21351 The Nightmare Before Christmas News

Comparing LEGO Ideas The Nightmare Before Christmas to the original submission

13/08/202413/08/2024 Chris Wharfe 559 Views 1 Comment

LEGO Ideas 21351 The Nightmare Before Christmas has made a handful of surprisingly substantial changes to Simon Scott’s original submission.

The 59th LEGO Ideas set – revealed earlier today – drops on September 3 for LEGO Insiders and takes inspiration from Tim Burton’s 1993 animated movie, and more specifically from fan designer Simon Scott’s original pitch that was given the green light in the second 2022 review. But while both models contain a similar number of elements, their specific execution of the concept varies more than you might have expected.

That doesn’t mean these two models are worlds apart, of course. They both still recreate three different slices of Halloween Town, including Jack Skellington’s house, Spiral Hill and the Town Hall. But there’s still plenty to unpack between the two, so let’s dive in and see how Simon’s submission has changed on its way to LEGO Store shelves…

It’s a much more compact build

Where Simon’s sprawling design used its roughly 2,000 pieces to create a model that rose tall and wide, 21351 The Nightmare Before Christmas pares things back slightly for a slightly less ambitious build. Jack’s house was nearly three times the height of the Town Hall in the original submission, but is now only just double its height thanks to its chimney.

Spiral Hill has also been condensed considerably in relation to its minifigures, while the footprint of the base has been pared back – making for a display model that won’t command quite as much shelf space as Simon’s (even if it uses nearly 200 more pieces).

The Moon has a physical representation

While Simon’s original pitch relies on graphic design to convey the enormous Moon in the background of the scene (and Spiral Hill in particular), the LEGO Group was seemingly not content to keep that icon of the movie to the box art. 21351 The Nightmare Before Christmas instead includes a physical representation of the Moon with what looks like a large plastic piece of some sort (a vinyl or foil element would presumably not have been stiff enough).

We’ll probably have to wait until we have our hands on the set to determine the exact material used…

It’s two in, two out for the characters…

Simon suggested eight different characters for his Nightmare Before Christmas set, and the LEGO Group has matched that number in the final set. The exact make-up of the roster has shifted slightly though: gone are Dr. Finkelstein and Jack in his Sandy Claws outfit, and in their place are Zero the dog (who uses a brand new piece) and a brick-built version of the Mayor.

Jack Skellington, Sally Stitches, Lock, Shock, Barrel and Santa Claus are all present and correct across both models, though their exact designs are a little different.

…and Jack looks mighty different

For instance, while Jack obviously shows up in both the original submission and the finished model, the LEGO Group has elected to use the longer minifigure arms and legs reintroduced in the LEGO Avatar sets to communicate his lofty frame. Given Simon submitted his second pass at Halloween Town in July 2022, or a few months before those longer limbs returned to shelves, this change makes perfect sense. It also distinguishes Jack from his previous iteration in 71024 Disney Series 2 Collectible Minifigures.

At its core, this is the same thing people voted for

All that said, 21351 The Nightmare Before Christmas still appears to be largely the same set 10,000 people voted for back in 2022. Changes to characters and scale are to be expected of pretty much any LEGO Ideas set at a minimum, but the core ingredients of Simon’s original pitch – the three different locations in Halloween Town arranged side by side, most of the characters, the graveyard, the walking bathtub – are still present in the finished model.

So while there are a few substantial modifications to be spotted here, they’re still nowhere near the level of (for example) 21325 Medieval Blacksmith, 21337 Table Football or 21344 The Orient Express Train.

You’ll be able to check out 21351 The Nightmare Before Christmas in person from September 3, when it goes on sale exclusively for LEGO Insiders (before a wider launch on September 6), for £169.99 / $199.99 / €199.99. Head here to see more images of the finished product.

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Chris Wharfe

I like to think of myself as a journalist first, LEGO fan second, but we all know that’s not really the case. Journalism does run through my veins, though, like some kind of weird literary blood – the sort that will no doubt one day lead to a stress-induced heart malfunction. It’s like smoking, only worse. Thankfully, I get to write about LEGO until then.