In 2020, LEGO started marketing sets for adults, although there have always been adult fans. Of course, there’s an intersection of LEGO fans who love cats. So, it was only a matter of time before a life-size model of cats appeared.
A new life-sized Tuxedo Cat is now available, which the company says is the “perfect pet.” This one won’t require feeding or a litter box; it won’t cause allergies or knock over your other LEGOS. However, they acknowledged “there’s nothing like the real thing.” If you love cats, you might consider building the pose-able plastic brick version to see how quickly your cat ignores it in favor of the sleek box it comes in. Actually, both might enjoy sitting in the box.
Here’s how the idea for the LEGO Tuxedo Cat began. As it turned out, it started about five years ago when a man designed a model at home after his real-life kitty.
Images via Lego.com
The Final LEGO Cat was Based on a Siamese Kitty
In May 2019, Damian Andres from Belgium, who goes by “The Yellow Brick,” decided to create a LEGO cat to keep his two cats company. Originally, the design was a black and white tuxedo cat, although his cats are a Siamese mix and a grey British Shorthair. After finishing the tuxie cat, it sat in his room for a long time.
Original design on the left via YouTube/The Yellow Brick
Miro Provided the Measurements
Later, in the summer of 2020, he decided to work on an improved version and submit it to ‘LEGO Ideas’ for consideration.
“This time, the cat should be much better and look as much as possible like my own cat, Miro,” he explained.
Miro via YouTube/The Yellow Brick
It took several months to design the new LEGO cat. To get it just right, he repeatedly measured Miro so the proportions were accurate.
“First, I designed the legs, then the upper and lower body and at last, the head, which was the biggest challenge for me,” wrote Andres. “I designed many prototypes to find the best shape. For a long time, I was looking for a method to represent the eyes; I wanted to make them look very real. A big advantage was that I have cats at home, so that I could measure and compare again and again,” he wrote.
Miro via TikTok/The Yellow Brick
TikTok Pushed the LEGO Cat to the Finish Line
When Andres was happy with the design, he clicked the button to submit it to LEGO Ideas.
How the final design looked via LEGO Ideas
After submitting the design, he needed 10,000 supporters within a little over a year before the company would review it. After an early wave of support, things slowed down considerably. But then, Andres decided to try uploading a video to TikTok.
It worked! The LEGO cat reached the finish line on November 19, 2022.
Video via TikTok/yellow_brick_
The Siamese Became A Tuxedo Cat Again
One day, Andres was thrilled to hear that LEGO decided to begin production on his idea. However, their revamped version had many improvements. And, it was no longer a Siamese but was once again a Tuxedo cat, which may have more widespread appeal.
LEGO Designer Chris McVeigh made many updates but based the overall design on Andres’s idea. Now, the finished kitty has a rotating head, adjustable ears, paws, and tail. As you can see, the kitty also comes complete with its own box to sit in. Purrfect!
“The only LEGO product where the box is a part of the actually set
,” joked Kræn L.
Image via Instagram/powerpig
“21349 LEGO Ideas Tuxedo Cat. Based on the elegant model by fan designer Damian Andres and featuring graphic work by the incomparable Nathan Davis,” shared Chris McVeigh.
To complete the LEGO cat, artist Nathan Davis designed the colorful, expressive eyes.
“It may only be the eyes I made here, but we spent a lot of time going near mad over the shape, colour, dilation… to say nothing of the effort he put into the rest of the cat!” Davis wrote.
See the video from LEGO below:
The LEGO Cat Was A 10/10
According to Andres’s review of the finished product, the cat can have blue or yellow eyes. If you swivel the head, he suggested it even makes a purring noise. That truly would be cute but we’re not sure if that was merely a joke. Nevertheless, after seeing it all come together for himself, he was fully satisfied with the results.
“For me, the building experience is a 10 out of 10,” he said.
This LEGO fan has an entire LEGO set in his home, which his other cat, Aaron, enjoys knocking over, as cats do. Meanwhile, the LEGO cat hasn’t caused any mayhem yet.
“What I love most is that the cat can’t cause any trouble in my LEGO city, unlike Aaron the (bleep),” he said.
Yet we’re sure he’d agree there’s no substitute for the real thing, however many plastic blocks they knock over. By the way, if you decide to get the LEGO set, be aware that small plastic blocks can be ingested by accident. So it’s a good idea to keep the loose blocks out of reach of your cat’s little paws!
Video by Yellow Brick:
