Review: DOTS Bracelets
Posted by MeganL,
It's been an interesting trajectory for the DOTS theme. When first announced as a wearable line for LEGO, it received much derision in the AFOL world. Part of that was due to the lack of pictures of what the product actually looked like; many feared it would be this generation's version of Clikits (though I'm sure Huwbot wouldn't have minded that!).
Upon seeing the product pictures, sentiment changed remarkably. Most notably, the colourful tiles and pieces that come with the DOTS sets have generated much interest. Today, we'll look at the five bracelets that the DOTS range has to date: 41900 Rainbow , 41901 Funky Animals , 41902 Sparkly Unicorn, 41903 Cosmic Wonder , and 41912 Love Birds.
CapnRex101 reviewed the basic functionality of the bracelet back in January; this review will focus on the specific pieces included with these sets.
Each bracelet comes in a polybag type of package, with the bracelet on one side and the small bag of decorative pieces on the other. There are no instructions included with the package - I'm sure the idea is to allow you to create your own designs. For the purposes of this review, I've recreated the designs shown on the DOTS packaging.
41900 Rainbow has tiles befitting that description. Both of the 1x1 printed rainbow tiles were used in 21045 Trafalgar Square, but the quarter circle printed rainbow piece is new to this set. Of all the bracelets, I think this is the least exciting to AFOLs, mainly because there aren't many pieces here that we haven't seen before.
All of the printed pieces in 41901 Funky Animals are new to this set - the paw print and the two printed animal (I want to call them cats) heads. I do like that when paired with a white or black quarter circle it looks like cats on the bracelet. Pink is the overriding colour and is helped that the bracelet is that colour as well.
When I first saw 41902 Sparkly Unicorn I was already predisposed to like it because of it featuring the purple colour. However, there are lots of other reasons to like this bracelet as well. The unicorn printed pieces were also only found in 21045 Trafalgar Square, and the lovely quarter circle printed stars tile is new to this set. DOTS has also introduced the quarter circle chrome (the database calls it "silver ink") piece both for this bracelet and one of the other DOTS sets. As a bonus there are four relatively new coral quarter circle pieces. Combine all that with the purple theme and I think this may be the favourite of the DOTS bracelets for me.
41903 Cosmic Wonder also has its fair share of unique pieces - all of the printed pieces here are unique - both of the quarter circle star printed tiles and the 1x1 printed tile with a stylized planet on them. While showing these sets at Bricks Cascade, this bracelet generated a lot of interest because of the black bracelet. DOTS generated as much interest from men as women, and most of the men (and many of the women) mentioned that they would love to have this bracelet in a larger size.
That observation applies to all of the bracelets - clearly they're made for children, but can fit some adult wrists. They fit my wrist on the very last hole, so many men would not be able to wear them.
The last bracelet in this group is 41912 Love Birds. This bracelet has a decidedly tropical colour theme and also comes with two new printed tiles - the bird's eye printed quarter circle and a cool yellow printed piece used for bird feathers. I can see both pieces being put to many uses in MOCs! There's also a new 1x1 round piece with a heart print.
Extra pieces are included in each bracelet set, such as the extras pictured here for 41912 Love Birds.
I've also found another use for these bracelets! When I first received the sets, Huw suggested (I'm not sure if he was serious) that I could make a collar for my dog. So I decided to see if that would work - and it does! For my medium sized dogs, one bracelet is not large enough, but if you connect two of them, it's easy to adjust.
Since the material is flexible, it didn't bother Dalton, my dog, at all. I got distracted right after taking that picture, so Dalton ended up wearing his collar for several hours with no incident. The clutch power of LEGO pieces meant that none of them fell off.
Another benefit is that the holes in the bracelet are just large enough to clip the leash onto, so I was able to take Dalton out for a short walk. The bracelets held together well, though I don't think I'd chance it for a longer walk, or one where there may be a chance of seeing a squirrel.
A few days after that last picture, we adopted Chadwick, so we had another opportunity to try out the DOTS dog collar.
Overall thoughts
As many have said, this is a very fun theme by LEGO. AFOLs love them because of all the decorative pieces, but there's a lot to like in the bracelets. I think there are many adults who would wear these, based on the feedback that I heard at Bricks Cascade.
At around $5 (U.S.) each, these are perfect pocket money or impulse purchases. They're a little pricy on a price per part ratio, but honestly, you won't be buying these for a bargain on pieces. The piece selection is fantastic, inventive, and new. The only thing I'd suggest is to make some larger bracelets.
Plus, you can use them as dog collars! I'd love to see if others have tried the same thing. One caution I do have though, is that dog models eventually get very tired of posing for pictures, and you get a face like this.
Many thanks to the LEGO for providing 41900, 41901, 41902, and 41903 for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
119 likes
28 comments on this article
fun stuff!
From what I've seen these bracelets have sold fairly well so far so I hope we see more colours for the bracelets and new printed tiles in the near future.
Honestly I don’t care much for the product line itself since neither I nor my boys * are the target audience but kudos for the alternate use and the great pics *thumbsup*. :-D
*and I don’t have a dog either.
The prints on the purple one remind me of Vincent Van Gogh's "Starry Night".
Not sure why I couldn't leave a like or comment for a couple of hours back there. I sent a ticket. But I see the problem has fixed itself now. Anyway:
Lovely review! And really creative use of these bracelets as dog collars too!
Before the whole self-isolation thing, I had been wearing my Sparkly Unicorn and Love Birds bracelets. They got a bit of attention. I've never felt so pretty! I had so much fun decorating them and making them my own.
The gemstone pieces in Cosmic Wonder are a brand new mould, and opalescent too! It's making me want to collect them all.
For anyone wondering: The best way to open the packages for these is to cut the bottom, not the top. It's actually extremely difficult to reach the parts polybags if you cut from the top because of the way they're sealed.
My favorite is the Cosmic Wonder, I think.
Adorable doggos too!
First off those are impressive ears on Dalton! You are very good to adopt Chadwick too. Thank you too for writing this article too as I laughed at both your Huwbot comment and the last picture is priceless!
I just wanna say that my lego store receipt for Sparkly Unicorn Bracelet shortened to
Sparkly Unicorn Bra
If LEGO decides to make a larger size, I may have to pick one of these up and make a wordless book bracelet.
Thanks for this review and for these pictures.
The Dog collar idea is FANTASTIC... maybe for Cats too??
Great review, made all the better for including Dalton and Chadwick! I'm looking forward to future colors and applications of the diamond stud pieces (i.e. Design Plate, 1X1X2/3, No.3).
Nice models :)
Love the photos of the dogs! I assume it's easy to connect two bracelets then, and that the connection is fairly secure?
My favourite is the Cosmic Wonder with the all new opalescent pieces that you somehow didn't mention. I also hope for larger sizes!
The cat is a cat. The bunny is not.
Chrome silver has a mirror-like finish and you can see your reflection in it. "Silver ink", aka "drum lacquered", is some sort of paint application. It leaves a smooth, satiny finish, but all you can see reflected in it is blurry color blobs.
And the dog collars seem like a really easy way to get a huge vet bill, and a quick boost to your stress levels.
I want to get one or two of the black ones and see how they work wrapped around mecha.
@MrClassic said:
"Love the photos of the dogs! I assume it's easy to connect two bracelets then, and that the connection is fairly secure?
My favourite is the Cosmic Wonder with the all new opalescent pieces that you somehow didn't mention. I also hope for larger sizes!"
Yes, all it takes to connect two bracelets is to attach the fastener on the end of each one to one of the holes on the other. It doesn't fix the problem of intermediate sizes for folks with large wrists (since it'd be way too long for that), but it does work for a pet collar or choker.
One simple solution I have seen floated for people with larger wrists is to thread a small rubber band (like the ones in some Lego sets) through one of the holes and loop it around the fastener "knob" on the other side. That would not only lengthen it but be fairly flexible for a wide range of wrist sizes. Of course, it would be nice if Lego could release some sort of dedicated extender piece that could be used to extend the bracelets more seamlessly.
Awww. Puppers!
I love the variety of printed tiles (particular the space-themes one with the stars and planets -- the rainbow-themed ones aren't too bad, either), but I have no use for them in anything I'm building or any projects I currently have. I'm quite skinny, so they might actually fit me as bracelets, but I'd still be worried about losing pieces.
@Zordboy said:
"Awww. Puppers!
I love the variety of printed tiles (particular the space-themes one with the stars and planets -- the rainbow-themed ones aren't too bad, either), but I have no use for them in anything I'm building or any projects I currently have. I'm quite skinny, so they might actually fit me as bracelets, but I'd still be worried about losing pieces."
I'm skinny too and they fit very easily. I do worry about losing pieces too, so whenever I'm out I try to be careful with my arms in general, and I check about every 20 minutes to make sure nothing's fallen out. So far, everything has held in very securely and I haven't knocked any of them off yet. They've lightly scraped against tables and such, and the prints are still completely intact so far.
Nice dogs.
My first thought on seeing the bracelets was that the black one would work for the belt of a large Santa figure. I turned that idea into a mech for the current forum building contest - which would welcome more contributions! https://forum.brickset.com/discussion/32031/plague-busting-building-competition-1-over-engineered
Luuuuvvv the dogs. They are an adorable pair!
Your collar idea has introduced a whole new line of thinking: I bet a lot of teens would be tempted to try out a choker necklace. (I know I would have, back in the day!)
Thanks for the review.
Great review; love the dog collars!
I impulse-bought the sparkly unicorn, cosmic wonder and 'extra' bags and I have to say, I really enjoyed playing around with them even more than I expected.
I also learned from AFOL reviews that apparently I have really skinny wrists for a tall average-build adult lady who can wear these at the middle hole.
p.s. @PurpleDave: sorry you're having a bad day
@Alatariel:
Huh? Are you referring to the part about the vet bill and increased stress levels? Because I haven't had any pets in years (and I haven't had pets that could wear a collar since I was a kid). But if I did have a cat or a dog, and I made collars like these for them, I'd be constantly worried that the parts would end up getting swallowed, especially with two of them.
Speaking of bad days, though, are you feeling better?
I haven't yet ordered the bracelets (as they're backordered), but I did have some fun with the Pineapple set! My husband loves pineapples, and his Twitch channel logo is one. I had so much fun, and so did my viewers! For $15 it was a great price point for a ton of fun, colorful pieces. I definitely plan on getting more in the future!
@PurpleDave said:
" @Alatariel:
Huh? Are you referring to the part about the vet bill and increased stress levels? Because I haven't had any pets in years (and I haven't had pets that could wear a collar since I was a kid). But if I did have a cat or a dog, and I made collars like these for them, I'd be constantly worried that the parts would end up getting swallowed, especially with two of them.
Speaking of bad days, though, are you feeling better?"
Oh, sorry. I guess I misunderstood your message. I'm still sick at home, but at least with TP now. Thanks for asking!
These will be a nice thing to treat myself to at some point...
Using them as dog collars is hilarious, I love it!
Awww love to see the designs you put on your bracelets!
@LegoSonicBoy said:
"…Lovely review! And really creative use of these bracelets as dog collars too!
Before the whole self-isolation thing, I had been wearing my Sparkly Unicorn and Love Birds bracelets. They got a bit of attention. I've never felt so pretty! I had so much fun decorating them and making them my own.
The gemstone pieces in Cosmic Wonder are a brand new mould, and opalescent too! It's making me want to collect them all.”