Review: 41904 Picture Holders
Posted by MeganL,
Having covered 41905 Jewellery Stand last week, today I'll take a look at the last of the DOTS sets, 41904 Picture Holders.
Pictures seem to be a mini theme for DOTS, as the GWP last month was a picture mini frame. These holders have a larger area for decoration, so let's see what colourful combination can be made.
The packaging for this set is exactly the same as the others - a moulded plastic tray with various compartments to hold pieces. I'd mentioned in the review for 41905 that this was ideal for sorting.
The plastic used for the tray is sturdy enough - it's not flimsy, but I don't know that I'd use a huge amount of weight for it either. Each tray (and each set) comes with a lid that snaps on. It's clear, which is nice so you can see the contents.
Note: the plastic is also a magnet for dog hair. You've already met my dogs in the DOTS bracelet review; you can understand then why you might see black or white dog hair in these pictures.
The package also has a slightly raised LEGO logo in the centre.
As such, the boxes can be stacked, but I don't think they nest all that well together. It's good for a small amount of storage, but I can't imagine having a large amount stacked one on top of the others and keep stability.
Now, on to the photo holders - there are parts to create three of them in white, brown and dark grey. These remind me of Brickheadz. You can decorate the front, sides, and top.
The decorations on these three show the variety of colourful pieces that are included in this set. There are a number of pieces that are either unique to this set or relatively rare. I was quite surprised to learn that this set makes the first appearance of 1x1 tiles in cool yellow and lavender. For a parts inventory for this set, please click here. All the spare parts are shown in the first tray picture above.
The back of all three holders is plain - with the exception of the part used to hold the picture in place. This is also a new piece to this set. As it's a new piece I thought it was worth a closer look.
The slot is just large enough to allow a picture or piece of paper to be inserted. I'm looking forward to see how this is incorporated into MOCs.
Now, for the purpose of the set, and the new piece - holding pictures. It does well, enough, but like the miniframe, these picture holders are rather small. I found conventional prints (when I last had pictures developed) to be much too large for these holders. So like the miniframe, I had to go back and find some old pictures for a size that was a little more suitable. That's me as a child, and regrettably, was not playing with LEGO.
The yellowing of the picture shows that the picture may be over 20 years old....but the holders work rather nicely for pictures of that vintage.
Overall thoughts
For those who are fans of the many colourful pieces that come with DOTS sets, 41904 Picture Holders is the set for you! It has some of the best choices of colours for the tiles (including some colours unique to this set), and at its current price point (423 pieces, $14.99, 14.99€, £12.99) is the most reasonable of all the DOTS sets.
Many thanks to LEGO for providing a copy of this set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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12 comments on this article
Peculiar. I could've sworn these trays felt flimsy when I held them. Maybe I should go ahead and buy one (I'm looking at either this or 41905 Rainbow Jewellery Stand) and actually use it and I'd get a better idea.
Also its not on my wanted List but the cat is cute and i think the New Piece could be usted like a Little Foto Container
Oooooooh...they are so cute :) I must admit that I like them more and more as I discover the different sets more precisely here and there. The only issue for me is that they are too colourful for their main purpose, I mean not neutral enough. The mix of the holders colours and photos is... just too much IMO.
I think the picture holders are more for the Instax Mini photos - those cameras are super popular amongst a certain age group that almost certainly shades younger than the average AFOL. My daughter has both that camera and this set of the DOTS photo holders, and those photos are the perfect fit.
As for the sets themselves, the plastic tray lids are pretty flimsy and light. I have sorting trays I like better for my own tiles, but it'll be nice for my daughter to have her own way of organizing her LEGO.
Thanks for these pictures, I also have a dog hair problem....
Did you notice any damage on the photos? I find the card holders a bit to tight for heavier stock like presenting collectible cards or such.
Regarding the Instax photos, they are indeed a perfect fit for these holders. I got this set as well as 41905 as Easter presents for our girls. Our older one has an Instax and the pictures fit very well, especially as the part of the picture that is in the holder piece is the white unprinted part at the bottom of the special print paper.
I love DOTS, and in particular this set. It's so cute :-)
Thanks for the review.
Its cool to see that even the weakest set of the line is still very good <3
@Mylenium - no damage on the pictures that I noticed. I do agree that the fit of the card holders is quite tight. There is no way I could put in an older picture that has the thicker stock without damage. They're best for a piece of paper or something only slightly thicker.
Like many people, if I buy Dots it is to either give to my kids exclusively, or for the pieces. I have this set and I’m eyeing those clips as a nice building texture.
I was sceptical on the dots line when I first read about it. However, my son received this set as an Easter gift and I have to say that I'm impressed. The set comes with plenty of pieces to build all 3 heads as pictured. The animal heads are the same size as the brickheadz line and my son has already started customizing his brickheadz collection including replacing Thanos' head with a cat head. Thumbs up to Lego for this new line