Review: 30556 Mini Frame
Posted by MeganL,
In a month when other things have been top of mind, the time's almost finished for one of March's promos.
With a purchase of $35, 30556 Mini Frame is available until March 22 (tomorrow!) at LEGO.com It's the first promo from the Dots line, so let's take a look at what you get for that purchase of $35.
The set comes in a large polybag, showing the miniframe with various patters and the graphics extolling that you can create your own designs on the front of the frame. Inside the polybag there are several pieces to construct the picture frame.
The frame is meant to hold a picture. However, the size provided for the picture is pretty small. I took a look around the house to find a picture to fit, and the only one I could find was a picture of my mother as a child from a few decades ago.
The allure of this set, as with all Dots sets, are the decorative bits that come to customize the main piece.
There's a good assortment of them, and you can use them to try one of the designs that's featured on the front of the polybag.
Of course, the whole idea is for you to create your own design, so here's one I came up with while playing around a bit.
Overall thoughts
The Dots line has proven to be quite popular, and this GWP comes at a relatively low price point. That alone makes it a win in my book, though some will like it undoubtedly for the collection of decorative, colourful parts that come with it. It's disappointing there are no printed tiles included in the decorations, but not unexpected in that it's a gift with purchase. My only quibble is that the mini frame is indeed mini, and not many pictures that size can be found these days.
The promo runs through tomorrow (or as long as supplies last), but considering recent events it's possible there are still some available.
Thanks to LEGO for providing this set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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17 comments on this article
Is this GWP sold out? It's not showing up in my bag. I've got more that $35 in sets and I'm signed in. Any guesses?
I would think people don't have many printed pictures in the house in general these days, at least mine have been digital for years. But of course you could print any picture at any size to fit the frame. Cute set and like most AFOLs I'm quite interested in the tiles.
Maybe that is why LEGO extended the 40th train anniversary GWP to cover for the missing mini frame sets.
@Mitchellville15 said:
"Is this GWP sold out? It's not showing up in my bag. I've got more that $35 in sets and I'm signed in. Any guesses?"
Yep
@Mitchellville15 said:
"Is this GWP sold out? It's not showing up in my bag. I've got more that $35 in sets and I'm signed in. Any guesses?"
It was the same for me, but once I got the email confirmation from Lego (the one with the PDF) - it was listed there. Given, I've placed my order yesterday so things might got changed since then.
I printed off a tiny picture of my Mum's cat to put in mine. It is a funny size. Just slightly to small for passport size pics which people might have.
@Alatariel I'm inclined to agree with you--every Christmas, we get an ornament or two designed as a picture frame. And every year, it gets added to a "we should print some pictures for these some day" collection...
This is a cute idea, though. I like it, but I also tend to worry a bit when Lego branches out of their core gameplay.
I,d get this for the parts, although it is nice...
Most of my photos are 5x7s (which we typically print) or 8x10s. This looks even too small for wallet sized photos i have. And typically, most small giveaway frames that come in kid's meals and the like are made to hold a wallet photo. The Spongebob frame on my desk, which came in a Burger King kid's meal ages ago is made to hold anything from a wallet size photo (which it contains now) to a postcard.
Nice parts though!
You gotta give LEGO credit for turning 1x1 pieces into an entire line
Thanks for the review. Mine is still unopened, but I am very glad I was able to get it.
Interesting fact, your mom as a child looks almost exactly like our neighbours' youngest daughter.
Weird coincidence.
@all: stay well in these trying times.
@AustinPowers said:
"Thanks for the review. Mine is still unopened, but I am very glad I was able to get it.
Interesting fact, your mom as a child looks almost exactly like our neighbours' youngest daughter.
Weird coincidence.
@all: stay well in these trying times."
I was going to say, OP's mom is gorgeous, raised a great kiddo :]
It's disturbing that you decided not to put anything on that one corner stud when everything else is covered...
@Phoenixio said:
"It's disturbing that you decided not to put anything on that one corner stud when everything else is covered..."
Artistic liberty.
Or some sadistic nod towards OCD nerds. ;-)
I opened mine today and I have to say, Dots is an absolute delight of a theme. I love how arts and crafts it is. I love coming up with interesting patterns. It is aimed at girls but great for boys too. It totally succeeds where Scala failed.
I guess the frame is the easiest part to MOD so that more available photos will fit in. And the available dots would still be numerous enough to decorate it. I like the range, it's really a creating tool, and a great parts pack of course. Thank you for the review.
A week after my first LEGO DOTS purchase at a LEGO Certified Store, I found out that this was a GWP at Toys "R" Us only, for $60 of DOTS, Friends and Disney Princess purchases. Ugh, I hope I get a chance to complete my DOTS collection and obtain this GWP. It's a lovely-looking set!