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Name: Lego Friends Amusement Park Arcade/Lego Friends Party Train
Distributor: Lego
Model: 41127/41111
Pcs: 174/109
Back in 2016, a certain idiot made this remark:
"I don't have a Lego Friends figurine to compare these[the Lite Brix figurines] to(and really, why should I?)..."
...Save me?
Yes, since then, I've come across several sets, both opened and unopened, boxed and without a box, and they're all comfortably resting in my collection. What's pictured is far from all the sets I own. ...Because I have to own every single brick set out there and I have no standards.
Still, I will admit that it's nice to have some "normal" brick sets in my collection. Most brick sets are the action-packed, hot-selling themes brick manufacturers push, stuff that tries to get away from the drudgery of everyday life to take you on an adventure.
Even Lego City, with its "realistic" setting, is still comprised mostly of the exploration and emergency side of things, with bank robbing, submarine piloting, prison escapes, police vehicles, etc. So unless your everyday life involves bears, bank robbers, and mountain police*, recreating an everyday scene is a little hard with most brick sets.
*And if it does, tell me all about it. Sounds more exciting than my life...
When I'm making videos, sometimes I'll just want to set them in a regular suburban setting, without any explosions, monsters, spaceships, Pokemon, Minecraft, etc. In that regard, Lego Friends is the way to go. This is the most detailed yet down-to-earth brick set line I've come across. Instead of fighting aliens, going on quests, saving the world, or even apprehending the bad guy, the characters in the Friends universe are perfectly happy with... Living! They'll go on cruise ships, they'll have bands, they'll enter their pets in shows, they'll go shopping, they'll live their dream professions, they'll celebrate birthdays, they'll just have fun! They don't need super high-tech gadgets or mythical creatures or proton packs or anything in that regard. They just have normal, everyday experiences, and that's fine with them.
It's actually a refreshing glass of water to have such down-to-earth sets, and something I can use for my videos when I want to create a casual setting. Sure, I like creating adventures set in franchises like Star Wars, Minecraft, Marvel, etc., but if I want to create a character-driven video and actually let the characters emote with the strange and bizarre to a minimum, it's hard to do that with most sets I own. Therefore, I've found an appreciation for the settings of Lego Friends. Now I can picture my characters going grocery shopping, eating pizza, going to the beach, and other serene settings I can quickly destroy with a sudden robot attack! ...Or just show them going about their lives. ...Either one works.
Surprisingly, this female-oriented Lego line is fairly recent, and came after a string of failures to create building brick sets aimed at young girls. First, there was the "Homemaker" line from 1971-1982, featuring "minifigures" built from typical bricks with custom heads and hairpieces to represent more "normal, everyday" people. ...As you can expect from sets with figures that barely function as figures, these were eventually lost and forgotten about after struggling on the market for about a decade. ...Good thing too, because even for the 70s, I doubt many people wanted to be associated with the term "homemaker"...
Then there was the slightly more successful "Paradisa" from 1992-1997, which used standard Lego bricks and figures, but using mostly shades of pink for the coloring. The sets were more vacation and leisure-oriented than the generic themes of the time(Pirates, Castle, Space, Town, etc.) While better, it still didn't gain that much of an identity and quietly disappeared.
What followed was "Scala", which was much less of a Lego set and more a buildable Barbie dollhouse! Not only did the figures look much more like something Mattel would create, but they committed the cardinal sin of changing the standard brick stud pattern, meaning only other Scala pieces could work with the sets, and the accessories were practically incompatible with Lego. Thankfully, this line only lasted from 1997-2001. ...Seriously, even Mega Bloks did a better job of combining Barbie dolls with building bricks when they actually held the Barbie license at one point...
The previous set to Friends was "Belville", from 1994-2009, which was much closer to its modern incarnation, with figures that had more articulation than the regular minifigure yet could still work with Lego bricks. ...However the sets still struggled with an identity, with set themes switching back and forth between fairy tale and pets, and the detail behind them being pretty bare-bones in comparison with other Lego sets. I think the thought process behind these was "Girls like pink, girls like dolls, everything else is superfluous", resulting in flimsy, minimalist structures and near-unidentifiable settings. If only they had the Triplets of Belville. Maybe that would have given the series more artistry...
Finally, Lego hit upon "Lego Friends" in 2012, and it's been smooth sailing since then. I think Lego finally realized that girls want something more than kitchen appliances, dress-up, fairy tales, and pink, and FINALLY produced something with a sense of personality to it. The minifigures were again redesigned to appear more "doll-like", but the characters were given names and unique looks and personalities, so young kids could finally relate to them and play along with their adventures. The theme became much less fantastical or bland, featuring movies, cruise ships, bands, parties, professions, etc., stuff that actually said "I'm going to take life by the horns" instead of "I'm doomed to be a housewife with my only escape being fairy tale fantasies!" Finally, the female Lego demographic could have sets where they could get out and explore Heartlake City in their own way!
This take was such a success, that it led to three spin-offs from Lego itself(Disney Princess, DC Superhero Girls, & Elves)
As well as other building brick companies releasing their own female-oriented brick sets, like Mega Bloks' American Girls & Monster High, and the Lite Brix sets we looked at last time. Finally, building brick sets aimed at girls could be seen as profitable, and both companies and the consumer base benefit as a result. Capitalism wins again!
Since I have quite a few Lego Friends sets, and it's been quite a while since my last look at something meant for my female audience, we might as well start taking a look. Starting with Amusement Park Arcade & Party Train! Why these in particular? ...No reason. They were just two that were on hand and they shared a theme. Plus I might need some arcade-themed sets for an upcoming project.
First of all, it's probably worth pointing out that the designs on these boxes feature the THIRD incarnation of the main 5 Friends group, featuring(from left-to-right): Andrea, Olivia, Stephanie, Emma, and Mia.
The first one they used, during their launch in 2012, was a much more CGI shot of the girls, and had Mia, Emma, Andrea, Stephanie, Olivia from left-to-right. ...And with how bloated they look, it's no wonder this version only lasted a year...
From 2013-2015, the style changed to a much more hand-drawn version of the main cast, this time with Emma, Stephanie, Olivia, Andrea, and Mia.
But we've moved past the 2016-2017 incarnation by this point, and they've gone for a new 2018 design with Olivia, Mia, Emma, Stephanie, and Andrea in a circle, with Olivia and Andrea getting slightly darker skin and Andrea now wearing glasses. ...They've also gone back to using uncanny valley CGI versions of the characters... ...Eh, still more personality than Barbie.
The four different incarnations aren't the only bit of variation for the logos. Depending on the occasion and theme, the group will sport fitting outfits, such as the group above being dressed for outdoor fun at an amusement park(which Olivia's apparently treating them to based on the tickets), while the group below is a bit more casual-formal for an outdoors party. They may be frozen in space and time, but they know how to make an appearance!
The front images are pretty basic, simply having the completed sets with the two included Friends figures posed right at the front. However, because these are much more casual settings that what we usually see on this blog, it's fine that we don't have that much action to promote these sets. ...Besides, the concepts behind each set look exciting anyway! I legitimately want to play with the arcade and the train, they look like a whole lot of fun!
But if you need some more, they include some "action shots" on the back of each box, detailing what you can do with both of them.
It's especially exciting on the back of the Amusement Park Arcade, where they show the mechanics that go into play for each game. Using a different method for each, the set will allegedly let you throw the basketball in the hoop, knock down targets, and commit frog genocide! Fun!
The Party Train box is a lot less exciting in comparison, but it does still give you a good idea of what the layout is like. You get to drop invitations in the mailbox, open boxes full of blue putty, and torture small animals by throwing them down a slide repeatedly!
All while their party hats float in midair! Clearly, these girls have mastered the dark arts! No wonder Lego's had such a hit with these! I eagerly await their voodoo doll set!
The rest of the boxes is just the boring stuff. Manufacturing and copyright information, warnings in other languages, etc. Just the stuff that'll both keep them from getting sued and warn the consumer they're ready to sue...
Still, we can't forget the "0-3" warning on the bottom of the box
Even though the front says "6-12"
Anyone between those ages is fed poisoned pizza by Stephanie. They gotta appeal to a young girl demographic, so their tolerance for idiots is incredibly low...
Though Party Train's a little more lenient with their "5-12" recommendation. ...Still shouldn't tempt fate though...
One more thing I'll bring up is the push-in-to-open tab on the box, which Lego likes to use for its smaller sets. As a collector, I HATE these! I don't WANT to ruin the box to open it, yet no matter what I do, the box just rips! If I push it in, I rip that side of the box. If I try to cut along the seam, the glue's too thick and the cardboard's too thin, leading to me usually cutting through the box! Either way, it makes it difficult to pack the set back in when I'm done. Just put some tape on the box like you do with your larger sets, Lego! ...Yeah, these are the important factoids you come for, folks...
Alright, now that I've ripped the heck out of these boxes, let's have a party to put together this party! One that involves many hyphens!
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And here are the completed sets! Both ready to party like it's... Well, this line isn't old enough to party in any year ending in "9", so I guess they'll just party normally until then. And, if these sets are any indication, you'll have a pretty fun party!
Let's start with the Amusement Park Arcade. ...Which admittedly has a slightly misleading name. It's technically correct, since "arcade" basically means a place dedicated to coin-operated games, but nowadays, when we say "arcade", we mean an indoor building specifically stocked with mostly video game cabinets. When you have physical games like these where the goal is to win prizes by shooting targets and throwing basketballs, it's more correct to refer to these as "carnival games" or "carnival booths" or "the midway", something that doesn't make you think this is where the latest Mario Kart Arcade GP cabinet can be found.
If you're going to call this an "arcade", you need a few more obvious video game elements is what I'm saying.
Once again, this is just a nitpick I'm harping on for no reason, because there's very little to complain about! This is one of the most elaborate, gimmicky, fun to play with sets I've ever come across!
Each of the games are simplistic and fully functional. ...In the sense that you can trigger something to happen. The basketball game uses a simplistic lever function to launch the ball into the air with a tap of your finger on the gray piece.
This means that you can the ball flying into the net with enough force! In fact, you're technically playing the game using this method! See how much force is needed to get the ball through the hoop! It's the same goal as most other basketball arcade machines, just on a smaller scale. ...And you don't get tickets or that jumbo stuffed bear, so this is no substitute for an actual date... You're a very sad person if you were considering that in the first place...
One slight nitpick I have is that the hoop is either too massive or positioned too close to the ground to easily get the ball back. You either have to pick up the set or take off the hoop to retrieve the ball underneath every time you shoot it. Again, not a huge issue, I'm just too lazy to pick up a m̶a̶r̶b̶l̶e̶ ball...
Speaking of which, it's nice to see Lego getting a chance to reuse their basketball and hoop pieces since their deal with the NBA expired back in 2003. They're obviously not as detailed as they were in those sets(which were the first to use skin tones for regular minifigures, as a bit of random trivia), but I'm glad Lego could blow the dust off the molds again and produce more of these parts so scalpers didn't have to charge exorbitant prices for them on eBay...
Though I would have preferred a basketball instead of an orange soccer ball... Nitpicknitpicknitpick.
Next, we have what I think is one of those water-gun games, where you shoot a stream of water at a target to either make a balloon fill up and explode or make targets fall over within a time frame. I say "think", because that's obviously not how it's built. It's one of those little Lego pellet guns that they like to use in Star Wars sets, that flicks a single-studded piece at its target with a press of the button, so no actual water is fired. However, the logo above clearly shows a stream of water being shot out of the gun and the pellets are transparent blue, so I think they meant it to resemble a water-based game? Personally, I don't think it would have mattered if they just changed it from a water-based gun to a regular pellet-or-ball-based gun with different-colored studs, since they both use the same mechanics, but what do I know?
Also, there's a bit of an intentional design flaw, as I don't see how this could technically be used by a figure. Unlike the basketball game, which was within reach for a minifigure, the gun is flat on the ground, barely coming up to a figure's hip, so how is a character meant to play with this set? I KNOW they did it because the gun pieces are angled at a certain degree, so this was the position they had to put it in to hit the targets, but as something to convincingly use the figures with, this is an awkward position to say the least.
Unless they MEANT for the figure to be positioned like it died right before it could grab that last drink of water...
Nitpicks aside, this is also a fun way to actually play the game included in the set. Aim the gun with your fingers, carefully press the lever on the top, and knock those targets down with these microscopic "water blasts." Again, there's a bit of strategy and fun to be had here, since you have to gauge your shot based on a third-person perspective and work with such tiny firearms to angle your shot and hit the target. It's like a physical version of Night Raid. Or that Star Wars Turret Defense game I featured in December. Except without the parachuters trying to blow you up. ...Lego, make that happen!
They also include a bucket of the studs(bucket of water?) so you don't have to constantly retrieve the pieces every time you want to fire the gun. ...Of course, these are little kids we're talking about, so 5 will get you 10 that every stud will end up either swallowed or dumped down the heater vent in the first day anyway. In other words, if you don't trust your kids with a regular carnival game, maybe don't get this for them... Get it for yourself!
Finally, we have this frog cabinet, which is the closest any of these come to a traditional "arcade game." ...And ironically, it's the least interactive.
We've seen this setup before. It's your typical Whac-A-Mole-type of game, where you're bashing animals that pop out of holes to score points. Only instead of the traditional mechanical cabinet, the action occurs on a game screen.
So it's more like that Whac-A-Mole game I featured earlier. ...Only hopefully more rewarding...
Actually, this appears to be a sort-of hybrid cabinet, where interacting with physical elements like a standard mechanical game creates digital results on the screen. Sort of like Baby Pac-Man, with its combination of a Pac-Man game and a physical pinball machine. ...I'm in absolute love with this bizarre combination of physical and digital elements in gaming(hence my passion for Toys to Life games), so the more I analyze this, the more I want to play it!
Unfortunately, for being the most interesting concept for a game, there's not as much to do with this section. All that happens is the minifigure slams the hammer into the frog, a little lever makes the frog go down, and then back up again when the hammer is removed. In the Lego universe, it works, and fits the best with the figures, but in terms of the interactivity we've seen with the other two stalls, there's no game here.
It's sad, because I have seen tiny versions of Whac-A-Mole that they've made cheaply for keychains. How cool would it have been to get a Lego version of one of these, where you pop one frog down and another pops up somewhere else? I don't know, maybe that would have been too large and complicated to replicate using standard Lego pieces, but it would have completed the trifecta of having carnival games playable by both figures and the builder for this set. At the very least, they could have slapped a Lego base on the bottom of one of these machines and passed it off as a custom brick. ...But I digress.
And that's the Amusement Park Arcade set(save for the minifigure, but we'll talk about them later.) A surprisingly fun and interactive Lego set, and one of the most gimmicky I've come across! I'd say more, but we have another set to look at, so I'll save it for the later summary.
Next is the Party Train, another pretty creative little set. And I do mean little, since at 109 pieces, it's only about half the size of the previous set, and barely above a miniset. It seems almost cruel to talk about these models after the Amusement Park Arcade, but that doesn't mean this set doesn't contain a good amount of thought or interactivity! ...It just contains less of it, is all.
Since the set is focused around them, let me introduce you to the stars: Heidi(tan) & Harry(brown) Hamster. ...And I hope you enjoyed that introduction, because there's nothing else to mention about them. The box literally has no information about these characters. I only know their names because of the official Lego description on their site(and even then, I only know which is which because Heidi was featured in a Friends Advent Calendar), so I don't know if they belong to Stephanie or if they're sentient creatures that live in their own community or what. I just know that they have a set based around them, so they must be a part of the official Friends line. ...Nice to have characters the box couldn't even bother to name...
Still, this does introduce us to the unofficial subtheme of Lego Friends: Pets. You can tell if a set is focused around the pets of the Friends by if a pet appears on the front of the box, as opposed to one of the characters or a small box listing the characters.
And usually if a group shot of pets appears on the back.
This is important to know, since not all sets that include pets are in the Pet line. Heartlake Puppy Daycare still focuses around the Friends, not the pets, despite having several pets included. ...It's a bit of a mess, and probably why this is an "unofficial subtheme".
The Friends line DOES have an official subtheme revolving around animals, called, of course, "Lego Friends Animals", but these are more focused around the wild fauna of Heartlake and only lasted from 2013-2014. These sets DO have a few pets, but they're not given cute names, instead going by "Cat", "Poodle", "Bunny", etc., so it's debatable if these can be included in the Pets theme.
In short, Lego Friends has a Pets subtheme, but they don't actually acknowledge it's a subtheme, so if you want to get some sets revolving around Pets, you'll need to look through every Friends set until you find the Pets and accessories you want. CONFUSING! ...And completely irrelevant.
Anyway, half of this set is the hamsters' playground, starting with their mailbox and barrel. ...Yes, these things get mail. ...Yes, it looks almost nothing like a mailbox that you get mail from, and more like a mailbox you PUT mail into. ...And yes, there's no actual detail to it.
But when you open it up, you do get this cute little card, inviting them to a party at 12:00. ...I'd question why you'd send a card to hamsters to invite them to a party, but this is a line featuring a puppy that skateboards, so anything's possible in this universe.
And then there's the main hub of the playground. A little different than the typical hamster playground, with a slide and castle instead of wheel and tubes. ...Gotta give them credit for creativity, I guess. As well as faith they won't run off in this wide open space.
So when the hamsters are feeling playful, they can slide down this blue plank that doubles as a slide. ...Or tumble down it, rather, since these are a bit top heavy. It's amazing what rodents can walk away from.
After they're done tumbling head-over-paws, they can then hide away together in their little hidey-hole in their play castle. ...I could make some inappropriate jokes, but since I'm mostly family friendly and this is a set meant for young girls, I'll keep my mouth shut for once.
They even have little transparent stands to put their party hats on while they play! Tidy little creatures, aren't they?
And when they get tired from all their fun, they have a bite to eat and a sip of water. ...From a bowl that's too big and a spigot that's too high. Are we SURE this is a hamster playground and not someone trying to get rid of excess puppy equipment by slapping "Hamster" over "Puppy"? I smell lawsuits coming their way if they're still in business...
And finally, the main event of the set: The Party Train. ...Which is a bunch of boxes with wheels attached to a bike. ...Eh, it's kids' imagination, so it works.
Unfortunately, this is where some of the major design flaws start appearing, especially with the Friends minifigures and how they interact with standard Lego molds. The bike is clearly meant for figures with wrist articulation, which Friends lack, so there's no way for them to hold onto the handlebars. Therefore, it looks less like Stephanie is riding the bike and more like she's performing a daredevil stunt. ...With living creatures attached to the bike... Stephanie's more of a danger than I thought...
Also, the flexibility between the cars is inconsistent. While most are held together with these loose ball joints that let the cars turn
The piece that connects them to the bike is a standard claw and rod that fits very snugly together, making it much harder to turn. I don't know why they didn't just use ball joint pieces similar to the other connections here, but this makes steering the bike difficult and keeping the cars upright, since not all the cars turn fluidly and this can upset the "train." For a set advertised as a train, it has a hard time operating like a train...
I do like the "parking brake" on the bike, though, where it can connect between Lego studs to keep the bike standing upright when not in use. It came in handy to pose things during the making of the video.
The balloons are also a nice touch, with one being an upside-down minifigure head mold, and the other two different dome pieces stacked on one another. It would be impractical to actually include rubber balloons with building brick sets, so what they did here is the best alternative and representation.
I did replace one of the balloon's poles with a flexible whip piece to see if that would make it look more like a balloon. ...Instead, I made it sad...
Finally, there's the present, which is made out of angled bricks and a reverse 2x2 brick with a bow printed on it, to actually form a box that things can be put in. And the present Stephanie packed for the party is a pretty blue bow!
Which, considering Stephanie is wearing the same bow, is a little narcissistic...
And that's the Party Train set. Not as detailed or fluid as the Amusement Park Arcade set, but it's smaller and meant for a different theme, so we won't count much against it. Plus it comes with extra characters in the form of pets, so that'll make the young girl Lego demographic happy! ...Unless they ARE more interested in guns and aliens and action heroes and Ben 10 or whatever young boys are watching these days. ...Hey, I'm not one to judge.
Since this is the first time we're featuring them on this blog, let's take a look at the Friends minifigures before we go. ...Actually, I apologize. I've been referring to them as minifigures throughout this review, when the correct term, according to Lego, is "mini-doll", to set them apart from the standard minifigure. Something about how girls project themselves into their toys when they play, while boys are more into a third-person narrative, so it's important for toys marketed to girls to be more human-like. ...That's just what I heard, I have no opinion one way or the other.
You'd better believe it's caused controversy among some groups, especially those accusing Lego of "gender stereotyping." But, like I said, I have no opinion of this, so I digress.
What I CAN get a little upset about is the lack of articulation and less interaction with Lego elements. I already had a similar argument when I featured Lite Brix two years ago(which, since I have some Friends minifigures, I'm FINALLY comparing with), but I'll quickly reiterate. And this goes for both Friends and Lite Brix sets and whatever else shares a design.
There's simply not a lot of articulation. Lego minifigures can move their legs, arms, hands, and heads, while these "mini-dolls" can move their arms, heads, and bend over. ...I don't understand why extra articulation has to be sacrificed in this case. Why can't the individual legs move? Would anything have to be sacrificed to give them wrist articulation? How is making something stiffer and more lifeless than a toy already often mocked for its limited movement appealing more to girls? Even Barbie can at least move her legs and swivel her head!
Since these mini-dolls lack standard articulation, they can't interact with all Lego elements, as we saw with the bike earlier. I wouldn't be complaining(that much) if they were given alternatives, things that DO work with these figures. However, they packaged a bike with handlebars that require swiveling wrists to use properly, so Lego themselves are not taking into consideration the limitations of their product! It's like packaging an AK-47 with an R2-D2 figure. If the figure can't use it, why are you including it?
Hate to say it, but if you're looking for a doll-like figure that's compatible with building bricks, Mega Bloks/Mega Construx is the way to go! They've produced several sets marketed to girls(Monster High, Barbie, American Girl, etc.), all with different details and figures with more articulation than Lego. At the very least, you'll get a figure that can bend her legs AND her knees, and there are figures with wrist and arm articulation(like the American Girl series on the right) and can move their heads on a ball joint. If girls want "realistic, lifelike" toys to play with, Mega Bloks can offer them that, plus a wider range of articulation AND continued compatibility with building bricks. So Lego for boys, Mega Bloks for girls. ...I think that's the lesson we've learned here.
That said, I CAN give Lego Friends credit that they're very nice-looking figures. Girls want more lifelike figures, and that's what Lego has given them. Flesh tones, slimmer limbs and bodies, more "facial" faces, curves in the body mold, realistic hair styles, it's all here. I even like the skirt molding and how it drapes over the waist without having to use cloth for the same effect. And they have feet! With shoes, even! What's up with that?! These are very nice, even attractive Lego figures with a lot of personality behind them, and I can see why this design is the one that FINALLY caught on with Lego's female audience.
If only they worked with their own accessories...
Oh, and as for that long-awaited comparison between Lego Friends and the Lite Brix figures... Having the physical figures next to one another hasn't changed my observation from the Lite Brix review. They're basically the same molds, just with slimmer hands and feet on the Lite Brix and the Friends mini-dolls being slightly taller. No wonder Lego threatened to sue and these were taken off the market...
And that's my look at the first Lego Friends sets on this blog. On the whole, I can say that, while the figures aren't that special, the designs had a lot of creativity and imagination behind them. I loved the interactivity of the arcade, and I loved the design and motion behind the "train". These are some of the most gimmicky Lego sets I've come across, and I had a lot of fun putting them together and playing with them afterwards. And I'm sure my avatar did too! ...When he wasn't upsetting the mini-dolls.
And congratulations to me for not making a single Friends reference during the entirety of this review! ...Wait, does this count? ...Dang...
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Quality: Lego quality. What I compare all other bricks to. No complaints.
Design: Everything is very nicely detailed, with a wide variety of bricks put into both sets. The Arcade set truly looks like something you'd see in the midway of a fair or amusement park(if the park was as flashy as Friends sets are), with a basketball game, target game, and even a video game. Each of the stalls are interchangeable, allowing one to be connected to another, or for each to be laid out separately. I'm also a fan of how they brought back the basketball and hoop from their Sports sets 15 years ago. Each of the games are functional and represent what they were based on, which is going above and beyond for a brick set! Especially since the multitude of what I own is style over substance(and even then, it doesn't look good...) The train is less grand and functional, but that doesn't mean it's a bad set. I like the idea of a "train" comprised of a bike and boxes with wheels. I'm sure a lot of us wanted to do that/have done similar as kids. The playground, despite not being built to scale, is still a fun little habitat for the hamsters, and can probably be used with other Friends pets as well. I don't know if the invitation was made specifically for this set, but it's a nice touch. I've also never seen a Lego bike built with a brake on the bottom that can connect to other bricks, nor one with such detailed tires. It functions as a bike, yet stays in place for models. What's not to love? The balloons are fun, the presents are fun, the birthday hats are fun, everything's just built with fun in mind.
I think I made my opinion of the Friends "mini-dolls" clear by this point. They look nice, and I can tell one from the other, but they're so much less functional than a regular minifigure and are incompatible with a lot of elements(or they just look awkward using them.) Again, if you want a figure that looks nice AND has a lot of articulation, for a price that's equal to if not less than Lego's, go for Mega Bloks/Construx. So while I love the set, the mini-dolls are just frustrating. ...And it's disparities like these that make me wonder if I should just give minifigures their own category for the summary.
Creativity: I LOVE the fact that you can actually play the arcade games! You can actually send the ball through the hoop, shoot the gun at the targets, and hit the frog with the mallet! 2 out of 3 of those feel like actual games with a bit of strategy, so you feel like you've accomplished something by making the target! The mechanics are so simple, comprised of levers and buttons, but so are the games they're replicating. The Whac-A-Mole game they didn't quite replicate still looks great, suggesting a merge of physical objects and digital actions and giving you feedback in both instances. It's a game I truly wouldn't mind playing, if it existed. And while I've made my dislike of stickers clear in the past, they work here! They're high quality, they actually depict something other than colors, they fit well, they don't make up a large part of the set's detail, and I think they were necessary in this case for the pictures, since they're too detailed to be printed on the bricks themselves. The train's less creative, but still creative. Like I said, the idea of pulling boxes with wheels behind a bike is a fun idea that a lot of us probably either did or wanted to do. I like how they created balloons with Lego elements, I like how they made presents using Lego elements, and I like the little Lego element invitation, which is so simple, yet you can tell what it represents. The little playground's cute, and I can tell what everything is. Plus it looks like it can work with pets other than hamsters. Overall, these are some of the most gimmicky sets I've ever come across, and I couldn't be happier.
Readability: Lego instructions. No complaints.
Packaging: ...It serves its purpose? The artwork on both boxes simply show the sets, the characters, and vaguely what you can do with each. There are no action poses, no flavor text, no appearances from other sets to give you an idea of what it would look like combined, nothing else besides some artwork of the girls and their pets. Still, the images look fun and the arcade looks exciting, hence why I picked these up. So while not the most exciting packaging I've come across, it still gets across the fun that these sets were designed to provide.
Compatibility: ...Lego.
Overall:
If I was more into the Friends series(or they included better articulated figures), I might have given these a 5/5. Nevertheless, I can say that these are some of the most fun and creative sets I've come across. The designs are great, the creativity and interactivity is astounding, the quality's pristine, and everything is fun to play with whether you're a boy or a girl. I guess, being a straight male, I'm not into the colors they used to build these sets, but I'm not the target demographic, so that, as with most of my complaints, is just a nitpick. I love these sets, and I can't recommend them highly enough! If you can find them, pick them up for yourself or your kids. ...Just don't substitute it for an actual trip to an amusement park. They're going to hate you later in life for that...
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