LEGO Disney Simba the Lion King June 2024 releases | Embrace the Circle of Life with Disney LEGO Simba the Lion King
Published: 6 months ago
Last Updated: 6 months ago
dern favourites, capturing the magic and nostalgia of Disney in intricate detail. One such film is ‘The Lion King’, a classic Disney animated film that follows the journey of Simba, a young lion who is destined to become king. After the tragic death of his father, Mufasa, Simba flees his home, only to return later to reclaim his rightful place as king from his uncle Scar. The film features memorable characters, beautiful animation and iconic songs. So, it is no wonder that two new LEGO sets are now taking their place in the ‘Circle of Life’ as the film celebrates its 30th anniversary.
The two sets that have been released are Young Simba the Lion King (43247) and a far smaller model of Simba the Lion King cub (43243). Once again LEGO have chosen to release the pair of sets at very different piece counts and price points, a tactic we do like as it offers an affordable option for some sets to a wider audience that may not have been so otherwise.
We have looked at these 2 Simba models from the classic Disney Lion King Movie below:
43247 LEGO Disney Young Simba the Lion King
The LEGO Disney Young Simba the Lion King (43247) set is a 1,445-piece model designed for adults, although we think that younger fans will enjoy this too! The iconic lion figure stands over 29 cm tall. With a movable head for various display poses, this set provides a good building experience, although we would have liked it if Simba’s limbs were able to move too. The colours of the model are well thought out, with the transition from flamish-yellow to the tan underside of Simba being subtle, enhancing the model's likeness to the animated character. Here at Investabrick we love the detailed facial expression and clever parts usage which capture Simba's character, making it a good addition to any collection.
43243 LEGO Disney Simba the Lion King Cub
The LEGO Disney Simba the Lion King Cub (43243) set, with 222 pieces, captures Simba's playful personality with a posable design featuring a rotating head, movable legs and tail. Standing over 11 cm tall, the buildable figure boasts printed eyes and ears, eliminating the need for stickers. For its price point, this set offers great value, featuring clever parts usage like a hotdog and cherries. Despite a rigid spine, Simba's posable nature adds to the charm, making it a delightful play-and-display set.
Theme Analysis
LEGO Disney is not the first name that comes to mind when considering LEGO investments. Launched in 2016 there have now been over 150 sets released of which 100 have subsequently retired. As a whole, the LEGO investment performance of the theme is well below the average for all LEGO at just 3% average LEGO investment returns per year, far below the level we like to see for themes we invest in.
We have taken a look at some of the more successful LEGO Disney Investments sets below including LEGO Ariel’s Undersea Palace (41063) which had trebled in value since retiring in 2016 (15% annualised growth), LEGO Sleeping Beauty’s Fairytale Castle (41152) which has doubled in value since retiring at the end of 2018 (14% annualised growth) and LEGO Cinderella’s Dream Castle (41154) which has seen more than 50% increase in value since retiring at the end of 2019 (11% annualised growth).
Conclusion
The overall performance of the LEGO Disney theme makes it very hard for us to recommend any sets from it as strong LEGO investments. That said, we are big fans of these 2 sets and think that both are likely to outperform the LEGO Disney average, but not to a level where we would be seeing them as strong investments.
In their favour is they are likely to be popular models, they are initially expected to have relatively short shelf lives (albeit this could well change) and they will definitely appeal to Disney collectors. If the demand remains strong and there are some reasonable discounts prior to their retirement then we could be tempted to add a few to our portfolio but for now these are strongly for LEGO and Disney fans to build and most likely display.
Other LEGO Disney sets
There are 2 LEGO Disney sets we are keeping an eye on, despite the overall theme performance which we will look at in more detail later, with both likely to retire in 2025. These are:
43217 LEGO Disney Up House
The LEGO Disney UP House has been one of the most in demand sets in 2023 and that demand doesn’t appear to be diminishing at all, with it currently on delayed delivery from the LEGO shop.
LEGO 43217 comes with just under 600 pieces for its RRP of $60 / £50 and includes 2 unique minifigures; DIS090 Russell and DIS091 Carl Fredrikson which between them account for about 25% of the sets value.
Keep an eye out especially at Amazon where discounts of 20% or slightly more can be had on this hugely popular LEGO Disney set.
Click here to buy at Amazon now.
43222 LEGO Disney Castle
The LEGO Disney Castle is huge, coming with nearly 5,000 pieces and an RRP of $400 / £345. Exclusive to LEGO this Disney Castle model has proven to be a popular LEGO Disney set which comes with 8 minifigures; DIS096 Tiana, DIS132 Cinderella, DIS 133 Prince Charming, DIS 134 Snow White, DIS135 Prince Florian, DIS136 Prince Naveen, DIS137 Flynn Ryder, DIS138 Rapunzel. Together these account for about 1/3 of the overall RRP.
Currently stock is tightly held and discounts haven’t been seen, and that is unlikely to change in the near future at least with demand remaining strong and selling above RRP on secondary markets when it is out of stock at LEGO.
