This year has been a huge year for Creature builds in Creator 3in1, with 11 out of 19 Creator 3in1 sets released this years featuring animals of some sort or another. We are about to add another with the 31394 Cute Animals: Red Panda to this list. Due for release on August 1 2026, the models include a Red Panda; an Owl and a Clown Fish. The set has 297 pieces and is has a recommended retail price of $AUD49.99/£24.99/29.99€/$USD29.99. This set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes, all opinions are my own.

So, are these Cute Animals, or an appealing parts pack? Let’s take a closer look.

The Elements

The set comes with three numbered paper bags and three manuals, as well as have come to expect with the majority of Creator sets.

The predominant colour palette is one of reddish orange and dark orange.

The dark orange elements are predominantly plates – 2×2, 2×3, 2×4 and 2×6, along with 2x2x2/3 inverse slopes and 2x4x1 curved slopes, as well as some 1×1 arches, and 2x1x1 2/3 bricks with studs on the side. While some of these pieces have appeared previously, they are yet to get broad distribution.

Reddish orange elements include plenty of 2×1 plates, along with a couple of 1×3 and 1×4. We have 81×4 inverse curved slopes; five 2x2x2/3 curved slopes; as well as a few bricks, inverse slopes and a could have 2×2 bricks with Technic ball sockets. There is also a Technic ball with a bar hole in reddish orange. We also have a 2×2 bricks with a Technic ball in reddish brown.

There are two reddish orange ‘Megaroni’ 3×3 tubes. These are exactly the same as the ones seen in this colour that appeared in 71481 Ixxies Dream Creatures in 2024, but with a new design ID. The mould is the same. Here are the new two (on the right) next to the old 2. There is a barely perceptable difference in colour.

Finally, a few interesting bricks: reddish brown headlamp bricks, as well as some 1x1x2/3 snot bricks, and some 1x1x2/3 plates.

Finally, there is a collection of flowers in white and bright pink, some bright reddish violet studs, black cherries and some leaves in spring green and bright green, suitable for some landscaping.

The Build

Red Panda

The Hero Build starts with a small patch of landscape – with colourful flowers, some stems of grass before embarking on the Reddish-orange abdomen – dark orange is used primarily on the belly and legs.

A nifty technique is used to join headlamp bricks back to back, joined with the 2 model connector bar. We place 1×1 arches over the exposed studs and join them together, before placing them on the legs as feet.

This is the first time that I have seen this as a technique to reinforce back to back mounting of headlamp bricks without having a plate joining the two across the top (We still have one across the bottom).

The legs are predominantly dark orange. The front legs have recessed ball joints, minimizing lateral rotation, while the rear legs are quite mobile.

We add the tail: a collection of elements held together by technic axles, including a white truncated cone, engine cowling and dome, with the reddish-orange curved elements in between.

We follow up by constructing the head – primarily with a core covered in studs pointing left, right, front back and upwards, which is connected to the body using a large technic ball joint.

The face is built up on a plate which snaps on the front, while ears have bar connectors which plug into some of the studs, before being held in place by some curved slopes on the back. Again, the 1×1 dome element forms intensely black eyeballs.

Unfortunately, the straight legs look a little too awkwardly rigid, and might have been improved by incorporating knees, even if they do not flex.

There is limited facial articulation, but just being able to open the mouth gives the red panda a curious expression.

Finally, here is the red panda next to the similar creature from 71481: I prefer this brick-built face and articulation in this model far more, but the set is missing Izzie, one of the best minifigures to appear in recent years.

Owlet

For a change in direction, we head to the sky, and build a sweet little owl. We start with a small patch of flowers, and a most delightful bug,before moving onto the core. The core has a large ball joint at one end, 2 hollow studs at the other, and some balls for joints coming off in between. We build up textures for the front and creat small wings, where the rounded 2×4 tiles can be twisted out to spread the feathers more. A tale, held on by a clip, extends out the back, and can be folded down when you have the bird in flight.

This is a suitably cute build, but only uses a fraction of the elements in the set.

Clown Fish

Finally, we take to the sea.

We use some dark orange plates to form the front and back half of the se of a small coral outcrop.  We build up some snot cores for the front and rear halves of the fish. We add a brick-built tail and encase the body in curved slopes. The dorsal fin is attached using a plate with a clip on the side, facing upwards. Cheese slopes form the ventral fins, front and rear.  The final body is striped, with a white truncated cone attaches the tail to the body.  On the left of the rear, we have a 1×2 cheese slope, and on the right two 1x1x2/3 slopes side by side to make the model symmetrical. Globe elements make charming eyes.
Overall, this is a simple and effective model that does what it says on the tin, allowing the body to flex, while cruising over the sea floor. The reddish orange bricks are probably the most realistic ‘clown fish’ colour available in the current palette. Again, this model only uses a fraction of the total.

Thoughts

This set brings us creratures from Land, Air and Sea – which is as good a connection between models in a creator 3in1 set as you could ever hope for. I love it when these Creator 3in1 sets show the diversity in the types of model to be built with the same set of bricks, even though the alternate builds use a fraction of the elements present in the box. But does the set live up to the ‘Cute Animals’ designator in the title? On the whole.

The owlet is certainly cute, and quite posable. The fish also has a certain amount of character, and will raise many child memories of Finding Nemo.

However, the red panda stands out as my favorite: despite the rigid legs, the character is added to by the expressive face. It is certainly a cute one! The small patches of landscape with each build really add to the display value, especially with the small insects associated with the red panda and owlet.

This set will increase your supply of reddish-orange and dark-orange elements, and some will certainly see it as an excellent parts pack. At $49.99AUD/29.99USD it offers reasonable value, keeping around the $US0.10 per part, and including a reasonable number of bricks, curved slopes and plates larger than 1×2 amongst the elements.

Overall, I give this set 3.5 out of 5 Arbitrary Praise Units. An interesting parts pack in a novel colour, and cheerful builds, although only the hero uses up a good number of elements. Would you pick this up for the reddish orange elements, the animals or leave it on the store shelf? Leave your comments below.

Creator 3in1 31394 Cute Animals: Red Panda has 297 pieces and is priced at $AUD49.99 / £24.99 / 29.99€ / $USD29.99. It will be released on August 1st 2026. This set was provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes, all opinions are my own.

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Until Next Time,

Play Well!