LEGO® Creator 3-in-1 review: 31122 Fish Tank

TobyMac (@efraimaspie) examines another of the upcoming 2021 LEGO® Creator 3-in-1 sets: 31122 Fish Tank. Released 1 June 2021 priced £24.99/ €29.99/ AU$44.99 (except North America; 1 August US$29.99). Buying this set? Consider using our affiliate links, New Elementary may get a commission: UK LEGO Shop | USA LEGO Shop | Australia LEGO Shop, for other countries 'Change Region'. Products in this article were provided by LEGO; the author's opinions are their own.

The second LEGO® Creator 3-in-1 set I’m reviewing is a lot smaller than 31120 Medieval Castle. But size doesn’t matter, as long as it brings us some new elements. Let's take a dive into the Fish Tank.

THE PARTS

The set contains 118 different elements, with 352 parts in total quantity. The tank itself uses a lot of black elements, but the fish in the tank bring a colourful palette for you to enjoy. There are no new moulds, prints or a sticker sheet.

We welcome 4 new recolours. I’m most excited about the 2 SNOT bricks, expanding the possibilities of colourful MOCs.

• 4 x Plate 1 x 12 in Dark Azure (6185543 | 60479)
• 2 x Brick Special 1 x 2 with Studs on 2 Sides in Bright Orange/ Orange (6345590 | 52107)
• 2 x Brick Special 1 x 1 with Studs on 2 Sides in Bright Purple/ Dark Pink (6334462 | 47905) 
• 1 x Brick Round 3 x 3 Dome with Center Stud in Bright Reddish Violet/ Magenta (6290543 | 49308)

Rare parts:

• Cone 3 x 3 x 2 in Bright Purple/ Dark Pink (6310205 | 6233) has appeared once before in a 2021 Friends set.
• Brick Round 2 x 2 Truncated Cone in Bright Purple/ Dark Pink (6329278 | 98100) has only appeared in the 10280 Flower Bouquet.
• Brick Round 2 x 2 Truncated Cone in Bright Bluish Green/ Dark Turquoise (6278463 | 98100) also appears for the second time.
• Slope Curved 2 x 1 Inverted in Light Purple/ Bright Pink (6296041 | 24201) has only been seen in 2 sets, the last one being 76199 Carnage.

Also worth mentioning is the quantity of brackets in this set. You get 78 pieces of various 2-wide brackets, along with some extra 1-stud wide and 4-stud wide brackets.

THE BUILD

As usual, there are 3 models in this set. I must say, only the Fish Tank seems really interesting to me, but I’m ready to be surprised.

MODEL A

Model A is the Fish Tank. The base is made out of Brick Yellow/ Tan plates, surrounded by brackets. So far, so good.

The tank is done pretty fast. I do have a hard time liking it. There is grey and blue sticking out and the sides have a thick part near the bottom, with a very slim clip connection underneath it. It just looks messy.

The saving grace of the model are the inhabitants of the tank. There are 5 cute fishes, a submarine and coral decorations.

MODEL B

Model B is a treasure chest, along with some mini-builds. The model uses 224 parts, of which a lot are brackets. 

What can I say? The multitude of colours in the brackets disrupt the looks of the chest. It feels like a prototype model where the designer used whatever colour of part was within reach, and then forgot to update the colours for the final model.

Again, the mini-builds save the model a bit, but this is really not doing it for me.

MODEL C

The third model is an easel with a canvas, using only 160 parts. Again, I’m not a fan of the distracting colours in the easel, but as a build, it works very well. It could work as a small display piece. I like the idea of adding a canvas. Most readers of New Elementary will of course immediately design their own paintings.

THE VERDICT

As you might have noted, I’m not liking the models in this set. The Fish Tank has a great interior, but the tank itself needs some colour swabs for me to work. The treasure chest, well, it’s a direct skip. Weirdly enough, I like the smallest model, the easel, the best. With ‘the best’ being relative to the other models.

You do get some nice recolours with this set. And besides a load of brackets, there are also some black tiles to be found but they can also be found on Bricks & Pieces, so I’m not sure if the set is worth it.

READ MORE: Jonas Kramm & Stefan create alternate models from 4 June Harry Potter sets

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