21324 IDEAS 123 Sesame Street

 21324 IDEAS 123 Sesame Street

IDEAS has always been a wacky theme, and it got even more wacky when this Sesame Street set was released. It took me a while to get this review out, not just because I forgot that this set existed until close to its retirement, but because news of IDEAS sets is totally hidden by the next wave of normal LEGO sets, like CITY and STAR WARS. Also, because I just felt like doing a IDEAS review. As you can see, over the past few reviews, I've expanded to other themes besides CITY and NINJAGO. So, today I'll be reviewing 21324 IDEAS 123 Sesame Street. 

This set is for 18+ and includes 1367 pieces which are used to assemble a chunk of Sesame Street and 5 minifigures, which are: Big Bird, Elmo, Ernie, Bert and Cookie Monster. Oscar the Grouch is also "included" in this set, but he's just a big ball with printing designed to look like his face atop a trash can, which is pretty hilarious. 

Here is the whole thing, and it does actually look like Sesame Street. Even though it is just a chunk of the iconic street, this model still represents all the great moments from the show, whether they took place here or not. The larger building is Ernie and Bert's house while the smaller one is the market, which is featured more often in the newer Sesame Street episodes.

Here is the set as shown on the box. Still looks the same as the actual thing, even though LEGO is obsessed with making box art as majestic as they can, so this was a small surprise for me.

Most of what you can do here in this set is within the walls of Ernie and Bert's house. Although the detailing is wonderful, the functions are pretty dry. For example, you can swing a door open, which isn't that great of a play feature. But again, this set was meant for 18+, so I can't complain.

The bedroom is packed with minor details (which is pretty generous) and exclusive stickers and prints. Actually, this set is covered in stickers, all of them exclusive, and they're perfect for MOCs considering how un-LEGO they actually are. Anyway, back to the house. The top of the building isn't that great, but there are some interesting bricks used up there. The bottom floor has some detailing as well, including a rocket and some picture frames. I don't see picture frames that often in sets so it's nice that we got some here with special stickers.

Now we're moving on to the grocery store. The top of the store is also detailed, but this time it's a ventilation thing simply made. I'd say it took 7 or 8 pieces to build this essential part of the building. The detailing inside is a little better, just because I feel like the house was a bit overwhelming when it came to stuff like toys and lamps (you get it). I absolutely love the armchair because of its splendid design. Some points to the fan designer for this! 

I don't think I've ever seen a 3x3 smooth circular plate like the one with The Count's portrait on it. it's got to be new. The TV makes good use of the 'crop' element to portray wires on the box while the sticker really brings this mini-build to life. 

The footrest is basically a circular jumper plate with a smooth end positioned upside-down using a TECHNIC part. In just 3 pieces, you can build a true-to-life footrest, and that's pretty amazing.

The rest of the room is taken up by a shelf with a golden frog and trophy and another picture frame with a photo of a bus in it.

Finally, let's check out the minifigures. Here's Big Bird. 

The printing on the legs is pretty plain, but it's a great representation of the character's actual legs, so it gets full marks from me. The torso is plain and I love the wings, but what is most interesting about this fig and the reason I chose to show it on its own is because this fig has no head piece. In fact, the feathers on the torso and the head are molded together, making use of the 'sandwich' concept that people use to describe placing a part like this over the torso and surrounding it front and back. It's just like Chewbacca's head and fur part from the STAR WARS theme.

This is a great fig overall and his stature alone sets it apart from other 'sandwich' minifigs.

Now, here are the remaining minifigs. Elmo, Bert, Ernie, and Cookie Monster. Like I said before, that ball right there on top of the bin is supposed to be Oscar the Grouch, and it cracks me up everytime I see it. 

All these figs have exclusive head molds. Let's start with Elmo. The printing is decent on the head but I'm disappointed with the torso and legs. Elmo has fur in the real show, but this... I'm not happy with how this turned out, but I guess the printing on his fish bowl is an appropriate item to make up for this abominable mistake. 

Oscar the Grouch doesn't exactly count as a minifig, but it's my job here to review so we'll look at him.

I don't know how they got that 2x2 circular plate to stay on his head, so I'm thinking that you're just supposed to balance it atop his head carefully. The printing on the ball is really cool, but it looks a little soft to me. I like printing to be sharp and crisp, but drawing on a ball is hard enough, so I'll let the  designer pass on this one. The trash can isn't anything special, so basically this build is just 2 parts on top of a bin. To be honest, it would be super cool if there was a exclusive molded part for Oscar the Grouch. IDEAS always has exclusive stuff in every set so I wouldn't be surprised if this actually happened. It would be cool nonetheless.

Bert's head piece looks decent, and the printing is crisp just how I like it. The torso has a V-neck sweater design in green, orange and purple, so it would look normal with any head and legs. There's no printing on the legs, but that is made up for with the relatively new maneuverable short legs first seen in the HARRY POTTER theme, so that's nice. Ernie is also a nice addition to the set, with his sweater and light-blue short legs.

Now, to top off this review, we move to Cookie Monster. His head is one-of-a-kind, with beautiful printing. The attention to detail is appreciated, with the eyes being a bit off. He's got a plain blue torso and short legs, but for some reason this seems a little more satisfactory than Elmo's composition. I don't know what it is, but if there's one thing I do know, there's probably going to be another Sesame Street set, or at least another set based on an iconic childrens' show.

This 123 Sesame Street  starts at around $119.99.

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