Stephanie (2014)

Today I'm going to talk about Stephanie mini-dolls from 2014.





1) 41029 Stephanie's New Born Lamb
2) 5004116 Stephanie Watch with Mini-doll  (LEGO Gear) 
3) 30113 Stephanie's Bakery Stand (promo/polybag) 
4) 41057 Heartlake Horse Show
5) 41037 Stephanie's Beach House
6) 41058 Heartlake Shopping Mall
7) 41038 Jungle Rescue Base

There is no mistake that Stephanie is getting more attention than any other characters in some ways.

She is the only one who got an alternate wig for regular use. And it's been used by her alone!

Of course, other characters have appeared wearing something other than their normal wig before: Emma in her riding hat in 2012, and Mia in her skate helmet in 2015. And later this year, Olivia will be wearing her riding helmet, too.

But what they have on is nothing special: the same plain helmet & ponytail with some color variation.



But Stephanie is special; she got her own new wig in a ponytail and it even has a cute pink visor!



So why did she get the second wig?

I don't know exactly why, but I'm sure some fans were glad she had been given a fresh new look.

I think that's probably one of the reasons. After two full years, many fans have accumulated several Stephanie mini-dolls with the same old hairstyle. And while there are more than one main character with dark hair, there's only one of her with blonde hair. And blonde dolls sell well in general, so naturally, Stephanie is the one to get this new wig.

Other than the wig, she got two new cute sleeveless blouse tops (#1/#2 and #7). The other four tops had all been introduced by other characters before. I was rather surprised to see #4's long-sleeved shirt making a comeback; it had been nearly two years since it was first worn by Theresa at Summer Riding Camp.

A new leg mold: cropped pants for boys

When you first saw this year's Toy Fair photos, you got excited about all the new stuff, didn't you?

How about those fun new pieces like the water melon slices and hot dog buns?

We love new pieces. New molds and new designs are always welcome.

But there is one new mold that no one seems to care about...

So that got me thinking: maybe some people haven't even realized it's a new piece!

Have you looked closely at Nate and Matthew in those Amusement Park sets?

Do you see them?

That's right!

They are wearing shorts that we have never seen before!

This new leg mold may have been overlooked, as we haven't gotten very good close-up images showing it yet. And it may look like Mia's basic leg mold if you are not really interested in mini-dolls.

So how are the new boys' pants different from Mia's basic legs?

Mia's pants are calf-length capris that appear to have rolled-up cuffs secured with a buttoned tab.

This is the camp leader Joy wearing her Sand Green capris made from Mia's basic leg mold.



The boys' new cropped pants have a large pocket on either side, and seem to have a baggy silhouette around the knees.

Other than their torso, this is the first time Friends boys are getting any new mold designed for them.

Am I the only one who is looking forward to getting these new legs?

Big Andrea & Little Andrea

Today I am going to show you something a little different.



Yes, it's the mini-doll keychains!

The two normal mini-dolls on the right are there just for comparison.

The regular-sized keychain released in January 2016 is of course a basic Andrea mini-doll with a key ring attached on top of her head. All her parts seem to be glued on so they won't come apart easily. But her arms, legs and neck can move just like a regular mini-doll.

The big one is a perfect copy of the Andrea mini-doll in a larger size. Unlike the regular-sized mini-doll, she can neither bow nor sit. Only her arms are posable.

Big Andrea has additional print details on the front of her skirt which her smaller counterpart does not have. And how cute it is that the design contains a pink 2x4 brick!


Her back hides the battery. When you press the button on her tummy, the lights on her feet come on.



By the way, if a mini-doll is this big, should it be called a maxi-doll or a mega-doll?

Mmm... neither of them sounds quite right.

Let's just call it a big mini-doll for now.

Olivia (2014)

I have covered every single mini-doll from 2012 and 2013 so far. We are now moving onto Year 3 of LEGO Friends.

In 2014, Olivia was found in 7 different sets.





1) 41026 Sunshine Harvest
2) 5004130 Olivia Watch with Mini-doll  (LEGO Gear) 
3) 30115 Jungle Boat (promo/polybag) 
4) 41030 Olivia's Ice Cream Bike
5) 21208 Resort Designer  (LEGO Fusion) 
6) 41034 Summer Caravan
7) 41033 Jungle Falls Rescue

Some people may not feel necessary to include #2 and #5 because strictly speaking, they are not part of the Friends line. Besides, they are just duplicates of the existing mini-dolls (#1 and #4).

But I will include them here anyway, as they were offered in 2014 and I would hate to exclude something just because it came with a watch instead of a regular set.

There had been only 2 Olivia mini-dolls during the previous year, so the fact that we got 7 Olivias in 2014 should have made me quite happy.

But it didn't.

Despite there being so many of her, only one of them got a brand new shirt (designed specifically for the jungle rescue mission). The rest of them wear an old shirt from 2013, two of which were originally designed for other characters.

And by now, many of us are aware of how overused those three shirts have become!

Of course, the two pairs of legs wearing skirts in Sand Blue and Sand Green were new in 2014. They are subdued-colored and versatile items. So we have seen them used quite frequently as well.

By the way, you may recognize the outfit Olivia #3 is wearing. It first appeared in 41010 Olivia's Beach Buggy in 2013.

                 

But that's not all!

The exact same outfit is also seen on the mannequin at the sports shop in 41058 Heartlake Shopping Mall!



Now you see why I was not so happy with this collection. We simply got more of what we already had.

Andrea, Emma, Mia and Stephanie did a little better than Olivia. They all got an additional new top besides their own special shirt for the jungle rescue adventure.

My review on Friends Bricks: 41173 Elvendale School of Dragons

Here is my latest and final Elves set review: 41173 Elvendale School of Dragons.



This set includes a new character named Tidus Stormsurfer, the blue-haired one in the middle.

He is cool, but the boys desperately need a new wig!
Let's hope for one next year along with a male wind elf.

Now I have no more sets to review. I guess it's time to enjoy the sets I have!

The 6th Friend

Can there be a sixth Friend?

If you think there is one already, who is it?

Many fans may say it's Livi. After all, she is even shown as the sixth member of the group on the pop star sets.

Livi has appeared in six different sets, and she even appears in one of them without being accompanied by any of the five main girls.





She seems, however, like a temporary member limited to the Pop Star sub-theme.

Some may argue the sixth Friend is Matthew. No other male mini-doll has accompanied the five Friends as often as he has. He goes to school with Stephanie, has rescued the bear cub in the jungle with Mia, and has flown with Olivia in the private jet.



Later this year, he will be going to the amusement park with Andrea and Emma! An interesting fact is that he always comes in a set released in the second wave of the year since his first appearance in 2013. I'm not sure if it's intended or just a coincidence.

And how about Kate? She has been in different sets herself, and she has had her own small set where she is the only mini-doll. She was also the gift mini-doll attached to The Adventure Guide book published by DK. And don't forget that she is one of the three girls in the Mini-doll Campsite Set released this month.





In contrast to Matthew, Kate has appeared only in the first wave of the years between 2013 and 2016.

But if we start naming everyone who has made more than one appearance, we get a pretty long list: Andrew, Joanna, Liza, Maya, Naya, and Sophie. And it looks like Naomi and Nate will be making their second appearance later this year. But of course, those characters have not been seen nearly as often as the three discussed above.

There may be no official sixth Friend, but it is nice to have all those familiar faces in Heartlake City.

Ms. Stevens (2013)

Ms. Stevens is a science teacher at Heartlake High. Her first name is Maggie according to DK's LEGO Friends Character Encyclopedia.






41005 Heartlake High

Ms. Stevens mini-doll consists of the same molded parts as Olivia's mother Anna. Their silhouettes are identical, but the difference in colors and print details gives each of them a distinct personality.


Ms. Stevens is the only mini-doll with a pair of glasses painted on the face. The orange beige lipstick she wears is also rare among the mini-dolls. Ms. Stevens' make-up is simple and subtle compared to Anna's vintage glam style.


Ms. Stevens has the mature female torso like Anna. So far there have been only four characters who have that type of upper body: Anna, Ms. Stevens, Charlotte (Emma's mother), and Susan (Andrea's aunt).

In the above photo, we can see that young Mia is not quite fully developed yet like the two ladies. She will probably have to wait about 20 years before she gets that mature look.

Maya (2013)

Although many casual observers may see her as just another secondary girl character, Maya was actually quite special when she joined Mia and Andrew on the big yacht in 2013!





41015 Dolphin Cruiser

So what is it that makes her special?

Unlike Marie, Katharina, Nicole, and several other girl characters that I have talked about, Maya did not borrow one of the main five girls' face prints. She got her own face design with dark brown eyes and a closed mouth.

You can see how much darker her eyes are compared to Olivia's light brown eyes.


When Maya was first introduced, her cherry blossom top was exclusive to her, and since she has straight black hair and dark brown eyes, I thought she might be an Asian girl, or more specifically a Japanese girl, as the cherry blossom is a quintessential Japanese flower.

But the trend of random clothes sharing started among the Friends mini-dolls in 2014, and Emma, Olivia and Naya wore her top also. Now it's become just another cute flowery shirt everyone wears.

As for Maya's ethnicity, we don't know exactly what she really is. The beauty about her is that she can be anybody with dark brown eyes and black hair; she can be Italian, Jewish, Japanese or Latin American, if that's what you want her to be.  But more likely, she is just anyone with no specific ethnicity or nationality assigned. That way, more girls will be happy that the mini-doll that looks just like themselves also lives in Heartlake City.

Since there is a much larger population with black hair and dark brown eyes than that with blonde hair and blue eyes, it was probably a good idea to welcome a character like Maya. Her special face print would later be used also on Emma's mother Charlotte and the camp leader Joy.

My review on Friends Bricks: 41172 The Water Dragon Adventure

I completed my second Elves review yesterday: 41172 The Water Dragon Adventure.



I know these dragons may not please every fan. I myself thought they were rather robot-like in the body. To be honest, I wasn't too sure initially if the direction the Elves design team was taking was something I would enjoy.



But I must say I started to feel differently as I built and played with this dragon. It really grew on me, and I feel quite attached to it like a new favorite stuffed animal!

Now I can't wait to try all the other big dragons.

Of course, mini-dolls will always be my favorite part of the hobby, but it helps when I can appreciate all the things that come with them.

By the way, I will feature each Elves character on this blog when I start talking about the mini-dolls produced in 2015.

For now, please enjoy the lovely details of new Naida!

Mini-dolls with Olivia's face design (2013)

In 2013, a few new face print designs were added, and that means we got less of those secondary mini-dolls sharing the facial features with the main characters.

Andrea's face design became exclusively hers after the brown-eyed Kate/Joanna print was introduced.

Emma's face was reused only once in 2013, on Isabella as shown in my post about her and Christina.

Mia's face was never used on anyone else until Naya appeared in 2014.

Interestingly, Stephanie's face, which is by far the most frequently used print, was not found on any characters but herself in 2013.

Meanwhile, Olivia's face was used on two additional characters.





Danielle: 41006 Downtown Bakery
Lily: 41016 Advent Calendar

Danielle's flowery lavender top is rather special; it's been used only on one other occasion, in 41039 Sunshine Ranch. Her legs are a familiar piece typically found on Emma. It suits the top perfectly.

Lily's torso is exclusive to the second advent calendar. I look forward to each advent calendar precisely because we get at least one exclusive long-sleeved top like this one. While her legs are not too common, this event-specific piece has appeared in the first three advent calendars.

Lily's ponytail is a raven version of Mia's hairstyle, previously seen on Nicole in 3184 Adventure Camper. This piece also appeared as a wig on display in 2012, once in the advent calendar and the other time in 3187 Butterfly Beauty Shop.

Mini-doll legs 2: A-line mini-skirts

Female, Hip w/ Skirt 2 is the mold used for Olivia's basic purple skirt.


2012



The pink skirt piece in the middle appeared only in sets from 2012, and sadly, it is no longer produced. The red one on the right has been included only in three of the advent calendars.

2013




These two designs have been used quite regularly, appearing four years in a row between 2013 and 2016.

2014



These two have also been frequently used. The gray skirt on the left has been present between 2014 and 2016. The Sand Green skirt has not been found so far in the 2016 collection.

2015



Here is another piece designed for an advent calendar.

2016

Although not available yet, there will be two more designs to be added in the second half year.

Below you will see a collection of all the mini-dolls with "Hip W/ Skirt 2" leg mold. Duplicates of the same mini-doll are not included.



There is only one Andrea mini-doll here while there are multiple versions of the other four Friends. It is because this mold has not been used yet on a design specifically for dark-skinned legs.

That will change later this year. Andrea will be getting a skirt in Medium Azure which she will wear in 41130  Amusement Park Roller Coaster as well as in 41124 Heartlake Puppy Daycare.