Review: 31138 Beach Camper Van
Posted by benbacardi,
Camper vans have made numerous appearances in LEGO over the years, from as far back as the 1980s with sets such as 3635 Bonnie Bunny's Camper and 6388 Holiday Home with Campervan, to the long-lived 10220 Volkswagen T1 Camper Van and its successor in 10279 Volkswagen T2 Camper Van. Nowhere, however, does the eponymous vehicle seem to fit better than in the Creator 3-in-1 range, with its bright colourful design, versatile minifigures, and various auxiliary builds.
31138 Beach Camper Van is a perfect example of this: an excellent camper van, some lovely little beach huts, an adorable crab—and that's all just in the primary build! Let's take a look at the set in detail, including the two alternative models that often make the 3-in-1 sets the success they are.
Summary
31138 Beach Camper Van, 556 pieces.
£44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 | 8.1p/9.0c/9.0c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A fantastic build, plenty of details, and decent alternative models.
- Detailed camper van model and accessories
- Good alternative models
- Great value for money
- None!
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Minifigures
Two beach-going holidaymakers come with the set. The first is a male surfer, with blonde windswept hair, a lopsided smile, and a white tank top with a windsurfing design in a retro style. His companion is wearing sunglasses and a grin, a patterned strappy top, and long wavy brown hair.
Both sport alternative expressions; a similar lopsided smile for the female minifigure, and an annoyed or scared expression for the male. What did he see in the water, I wonder?
Beach Camper Van
As a 3-in-1 set, multiple models can be built and each come with their own printed instruction booklet. The titular Beach Camper Van is the primary model, and as such uses all the parts and has the thickest instructions.
We start by building a small diorama of two beach huts—one red-and-white striped, and the other blue-and-white. They are adorable little builds, and give the look of being quintessentially British, perfectly at home on a Victorian sea front! They stand on their own little patch of sand, with a small bucket, plant, and either fallen ice cream or a dollop of bird poop (you decide).
The interiors are rather sparse, though the size of the huts leaves little room to do much more. The red-and-white beach hut holds nothing but a spade, whilst the blue contains a toilet with a tiny sink and an even smaller roll of toilet paper!
Various other beachside accessories are constructed, including a palm tree, a portable boombox (rather old-fashioned nowadays), a simplistic albatross, and a very cute little crab with cherries for eyes!
Lastly, the camper van itself is constructed. It reminds me a lot of 31079 Sunshine Surfer Van, with the yellow-and-white colour scheme and blue stripe. This time, the roof holds two surf boards, and a brick-built ducky rubber ring! Unlike the single-moulded piece, however, this one can't actually be worn by one of the minifigures. It is large enough for them to sit in it—perhaps it is an inflatable boat, instead?
There's space on the rear luggage rack for a small suitcase, with a ladder providing access to the roof rack.
The roof can be removed, allowing access to the interior. The two seats in the cab are removable, and serve double-duty as sun loungers on the beach. On one side the van (the driver's side, if constructed according to the instructions as a left-hand-drive vehicle), a large door can swing open, with some drawers and a shelf holding a small plant built into it.
Inside, There's a small kitchen complete with hob, sink, and coffee machine; a wall-mounted TV, and a table that flaps down on top of the sleeping area. The designer has even found room to include a small ladder leading up to the vehicle's cab. In the photo below I've removed a section of the rear wall to better show the interior.
Finally, an ice cream is included for the holidaymakers to relax on the beach after a spot of surfing—just make sure the crab or seagull don't get hold of it!
Ice Cream Parlour
The first of the alternative models is a small ice cream parlour and beach buggy, using about just over half of the pieces of the main set. The beach buggy is very cute, with an angled windscreen, oversized wheel arches, and a small bird perched on the back of it.
The ice cream parlour is adorned with a large brick-built ice cream for a sign, and a red-and-white awning above the serving hatch. A palm tree stands next to it, built in a slightly different manner to the one in the main model.
The parlour is open-backed, allowing access to the small interior where there is an ice cream freezer and a handful of other kitchen accessories, and a tiny terrace on top for customers to sit and enjoy their ice creams.
Summer House
The final model is a small two-storey summer house built jutting out onto the water. There's a small patch of the beach included, with a large green plant, and some washing drying on a rack protruding from the ground floor of the house. A glass-fronted porch faces the water, on which a small duck sits. Upstairs, an exterior balcony sports a sun lounger, small radio, and plant pot.
Inside, there's another minute kitchen on the ground floor, and just enough room upstairs for a narrow single bed. A couple of boxes sit in the attic under the eaves.
Conclusion
You can't go far wrong with the 3-in-1 sets, and I think this is an excellent example. The primary model of the camper van is full of interesting detail, with an engaging build, and plenty of opportunity for play once constructed. The two secondary models are each significantly different, and although they are not as large as the main model, each has their own charms.
The lack of any licensing means that the prices for the Creator range stay relatively low compared to some other themes, and I think this set provides pretty good value for money. My children spent quite some time playing with the camper van before they would let me tear it apart for the other models, and when they want to build something themselves next, there's plenty of choice even within this one set.
31138 Beach Camper Van is available at LEGO.com for £44.99 / $49.99 / 49.99€.
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28 comments on this article
I just have wished they chose another colour than yellow, vecause I already have 31079. Light blue would have done, or orange.
In the future, can you include pictures of the leftover pieces for the B and C models?
They stand on their own little patch of sand, with a small bucket, plant, and either fallen ice cream or a dollop of bird poop (you decide).
Or a shell?
Nice. The alternates look great, too!
I already have 31079 , so I thought I might pass on this one, but now I think I won't.
My only quibble: If it were left-hand drive, the back door would open on the right (sidewalk) side.
Great review, and another 3-in-1 I need.
@Jdrewg said:
"My only quibble: If it were left-hand drive, the back door would open on the right (sidewalk) side.
Great review, and another 3-in-1 I need."
That's a common thing among LEGO vans, LHD and back doors opening to the traffic. View onto the front left corner is somehow the preferred photo shot. I usually build them mirrored.
I prefer the van/main build in 31079, but the alternate builds are better here.
I'm a big fan of the heavy metal hair on the lady minifigure.
Seems like a perfect lego set! Maybe except the point made by @jkb any other colour than yellow would make it more unique for those already in possession of the camper from 2018. But still- great value for money and very lego-y style.
I really like the alternate models for this set. They’re not quite “buy two copies” in terms of quality, but they’re very strong and great examples of what you can do with the same set of bricks.
@iwybs said:
"They stand on their own little patch of sand, with a small bucket, plant, and either fallen ice cream or a dollop of bird poop (you decide).
Or a shell?"
Yeah, my assumption was that it's a seashell.
Anyway, good review of a fun set! I realize that Creator 3-in-1 has had several camper van sets at this point, but nevertheless I'm still impressed how much detail the designers were able to fit inside while keeping the size within reason (at least by Creator standards — it'd be a bit oversized for the City theme or Modular Buildings Collection). The shape is also delightfully curvy.
On another note, I love the creative build for the crab using a pair of cherries as its eyes! While Creator 3-in-1 designers aren't averse to using dedicated animal molds for smaller critters like frogs, crabs, and spiders, this brick built approach is really cute and expressive, and also allows the A-model to show off an alternate use for the cherry mold that the ice cream parlor model uses as a topping.
On the subject of that alternate build, I'm not quite as impressed with it as I am with the A-model. It's awesome that the beach buggy manages to repurpose some of the main build's vehicle parts with a very different color scheme, but its shape is not as smooth as satisfying as the camper van's.
The building's exterior feels appropriate for this sort of seaside snack bar, with some clever flourishes like the arched windows, awnings, and glass rooftop railings. But some of its details don't have nearly as clear a purpose to me. For instance, what is that offset 1x1 block on the countertop next to the freezer supposed to represent? Maybe I'm missing something obvious, but I can't manage to make sense of it. There also appear to be two sinks, unless the larger one is meant to be a soft serve or frozen yogurt machine (in which case, it could have perhaps been designed with clearer intent).
All in all, this alternate build does a good job showcasing some very different sorts of subject matter than the main model while making fairly good use of the same assortment of parts, but even compared to the B- and C-models of some other recent 3-in-1 sets (like the recently reviewed Cozy House), I feel leaves a bit to be desired.
As far as buildings/furnishings go, I'm much more pleased with the summer house build! When this set first appeared in catalogs, I worried that a house this small would leave little room for interior detail (especially when the upper and lower deck take up so much of its size). But the designers still managed to work in a bedroom, kitchen, attic, and even a tastefully constructed side table by the front door!
I love the way the entire building is constructed over the water on wood pilings, and the way the base extends on both sides to provide some open water and a substantial beach. Architecturally, the knobbly wooden column supporting the upper deck is a really attractive and distinctive feature, and I appreciate the way the horizontal bands of color and the two different styles of railing help to visually break up the model.
The palm tree parts are repurposed very effectively for a smaller shrub, which reminds me of the yucca plants I used to see while vacationing on the beach as a child. In general, I feel like this model is every bit as refined as the A-model, even if it offers a different sort of play value due to its lack of a separate vehicle build.
Thanks again for the review!
@iwybs said:
"They stand on their own little patch of sand, with a small bucket, plant, and either fallen ice cream or a dollop of bird poop (you decide).
Or a shell?"
That's what I was thinking as well.
That's awesome!
"either fallen ice cream or a dollop of bird poop (you decide)."
Or white dog poop... a very common sight in the 70s, but rarer now (apparently due to improved diets)!
"a simplistic albatross"
I hope you get wafers with it!
Whoa ! Great Review !! Missed this set online and in the catalog. Cool set !
I think the white dollop may actually be a seashell rather than bird droppings or ice cream.
8-wide isn't really in scale for my display, but this would look suitable with the Old Fishing Store.
Two things, 31079 is better looking van to me, and second, why the same colors as van 31079?!? Maybe if it is in other colors I would buy it, but this one I'll pass
Nothing beats that crab!
@bgruner said:
"I prefer the van/main build in 31079, but the alternate builds are better here."
completely agree! this one is still worth it, even in yellow, imo.
He might have seen a brown trout in the water?
A lovely set, I'll be getting it as a parts pack (mainly for those increasingly rare thin wheels which are essential for vintage vehicles which I love building). The inflatable duck and surfboards are cool, I really like the drying rack on build 3. The campervan is nicely detailed and I particularly like those beachhuts which will go straight into my beach scene!
I do agree this set is a little bit disappointing being mostly a copy of the previous surfer van, including colours. A sand green one would have been cool, or dark blue. Red would have been a nice reference to Lego's first VW campervan.
I honestly prefer the 2 alternate builds over the main one. Creator has been pretty good this year for solid builds.
Built this the other day and it’s truly a fantastic set. Not just the wonderful looking van but the beach huts too, it really has everything.
Is it just me or does the van seem to be so large in height compared to that of the size of the minifigures? If one minifigure stood on the other one's head, would still not be able to look over the roof of the van!
Nice review. However - no comparison with 31079? It would have been so great!
Like to see a comparison with 31079 since they are quite similar.
Truly awesome set, even the alternate models. I do feel that the prints for the minifig parts are a bit too common by now, since I already have multiples of each. In fact, I might already have that exact surfer minifig, because he looks so familiar. But I might just have too much LEGO. :-)
Also quite easy to modify this into the Ninja Turtles Party Wagon.
@ToysFromTheAttic said:
"Truly awesome set, even the alternate models. I do feel that the prints for the minifig parts are a bit too common by now, since I already have multiples of each. In fact, I might already have that exact surfer minifig, because he looks so familiar. But I might just have too much LEGO. :-)
Also quite easy to modify this into the Ninja Turtles Party Wagon."
Seats that can be popped-out to lounge at the beach? That is so hippie-dippie, I love it! Reminds me of the 70s. Dudes popping-out their full back pleather car seats to throw them down and chill on the sand. As a kid, it freaked me out.
Apparently, not much mod is needed to make this a party van.