2012 LEGO Friends (January)

[ncbarrett]

Was looking at the bios and Olivia is definitely not "girlie" girl.

Her bio includes:

I love: My friends, science, school, drawing, inventing things, nature, hiking, photography, history.

I want to be: A scientist or an engineer.

I would never: forget my homework or leave the house without my compass!

Im glad they included a variety of personalities, especially an math/science one since that is something not usual for girls.

[rachnh]

aside from the "math/science is not usual for girls", i agree with your comment (sorry, total newbie here but the Friends set is what made me seek out a LEGO discussion group).

i am conflicted by this set. On the one hand, it seems LEGO is trying to reach a broader audience. On the other hand, I dislike the way they are doing it.

Upon viewing the sets, I have actually ordered 3 of the smaller sets. I find them intriguing due to the content that I haven't seen in LEGO sets in the last 20 years (the period of time my children have been playing with legos). My 6 year old did not want any of the sets, b/c he considered them "girly" (they do look girly). I purchased them not for him, nor part of his "lego budget" but as an experiment to see how he would feel with them in hand.

I would rather see LEGO come out with a "workplace" set similar to "city", incorporating all sorts of jobs. there are female doctors, male nurses, etc. etc.

[ncbarrett]

got three of these this weekend for my daughter and she likes them a lot.
3932, 3933, 3934

after putting these together, my wife wanted Emma design studio 3936 so i got her that.

We are happy with this line.

[vynsane]

My daughter loves this line. She ended up getting Stephanie's Outdoor Bakery, Emma's Design Studio and Olivia's Invention Workshop with a TRU gift card she got in her stocking. When she saw the display in the store (it was an island in the middle of the floor with a bunch of graphics on top) she ran straight for it at full tilt.

She's been most intrigued by Kingdoms out of everything to this point, with a smattering of CITY and Toy Story thrown in for good measure, but this is the theme she's most enthusiastic about. Some of the builds are still too much for her, so we usually take a bag at a time (we've been building Prison Tower Rescue now for a few days). Some of the smaller sets are easier, obviously. However, she built the bakery last night and the design studio this morning completely by herself. They're still small sets, so I don't know how it will go with the larger ones, but I think the build will hold her attention more because of her enthusiasm to play with the final product.

There's a lot of controversy over the girl-specific branding (because, what doesn't cause controversy these days?) but my daughter is a girly girl who also loves Spider-man and Star Wars. Yet these sets appeal to her in a way that no others have. I think it's far better for her to have such an educational and skill-building toy with better role models (normal, every-day girls who are into doing stuff like science and design) over the endless supply of princesses any day.

[atmail35]

My daughter and I picked up Emma's Fashion Design Studio and Mia's Puppy House the other day and she is really enjoying them. Even though I saw the picture of the comparisson of the size of the mini-dolls and the minifigure, these are smaller than I thought they would be. I think in my mind, I was thinking of the larger Polly Pocket dolls. I like the size of these.

So far the main issue I have with these sets is that there are a lot of loose accessories to keep track of and of course they are tiny.

Here is a picture of Mia and her puppy hitching a ride on Mater. Sorry, it's not the best quality pic, I just found it amusing.

img_20120103_233418[1] (2).jpg

[pattymerry]

My Nine-year-old daughter just bought two of the sets, the Tree House and the Dog Wash set. She loves them. The mini figures are the same size as the regular minifigs, but the faces and clothes have more detail. I was afraid they were bigger. She loves how the hair is more detailed and is looking forward to getting more sets. She could follow the directions and put it together all by herself, which she also was thrilled by. Me, not so much because I like doing the big Lego projects together with her, but that is okay. The little accessories are really cute. I do think that the prices are a little outrageous, considering they don't have as many bricks as some of the regular lego sets. Especially the $70 for the House set. But all the little special details must be what makes them more expensive and unique. The House has a mixer for the kitchen, for example, that the Mom can hold. All in all, I think this is going to draw girls into Legos that weren't playing with them before.

[rachnh]

we got our sets yesterday. in the beginning my 6 year old son said they looked like megablocks :(
i dont like that there are so many pieces that are not "lockable" but that is not uncommon..we have foods etc. etc. already like that. i dont like the minifigs b/c i cant get them to stand up by themselves if they are holding anything. :(

[sadowsk1]

I think this is a great new line for Lego. I think it's good that Lego is trying to create toys to appeal more to girls. There may be elements of gender stereotypes but Lego is a business and not a social conscience. I don't see Barbie trying to make a product that appeals to the male population but they aren't under a social obligation to do so either.

[vynsane]

i dont like the minifigs b/c i cant get them to stand up by themselves if they are holding anything. :(

They stand up better than Polly Pockets any day, and can also sit on things a heckuvalot better, to boot. Playing Polly Pockets with my daughter is the largest lesson in frustration I've ever faced.

[atmail35]

I'm x-posting this here as well in "availability"...

Today I saw this LEGO Friends item at the LEGO Store, a picture frame (sorry for the glare). It was $14.99, 49 pieces, and the item number is 6000355. I googled and haven't seen it listed anywhere. The kitty and milk/bowl are nice, but it seems pricey at $14.99.

I have to believe you can insert your own photo in the frame and that it isn't just a frame for the Friends characters.

IMG_20120218_091929.jpg

[Luciant]

Does anyone know if there are store x specific exclusives on this line and what they ate?