-R8- Posted October 2, 2011 (edited) I bought this set as a present for my cousin's daughter (first cousin once-removed? ) earlier in August, when I headed down to Virginia for BrickFair. She already had a bucket of LEGO Duplo blocks, but I figured now would be a good time to transition her into actual sets. Seeing as how much she loved this little set, I will have to get thinking about which Duplo set to get her for Christmas. Name: 5644 Chicken Coop Theme: Duplo Year: 2010 Pieces: 11 Minifigures: 1 Price: USD 8.99, GBP 7.99 Further References: Brickset.com, BrickLink.com, Peeron.com, flickr These were all taken while she was at nursery school, by the way (except for the box pictures which I took before I left for VA). For those of you who may have believed that I am a toy snatcher. The Box The box is very colorful and kid friendly, making use of simple illustrations to paint a farmland to act as the background. Just like any other LEGO set, the age limit is listed on the left, although with a lower range than we've come to expect - 1.5-5 years of age. Frankly, I think most kids will outgrow Duplo long before they reach five, but since when have any of us paid attention to the age ranges anyway? After all these years, I still remember the red Duplo rabbit featured on the logo, and it's great to see it once more even on today's sets. The back of the box has various build and play options which could provide inspiration for youngsters, that is if the box manages to stay intact after a kid tries to open it! The Instructions There actually aren't any, but it's simple enough to build by looking at the box. Better yet, a toddler could use his or her own imagination to create whatever out of the 11 pieces that are included. The Pieces One of the first things I noticed was that some of the colors differed from the typical colors that we are used to. For example, take a look at the green and orange 2x2 bricks. Those colors are actually referred to on BrickLink as 'bright green' and 'bright light orange.' I really like these brighter colors, which I think are more in-sync with the early age audience as opposed to the standard green and orange shades. Notable Pieces I thought this was a pretty cool piece to have in a Duplo collection - a dark tan 2x2 brick with a nest of eggs printed on it. The Minifigures Technically, there is only one minifigure in this set, but I included the chicken in here too. The Duplo figure is that of an elderly denizen of LEGOVille, tending to her lone chicken. This is a world where the animals are huge, and the chickens are 2/3'rds the size of a person. I never realized this before actually, but all Duplo figures, including generic ones, seem to take on realistic skin tones as opposed to yellow skin like their System counterparts. I suppose this is done as a way to show children the vast diversity of races and cultures in the world, through the role-play of daily life. Design and Playability The Set Chances are that a kid will have fun just playing around with putting bricks together haphazardly, but when the set is put together, the play options are quite open-ended. That is what I like about Duplo, as it is so simple and basic that toddlers will have loads of fun just putting random bricks together, or recreating simple scenes. But, I think that is one thing toddlers have over older fans and AFOLs - they can spend hours of fun playing around with a little 11 piece set like this, while we binge on BrickLink for every single part we can get our hands on! All kidding aside, with LEGO the play options are limitless, even if it may seem like there is so little to play with. Conclusion It felt pretty surreal walking out of the toy store with a Duplo set in hand, seeing as the last time I probably did so was back in the 1990s. I was pretty psyched to see that my cousin liked it so much, and as I said before, I will have to get her a larger Duplo set for Christmas this year, so any suggestions will be helpful. Thanks for reading! Edited October 9, 2011 by Rufus Indexed! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Blondie-Wan Posted October 3, 2011 (edited) And here I thought I was going to be the first one to review this set; that's what I get for slacking off for so long. Ah, well. I no longer have the box for mine anyway, so... I found this set on clearance a while ago, so I picked it up specifically for the chicken figure, with the intention of using it to represent a giant fiberglass chicken sculpture on a restaurant roof in my LEGO city (since DUPLO elements can be connected to non-DUPLO LEGO elements, of course) - I was thinking it would be a chicken restaurant something like a Zaxby's (though I don't know of any real Zaxby's that has a giant chicken; it just seemed like the kind of thing one could have, and I'll probably make it be some other chicken-based eatery of my own creation anyway). I'll get around to it one of these days. Nice review! Edited October 3, 2011 by Blondie-Wan Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lightningtiger Posted October 3, 2011 Aw, it's a cute set....at least they didn't forget the egg's ! Nice review '-R8-'.....didn't know grown-ups play with Duplo ? (only joking ) Brick On Review On ! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
TheWarden Posted October 4, 2011 Not too much to discuss, but you've covered the review bases well. The "giant" chicken might be fun for an AFOL, maybe piloting some sci-fi mech. New meaning to the term "chicken walker" no? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sandy Posted October 4, 2011 I never realized this before actually, but all Duplo figures, including generic ones, seem to take on realistic skin tones as opposed to yellow skin like their System counterparts. I suppose this is done as a way to show children the vast diversity of races and cultures in the world, through the role-play of daily life. Actually, the earliest Duplo people had white skins, but they were little more than a head and a block for a body. Later, there were some yellow-skinned figures thrown into the mix, but this seems to have been long after the more realistic "flesh-skinned" figures were introduced. The Duplo figs have always been more diverse than System minifigs when it comes to skin color, gender and age. It's a real shame that kind of diversity hasn't really carried on to the minifigs... Anyway, thanks for the review! That chicken would certainly make a wonderful monster for the Heroica RPG. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dr. Charles Lightning Posted October 6, 2011 Nice to see Duplo get some attention! I have always liked the special printed blocks Duplo has. The golden eggs carry on that legacy. Cool little set and a great review. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Sid Sidious Posted October 8, 2011 I like how DUPLO prints pieces, rather than using stickers on them. I still have a bucket of my DUPLOs, but my little sister's got mixed in with it :). As a side note, a 2x4 DUPLO brick is about the same size as one space in Monopoly, so I built a battleship out of DUPLOs that was about 2 feet long and a foot tall, and used it as my Monopoly piece. It took up a whole side of the board. :) Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gryphon Ink Posted October 8, 2011 Chances are that a kid will have fun just playing around with putting bricks together haphazardly, but when the set is put together, the play options are quite open-ended. That is what I like about Duplo, as it is so simple and basic that toddlers will have loads of fun just putting random bricks together, or recreating simple scenes. But, I think that is one thing toddlers have over older fans and AFOLs - they can spend hours of fun playing around with a little 11 piece set like this, while we binge on BrickLink for every single part we can get our hands on! All kidding aside, with LEGO the play options are limitless, even if it may seem like there is so little to play with. I bought this set for my own Smallest Kobold (age 3) a while back. My thoughts were similar to yours - SK already has two enormous tubs of Duplo that she loves building with, but she also loves my System minifigs and houses, so I thought this set would be a nice addition to her boxes of plain bricks. To be honest, it was not the greatest success. She did play with it for a while, but it didn't seem like the set added much to her playing. I think it might be because there is only a single fig in it (chickens don't count, apparently). Having only one doll means there is no character interaction going on, and with only 11 pieces there aren't a lot of jobs that character can do. I got a much better response to 6137, "My First Supermarket". This is a $20 set that has 38 pieces, including two Duplofigs and assorted interesting things like a hand cart, a scale, baguettes and a cake. Smallest Kobold LOVED this set. There's much more to build and more things the characters can do once you're finished building. I was pretty psyched to see that my cousin liked it so much, and as I said before, I will have to get her a larger Duplo set for Christmas this year, so any suggestions will be helpful. I would unhesitatingly recommend 6137. "My First Zoo" (6136) looks pretty cool as well, with four animals and a car. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lorax Posted October 8, 2011 Great review on a really cute set. My daughter loves this set, and apparently the figure is 'Oma', which I think is why she likes it so much. We love the zoo sets. My daughter likes the animals, and duplo figures that resemble people around her, I am this zoo lady. I wish we had bought 6137, but my daughter at 2 1/2 has already decided that she likes Mama's Lego, so sadly she rarely plays with her duplo anymore. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gryphon Ink Posted October 8, 2011 My daughter loves this set, and apparently the figure is 'Oma', which I think is why she likes it so much. One thing this set has going for it is this really sweet figure. Her eyes are great. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rufus Posted October 9, 2011 Thanks R8, for bringing us what I believe is the first ever Eurobricks DUPLO review! And a lovely review too. That chicken is enormous! I'd love to see regular LEGO MOCs featuring the Attack of the Killer Chicken Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
