LEGO Ideas 21361 Gizmo almost used very surprising elements

The LEGO Ideas design team has revealed some very surprising elements that were almost used during the development of 21361 Gizmo.

Those with a fondness for the 1980s can get a new dose of nostalgia next month when 21361 Gizmo arrives online and in stores. The brick-built LEGO Ideas Gremlin looks as if it’s stepped directly out of Joe Dante’s classic movie and comes complete with 3D glasses and a water splash to place on his back.

In a recent roundtable interview with Brick Fanatics and other LEGO fan media, the design team behind 21361 Gizmo revealed that some unusual elements were considered for the set during its development and which potential accessories didn’t make the cut.

“We talked about the ears quite a lot,” explained LEGO Ideas Creative Lead Jordan David Scott. “Very early on, we considered doing textile or foil to make the ears, because these ears do curve and they're very thin.

“But we tried it, and then we were like, this doesn't feel right. It would be like doing Grogu with big foil ears or Yoda and it didn't feel like a LEGO product anymore, even though we do that for dragon wings and stuff.”

Ultimately, the LEGO Ideas design team decided to go for a more standard building approach when it came to creating 21361 Gizmo’s ears, one that seemed to nail the unique look of the character.

“I recall actually building placeholder ears,” said Jordan, “just because I needed to see the ears in place. Everybody said, ‘Why don't you just use bricks?’, so eventually, that's what happened. We backed away from using a textile and just used bricks because they match the static of the rest of the model.”

When it came to creating 21361 Gizmo’s accessories, consideration was given to the fact that the set spawned out of an ’80s themed LEGO Ideas challenge, so some items were always going to be off the table, such as the character’s Rambo-style bow and bandana as seen in Gremlins 2.

“We wanted to stay true to the ’80s and focus on Gremlins,” said Jordan. “There are also different licensing rights when you have sequels, so we can't always guarantee that we have the rights to work on the sequel as well. So we chose to go for the first Gremlins and what was the most iconic but also interesting accessory for him to have, and what felt super ’80s, which were the 3D glasses, and then the water droplet.”

21361 Gizmo is due to launch online and in stores on October 1, priced at £89.99 in the UK, $109.99 in the US, and from €99.99 in Europe. Those wanting to pick up the 1,125-piece Gremlin can place their pre-orders for the set right now.

Be sure to check out our full review of 21361 Gizmo right here to find out what we thought of the upcoming LEGO Ideas model.

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