Personally I'm fine with the minidolls, and all minidolls coming in 2015 are pretty welldone. I think the main issue is still that we don't see LEGO giving them a better visibility to introduce to more common people. TLM was the very representive example.

As for the theme itself, it's nice that the targeted girl are given more choices. But the story idea is still vogue and we're not sure if it can turn out as another hit like boy's action themes. I'm abit sad that Tinklebell isn't getting a chance owing to the ongoing cooperation with Disney.

You have got to be kidding me right now! When I saw that The LEGO Group had decided to release elves sets I was truly pleased, I mean who doesn't love some cool mythical elves right? But honestly, the fact that they seem to be designed with girls in mind does disappoint me. It's not just the minidoll figures I don't like but also the colors and simplicity of the sets. Hopefully, this theme will be around long enough to improve a bit but until then I don't see myself purchasing theses sets any time soon.

I really love how they look! Especially that they look so colourful. Target audience girls? Well, seems like it works. (But I don't like the minifig-dolls, so that are some negative points.) ;-)

They look awful. I wish they made a Elves theme with normal minifigures.:(

I was talking to quite a few people at STEAM this weekend about the Friends line and everyone seemed of the same opinion that it doesn't matter what the naysayers think, the line has worked. It's far too easy for AFOLs to get caught up in what we want and forget that we are not the target audience. That said some AFOLs have done amazing things with the Friends line - Pricey73's Friend's Death Star is a perfect example of what can be done with it.
Personally I love the colour palette, and I am a 25 year old man, so frankly I know this was not put together with me in mind!

The one thing I find really interesting is that there is one set that contains only one male minidoll, I can't help but think that was a move to try to make this a girl targeted, but slightly more gender neutral theme than Friends. Personally I can't wait to see these hit shelves, even if I'm more interested in the parts than anything else, the sets look cleverly designed and have a lot going for them.

Hmm not sure I will be buying these. I assumed it was 'Friends' style. But I was hopeing for something a bit less girly. The sets are nicely coulorfull. So I do like them as I do like all other Friends sets. Great addition to the LEGO line. But not for my collection.
For the Elven series, I will wait to see them up close before I make my final judgement.

Lots of new coloured parts and do I see a new flower stem part?

Is this a movie tie-in? Or are they just generic elves?

The review of these is pretty simple:
female minidolls: awesome. Wigs are amazingly awesome.
male minidoll: nice but could've been better

sets: only the ship is nice enough.
The overall simplicity isn't engaging or challenging in building terms and I don't mean that just for adults.
Playability: It's more of the same which though isn't bad could have been better explored

Final note: I had high hopes for this and though I'd prefer regular minifig elven theme, this might work splendidly. But not like this. I will be waiting for the upcoming sets which will determine in my opinion the fate of this batch of products.

fingers crossed something amazing is yet to come.

Excellent parts packs. Four day-one purchases right there.

These are amazingly fun and the playability they contain is great. We have bought all of the Friends sets thus far, but our money is definitely going to first be spent on Elves next year.

Aira's flying contraption is one of the coolest builds I've seen in a while. The ship has a nice, fun design, and of course, I'm glad that Fairan, a boy elf, was included from the get go in the first wave. It gives the boys and parents easier access to begin looking past stereotypes and enjoy this sets that actually promote imaginative play again, because let's face it, there's only so many ways you can roll a city car around before there's just no more playability to it.

My one early head-stratcher is that there doesn't seem to be an adversary. It would be nice to see a Gargamel-type character trying to steal the fairies magic and inventions and such. I'm hoping for a cartoon series, but will be pleased with the book series that is most certain to come.

I'm an AFOL who happens to enjoy the mini-dolls. I have seen many MOCs where mini-dolls and minifigures co-exist quite well. It's really sad to see how adults are acting towards a toy.

I like the idea of these sets (and some of the old pieces in new colours look pretty amazing. I gotta admit, I'm tempted by the Crystal Hollow), but this is essentially the Friends line-up in fantasy-land? Yeah, obviously the Friends line-up has worked, but gosh, I can't be the only person wishing these had been done with normal minifigs. If they'd done that, I probably would've got them all.

Not exactly what I had in mind

The colours! It's quite simple - purchase sets, pass minidolls (without the cool coloured hair!) to my daughter, admire loot for moccing. Not a theme I want for the sets themselves but for parts and colours they are ace. I don't mind minidolls for play but I don't think they really work in a lot of MOCs, especially alongside minifigs - they just don't seem as adaptable.

I think Elves was a bad name. Fairies or Pixies would be more accurate, but I guess they cannot stray too close to Disney's Tinkerbell. I've been picking up some Friends sets for my 6 year old daughter and she enjoys them but please ENOUGH with the pink and pastels ! The Research Institute is an excellent example of something targeted to girls without being pink and frilly. And as ever, more boys please. My daughter is annoyed that she has no male mini dolls, as half her class at school are boys. Otherwise, the Elves range is a nice concept, and I really like the design of the ship.

Yes Fairies would have been a better name. I only have two issues with Minidolls, their neck holes don't fit with mini figures and more importantly, they are skin toned and not yellow. If these elves were yellow than the ears and head pieces could be used on mini figures more.

Love the boat and the colors.

"Third range of sets to feature minidolls" - Elves, Friends, what's the other one?

@Sastrei - Disney Princesses

Princess

@The Green Brick Giant
Skin color issue is the same thing with licesnsed themes despite this is an original LEGO theme. Well if LEGO can use them well, hopefully there would be yellow ear variations.
And not very sure if it's work to make all minidoll and minifigure parts exchangeable. For me it's rather quicker to have a minifigure line using minidoll prints.

don't ask me why I've got this hunch, but I'd say what we're looking at is a story-oriented female-targeted line here, or at least perhaps the beginning of one.

I'm a 55 year old male that enjoys building LEGO.
I don't understand why some people get so bent out of shape over sets & themes they don't like.
I like this new Elves theme. I won't be buying any since they don't fit into my grand scheme of things, but I still like them. :-)

And as for themes I don't like, big deal... most of them are not meant for 55 year old males anyways. For the most part, LEGO are toys that are meant to be enjoyed by kids. That's a good thing. Some AFOL and TFOL just don't seem to understand that.

Don't worry, be happy, play with LEGO!

I like the new Elven Keys (as seen in green for the Crytal Hollow, and in Aqua for the Ship). I also like the new tile prints. What happened to the magic blasts from the preliminaries? I hope those are in the Bakery (fire-themed) and Tree Top. There are some fantastic new parts and colors, so I look forward to this! I only wish this was a fairy theme, since the names and pastels would make more sense that way. And if it were fairies, we might have gotten the great new hair without the ears that make them exclusive to flesh-toned fair folk. I guess they didn't want to seem like they copied Playmobil's current Fairy theme.

Groan. I was looking forward to this theme but the pictures have ruined it. I will probably only purchase one or two. So disappointed... :-(

These sets look gorgeous! It's like everything I love about fantasy adventure themes like Ninjago and BIONICLE blended with my adolescent obsession with magical creatures from fairy tales and folktales. It's like the theme I always wanted and never knew!

The aesthetic for these sets is beautiful. The uniquely-colored and sparkling foliage helps each setting feel strange, foreign, and magical. The magical fauna also adds to the otherworldly aesthetic. And the characters themselves are brilliant, with distinctive names, outfits, and color schemes that reflect their elemental magic. I also like the tiles printed with icons representing the different icons, and the magical keys that seem to be the treasure for this theme like the Golden Weapons of Spinjitzu were for the first wave of LEGO Ninjago.

For those who are upset about this theme containing no challenge for AFOLs, you're looking at this all wrong. The sets seem every bit as complex as Harry Potter, City, Castle, or Pirates of the Caribbean sets of the same size. If AFOL-level complexity is all you care about, why would you expect ANY set that's not a Technic, Mindstorms, or Creator Expert set to interest you? It seems to me that this theme's appeal will not come from its "complexity", but from the story it tells and the unique universe it depicts.

I hope this theme gets the media support it deserves. If the LEGO Group plays their cards right, this could easily become their next Ninjago!

Love them...... Will be getting them all.
My daughters like the friénds line, my youngest is gaga for the princess line.

I love this new elves lines, and hope to see more sets, a unicorn maybe, eleven princess.
I do agree a bad guy of some kind would be nice, a witch, troll, something.

Hope they do a show and have more episodes than friends did.

These sets are completely fantastic. The cool color scheme and abundant use of transparent parts make it a unique fantasy theme that isn't like anything we've gotten from LEGO recently. The only thing I can think to compare it to is the old Belville fairy tale sets, with the biggest difference being that these have set designs that (I'm assuming) appeal to a wider age demographic. And though I'm not much of a fan of the mini dolls they are beautifully detailed.

I hope the line does well so we can get more of it. I'm totally game.

I can't wait to see the last two sets. From the preliminaries, those were the most gorgeous. And we'll be able to see the new fence piece once they come out.

Quite simply, the majority of Lego sets are boring these days. City is either the same old rehash of cops-and-robbers, or a line dedicated to niche vehicles that have no practical use in a city. Star Wars is just about the minifigures, and only about 10% of the sets receive any sort of detail/attention. I could go on by complaining about Chima or modern NinjaGo, but that would be redundant, since most adults know those themes are awful. In my opinion, DC and Marvel are by far the worst themes Lego has ever made. Like I said about Star Wars, more attention gets put on the minifigures than anything else. The actual sets look like they were built by toddlers, especially now, considering how many special pieces get used (in every theme, too).

Thanks to someone at Lego, every once in a while we're given themes that are totally unconventional and unexpected. I've been collecting for almost ten years, which I'm sure is not nearly as long as most of the adults here, however, I'm getting extremely bored with buying the same old stuff. I think of the Lego in my house as sort of an attraction, or conversation starter, so naturally I like to have a diverse display of sets/themes. I haven't even purchased a Lego set in the last year, and in the last two years, I've purchased six sets. This isn't the beginning of my 'dark age', because in contrast to what I've spent in each of the last ten-or-so years, the numbers have directly correlated to set/theme appeal and deals.

Eh. My five-year-old daughter doesn't seem to like the minidolls. She's gotten several Friends sets and never does anything with them. But she loves her CMF space girl and happily builds cars and ships for her.

I kind of wish she did bc some of these colors are cool.

@Shib

It would be easier to ignore product lines not targeted at AFOLs if the woefully few products that are targeted at AFOLs were up to snuff.

The Exo-Suit was supposed to be our holy grail, but ended up muddled with constraction legs and the infamous barrel arms. Le sigh...

Ya gotta appease us if you want us to go away.

LEGO and mini-dolls aside, I can't stand this common representation of elves as being little pink 'fairies'. The original and much grander conception of elves and faery is far better, more interesting, and less specific to one demographic too (in this case elementary-school aged girls). Imagine if LEGO produced a line featuring elves like 8803-9! That would be something to talk about!

@DanRSL: Well, if you had the choice between designing sets for eager, enthusiastic kids and designing sets for whiny, unappreciative adults, which would you choose? Not to say there's no middle ground, because there are definitely a lot of adults who appreciate the amount of effort that goes into both kid-oriented sets and adult-oriented sets like the modular buildings or Exo-Suit, even if they're not 100% happy with every single aspect of their designs.

@Telcontar: It's more interesting to YOU maybe. I really like these fairy-tale-style elves. There's not a single thing about their designs that looks any less grand or elegant than the elf you linked to. If you see them as "little pink fairies"... well, maybe you aren't looking at the right pictures. In fact, with their fancy colorful robes and elemental magic, I would consider them far more interesting than medieval soldiers with uncharacteristically pointy ears and stiff expressions. These are the kinds of fairy-folk I relished in studying and drawing as a teenage, male high school student — mysterious nature spirits with otherworldly beauty and uncanny magical powers.

Dorayaki
I just think it's interesting that LEGO doesn't follow their mini figure rules by having non-lisence sets have yellow guys / gals and the license ones having skin tone.

@The Green Brick Giant: Well, different figures follow different rules. Duplo's been using realistic skin tones for non-licensed characters since 1983, eight years before I was born and a decade and a half before the first LEGO Star Wars sets.

I like these. I also think this is better as a minidoll theme. These figures better capture the slight, fairylike image of a fairy-tale elf. Honestly, if this was with minifigs, they might look too chunky. It's an interesting interpretation, one of the best themes for parts I've seen, and it's aesthetically pleasing, despite the fanciful pastels. I will probably obtain most of these (especially the Crystal Hollow and ship), since it's refreshing and has a better periphery demographic than Friends and Princesses. This theme feels like LEGO, not something that would be the same as a line of girls' dolls.

I'm sure this theme will sell well just like the Friends and Princesses themes. I guess we'll never know how well these themes would have sold with minifigs instead of minidolls, but I have a feeling they would have been even more successful...

Despite the fact that I'm disappointed in the parts (there were very specific pieces I was hoping this theme would provide), I think this theme looks well done.
I think they've definitely captured the weird "crystal forest" type thing very well, and the mini dolls look annoyingly good (annoying because they'd be amazing as minifigures, with yellow ears). Even though I really don't get the concept, I think the spa set looks the best - I just think they've nailed the sparkly, magic forest look so well in that set.

Thanks just2good and Huw.

@aanchir: yeah, wonder if Duplo Star Wars will become a thing

These look okay. Like the amount of colored slopes and variety with the "clear" parts. Hope to see more grey.

Bizarre. Like Harry Potter on LSD.

Not bad. But i would like a "Disney Fairies" more.

@DanRSL - I'm not suggesting AFOLs ignore themes like this, just don't expect modular building level sets in standard themes but if you want large fantasy builds look to stuff like this as possible parts packs and/or starting points.

Aanchir
Good point, and remember she Star Wars LEGO saved LEGO in 1999 they were yellow, they didn't change over until like 10 years ago.

Lego products, like it or not, are toys. In the eyes of TLG they will always be toys. An adult hobbyist might feel that he or she is important because of spending thousands of dollars on LEGO products, but for every one adult spending thousands, there are thousands of kids having hundreds spend on them. AFOLs are a small portion of LEGO profits. I'm not saying that AFOLs are not important to TLG (although I probably am feeling it), it just that TLG will always look at themselves as a toy for kids (unless a mega-fandom like Star Wars latches onto the product). Does TLG take pride in the fact that their toy have found a fandom that continues in the heart of teens and adults? Sure, but that doesn't mean that they are going to move away from selling toys to selling collectibles. The fans make the item collectible; not the company.

TLG has said that they set up interest groups with girls to see why girls did and didn't like LEGO products. TLG stated that girls didn't like chunky minifigures, so the mini-doll was developed. Sales for Friends soared. To think that Friends could have been successful without the mini-doll is mind-blowing. TLG after researching were able to give a large audience what they wanted, and it was successful. The AFOL population, accept it or not, is a small percent of LEGO users. The success of Friends hinged on the mini-doll and led to the green lighting of Disney Princesses and Elves. To think that these sets would reach a larger audience without the mini-dolls is preposterous.

I am glad that I call myself a PFOL (the "P" is for parent) and can enjoy LEGO toys through the eyes of excited and happy children. The bitterest and self-indulgence in many of these comments about a children's toy really makes me scratch my head when I think that the "A" in AFOL stands for adult.

@Aanchir, I was just voicing my opinion, as were you. I respect your opinion, but I can also disagree and argue with you. The older notion of elves were not "medieval soldiers with uncharacteristically pointy ears and stiff expressions". In older Germanic and Scandinavian mythologies they were much more synonymous with the gods. This idea of elves (or now what we also call fairies thanks to French influence) being small, diminutive beings is a relatively recent invention (also partially due to the French). The elves of old were not always pictured as warriors nor as always being so serious. They were often mischievous and/or harmful to humans. They are just as or even more interesting and mysterious than fairies like Tinker Bell, but in a different kind of way. I feel like in recent years our definition of fairy and elf has been limited to a very specific idea or image. During the past century Tolkien's mythology has helped bring back the older ideas and visions of elves, but I just feel like they are often overlooked or shortchanged outside of Tolkien fandom. While boys and men can enjoy these particular elf sets I think a more 'historical' or 'fantasy' theme could be much more easily enjoyed by both genders. Or maybe, why couldn't LEGO produce both? The stagnant, unoriginal Castle theme or recent years could use a little creativity.

If you're interested in this older idea of elves and Fairy-tales in general I highly suggest J.R.R. Tolkien's famous essay, On Fairy-Stories.

And to those fans still saying that there are too many pastel pieces, please learn the definition of pastel.

Aira's Creative Workshop has about two pastel pieces: the lavender flower and Aira's hair.

Naida's Spa Secret has about twelve pastel pieces: two small lavender leaf pieces, nine lavender flowers, and Naida's hair.

Naida's Epic Adventure Ship has about four pastel pieces: the light blue thing in the boat, the light blue thing in the shell, and the two hair pieces.

Fairan and the Crystal Hollow has about seven pastel pieces: the squirrel, the four lavender leaf pieces, and two lavender flowers.

That's a total of about twenty-five pastel pieces, hardly too many across four sets. The other pieces, even in Friends sets, are mostly in a bright or bold color palette. There really aren't that many pastel pieces.

@Aanchir - In regards to your comment when replying to DanRSL I can only say you are looking at thos from the wrong perspective. It is not a matter of designing a set for either one or another market segment. It is a matter of making the best product possible for the target market. That said the product is desgined for kids age 6-11. From the choice of colors we can see girls are a main target. But does that mean we shouldn't expect the best LEGO set possible. This theme is very dear to me but I am undoubtely disppointed because I was expecting more. Of course there is more to come and my opinion can and might change. Nonetheless there are reasons for considering that this could've been better. First impression: colorful, with some playability, new parts (AFOL speaking) but overall build seem simplistic. And if can agree the product is made for kids I think they can be more challenged in the building process. There are so many ideas, concepts and ways this can work easy but doing sets like these you are actually doing a more AFOL oriented set (because of the parts) than actually captivating kids to build and rebuild. The only thing that I think they nailed it even better than what I expected were the minidolls. They are amazing! So overall impression is ... I wish I could buy the minidolls alone... the sets have a good concept I just think they lack something... more. That said we should always respect others opinion and shouldn't nagg about it. It is not like we have to convince anybody here. Just expressing opinions. Cheers

@Telcontar: What confuses me about some of the Tinker Bell comparisons is that there is nothing "small and diminutive" about these figures. Judging from some of the prelims, they have the same stature as humans (and at least one set will apparently include a human visitor to their realm by the name of Emily Jones). These aren't like Duplo's Little Forest Friends (http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?catType=S&catID=292), living in flowers and strawberries, riding on ladybugs and snails, and making clothes out of acorn caps and flower petals. They seem a lot closer to the traditional image of fairies as far as their stature is concerned.

I'll look into that essay. It definitely seems like something I'd take an interest in!

I honestly think the only objectionable thing about these sets is the lack of complexity. There aren't really any interesting features besides aesthetics in these sets. "Play features" are absent, and that could be rationalized by the idea that girls prefer dollhouse play, but not all of them might. If they did some more things like the sliding door in Jungle Falls rescue, which has an action mechanism that doesn't conflict with the targeted play style, maybe I'd give the minidoll sets more credibility. I have no doubt that a little girl can put something complex together just as well as a little boy, so I'd like a little more creativity on the action features side. Especially since these sets aren't in a domestic or palace environment where you play house. They could do more with the magical environment theme. Maybe they have, since the crystal hollow seems to open up, and perhaps the Bakery and Tree Top have more to do as well.

8BrickMario-

Play features aren't absent in them, though. The Crystal Hollow set has a catapult, and judging from the picture it has a function which allows those transparent pieces to open, maybe just by finger, possibly with a lever. 71042 is called "Naida's Spa Secret" so I'm willing to bet that there's some sort of function that's hiding behind the wall of the spa- maybe a secret door where that smaller space is in the rock, or maybe that's an opening something can drop down in. The small set doesn't seem to have one, but that's not completely unusual for sets at that price level. There are also two sets we have no pictures of which could have play features as well.

A lack of play features might be a valid criticism, but until we have better pictures of all the sets I'm not sure we can jump to that conclusion.

Looks like I'll be buying more chick toys.

Most of those are pretty blah, but that ship is EPICNESS. Seriously, minifigures would be the hypothetical icing on a very real cake. All those rare-colored bows look great-- my only concern is that we're going to see a bunch of Technic on the back of the sail. That would suck. I wonder how much that's going to be-- PLEASE let it be $25!!

I wonder if maybe this is why the Zelda Ideas submissions wouldn't pass review?

hahaha whoa! this wasn't AT ALL what I was expecting when I heard a new Elves line was coming. Hmm...well, I'm sure lots of kids will enjoy them, and that's great. There are some cool elements, and very colorful.

I didn't quite get it w/princess...but now I do!

So the figs are a way to identify w/the story. I'm not a fan of the official story line in friends, and princess/Star Wars as a strict movie tie in is say way worse than just watching the movies...and we don't geek out over Aladin...:)

So, if I LIKE fantasy stories and imagining them (along with an archetype I can relate to - ie a minifig) then DUH my 6 yr old daughter does too.

She just wishes they could sit down. And I just wish for less pastel stuff :)

This is my way of saying I'd buy minidoll and/or girl optimized ANYTHING. It's not "friends" as the holotype. It's the mini doll. friends is just city and elves is just kingdoms.

Next up, minidoll Space!

@ericjohn
Again, as mentioned in the first reply, I think the reason why minidolls are still questionable beings is that LEGO doesn't give them enough recogntion. I'm sure LEGO has noticed their social impact on girl consumers and AFOLs and believe in their popularity. However LEGO still scarcely use minidolls in their social media ads which is still majorly occupied by minifigures. Club Nina is another example beside TLM

@Gregorovich > they'd be amazing as minifigures, with yellow ears
There have been elf minifigures in CMF and LotR, so I'm sure FOLs would be happy to see Elves minifigures. The difference is that so far most minifigures are warrior types which mostly cater to normal boys' tastes so LEGO would rather start a minidoll line for commercial reasons. Agree that the minidoll elves do fit very well.... annoyingly :p.

Something pitiful in LEGO history is that both fantasy and princess tales seem to be a good subtheme for Castle, but LEGO alwasy leave them for non-minifigure themes and don't let them be part of the mainstream Castle line. Ironically this year we have both Disney Princess's and Castle in Duplo line, which can be perfectly put together :p.

@ Jedijon > Next up, minidoll Space!
I guess you misunderstand something. As said in the previous section, the girls' themes have different uses and aims though they're are similiar with tradition themes. For example, City-action careers/Frineds-daily hobbies. As for Space, I don;t think there are other activites specifically interesting girls in the Space. Both space action (Galaxy Squad) and space exploration (Classic Space) are considered to be minifigure themes. The only thing that we never see before would be Space minidolls.

@dorkyaki, nice try with the trolling! Girls in space rocks! :) it's happening...

Pink spaceships? Really? Yeah, it is possible, but there would be no credibility. Spacesuits would be much bulkier on the minidoll figure, and if it were full of bright colors, it would look ridiculous. I don't want the minidolls to be Barbie by doing every thing they can.

> I don't want the minidolls to be Barbie by doing every thing they can.
Actually, if LEGO really think Friends doesn't have realistic restrictions, they can develop a Space subtheme for Friends. But in commercial aspects, it's hard to imagine that LEGO can make a suitable space suit for minidolls.

I would love to see a sci-fi theme with minidolls! But I'm not sure if a "space" theme in the traditional LEGO sense would be the most effective type of sci-fi theme for girls. I'm a bit ashamed to say I'm not intimately familiar with a lot of girl-oriented sci-fi franchises, though I'm sure there are plenty of examples in cartoons and anime that I'm not aware of. But certainly I don't know of a lot of "space opera" with a fan community that skews female.

Maybe a steampunk theme could work as a girl-oriented theme with sci-fi leanings, although I'm sure you'd then see plenty of complaints from AFOLs of how it should have been less girly and used regular minifigures.

Alien minidolls would be interesting. And LEGO hasn't done too many alien-centric themes. I don't know if girls would buy it, but it would be funny to see. I would like to see some campy "futuristic" stuff, and it could work!

^ As a real minifig fan, the minidolls look 'alien' enough to me :P , no thanks!

Rebrick just ran a Friends in Space competition that had many fine entries that were really cool--not bulky or girly--just cool.

Friends 2.0 - now with pointy ears!

I wasn't sure what to expect from an "Elves" series of sets but having seen these pics I'm not at all surprised and, thinking about it, I had an inkling it might turn out to be something like this.

I know there was a lot of hope that this would actually be a revival of the Fantasy-era Castle minifigures, hinted at by the CMF elf and one oblique reference (a single background pic in one catalogue!) to a possible Elves sub-theme for the Fantasy-era Castle series. In reality, I always felt this was very, very unlikely given that LEGO has not yet finished with their franchises for The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit. The presence of *true* Tolkien fantasy-type elves in LotR and the Hobbit seemed to pretty much exclude the idea of Fantasy-era Castle sets with elves -- why would they cannibalise that market...?

I had a feeling it would most likely be elves of the fairy-story variety. I even wondered if they might tie-in with the Santa's Workshop and the Elves' Workshop from this year's Christmas sets. I hadn't considered the possibility that they might use the minidolls but, having seen the sets, it seems a pretty obvious thing to do.

I realise this line may not be to everyone's fast but I think it's pretty clever and broadens the appeal of the Friends and Disney Princess-type lines (yes, they are broadly "girl-friendly" products but there's no reason why they can't be bought by boys any more than girls can't buy rescue or construction site sets from the City themes.

My Star Wars and Chima-centric son won't be so interested -- but my daughter will LOVE this and, at the end of the day, that's what Lego is after!