"But Grandma! What big eyes you have," said Little Red Riding Hood.

"All the better to read Brickset's review of the Pop-up Book, my dear," replied the wolf...

21315 Pop-Up Book was the winner of the third Ideas review period of 2017 which were announced in May this year. It's the second set to pass review that Jason Allemann has had a hand in after 21305 Maze and the finished product looks to be faithful to the original.

Let's take a look...

Box and contents

The set comes in a fairly large box that on the front shows a part-opened book and on the back the two different scenes that can be built -- Little Red Riding Hood and Jack and the Beanstalk -- to put inside.

View image at flickr

View image at flickr

Parts are packed in 6 numbered bags and my first thought when seeing them was 'what a lot of dark green!' In fact there are over 230 parts of that colour, over 1/4 of the total, a few of which are new in this set, such as 2x2 / 1x4 brick hinges and 1x12 bricks.

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The are also two brown 8x16 tiles, which are also new in that colour, one of which is printed with the book's title. There was speculation earlier in the week that it was a sticker so I'm pleased to report that it isn't. In fact there are no stickers in the set at all.

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In addition to the building steps, the instruction manual contains information about the fan designers Jason Allemann and Grant Davis; the LEGO designer Wesley Talbott and graphic designer Crystal Marie Fontan; a brief history of pop-up books and the two fairy tales depicted.

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Minifigures

The set's four minifigs are scattered among the six bags but I'll look at them all here before delving into the model's construction.

First we have granny. She's attired in a delightful pink nightgown, complete with frilly white details and blue ribbon. This is the first time minifig legs have been produced in this shade of pink.

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The printing continues on the back of her torso.

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The wolf, having gobbled granny up, puts her nightdress on, but in doing so his claws have made a bit of a mess of it by the looks of things.

The head -- here decorated with granny's glasses and lipstick -- has appeared before in collectable minifigures series 14 71010 Wolf Guy.

View image at flickr

View image at flickr

Little Red Riding Hood looks adorable in a lacy top and skirt under her cape and red hood. The combined hair and hood piece is a re-coloured version of that found in The LEGO Ninjago Movie collectable minifigures 71019 Lloyd Garmadon.

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Despite being hidden by the cape, the back of the torso is also printed.

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She's provided with a basket and a couple of cookies to take to granny.

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To bring the Jack and the Beanstalk story to life we are provided with the giant and Jack.

The Giant is attired in a tatty waistcoat. The golden egg laying goose is stuffed into its top pocket and a rope over his shoulder has barrels, skulls and a sack containing the precious egg tied to it.

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View image at flickr

Jack is trophy-sized and very finely printed.

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View image at flickr

Overall, this is an exceptional selection of minifigs and I can see many people buying the set for them alone.

Construction

The cover of the book is constructed using the dark green pieces. It's just like building a wall. The bricks with studs on their sides will be used to attach details to the cover and the internals.

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The window on the spine is not to let light in but to provide a room for the corner of the internal model to move when folding the book.

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Brown tiles are used to add detail to the outside of the book. Note the 1x6 tiles printed with the fan designer's names. A nice touch...

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View image at flickr

The 'pages' of the book are affixed to the other side, along with small sections of scenery in the bottom corners.

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For the pop-up scenery to work and fit in the book it obviously has to be hinged, thin and fitted with a means of attaching it to the cover. The facade of grandma's house is pretty much as large as it can be while still allowing the cover to close.

Despite its diminutive size the designer has packed in some delightful details. I particularly like the wooden pillars and the carving above the door.

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The Technic pieces at either end are used to affix it to the cover, in the brown 1x2 bricks you can see in the photo above.

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Tucked away behind the house is granny's bed and a table.

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View image at flickr

As far at Little Red Riding Hood is concerned, the build is complete. But the set also comes with parts to build a Jack and the Beanstalk scene. This is in two parts: a microscale landscape complete with tiny houses, trees, a windmill and clouds,

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and the giant's house. You'll see that better in the pictures below.

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The completed model

Let's open the book...

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View image at flickr

View image at flickr

As if by magic the beanstalk grows and raises the giant's house high above the clouds!

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The giant can be stood in front of it, but not affixed: doing so would prevent the book from closing.

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I understand that several internal models were considered during design but that this particular one was chosen because of the way it works, and its impressive height.

However, clever though it is, I much prefer granny's house and Little Red Riding Hood.

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I do like the way granny or the wolf can be put in the bed.

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Compared to original Ideas submission

As you'll see if you watch the video for Jason and Grant's Ideas submission the finished model is a faithful representation of it, albeit more polished and attractive.

The only thing that looks to be missing is the clasp on the side to hold the book closed. I'm guessing it was felt to be unnecessary.

Verdict

This set epitomises what the Ideas platform is for, and what it's best at: bringing sets to market that do not fit into LEGO's normal product portfolio.

Jason and Grant's excellent idea has been turned into a clever and very attractive set that will have broad appeal, although I appreciate that it won't be for everybody. The minifigure selection is the icing on the cake: all four figures are superb and I would suggest better than the idea submitter's could have hoped for.

I can't really think of anything negative to say about it. Perhaps printed tiles for the spine would have been nice but other than that it's pretty much perfect.

And, for once I don't have to grumble about the price: £59.99 / US$69.99 for 859 pieces and four excellent minifigs seems very fair, and a fair exchange rate, just for a change.

Little Red Riding Hood lived in a wood with her mother. One day Little Red Riding Hood went to visit her granny. She had a nice cake in her basket.

On her way Little Red Riding Hood met a wolf.

‘Hello!’ said the wolf. ‘Where are you going?’

‘I’m going to see my grandmother. She lives in a house behind those trees.’

The wolf ran to Granny’s house and ate Granny up. He got into Granny’s bed. A little later, Little Red Riding Hood reached the house. She looked at the wolf.

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‘Granny, what big eyes you have!’

‘All the better to see you with!’ said the wolf.

‘Granny, what big ears you have!’

‘All the better to hear you with!’ said the wolf.

‘Granny, what a big nose you have!’

‘All the better to smell you with!’ said the wolf.

‘Granny, what big teeth you have!’

‘All the better to eat you with!’ shouted the wolf.

A woodcutter was in the wood. He heard a loud scream and ran to the house.

The woodcutter hit the wolf over the head. The wolf opened his mouth wide and shouted and Granny jumped out.

The wolf ran away and Little Red Riding Hood never saw the wolf again.

From http://learnenglishkids.britishcouncil.org/en/short-stories/little-red-riding-hood

The set will be released on November 1st. We'll remind you at time.

Thanks to LEGO for providing the set for us to review. All opinions in it are my own.