ELF the Movie

You all did it! We are so close now to the final 500 countdown! You all found not only the best way to spread Christmas cheer is singling loud for all to hear but to also support elf the movie on LEGO Ideas works too!

It was January 2022 when I created the set based on the movie elf and there has been many changes since then.

From my original idea of a 4 room connected curved build one sided...

Then testing this being changed into more of a log cabin that opens up idea...

Deciding a box closed cabin would not be good for display and access for playability and changing it to a long fixed open plan design with cabin outside with the addition of Walter Hobbs small office and outside character features...

To my final design layout which is built in 3 sections and clipped together for maximum display and playability. Walter Hobbs bigger office area candy canes for Buddy's journey and more!

This was one of my original tests for Narwhal never posted, a more blocky look which I was not happy with at all...

to the more refined smoother look which brings the character to life much more..

Polar bear cub has had a mini new update to improve the look and also improve the connection strength and playability as you can see from the original design here..

compared to the modified version here...

Buddy's original design with hair on the head piece...

compared to my ideal look for buddy with more of a custom headpiece if LEGO decide to go with this look over the hair hat combo.

The same with Jovie with here just the hat

and the hat and hair..

I think LEGO should go with the hat and hair look as its much better and helps bring the characters to life.

My main goal for this set was to tell the story of the film

recreating all the small details the best I can, like creating the photo of Buddy's parents so it can be turned into the photo.

to being able to recreate iconic moments from the film such as, Santa needing help to fix his sleigh in the park.

Its all these small details that bring this set together and be a fun build for any fan of the film.

As promised here are 2 mini videos from the elf the movie set the first one is of Walter Hobbs office a 360 look..

and a mini video clip showing what's possible incorporating the characters into a winter village to recreate iconic scenes like Buddy leaving the north pole..

Everybody cross your fingers and wish us the best for the review process I hope we will be selected to make one of the most iconic Christmas films into an official LEGO set for family friends fans of LEGO and elf all together every Christmas to build this set and celebrate. I look forward to working with the Ideas team if this set gets picked to make any changes upgrades needed to make this the best possible set for release until then I just hope I have done enough to do the film and fans justice!

Again a big thank you from me to you all and see you on the other side of the 10k milestone!

A huge thank you to everyone that has supported, shared commented and liked Elf the movie so far!

I have been looking at possible modifications to the design of the set so far and one change I have looked at was the living room area which had windows on 3 sides of the room. One of the sides was boxed in by the toy building workshop area and the windows were looking out into an enclosed area which seemed like a waste of space and making the windows pointless.

As you can see by the two above outside renders of the update there is no longer a window empty void separating the living room and the toy building workshop rooms outside which gives a more flush look to the outside of the building.

This can be seen more clearly on the below renders with just a single wall separating the 2 areas now which allows a more flush look and also reduces the size of the baseplates needed for the set.

After each area has been assembled instead of having an overlap piece visible locking the areas together I decided to have a connection from inside the wall section and dresser table hidden away from view allowing the set to stay together while on display also allowing it to be separated easily if needed.

all these improve the look and functionality of the set for playability and display of the set.

Again thank you to everyone who has supported so far we now are on the final stretch with the 10,000 supporter final milestone in sight! Please continue to share with friends and family and support lets get to that 10k goal asap!

I am working on more renders of the set and even some animations which do take time to do, I will be sharing these when we get to 9500 supporters.

I have done an update to the look of the jack in a boxes which will mean a much better clearer print for the brick print or sticker size. This will also be keeping it more of a LEGO feel with Minifig jester style artwork including box lid art now also.

I will be working on more mini upgrades and changes to be shared as we get closer to the 10,000 goal!

Thank you to everyone who has supported so far, just 2000 more supporters needed to reach that final goal of 10000 now so please keep sharing with friends and family!

As a celebration for hitting 8000 supporters here is a few new images and renders!

I have been working on a few changes since the last update and decided the outside flat brown surface of Santa's Workshop needed changing to a log cabin panelled effect. I think this gives the set a much more professional look and also makes the set look much better on display and blend in with any winter village easily.

As we have reached 7500 supporters 75% towards the 10k goal its time for another update!

The first update is based on Buddy's journey to New York, where he passes through the seven levels of the candy cane forest where he passes huge candy canes in the snow. This simple yet effective addition represents that well and adds to the display of Buddy Leaving the North Pole.

I have decided that the Walter Hobbs office area needed to be a bit bigger allowing for more playability

The new design has the following new additions..

But there is 2 more chairs so we need some one to fill them... introducing Morris and Eugene to help Walter come up with his ideas for new books.

But if Morris and Eugene can not come up with any new ideas then we will have to call in...MILES FINCH!

The addition of these 3 minifigs combined with the Walter Hobbs office upgrade it will add plenty more playability to the set and more scenarios from the film.

The piece count of the set before this upgrade was 2628 and with all these new additions the new piece count is now ... 2759 an increase of just 131 pieces which is worth it to add all these new features to the set!

So with just 2500 more supporters needed to reach the 10k goal please continue to share and support. 2023 is the 20th anniversary of Elf the movie - this will be the prefect way to celebrate!

After many different design tests and changes I have decided on the below layout design for the set. as you can see the set now has just the 3 rooms removing the sleigh storage room which was quite small and not really having much playability as soon as the sleigh removed leaving just a blank room. I have also removed the tiled floor replacing it with a stud floor allowing minifigs to be placed better within the set without having balance standing up.

This allowed for an outside cabin design to be added instead of just blank outer buildings including small roof sections to the back edges keeping them quiet small to allow plenty of access for playability still and having a more winter village feel to the set

Keeping the rooms as a fixed layout which allows for a design better between the rooms and helps to create a more natural flow to playability with open areas and open arch door ways.

With 3 sides now as a cabin and one full interior open side for playability this gives the set a much larger area for Santa's sleigh on its own base outside Santa's workshop and creates a outside area for buddy and his friends!

The school area Santa's workshop and living room areas still as before slightly adjusted to fit with the new layout like below.

Walter Hobbs office still remains as a part of the set its own tribute to James Caan and the scene from the film! The eating scene I am still deciding on if to keep it as part of the set or not as again it does not have as much playability for that small area.

We are approaching the 7000 supporter mark on the set and I will get all main images and info uploaded updated to this new design over the week. Please continue to support and share with anyone you think will like lets get to that 10,000 supporter goal!

Below are a few new images form the set design showing a few details and features.

Please continue to support and share with anyone you think will like the elf the movie LEGO set!

As you can see I have tested the idea of making the set into a cabin style set with all features inside the, only problem I see with that is the brittle brown and reddish brown bricks issue id want to ensure that the set can withstand playability and also withstand being assembled every year at Christmas without suffering many broken pieces.

on my original design the set had a front fascia cabin front with allot less brown pieces reducing the risk of breaking bricks by reducing the amount by 80% compared to the above design.

Please let me know in the comments which set design you all prefer.

I am also still testing various layout ideas based on the smooth tile floor finish being removed which would allow the set to be expanded more but trying do decide if its worth loosing the wood floor effect against studs. Floor studs would allow more playability for minifigs and characters to be placed standing without falling over just like in Walter Hobbs office below, so I have plenty of testing to do with the design i want to do a stud no tile floor render to see how it looks.

*a quick render update to show the above an example of the classroom no tile floor

That's right just 4000 more to go to hit the 10k supporter goal! I will be starting a new set of renders for the design of the set going soon as had so make some changes on my laptop which has delayed rendering anything. I will have the full specs for each design in the updates soon showing the many possibilities for the Elf the movie LEGO set!