Kids and adults alike love LEGO animals, and we are all excited when a new one is born. Let's take a look at that new sheep before exploring the rest of this cute little farm.
Such an adorable black face sheep. It's dual molded with a black core for the face and legs, and an outer white body. The leg spacing is three studs, and it has a single stud in the middle of its back. The back is two bricks tall. From nose to cute, curly tail it is 4 studs long, and the top of the head is just short of 2 2/3 bricks tall. I think it's really cute, but there is more to this farm than one wooly ruminant.
The build-play-build design of this 4+ set means the instructions are divided into three booklets that walk us through corresponding bags of parts. Several larger pieces are also included in a fourth bag. Each instruction booklet shows which bag of parts plus large parts will be used. For example, booklet 1 uses parts bag 1 plus the 4 x 10 modified brick with 4 pins (the tractor base).
The first thing we do is assemble Farmer Donald Duck. His hat, head, and legs have all been used before in set 71040 Disney Castle (2016) and his Collectible Minifig (2016). The legs are also used for Daisy Duck in set 10773 Minnie Mouse's Ice Cream Shop. While Donald is still wearing his traditional sailor's cap, he has changed into a sturdy blue plaid work shirt with two breast pockets and yellow buttons. The print shows the ends of a red neckerchief and a stalk of wheat in his pocket. To make it easier for Donald to ride the tractor, this minifig has a printed tail rather than the separate piece that was used before. The tail printing lacks opacity, but it doesn't bother me. Farming is dirty work, and nothing is going to stay sparkling white for long; just pretend his tail feathers have gotten dusty while out working the fields.
Donald will be guiding us through the first instruction book with a progress bar along the bottom. He gets a carrot and a pitch fork to start work, and the new sheep joins him as we keep building.
Next we create a small section of fence with some wheat or corn growing up around it. It's just a suggestion of a larger field, but I don't think that fence will keep the sheep out.
The main build in this first booklet is the tractor. It is super basic, and built with a minimal number of pieces on the 4 x 10 modified brick with 4 pins. The 1 x 2 x 1 curved slopes in lime used for the back of the tractor were new in lime last year (2020) and have only been in two Super Mario sets.
Two 2 x 2 x 1 double curved slopes are used for the front nose of the tractor. While these first appeared in lime in 2016, they have only been used in six other sets. For a simple tractor these pieces provide great shaping.
The front wheels are a new mold for 2021. They are combination wheels where the rubber tire is fixed to the wheel rather than being two separate pieces like the larger back wheels. The wheel is light bluish grey with shallow spokes, and listed as size 24x7. These wheels are also used in set 10776 Mickey & Friends Fire Truck & Station. With the larger wheels on the back, the tractor has a slight forward rake.
The first set of instructions and parts is now complete, with just a carrot top as an extra/spare part. (All bag one parts can be seen here.)
There is a little room behind the tractor seat for a few tools or vegetables, so Donald throws the pitch fork and carrot behind him and heads out to the field, while the sheep grazes behind the fence.
Donald has reached the end of the progress bar and it's time to move on to book two, where Mickey will take over guiding us through the rest of our build.
We start off our second booklet of instructions and bag of parts by building Mickey Mouse. He's a pretty cute farmer with plain blue legs and a new torso print. The torso features blue overalls over a red shirt. There is a stalk of wheat in the front bib pocket. The blue printing over the red torso is a little light but matches well enough with the blue legs (maybe his overalls have faded a bit working in the sun, but not much). The plain blue legs work great with the torso print and don't need any printing. The legs and torso could be used with any LEGO minifig head to create a regular farmer.
Mickey's head is the same one from sets 71040 Disney Castle (2016), 71044 Disney Train and Station (2019), and the 2016 collectible minifig. He gets a lantern to light our way, and we are off to build the barn.
We start building the barn on an 8 x 16 x 2/3 special brick with two rounded corners and reduced stud sections. This is a new 4+ brick base and is exclusive to this set in lime green. It makes a great starting base for this simple barn.
The two 1 x 2 x 5 bricks are also new in bright light orange, and so far exclusive to this set. I think the combination of reddish brown and bright light orange makes a good color for this little barn.
After getting the base of the barn set up, it's time to raise the walls. These two 4 x 4 x 6 quarter cylinder panels in bright light orange are both a new base color and an exclusive print. They add a lot of fun detail to this build. The print features a shuttered window with Mickey Mouse head openings (not actual openings, just implied with printing). A cheerful flower box is printed below the windows, and a hint of grass is growing along the bottom of the barn walls. I'm so glad this is a 4+ set and these panels are printed; in an older aged set they would probably be giant stickers.
With the panels in place the barn is quickly taking shape. And it's time to start working on the hayloft.
As we are building the barn roof and hayloft, we take a moment to build a new winch for getting hay up and down from the loft. To make creating a winch easy for a 4+ builder, we get a new 2 x 2 x 2 drum in light bluish grey. This new piece has an attachment stud where you can easily attach an 11L string with end studs. This new drum piece is also used in set 60301 Wildlife Rescue Off-Roader
I appreciate not needing to thread and knot string to create a winch, and the new winch is easily installed into the hayloft. We'll talk about how this works after we finish building the rest of the barn and start loading up the hay.
The 3 x 3 x 2 dome top round corner bricks were added before we built the winch, but I wanted to show them with the rest of the finished roof. Even though these first came out in red with set 3061 City Park Café (2012), they have only been used in three other sets before this one. It's nice to get a couple more, and I like how they finish off the corners of the barn.
The hayloft has an arched opening in the front and a red roof. A bracket holds the new Mickey Mouse head brick to create a nice barn sign. You can see this new 3 x 4 x 2/3 tile in more detail in our piece spotlight. This new brick is used in all five of the Mickey and Friends sets.
Now let's get some hay into that loft.
The string with stud ends easily attaches to a 1 x 2 hay bale, and you can raise or lower it by using a finger to turn the winch. I think it would be easier if a crank handle had been added, but it probably would have taken up too much space in the loft.
The winch works, but unfortunately, the weight of the stud and attachment means that the winch keeps unwinding even before you add the weight of the hay. It's very difficult to get a bale of hay positioned part way up to the loft. I wonder, if the string was longer and you could get more wraps around the drum, if it would help keep the winch from unwinding. But that has drawbacks of using more string than needed and being more difficult for a young builder to use.
Here's the back of our completed barn. There is a small cot for those long nights when the sheep is lambing. Donald or Mickey will fit on the bed if they sleep on their side. Mickey definitely can't sleep on his back because his ears won't fit in that narrow space.
The only extra part in bag two is a second string. I did not try connecting it with the first string, as the length of one string is plenty. You can see all the parts from bag two here.
Mickey has been marching along with us as we built his barn, and he will continue to guide us through the third booklet of instructions. I love this style of progress bar, and I'm so happy that they switch characters for the different parts of the build. There's not much left in the third part of the build, so let's finish up.
The third bag of parts is all about adding more animals to the farm. We start with a horse. Like the sheep, the horse is new for 2021, but it appeared earlier this year in set 21325 Medieval Blacksmith. The bridle, eyes, and star printing are very good, and I like how posable it is. I might have chosen a tan 1 x 2 tile for the back instead of reddish brown, but it matches the bridle and is easy to change if you want a different look.
We create another small fence section to suggest a paddock for the horse. We also give it a bucket with some feed. No new parts here.
Next we build a little chicken coop, which could also double as a rabbit hutch if you prefer. Neither the chicken, egg, or rabbit are new pieces, though the rabbit has only been used in 6 other sets since first appearing with the CMP Veterinarian in 2017.
We finish up our farm by loading up a wheelbarrow with an apple. I was surprised to realize that green is a new color for the wheelbarrow. It is also used in green in set 60284 Roadwork Truck (2021). This seems like a perfect color for working around the farm, and I'm glad they changed it from the more common red wheelbarrow.
Our final booklet of instructions is finished with no extra/spare parts. You can see all the parts from bag three here.
Let's take a look at the box before we bring all three parts of this build together.
The front of the box shows our farm against an illustrated rural background. The tractor rolls along a dirt road with the barn on one side and at the field fence on the other. The illustration includes several trees and bushes. Off in the distance is the silhouette of a town. The LEGO and Disney logos are prominent in the upper left corner with the 4+ logo in the lower left. In the lower right corner is an illustration of classic Mickey and Minnie Mouse with the Disney Mickey and Friends logo.
The illustrated background image extends around the top and left of the box. On the left is another illustration of classic Minnie Mouse, and Pluto is shown on the top. Donald is used for the actual size image.
The back of the box has a plain tan background that matches the illustrated background on the front. All the separate small builds, figures, animals, and accessories are displayed in orderly rows. Along the bottom is a "Learn to Build" call out showing some of the basic construction of the tractor. There are two action/play images. The first shows Donald in the hayloft with Mickey below as they move hay bales from the wheel barrow up to the loft. The second image shows Mickey leading the horse and chicken into the barn with his lantern, while Donald rests on the cot and the bunny tries to sneak the carrot out of the wheelbarrow. The sheep is coming around the corner of the barn.
In the lower right corner is an illustration of classic Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck.
The design clearly shows exactly what to expect in the box. I like the use of the classic illustration style on the packaging. It's a consistent style through all the Mickey and Friends sets.
It's time to bring Mickey, Donald, and all the animals together to create a fun little starter farm. It's a great little play set for the 4+ Disney KFOLs. It should inspire kids (of all ages) to expand it.
The back of the barn is less interesting than the front, but it has plenty of room for play. The animals fit easily through the door area, and I think it works fine without barn doors.
Summary:
When looking at 4+ sets, I always try to keep the intended age in mind. The builds use larger starter pieces and are necessarily simplified, but this provides a good starting point for something larger. I think it would be fun to get a second set to start the farm expansion. This would give you four of the printed corner panels, and it would double your farm animals.
Kids and adults alike will love the animals. Personally, I grew up in dairy country and would love to have a LEGO cow for my farm, but I'm not really complaining. We all have our favorites, and the selection here provides a good variety. The new sheep is super cute, and it's nice to get the new horse in a small set.
The minifigs are good. Plaid shirts and overalls could be seen as an overused stereotype for farmers, but it's a fun look for Mickey and Donald. Mickey could be converted to a regular minifig just by using a different head. Donald would be less convincing since his tail is printed (rather than using the separate tail piece).
The winch is kind of janky, but for the age intended it's an acceptable compromise.
Overall, it was a quick, fun, low-stress build. It got me thinking about how I would expand it, and I might return to that when I have more building time. I definitely want more sheep.
Happy Building!
-prrbrix
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Disclaimer:
This set was provided by The LEGO Group for the purpose of sharing set details with fans.
Opinions provided here solely reflect those of our reviewer.
Photographs are property of Friends Bricks and are not directed by TLG in any fashion.
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