Review: 43195 Belle and Rapunzel's Royal Stables

 

It's grooming time for Philippe and Maximus as Belle and Rapunzel get ready to primp and pamper their hardworking steeds.



We don't often get Disney Princesses interacting outside their individual tales, but Belle and Rapunzel come together to share their love for their horses in this Royal Stable set. The stable provides a personalized stall for each horse and separate dressing rooms for each princess. 

Before we start building the stable, let's take a look at our princesses and their equine companions. Neither Belle nor Rapunzel are exclusive to this set, but both are the newest version of their mini-dolls. 

The Belle mini-doll is new for 2021. Both the peasant dress torso and legs, as well as the head are also used in set 43196 Belle and the Beast's Castle. The head however was used with the ballgown version of Belle in set 43196, which makes her a unique mini-doll even if her parts aren't exclusive. Her hair piece is the same one that has been used for Belle for years.

This version of the Rapunzel mini-doll first appeared last year in set 43187 Rapunzel's Tower (2020), and was used again earlier this year in polybag 30391 Rapunzel's Boat (2021). So while it is not new, it is recent.  

Both figures are well done. Belle wears a medium blue dress with a metallic light blue rose pattern. She is also wearing a white apron to keep the muck of her skirt, and sensible black shoes. 

Rapunzel wears a lavender bodice with metallic pink lacing, over a medium lavender chemise with a medium lavender overskirt and a lavender underskirt peeking out in the middle. Both the bodice and overskirt are embellished with stylized metallic pink flowers. She is not wearing shoes. 



Before bringing out the horses, Belle and Rapunzel gather their grooming supplies. The 16 piece animal show and grooming supplies set is new. While it has been available in several other colors through the Friends theme, this is the first time it has been produced in pearl gold. Very royal indeed. 

The large half barrel is rare in lavender. It was first used in set 41335 Mia's Tree House (2018) and has been included in one set per year since for a total of four sets thus far. 

The hay bale (1 x 2 modified brick with fluted profile) is not new or rare in yellow and has been used many times as a hay bale. I just wanted to point out that we only get one. There are two full grown horses in this stable. I don't think that's enough hay. 

Moving on to our hungry horses, let's take a look at Philippe and Maximus. 



Philippe is the same horse included in set 43196 Belle and the Beast's Castle, which is new for this year. He is the new Friends-style horse with the soft plastic tail and moveable neck. He is medium nougat with tan mane and tail, and a white blaze. A medium nougat 2 x 2 x 1 double curved slope with 2 studs is included with a 2 x 2 jumper plate to fill in the back when not saddled. The curved slope is rare in medium nougat having only been used in two other sets before this year. 

Maximus also uses the new horse mold, which means this is a new version of Maximus, and so far exclusive to this set. He is white with a dark bluish grey nose. A 2 x 2 x 1 double curve slope and 2 x 2 jumper plate are also included for him when not saddled. 

As for the saddles, we get one in medium lavender and another in medium blue. Medium lavender is the more common color having been used in 13 sets, while the medium blue saddle has only been used in six. 

The instructions show the blue saddle on Phillipe and the lavender saddle on Maximus, while the box shows the reverse. Let's take a quick look at the box. 



The box front sets our stable facade in a pleasant country background. Maximus is wearing the blue saddle. It looks good on him. 

Paddock fencing can be seen around the stable and a path leads to a beautiful tiered fountain. Rolling hills and cloudy blue skies complete the backdrop. It makes me want to build some fencing to go with the stable and maybe that fountain. I find it a little odd how the path leads my eye back to the fountain rather than staying on the set in the foreground. 

Drawings of both Belle and Rapunzel are shown in the lower right corner. These are the same images from their individual sets just layered together. It's a quick visual to let us know that princesses from two different movies are featured in this set. 



The box top shows us the characters included along with some of the pearl gold grooming accessories. Belle is shown in her new peasant dress for the actual size image. 



The back of the box shows the back of the build with insets showing more details. Two magical bubbles show an image of each princess with their horse in their respective movies. You can really see the change in animation style over the almost 20 years between the two movies. 

The detail images along the bottom show Belle in her trophy room, Rapunzel and Belle feeding and cleaning up after their horses with both stalls attached to the left of the main stable, and a photo of the two princesses practicing jumps with Philippe and Maximus. Throughout out all the images, Maximus wears the blue saddle and Philippe wears the lavender one. I like how it looks on the box, yet the instructions show it the other way so that's how I built it. 

Should the saddles match the rider's dresses? It's up to you to decide. 

Let's get back to our build.



There is just one small side build before we get started on the stable - a small jump. It's a simple but effective design that provides a little action while playing with the horses. Bright light blue is one of the less common colors for the 1 x 1 round bricks and is a great color choice here. The bricks have only been used in a total of seven sets; first appearing in set 41154 Cinderella's Dream Castle (2018)

With our mini dolls and horses ready to go, we use the majority of the pieces in bag one to build a stall for each horse. 



We start with a stall for Philippe, with a light bright yellow and dark red color scheme. The 1 x 4 x 3 bricks used for the side walls of Philippe's stall are new in bright light yellow. It is so far exclusive to this set. Both of them are covered by large stickers which add Belle's personal touch to Philippe's stall. The 1 x 8 x 2 arch used for the top of the stall is rare in bright light yellow. It was first used in set 41063 Ariel's Undersea Palace (2015) and only one other set before this year. This year it also is used in the Friends set 41687 Magical Funfair Stalls (2021). 

A sticker on a 3 x 3 round tile puts Philippe's picture above his stall. The tile was new last year, so while it has been used in 15 sets, it is still rare in my collection. I appreciate the use of the 3 x 3 tile instead of a smaller 2 x 2; it looks really good.

Both stalls use a 1 x 5 x 3 door with 3 studs and handle which is new in medium nougat, and so far exclusive to this set. A sticker on a 1 x 3 tile is used to add Philippe's name to his stall. 



Taking a look around the stall, you can see that it is a very tight space. Stickers on the exterior add details and personal touches. The interior lacks room for a water bucket or even a couple of hay bales. This would be easier for me to overlook if it wasn't also too small for the Philippe to stand inside with all four feet attached to the floor. If you attach Philippe's front feet to the floor of his stall, his back feet are left floating. 



Maximus's stall is a very similar build to Philippe's with the colors in various shades of lavender. The 1 x 8 x 2 arch is new in lavender and so far exclusive. The 1 x 4 x 3 brick is also new, but not exclusive as it appeared earlier this year in set 43197 The Ice Castle (2021)

Just like with Philippe, we use a sticker on a 3 x 3 round tile to place Maximus's picture above his stall and another sticker for his name on the medium nougat door. 



The sticker details on the exterior of Maximus's stall are almost the same as Philippe's. They are just a different color and show Rapunzel with Maximus instead of Belle with Philippe. Beside the change in color, the stalls also have different embellishments on the roofs. 



With the two stalls complete, we are a third of the way through this build. The grooming and show supplies can be stored in the lavender barrel. 

I like how there are just a few small differences in the details between the two stalls. Each one feels like it could be removed from this set and put with Belle and the Beast's Castle or Rapunzel's Tower. I do wonder why the designer chose light bright yellow for Philippe's stall when lavender would match the past Beauty and the Beast set and give the stables a more cohesive color palette. 

The two stalls could be clipped together to create a smaller stable separate from the main structure, but I'll leave them separate and continue building. 

The spare parts from bag one are the only ones for the entire build (there were no spares in bags 2 and 3). 



Bag two builds the two dressing rooms and balconies on either side of the main stable entrance. 

The base of the entrance that connects the two dressing rooms uses a 2 x 10 plate in lime green. Surprisingly, this is a new color for 2021. It is not exclusive and also appears in set 10289 Bird of Paradise (2021).

Like the stalls, the dressing rooms are small and use a large sticker to impart detail and personalization. Each one also has a stool which you can use to store the saddles when not in use. The stool is topped with a 2 x 2 round tile with stud (round jumper) which is new in lavender for 2021. It is also used in sets 43193 Ariel, Belle, Cinderella and Tiana's Storybook Adventures and 41682 Heartlake City School.

The two bright pink 3 x 3 flags are so far exclusive to this set. They each get a sticker and hang down on the other side of the dressing rooms (see below).



The stickers make beautiful flags on the exterior of the main stable. Without them the blank white wall would look really plain. 

Above the dressing rooms are trophy rooms/balconies. They use a few pieces that are rarer than I expected.

The ceilings/floor use 6 x 6 plates in bright light blue. These have only been used in a total of four sets, including this one. They were first used in set 41320 Heartlake Frozen Yogurt Shop (2017). 

The walls of the rooms use 1 x 4 bricks also in bright light blue. These have only been used in five sets starting with set 75958 Beauxbatons' Carriage: Arrival at Hogwarts (2019). 

The balconies are framed with 2 x 6 x 6 Gothic arch panels in white. These first appeared in set 41154 Cinderella's Dream Castle (2018), and then again in two Disney Princess sets in 2019. This is the fourth set to use the white arches. 



The interior of the trophy rooms have just enough space to display a trophy or store the lavender barrel. They are open on two sides for plenty of play access, but there isn't much to do in the actual room. Both rooms use the same sticker of trophies. The competition between Philippe and Maximus must be pretty close.



Bag three (17 - 43195 Belle and Rapunzel's Royal Stables - bag 3 parts) will finish off the main stable with a third story lounge above the entrance and the roofs. 

The stable roof uses several rare magenta pieces. Each balcony is covered with a 6 x 8 10° slope in magenta. This has only previously been used in set 41318 Heartlake Hospital (2017).

The center stable roof uses two 1 x 3 33° slopes and a 2 x 4 x 4 half cone roof with tiles in magenta. The 33° slopes have been used in three other sets. The first time was in 2008 in two Bellville sets, and again in 2013 for set 41002 Emma's Karate Class. The roof cone with tiles has been used in two other sets. The first was set 41160 Ariel's Seaside Castle (2019), and it also gets used in 43193 Ariel, Belle, Cinderella and Tiana's Storybook Adventures (2021).

The central lounge area above the main entrance uses some lavender slops to create the look of curtains. The 75° 2 x 1 x 3 inverted slopes are so far exclusive to this set, while the smaller 65° 2 X 1 X 2 slopes have been used in six other sets. They appear in 5 of the 2016 Elves sets and again in set 41144 Petite's Royal Stable (2017). Behind the curtains is just enough room for one comfy chair. The space isn't large enough for our two princesses to hang out together. 



On the exterior of the main stable is a beautiful stained glass horse window. The window is created with a new exclusive print on a transparent 6 x 6 inverted dish. The dish is surrounded by 3 5 x 5 x 1 round corner bricks without studs in pearl gold which are also exclusive. You can see in the photo how these are attached to create the gold horseshoe around the window. It's a clever design and beautiful finishing detail. 



With our main stable complete, all that's left is to add the stalls either side. Before we do, here is the sticker sheet. 



You can see there are a lot of stickers in this set, and many of them are quite sizable. While I'm not a huge fan of stickers, these provide a lot of detail. The horse banners are probably my favorite, and I'm super glad they didn't try to do a transparent sticker for the stained glass window. 



We attach the stalls to each side of the main stable, and the Royal Stables is complete. The design of the stable stalls will allow you to swap sides, but then the dressing rooms won't match with the stable stalls. Also, I found that the wall of the stalls tends to split apart when trying to detach them from the main stable. The clutch on the clips is pretty strong, and there isn't much to the stall walls to match the clutch power. 

The build creates a facade designed more for play than display. It looks okay on display from the front, especially if you angle the stalls to give it a little curve. 



Because the stalls are attached with just a single clip, you can swing them all the way forward to create a boxed entrance. They will not swing back the other direction. This is an interesting look, but I prefer it with the gentle curve. 



Back at the completed stable, Belle takes a break in the lounge area, while Philippe chomps away at the bale of hay. Meanwhile, Rapunzel has finished riding Maximus and is cleaning her saddle before putting it away. 



Summary:

Belle and Rapunzel's Royal Stables is perfect for a horse crazy kid. I would have loved it as a kid. What could be better than Disney Princesses and their horses? It's colorful and kids will have fun riding the princesses around. It's a great set to tie your Beauty and the Beast's Castle and your Rapunzel's Tower into a small layout together. 

The age on the box is 5+. I think the younger kids might find the number of stickers frustrating to apply and get straight, but the build will be easy for them. There is nothing complicated here. 

As an adult fan of Disney Princess LEGO, I want to like this set more than I actually do. It's a fun set, but it just feels cramped. I don't mind the doll house style of Disney Princess sets, but this one feels like it lacks substance. It could use a little more depth and slightly bigger rooms. 

Alternatively, it could have been a smaller set with just the two stalls clipped together without the central building. The stalls could then have been a little deeper to better fit the horses and include a food trough and water bucket. Clips and shelves could also have been added to the sides of the stalls to hold the grooming supplies. It would have been smaller but more detailed. 

With the central building in place, it feels a bit flimsy when trying to pick it up. As mentioned before the stalls start to come apart when trying to remove them from the main stable clips. 

I have mixed feelings about the overall color scheme. I like the bright, bold colors of the Disney Princesses. I like the shades of lavender for Rapunzel. I like the bright light yellow and dark red for Belle, even if lavender and dark red are the normal colors for Belle's sets. I like the white and magenta for the main stable. I love the gold accents. They are all good individual color combinations, and I can see them all working together as separate buildings in a larger Disney Princess layout. But that's a lot of color combos for one building. It doesn't look bad, just busy. 



Overall it's a good set, just not a great set. Younger kids will enjoy it, especially if they are horse-crazy.

For AFOLs, there are a lot of great new and rare colored pieces. It's good inspiration for building something bigger and better. I'd love to see a MOC of a larger stable including stalls for Angus and Khan. 

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.