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[The Cobra]

I can make you ice cream / We could be a sweet team (New young pony club - Ice cream)

Set data:

6402: Sidewalk cafè
Year: 1994
Theme: Town
Subtheme: Paradisa
Pieces: 40 + 2 extra
Price: 7,25 USD (source: Peeron)
Building time: less than 10 minutes
MISB on review: Yes
More info: Brickset - Peeron - Bricklink

Box front: On a seaside background, the Sidewalk cafè welcomes you.


Box rear: Ingenious alternative models: girl shows us she works in a circus and can play banjo (that's too tiny to be a guitar)


Box sides and comparison: Caution and everything. Most important: the Troll impulse set came in a box not much smaller than this set's. Click on these thumbnails for larger pics.


Box content: One bag, two loose plates, instructions, miniposter, sticker sheet.


Instructions and miniposter: Only one piece call-out, for the dispenser. Most of the poster is female-oriented, focusing on Paradisa and Belville. Click on these thumbnails for larger pics.


Sticker: 6 wide, 1 and 1/3 high; a fine decoration.


Loose pieces: White and pink for the building itself, plus grey for the sidewalk and green for the plants.


Minifigs: Paradisa lies on the sea, so it's no surprise both figs wear swimsuits and tanktops.


Building - Step 4: Pillars in the rear, space stand and ice cream desk in the front.


Building - Step 6: Moustache man at work, we're close to complete the building.


Building - Step 8: Most everything is there, here comes the riding girl.


Building complete - Corner views: And now the sticker's there too



The final shot: Set and extra pieces.


Review:

First things first. When I started building this set, I had a great feeling, because of the "click". The click you could year some years ago when putting together two Lego bricks. The click that got lost because pieces are now slightly thinner. That and the rise of stickers and fall of printed pieces are two of the reasons that make me like many old sets and fewer of the new. (Oh, and I loved antennas that came in one color -stick and base-).

I had a chance to buy a bunch of such old sets for really cheap, including this one and another one in the theme (review will follow later this year/decade), so I finally put my hands on a Paradisa model.
It's white and pink. Well, Paradisa was the most female-oriented theme in Lego history amongst those minifig scaled, so it could fit in any town.
Long before Agents vs. Dr. Inferno and his bunch or Power Miners vs. Rock monster, here's a small set with two minifigs representing the oldest of the rivalries: men vs. women for an improved playability.

The man is working at the ice cream desk; he has one of those "something added to the standard grin" head pieces; back then it would have been ok, now it would look lame to only have one pattern with a few variations. The moustache head has been used since 2005, and later came back in Minifig Collections. His shirt is not so popular, but there's something much rare in this set. The two printed plates tiles (thanks ZO6) are an exclusive to this very model. So there's your choice of (I guess) lemon, mint, strawberry and peach ice-cream on one tile and vanilla, pistachio, watermelon and wild berries on the other one. A nice addition to the desk is the cream dispenser. Unfortunately, ice cream scoops only were introduced in 1995, so our man sells invisible ice creams in clear glasses.

As for the girl, here face was introduced that year, and her skirt is rarer than the man's. The flower pattern on pink background should have hit on YoungSFOLs. She is riding a red bicycle; I'd have to say, 60% of the bicycles we've seen were red. Pink were later used for Team Telekom promos.

Another nice feature is the small table under the beach umbrella. The antenna would usually lie in the center of the space stand, while it was wisely put aside this time so that people could pose their cups while standing and having a talk. And I also liked the use of arches (that make you think of a porch) and plants.

It's hard to find a con in this set. Maybe kids could have thought this was too girlish, but that's probably it. This set is: 1) small (and that means cheap) 2) civilian 3) including 2 minifigs, and one is a girl 4) including plates and some sort of building. That's a lot of pros.




Rating:

Color scheme: 4/5. Girls should have loved it.

Minifigs and accessories: 4/5 Don't we all like sets that have at least two figs?

Pieces: 3/5. Probably not the set one will buy for the pieces. Except for those ultra-rare printed tiles.

Playability: 5/5. Doesn't every Lego town need a Sidewalk Cafè?

Design: 4/5. Nice with the arches and green.

Overall rating: 4/5. A nice small set that gets the job done.


The final words: Please, TLC, we want civillian sets!.

[ZO6]

Thanks for this review, The Cobra! Congrats on the acquisition of those sets.

This is one of a handful of Paradisa sets that originally belonged to my sister but has since been passed over into my possession. Sidewalk cafe is a really nice little set. The main model incorporates nicely into just about any town layout, and the set itself is a decent parts pack. I really like the printed ice cream tiles, I believe they are exclusive to this set as well.

[The Cobra]

Oops, I wrote plates instead of tiles.

[Carbohydrates]

Hm, the near-lack of contrast between the light pink and white is surprisingly harsh on the eyes. Good thing there's some red and green to help balance it some. Also, seems they're not really into that whole "pants" thing in Paradisa, even among local business owners!

[prateek]

Very nice. I love all that pink!

[LuxorV]

Nice review, The Cobra!

Thanks for bringing back memories of such a great era, and of a theme my sister loved so much she eventually 'infected' me too

[lightningtiger]

Thanks for the review 'The Cobra' - I never thought you like pink !
Quite a cute set, interesting design too uni-sex, of course more aimed at girls.
I think I might build a retro one of these in different colours, just for the fun of it !
That's what the Paradisa theme was 'just for fun' !
Keep on bricking everyone !

[KielDaMan]

Oh my, what a lovely little set. Thanks for taking us back down memory lane 'The Cobra' with your great review. I'm a sucker for classic town so this is an excellent set for me. For a little set, you get a man and a woman (both in undies ), a bike, and a nice selection of pieces (esp. the pinks). I ain't in the target girls market but I really appreciate Paradisa sets like this one.

[dr_spock]

Thanks for the review. Pink and white isn't that bad. :)

[Vestabuyer]

Greetings!

Great review, I to recently acquired this set. I was reluctant at first, but I think the stand is growing on my citizens of Lego town.

[Klaus-Dieter]

Thank you very much for this great review, TheCobra!

I voted for

outstanding

since this set includes everything (apart from ice-cream pieces) an open-air ice-cream parlor has to include. And there is even a lot more: cups and a bicycle.

It would be great if TLG released a new ice-cream parlor like this one - or even better in a closed shop building.


Klaus-Dieter

[just2good]

Thanks for the review!
This is such an outstanding set. I wish I had Paradisa sets....

[VBBN]

A fine review!
And a fine set indeed, I love these classics and this set is no exception.
Plus; It comes in a pink box. That is the deal breaker right there.

[WhiteFang]

Thanks The Cobra. A lovely review indeed and the printed ice cream tiles are the rare and nicest elements in this little set.