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.

Boys (2013)

The boys were finally added to the mini-doll population in the second wave of 2013.

Before they joined Peter, the male/female ratio in Heartlake City was 1:18. That wouldn't be a very exciting place to live in if you ask me.

The situation had to be corrected fast, so there came not just one but two males in the same wave!

By the end of 2013, there were 3 males and 22 females in Heartlake City.




Andrew: 41015 Dolphin Cruiser
Matthew: 41005 Heartlake High

As I have discussed often before, the boys' head mold appears to be identical to the girls'. But LEGO had to invest in a brand new mold to make the boys' torso.

It would have been more cost-effective to produce boy mini-dolls using Peter's torso mold.
But that brawny body would not have looked quite right when combined with the boy head.

Both Andrew and Matthew wear the side swept minifigure wigs. The hairstyle looks perfect on those two boys as if it had been designed especially for them.

They both have a polo shirt on, but interestingly, the designs are different.

No new legs were designed for the boys. Matthew got Peter's legs, and Andrew got Stephanie's soccer pants legs!

Since their introduction, two or more boys have appeared every year.

Kate & Joanna (2013)

When LEGO Friends was launched in 2012, there was only a limited selection of mini-doll parts. The mini-doll faces were no exception, and we pretty much had the bare minimum in variety: the faces for the five Friends and Olivia's parents.

That means all the secondary characters from that year (except Olivia's parents) got the same face print as Andrea, Emma, Olivia or Stephanie, as I discussed in a few of my earlier posts.

As a result, there were five different characters with dark skin and green eyes including Andrea. 

I'm sure I was not the only one at that point who wished there were some dark-skinned girls with brown eyes.

So, Kate and Joanna were a most welcome addition in early 2013; finally we got dark-skinned girls who didn't look like slightly different versions of Andrea!




Kate: 41000 Water Scooter Fun
Joanna: 41007 Heartlake Pet Salon

Kate's hair is the black version of Olivia's wig, previously seen on Ella from Summer Riding Camp. Since Olivia's wig is a bid overused on secondary characters, Kate's hairstyle doesn't really stand out among the crowd unlike Joanna's.

All the remaining parts of Kate were brand new in 2013. The shorts were new, and they were produced in two different colors for the dark-skinned mini-dolls. This version in Medium Azur has not been used in any other set so far. The bikini top was exclusive at the time, but reappeared in 2014.

Joanna's wig was newly designed, and there have been only two characters so far who have worn their hair in this exact style: Joanna and Emily Jones from the Elves theme.

Joanna's top is exclusive to this mini-doll. Her leg piece is not very common, either; they have been used on Andrea on one occasion only.

The printed details of their torsos are quite nice. Kate even has a belly button!


Since both of them have made more than one appearance, I will feature each of them individually some time in the future.

My review on Friends Bricks: 41171 Emily Jones & the Baby Wind Dragon

The package I mentioned a week ago arrived earlier this week.



It came from Billund, Denmark.

This time I received some of the new Elves sets!

I hope you enjoy my first Elves set review. It's 41171 Emily Jones & the Baby Wind Dragon.





The set I reviewed comes only with Fledge, the purple baby dragon. Aren't they all cute?!

New items for March 2016 (we didn't know about)!

It's March 1st today, and the six new Elves sets as well as the two Juniors/Disney Princess sets are now officially available at the LEGO stores and S@H!

Those sets have actually been on the shelves at some of my local stores for a couple of weeks, so what got me more excited this morning was the release of the unexpected items found at the LEGO Stores and S@H!




853556 LEGO Friends Mini-doll Campsite Set (US$14.99)

It's Kate, Maya and Liza all in one set!
I'm very happy to see these secondary characters are becoming regulars.
What I'm disappointed about is that these torso designs are getting used a bit too often in one wave: Liza's sleeveless hoodie has already been used on Olivia, Mia and Emma!

There's also something like the classic party game Twister.

853552 LEGO Friends Hand-Foot-Fun (US$24.99)

I'll probably skip this one, as it has nothing to do with mini-dolls, but the touch pads are cute.

The Elves theme also got a few additional items: a storage case and key chains.



853564 LEGO Elves Me and My Dragon Display (US$14.99)



853559 LEGO Elves Emily Jones Key Chain (US$5.99)
853560 LEGO Elves Azari the Fire Elf Key Chain (US$5.99)
853561 LEGO Elves Aira the Wind Elf Key Chain (US$5.99)
853562 LEGO Elves Naida the Water Elf Key Chain (US$5.99)
853563 LEGO Elves Fledge the Baby Dragon Bag Charm (US$5.99)

Sadly, there is no Farran key chain. How are Emily and the other three elves supposed to unite the magic without Farran?!

The LEGO Stores and S@H will have the VIP double points promotion between March 7th and March 22nd, so I may try to wait until next week to get these special items.