Review: 42654 Pony Ranch & Stable
Posted by MeganL,
It's time for Friends to introduce a horse set - there's one every year! This year there's a twist - it's not horses this time, but ponies!
The set itself - 42654 Pony Ranch & Stable - looks quite similar to countless other horse themed Friends sets. But - it has ponies! I can see this set being popular based on that alone.
Summary
42654 Pony Ranch & Stable, 727 pieces.
£59.99 / $69.99 / €69.99 | 8.3p/9.6c/9.6c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A fun set introducing ponies
- Great architecture
- Ponies!
- Fun detailing
- A little expensive
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Inside the box there are five numbered bags (paper ones for me this time, still a rarity), one 8x16 plate, two instruction books, and a rather crumpled sticker sheet.
Minidolls and animals
There are two minidolls and two microdolls in this set - Aliya and Liann are the regular Friends characters. They both have on jodhpurs and riding boots, which makes sense. Aliya's patchwork top is interesting and reminds me of a crocheted afghan. Liann is wearing a patchwork pattern of red, yellow and green over a green striped top.
The microdolls are as adorable as always - Liann's little sister Victoria has a fruit design on her dress, while Ella has a very set-appropriate pony on hers. The pony's mane matches Ella's hair!
Since this is a pony ranch, it's no surprise we'll find ponies! Here we have Cinnamon pulling Pluto in a hay cart. Pluto has made multiple appearances in sets this year, all with a very surprised expression. He's either delighted or horrified by his ride.
No matter how Pluto feels, others seem to like to cruise.
(Note: haycart riding sloth not included in this set.)
In addition to Pluto and Cinnamon, there are two other ponies included in the set. The white pony's name is Bramble, and the bluish grey pony is called Blackberry. They are very Friends-ian, and they all have a Paisley-like hairstyle going on.
Pluto still looks like they haven't quite gotten over the ride.
The completed model
The stable building is a very cozy one with plenty of architectural details. Dominating the front of the stable area is the hay elevator, where hay can be lifted to be stored in the hayloft or lowered on the cart when needed.
The stable area has two stalls for the ponies (I'm not sure which pony gets left out!) and a small garden off to the side that features an apple tree. A perfect snack for the ponies! A sticker over the stalls makes it very clear who the denizens of the building are.
The living area features some great detailing on the roof. I also love the horsehead pieces that are used on top of the lamps.
Inside the living area, there's a small kitchen with freshly baked treats available - cookies and scones!
Snacks always attract extra visitors.
(Note: snacking sloth not included in this set.)
The stickers provide some good detail, and I really like the use of a broom piece for the curtains.
The back of the stable area shows that it's a little spartan, which is not surprising since it's a stable, and the occupants are currently off pulling haycarts. There are plenty of accessories available to feed and groom the ponies, and a picture on the wall shows that Pluto is a pretty regular visitor, and likes Bramble in particular.
The upstairs is dedicated to hay storage but also has a couple of spaces available for Friends to sleep. I'm not sure how comfortable that would be, but then again, I'm not a Friend. One thing that particularly delights me - there are stairs to get to the upper level!
The doors retract on the upper level to allow the hay to be stored. This closer look at the stable shows that the front wall is mostly light nougat but with some brick yellow pieces interspersed. I think the colour contrast is a little distracting.
Overall thoughts
It's always nice to see a new creature in Heartlake City, and I love that ponies have made an appearance. There's plenty of play value here, and I love that there are three ponies included in the set.
The buildings are fantastic, with some great detailing, particularly around the roof. The interior of the living area also has some great features.
My quibble (again) with this set is the price. It's a fun, play-oriented set, and it's great that there are four characters and three ponies, but $70 does seem a little on the high side. There are some great pieces in the set (ponies, especially those horsehead light pieces), so this might be worth picking up on sale.
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20 comments on this article
The ponies are fairly bulky looking! I wish they had a little bit of articulation so they could be posed differently.
Great review. What GPU (great parts usage) with the broom bristles as the ends of curtains!
Shame the set is expensive cause it would be good in a mediaeval layout. Also shame about the purple.
My little Pony
Like the build of the stove.
Poverty Hobbit house
It looks nice. The colors are a bit precariously balanced though. Bright azure on an otherwise rustic horse stable? At least it's not overdone and kept to highlights.
Beside that I love the green roofing.
The My Little Pony vibes are strong with this one.
I like that oven a lot. Overall this seems like a pretty decent addition to Autumn's neck of the woods, although she's not present, seems. She's with us in spirit, as always.
The stickers for the shutters are... not good. That is some very basic line-art, just really disappointing even when compared to the rest of the sticker-designs. Come on, art-person. Art a bit harder.
I am not certain this set in particular needed quite so many severed horse-heads. It's not just unnecessarily grim, I also can't help but notice that they are, again, severed heads of minifigure-adjacent creatures. Does HLC want to wage war on the minifigures? Have the minidolls chosen violence? We worried about Fabuland, Animal Crossing and Chima, but perhaps the real danger is much, much closer to home.
Anyway, nice set.
I love the broom pieces used as the bottoms of curtains. That's so clever.
I don't know about the ponies, though.
It's the poses that look ... strange.
With the heads lowered and the necks stretched out, like that, it's like the ponies are really straining. Like, they're suffering from the sheer exertion of grueling physical exercise. Maybe we shouldn't be hooking up young animals to carry around heavy loads?
I didn't recognize that horse head piece, then I realized, "Oh! That's 71034-11's hobby horse head recolored! Nice." And I agree that the brooms for curtains is NPU.
@Crux said:
"I am not certain this set in particular needed quite so many severed horse-heads. It's not just unnecessarily grim, I also can't help but notice that they are, again, severed heads of minifigure-adjacent creatures. Does HLC want to wage war on the minifigures? Have the minidolls chosen violence? We worried about Fabuland, Animal Crossing and Chima, but perhaps the real danger is much, much closer to home.
Anyway, nice set."
If @Ridgeheart weren't shadow-banned, you know who he'd blame.
Maybe I'm in the minority on this one, but I find this set garish. So many different styles of colors and architecture and a mis-mash of everything going on all over the place. It just looks like a jumbled mess.
I will give props for the NPU on the brooms for curtains and the stove is a really slick build. Kudos on those.
@TheOtherMike said:
"I didn't recognize that horse head piece, then I realized, "Oh! That's 71034-11's hobby horse head recolored! Nice." And I agree that the brooms for curtains is NPU."
Now that that piece comes in both white and black unprinted it's begging to be used for a microscale chess set!
@Lyichir said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
"I didn't recognize that horse head piece, then I realized, "Oh! That's 71034-11's hobby horse head recolored! Nice." And I agree that the brooms for curtains is NPU."
Now that that piece comes in both white and black unprinted it's begging to be used for a microscale chess set!"
Oh, absolutely!
@TheOtherMike said:
"I didn't recognize that horse head piece, then I realized, "Oh! That's 71034-11's hobby horse head recolored! Nice." And I agree that the brooms for curtains is NPU.
@Crux said:
"I am not certain this set in particular needed quite so many severed horse-heads. It's not just unnecessarily grim, I also can't help but notice that they are, again, severed heads of minifigure-adjacent creatures. Does HLC want to wage war on the minifigures? Have the minidolls chosen violence? We worried about Fabuland, Animal Crossing and Chima, but perhaps the real danger is much, much closer to home.
Anyway, nice set."
If @Ridgeheart weren't shadow-banned, you know who he'd blame."
I hear he's breaking rocks in the hot sun. He fought the lore, and the lore won.
@Reventon said:
"Poverty Hobbit house "
More Middle Class Hobbit House. Only the very poor and very rich hobbits lives in (vastly different) holes in the ground
Pluto the cat bears a striking resemblance to the cat from the Ghibli film "Kiki's Delivery Service."
@BrickAnomie said:
"Pluto the cat bears a striking resemblance to the cat from the Ghibli film "Kiki's Delivery Service.""
Yeah, it does. Now I'm tempted to get one next time I place a PaB order. I've gotten a lot of Animals from there, but never Friends animals.
I would have absolutely adored this kit when I was eight. I think they nailed it.
I hope those horse head pieces appear in more kits (I think it’s just this and the new Trevi Fountain) - they’d be great for detail on all sorts.
Those ponies are one of the UGLIEST Friends animals we have gotten since "melting" dog fro the start of friends xD
The ponies aren't elegant, but most ponies aren't. I think they look pretty good! And I like the horse-head details--they remind me of the old lion pieces. I hope they show up in some other stone-like colors soon.