Aanchir Posted January 24, 2016 Posted January 24, 2016 Shorter legs work perfectly for minifigs because of their proportions. Dwarves have gruff, burly appearances, not skinny torsos (at least not in modern Tolkien fantasy). But yes, doubtful they would make an appearance regardless. Also, since mini-dolls generally have more lifelike proportions than minifigures, I feel like a dwarf or child mini-doll would need not just shorter legs but also shorter arms and possibly even a shorter torso. The main reason the dwarf/hobbit/child minifigure doesn't need a shorter torso is because the rounded hip portion is cut off halfway so it looks like it's "recessed" into the torso. This is also part of why I generally don't feel like articulated short legs are an option for minifigures. To do that convincingly you'd have to introduce a shorter torso, and thus make "hobbit" torsos and "human" torsos less interchangeable. Otherwise you end up with short figs who are hardly any different in height whether they're sitting or standing, because their leg pieces are all foot and no leg. I do think "child" mini-dolls are something the mini-doll themes have to get to at some point. There have already been child characters in the LEGO Friends webisodes and the LEGO Elves webisodes, and child character type would also open up new options in Elves and Disney Princess sets. Young Anna and Elsa, anyone? I don't think dwarves in a theme like Elves would necessarily need to be adapted to "modern, Tolkien fantasy" standards, though. There are plenty of "wee folk" in fantasy who aren't necessarily burly. The Smurfs are a good modern example, but I'm sure you could also find more classical depictions of small fantasy races who have fairly child-like proportions. Quote
Iria Posted January 24, 2016 Posted January 24, 2016 I don't think dwarves in a theme like Elves would necessarily need to be adapted to "modern, Tolkien fantasy" standards, though. There are plenty of "wee folk" in fantasy who aren't necessarily burly. The Smurfs are a good modern example, but I'm sure you could also find more classical depictions of small fantasy races who have fairly child-like proportions. I was thinking that- shorter legs on a minidoll could be used for something gnome-like, or perhaps similar to Link from the Legend of Zelda. It would be nice to have new races being introduced to the Elves, since the presence of diverse races and creatures is such a common characteristic of the fantasy genre. Be it dwarves, fairies, mermaids or something entirely new. Quote
Vorkosigan Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 (edited) Brickset has the full descriptions now: http://brickset.com/...s-Elves-Friends 41177 Precious Crystal Mine, £24.99Includes Naida, Farran, baby earth dragon and a grey mouse (mould used for the first time in Q1 2016 Friend sets) This set has a top ground level section with a trans green dragon egg and a medium azure slide down to the "underground" section. In this bit there are reddish-brown pillars and tiles as beams and a lavender 2x4x6 rock panel. There are a couple of pearl gold axes included and of course lots of gems and crystals and bright trans coloured bricks. 41178 Dragon Sanctuary, £34.99 Includes Aira, male dragon trainer and lavender wind dragon. The building is kind of a tower which has three storeys, with 1x2x5 trans blue bricks like a waterfall between levels. At the bottom there is a spa or pool, on the middle storey there is a little library. There are 4 areas each with a 1x1 round tile with one of the four elements on it (earth, wind, fire and water) which are intended to receive the four dragon eggs from the other sets (making you collect them all!) 41179 Queen Dragon's Rescue £59.99 Includes Emily Jones, Azari, a fox and a mouse as well as a large white dragon (Queen Dragon) with trans light blue accents. The dragon is pretty substantial and I estimate is over 30cm from nose to tail. The dragon has been captured in the evil witch's castle, which has a black and purple tower with spring green accents next to a bright light orange area (the purpose of which I missed) 41180 Ragana's Magic Shadow Castle, £74.99 This castle too is black, purple, magenta and trans bright green. Thre are lots of black spiky and curved pieces which create a cool spooky effect and the ornate Elves fence piece in black too. Ragana the witch is in black and magenta and I think had some kind of black spiky crown on her hair which I think was pink but I can't remember for sure. She is very Maleficent-esque to my mind. She's fab! The castle includes a bedchamber, a revolving spiky throne and a potion-brewing area with a cauldron. Near the entry to the castle there is a pink sofa and a fireplace. The set also had large tree limb elements in magenta which I think are new. I didn't note down all the other minidolls and animals included but I can assure you I was very impressed with this set! It has a brilliant spooky cool vibe and colour scheme. The whole wave is interesting actually but I think it's the ones relating to Elvendale's new villain that excite me the most. There being a slide in the mine is disappointing. The dragon sounds great, white and trans light blue. Could be the first time I buy a whole Elve's wave but I'm not totally sold on the two smaller sets yet. Edited January 25, 2016 by Vorkosigan Quote
Lyichir Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 Brickset has the full descriptions now: http://brickset.com/...s-Elves-Friends There being a slide in the mine is disappointing. The dragon sounds great, white and trans light blue. Could be the first time I buy a whole Elve's wave but I'm not totally sold on the two smaller sets yet. I don't see why a slide is disappointing—I love a good slide, and they've been absent in Elves up until now. Medium Azur is a good color for some sort of underground waterfall/river. Quote
Vorkosigan Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 In my opinion the slide pieces are ugly and pretty much useless for MOCing. I'm sure someone can find a novel use for one but they don't much appeal to me. A brickbuilt waterfall that could be used as a slide would be fine. Quote
FortNerd Posted January 25, 2016 Posted January 25, 2016 which are intended to receive the four dragon eggs from the other sets (making you collect them all!) Someone call Lego and remind them that Miku's egg isn't present in any of the sets then. Or at least it doesn't seem to be, based on these descriptions. Maybe it's in the castle? Quote
Hythonia Posted January 26, 2016 Posted January 26, 2016 "The Dragon Queen" book is out now. Regana (simply called the "elf witch") is certainly evil-evil, rather than just misguided-evil. It's a refreshing change for a product marketed towards girls. Her backstory is that she was an elf who wasn't very powerful and thus very insecure. She went to the Shadow Fountain and drank its water, allowing herself to be overcome with evil magic. She battles the elves at the end and does actually seem very powerful, which is cool. She also has a pet cat which I'm assuming will be in her Castle set. It definitely has me ramped up for the new sets! :) Quote
OmShanti Posted January 26, 2016 Posted January 26, 2016 So awesome! Thanks for that Hythonia. I was going to stop at Barnes & Noble today to pick up the book, but haven't had the chance. Tomorrow I'm definitely buying it. Sounds interesting. Quote
FortNerd Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 (edited) We've got pics, y'all! https://scontent-mxp...275719905_o.jpg https://scontent-mxp...859156358_o.jpg https://scontent-mxp...479073129_o.jpg https://scontent-mxp...873017857_o.jpg https://scontent-mxp...267073397_o.jpg https://scontent-mxp...652171985_o.jpg Enjoy <3 edit: It's from this fb page: Edited January 27, 2016 by FortNerd Quote
8BrickMario Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 Ugh, so far away. Ragana's castle looks promising, though. Quote
Iria Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 (edited) Thanks for the pics! The summer wave looks very diverse. I'm liking the look of the Love Dragon, who has unique horns and fabric wings. It's nice she comes along with a decent sized build as well. Morgana's castle encaptures darkness very well and I love those cloaked elves! Lavender BURPs..hmm. I like the mine, but will definitely want to expand it. Edited January 27, 2016 by Iria Quote
FortNerd Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 It occured to me that there is no cloak or hood piece for Farran. Whyyy? D: Quote
OmShanti Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 Oooh thank you for pics! These look awesome! I love that castle! All must haves for me. Poor Farran, no cloak. I wonder why. Quote
8BrickMario Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 They finally give us a new hood piece...and it has ears. Why, LEGO? That doesn't even make sense! Quote
Joebot Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 They finally give us a new hood piece...and it has ears. Why, LEGO? That doesn't even make sense! HA! You mean you don't poke your ears out through holes in your hood when you pull your hood up? Agreed that the hoods look ridiculous. The big castle looks terrific. I'm not sold on the Mine set. It's an interesting idea, but the blue slide isn't very effective at conveying the idea of a waterfall. Quote
Lyichir Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 HA! You mean you don't poke your ears out through holes in your hood when you pull your hood up? Agreed that the hoods look ridiculous. The big castle looks terrific. I'm not sold on the Mine set. It's an interesting idea, but the blue slide isn't very effective at conveying the idea of a waterfall. Based on the pictures, it almost looks like the minecart can go down the slide. Very interesting if that is the case. To me, all the sets look stellar. This might be my favorite theme these days—it just hasn't disappointed me yet! Quote
Dr.Cogg Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 The white dragon looks great and so do all the other sets, I only wish all the figure, were minifigures. Quote
FortNerd Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 Based on the pictures, it almost looks like the minecart can go down the slide. Very interesting if that is the case. To me, all the sets look stellar. This might be my favorite theme these days—it just hasn't disappointed me yet! The box art does actually show the cart going down the slide. I just wish this set had a hood for Farran and maybe more crystals XD Still, to me, this year Lego Elves went from "this is pretty cool" to " this is awesome!!" Quote
Wardancer Posted January 27, 2016 Posted January 27, 2016 The white dragon seems to have a bigger head than the others, it has three studs free on it whereas the others have two. She can be Smaug's girlfriend or something :-) Quote
Vorkosigan Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 Wow thanks for linking the pictures. I will say the slide doesn't look too bad in the crystal mine. Decent looking set though there doesn't appear to be much if any interior. Really like the white dragon, glad it doesn't have any pink/purple. The evil castle on the other hand looks like too much of a mishmash of colors to me. Cool curved spikes though. Here's my big question though, the picture of the boxes shows the crystal mine and dragon sanctuary with the spring sets. Is it possible those are spring releases as well? Quote
Airbenderfreak Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 At first I thought Regana's castle was disappointing, but looking at it again I actually like it. The light colors on bottom and dark colors on top was off putting at first, but now I actually like the contrast it provides. The library is nice, too. Quote
Wardancer Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 I think it might be possible to take parts from the indominus rex and attach the new white dragon head to make a white moulded dragon. Quote
Kintobor Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 Really liking these new Elves sets. There's a lot of character to the first wave buildings, and the Marketplace looks really neat. It seems like they've split Regana's castle into two sets, one which includes the dragon, and the other which includes the castle proper. The Queen Dragon/Mother Dragon/Falcor/whatever it is looks stupendous. It looks feminine without looking girly, and I think whoever designed it did a good job. The castle itself is not what I was expecting, but it looks superb nonetheless. I think what's throwing me off is the lower section of the castle. I get what they were going for, but I would've preferred perhaps light grey instead of light pink, and dark green instead of the more pastel green used. I think that would've given it a more "eerie magical castle" vibe. The Regana figure looks superb, and the details around the castle do as well. Is there a AzarixEmily ship or something that I'm missing? Most sets that Emily's in Azari is as well, but not vice-versa. Quote
FortNerd Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 The white dragon seems to have a bigger head than the others, it has three studs free on it whereas the others have two. She can be Smaug's girlfriend or something :-) Yeah, I noticed she uses the same part for her horns that the green dragon uses for his tail.... Quote
skelliesgang Posted January 28, 2016 Posted January 28, 2016 These look fantastic! Very whimsical and not dumbed down like the unfortunate Disney Princess line. Quote
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