Here at the Rambling Brick, photography has given us a lot of joy over the years – from travel, our earliest dabblings in Toy Photography, work with other organisations, and even with the family around the home. My father was definately an influence with regards to this: He has been giving thought to how he takes photographs for a while. I remember him getting a new Pentax SLR prior to a trip to New Zealand back in the 70’s, following on to a chain of EOS… both analog and digital, before settling in recent years on a mirrorless Fuji device. How things have changed over the last 24 years!

And so it was with some seriously nostalgic vibes that I approached this build.

31147 Retro Camera is part of the January 1 2024 Creator 3in1 range, which (for creator 3in1) is unique, as it is the first time in some years that no sets in the wave have been designed at minifigure scale (with the possible exception of 31152 Space Astronaut, which has room for a minifigure to sit down inside its head.) No houses. No Vans. No Shopping Strips or Amusement Ground Rides. Just real world objects (along with a 35th anniversary helicopter carrying truck), all competing for display space on your shelves.

I’m going to call this a smallish set, with only 261 pieces. It is priced at $39.99AUD/$19.99USD.

As you can see, we are equipped with a wide variety of grey elements – medium and dark – mainly plates, bricks and slopes, but we also have a generous number of 1x1x2 brackets up (black) and down (medium stone grey) A few red and medium azure elements remain relatively out of sight in the build and a solitary wheel hub will be put to work as the lens barrel. Most interesting is the strap: around 35cm long, with 2 small holes punched at either end. The sticker sheet is printed on transparent stock and depicts a variety of images, all of which can be drawn back to other creator 3in1 sets. I wonder if this is a selection of sets worked on by the graphic designer or set designer?

The Build:

The set has 3 builds: the retro camera, as well as a hand held camcorder (c. 2008) and a retro TV. Lets start with the hero build.

We start up setting up the base of the camera: a 4×12 plate, flanked by a couple of cut off 2×2 plates to get the shape of the camera’s body. I had the chance to compare it with the family Pentax ME: witdth and depth wise, the model is pretty spot on. As we build the base, we start setting up lots of brackets to the front of the build.

As we build up, we wrap plates around the body: on the front we use two 4×4 plates, while on the rear, as we attach a hinged door using some clips and a bar. As we build up, as continue to build up the lens mount. Once we move past the black aspect of the body (the traditional textured leatherette is imitated through the use of the studded plates), we move onto the metallic part of the casing, we return to a studs up, using curved bricks at either ends. A single plate with a small axle prodrudes to the right.

The window frame will serve as a functional viewfinder (although this is not quite what we see in a single lens reflex camera of any vintage.). As we cap off the model, we add in a variety of gears, tiles and more to represent the controls on the top of the camera body.

A collection of slopes build up the form of the pentaprism, and we include the form of the hot shoe – the position where an external flash might attach. I think the gear represents the wind-on mechanism, while the bionicle tooth element is most likely to represent the power switch. the winder is probably the ‘wind back’ mechanism. This is often incorporated with the shutter timer mechanism. A small stud in front of the ‘switch’ on the (photographer’s right) of the lens serves as trigger release. I actually missed this step the first time that I built it.

The camera strap is held in place over the small axle plate using a flanged train wheel.

Finally, we build a couple of rolls of film. The stickers on the images are an homage to other Creator 3in1 sets currently available, including 3118 Beach Camper Van; the Upcoming 31150 Wild Safari Animals; 31137 Adorable Dogs; 31148 Retro Roller Skate; 31135 Vintage Motorcycle. You can snap a roll at a time inside the back of the camera

Overall, I love the final model here. The final scale has been determinined by the wheel hub used for the lens- indeed, that might have been, in part, the inspiration for the model itself. The controls on top look great. I appreciate the fact that I can put my eye to the viewfinder, and sneak a glimpse above the lens.

I took out the family Pentax ME (1977) and positioned it right next to the final model here.

As a size match, this is an awesome model, and I have to admit, I was reluctant to pull it apart ot create the other models. That said, I set out to build the alternates:

While the camera used virtually every part in the box, the other models had a much greater number of leftover pieces.

The Camcorder

The Camcorder feels as if it is from the early day of solid state recording (post-tape) – one of those models from around 2008 or so. It was a fairly quick build and took form fairly quickly. I appreciate the placement of the viewfinder, as well as the few controls on the top of the model. The screen folds out, with a mixed image of actions on the screen.

The Retro Television

We build up the cabinet from the back, with the studs facing towards the front of the television.

I am super impressed at the details included here – the power switch on the side, the volume and tone controls, as well as the channel selector and the aerial on top. Ultimately, however, it is a small model, and only utilises half to two thirds of the pieces included.

Something extra: Slide Projector

I can remember when slide nights were an unironic way of sharing memories from a trip or event, and the slide projector provides a great way to display images. For the young folk: after the film was processed, you were left with a transparent plastic sheet, mounted within a small frame around 5cmx5cm in size, containing a positive image. The slide projector has a powerful light bulb that shines through the transparency, and is focussed on the wall/screen through the barrel of the lens. In this world of affordable data projectors and digital photography, the complexity might be hard to comprehend. I remember our slide projector was curved down towards the back, with a black vent/cooling fan mounted above the lamp.The slides were mounted on a caddy that would slide from side to side: thismeant that you could install a fresh slide, while looking at the previous image. However, it was a little frustrating if someone said “can you just go back a couple?”

I set out to reconstruct our old projector, as I remembered it, faded across the mists of time. The set comes with a good variety of SNOT brackets, a few round elements, as well as plates with truncated corners. and so I sert out on my task After a morning of experimentation, I came up with something that represented a miniaturised version of the machine we had. This kept up with the retro vibe conveyed in the set, particularly with the Camera and TV. The Camcorder just felt like too recent innovation to me, although I can imagine that that form of device holds genuine nostalgia value for the young adults of today.

I managed to incorporate 2 slide caddies of slightly different designs into the build, and hope that I have managed to convey the feeling of our old projector to this model. With more elements, and raiding the parts bin, I might have achieved a better result, but I am happy enough with it. I will pull it apart now, however: I really enjoyed the camera build, and I think I will keep that on display for the time being.

In Conclusion

This wave of Creator 3in1 has some strong hits for displayable, rather than playable models. The camera, and to a lessor extent the camcorder included in this set are both good reproductions of the source material,and will bring some joy for play rather than just display. I feel the camera model is worth the price of admission for this set – I love the hand strap, and the scaling of the model is just perfect. some controls might be misplaced compared with most camera of the 60s and 70s. Still, the overall effect is brilliant.

I might look to pair the purchase of this set with the upcoming 21345Polaroid OneStep SX-70 Ideas set – either for your own amusement, or to distract the kids while you are putting that set together. At $30AUD/20USD it certainly won’t break the bank, and gives you a great display version of a classic camera design, without spending that extra $250 on version with a working shutter mechanism, adjustable f-stop and powered up film rewind function. Sometimes the LEGO model of a thing should be cheaper, and simpler.

The set will be released on January 1, 2024 and has a recommended retail price of $AUD29.99; $USD19.99; £17.99; €19.99;$CAD24.99. Consider using these affiliate links: they won’t cost you anything, and the Rambling Brick might receive a small commission, which helps to cover our running costs.

What do you think of this particular Creator set? Do the alternate builds hold any interest for you? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

If you have enjoyed this post, please feel free to share it with your friends, families and communities. You can also keep up to date with us by following The Rambling Brick on our socials: Facebook, Threads, Bluesky, Tumblr (or just sign up for our mailing list) and find some extra content on Instagram and TikTok.

We really value your feedback: please let us know what you think about the sets we review, and the articles we post. And if you wish to support the Rambling Brick, consider clicking on our affiliate links before going shopping at LEGO.com. The Rambling Brick receives a small commission, and it costs you nothing extra.

Until Next Time,

Play Well!