Review: 41403 Mia's Play Cube: Veterinarian
Posted by Huw,LEGO has kindly sent us many of the January releases to review and the embargo for publishing most of them has now passed so in the next few weeks we'll be bringing you at least one review a day.
To help us do so we've recruited some new reviewers, so expect to see different styles of review in the coming weeks, too.
Among the sets we have in hand are all of the January release Friends sets. As I'm not an expert in such things I've sent the majority on to MeganL, LostInTranslation and new reviewers Kerry and benbacardi, but there were some that caught my eye that I wanted to take a closer look at: the so-called 'Play Cubes', of which 41403 Mia's Play Cube - Veterinarian is one.
It's interesting, not so much for the completed model, but for the concept, the packaging and a useful new part.
The set comes packaged in an unusual shaped box with the aforementioned cube protruding through a hole at the bottom. The top right proclaims that there's a surprise pet inside and that it's from series 1.
I guess we can consider them to be successors to the Friends Animals sets released in 2013-2014.
The package is opened by slitting a seal at the bottom and inside is the cube, a bag of parts, a sticker sheet and the instructions.
Inside the cube are more parts, a brochure and a box which contains the surprise animal.
The brochure shows us that the five cubes in series 1 will each have a different animal in them but that its colour is random: a 'surprise'!
It also shows us that series two is on the way, with different colour cubes.
The cube itself is very interesting. It's held closed with a 2 stud connection and once closed it remains so, and requires a fair amount of force to open it again, so the contents shouldn't spill out.
The hinge pops apart and as you can see the top has four studs and the bottom four anti-studs.
This allows them to be connected together, or more usefully, connected to other cubes. Series 1 of the sets all have glittery trans-purple lids but different colour bases.
The included sticker sheet is quite extensive but only three of them are actually referred to in the instructions. The others can be used to decorate the cube as you wish.
Here's my surprise animal: a gold bunny!
The new part I mentioned is design ID 64570, a 2x6 bracket.
It's used as the base for the two mini-models: the studs at the back allow it to connect to anti-studs inside the cube.
The model is built onto the two bases. On the left is what looks to be an x-ray machine and on the right, weighing scales and instruments. The large sticker on the sheet should be affixed to the back of the green half of the cube but as there's a negligible chance of putting it on straight and centered I didn't attempt to do so.
Mia is attired in a white 'scrubs' which should probably extend below her waist, complete with some sort of animal in her pocket!
The models have been designed so they don't interfere when the cube is shut, so it can be carried safely with you on your next adventure...
Verdict
LEGO has a long history of encouraging LEGO to be taking out of its usual habitat of play room or bedroom, with the original 'LEGO-to-go' sets, the X-Pods, and the more recent circular pods being some of the more successful examples.
This latest effort looks to be a vast improvement on both. The X-Pods were a great concept but they didn't close securely, and the circular pods don't provide much room inside. Both of these issue are solved with these and I think they will be very popular. With luck we'll see some aimed primarily at boys in more useful colours in the future.
As for this specific set itself, it's bright, colourful and aspiring vets will love it.
The five sets are priced at £7.99 and $9.99, which is perhaps a little more than I expected, and they'll be available from January 1st.
Thanks to LEGO for providing the set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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24 comments on this article
Nice little parts packs, and those "surprise" animals would be great for stocking the shelves of my city's toy store. Interested to see how people incorporate these pods into MOC's...
Lego is really doing some interesting things with "self-contained" little sets like this in 2020—in addition to these Friends play cubes, the Disney "storybook" sets and the Ninjago "arcade pod" sets seem to have a similar conceit. It reminds me slightly (and not unfavorably) of Lego's more unusual packaging experiments with themes like Racers, Slizer/Throwbots, Knights Kingdom, and Bionicle. Unlike those, however, these newer "pods" do not serve as the primary packaging of the sets themselves (being packed in more ordinary cardboard boxes), and tend to be a little more compatible with the rest of the system (being molded in-house and with secure connection points, rather than being outsourced to an external packaging partner and having only limited connectivity to traditional parts).
The new SNOT bracket is interesting and while it could be considered a POOP (piece made out of other pieces, in this case smaller plates and brackets), I can see how a larger bracket like this could be useful as part of a more stable base in themes like Speed Champions.
The randomized animals are also an unusual new turn for the theme. It reminds me a little of the blind-packaged masks from the early Bionicle theme, though I wonder whether the collectibility of these might be compromised somewhat by the bulk of the set being identical regardless of which blind-bagged animal is included. Still, while the price may be slightly prohibitive for completionists, I can see how kids who don't bother to buy multiples of each might still get a pleasant surprise from whichever animal they get, and might fancy trading some of the animals with friends.
The variety of colors each animal comes in is slightly unusual for Friends, which often tended to favor more realistically colored animals in previous sets. Like many new developments in the mini-doll space, it mostly makes me miss Elves more, what with its more fantastic color schemes for wildlife. Unlike Elves, though, these new Friends animals have pretty mundane decorations rather than the ornate patterns of Elves critters. That probably will make them more broadly appealing despite the zany color schemes.
Mia’s theme colour is bright yellowish-green, so it makes sense that the cube is that colour. I would expect that the other Friends’ cubes are their theme colours, too.
I love the gold bunny.
@Lyichir , I can't personally see people buying multiples, at $10 a go, just to try and get a complete set of animals but I think the element of surprise is a nice idea.
The colours are plain weird. Who's ever seen a gold bunny, apart from a Lindt chocolate one!
@TomKazutara: agreed. This doesn't bode well, coupled with many other developments in the TLG environment.
I'm off to build my new BlueBrixx fire engine. So much better than any fire engine TLG has offered over the last decade.
And why all those POOP pieces? Why not something new and useful, like those angled slopes in various angles that Cobi produces? The competition has really upped their game in recent times and one doesn't even have to look to China for it.
@AustinPowers said:
"I'm off to build my new BlueBrixx fire engine... The competition has really upped their game in recent times and one doesn't even have to look to China for it. "
We understand, you don't like Lego anymore - it's perfectly fine but I'm not really a fan of advertising a site which sells copycat brands over and over and over and over again.
I agree with the POOP part of the comment but above that it's poop.
Oh my, it's beautiful! So aesthetic! I definitely want some, just for the display factor, let alone the crazy uses for those new parts! And I agree with Huw there, a greater assorment of "neutral" colours would be a blessing eventually.
Just imagine this: at a convention, a wall of these cubes, each filled with all sorts of creative MOCs! Unbelievable!
At full price, too expensive for just parts , but still a nice gift for the targeted age group.
On a good discount (let's say around €6) those are nice however.
Also another thing I supose you could do with lots of those, you could stack the pods and make some sort of dollhouse/appartments.
Wow! I didn't expect those new parts!
Would be cool to have Star Wars dioramas in play cubes like this. I can see a Mos Eisley or a Death Star room or a trash compactor scene in this thing. Seems pretty nice to display minifigs with an ambience behind.
I've been a fan of portable Lego packs since the xpods, the thing I like most about these new ones is being a cube. The roundness of the recent pods meant that everything had to be packed perfectly for them to shut, which was a pain. It looks like there will be a bit of free space in these which will be welcomed!
OMG! It’s a Terraria Golden Bunny!
@Huw said: "The colours are plain weird. Who's ever seen a gold bunny, apart from a Lindt chocolate one!"
That kinda begs the question of why Mia is x-raying a chocolate rabbit. Maybe it's one of those Kinder chocolate toys and she's trying to figure out what the surprise toy is, inside?
There certainly is a gap in the market where Polly Pocket once existed, it's good to see Lego take advantage of that. I hope this concept can be expanded to othet lines, particularly Classic and Creator but others would be good too. I am particularly impressed with how system compatible the pod is; ie it's not *just* a plastic box to keep bricks in, it actually has a few fixture points, even the hinge and clasp!
I saw these today along with the Ninjago Arcade dealies, if they're still around next payday I might pick up a few. They look rather charming and I'm a sucker for blind bagged LEGO.
This is the only one I like from first batch. Hope they will go on sale fast.,
I love that LEGO is coming back to these and exploring new building styles. However I'm not sure how well these will sell. They are making a TON of new molds for 2020 and I hope it doesn't backfire.
The X-Pods didn't close securely? I've dropped mine from a fair height quite a number of times and not once has either the top or bottom lid come off. If anything the clutch power of the studs and antistuds of the lids themselves was poor.
^ If I remember correctly, if you squeezed the sides you could open them.
The solution was to put a Technic axle through the hole in the middle of the base and lid to prevent them twisting and popping off.
@csiramokus
"We understand, you don't like Lego anymore - it's perfectly fine but I'm not really a fan of advertising a site which sells copycat brands over and over and over and over again.
I agree with the POOP part of the comment but above that it's poop."
Apparently you haven't understood my comment after all.
I still love LEGO as in the bricks and many of the sets they offer(ed) over the years. I do very much dislike TLG and what they are doing as a company though. Two very different things!
And about BlueBrixx: their sets are completely own creations. They have their own set designers just like LEGO. Don't know what your comment about selling copycat stuff is about. Even the rest of the sets they sell is no copycat material from what I have seen. No Lepin, no stolen MOCs, nothing of the sort. Plus I was talking about their BlueBrixx specials line of sets anyway, and it is those that are better for a LEGO City than most of the sets TLG have produced over the last decade at least, a few positive exceptions notwithstanding.
And remember, this very site, while of course geared mainly towards AFOLs, is still called BRICKset, not LEGOset. I think it is time to acknowledge that there are several high quality alternatives to LEGO nowadays that are both fully legal as well as better value for money. Cobi being a prime example.
Even Jang has been reviewing non LEGO sets and seems quite taken by many of them while the amount of reviews of LEGO sets with only positive comments by him have gone down over time.
@AustinPowers , please remember that this is a LEGO site and positive comments about the company's competitors products are not welcome here.
@Huw: thanks for the advice. I will honor it from now on of course, even though I think it is a pity that simply commenting positively about legal alternatives is considered something bad. It is not as if I was trying to promote Lepin or other disgusting companies like them.
By the way, even though I come from near Frankfurt just like the company I shall not mention again, I have no affiliation with them whatsoever other than being a customer of their products just like I am of LEGO.
I'd like to see some kind of city display using the clear side as windows when we get more colors of these!
I'd like to see some kind of city display using the clear side as windows when we get more colors of these!
@Lyichir
The 2x6 bracket is used in the 2020 Speed champions sets.