Friends Advent Calendar Review: Day 23
Posted by LostInTranslation,
Not long left now, everyone! And today’s gift was worth waiting for, as it contains a whopping 20 parts and is a classic festive staple – a Christmas tree!
Unusually, the tree branches are a mix of green and white slopes, representing some snowy branches, and I actually quite like the effect that this colour combination creates. The tree is anchored on a white 4x4 round plate, with a reddish brown 2x2 round brick forming the trunk. The first layer of slopes (1x3s) is then added, a reddish brown 2x2 round plate is placed on top, then the process is repeated with 1x2 slopes, before the apex of a 2x2x2 green slope finishes off the tree structure.
Trans-red, green and yellow 1x1 round plates are affixed under the slopes to represent sparkly baubles and a pearl gold star is the shiny pinnacle of the tree, a lovely part that has only appeared in four other sets but has great potential as a decorative detail. My one criticism would be that the star should be attached by SNOT somehow so that it is upright rather than flat.
I love this model! It is very festive and I really like the use of both white and green in the tree – as the theme of the Friends advent calendar has been focused on outdoor activities and snow has been evident in previous models, it stands to reason that there would be snowy boughs on the tree. The star is excellent too, and much better than the giant snowflake pieces (which are too big for a tree this size), in my opinion. I give this model a score of 5.
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5 comments on this article
This is a great gift keeping with the theme of the outdoors. I would replace the trans-green instead with a trans-light blue stud. Much better gift than some of the prev ones in this Friends AC.
I agree, the effect of the alternating green and white slopes is quite effective! Great tree.
Cracking model, similar to the covermount version currently in the shops but different enough for my daughter not to notice!
is it me though but do the Lego Friends crowd get a raw deal on figures? This is our first Friends calendar but number one son has had a good number of figures in his Star Wars set, wheras I think we've just had two very early on with this calendar?
Minidoll sets in general have a poor figure count, I find @Roosta. For example, Disney Princess Cinderella's carriage cost £24.99 but had only one doll! And even the Castle at 59.99 only had 2. In the Friends range, things are slightly better but still noticeably have fewer minidolls than comparably priced minifigure sets. In some cases you could argue that Friends sets include moulded animals but I can't believe one of those is equivalent to a figure. I'd be interested to know whether minidolls are really so much more expensive to produce.
Other than the lack of a minidoll Santa--I'll take a regular make minidoll body in a red suit with a Santa hat--I don't have any complaints with the number of Minidolls in the calender. The only day that was a miss for me was the bag of hair accessories, which is a Friends staple and if excluded I can't imagine price-wise being replaced but a minidoll.
The Friends calender is anything but lacking. So much hate for the table, but it is a key piece in the play and overall display of the calender. The calender would be the worse without the table.