Lego Walt Disney Tribute Camera (43230) review: “The reel deal"

The Lego Walt Disney Tribute Camera (43230) was released in celebration of Disney’s 100th anniversary back in 2023, and while the large-format camera, multiplane camera/clapperboard sidebuild, and classic minifigures all pay homage to the animation studios’ early years, the set contains references to a wide variety of Disney Classics throughout the decades, right up until 2021’s Encanto.

But as with any of the best Lego sets, the Lego Walt Disney Tribute Camera isn’t just designed to look the part; you’ll find several additional features, including the interior of the large-format camera, doubling as Walt’s studio. Just don’t expect too much playability (this is an 18+ set after all), meaning it’s designed predominantly for display.

So, without further ado, let’s take a peek behind the magic…

Lego Walt Disney Tribute Camera features

• 18+ set for display
• Five fantastic minifigures
• Multiplane camera/clapperboard side build

Most Disney films might be aimed at families and children, but there are plenty of adult Disney fans out there (myself included). Lego has tapped into this lucrative demographic with a rather formidable 18+ range of Lego Disney sets, which includes the Lego Walt Disney Tribute Camera. And while younger brick builders will no doubt be enamoured by the set’s minifigures, play sets such as Encanto’s The Magical Madrigal House (43245) and Moana 2’s Kakamora Barge (43258) will likely be much more appealing to little Disney fanatics than a vintage, large-format film camera. This is a set to display on a shelf. Indeed, I’ve put it next to my collection of Disney Classics Blu-Rays and it looks great.

Build

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• 811 pieces
• No stickers
• Enjoyable build

The first bag contains the multiplane camera and clapperboard base. Major kudos to Lego for printing all three of the multiplane slides, which could have so easily been stickers. In fact, there are no stickers at all, which is mighty unusual for a larger set. I then moved onto the top of the tripod, which predominantly comprises Technic pieces and is the hardest part of the build to put together. I had a little trouble placing the large cog on top of the arrangement and was thankful for the top-down diagram in the instruction manual, which enabled me to figure things out relatively quickly.

I tackled the tripod legs next, which largely use traditional Lego pieces. Although putting together each Lego block is repetitive, they come together quickly, and before you know it, you’re moving onto the body of the large-format camera and Walt’s studio. Repetition is par for the course in almost all Lego sets, but as far as 18+ sets go, the Lego Walt Disney Tribute Camera is less repetitive than most.

Adding the interior details to the large-format camera’s body kept the build feeling fresh and the crank mechanism was a nice, midpoint distraction from building up all four sides of the rectangular structure. I then moved on to the lens arrangement at the front of the camera and the sliding matte box, before piecing together the swivelling viewfinder.

Attaching the length of film was simple enough, thanks to another great instructional diagram, and once finished, it was the point where the set really began to look the part, with only the film reels left to go. The '1' on the end of the reels that makes up the '100' to coincide with Disney’s centenary was slightly fiddly to attach and is the most delicate part of the model (prone to popping off in transit).

Overall, the most challenging part of the build is the top of the tripod and its Technic construction. And while this certainly isn’t a difficult set to put together, it is a little fiddly and delicate at times. I could certainly see younger builders becoming frustrated with it, so the 18+ rating seems fair.

Lego Walt Disney Tribute Camera design

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• Working crank
• Walt's office interior
• Printed film reel displays Disney's greatest hits

This is a lovely set that’s going to look fantastic on a shelf, alongside a Disney DVD or Blu-Ray collection. The large-format camera is the star of the show and is aesthetically spot on. I love how the designers have incorporated the ‘100’ logo into the film reels atop the camera, and how the working crank faithfully simulates the clacking sound of an opening and closing shutter mechanism. You can also move the matte box forward to reveal the lens arrangement – although it’ll slide back into place. The lens disc spins so you can switch lenses, and the viewfinder can be swivelled upwards or downwards so you can open the hatch to reveal Walt’s studio.

There you’ll find a desk on which to place the sketch of Mickey Mouse and a chair for Walt to sit on. Unfortunately, the door isn’t able to close fully with Walt sitting in the chair, without unseating the minifigure inside. This can prove a little frustrating, but as you’ll likely want to display the set with Walt standing on the clapperboard, it’s not the end of the world. What I do think is a shame is that you cannot pan and/or tilt the camera. This is perpetuated by the presence of a panning and tilting arm, which invites you to move the camera, only to find that you can’t.

As a display piece, though, I cannot fault the camera. My favorite part is easily the roll of film, which features 20 film cells, each with an image from a famous Disney film, but in Lego form. It’s a real joy looking at each cell, with classics such as The Lion King, The Jungle Book, and Pinocchio, as well as cult gems such as The Rescuers and The Sword in the Stone. And while I mentioned that the ‘1’ is prone to popping off, the camera and tripod are surprisingly sturdy, overall. Despite its height, you’d have to really knock the model to force it over.

Moving on to the multiplane camera side build. This is a great little Easter egg for Disney buffs and an ingenious base in which to house the minifigures. Speaking of Easter eggs, the multiplane camera displays an image of a farmhouse beneath the moon. This is the same scene the real Walt Disney used to explain the workings of the multiplane camera in a 1957 documentary called Tricks of Our Trade.

However, I can’t help but feel the side build is a little bit of a missed opportunity. I’m aware that a fully working multiplane model would have to be much bigger and wouldn’t garner nearly as much appeal as a vintage film camera, but if the planes could have moved up and down independently, I think it would have elevated this little model to the next level. However, that shouldn’t detract from what is ultimately an extremely neat side build.

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This set comes with five minifigures, which is a great haul for an 18+ display set that could have easily been released with none at all. You get Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Dumbo, Bambi, and Walt Disney himself. Youngsters will no doubt delight in seeing their favorite Disney characters, but my pick of the bunch is Walt. We’ve never seen Disney’s head honcho in minifigure form and considering he’s just a man in a suit, Lego has done a great job. You get two head sculpts that nail Walt’s trademark moustached look, the suit printing looks the part, and you even get a little pen and sketch of Mickey from Steamboat Willie for him to hold.

Mickey is very similar to the Steamboat Willie incarnations we’ve seen before, but without the hat. His torso and arms are completely black, but he features dual-molded legs with nice printing. And his head sculpt, which we’ve seen before, still looks marvelous. Again, Minnie is much like her Steamboat Willie counterpart but she does feature different eyelash printing, which I consider to be an improvement.

Dumbo and Bambi aren’t technically Minifigures in the traditional sense, with no points of articulation, but they’re roughly Minifigure size, look like their respective characters, and feature nice printing.

At $99.99 / £89.99, this set provides a price per piece ratio of 12.3c/11.1p, which puts it roughly around Lego’s average. And although it’s not the best-value set out there on the face of it, it is a licensed set, and I think the five minifigures, the absence of any stickers, and that beautiful roll of film make it worth the price of admission.

Should you buy the Lego Walt Disney Tribute Camera?

You need look no further than the box art to know that the Lego Walt Disney Tribute Camera is a magnificent-looking set. It's perfect as a more subtle display piece for fans of any era, and it won't dominate a space as much as the (excellent) castle kit.

It's a wonderfully geeky deep cut too, which makes for a thoughtful conversation starter. While most people will no doubt gravitate towards the large-format camera, I was most interested in the multiplane camera side build. Now, I’m a self-confessed camera nerd, but if you’re a hardcore Disney fan, I think you’ll be enamoured by this interesting little build as well. Disney used the multiplane camera to split background artwork into multiple planes. This meant that each plane could be moved back, forth, and side to side independently, allowing for a more realistic perspective when zooming in and out, and simulating the parallax effect when tracking.

Suffice to say, there’s plenty here to keep Disney adults, House of Mouse super fans, and filmmaking nerds happy.

However, all this means the Tribute Camera is definitely meant for grown-ups - it won't suit children because it lacks that all-important playability. If you’re buying for a younger builder, then you’ll want to take a look at a playset, such as the Lego Animal Crossing Fly with Dodo Airlines (77051) or Lego Fortnite Battle Bus (77073).

Ratings

Buy it if...

Don't buy it if...

How we tested the Lego Walt Disney Tribute Camera

It took me just over two hours to put together the Lego Walt Disney Tribute Camera. I built the model in one sitting and displayed it in my living room for a couple of weeks to get a feel for it as an ornament. I spent plenty of time moving the model around and testing out its various playability features when I photographed it. And it sat on my desk while I was writing this article, so I could refer to it constantly. I’ve been collecting Lego since the early ‘90s and have built models intended for all ages and across a huge variety of themes. So, rest assured, I’m a brick-building superfan!

For more information on our procedure, take a look at how we test products.

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