Review: 41232 Super Hero High School
Posted by LostInTranslation,
41232 Super Hero High School is the second large educational building (after 41005 Heartlake High in 2013) to be featured in a minidoll theme in recent years but this one has the added twist that it is no ordinary high school, but one for amazingly talented, super-powered students.
So how does this set match up to its attendees: equally super, could do better, or heading for a failing grade?
The set contains 712 pieces spread over 5 bags, one A4 instruction book and a large sticker sheet (more on those later). As is the case with minidoll themes, the figure count is rather meagre for a set of this size, featuring just three characters. However, the quality of the dolls does in part make up for this.
First up we have Poison Ivy wearing a lime green dress with a darker vine motif and dark green leggings underneath. As befits the wholesome nature of minidolls, the outfit is considerably less revealing than some of her comic book counterparts. Ivy here has a rather sly expression in my opinion; I’m not sure whether she is morally ambiguous in the cartoon on which the set is based, but she is definitely grouped among the heroes here.
It is a shame that minidolls are unable to have dual expressions as I don’t really like Ivy’s face here but I guess I could swap it for something else as it doesn’t really have any unique features. The hair, however, is indisputably Poison Ivy, a unique new piece featuring red tumbling tresses with a print of intertwined leaves.
Our second heroine is Supergirl, clad in a lovely blue shirt with the instantly recognisable ‘S’ logo and a red skirt trimmed with yellow, thus combining all the colours one expects of Krypton’s finest. I love her sturdy lace-up red boots, they look so practical, much like footwear I would choose to wear myself! Supergirl has a red cape that is much smaller than minifigure capes, I suppose because the dolls are much more slender and a regular cape would drown them.
Her hairpiece too is new and unique, with a blue headband and bright light yellow locks that are asymmetrically sculpted at the back to look as if her hair is blowing in the breeze.
The third figure is the villainess Lena Luthor, in a purple and green outfit featuring the Lexcorp L emblazoned on the chest. Her hairpiece too is currently unique though is simply a recolour (into bright light orange) of an existing bob mould. She has a very fierce expression and looks like she means business.
As with all the rest of the DC Super Hero Girls line so far, the set includes Kryptomites, this time a pair of purple fellas. Their bodies use a mix of trans purple bricks and cheeses, dark purple clips and a medium lavender 1x1 tile printed with the creature’s face, which is the same for both Mites.
Before we get on to the actual builds I'll just mention the new parts in the set: there are six printed tiles, including a new printed phone tile, as well as a pair of 2x2 wedge plates in yellow, a lime green 1x1 brick with studs on 4 sides and the 1x1 pyramid and 1x2 plate now in trans dark pink. (Blame me, the photographer, for the lack of a photo of them -- Huw)
The first item to be built is Poison Ivy’s motorcycle. This is simply constructed from two 1x4 Technic bricks pinned together and a green Technic beam. Stickers with a gorgeous rose and vine pattern are applied to a lime bow at the front and to a lime 1x6 tile affixed to the left side panel, which you'll see in one of the pictures below. A stud shooter is mounted on one side and fires little flower bombs composed of green studs and pink bracelet parts.
Next up is Lena’s jet, a predominantly black and dark bley vehicle with trans purple accents, such as the canopy and propeller blades, and also flashes of trans bright green by way of cheese slopes. At the front there are two silver metallic movable clamping jaws, between which there is a sticker of the Lexcorp logo.
It’s a neat, swooshable kind of vehicle but in my opinion is not particularly exciting though the trans parts are nice. I do however see that the vehicle adds conflict and action to the scene, which this theme requires unlike, say, Heartlake High School which is probably unlikely to be attacked by monsters (unless HLC it is situated on a Hellmouth).
Now on to the main attraction of the set: the school itself. The building consists of three main sections: the tall middle section and two side wings. We begin with the central tower, the round shape of which is built up using a variety of macaroni bricks and quarter cylinder panels of gradually decreasing size so as to give a tapering effect, supported by 1x2x5 bricks in trans light blue. Inside the entrance hall there are also two columns of lockers, the 2x2x3 cupboard piece new in dark azure. Each locker has a sticker on it identifying the owner, which is a nice touch.
The outer cylinder panels each feature a large sticker, which are a total nightmare to apply - I don’t usually moan about stickers too much but I found these to be truly horrific!
The façade features a long bright light orange panel decorated with stickered medium azure tiles (which are also a bit fiddly to align) and also including the new 1x1 quarter circle tiles in white and medium azure. At the rear of the tower, there is a mechanism for hinged attachment of this panel so that it can drop down to serve as a ramp for Ivy’s bike when the upper section is raised slightly by turning a handle finished with a 2x2 round tile exclaiming “Bam!”. Prior to building the set, I thought this mechanism would be flimsy and rickety, very prone to breaking apart, but it is constructed using Technic elements and is actually very robust and works very smoothly.
The middle level of the tower is empty, and solely functions as a space to house Ivy’s bike.
In the top level a pair of stud shooters are mounted, ready to fire a chain attached to two 1x1 studs, and on the moveable platform there is a table, chairs and a pair of mugs, indicating a kitchen or café of some kind. A large screen drops down from the wall featuring an image of Lena and the caption “Wanted!”.
The roof is topped by 3x3 quarter circle plates in bright light orange decorated with white tiles. In the centre of the roof there is a trans dark pink hive of some sort, I’m not sure if this is meant to be a crystal, a bomb or a Kryptomite hive or something else but I do know I love that colour.
The two side wings of the building each use trans light blue flat and curved panels to create a light and bright effect. On the exterior, each wing is provided with a flexible tube in bright light orange that is connected to the base at both ends so as to form a graceful arc, which is a really simple but effective way of creating an interesting curved architectural detail. There are also double-sided banners (stickered tiles) in front of the school, the school’s logo colours on one side and Lena’s logo on the other, presumably put up by her as she attempts to take over the school.
The right-hand wing appears to be a sewing room, as it features a cool mini build of a sewing machine in lime, a stool and a worktable. There are also multi-coloured spools of thread and the useful moulded scissors element. A blue cape is displayed on a stand in the corner – presumably made by one of the students, possibly intended for Wonder Woman? This classroom also includes a flip-down display, this time in trans orange, again provided with a sticker. I’m guessing these displays serve to inform the students if there is some kind of crisis that needs their super hero skills to be put into action.
The left-hand wing houses a botanical laboratory, so presumably for biology classes, and features a cute plant monster! I suspect that Poison Ivy somehow had a hand in his creation. Not content with merely including a stud shooter in this set, on the roof of this section the designer has also installed a disc shooter, equipped with a 2x2 round tile with the Supergirl (or –man) logo printed on it. This section also includes one of the new connection bricks so that it can join up with 41235 Wonder Woman Dorm Room, which Huw reviewed previously.
Conclusion
This set is action-packed, with the two vehicles and play mechanisms offering great storytelling potential. I think the minidolls are all well-designed, though the inclusion of two Kryptomites rather than an additional doll feels somewhat stingy considering the price point of the set (£74.99 / $79.99 €79.99).
The overall look of the school frontage is impressive, and I like the medium azure, bright light orange and white colour scheme used for the exterior, as it seems very harmonious to me. I’m less of a fan of the number of large stickers required to add detail to the sides of the tower! There are some interesting and useful new parts included, and as always the printed tiles are very welcome. However, overall the set leaves me feeling a bit cold, as if somewhat lacking in charm and detail in the interiors – quite possibly I have been spoiled over the years by the amount of cute and quirky features that are usually packed into Friends and Elves sets.
The inclusion of only two tiny “classrooms” and a small café area also feels rather underwhelming. I would say that if you are buying this set as a Super Hero action-based set, then you will probably find it meets your needs pretty well, but if you are hoping for it to be a school-centric “dollhouse”-type model (as I was) then it may well not. However, I still enjoyed the build process and look forward to adding to my Super Hero Girls collection in the coming months.
Thanks to LEGO for providing the set for review, which contains my own thoughts and opinions.
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15 comments on this article
Seriously, first thought: Mormon Church.... Can't get that out of my head now.
41134 is another minidoll school
I have to agree about the stickers: they are the worst I've ever applied. Not only is it difficult to align them around the curved surfaces of the cylindrical sections but because they are transparent you also end up with finger marks and visible dust under them if you're not careful.
This set seems quite cool
I think this set would do well as the start of a Art Deco building, like a train station or city hall.
Lovely review!
Ivy isn't morally ambiguous in the cartoon, she's rather shy and quiet. The face does mimic some of her "action poses" seen on the website. The same could go for Supergirl, as that face doesn't fit her DCGirls personality at all.
The café is supposed to be the school canteen and is nothing like it is in the show. Though that can be expected due to the size of the set.
The "pink hive" is the Amythest, which in show is described as being as powerful as a neculear bomb!
The blue cape belongs to Harley, at least in the Jakks dolls Wonder Woman has a lemon cape.
The "botanical laboratory" are just the tops of the roofs in the school, in the show they're fully sprouting but here there's only a few plants. Though a giant tree on the model would probably just look stupid, at this scale anyway.
Hope I answered your questions!
Friends and DC were the two themes that got me back into LEGO and I'm overjoyed to see them come together. This brand would've been perfect for me as a kid. :)
I'm impressed with the school, it's defiantly the best set. I would've liked it to have been bigger, but I guess they wanted to make it affordable for kids.
The lack of figures is a problem, I wonder how long it will take for minidoll sets to increase numbers? :S At the very least we get the normal amount of minidolls for this price, unlike Eclipso's palace which is missing one.
If you have the cash both this and the Heartlake school could be joined, I plan on making my own costume school (using the Doctor Strange set). Sets with schools Minidolls 2 Minifigures 0.
I like the expression on Ivy's face. It's a minidoll I want multiples of based purely on that.
Some interesting parts but based on price, probably a pass.
I am now thinking what a Buffy/Friends crossover would be like.
Great review!
I'm glad I'm not the only one who has issues with larger stickers. Some of the Friends Amusement Park theme sets had large stickers that were very annoying to apply.
I really like the centre tower, and I share your opinion that it feels light with only two classrooms. And one is a sewing room? I'm sure that's a class that Batman, Superman, and the rest just can't wait to attend.
@MeganL Superman is already a graduate and Batman doesn't exist in this universe, so home economics isn't a issue. :P
What does Lena's hair look like on a minifigure?
"... (unless HLC it is situated on a Hellmouth) ..."
Now *that's* a Friends series I could get behind! Seriously Lego, get on that.
One of the first assignments in the series that students have to complete is designing and creating a superhero costume. The sewing room makes perfect sense.
Good review! I quite like this set's distinctive architecture, and while there are only two classrooms they do have a pretty impressive level of detail. My biggest issue with the set is the lack of any teachers, although maybe that might be what those holographic screens represent? IDK.
I wonder if in future years we will continue to see more dorm rooms and other sets that add on to this one.
I like this set, even though I'd buy it only on steep discount... Great review.