41176- Lego Elves the Secret Market Place

[Velouria]

The Brothers Brick have a much better reviewup than I could manage, but there are some super amateurish photos I want to share of the many details in this set.

First, the dragon. I didn't have very high expectations of it as I am more in it for the buildings. But it turned out to be a nice little build that delivers a dragon that is playable and solid, with posable legs and a seat for one elf. It's pretty cute. Glad it's a nougat treasure chest and not another lavender one.

As it turns out, it has given up on the virgins and now only eats pumpkins.

The smithy part is not attached to the main building in any way. Upstairs, there are more pumpkins for the dragon. It could have been turned into a little grocery shop with a little bit of effort, but for now, there is just a box of pumpkins. And a portrait of itself. And a staircase- I would rather have had it in grey or tan, but it's Elves, and there has got to be lavender.

Here's Flamy's workshop from the back. It has a hammer mechanism that works well and a good level of detail, and also enough space to get a figure inside. This is not one of those flat facade only builds. Unfortunately, the roof does not come of.

Here's a closer look at the anvil.

On to the main building. Nice gate, and the lanterns made me smile. They are gold frying pans, turned upside down with a blue minifig head and a gold round single stud piece attached to the bottom of the pan. So simple, so well thought out.

Onwards and upwards- the bookshop sign is an interesting little build with two tail pieces in tan. The sign itself is one of many stickers, but it looks good.

A little garden area next to the building has a bookcase with a hidden function that produces a fabulous new book that opens and has a little printed piece inside. There is a nice little row of books in different colors above it, and a large lamp. And a comfy chair that would make the Spanish inquisition blush.

A very good place to sit back with a glass of orange stuff and a good book. The chair has nice printed round wood pieces. The moss piece on the ground is printed as well. Also, a lovely dragon banner that is printed on both sides.

Here's the book shop from the back. It has a writing desk with more books underneath that is on studs and can be easily taken out. Inside is a good amount of space for your figs. Fortunately, the top floor is designed to be taken off which makes the space accessible.

First floor, Owliver's post office! Lots of detail here. Even a brown paper box tied up with string! Ah, one of my favourite things. Owliver has a perch with some letters, what looks like a stamp. A mail box with a nice sticker on it, a white box that can be opened and has a little gold crown inside. Also a small cabinet with only one nougat drawer, and an ink pot.

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Here's a better look at the small parts.

Another funny thing- there is a tiny bed upstairs, too small for a minidoll or even a minifig. It's Owliver's bed. Why sleep on a branch when you can have crisp linnen?

And now for the figures in this set. The idea of a shopping centre run entirely by animals is a funny one, and it helps keeping things affordable. Owliver is a light azure owl with a little winged envelope on his chest because she/he is the post master! We have already seen Flamy the Firefox, and what a charming fellow he is.

Farran and Aira got new prints. Very detailed, with details in gold and bronze. I love Aira's golden sandals, in particular! Note that this set introduces a sword and a shield in the Elves universe. This opens entirely new options for play. Note, also, that Aira's face does not have the "open mouth" print that some other figures of the 2016 Elves have.

And finally, these are the extra bits I was left with. I got a third wing!

And one more look at the dragon that shows the partial translucent effect of the wings.

So my judgment on this one? Great set. There are a couple of negatives- I'm no fan of the fuchsia and lavender, but that's just something that is hard to avoid in these "girly" sets. I actually think that this is a gender neutral set, even if it isn't sold as such.

It would have been better if the roof of the smithy had been made so it can be removed.

Other than that, love it, so much stuff and so much detail. Lots of ingenious solutions. I tip my hat to the team at Lego that design these sets, they show great creativity and expand what is possible with Lego.

[Aanchir]

I like the earth dragon in this set. It's similar in size to the Water Dragon but stockier instead of being so thin. Its wings aren't as articulated as the Water Dragon's, but that makes them a bit sturdier so I guess I'm OK with that. It's interesting how much less articulated its tail is than any of the other dragons, but it still looks great and I love the crystal on the tip!

The picture next to the crate of pumpkins is actually not a picture of the smithy — it's a flyer for the Starlight Inn! Even though the smithy is not attached to the post office and library, I think it's nice that they included some stairs on top of the smithy and an overhang on the post office so you can join them together as one building. It's especially nice since otherwise there'd be no way to get up to the post office.

I've loved the build for the library sign since I first saw it. So clever! The library in general looks really cozy. The new book is very neat. It also appears in the Queen Dragon Rescue and Ragana's Magic Shadow Castle sets with the same cover, but I wonder if the page inside is the same in all three sets. It'd be cool if you got a different page in each one.

The parcels in the post office are very neat. Thanks for the pictures as this is my first time getting a good look at them. I like the planter on the windowsill as well.

Aira doesn't appear to have an open grin in any of this year's sets, but she did have an open grin in all of last year's. So just as with the other elves, this year's sets give us a different expression than she's had before. Both the elves' outfits look nice, staying true to the style of their outfits from last year while still being unique in their own right. The sword and shield are nice accessories and you're right, they do stand out from the sorts of accessories we've gotten in previous sets!

I really love the bright colors of Elvendale. They help the theme stand out from other themes in a good way, I think, making the world feel bright and magical. But I guess if I were a woman and had been inundated with pink and purple all my life I might feel differently.

Thanks so much for this review!

[Velouria]

yeah, as a female exposed to an overload of pink over the years I developed a severe allergy. You're right, I should open up my mind and accept these for the colorful things they are!

[FortNerd]

Is the underside of "new" Farran's shoes brown or tan? The old version had tan under his feet, which looked like his shoes were missing their soles when you sat him down. I hope they fixed that, it was a bit ridiculous.

[OmShanti]

Thanks for this, the set looks great! Every time I see a review for one of the Elves sets, it makes me want to say forget those points promotions and just grab everything up when it hits the S@H site. Lego has really outdone themselves with Elves this year. I don't know if I can wait until April to get this one after seeing these images.

[Vorkosigan]

Is the underside of "new" Farran's shoes brown or tan? The old version had tan under his feet, which looked like his shoes were missing their soles when you sat him down. I hope they fixed that, it was a bit ridiculous.

Nope its the same as the old version, tan underneath.

Thanks for the review. I was thinking of posting one too. But I'll just contribute a couple extra photos here. First, the staircase really needs to be tan or dark tan:

Second, here is a dragon comparison:

This set has a lot of great details: the gate, lamps, bookshelves, new dragon book, the packages, dragon banners, the shield, the animals running shops. It does have a bit many stickers for the size of the set, including a stickered shield which is unfortunate. Elves continues to be a very interesting theme.

Edited February 26, 2016 by Vorkosigan

[Velouria]

The set looks more harmonious with the tan staircase Vorkosigan. I should get one from Bricklink to complete this...

[Aanchir]

The Sand Yellow (Dark Tan) staircase is interesting, but I actually think it blends in too much with the dragon banner. I sort of think that Medium Stone Grey (Light Bluish Grey) might be a better fit. Dark Stone Grey might also work, though it might look too dark. It'd match the front steps of the library, at any rate.

[ChristopheQ]

The Brothers Brick have a much better reviewup than I could manage, but there are some super amateurish photos I want to share of the many details in this set.

Don't be modest, super review, perfect photos. Thanks a lot !!

[Vorkosigan]

The Sand Yellow (Dark Tan) staircase is interesting, but I actually think it blends in too much with the dragon banner. I sort of think that Medium Stone Grey (Light Bluish Grey) might be a better fit. Dark Stone Grey might also work, though it might look too dark. It'd match the front steps of the library, at any rate.

Ok, this is the only other (non-purple) color I have:

I think I prefer dark tan but this looks decent. The nougat color of the masonry bricks would be nice option (but it hasn't been made).

[Aanchir]

Oh yeah, that Dark Stone Grey looks even nicer than I expected. And I agree, it'd be GREAT to have those stairs in Medium Nougat, especially since they have a similar "brick" texture on the center column!

[Lordofdragonss]

Personaly I think pinkish stairs look good.I see all pieces in that color as if they were made of magical wood.

The dragons are indeed lovely, but Farran's is the best - most neutral colorsheme, and the chest on the back really make it stand out.

My favorite detail? Must be the cute bed for Owliver! Shame he is in such weird color- he looks like he is made of water...

[Lyichir]

Personaly I think pinkish stairs look good.I see all pieces in that color as if they were made of magical wood.

The dragons are indeed lovely, but Farran's is the best - most neutral colorsheme, and the chest on the back really make it stand out.

My favorite detail? Must be the cute bed for Owliver! Shame he is in such weird color- he looks like he is made of water...

I do agree with that—the lavender rocks and stone of some of the new sets is a great change that helps to make this year's Elves sets look that much more magical than last year's. But the grey and tan steps don't look too shabby for those who want a different color.

[Marishka]

That's looks great! Fist time I were a little confused too by such bright magenta and lavener pieces everywhere, but then I liked how many interesting and unusual color schemes they allow to make in buildings, somewhere it looks ridiculously but in very positive way.

Anyway, I'm intrested if in future some battle and action stuff and themes would be added to Elves series! I hope that smithy is first bird of this :)

[Lyichir]

That's looks great! Fist time I were a little confused too by such bright magenta and lavener pieces everywhere, but then I liked how many interesting and unusual color schemes they allow to make in buildings, somewhere it looks ridiculously but in very positive way.

Anyway, I'm intrested if in future some battle and action stuff and themes would be added to Elves series! I hope that smithy is first bird of this :)

In terms of "battle and action stuff", The Queen Dragon Rescue set includes a crossbow being manned by the evil-looking fox (and which, unlike the one in the Elvendale School of Dragons, appears to actually be used AS a weapon that shoots evil magic of some sort). On top of that, Ragana's Magic Shadow Castle also includes a catapult being manned by Aira. While the sword in the smithy may technically be the first dedicated weapon to appear in the series, this catapult is the first time we've seen one actually being used in a set by one of the main "heroic" Elves characters.

[Velouria]

And Jang has his review up for this!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bQG4J434Lf8

Edited March 1, 2016 by Velouria