LEGO Friends Poodle's Little Palace - Review

By LFX

LEGO Friends Poodle's Little Palace - Review
#41021

Quick Summary:
Pros

• 46 excellent pieces in some "Friend-ly" colors
• Alternate and combined building instructions available
• Economical means to attain this rare pet
• New Poodle pet with new collar print and eye color
• Lots of accessories
• Lots of good extra pieces left over

Cons

• Not too many rare pieces like in the Hedgehog's Hideaway set

Detailed Review:
This is the set my daughter was wanting to open first.  It's her personal favorite and mine too.  The Poodle is a rare pet in the Friends world, so it was nice to see one released in the Series 2 Animal packs.

What's not to love about this set.  There are 46 pieces (compared to 34 in the Hedgehog's Hideaway), most of which are in the colors that any Friends collector appreciates.

The build itself is well constructed.  The use of arches is a good touch.  Although there are more parts, the parts are fairly common but that is not really a negative to me.  I was happy to see they gave us metallic silver 1x1 round plates instead if the typical light bley.

I'll mention again, one thing I really like about this year's Animal packs is the instruction booklets provide a picture of an alternate build and a combined build (all three Series 2 sets together). For last year's Series 1 sets, we didn't find out until well after they were released.  This year it's hard to miss.  Building instructions for the alternate and combined builds are also available here: lego.com/friends/animals

One of the fun things about reviewing these sets is discovering things I never knew.  Turns out, I was not aware of another feature of the new Poodle.  Of course we all knew of the new collar print, but the eyes are a new color: green.  The original Poodle has blue eyes (found in Heartlake Pet Salon set).  I think it's great that LEGO is not just recycling the exact same pets in each set.  At least if they use the same pet moulds, they are changing up the prints.

And finally, when the set was built, my daughter showed me the extra pieces left over.  Normally LEGO will add some extra pieces, usually little accessories or 1x1 rounds or slopes.  To my pleasant surprise, they included 3 extra 1x2 bricks, an extra 1x2 tile and a metallic silver 1x1 round plate.  I've purchased lots of LEGO over the years and to get this many good extra pieces for such a small set is unheard of in my experience.

This set delivers on every aspect, especially on value for money.  I'd rate this set 9.5 out of 10.  My daughter and I are very happy indeed.  She's already combining it with the Hedgehog's Hideaway.  Nice job LEGO!

 
Brick's bag inside pack & instruction booklet

 
How to find instructions for alternate build

 
 Showing the combined build

 
Bricks inventory sheet


Bricks & pieces in this set

 
 The build


Palace without Poodle


Side view


Back view


Poodle

 
 This set's Poodle (left) and Poodle from Pet Salon (right)


Extra pieces found in this set
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For more set & gear reviews join: http://forum.friendsbricks.com/
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LFX's Bunny's Hutch review
LFX's Hedgehog's Hideaway review

LEGO Friends Bunny's Hutch - Review

By LFX

LEGO Friends Bunny's Hutch - Review
#41022

Quick Summary:
Pros

• Good variety of parts, such as hinge pieces
• New grey Bunny with new face print
• Alternate and combined building instructions available
• Economical means to attain this rare pet

Cons

• color selection is a bit weak

Detailed Review:
The best part of this set is the bunny.  It's a new color and also has a new face print, making this set worth the price alone.

The pieces are above average.  I can never get enough hinge plates and profile bricks.  The medium nougat color inclusion was a welcome surprise too.  But, all-in-all the color palette is a bit on the drab side compared to the other two Series 2 Animal packs.  However, I can see an Easter color theme here with the inclusion of lavender and yellow so I guess it's not so bad.  I think Poodle's Little Palace set just wow'd me so much, I can't over that fact.
I'll mention again, one thing I really like about this year's Animal packs is that the instruction booklets provide a picture of an alternate build and a combined build (all three series 2 sets together).  For last year's Series 1 sets, we didn't find out about those instructions until well after they were released.  This year it's hard to miss.  Building instructions to the alternate and combined builds are also available at: lego.com/friends/animals 

This set failed to impress me as much as the other two, but it's still worth purchasing for the parts and of course the new pet.

This set is the weakest of the three in my opinion, so I will rate this set a 7.5 out of 10 


Brick's bag & instruction booklet


How to find alternate build instructions


Brick inventory sheet

  
Bricks & pieces in this set

 
The build

 
Side view

 
Back view


Inside view

 
New Bunny
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For more Friends set & gear reviews join us at http://forum.friendsbricks.com/
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LFX's Hedgehog's Hideaway Review
LFX's Poodle's Little Palace Review

LEGO Friends Brick Calendar - Review

By LFX

LEGO Friends Brick Calendar - Review
Item: 850581
Pieces:140



Pros:

• 140 pieces is a high piece count for this type of set

• Great color selection to complement the Friends theme

• No stickers!

• 2x4 LEGO Friends logo printed tile

• Includes two animals: Goldie (bird) and Maxie (cat)

• This is a fun and interactive way to teach your kids about calendars

Cons (none really, just being picky now):

• Would have been great to have a brick with special printing on it like a birthday cake or maybe a pumpkin (halloween) or heart (valentines) to represent special occasions

• There is no place to store the extra printed month bricks

  I really don't have anything negative to say about this set. It really delivers on value for price considering the piece and color selection are better than even some of the official Friends sets. This set is a great way to beef up your Friends palette brick count. I'm regretting not buying another.
The best thing about this set is there are absolutely no stickers! Thank you LEGO for the printed bricks. I especially like that the twelve months are printed on six bricks, with each brick having a unique printed pattern. 

  And finally I just wanted to say this set is very practical. It not only offers a calendar for daily use, but doubles as a great learning tool for your kids. My daughter is at the age where she is learning about days, weeks, months and years in school, so this set is a great teaching aid for me to use with her. 

  I highly recommend this set for any Friends fan. I would rate this set a 9 out of 10.

For more set & gear reviews -- join our Forum: http://forum.friendsbricks.com/

Augmented reality display of LEGO Friends

In London toy store Hamleys, they have an augmented reality enabled display of LEGO Friends.  We've seen these in the past at LEGO brand stores for many other LEGO themes.  It's fun to watch the LEGO Friends experience with the Cafe being built with bricks and all the other virtual surprises!



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To see more videos, including fan-created videos,
visit: http://www.friendsbricks.com/Videos.html

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LEGO Friends Hedgehog's Hideaway - Review

by LFX

LEGO Friends Hedgehog's Hideaway - Review
#41020

 
 Pros:

• Great piece selection and colors
• Alternate and combined building instructions available
• New female Hedgehog in new color (dark brown)
• Apple and pitch fork are great accessories

Cons:

• None

   Finally, the anticipated Series 2 LEGO Friends Animal packs have arrived!  Initial low resolution photographs of Hedgehog's Hideaway didn't really impress me.  I remember thinking to myself, "didn't LEGO already give us a Hedgehog?"  But after seeing it up close, I am pleased with the set.

   The parts are excellent, some of which are exclusive to Friends, like the dark read leaf and the tan pieces.  MOCers will love these additions.
   But for my daughter, it was clear the best part of this mini set was the inclusion of a new Hedgehog pet (name unknown).  The eyes have a new print and the body color is distinctly different from Oscar.  Looks like Oscar has a new lady friend to share an apple with in the hideaway.
   One thing I really like about this year's Animal foil packs is the instruction booklets provide a picture of an alternate build and a combined build (all three series 2 sets together). For last year's series 1 Animals, we didn't find out until well after they were released.  This year it's hard to miss.  Building instructions for the alternate and combined builds available: lego.com/friends/animals

   Lastly, it's always great to get extra accessories like the apple and pitch fork.

   This little set surprised me in a positive way so I'll rate it a 8 out of 10.  For the price, you can't really go wrong.

 
 Inner contents bag


Parts

 
 The build


Back view


Hideaway without Hedgehog



New Hedgehog (left) and 2012's Oscar in right


Instructions booklet



 

 
 Parts listing
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Yes, LEGO Friends Series 2 animals are available now:
http://heartlaketimes.blogspot.com/2013/04/series-2-animals-now-in-stores.html
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For more set & gear reviews -- Join our Forum:  http://forum.friendsbricks.com/
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LFX's Bunny's Hutch review
LFX's Poodle's Little Palace review

LEGO Friends Pencil Holder Review

by LFX

LEGO Friends Pencil Holder
# 40080

 

   Here we have a another great addition to LEGO Friends gear.  Like the LEGO Friends Brick Calendar, the Pencil Holder offers us some great pieces in the Friends palette, as well as a practical and functional brick LEGO set.
   Here is my brief synopsis: 

Pros:

• 138 pieces in a variety of colors, a great way to beef up your Friends palette brick count
• Two pets, printed LEGO Friends tile
• Better play value than the Brick Calendar set

Cons:

• Too much white, they could have offered a couple more colors like the Brick Calendar offers
• Fills up fast, not much space, but I can understand that a bigger design would be less portable and too heavy
• Fold-out instructions are not as nice of quality as we're used to seeing

   I can't help but compare this set to the Brick Calendar. The Brick Calendar, in my opinion, is the better set but I'm sure my daughter will say the pencil holder is better. She wouldn't stop asking me if she could take it to school.
   So, although the color selection may not be as good the Brick Calendar, the novelty factor is off the charts.

   I would recommend this set to any LEGO Friends fan, especially anyone with kids. I would rate this set a solid 8 out of 10.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Available online at shop.LEGO.com and any LEGO brand store, while supplies last.
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For more gear & set reviews, join our Forum: http://forum.friendsbricks.com/