Review: 41742 Cat Hotel
Posted by MeganL,After checking out something for a potential canine companion for Nova in 41741 Dog Rescue Van (we'll leave the potential dark beginnings of that set aside....), let's take a turn to the feline side of the world with 41742 Cat Hotel. These pets seem to be on the other end of the spectrum, and are not in need of rescuing at all, since they have a very fancy building to cater to their every need.
Summary
41742 Cat Hotel, 445 pieces.
£24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99 | 5.6p/6.7c/6.7c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Charming set that's thought of everything for our feline friends at a great price
- Another colour of the grumpy cat mold
- Nice architectural details in a small set
- Great play value
- None!
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Inside the box there are four numbered bags, two 6x12 plates, an instruction book and a small sticker sheet. I wasn't sure what the sticker #6 was supposed to convey, but that became quite obvious once applied.
Unlike several of the other sets from this wave, there was no map included in the instructions to show where the Cat Hotel is located. Maybe it's a top secret location since it's so good?
Minidolls and animals
The two minidolls in this set are Olly and Naomi. Olly is dressed in a pink t-shirt with a metallic blue and white varsity jacket on top. I love the use of the metallic blue for the jacket (even though I've never seen the colour on a varsity jacket in real life). His grey trousers have blue trimmed cuffs over two-toned shoes.
Naomi looks fabulous and has terrific hair! She has a metallic sleeveless green top with a cinched high-waisted double belt and some delicate necklaces. Naomi has blue bell-bottoms over purple shoes. I also love that she has glasses. Both minidoll torsos have printing on the back, and Olly is also provided an accessory of a fish at the end of a string, presumably for the clients of the hotel to play with. (I hope that it's a stuffed fish, or else it would get very pungent in the hotel!).
It would not be a cat hotel without felines, and there are three in this set. The first is Gertrude, Olly's cat. She's grey with a darker grey marking on her face and a blue collar. Next is Shadow, a small black cat with white accents on their paws and face - we learn in other sets that Shadow is Aliya's cat. The third cat is Pixel, Naomi's cat. It's the second grumpy cat that we've seen in this wave. Pixel has striking tawny markings on their paws, face and hair, and I love the derpy tongue.
The completed model
The front of the building looks great! The top is dominated by a large brick-built napping cat. The "Zzzz"s and eye details are provided with stickers, but the figure looks quite good.
Even though this is a smaller set, there are some nice architectural details included. I particularly like the parts usage for the tops of the windows and the door knobs, as well as the orange and yellow detailing on either side of the windows. Of course there is a pet door in the front door!
The back fo the building shows that there are plenty of things for the cats to do, both inside and outside.
Taking a closer look, there are cat ladders on two of the walls, to allows the hotel patrons get gain a higher view of the world. There are three areas for the felines to explore - one is a spacious chaise lounge, a second is a big comfy chair, and a third is a cat tree. Of course, there is a catwalk connecting the spaces on either side of the door.
If a cat climbs to the top of the inside cat tree, there's an opening that leads to the outside, and a real tree! There are several platforms for the felines in the tree, which is covered with plenty of foliage. At the bottom of the tree there's a litter box with some recent "deposits".
There are plenty of spots for the cats (and their friends) to hang out.
(Note: sloths not included in this set. The grumpy cat is not amused.)
To allow for greater play value, the three cat activities are easily removed. Sticker #6 made much more sense when it was applied. Clearly the hotel patrons are not kind to the furniture!
Overall thoughts
This is a delightful set. The cats are adorable, the minidolls are great, and the building has some great details. This cat hotel has just about everything that a LEGO feline would need, and there is plenty of play value with the removable elements, and all the activities for the cats to do, both inside and out. Kudos to the designer for a charming set at a reasonable price.
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28 comments on this article
Dang, those are some Fabuland-looking windows. Good stuff.
What a fun looking set! Surely this'll be a winner for price and entertainment value.
The price per part ratio here is unbelievable! I think the piece is good for the volume of stuff and detail but I’m just so happy that we finally get a cat dedicated daycare after many dog centres (even this year the dogs get a bigger set)
My Lego world is minifigs only, but do love cats! Will this fit well with minifigs?
Good review! This set (like most of the new Friends sets) is real cute, with great colors and fun architecture.
One thing my sister noticed about this set is that the small section of sidewalk on the left side matches the sidewalk pattern and colors from 41732 Downtown Flower and Design Stores. While this set isn't modular like that one and so can't be directly connected, that seems to imply that this might also go in the downtown area (and the two sets could probably be arranged together if you wanted).
Those are seriously some good looking cats.
Fat cat is awesome.
Well now I'm curious as to what a rebuild mod into a Sloth Hotel would look like ...
An orange version of the grumpy cat with stripes and a different face print would pair well with the lasagna build from 41379, I think....
@vizzitor said:
"An orange version of the grumpy cat with stripes and a different face print would pair well with the lasagna build from 41379, I think...."
I like the way you think!
I completely agree with @Rimefang and @Chromedcat . This set has both great piece-to-price ratio and great play-to-price ratio. I add great figs and cats to that, too. I'm a cat lover, so this is going on the must-have for me.
This is a fantastic set--and only $30.00 USD?!?! Dang--they really knocked it out of the park with this!
I still think that one cat is a beaver because that tongue looks like teeth.
Still very solid set.
@Bornin1980something said:
"My Lego world is minifigs only, but do love cats! Will this fit well with minifigs?"
Yes just swap cats with system cats and minidolls with figures.
Friends just keeps delivering! Another great set for a great price. If there's one thing I could complain about it's obviously the stickers, but for a typical play set and at this price that's no biggie. Other than that this is pretty much perfect.
As parent to a crazy cat lady in the making, this one's definitely on the list.
This set looks pretty good! I love the amount of foliage they are including in sets, and the variety of cats. I would say it's purrfect value for play...
Cat: "And this is mine, that's mine, all this is mine, I'm claiming all this as mine.
Except that bit. I don't want that bit.
But all the rest of this is mine!
Hey, this has been a good day! I've eaten five times, I've slept six times and I've made a lot of things mine!"
Actually, I've seen real cats that seem to live by exactly that mindset. :-)
@Bornin1980something said:
"My Lego world is minifigs only, but do love cats! Will this fit well with minifigs?"
Usually the main issue with using minifigs in minidoll sets is seating, as obviously minidolls don't have studs on the backs of their legs and they have longer legs.
They're also slightly taller but scale is a funny thing anyway with minifigs as they're very out of proportion to human adults. The computer screen is the only thing you might want to alter, you could lower the screen slightly by replacing the 1x2 brick on the corner with a couple of plates if it bothered you.
Great review! This is definitely a very charming set for cat lovers, even if it's not as much of an "everyday" sort of setting as a lot of the other house, shop, and bedroom sets. The cats themselves are ADORABLE and packed with personality. And there are plenty of amenities to keep them content — including necessities like food, water, and a litter box, but also toys and furniture like the cat tower, tree fort, and the bridge between the high shelves.
I suspect the black kitten Shadow is responsible for some of those scratches in the furniture. Judging from his "WANTED" poster in set 41728, he seems to be a little mischief maker at heart! Gertrude, on the other hand, seems a little more prim and proper — which is fitting, since apparently her owner is the appearance-conscious Olly. I can imagine her trying to find a quiet spot to nap and stay out of trouble while her more rambunctious fellow tenants try to coax her into playing with them!
The sleepy kitty signage out front is also adorable, even if it's more reliant on stickers than some of the brick-built signage we've seen in other Friends sets over the years. One much subtler detail I really appreciate is that the pavement on the building's left side matches the paving stones from 41732! It'd take a little doing to connect them together as part of a larger layout, but I appreciate that sort of consistency that helps to establish Heartlake City as a unified setting.
Thanks again for the review, and for all the excellent photos!
@Bornin1980something said:
"My Lego world is minifigs only, but do love cats! Will this fit well with minifigs?"
Probably! Mini-dolls and minifigures use basically the same doors, windows, countertops, and accessories. And while most of the furniture in this set is intended for the cats rather than their human caretakers, it's also designed with proportions that would work about equally well for minifigs and mini-dolls.
Usually the only sets that would need really substantial modding to convert from mini-doll use to minifig use or vice-versa are vehicles, since minifigs have wider shoulders (preventing two from sitting side-by-side in a four-stud-wide space, like in the SUV from 41735) while mini-dolls have longer legs (requiring around one stud more space for their feet in front).
Some mini-doll chairs are also not totally compatible with minifigs due to narrower or more rounded armrests and backrests — for example, the "bold" circular chair and "modern" transparent chairs in 41732, or the armchairs from 43196. But small furniture builds like these are usually fairly easy to modify or even replace entirely.
@AustinPowers said:
"Cat: "And this is mine, that's mine, all this is mine, I'm claiming all this as mine.
Except that bit. I don't want that bit.
But all the rest of this is mine!
Hey, this has been a good day! I've eaten five times, I've slept six times and I've made a lot of things mine!"
Actually, I've seen real cats that seem to live by exactly that mindset. :-) "
You forgot "Why are you taking that bit I didn't want??? I want it!"
Love this little set. And the metallic blue in the minidoll is just gorgeous! Any chance we can get bricks in that color?
@AustinPowers said:
"Cat: "And this is mine, that's mine, all this is mine, I'm claiming all this as mine.
Except that bit. I don't want that bit.
But all the rest of this is mine!
Hey, this has been a good day! I've eaten five times, I've slept six times and I've made a lot of things mine!"
Actually, I've seen real cats that seem to live by exactly that mindset. :-) "
I'm going to eat you little fishy! I'm going to eat you little fishy! 'Cause I like little fish!
I have wanted this set since the day of release but it seems to be exclusive to Lego Shop. None of the usual toy sellers in the UK have it.
Postal service is messed up in the UK at the moment so reluctant to order and I just haven't had chance to get to a branch of Lego store.
I want my cats !! I need my cats.
Meow.
@ChromedCat said:
"The price per part ratio here is unbelievable! I think the piece is good for the volume of stuff and detail but I’m just so happy that we finally get a cat dedicated daycare after many dog centres (even this year the dogs get a bigger set)"
Indeed it's a great value set, but as far as I see, online right now, it looks to be a LEGO Exclusive set at the moment , so no discounts, could perhaps be taken into account , same situation with 31143 Bird House .
I'm more of a dog person (despite being terrified of them as a child) but this is definitely a cute set. Am I the only one who thought of Monty Python on seeing the words "comfy chair?" Was that intentional?Speaking of the furniture, as soon as I saw Sticker Six,, I thought, "I bet that's torn fabric." Also, that may be a real fish that they just replace once the cats have eaten it. (And now I'm picturing a Friends fishmonger's, which isn't a set I' sure they'll ever do.)
@PhantomBricks: So you'd agree that there's claws to get the set?
@TheOtherMike
I believe so. Although others might pounce on it first.
@PhantomBricks: Don't you mean "fur-st?"