Review: LEGO 21349 Tuxedo Cat
10
If you’ve ever wanted a hyper-realistic Cat made out of LEGO bricks, the LEGO Ideas 21349 Tuxedo Cat is just the right set for you. Its the 57th LEGO Ideas set so far, and the 5th LEGO Ideas set to be released in 2024, and I think one of the most charming ones so far.
The new 21349 Tuxedo Cat is set to be released on 1 June 2024 and will retail for US$99.99 / AU$169.99 / £89.99 which is pretty great value for a 1,710-piece set, especially one that isn’t filled with plenty of 1×1 tiles or studs to artificially boost the piece-count.
Let’s dive into a quick review of the 21349 Tuxedo Cat to see if it’s something that should be on your radar!
Special thanks to LEGO for sending this set over for review.
If you’re planning on purchasing or pre-ordering this set, please consider using the affiliate links in this post. I may earn a small commission with each purchase that helps support the work I do on the blog!
21349 Tuxedo Cat Set Details
21349 Tuxedo Cat
21349
Tuxedo Cat
N/A
1,710
US$99.99 / AU$169.99 / £89.99
€99.99 / CAD$129.99
1 June 2024
Chris McVeigh (@powerpig)
Building the LEGO Ideas Tuxedo Cat
Here’s a look at the instructions for the LEGO Tuxedo Cat. Thankfully, there are no stickers in the set! Like most sets aimed at adults, there’s plenty of trivia about cats, and also a profile on the set designer, Chris McVeigh, who has moved from LEGO Icons to LEGO Ideas, with this being his first Ideas set!
My favourite part of the manual has to be this diagram of how the LEGO Tuxedo Cat is constructed!
There are 20 numbered bags in the set, and here’s a sequential look at how the LEGO Tuxedo Cat comes together!
I wasn’t too sure what to expect going in, but was surprised to discover that this was a thoroughly delightful build. It was very fun, and was super interesting throughout the build.
You build the Tuxedo Cat from the feet up, so there’s a logical sequence to it, and there are some incredibly clever techniques employed here, with some cunning geometry and techniques used to achieve the organic shaping of a cat.
Speaking to Chris McVeigh in an interview, he spelt out the design process, beginning with plenty of sketches of cats, and looking them up on the internet (so much so that his Instagram algorithm and explore page was quickly overrun by cats), and made very careful measurements of real-life cats to get the scale just right.
The “core” and internals of the Tuxedo Cat were the areas he spent most of the time on, to make the build logical, fun and a good experience, which I’m happy to report is executed flawlessly. The head in particular is quite complex, with half brick offsets and getting the eyes just right.
And here’s the completed build! It does exactly what it says on the box, and the end result is a charming, and great looking LEGO Cat, that’s a little uncanny at times, because the size and proportions just look so accurate.
There are of course some things that make this distinctively LEGO, such as the large curved elements, and of course, studs aplenty. The studs I don’t really mind, as they give the Tuxedo Cat a sense of texture, and are a close enough substitute for the texture of fur that you’d expect from an actual cat.
The Tuxedo Cat stands over 32 cm (12.5 in.) tall, so he’s quite a good size and makes for a really unique LEGO model to have on display.
Here’s a look at the Cat’s paws which I think are pretty well done. No claws here!
Unfortunately, there aren’t any toebeans on the paws 🙁
The curves here look very organic, and is well done within the limitations of LEGO’s existing parts selection.
Here’s a look at the Tuxedo Cat’s chest. This is probably the “weakest” part of the design as it I think it could’ve looked much “tuftier”.
The tail is particularly nice, with some weight and heft to it, and a very natural shape to it. It’s actually quite remarkable how realistic it looks, and just how naturally it looks resting on the ground.
This section here, with the triangle element used to fill in the gap is especially inspired.
Now let’s go to the head.
There’s a few limited options to customise the cat, and the most notable one is the eyes, where you have a set of amber and blue eyes. You can also mix the both of them for a cat with heterochromia, a condition where cats have different coloured eyes!
The Tuxedo Cat’s face is the best part of the build, and I think really looks impressive because of how expressive and realistic it looks. I like the heterochromia look, so this is my preferred configuration for the eyes!
There’s also another small bit of personalisation,
You can swap out the bottom part of the jaw for an open mouth “mlem” look, or a closed mouth that’s slightly more serious and stern.
You can also swivel the ears slightly, which is a way cats emote, so you do get a huge range of expressions that are possible.
Plus, if you have spare eye tiles, you can also make it look even goofier!
Lastly, the only other major bit of articulation is that you can swivel the head around which is pretty fun.
Oh, and this is a really unexpected feature that’s quite ingenious. The LEGO Tuxedo Cat actually purrs! When you swivel the head, there’s some friction between the studs that makes a pretty accurate purring noise!
Here’s a video I took to demonstrate this!
So one thing I really like about having a realistic life-sized LEGO Cat around, is how well it blends into your home. It’s kinda great for people that like cats, but can’t own them, maybe because of allergies or having pets aren’t an option.
I had many Cats when I was younger, but the only pets we have are fish these days, so for me, this is the closest I’ll get to a real Cat for now, and does remind me of my old cat Bob, which I had as a teenager.
Here’s the LEGO Tuxedo Cat eyeing my fish tank.
Here’s the Cat staring out the window. We are responsible LEGO Cat owners, so we don’t let it stray outside and murder the local wildlife.
But sometimes, we let it out in our garden to get some fresh air.
And it’s also fun to play with other life-like LEGO sets, like LEGO Groot!
And of course, you can have plenty of fun like this “if it fits, we sits” shot that designer Chris McVeigh shared on his Instagram.
Final Thoughts
21349 Tuxedo Cat is quite simply, a purrfectly delightful LEGO set.
Where LEGO can sometimes get quite formulaic for us seasoned builders, the LEGO Tuxedo Cat is charming from the very first bricks you click together, taking you on a build experience that’s filled with surprises and an utter joy from start to finish.
As you build the Cat, literally from the ground up, you encounter novel building techniques and geometry, which cement just how powerfully creative LEGO is as a medium for creation.
Set designer Chris McVeigh marks his debut as part of the LEGO Ideas team with this set, and according to the man himself, has stepped outside of his comfort zone, which is quite apparent when you consider his most recent sets, 21060: Himeji Castle, 10325: Alpine Lodge, and 10314: Dried Flower Centrepiece.
The model itself is uncanny in so many ways, with the size and proportions of the model looking like a super realistic cat, and with it, makes for a fun set to place around your home, office or even work desk.
In a nutshell, this is a really fun and charming LEGO model, that’s surprisingly wholesome and fun from the build, all the way to the end.
There are some downsides, such as the fact that its locked to being a Tuxedo Cat, but the designers did mention that they tried other colours and breeds, but they didn’t look as good because elements like fur, or a Bengal’s patterns were very hard to replicate in LEGO form, without compromising the aesthetics.
It’s also a one-dimensional LEGO set. You’re building a realistic-looking LEGO Cat, and while it does everything it says on the box, you need to really like Cats, or even building realistic LEGO creatures to appreciate the set like this.
But looking at most of LEGO’s releases for 2024 (and yes, there’s also a 43247 Young Simba the Lion King releasing on the same day), 21349 Tuxedo Cat is just a charming and fun model that will leave you feline quite pawsome.
Final Score
Audience rating
21349 Tuxedo Cat will be released on 1 June 2024 and will be available from LEGO.com or your local LEGO Store.
Thanks for reading! I’ll finish this review with this slightly unnerving modification to the LEGO Tuxedo Cat…
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