[REVIEW] 41683 - Forest Horseback Riding Center

[Bob De Quatre]

Set information

Set Name: Forest Horseback Riding Center

Set Number: 41683

Number of Pieces: 511

Theme: Friends

Year Release: 06/2021

Prices: £59.99 / $64.99 / €69.99 (Euro prices may vary)

#41683 on Brickset

#41683 on Rebrickable

Quote

Give the gift of role-play fun to animal lovers with the LEGO® Friends Forest Horseback Riding Center (41683). This 3-story ranch set is packed with features, accessories and figures to spark endless storytelling and animal play.

Saddle up for nature fun
Kids can join Mia, Savannah, her guide dog Goldie and brother Kevin as they explore the woods on horseback. Back at the LEGO Friends horse ranch they can care for the horse toys or relax in the forest home, which has a kitchen, bedroom and dining area. Storytelling fun continues outside as they cozy up around the fire and toast marshmallows. The set comes with a wealth of accessories to spark creative play and the second floor is removable for easy access.

Creative gifts that let kids explore their passions
From science and tech to art and the outdoors, each LEGO Friends character has their own interest. Introduce kids to the girls from Heartlake City, so they can make a special friend with whom they can explore their passion.

• Let kids channel their love of creatures into creative play with the LEGO® Friends Forest Horseback Riding Center (41683), where they can care for animals, explore nature and hang with friends.
• Comes with a total of 7 figures: LEGO® Friends Mia and Savannah, a micro-doll, dog toy for kids and a pony toy. It also includes 2 horse toys, whose heads are hinged to enhance the realistic play.
• The 3-story ranch has a stable downstairs with a kitchen, bedroom and dining area above. Outside, kids can put the dog to bed in its kennel then toast marshmallows on the campfire.
• This 511-piece set makes a great Christmas or birthday gift for kids aged 7+ who love animals. It’s ideal for immersive solo play and will keep youngsters and their friends entertained for hours.
• The riding center measures over 10 in. (26 cm) high, 8 in. (22 cm) wide and 4 in. (12 cm) deep – small enough to keep out on display so kids can dip in and out of the fun nature play.
• Comes with cute accessories kids will love such as riding helmets, saddles, bridles, a pitchfork, brush, broom, kitchen utensils, marshmallows and a white cane for Savannah.
• Designed for enjoyable immersive play, the model’s second floor is removable for easy access. The horses have hinged necks so kids can let them stop and eat grass on their forest trek.
• Along with LEGO® Friends Forest Waterfall (41677), Forest House (41679) and Forest Camper Van and Sailboat (41681), this playset is perfect for kids who love adventure toys.
• Since 1958, popular LEGO® toys have met stringent industry standards to ensure they are compatible and connect and pull apart consistently every time.
• LEGO® new toys are tested to the max to make sure they meet stringent global safety standards.

 

Box and content

Front of the box shows the Horseback Riding Center in front of a montainous forest landscape, which fit the subtheme quite well. Tha back of the box feature the inside of the building and shows some of the play features.

The box contains 6 numbered bags and a two thicker plastic bags, one with the instruction booklets and the stickers sheet, and one with two 8x16 dark orange plates and Melody and Rhapsody, the two horses that are the star of the set.

 

The build

The build is silmple, with no advanced techniques. The building is at some points a bit flimsy, but this is corrected in lmost cases a few steps later.

Bag 1:

A little scenery comes with set, in which the minidolls can eat marshmallow in front of a campfire. I also decided to to add both horses with their saddles off.

The pine tree is built using part 15469 in bright green, wich is a new color. You'll find this kind of tree in all sets from the subtheme.

Bag 2:

Bag 3:

Bag 4:

These shutters are a new recolor in dark turquoise (teal).

Bag 5:

The lantern at the top is swinging become someone let the window open!

I forgot to take a picture, but the whole first floor and attic can be removed.

 

This is a nice set, quite quickly built, with some nice features, and makes a nice display piece. It is also playable, with the interior being 7 studs deep.

The two horses fit inside the stable, with the little pony, and Goldie the dog has its own kennel.

 

Minidolls

The set comes with

- Mia in horseback riding outfit

- Savannah - The first blind minidoll that appeared only once in Heartlake City Vet Clinic (41446)

- Kevin - Exclusive to this set

The set only comes with the 4 main animals, not even an additionnal squirrel!

I was pleased to see that the two horses don't have the same mane. Despite their identical body mould, the color, mane and printings make them look rather different.

But I have to say that the friends saddle is really big, you have to remove a 2x2 chop off the horse. The position of the minidolls feels strange, and they also can't grad correctly the reins.

This is not the first appearance of Goldie, as it was in set 41446 alongside Savannah, as it is her helping dog. At the time it was unnamed.

 

Conlusion

Design: 6/10 - A quite simple build, nothing too fancy here, but the archways are rather nicely done.

Parts: 7/10 - The part selection is rather average, bonus point for the animals and parts in new colors.

Playability: 7/10 - All the kids I know like to play with horses... for a time.

Minidols: 7/10 - The 3 minidols are nice and I like that Savannah is back, with an exclusive Kevin.

Price: 5/10 - With a high ppp of 0,136€ the set is rather costly, despite the two horses.

Overall: 32/50 (64%) - A nice set, but expensive. Getting Rhapsody and Melody may not be enough as an incentive to buy the set. The inclusion of a disabled minidoll, Savannah, is always nice.

 

[LEGO Train 12 Volts]

Thanks for this nice review!

I like the detail of the fire and the marshmallow!

[Mylenium]

Again a bit too much on the steep price side to be worthwhile, especially since outside the horses it doesn't offer anything special.

Mylenium

[Redhead1982]

Thanks for a nice review. I always find Friends sets interesting to look at, and many times they include some interesting parts or recolors. I agree with the playability of the set. There's a variety of play situations possible, however in my opinion the limited flexibility is a downside. This further relates to the miniature dolls, being just a one-piece figure. As much as I like the fact that there are more characters involved, I'd prefer classic minifigs. Mini dolls' torso designs are interesting, the designers clearly gave it a lot of thought. Color scheme of the set is nice parts-wise but feels a bit flashy for a mountain retreat. My favorite part is the pine tree, a very simple yet effective design and I really like it is included in other sets as well.