Review + MOC: 43247 Young Simba the Lion King from LEGO® Disney™

The June 2024 LEGO® Disney™ set 43247 Young Simba the Lion King is another example of an adult-oriented product based on a children's character. In addition to being a large model of the cartoon lion cub, this set is a treasure trove of Bright Light Orange pieces, also known as Flame Yellowish Orange, or Keetorange as I like to say. So what is this set worth to a builder who has never seen The Lion King?

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

43247 Young Simba the Lion King

• Price: US$129.99/ £114.99/ 129.99€/ AU$199.99
• Pieces: 1445
• Release Date: 1 June 2024

LEGO Disney 43247 Young Simba the Lion King on LEGO.com

 

Interesting parts

New mould

• 1x Animal Body Part / Plant, Tail / Neck / Branch / Trunk, Middle Section with Pin Holes in Bright Light Orange / Flame Yellowish Orange (6485967 | 5717) – also in 43243 Simba the Lion King Cub

The very similar part 40378 / 51274 was introduced in 2001 and gets this update 23 years later, with its friction pin replaced by a pin hole. On the positive side, this is more versatile, as it allows a stud connection and various pins like axle-pins, stud-pins and 3L pins. On the negative side, the slot looks unsightly, especially in lighter colours. 

Fortunately, it's not as severe as the gaping hole on its 2021 updated bigger brother, Animal / Creature Body Part, Tail / Claw / Horn / Branch / Tentacle, End Section, Large (67361), also appearing in this set.

New recolours

In Keetorange:

• 2x Panel 1 x 6 x 5 (6328954 | 59349)
• 4x Wedge Curved 6 x 4 Triple (6486866 | 43712)
• 3x Wedge Plate 8 x 3, 8° Left (6486883 | 3544)
• 3x Wedge Plate 8 x 3, 8° Right (6486882 | 3545)
• 1x Animal / Creature Body Part, Tail / Claw / Horn / Branch / Tentacle, End Section, Large (6486869 | 67361)
• 4x Brick Round Corner 4 x 4 x 3 Dome Top (6486886 | 49612)
• 4x Plate Special 2 x 2 with Horizontal T-Bar Underneath (6484950 | 5066) - introduced recently in 2 other sets
• 1x Animal Body Part / Plant, Tail / Claw / Horn / Branch / Tentacle, End Section (6210392 | 40379) - also in 43243 Simba the Lion King Cub

The fabulous amount of Keetorange recolours reminds me of 21306 The Beatles Yellow Submarine from 2016, only this selection is even larger. Two of these parts appear in other new sets as well.

There's another one, too:

• 22x Brick Round Corner, Curved 3 x 3 x 1 Quarter Circle (6486876 | 76797)

These quarter rounds come in excellent quantity here, and they look delicious for MOCs. If only they had included two more, I could have built a sphere with them.

• 2x Brick Curved 1 x 4 x 3 in Medium Nougat (6510210 | 65734)
• 2x Brick Special 1 x 2 x 1 2/3 with 8 Studs on 3 Sides in Medium Nougat (6486878 | 67329)
• 2x Brick Round 3 x 3 Dome with Center Stud in Bright Light Yellow (6486880 | 49308)
• 3x Slope Curved 2 x 1 with Stud Notch Left in Bright Pink (6460839 | 29120)
• 3x Slope Curved 2 x 1 with Stud Notch Right in Bright Pink (6486887 | 29119)

More exciting pieces for character builders. I love that the set designers have understood the usefulness of these notched baby bows.

• 2x Brick Curved 2 x 2 x 1 1/3 with Curved Top - Corner in Tan / Brick Yellow (6486890 | 67810)
• 4x Lever Small Base with Tan Lever in Tan / Brick Yellow (6488069 | 298c06 / 75387) - with 1 extra. Tan Lever Base has appeared before in 7155 Trade Federation AAT in 2000
• 2x Weapon Sword / Foil / Épée in Tan / Brick Yellow (6486889 | 37846, 93550)

The curved corner is very welcome in Tan, and the other two are quite surprising recolours. They make up Simba's whiskers. The return of the Tan lever base was long overdue (24 years), and it brought with it the lever, too.

• 24x Brick Round 1 x 1 x 1 1/3 Quarter Dome in Tan / Brick Yellow (6486875 | 1871)

These make me very happy. Double curved slope in a 1x1, in ample quantity, and in a colour befitting character models? Yes please.

New Print

• 2x Dish 2 x 2 Inverted [Radar] with Reddish Orange Eye print In Black (6481730)

This printed dish is hard to photograph, as it gets real light reflections in addition to the printed ones. 

I think this will be useful in large-eyed creature and character builds, and I hope it will appear in other sets, too.

Rare parts

The rare parts include great character building pieces as well. In Keetorange we get:

• 2x Windscreen 8 x 6 x 2 Curved (6485425 | 41751, 40995) - also in 43249 Stitch (review by Thomas Jenkins)
  
• 2x Slope 45° 2 x 1 with 2/3 Inverted Cutout and no stud (6485427 | 28192) - also in 43249 Stitch
• 2x Brick Arch 1 x 3 x 2 (6368878 | 88292) - in 2 other sets
• 2x Tile 45° Cut 2 x 2 (Triangle) (6479470 | 35787) - in 2 other sets
• 2x Brick Round 2 x 2 D. Tube with 45° Elbow and Axle Holes (Crossholes) at Each End [Short]  (6439715 | 65473) - in 2 other sets – Interestingly, the old version here

I like the 8x6x2 windscreen, as it's an easy, solid and sturdy way to make rounded shapes. While it lacks the versatility of the "half" versions (41750 and 41749), it has more room underneath and the helpful pin hole connections.

• 19x Plate Special 2 x 3 with Rocks in Bright Light Orange / Flame Yellowish Orange (6478178 | 27261) - also in 43242 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs' Cottage – read our review by Tobymac

Contrasting the many smooth parts, these special plates make the tufts on Simba's fur.

• 1x Plant, Bush 2 x 2 x 4 in Reddish Brown (6423976 | 6064) - in 2 other sets
• 1x Animal Body Part, Horn Stacked 45 deg. with Axle Connectors in Reddish Brown (6469998 | 2142) - in 2 other sets
• 2x Windscreen 8 x 6 x 2 Curved in Tan / Brick Yellow (6485425 | 41751, 40995) - also in 7298 Dino 2010 Air-Tracker and its militaristic US cousin 7477 T-1 Typhoon vs. T-Rex, both from 2005
• 4x Plate Round Corners 4 x 4 x 2/3 Circle with Reduced Knobs in Tan / Brick Yellow (6477326 | 66792) - also in 77048 Kapp'n's Island Boat Tour
• 3x Plate Special 2 x 3 with Rocks in in Tan / Brick Yellow (6480280 | 27261) - also in 10332 Medieval Town Square – read our review by Ben Davies
• 2x Wheel Arch, Mudguard 2 x 3 x 1 1/3 in Nougat (6330588 | 49097)- in 3 other sets

The rest of the rares look like they're from a desert-themed LEGO Super Mario set. It's nice to see the aforementioned windscreen appear in Tan as well, as it was last available 19 years ago.

Simba model

As mentioned, I have not seen The Lion King. Nor the sequel, nor the "live action" CGI remake. I was never a Disney Classics kid. I think I've seen three or four Disney animated films in total. Seeing Miyazaki's Spirited Away in the cinema as a 7 year-old made sure that there was no contest; I was eternally a Ghibli kid.

I understand that The Lion King is one of the most beloved and revered Disney movies. This explains the nostalgia factor for adult fans, though the set is relatively easy to build and thus should be fine for older kids, too (although there is not much to play with here). 

The near-simultaneous release of this set with the upcoming "realistic" CGI origin story Mufasa: The Lion King is strange, as this set is very different in style, with its Keetorange colour and big, staring eyes. I prefer it this way, though – I'm here for the Keetorange.The idea of a photorealistic Lion King cartoon feels bizarre to me, and not interesting.

The shaping of the LEGO model is mostly excellent. Shallow angles are built on the limbs with simple and strong techniques that allow for natural poses. The overall model feels sturdy. There is not much movement, which is not surprising and does not appear as a flaw; the head turns, with extra friction added by two ball joints inside the torso, and the tip of the tail can swing.

The back is well designed, too, showcasing the numerous new curvy recolours in Keetorange.

The shoulder area has some orange and yellow pieces that stick out from the otherwise very monochrome pelt. They're not too bad, though, but are more visible in real life than in these photographs.

The only big issue with the shaping is the muzzle, which appears flat and relatively long, widening toward the front. It looks almost like a short duck beak, not a cat's nose. I don't have a 3D model of the original Simba to compare with, what with him being a 2D character and everything, but it doesn't quite look right. Films stills suggest that it should be a bit more box-shaped and sloping.

Instead, the nose in profile resembles a fake muzzle strapped into a human or monkey's head. Actually, some of the progress steps after adding the eyes look creepily like a punished Furby…

The head has no issue on the frontal "passport" views, which cunningly are used as the main set pictures. The forward view is intense, and captures well the cheerful (and slightly manic) vibes common in the animated Disney characters I never learned to love.

The paws are excellent. Not least because of their good recolours, but the design too. I'm especially happy to see such a natural use for those rounded Mario plates that form their platforms.

The MOC: Proper Keetongu 3 

As should be clear by now, I have no nostalgia for The Lion King and thus I have more use for a chocolate helmet than a large-scale Simba model. Ashes to ashes, parts to parts – it's the circle of life. Off he goes.

The name of the game is Keetorange. This colour appeared in LEGO® Clikits sets in 2003, and LEGO® DUPLO® and LEGO® Belville sets in 2004 as well as in the largely randomised set 4562 Creator Value Pack (the infamous corner-case set of element history) in the form of the 2x4 brick. Even in 2005, the colour's use was still limited, appearing mostly in LEGO Duplo but also a few LEGO Belville and LEGO® BIONICLE® sets, and a single LEGO® Vikings and LEGO® Harry Potter™ set. 

Among those 2005 sets was 8755 Keetongu. I am a big fan of the set (and the character), and have even used its name in some of my internet account names. Its weird, unique design, strong colour scheme and benevolent nature has inspired me for almost two decades - and thus I have built many Keetongus. To quote myself from my own blog, and offer you some links to good old Brickshelf, these include:

• alt-built Keetongu, 
• black Keetongu, 
• skinny Keetongu, 
• flying Keetongu, 
• small Keetongu, 
• smaller Keetongu, 
• the first proper Keetongu,
• the second proper Keetongu, 
• the refurbished second proper Keetongu, 
• minifigure Keetongu,
• and finally, this summer, my Bio-Cup "monk" category entry, a more robotic Keetongu as a re-imagined version of the official Bionicle character itself. 

In my proper mainline Keetongus I've leaned more towards the massive, mushroom-shaped, organic interpretation of the character. In contrast, the monk version leaned more to robotic, mystical and even un-LEGO-ish aspects of it; it was a true LEGO Bionicle MOC, a design choice to fit the Cup requirements. It was a conscious departure from the mainline. 

However, this new mainline Keetongu was already underway at the time, before I knew I'd have Simba for an article. The 2014 version felt a bit outdated; I was not happy with the proportions nor the colour blocks. Constraction parts didn't allow for large, elegant colour blocks in this relatively rare colour, and I wanted it to be massive. 

I made the head, most of the torso and upper legs for this model in early 2024. I ran out of good parts before reaching the hands and the feet. Merging the project with the review of Simba felt like a perfect opportunity.

I was aiming for a similar size as Simba, but unlike the official set, I wanted my MOC to have good movement for natural poses. It was also going to be a bipedal humanoid, so the joints had to be strong enough. Simba offered many special shaping pieces for the surfaces, while the joint pieces among others came from my existing collection.

Conclusion

For me, 43247 Young Simba the Lion King is a hard set to judge. It's an enjoyable but relatively simple build experience. I have no desire to display the finished product, but that's not the set design's fault – I simply don't find the original character design appealing. Fans of the movie will likely like it. The nose area isn't quite successful, but the overall model is sturdy, well-proportioned and naturally posed.

As a parts pack, the price-per-piece value of US$129.99/ £114.99/ 129.99€/ AU$199.99 for 1445 parts and no minifigures is good, especially as there are not huge amounts of small, common parts. The volume of recolours and rare parts is excellent. However, these parts are mostly Keetorange and, to a lesser extent, Tan. Therefore the value as a parts pack depends on how useful MOC builders find these colours... they worked well enough for me.

LEGO Disney 43247 Young Simba the Lion King on LEGO.com

 

READ MORE: Review: 31213 Mona Lisa from LEGO® Art

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