Growing up, I always adored the Peanuts Gang. Snoopy, in particular, held a very special place in my heart. I mean, come on, how could you not love that wonderfully silly beagle and the shenanigans he’d get into? So when LEGO announced the delightful Peanuts: Snoopy’s Doghouse set – which features Snoopy and his little sidekick Woodstock hanging around his bright red doghouse – I was eager to get my hands on it.
LEGO Ideas Peanuts: Snoopy’s Doghouse #21368
5
- Price: $89.99
- Ages: 18+
- Pieces: 964
- Item #: 21368
This LEGO set was released in June and launched as part of the Ideas line, which are kits designed by fans. This set is all thanks to Robert Becker, who you can see in the image below with his original Snoopy and Woodstock build.
While Snoopy and Woodstock are characters beloved by all ages, this set is actually geared towards adults. This is because it has a higher piece count and a somewhat more complex assembly with multiple elements to keep an eye on. However, it’s always worth mentioning that the recommended age doesn’t mean kids are off limits from building it. Just make sure they have an older helping hand around to assist and they’re all set.
We Build the LEGO Ideas Peanuts: Snoopy’s Doghouse (21368)
While the Snoopy’s Doghouse set isn’t the biggest build I’ve worked on for IGN (the Emerald City Wall Art takes the cake there), it still has a solid piece count of 964 that’s split across 10 bags. With that in mind, it actually didn’t take me a terribly long time to assemble. I spent a few hours piecing it together at a pretty relaxed pace, and it was all done and dusted in a day.
I spent a few hours piecing it together at a pretty relaxed pace, and it was all done and dusted in a day.“
Naturally, alongside the bricks themselves, there’s also an instruction manual in the box. Before it gets into the details on how to assemble this build, there’s some nice blurbs at the start about Robert Becker and his original build idea, a mini breakdown about the character Snoopy, and a note from the LEGO Ideas team. These are fun to read, but what really caught my eye were the illustrations of Snoopy and Woodstock around the edges of the manual, which are just a joy to look at.
Now, on to the build. For starters, you’ll create the beloved beagle himself, and there’s quite a lot to keep track of as you piece him together. Building the entirety of Snoopy is split across three bags of bricks, focusing on the lower part of his body, his head, nose, and ears.
One of the best aspects of Snoopy’s build is that he’s very posable, though that’s also what makes his assembly require a little extra concentration. His ears flop around, his arms move, and his head can be rotated to different angles, which are all great for adding a little extra personality to his poses. He also comes with two interchangeable legs for moving between sitting down and standing up stances, but I’ll get more into that a little later.
Woodstock’s build comes right after you’ve finished Snoopy, and has a very easy assembly in comparison since he’s so small (and look how cute they are).
From here, the focus turns away from our beloved buddies to the ground that makes up the base around the doghouse. While it’s a lot of flat green to look at, there are thankfully a few tufts of grass that come with the set which add some nice texture.
Before I get into this next bit, I want to explain one of the most fun elements about this set: Snoopy and Woodstock have three different ways they can be displayed together. The first is a very classic position of Snoopy lying on top of the doghouse with Woodstock on his stomach, while the second sees the two of them typing away at a typewriter on the roof. The third actually goes outside of the doghouse, with our two friends sitting around a campfire roasting marshmallows under a starry night sky, and it’s this scene that becomes the next focus in the build.
The reasoning for this is because the night sky backdrop actually folds up and hides underneath the doghouse when you don’t want to use it, which is a great way to keep everything organized. As far as assembling it goes, you construct three black panels that click together via hinges which help them swing in and out, depending on whether or not you want that specific display open.
The stars in the sky are simply little black circular pieces that have white dots on them. I’m guessing the choice of having dots rather than a star shape was done to evoke the original, more simple style used in the comics, though if I’m honest I think they do look a little silly against the backdrop. If you feel the same, the black backdrop is pretty easily customized with any LEGO pieces you have lying around, so perhaps you could customize it to your own tastes.
At this point, you move on to the doghouse. This bright red building has a nice final look, though I did find putting the walls together a bit frustrating. Since there’s no bottom to hold it steady, clicking the side walls into place feels quite delicate, so it was ultimately a process I went a bit slower with.
Once the doghouse is fully built, you can slip it over the folded night sky backdrop and onto the green base. Again, it’s a slick way to have everything organized together.
Finally, the last bag of this set contains the pieces that help you build each of the three display options. Let’s dig into them.
The first option, which features Snoopy lying on top of the doghouse with Woodstock, just has a few extra pieces that help rearrange Snoopy’s head so he can lay down evenly. Really all you have to do is take off his head and tail, add these extra pieces in, put his head back on, and he’s all good to go.
The second option, with the typewriter, requires a bit more assembly. Of course, you’ll need the typewriter, which is very quick to piece together (complete with a “It was a dark and stormy night” paper for it!). After that, you’ll actually construct new legs for Snoopy.
This second pair of interchangeable legs helps Snoopy sit down on the top of the doghouse so it looks like he’s typing. It’s quite easy to swap them in as well. All you have to do is take off his stomach piece and pull the old pair of legs off, then snap in the new pair. These easily click into the rooftop as well so he’ll stay put, which I’ve found is an important thing about them. If you just have him sitting on his own with these legs, his poor head is so big he flops right over. So the sitting position definitely requires the extra LEGO piece that he can be locked into to hold him steady.
And finally, the campfire setup. For this, you take the red doghouse off the green base to unveil the starry night sky, and then build a little campfire to have at the center. There are also marshmallows on sticks that you’ll piece together for Snoopy and Woodstock, which is a cute little extra element to bring it all together.
If you have a big love for the Peanuts, the LEGO Ideas Peanuts: Snoopy’s Doghouse (21368) set (see it at LEGO) is sure to bring a smile to your face. It brings Snoopy and Woodstock to brick-built life with three display options that offer fun variety for posing them afterward. It’s not a super huge set to have up on display, either. According to LEGO’s measurements, it comes to just over 10 inches (25 cm) high, 6.5 inches (17 cm) wide and 5.5 inches (14 cm) deep. If you have space open on a shelf, it’s a set well worth adding to your collection.
Hannah Hoolihan is a freelancer who writes with the guides and commerce teams here at IGN.