23 replies to this topic

[CopMike]

Hi!

Here´s a quick review of the 30100 Beach set. I´m sure the big Friends review guns, like Pandora, will do another better one in a near future. Until then - enjoy!




The hard facts
Name: Beach
Theme: Friends
Year: 2012
Pieces: 32
Minidolls: 1 - Andrea
Itemnumber: 4622947
Price: Not yet availible but probably $3.99

Brickset


The polybag

The size is the bigger polybag one, 17.5 x 16.7 cm. On the back it says that the parts comes from Denmark, Hungary, Mexico, China and the Czech Republic.
Five different countrys for a small set like this is somewhat crazy!

The instructions

The part number is 6002771. Folded it measures 10.1 x 6.9 cm, unfolded 20.2 x 27.5 cm.


Random picture of the building process, showing the finished model.


Assembling Andrea.


A quarter of the instructions shows this, other Friends sets. They have the small white box by each set so you can mark which ones you already have.


The parts


Nothing really new here but it´s nice to get the fish, part 64648, in orange in a smaller set than before. It´s only been in the 10218 Pet Shop before! The bright light orange Crab is quite common, 9 sets, but the dark pink Belville Bucket has made a return now with the Friends sets. It was last used in 2003 before it came out in this and the 3183 Stephanie’s Cool Convertible The lime minifig Flippers has been in 15 sets and two books before.


Andreas torso and legs comes in two small bags, the head and hair are loose like the parts above.

The build

The beach with the sand castle is built.


The water, six 1x1 round plates are in place.


And we are done! This is not the set you get for the building experience, but it is of course a promo polybag so that´s ok.


Andrea put together with her lime flippers on. Remember to either walk with really really high knees or backwards so you don´t fall Andrea ! She has the same colors and design as in the 3061 City Park Cafe.

Extra parts

Four 1x1 round plates and a second par of flippers is the extra parts that we get. And now I will make my remark about the number of pieces in the set, 32 including Andrea, as I wrote in the beginning. That is of course with the flippers still attached to the sprue. When you remove them from the sprue you "get" two more pieces, so the set actually brings 34 parts to your collection !  


The finished model

(Looking for a good face whacking by my fish, are you ?)

Conclusion

Playability: 5/10 (Low, but get your Tan parts out and build a behemoth sized sand castle .)
Design: 4/10 (The is basicly none. But again, that´s ok ´cause it´s a promo polybag.)
Minifig: 10/10 (Great way to get your hands on the Andrea minifig without having to cough up $30.)
Pieces: 8/10 (The orange fish, the bright orange crab and the dark pink Belville bucket is what gets the number up.)

Overall: 6.75/10
The overall score might be low, but I love these small promo sets. You usually get some semi-hard-to-get parts or a good minifig with them and that was true with this set also. So, if you have the chance to get your hands on one - go for it!

Thanks for reading and let´s see what the next Friends set to be reviewed are !

[TheWarden]

Cute poly.

Although I guess I'll be the first to point out an error for your correction. The lime flippers are in three sets only as the joined together in a sprue version. They are in 15 other sets as separate pieces - http://www.bricklink...asp?P=2599&in=S So not rare really unless you didn't get into the Atlantis theme at all.

[CopMike]

TheWarden, on 01 July 2012 - 05:01 PM, said:

Although I guess I'll be the first to point out an error for your correction. The lime flippers are in three sets only as the joined together in a sprue version. They are in 15 other sets as separate pieces - http://www.bricklink...asp?P=2599&in=S So not rare really unless you didn't get into the Atlantis theme at all.

Thanks, corrected!

[Darth Hagrid]

I wish TLG had went to the trouble of removing the shoe prints on this Andrea, as they look extremely odd combined with the flippers. Still, great-looking set, and nice review! I'll have to try and pick this up somewhere...

[just2good]

Great review, 'CopMike'!
This is an amazing Friends polybag. I love the amount of rare pieces in it. Hopefully this comes to the US soon.

[Roger Rabbit]

Great review. When this reaches the UK it may have to be my first Friends buy!!  

[Blondie-Wan]

Wow, I must have this set, if just for the parts! Does anyone know anything about its US availability?

CopMike, on 01 July 2012 - 02:10 PM, said:

The size is the bigger polybag one, 17.5 x 16.7 cm. On the back it says that the parts comes from Denmark, Hungary, Mexico, China and the Czech Republic.
Five different countrys for a small set like this is somewhat crazy!

You think that's crazy? You should take a look at this Pirates of the Caribbean promo set - it has five countries of origin listed as well, and it has only four pieces!

[iammusic]

Quote

Andreas torso and legs comes in two small bags, the head and torso are loose like the parts above.

hair

[CopMike]

iammusic, on 01 July 2012 - 08:53 PM, said:

hair

Fixed. Did you actually register as a member just to post that?

[Huntleyfx]

I actually think I'm going to pick this up, as it will finally be an affordable way to get Andrea's hair for some Pirate MOC's. (I couldn't justify spending $10 for a hairpiece.) The other benefit is some great seaside accessories.

[lightningtiger]

Great review 'CopMike', I guess for a poly bag it is a cheap way of scoring a minidoll.
The sand castle is too simple, but the accessories are handy....though purple shoes with green flippers ?
Brick On Review On with your Friend's !

[iammusic]

CopMike, on 01 July 2012 - 09:18 PM, said:

Fixed. Did you actually register as a member just to post that?

no, i'm just read forum.

[jasbury]

Awesome review, 'CopMike'! Great way to continue the summer of friends  
I like the rarer pieces featured in this set, like the newly colored fish.

[Alasdair Ryan]

Thanks Copmike for the nice review.
Why did they include a second pair of flippers,It is not really something you are going to break of lose is it?

[CopMike]

iammusic, on 01 July 2012 - 08:53 PM, said:

hair

CopMike, on 01 July 2012 - 09:18 PM, said:

Fixed. Did you actually register as a member just to post that?

iammusic, on 01 July 2012 - 10:31 PM, said:

no, i'm just read forum.

Again, thanks for finding that. By that I understand that some of you really read the whole reviews !
And I´m glad this review made you make your first two posts also! Now when you´ve started posting - keep going, your input is welcome !

[WhiteFang]

A fine polybag review! Thanks CopMike. Enjoyed this small little cute set that can be used to place near the beach or the recent Seaside house to add some fun.  

[Gryphon Ink]

Well, this set is an odd one.  I like that it gets me a crab, which is rare enough that I don't have any, and an orange fish, which is a nice change from the usual dark grey.  BUT, the fact that you have Andrea dressed in the standard Friends ruffly miniskirt and strappy shoes - in fact, the exact same outfit she's wearing in the Cafe set - is a huge problem if she is supposed to be chilling on the beach and wearing flippers.  We wouldn't want to see a firefighter in a City set wearing a clown suit.  No kid would ever buy the set.  They'd be all "WTH is this, Lego People?  Firefighters don't wear clown suits!"  TLG really need to come up with some new body parts for the minidolls if they want to lure girls away from the Polly Pocket and Barbie sections, or get AFOLs to buy multiple Andrea sets.

[Only Sinner]

I agree with Gryphon Ink, TLG should consider some different outfits for the minidolls once in a while. Girls would be espesially compelled to collect the different dolls if they sometimes had new outfits. With the summer sets being beach themed, they could make them in swimsuits or wetsuits. I mean, why does she even come with flippers? Is she going to snorkel in that skirt? What, she's just supposed to walk around in wet clothes all day then? Bullocks, I say! Good review by the way.

[Aanchir]

Only Sinner, on 03 July 2012 - 08:25 PM, said:

I agree with Gryphon Ink, TLG should consider some different outfits for the minidolls once in a while. Girls would be espesially compelled to collect the different dolls if they sometimes had new outfits. With the summer sets being beach themed, they could make them in swimsuits or wetsuits. I mean, why does she even come with flippers? Is she going to snorkel in that skirt? What, she's just supposed to walk around in wet clothes all day then? Bullocks, I say! Good review by the way.

Well, there do exist swimsuits that resemble miniskirts, and given how expensive the production of these minifigure parts likely is (they have printing that's even more complex than most traditional minifigures, along with a couple pre-assembled parts) I have no doubt that TLG might prefer to have only a set number of prints and molds in production for a while. Especially when those prints and molds are ones that can be used for tank tops, swimsuits, etc, rather than more specialized ones that are more limited in function.

With that said, I hope the range of Friends clothing does improve next year. Currently, even the range of casual clothing is somewhat limited-- only Peter wears blue jeans, for instance, and Anna has the only longer skirt. Since Friends has proven successful I have no doubt we will see the selection of outfits improve as the years go on.

[lego_legis_legere]

Great review "CopMike"
Keep on sharing other such as this one.

[Gryphon Ink]

Aanchir, on 04 July 2012 - 01:49 PM, said:

Well, there do exist swimsuits that resemble miniskirts, and given how expensive the production of these minifigure parts likely is (they have printing that's even more complex than most traditional minifigures, along with a couple pre-assembled parts) I have no doubt that TLG might prefer to have only a set number of prints and molds in production for a while.

While I don't have any insider information on costs vs. profits at TLG, I think you're overestimating the cost of producing variant printing.  This is one of the largest toy manufacturers in the world.  They produce these sets like Saruman produces Uruks, ten thousand Olivias and Andreas in a night.  I think they can afford to make a version of Andrea that doesn't have leg printing.  If anything it would be cheaper than the version with printing.  It's one step less, not more.

It may seem like I'm quibbling over a minor detail, but the thing is, Friends is supposed to be TLG's big effort to compete with Polly Pocket, Strawberry Shortcake and their ilk for a share of girls' allowances.  And while I think the theme has been successful overall, TLG's reluctance to produce variant minidolls makes this set one of the weakest in the theme.  If you look at Polly Pocket in particular, you'll see that every set has two or three changes of outfits, from shoes to handbags, and the various sets cover everything from winter sports to snorkeling.  Now TLG is saying, listen girls, Lego is better because you can build whatever setting you like for the minidolls.  Look, in this set you have Andrea playing on the beach and snorkeling.  Oh, and she's snorkeling with purple ankle-strap shoes on.  You can't change that part - just use your imagination, okay?

I think we all tend to think these little details don't matter much, but when you're trying to capture kids' hearts, minds, and wallets, the details are EVERYTHING.  Kids can be incredible sticklers for details, and to a lot of kids it might be totally fine to have polar bears and penguins in one Arctic set - but your Arctic explorer better be wearing appropriate clothing, or the Arctic adventure is a total non-starter.  I've seen this kind of thing happen in a lot of kids' games.

Of course, you could also say it's just a polybag, and who's to say you wouldn't be right?  It still annoys me, though.

[SheepEater]

I completely agree - I spent some time comparing the minidolls of the Polly Pocket line with Lego's, and I think PP's strongest point over Lego is the huge amount of clothing customization.

[peterab]

Gryphon Ink, on 04 July 2012 - 10:28 PM, said:

While I don't have any insider information on costs vs. profits at TLG, I think you're overestimating the cost of producing variant printing.  This is one of the largest toy manufacturers in the world.  They produce these sets like Saruman produces Uruks, ten thousand Olivias and Andreas in a night.  I think they can afford to make a version of Andrea that doesn't have leg printing.  If anything it would be cheaper than the version with printing.  It's one step less, not more.

From what I've learnt from chatting to Mark Stafford online the limitation on variety of parts is not so much the actual design or production, but the storage and logistics. The moulding machines are pretty much at capacity production. Introducing an extra change introduces an extra few days for the machine to cool and the colour of plastic to be changed, which lowers total production of parts. It also requires an extra separate storage area for the new part. Both these things in practice require that another production part must be killed off to introduce a new part. It's probably not worth the potential profit in a polybag.

[Mr Copperhead]

Only Sinner, on 03 July 2012 - 08:25 PM, said:

I agree with Gryphon Ink, TLG should consider some different outfits for the minidolls once in a while. Girls would be espesially compelled to collect the different dolls if they sometimes had new outfits. With the summer sets being beach themed, they could make them in swimsuits or wetsuits. I mean, why does she even come with flippers? Is she going to snorkel in that skirt? What, she's just supposed to walk around in wet clothes all day then? Bullocks, I say! Good review by the way.

I thought the same thing about swimsuits and shoes with the splash pool.  Why on earth would she wear her shoes there?  Oh well, thanks for the review and I'll still buy this if I find it, but I do hope they come out with some new outfits.