The box front places the set in a picturesque forest scene, with Princess Aurora talking to her animal friends, and Maleficent coming across the bridge side build. I think it's the placement of Maleficent on the bridge that makes me think of the newer Maleficent live-action movie first, though there are plenty of references to the classic animated movie throughout the set. In fact, it is the classic animated version of Princess Aurora that is featured in the lower right corner next to the Disney Princess logo. The upper left corner has the standard layout of set information under the LEGO and Disney logos.
The box back shows the back of the cottage and four inset images with play details. Two of the inset images give us a hint about the action feature, with arrows indicating that the water wheel will turn and the smoke rise from the chimney.
The top of the box shows which mini dolls and animals are included in the set - a squirrel, a fawn, a bunny, a blue bird, Princess Aurora, Maleficent, and the raven Diablo/Diaval. Princess Aurora is featured in the actual size image inset.
One end of the box shows the same image as the box front in a little circle of sparkles as well as the set name in French and Spanish. Let's get this box open and see what's inside.
There are three bags of parts, a loose 6 x 16 tan plate, the instruction book, and a small sticker sheet.
Here's a closer look at that sticker sheet. It feels like a reasonable number of stickers. They definitely reference the classic animated movie.
Diving in to the first bag of parts, we get all the animals and characters (we'll take a closer look at those below). The other notable part is the recolor of the technic ball joints in dark pink.
There are no new parts in the inner bag of small parts. The reddish brown ingot pieces look like chocolate bars to me. Time to take a closer look at our new mini dolls.
Princess Aurora has another new dress. Both the torso/bodice and skirt/legs are new prints. I really like the addition of the blue in the skirt, and the gold details throughout let us know that this is not some simple peasant girl out picking berries.
Just for fun, I did a line up of Aurora with her predecessors. Princess Aurora has appeared in five sets over the years and has gotten a new dress in every set.
From left to right:
- Set 41060 Sleeping Beauty's Royal Bedroom (2015)
- Set 41152 Sleeping Beauty's Fairytale Castle (2018)
- Set 43188 Aurora's Forest Cottage (2020 - this set)
- Set 41162 Ariel, Aurora, and Tiana's Royal Celebration (2019)
- Set 43173 Aurora's Royal Carriage (2020)
This is the first dress to add blue to the otherwise pink dress. The result is beautiful, and I appreciate the nod to Merryweather's color preference, even if she isn't included in this set. As much as I love this new dress, I can't help but think it would be nice to get one of her wearing the peasant dress as Briar Rose?
Aurora is not the only mini doll to get a dress upgrade in this set. Maleficent is new from her head to her toes (but not her horns). She is accompanied by her faithful raven, Diablo/Diaval. I think the raven looks great, but let's do another mini doll comparison.
Maleficent previously showed up in set Set 41152 Sleeping Beauty's Fairytale Castle (2018). The new figure is much more dramatic. Her face has larger eyes, darker eye shadow, and a smirking smile. The dress, both bodice/torso and skirt/legs, is much fancier with silver filigree and a brighter pink accent. The cape and head piece are the same as the previous version. Overall, I think it's an improvement.
Before we start building, here's a closer look at Aurora's animal friends. The bunny has new coloring with dark turquoise eyes and white muzzle pattern. The fawn also has new details with brown eyes and white spots. The squirrel and blue bird are not new, but they are still adorable. All we are missing is the owl from the movie, but I always want more cute animals.
On to the first part of our build - the bridge.
It's a fun, little side build. I love the use of the pearl gold swirled plant stem for the handrails. It's a very elegant solution, and adds to the charm of this bridge.
Bag one complete, with just a couple of spare parts. Let's move on to bag two and get started on the cottage.
There are just a few new recolored parts in bag two:
- 2 x 4 dark azure plate
- 1 x 2 dark orange brick with technic hole
- 2 x 2 reddish brown round corner macaroni (I'm surprised that we haven't seen this piece in reddish brown before 2020)
There are two bags of smaller parts, but no new pieces. The 1 x 1 with 3 leaves plant piece in dark azure is fairly rare. It has only previously appeared in set 70838 Queen Watevra's 'So-Not-Evil' Space Palace. I also appreciate that the 2 x 2 round tile is a printed tree stump and not a sticker.
Bag two builds the first floor of the cottage. The use of the reddish brown 1 x 6 x 5 girder piece in front of the 1 x 6 x 5 yellow panel is a great way to create the half-timbered building style for the cottage. One of the stickers is used for the mat in front of the door. It adds a nice bit of detail.
Inside the cottage, there is a small kitchen area with a stove and fireplace. A sticker on the interior of the wall panel shows Flora's idea for Aurora's new dress. Another sticker is used for the shelf of ingredients and the cookbook. It looks like Fauna has started making the cake. There is also a small table set for tea.
I really like the chair build. It's simple but holds the mini doll well without the need for a footrest (the 1 x 2 x 1 panel with center divider). By placing the chair on a 2 x 2 jumper plate, the chair can rotate to make placing the mini doll easier. Simple and compact but very functional.
Bag two complete with spare parts. Let's move on to bag three and finish up the cottage.
The stand out new piece for this set is the new cloud/wind gust piece. It only appears in 3 other sets (all of which are in the Monkie Kid line). I expect we will be seeing a lot more of this piece in future sets.
There are also a couple of recolored parts in bag three:
- 1 x 2 - 2 x 2 inverted bracket in bright light yellow
- 2 x 2 double convex 45 slope in bright light orange2
The inner bag of smaller parts doesn't have any new pieces, but we get a few more of the dark azure plant leaves. I think it's nice to have more of the 1 x 1 - 1 x 1 inverted brackets in bright light yellow. I personally love the "Once upon a time..." 1 x 2 tile for putting inside a book, even if I already have several.
Bag three builds the second floor of the cottage and adds the water wheel to the side. The use of the 3 x 3 x 2 pearl gold quarter round ornamental fence pieces for the water wheel works well, but it is quite ornate for a simple peasant cottage.
1 x 1 trans-light blue round bricks are placed loose inside the water wheel so they tumble around as you turn the handle. Turning the water wheel also causes the smoke and magic wands to rise and lower in the chimney. It's a fun little action feature, and more subtle than I expected. I do wonder why they didn't use a blue wand instead of the yellow one.
The cottage seems to be built into a magical tree where pink branches grow blue leaves. It's not realistic, but it's a magical, fairy forest. I enjoy the brightly colored tree.
Around back is the interior of the cottage. The second floor has a simple bedroom for Briar Rose, as the fairies call her while she's growing up. In addition to her bed, there is a picture of the three good fairies (which is done with a sticker), and flower in a vase, and a nook for a good book. What more could you need?
Bag three complete with the final few spare pieces.
The completed set is charming (even without a prince). The colors are bright and cheerful. The build is not complicated but it's fun and I really enjoyed it. I would love to see a similar idea used to create the Seven Dwarfs cottage for Snow White.
I'll finish up with a few photos of Aurora going about her day.
"Oh, how nice to see everyone! I'll be right out to gather some berries and sing with you."
"I'm home! Where is everyone?"
I would love to get figures for all three good fairies.
"Time for a nap." It's okay. There aren't any spinning wheels around. She'll wake up.
Happy building!
~prrbrix
Disclaimer:
This set was purchased by me, and was NOT provided by The LEGO Group.
Opinions provided here solely mine.
Photographs are mine and are not directed by TLG in any fashion.
Aurora's Forest Cottage reminds me of Lego Elves Starlight Inn.
ReplyDeleteI prefer Aurora from Set 41060 Sleeping Beauty's Royal Bedroom (2015)
Disappointed with Aurora's Cottage.
ReplyDeleteI particularly like these kind of cosy structures and so much wanted to like this build.
By comparison, Lego Elves Starlight Inn was a terrific build, with in my opinion, skillful and superior use of bricks and colour.
I will wait in hope for the next cottage/inn ....