Review: 40613 Mini Disney Palace of Agrabah
Posted by CapnRex101,
40613 Mini Disney Palace of Agrabah outwardly resembles the microscale models of iconic park attractions produced lately, although this takes inspiration from Aladdin instead. This luxurious palace provides ideal source material, especially given its beautiful golden domes.
However, unique minifigures have accompanied previous microscale sets, which this model lacks. There is no interior either, hence the price of £39.99, $39.99 or €39.99 seems very expensive.
Summary
40613 Mini Disney Palace of Agrabah, 506 pieces.
£39.99 / $39.99 / €39.99 | 7.9p/7.9c/7.9c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
While the Palace of Agrabah looks nice, its relative simplicity is underwhelming
- Attractive architecture
- Stunning metallic gold domes
- Inaccurate proportions
- Relies on decoration for essential detail
- No interior
- No minifigure
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
The Completed Model
The exaggerated shapes of the Sultan's palace are difficult to recreate and even this microscale rendition narrows the structure slightly, drawing the towers closer together. I think the density of these towers works well though, partly because this restricts the footprint of the palace to 14cm across and 16cm deep, so it can be displayed easily.
Black tiles surround the base, similar to Architecture models. I like the defined border and the wall around the edge too, which corresponds with the animated location. However, the earlier Disney-themed microscale sets featured curved bases and maybe the same could have been implemented here, expanded to show the tiny buildings of Agrabah outside the palace walls.
1x2 wall panels are laid sideways to form the long staircase to the entrance, a technique that debuted in 21045 Trafalgar Square. The teal doorway looks fantastic and the matching bands on the towers are appealing too, sandwiched between dark red and drum-lacquered gold parts. The golden domes are an obvious highlight of the palace, including 4x4 domes with recessed centres in this colour for the first time.
The proportions of the domes are not nearly as extreme as those featured in Aladdin, although there are few options for building such bulbous curves at this scale. The same was presumably true for Jasmine's balcony, so a printed piece has been used instead. While building the balcony would have been ideal, the decoration looks nice and I like the magic carpet flying outside.
Unfortunately, this model lacks an interior and the back of the Sultan's palace is never shown clearly, so there is less detail here. Even so, the continuing towers look lovely, above a row of narrow windows and some trees. Reddish brown slopes comprise the cliff on which the palace stands and these look reasonable, but I think their texture could be better.
Overall
I was delighted with 40478 Mini Disney Castle and quite pleased with 40521 Mini Disney The Haunted Mansion too, each involving some excellent building techniques to create interesting architecture. Similarly, the architecture of 40613 Mini Disney Palace of Agrabah is potentially its strongest feature, as Middle Eastern buildings are rarely explored in LEGO.
However, this model lacks the unusual construction methods of its predecessors and I do find the reliance on a printed piece for Jasmine's balcony disappointing, although I can understand why it was needed. Moreover, the lack of a minifigure is odd, especially since the Sultan is such an obvious choice, which does nothing to soften the high price of £39.99, $39.99 or €39.99.
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28 comments on this article
This one seems like multiple sets backwards from the previous Disney "Mini" sets. Especially with the 100th anniversary they could have done a fantastic Mini set and this is what we get... Well those new gold parts are nice though.
The designer has done a great job with this set, it really does look good. However, I question whether the location is actually iconic enough to have warranted a set. It just doesn't scream "Disney" to me. Maybe I'm just too unfamiliar with the source material?
I question why this was not labeled a Disney 100 set nor did it include a Jasmine minifigure like it was rumored to for a while
The Genie minifigure is included - he's just hiding inside the lamp.
@TransNeonOrangeSpaceman said:
"The Genie minifigure is included - he's just hiding inside the lamp."
Infinite cosmic power, but no minifigure in the set!
Genie with a molded head could actually be pretty cool.
I think the designer did a good job with this building at this scale. The only thing that looks odd in my opinion is the carpet. It’s huge!
The scales here seem kind of weird, the size of the balcony and the carpet really conflict with the size of the palace, and the door, which is meant to be ginormous, isn't really clearly massive here when compared to those two elements, so in the end the palace feels much less huge than it does in the movie. They probably needed to do what the review suggested and include a slightly larger base with some comically tiny buildings outside the palace walls or some tiny palm trees to really telegraph the scale clearly.
@NathanR2015 said:
"It just doesn't scream "Disney" to me. Maybe I'm just too unfamiliar with the source material?"
*Oof*. Having been about 2 when the film came out and thus having it be one of the Disney tentpoles I grew up on alongside Beauty and the Beast and Lion King, this comment made me feel my not-so-old-age *hard*.
Which is not a statement against your view on it, since Disney has not really gone in this direction in years (several decades of war in the Middle East makes it a much touchier subject to open fantasy worlds into) and they certainly lean in other ways now, but Aladdin for Disney was a standard bearer through the 90s, with a TV show and two sequels. To see its perception and place in Disney’s cultural-awareness zeitgeist having fallen so far really makes me question a lot of my own preconceptions of what folks think is “Disney” now.
I actually really like this set, though I am a fan of the Architecture line and this is basically exactly that. I don’t even mind the lack of a minifig.
I do think that more should have been done to make the central dome SLIGHTLY larger, though. It’s absolutely massive in the film, ridiculously so, so I don’t expect perfect fidelity but the subject matter would “read” a lot better if it were just a bit larger.
So much of Disney 100 collection has been focused on and around Disneyland California, that's why there's been so much Oswald stuff lately... doing a model of the original castle was an absolute no-brainer, and they failed to make it not once but twice!
Could even have done it all in silver and purple, would have looked amazing.
@Kalking said:
" @NathanR2015 said:
"It just doesn't scream "Disney" to me. Maybe I'm just too unfamiliar with the source material?"
*Oof*. Having been about 2 when the film came out and thus having it be one of the Disney tentpoles I grew up on alongside Beauty and the Beast and Lion King, this comment made me feel my not-so-old-age *hard*.
Which is not a statement against your view on it, since Disney has not really gone in this direction in years (several decades of war in the Middle East makes it a much touchier subject to open fantasy worlds into) and they certainly lean in other ways now, but Aladdin for Disney was a standard bearer through the 90s, with a TV show and two sequels. To see its perception and place in Disney’s cultural-awareness zeitgeist having fallen so far really makes me question a lot of my own preconceptions of what folks think is “Disney” now.
"
I mean, they did make a minifigure-scale Agrabah palace fairly recently, so there is presumably a market amongst Lego’s target audience.
Wish they included Aladdin and Jasmine microfigs
Lovely design and build. But quite silly that this has no figs, especially since ALL of the other ones, like this, do.
@Capybara554321 said:
"Wish they included Aladdin and Jasmine microfigs"
I feel like the Sultan would be more fitting, plus Aladdin/Jasmine have their own CMFs. The Sultan would be more unique and a guarantee the set wouldn’t be a shelfwarmer
Would be better if they added a Minifigure, like the mini Disney castle and the haunted mansion. Pretty sad it didn't include Aladdin or the Genie or something else.
If this ever gets heavily discounted it would be fun to get two sets and make one that more closely matches the source material.
I'll have to disagree with the lack of interior, it doesn't need one. Sure the haunted mansion has one, but the other Disney display sets don't have interiors, and they don't need one either.
However, I will agree it does need minifigs. A 'Prince Ali' figure would have been nice at the very least.
I do rather like this. Not quite as good as the castle, better than the mansion. I think minifigures look a bit daft with microscale sets, so no great loss.
Shall get it when the Mini Steamboat Willie GWP is released.
Hey Brickset team I’m wondering if you still have a review of the Concorde on the way. I did see mention that you got the set pretty late and it was in the works.
I’d like to read your opinions on what’s regarded by other outlets as the best set this year.
@Rare_White_Ape said:
"Hey Brickset team I’m wondering if you still have a review of the Concorde on the way. "
Diverted by Air Traffic Control to make way for a magic carpet!
@Kalking said:
" @NathanR2015 said:
"It just doesn't scream "Disney" to me. Maybe I'm just too unfamiliar with the source material?"
*Oof*. Having been about 2 when the film came out and thus having it be one of the Disney tentpoles I grew up on alongside Beauty and the Beast and Lion King, this comment made me feel my not-so-old-age *hard*
"
Ah, so you grew up with the newer stuff?
The price a real Disney treat
@Kynareth said:
" @Kalking said:
" @NathanR2015 said:
"It just doesn't scream "Disney" to me. Maybe I'm just too unfamiliar with the source material?"
*Oof*. Having been about 2 when the film came out and thus having it be one of the Disney tentpoles I grew up on alongside Beauty and the Beast and Lion King, this comment made me feel my not-so-old-age *hard*
"
Ah, so you grew up with the newer stuff?"
My friend, Aladdin is as old now as 101 Dalmatians was when Aladdin released. Even kids that were 6 when Tangled released are now adults.
I am suprised people buy it
@Sandinista said:
" @Capybara554321 said:
"Wish they included Aladdin and Jasmine microfigs"
I feel like the Sultan would be more fitting, plus Aladdin/Jasmine have their own CMFs. The Sultan would be more unique and a guarantee the set wouldn’t be a shelfwarmer
"
They were talking about microfigures, not minifigures. presumably to put on the carpet. I agree that a sultan minifig would be awesome to have and is ridiculous that any minifig wasnt included.
@Rare_White_Ape said:
"Hey Brickset team I’m wondering if you still have a review of the Concorde on the way. I did see mention that you got the set pretty late and it was in the works.
I’d like to read your opinions on what’s regarded by other outlets as the best set this year. "
Yes, I am working on the 10318 Concorde review for publication at the weekend, hopefully.
@ShilohCyan said:
" @Kynareth said:
" @Kalking said:
" @NathanR2015 said:
"It just doesn't scream "Disney" to me. Maybe I'm just too unfamiliar with the source material?"
*Oof*. Having been about 2 when the film came out and thus having it be one of the Disney tentpoles I grew up on alongside Beauty and the Beast and Lion King, this comment made me feel my not-so-old-age *hard*
"
Ah, so you grew up with the newer stuff?"
My friend, Aladdin is as old now as 101 Dalmatians was when Aladdin released. Even kids that were 6 when Tangled released are now adults. "
I think I just aged to dust reading that.
@Murdoch17 said:
" @ShilohCyan said:
" @Kynareth said:
" @Kalking said:
" @NathanR2015 said:
"It just doesn't scream "Disney" to me. Maybe I'm just too unfamiliar with the source material?"
*Oof*. Having been about 2 when the film came out and thus having it be one of the Disney tentpoles I grew up on alongside Beauty and the Beast and Lion King, this comment made me feel my not-so-old-age *hard*
"
Ah, so you grew up with the newer stuff?"
My friend, Aladdin is as old now as 101 Dalmatians was when Aladdin released. Even kids that were 6 when Tangled released are now adults. "
I think I just aged to dust reading that."
Frozen came out a decade ago.
Star Wars has been owned by Disney for almost a quarter of its existence.
Robin Hood is at the halfway point of Disney's history.
With Walt Disney World’s (and Tokyo Disneyland’s) Cinderella’s Castle, then Disneyland’s Haunted Mansion, I believed the door was open to fans, having access to future Park Icons / Attractions…so this Set is jarring, especially, without an exclusive Minifigure. Odd!
Am hopeful for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle along with Disneyland Parc’s more Tangled type castle as well as Hong Kong’s Storybook Castle and Shanghai’s (Disney Seaish Tower of Terror-like) Castle… in the future. IF they don’t go this route, then I’d love to see more attractions, such as Space Mountain, Thunder Mountain, Mt. Matterhorn, Splash Mountain (Doh, lol, never happening), etc, etc, etc… If you visit Japan, you’ll find almost all of Disney Parks in Nanoblocks. LEGO should do the same, giving an exclusive mini in each one. It’d be great!
Imagine, EPCOT’s Spaceship Earth, Hollywood Studios’ Chinese Theater, Tower of Terror, Animal Kingdom's Tree of Life, Pandora, Tron, Galaxy’s Edge, Star Tours (finally)… The sets and minis, could be awesome!