more, which means stud counting to place specific pieces in the right place is also required.

From top-to-bottom, however, everything about this build is phenomenal. The use of the unofficial S.N.O.T technique keeps the build looking very clean. What is S.N.O.T you might ask?

SNOT stands for Studs Not On Top and doesn’t mean the green stuff produced in your nose. It’s more like a “philosophy ” to use LEGO bricks slightly different. The well known studs are not use in the normal top position.

The above image displays this technique being used for the first time in this set to build the backdrop for Big Birds nest, but it’s used frequently throughout, creating windows, a bathtub, a TV, and more. There were a ton of other micro builds within this set that I really enjoyed, including the beds! Putting these together was outstanding, and definitely highlighted different ways to use LEGO bricks for my future custom builds.

The attention to detail is fascinating as well. As we said previously about S.N.O.T, having few exposed bricks creates a beautiful, clean look – as someone so use to 6-12 LEGO City sets, having this one in my collection really has me excited for custom builds in the future. The open window look on the 123 Sesame Street house is clean, and unique to home sets I had previously built.

Numerous Hard to Find Pieces

The mark of a good LEGO set for some, and something that can help alleviate the costs, is the number of unique or hard to find pieces included in the set. Obviously, if you are a huge Sesame Street fan, you are going to buy this set anyways, but it’s worth noting this is the only place to get minifigures of Big Bird, Elmo, Bert, Ernie, Cookie Monster, and Oscar the Grouch. There are lots of other unique pieces, however. Most of the plates with stickers are unique as they depict various Sesame Street characters posing for pictures – the murals on the outside of 123 Sesame Street are also unique, as are the signs for Hoopers.

After those pieces, you begin looking at those harder to find pieces, like the pigeons, the lamp post, some of the house accessories, and more. While I assume this is meant primarily as a display set, the number of great items included with the set make it a great playable piece as well.

Packaged ford Displaying, Built for Playing

As an 18+ LEGO Ideas set, the primary purpose in LEGO’s eyes I believe is that the set will be put on display somewhere in your home. While that was my initial plan, that quickly went haywire. Coming downstairs this morning after completing the build late last night, I found all three of my kids busily playing with the house and all the characters. The package screams display, but the overall build quality means this won’t ever hit a display shelf in my house.

That being said, while display might be the first thought, LEGO really did build this set for play. The ability to move around Bert and Ernie’s home is awesome, with a bed for each, an easy chair, and a bathtub. The first floor provides an additional bed for Cookie Monster as well a train set, and a plethora of other toys. Big Birds nest, just outside the window, is also a fantastic play piece.

When not in their home, the characters can enjoy snacks and beverages from Hoopers, walk the streets, and so much more. This really is built for play.

Conclusion

Whether for displaying or something for your kids to play with, 123 Sesame Street is a fantastic set on all front. It’s not without it’s faults – the few objects that don’t click into the environment (notably the mailbox) as well as the odd openings on Hoopers that means you need to display it on an angle to hide those interiors. You could also fault LEGO for having a few missing, important characters like the Count and Grover. Still, the peg holes on Hoopers seems to allude to more Sesame Street sets coming in the near future, and that might alleviate some of the concerns I had with this set. Regardless of that, this is an easy recommendation from us, and a must own this holiday season!