Hinckley

REVIEW: 3061 City Park Café

Review: 3061 City Park Café  

95 members have voted

  1. 1. How do you rate this set?

    • Poor
      1
    • Below Average
      5
    • Average
      4
    • Above Average
      44
    • Outstanding
      41


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Thanks 'Hinckley' for this so cool review of a cute set.....so playable and you can't be a dufus....I've never seen you at the meetings ? :laugh:

Oh, that kitchen parts set....I hope a metallic silver set of them comes out at some stage. :wub:

I've noticed no roof, reminds me of my town buildings - must are roof less....max. playability ! :grin:

I guess for city builders, changing pink parts for white or other colours....would make it less girly, but as it is I like it that way. :sweet:

The map looks interesting.....a two storey city style house and a gas station are visible....perhaps future set ideas eh ? :wink:

Ah, I have an idea.....CONTEST TIME, Hinckley ! :grin:

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Thank you very much for this great review, Hinckley! :thumbup:

I really like this set - so I voted for

outstanding :wub: :wub: :wub:

for the following reasons:

Con:

-no regular minifigures but dolls

-no side walls in the backmost part of the building

-no roof

-only two seats and only one table on the terrace

Pro:

-good price ratio performance

-much and amazing accessory

-awesome architectual style

-decent interior

I can't await to get this set and the beauty shop to add them to my city :thumbup: - of course without the dolls :tongue: .

Klaus-Dieter

Edited by Klaus-Dieter

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:laugh::head_back::laugh_hard::iamded_lol::roflmao:

What can I say, awesome and hilarious review Hinckley! Now I just wish I could run to the store and pick this set up, but they won't be available up here in the cold north until Mars :cry_sad:

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That review was funny enough without the text! :tongue:

Even so this review has changed my opinion from "must buy" to "really must buy"! I want the whole line! BTW, in this photo...

037.jpg

...she looks so much like Natalie Portman.

You should read some other reviews :hmpf_bad:

Ditto!

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Really, which one....left or right ? :iamded_lol:

Left normally, but right when she's trying to avoid paparazzi.

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Great review and INCREDIBLY funny! The parade of hair is hilarious.

Terrific.

I only wish that the stickers were pressure sensitive and not adhesive. But props to you and thanks for the laugh.

david

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Excellent review, thank you so much! :wub:

Love all the pics with swapped hair. I almost feel sorry for all the little girls that never had LEGO before (or don't have that much) and won't be able to create such great (and insane) hair combinations.

This set makes me so happy just by looking at it. Bright, happy colors and such a wonderful place to meet other minidolls and minifigs there.

My City population will finally have something to eat. That hamburger can feed a family (or at least a starving family).

I love the accessories, never thought that LEGO figures will get to use knives and forks. I actually like when buildings have no back walls because it's so much easier to play.

Want to hear something sucky? The icing on the cupcakes doesn't knob on, it just sits there.

Now that sucks indeed.

How's the quality of all the Chinese parts?

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Stereotypes annoy me too, but I've come to expect that some people just latch onto them because they don't know any better and some exist for a reason. A lot of gay men listen to Lady Gaga and do drugs while listening to musicals and designing dresses.

Reading through this while half asleep I accidentally jumbled it into:

A lot of gay men listen to Lady Gaga and do drugs while listening to musicals and designing dresses because they don't know anything better exists for some reason.
:laugh:

On the topic of the hair: I dig the way Andrea's looks on minifigs, but I think there's something off with the other girl's. And at first seeing the friends theme I thought I might be able to hold off on bellatrix, but no such luck: she still has unequalled sexy crazy hair. :tongue:

I think I feel like some others on the accessories, silver or some gray could have done a lot of good (How do they expect me to make yellow Spongebob use a yellow spatula?) but I'm happy to get the parts anyway.

While they were using yellow, you know what they missed out on? A fried egg hair accessory.

I feel exactly the same about the complexity and design of the builds being up to snuff with any other system sets. Combined with the new color parts adhering to the essential core collection of infinitely useable lego elements (one can actually make something with these colors! :drool:), these sets really do have a lot going for them.

I do wish they'd throw in some non-stereotype with the stereotype though. Like, a machine shop (the hair could already support a welding mask with those holes in the side).. some track and field deal.. a "high stamina required" hike through the forest.. Y'know, anything that everyone can admire.

Thanks to your interview with brickjournal back when it was a free download, I know how you roleplayed with lego as a kid, so you can't shock me with no comics :wink::grin:

Thanks for a great review! Really enjoyed it.

Edited by SpiderSpaceman

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...she looks so much like Natalie Portman.

Does Natalie Portman have orange eyes?

I love the accessories, never thought that LEGO figures will get to use knives and forks. I actually like when buildings have no back walls because it's so much easier to play.

Me too. I just wanted a complete third wall and maybe a roof too.

How's the quality of all the Chinese parts?

Meh. Decent, as usual. They're certainly sturdy. Since we haven't seen some of the molds produced by Billund, there's no way to tell if they're not as good. With the collectible minifig line, the minifig legs and torsos have been lower quality. With these new pieces, there's nothing to compare them too. I will say that the sheen on the dolls is just as glossy as on regular minifigs. The new utensils seem high quality as well. There is a line on the box that says the pieces are made in Mexico, Czech Republic, Denmark and China, so who knows what parts are made where anymore.

Reading through this while half asleep I accidentally jumbled it into:

:laugh:

Brilliant! :rofl:

I do wish they'd throw in some non-stereotype with the stereotype though. Like, a machine shop (the hair could already support a welding mask with those holes in the side).. some track and field deal.. a "high stamina required" hike through the forest.. Y'know, anything that everyone can admire.

Thanks to your interview with brickjournal back when it was a free download, I know how you roleplayed with lego as a kid, so you can't shock me with no comics :wink::grin:

But there is a machine shop:

3933-1.jpg?1

But, I agree there should be some more sports-oriented sets. A basketball court? Tennis? ... Wrestling? :devil:

And I'm surprised how many people still have that article accessible in their brains. :blush: Yes, Fabuland and soap operas have always gone hand in hand from a very young age. Thanks for the feedback!

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I don't care the slightest about this theme, but still loved the review due to it trying to throw cold water in the faces of ridiculously angry feminists lashing out against these innocent sets. Spot on.

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All recent reviews are making me going to buy more than one set just to try this attractive theme.

And by the way thanks for the review and the priceless comic at the end. :tongue::laugh:

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THANK YOU! That was a great read this morning!!!!

That was a refreshing take on the whole friends contreversy.

I really enjoyed the review it was very thourough and well written, thanks for all the detailed pictures!

I have a feeling this line will give us a lot of new interesting pieces in a variety of unusual colors and add to the pool of "rare" pieces (i.e. - orange slopes)

On a side note, I have to say I personally really like the Friends line, the colors are so vibrant it makes the model "pop" a lot! I went to Wal-Mart yesterday specifically to pick one of each set but unfortunately they were not yet on the shelves and the kid I talked to in order to know when they would be on the shelves was less than helpfull, I'll have to go again later!

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WOW! So skipping the product, first let me say that I'm new here to EB. The review is so refreshing in its honesty and humor! The girls can sit on studs......I fell out of my chair and my wife looked at me like an idiot. Hink, you may be new favorite internet personality! TO the set, great review and I agree wholeheartedly with what you said. I have a 9 year old daughter that thinks the Friends line is stupid. As I started thinking I wanted to buy some just for the plethora of colors that come in here and not anywhere else, she changed her tune. I think she wanted to not like them, thinking that Dad wouldn't since I usually buy Kingdoms, PoP, etc...She has a ton of Lego as well, and always builds Gardens, Homes, Parks, etc....and does a great job with the Lego we have. With these sets, I think she will be much happier with the way her models turn out. For the record, she is no girly girl, she loves LOTR, Star Wars, etc....but she also enjoys this type of toy. And....now she won't keep begging for all of my girl minifigs....she likes the "Polly Pocket" look of the mini-dolls!

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On a side note, I have to say I personally really like the Friends line, the colors are so vibrant it makes the model "pop" a lot! I went to Wal-Mart yesterday specifically to pick one of each set but unfortunately they were not yet on the shelves and the kid I talked to in order to know when they would be on the shelves was less than helpfull, I'll have to go again later!

I think they're only at Target and TRU right now...and LEGO brand retail and SAH too.

WOW! So skipping the product, first let me say that I'm new here to EB. The review is so refreshing in its honesty and humor! The girls can sit on studs......I fell out of my chair and my wife looked at me like an idiot. Hink, you may be new favorite internet personality! TO the set, great review and I agree wholeheartedly with what you said. I have a 9 year old daughter that thinks the Friends line is stupid. As I started thinking I wanted to buy some just for the plethora of colors that come in here and not anywhere else, she changed her tune. I think she wanted to not like them, thinking that Dad wouldn't since I usually buy Kingdoms, PoP, etc...She has a ton of Lego as well, and always builds Gardens, Homes, Parks, etc....and does a great job with the Lego we have. With these sets, I think she will be much happier with the way her models turn out. For the record, she is no girly girl, she loves LOTR, Star Wars, etc....but she also enjoys this type of toy. And....now she won't keep begging for all of my girl minifigs....she likes the "Polly Pocket" look of the mini-dolls!

Thanks for the compliments and the feedback. After following the goofy controversy over this toy, it's refreshing to hear feedback from someone who actually interacted with a child with this toy. When I asked my niece about it I just gave here the catalog and asked her which sets she liked. After falling in love with the bear and the pterodactyl, she turned the page and saw the Heartlake vet and about freaked out! She didn't like the beauty shop, but she wanted to perform surgery on the pterodactyl. She was also the one who pointed out that the convertible was cooler than the other City cars. She also wanted the Robie house and the lighthouse. My sister was a little put off that the line used "girly" colors, but she backed off when she saw they weren't overly pink. She doesn't like "girly" toys but doesn't force her daughter to play with toys only she would choose. She allows her daughter free will...imagine. :laugh:

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Best, and by that I mean funniest as well as very thorough, review I have read all year. :wink:

Clever. :tongue:

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Wow. Thank you for producing one of the most thorough reviews I've ever read. I think you and I look for and appreciate the same type of detail in sets, and this review caters to the exact angle I want to see the set from.

As for you're opinions on the entire line, I think you hit the nail on the head. It's been annoying to hear (/read :hmpf:) people blindly bashing the line without reading much into it. I don't think a lot of people realize how much effort Lego put into the Friends line with their research, etc; It's as though they think they Lego is taking a blind chance and just producing sets they think the target will like.

Hopefully this review changes a lot of minds of members of the community regarding the Friends line, as it really deserves a shot. It's sad how we live in a culture where "blue = boy, pink = girl" and so many people make adamant judgements based on a simple cultural phenomenon that's been thrown upon them since birth.

Thank you again. :classic:

-Derek

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It's been annoying to hear (/read :hmpf:) people blindly bashing the line without reading much into it. I don't think a lot of people realize how much effort Lego put into the Friends line with their research, etc; It's as though they think they Lego is taking a blind chance and just producing sets they think the target will like.

Thank you! :sweet: As Fugazi pointed out, the copyright on the mini-dolls is 2009. They worked on this line for a long time and I know the designers market test these products, with real children even! They must have extreme confidence in their marketing because waves 1 and 2 have a lot of sets in them. One thing I will add is that when I went to the park to buy this set yesterday, the girls were very excited about it. It's nothing to go to the shop and hear boys flipping out about what's on the shelves, but it was a noticeable different that the girls were excited too.

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I normally don't use internet slang on this website, but I literally LMAO! Awesome review Hink! The humor was spot on :thumbup: I understand that this is a girly set, but the retro feel of the diner is awesomly acurate to that retro 50's diner! This makes for a great set with some awesome new accessories that could find their way into any theme, girly or not. I also think I'm comfortable enough with my masculinity to say that these sets are for the most part FABULOUS!. Please Please Please do more reviews!! :wub_drool:

And I think the 2x2 round tile is a sewer and the "soda machine" is meant to be a milkshake machine with strawberry and chocolate flavours. But thats the great part about Friends sets, they can be whatever your little heart desires! :grin_wub:

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Thanks for this very informative and hilarious review, Hinck! I was in stitches half the time, especially when you started switching the dolls' hair pieces with the hairpieces from the characters from Baritones 3 and Prison Riot! :roflmao: I'm glad to say that your review has convinced me to buy this set!

You're going to host a Friends mafia game? :moar:

That would be seriously awesome. The scum team could kill people with hand mixers. :laugh:

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That would be seriously awesome. The scum team could kill people with hand mixers. :laugh:

:wub_drool: I have to buy a lot more sets...

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Who in their right mind would call this offensive, but it's not like any of those complaining are in their right minds :tongue:

This is a wonderful set. Much better than most "boy sets"

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