Friday, November 16, 2018

Top 10 Disney Princess Lego Sets (So Far!)

1 - 30116: Rapunzel's Market Visit



This is on the list because it is the first Lego princess I had. I bought it at a bootsale (which for those not from the UK is kind of like a flea market but it is held in a field). I still have that little market stall built, it currently houses Lego handbags, I think.

Like most polybag sets this set lacks any printed identifying elements that would have made it a little sweeter - like a round 2x2 plate with the yellow and purple sun emblem. 

Still the printing on the bust of this doll imitating her bodice is quite sweet.



2 - 41061: Jasmine's Exotic Palace


This set I bought around September 2017, secondhand. As I am writing this there are no Jasmine sets available and there weren't when I purchased this beautiful number last year. I expect, next year with the release of the Live-Action Aladdin movie, they will release a handful of sets! This is one of the few sets I have built more or less to the specification, and not changed a great deal.

The true standout of this set is the magic carpet - never has an item so beautifully been brought to life with Lego, within this theme.

I will admit that Rajah represented as a small cub in this set is quite disappointing. He is never shown as a cub in the Movie so why would he here? Never mind. At least he is cute, and, is 2019 does bring us more of Princess Jasmine, one can only hope it will bring an appropriate Rajah too.



3 - 41145: Ariel and the Magical Spell

This set sits in a special place in my heart because it arrived when I was having a bad day - set to me by my partner who was away. Every time I look at it I think of him, it's quite sweet. In terms of the actual set it's a lovely build - Ariel's cave of trinkets with that delicate printed window is truly Lego Disney at it's finest!

The little flounder is adorable - I feel like Ariel is missing he guidance of Sebastian in this set - but maybe he will appear in this list lower down.

I do love how Ariel's transformation from mermaid to human is captured beautifully in the mini build in the centre of the picture - it conceals a legs piece with a wrap around skirt and bare feet.

The one downside about this set was the fact that for me Ursula is not in anyway redeemable - there is no sympathetic angle to view this character and because of this I have had to banish her from my town all together.



4 - 41149: Moana's Island Adventure

If Rapunzel's Market Visit was my first Disney Princess, then this, was my first full Disney Princess set. For one reason or another it was a present from my mother while I was visiting - another sweet memory, my father and I went to Westfield to purchase it together. As a set it is contains three components the best of which is the little house which while it doesn't appear in the movie it is very Moana - when build I sit it on the beach section of my town if there is one, and if there isn't near water.

Merits especially for Pua, who is as cute in Lego form as she is in the movie, and for the Heart of Tefiti, something which was supplied twice (an heir and a spare if you like).

Considering the general cost of Lego Disney sets this one was not only a really good build but had good value for money.


5 - 41155: Elsa's Market Adventure

This is on my list because it was the first set that brought me Elsa in the blue. I don't care much for Olaf, I must confess he has gone un-built. There are three components to this set each of which has their individual pro's and con's.
The little market stall is my favourite (I have a weakness for them because they allow variety to exist within my town without taking up valuable building spaces.) It has that typical Disney's Frozen colour scheme without being cheesy, boring or typical. In all, quite fresh.

The boat maybe the second best bit - the only boat of it's kind on this list (Ariel's boat needs to be made of multiple parts to be a boat, while with Elsa's boat, you can strip all the Lego pieces and it is still a boat.)

However, I do love the diorama like third component as it not only contains a castle window piece but a new clock print I haven't seen before. How beautiful is that?

While I may not be An olaf fan, I may appropriate his snow-cloud radar disk into a future harry potter build to add weather to the great hall ceiling. We shall see... 


6 - 41151: Mulan's Training Day


This set was impressive, but then it wasn't at the same time. The builds it comes with are so-so. They paint Mulan as the warrior and the fighter she becomes in her film, but her long hair contradicts that - as in the movie her cutting her hair is symbolic of the sacrifice she makes. Never the less she is here, both the pretty bride to be she is before she absconds, looking ready for her meeting with the match maker. 

The little black foal is probably supposed to be Khan, her horse from the movie. But Khan is a full grown horse, not a foal. Unlike in the movie, Mulan cannot ride this horse. There are a couple of redeemable points - the figurine is rather pretty which is the point of the Lego Disney Mini Dolls. 

The fan, is another good point as is the mini build - the gold and pink supports with black curves very fitting for the Mulan theme. As well as the Mushu emblem, in absence of Mushu himself. This set makes it onto this list because, at £13rrp it is possibly the cheapest commercially available set on here - as while I paid less for Rapunzel a polybag set isn't typically sold.


7 - 41152: Sleeping Beauty's Fairytale Castle



This is the first of the 2018 sets on this list - and definitely has a special place in my heart. It comes with two Mini Doll's and one Micro Doll (as I like to call it). Unlike Ariel and the Magical Spell, the villain that accompanies this set has redeemable qualities - anyone who has seen maleficent will know. Unlike Ursula, who does not have a sympathetic angle at all.
This is not the first time we have seen Aurora/Sleeping Beauty in a Lego Set, though in this edition, she has slightly more detailing on the bust of the doll, pictured above. Along with a wonderful smile that alludes to the princess's dreamy nature, rather than the simple smile of the preceding doll.

The castle it's self is beautiful - it really is a rose castle. I love the introduction of these new castle pieces - the windows! I have quite manically either gotten my hands on or planned with military precision to acquire in January all of the Disney Princess sets released in 2018, so that I might built a series of amazing castles for my princesses.


8 - 10738: Snow White's Forest Cottage


This is a small and simple build; so I will keep it sweet. It is a typical and beautiful juniors build. As an AFOL I am many years removed from the target range of this set, but if you want Snow White then the only solution is to buy this set. And with the charming little Fawn, lemon pie and printed window piece complete with Dopey's hat pinned to a washing line.


I am convinced that at some point not too long ago there was a Lego Snow White set on Amazon.co.uk featuring Snow White as a Mini Doll and the seven dwarfs as minifigures. I can't find any record of this set on my go-to: Brickset.com, so maybe it was a fantastic dream. Or it was a set by a non-Lego brick  company. 




9 - 41153: Ariel's Royal Celebration Boat



This is one of two sets on this list that I do not yet own - It wins its place for a few factors. Firstly this marks the first appearance of Ariel in a full, ball-gown-ish skirt, accompanied with an appropriate cape. 

Another plus point for this set is that unlike the Ariel set above it comes with everyone's favourite crab, Sebastian (Sorry, Tamatoa!). It also merits the inclusion of Prince Eric, even if he has that horrible Lego grimace some of the male mini dolls seem to carry, which I will never understand. this is supposed to be the boat he marries Ariel on, why is he grimacing?

However there is another companion that brings be joy in this set - MAX! Who watched The Little Mermaid as a child and did not love Max?

The boat it's self is rather beautiful, very evident of the one in the movie, if a little crowded. This problem is easily remedied by the Build-and-Swap premise of the 2018 wave of Lego Disney sets.



10 - 41154: Cinderella's Dream Castle

The second set I do not yet own. This set features a 2018 redesign of Cinderella's dress and face. Her dress now does away with the gloves Cinderella from a polybag the year previous hand and introduces a 3/4 sleeve and dedicated design on the skirt. Her face makes me thing of the almond shaped eyes and accentuated eyelashes of early era Taylor Swift.

The castle, is amazing. Perhaps I do not like the designation of the rooms. A bedroom on the ground floor is just not my style. Not when the kitchen is on the floor above. but again, that wonderful Build-and-Swap means it doesn't matter because I can switch the rooms around at will. 


This set comes with a little cream foal which is nice as I seem to have a barrage of black ones in my personal Lego collection so the cream beauty is a welcome break. While a foal is not a good steed for a mini-doll and this foal does not draw from any horse in the animated movies or the live action film from 2015, it is a suitable charge for the little card carrying vegetables.


The castle it's self doesn't seem to draw from one single Cinderella related media, but it in essence very Cinderella-ish.


The beautiful mix of symmetry and Asymmetry is what earns it a spot on this list and in my heart.



No comments:

Post a Comment