I loved WALL•E the movie and I have always thought he was a fantastically designed character. The Lego version does not disappoint and manages to capture pretty much all of the original design. The only weak point is the neck/head joint but this was actually updated in later builds so should be better now.

Other than that it was a fun, if simple, build and the end result is great. The movement in the arms and head is perfect and really expressive when combined with the big shiny black eyes. I sort of feel like his little cockroach buddy from the film should have got a look-in but I'm not going to complain.

I did a stop motion build of this set which you can see on my YouTube channel. If you like what you see, please check out some of the other vids up there, leave a comment and perhaps even subscribe for more in the future.

This was one of my first (of many) builds after a prolonged absent spell since I was infatuated with Lego as a young boy. I am now classed as an AFOL, a term which I would of associated with grown men who played with toys, how I was mistaken.

This wasn't the set the piqued my interest back into Lego, that was The Simpsons House. The toy I most loved as a child now married with one of my all time favourite TV shows, wow! (still haven't got this!!). I thought I would dip my toes in the Lego pond and try out a mildly inexpensive set, and after much research I decided upon Wall-E. From various reviews it seemed like a stellar set that was also close to retirement so I picked a copy up from my local toy store.

The box itself I have come to learn is unlike 'normal' Lego sets in the fact it is more of a luxury box and instructions which was definitely welcome of my first build. The build itself wasn't too difficult although looking back it took me a long time compared to what experienced builders can tackle in a short time. I was astonished at how I was building certain parts thinking what is this and where does this go only to find that everything came together beautifully. I appreciate all of the printed pieces, something about stickers don't sit right with me, it may be the way I apply them !

Overall I am very impressed by this wonderful set and it is still one of my favourite builds (may be something about the first) and it is sitting proudly in my room. If you can still grab this set at a reasonable price, I would definitely do it. 5 stars no doubt about it.

Box/Instructions

I liked the box,it folds open on top and I thought it gave a bit of an exclusive feel to it. A good start...Comes in WALL-E-yellow, with that cute picture on top. Some RL pictures on the side for comparising purposes, but hey, we all know what WALL-E looks like, right?

What I liked about the instructions is that it is just one booklet, not several... 123 pages, and 178 steps... It starts with a little story about WALL-E, and one about the designer. The instructions itself are very clear...

Parts

I liked the parts of the trunk-lid hinges, and the hinges for neck, head and arms... A lot of tile parts, plates, Technic parts, and you can never have enough tracks and track-wheels... But most of all I like the different shade of yellow, ofcourse because it is WALL-E-yellow, but it goes great with the dark-grey and brown of the head. I also liked that the 3 printed tiles were printed, my stickers are always crooked... Overall

The build

Building WALL-E is great... because there aren't many pictures of this model, it was hard to see upfront how it was build , and in that way it was surprising on some moments. For example, the cracks in the sides of the body are simple, but genius... the clever construction that allow the arms to slide back-and forward, and the entire backside of the robot...All in all, there was not really a moment where it became boring or predictable

The completed model

Awesome... It really is WALL-E!... A little bigger as I expected. The head, arms, and hands can be set in lots of poses... It is so cute, hahaha! Nice details are the cracks in the side of the body, the opening trunk, the last plant on earth, and the cockroach... I also like the tracks, the shape is very well done with the 4 wheels... and because of the different size cover on the top wheels and bottom wheel, it makes the top wheels look smaller... The tracks don't really roll easily, especially not on smooth surfaces, but I don't see that as a problem...

Only thing is that the head is a little too heavy in some poses... it might drop forward or backwards... A minor detail.

Overall opinion

This is one of the sets of which you know upfront, that if you don't get it, you will regret it... It is a lot of fun building, and I think there are good possibilities to motorize it so i'd say very good value for money.

I just couldn't resist this set, as Wall-E was one of my favourite movies as a child (and he looks so darn cute)!

Box/Instructions

I don't usually like to spend much time on the box and instructions, but here we go. This was quite a high quality box which is very common among Ideas and Architecture sets. In the also high quality instruction booklet, there was some nice info about the designer.

Parts

The "flame yellowish orange" pieces are quite rare and add a nice flare to the look of Wall-E. There are three exclusive printed pieces included for the Wall-E name and a nice control panel type print.

Minifigures

None unless you count the cockroach. Which is quite a nice representation for only two pieces.

The build

The main body build was mostly brick on brick construction with an interesting assembly for the neck. I would say the worst part of the build were the repetitive tracks, clicking together a hundred track pieces. Wall-E's eyes were a very cool build, with sideways, upside down and backwards construction.

The completed model

The posability of the model is almost endless, and it looks terrific from any angle. Playability is okay, but I found that Wall-E was awesome as a display piece, much thanks to the posability. Wall-E's cool camera eyes look absolutely amazing and are very accurate to the real thing.

Overall opinion

This was the best Ideas set that I have bought and I would recommend this to all builders young and old. Fans of the movie will love this, being able to display their favourite animated character wherever they want. Wall-E is also quite large at 18cm ( 7") tall, 16cm (6") wide and deep.

Please note that this review is of the first version of the set. These were later withdrawn, and then rereleased with an alternative design solution for the neck/head joint.

Being the largest Lego Ideas set to date, and based upon the title character from arguably a modern animated classic, I was eagerly anticipating the Wall-E set. As such, I purchased the set immediately it became available, just before some rumblings regarding an issue with a certain design choice began to surface…

Box/Instructions

The box is an extremely eye-catching shade of yellow, and larger and deeper than other Ideas sets, but still with the usual flap and lid. The box art features a particularly appealing picture of Wall-E holding his plant and, despite being a robot, somehow still evoking the kind of expression usually reserved for the faces of small children who would like a puppy. The instructions are in the now-standard perfect bound format and feature a nice little introduction to Wall-E and a short piece on the designer. Perhaps with a nod to anticipated target market, the nightmare-inducing (and possibly satanic) WIN!! kid of yesteryear has been replaced with what appears to be an early-to-middle-aged man relaxing with a cup of tea/coffee/rum.

Parts

One of the most immediately striking things about the 677 piece inventory is the decent selection of basic bricks and plates which haven’t previously appeared in the distinctive Yellow-Orange colour. There are a wide variety of ‘things that bend’, including click hinges attached to bricks and to plates, click ball joints, two 2x4 hinges, and a cup and ball assembly. There are also a very generous forty caterpillar track pieces (twenty for each side) – these are only currently available in a few other sets, and this is certainly the cheapest way to amass a good number.

Finally, there are also a few printed tiles, all of which are unique to the set, including the famous Wall-E designation (spread across a 2x4 tile and a 2x2 tile) as well as his battery charge level indicator on a black 2x2 tile.

The build

The build starts off from the bottom of the main body section. There is a neat trick with nearly-interlocking slopes and inverse slopes used to create the appearance of cracks in the casing on either side, which is not something I’ve seen in an official set before. A beam with a ball is threaded onto each of the Technic axles which run from front to back on each side of the body to provide a mount for arm pieces later on. Tiles are then added on the top, surrounding the protruding lower neck piece, which is anchored by click hinges to the inside back wall of the body. A forward facing ‘door’ closes off the body compartment and is constructed simply from plates and tiles, and attached via hinges at the bottom.

The two caterpillar tracks are identical mirrored builds. The frames are primarily Technic in construction and, not having built anything like it before, I liked the economy of part usage to produce something quite robust, especially once the tracks are added. Three of the four cogs are mildly ‘greebled’, with two covered by hubcap-like dishes and one with a flywheel. Each assembly then clips onto two sets of pins mounted on the lower section of the body.

The two camera units that make up the head are substantial builds in themselves, accounting for around 130 pieces between them. They are easily the most complex section and involve building in at least four different directions using a mixture of brackets, bricks with side studs and the old faithful, the headlight brick. These are used to cleverly mount various rounded pieces in different directions which come together to make up the outside of the ‘eye’ surrounding the pupil.

The final touch is the addition of Wall-E’s plant, a simple brown cylindrical 2x2 with a leaf piece on top and a 1x1 ‘brick with hole’ mounted underneath which enables it to attach to a technic pin on the inside of Wall-E’s hand.

The completed model

The end result is a near perfect (to my eyes) representation of the film’s title character. Pleasingly it’s much bigger than I was expecting, which means that a fair amount of detail can be included and it has real presence as a display piece. Much of the character comes from the perfect re-creation of the distinctive eye shape, enhanced by the two individually moveable ‘head’ parts. These can be moved to create an unexpectedly wide range of emotions – quite impressive considering that this is a plastic model of a fictional metal robot! The wide variety of ‘things that bend’ lend the model a high degree of articulation, especially with the arms and hands which can rotate, bend and slide backwards and forwards within the unit.

A couple of points to consider for those who intend to actually play with the model are that, as with other sets using these caterpillar tracks, they will only turn easily on surfaces where they can get a grip (such as carpets, sofas, cats etc), but will just skid along anything even remotely smooth (laminate floors, tiles, expensive wooden furniture). I’ve also found the hand-based connection point for the plant is a little fragile and requires careful arrangement of the hand, finger flaps and plant.

There is one design choice which has caused much consternation and chatter online, and that is the use of a non-friction pin securing Wall-E’s head to the top of the neck assembly. This causes the head to rotate freely and limits the pose-ability of the model as, as soon as the neck is angled to look up or down, pesky gravity causes the reasonably weighty head to swing around to face downwards. Once you’re aware of the limitations, a relatively wide range of poses and attitudes can still be achieved, though not all that could be expected.

Overall opinion

There is no doubt in my mind that is one of the best Ideas sets, a top class model that perfectly captures both the physical shape, as well as the character, of the subject. The set is outstanding value for money at the UK price, attractive for both the official model and also as a parts pack for the more cannibalistic MOC’ers out there…

With regards to ‘Headgate’ – this is definitely an issue ‘out of the box’ and, unaltered, does impact on the playability/poseability of the model. Is it bad enough to be a deal breaker when deciding whether to purchase the set? Having bought and built it, I don’t believe so – it would mean missing out on a truly stellar model and in my (obviously) subjective opinion, it certainly isn’t enough for me to mark the set down substantially for it. Others may feel differently and, though there are plenty of inventive fixes out there (some publicised on this very site), it’s certainly worth checking out videos on YouTube etc to find out exactly what is wrong and how easy it is to rectify it if you consider it to be an issue.

For me, this set ticks pretty much all the boxes I would expect it to and, through clever design and well-chosen subject matter, is one of the highlights of my growing Lego collection. And if the heady excitement of finding ways to sort out the neck assembly isn’t enough, why not search the internet for ‘Lego Wall-E RC motorized’ for ideas on further modifications!