Random set of the day: Doll House
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 5940 Doll House, released in 2004. It's one of 6 Belville sets produced that year. It contains 203 pieces and 3 minifigs, and its retail price was US$60/£39.99.
It's owned by 107 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
Help me come to life! If you like the set I've chosen for you today, please pledge your support for me on LEGO Ideas so I have a chance of becoming an official LEGO set!
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32 comments on this article
This is where My Dad lives
@Mr__Thrawn:
Clearly he intends to murder them all in their sleep.
My first doll house!!!!
Did I say that out loud...?
Dad help me out here
@PurpleDave said:
" @Mr__Thrawn:
Clearly he intends to murder them all in their sleep."
My Dad’s name is Jack Torrance
@Your_Future_President said:
"My first doll house!!!!
Did I say that out loud...?
Dad help me out here"
Yes, yes you did.
Mom is permanently stuck on the second floor. No stairs, no safe way down, perpetually cleaning that bathroom.
@Mr__Thrawn:
The girl's skin appears to be shining...
It's a doll*, it's a house, it's a doll house!
*product contains dolls. Product is not actually a doll.
@PurpleDave said:
" @Mr__Thrawn:
Clearly he intends to murder them all in their sleep."
It appears his weapon of choice is a camera.
The dog in the foreground is trying to tell you that he’s been kidnapped.
I was going to make a joke, but decided it’s unnecessary. I think this set does it for me.
Well, this is what I get for doing part stats on RSOTD. I'll be referencing the more complete Rebrickable inventory, remember that rare is in three sets or less. Even looking at just "regular" parts it's a doozy, buckle up folks;
Unique:
3754 1x6x5 Brick in trans light blue x2
47117 2x2 with slots and peg in trans yellow x1
47115 24x24 with cutout in light lime x2
4532 2x3x2 cupboard in bright light blue x1
6196 door for 4x4x4 cupboard in pearl light grey x1
6198 drawer for 4x4x4 cupboard in bright light blue x1
6198 drawer for 4x4x4 cupboard in pearl light grey x1
6197 4x4x4 cupboard with sink in sand blue x4
6919 2x2 dish with angled bar in trans dark blue x1
44302 1x2 click hinge plate in dark turquoise x2
4523 bucket with neck hole in orange x1
4865 1x2 panel with stereo print in trans clear x1
4215 1x4x3 panel in bright light blue x2
3742 small flower in magenta x3 (maybe x4 if on sprue?)
3710 1x4 plate in sky blue x1
3029 4x12 plate in medium lime x2
3031 4x4 plate in dark turquoise x1
3035 4x8 plate in magenta x1
30357 3x3 plate with rounded corner in sky blue x1
45917 skateboard deck in medium lime x1
3940 2x2x2 round stand in sand blue x3
3069 1x2 tile in sky blue x2
2431 1x4 tile in sky blue x1
3068 2x2 tile with monitor print in sky blue x1
4150 2x2 round tile with CD print in light bluish grey
Rare:
6199 2x6 swing in trans orange x1
33009 2x3 book in yellow x1
6223 2x2 brick in glitter trans clear x2
3001 2x4 brick in bright light blue x2
6081 2x4 curved brick in dark turquoise x2
6081 2x4 curved brick in magenta x2
47116 12x24 base with corner pegs in bright light yellow x1
47122 2x24 with end pegs in white x2
47115 24x24 with cutout in bright light yellow x1
6196 door for 4x4x4 cupboard in trans clear x1
6196 door for 4x4x4 cupboard in white x1
33061 1x1 goblet in trans dark blue x1
3852 hairbrush in medium lime x1
4222 fabuland chair in magenta x3
6134 2x2 hinge plate in medium lime x1
2x2x12 column with slots and peg in white x14
6936 1x2 tap with handles in pearl light grey x2
No wonder the company was going downhill, half their production cost went toward 5% of their product range. (OK, I made up the percentage but you get the idea)
@Galaxy12_Import said:
"Well, this is what I get for doing part stats on RSOTD. I'll be referencing the more complete Rebrickable inventory, remember that rare is in three sets or less. Even looking at just "regular" parts it's a doozy, buckle up folks;
...
No wonder the company was going downhill, half their production cost went toward 5% of their product range. (OK, I made up the percentage but you get the idea)"
With all those unique parts, how many elements were ONLY in this set in ANY color? In other words, did some element designs and molds get created for this and never used again elsewhere in any color?
@Galaxy12_Import:
Yeah, that had a lot to do with it. There are two similar garden trellis pieces. There are at least three four similar patio umbrellas that use three completely different stands. Every time someone needed a part, they'd look at pretty much what they wanted and say, "No, that's not quite what I wanted." Add to that the move to eliminate as much of the construction experience as possible, and they might as well have just been making action figures with prefab playsets and vehicles at that point.
But it worked in some cases. I once did a count and determined that Star Wars alone had introduced around 100 new parts in about 3-4 years, and it was their second best seller at that point. Bionicle had already caught up to Star Wars by then, with two less years to work with, and it was their top seller. Harry Potter likewise was responsible for a pretty significant boom in new parts, and was their fourth best seller. These themes actually paid for all those new molds. This theme didn't. It's like the coworker who shows up to the office, and lets other people earn their paycheck for them.
That star pillow looks awesome! I want a few of those.
@PDelahanty said:
"With all those unique parts, how many elements were ONLY in this set in ANY color? In other words, did some element designs and molds get created for this and never used again elsewhere in any color?"
As far as I can tell there are no unique moulds in this set, I think the closest we get is 47117 2x2 with peg, which only comes in two other colors, each of which are unique to their own set. A lot of the furniture pieces can be found in several colors, but again see limited dispersion in those colors. Good question.
It’s a good doll house. But for LEGO...
This is unnerving.
@Galaxy12_Import said:
"Well, this is what I get for doing part stats on RSOTD. I'll be referencing the more complete Rebrickable inventory, remember that rare is in three sets or less. Even looking at just "regular" parts it's a doozy, buckle up folks;"
You should do part analysis for RSOTD more often, because this information is incredibly helpful.
This somehow manages to look more dated than it is. But it is at least a bit more like the core LEGO product than Scala. And the figures aren't so creepy looking.
I don't think this fares too well when you consider equalityand mixability with non-girl LEGO - construction is simplified and the scale is very different to minifig scale, but at least the pieces are fully compatible.
I quite like the way those chairs in the kitchen are built, that’s decent design. Shame the only scale it works in is Scala and Belville
So do these dolls have printed-on shirts but removable fabric pants? That is a whole new level of bizarre design choices...
I'm shocked about the price. It's expensive! How is it US $60 (then priced, right??) when it has 3 dolls and 203 pieces? Can someone explain the cost?
My daughter loved her Belville sets, especially this one. They were never in any stores around our area & the sets sold out every year at LEGO online. I had to order them early in order to get them for her for Christmas. She was disappointed when they cancelled Belville. She was also a HP fan, but she never liked Friends sets.
Since I have her sets I am one of the 107 members who own this, along with her HP sets from 2001-2005.
@LuvsLEGO_Cool_J said:
"I'm shocked about the price. It's expensive! How is it US $60 (then priced, right??) when it has 3 dolls and 203 pieces? Can someone explain the cost? "
I think what it comes down to is, a lot of those pieces are big pieces, which inevitably skews the price-per-piece ratio heavily. Like, it looks like the floors and walls are simply a few huge pieces, and that's all; the amount of plastic that goes into parts that big is the equivalent of A LOT of smaller parts. If they had used the equivalent amount of plastic in the form of standard plates instead, I assume it would probably come out about the same size and cost, but would sound a lot better value per piece.
That said, for all Belville's flaws, I certainly would take these figures over the Scala dolls any day. Not only do they look more comfortable than the uncanny valley that the Scala dolls sometimes reside in, I could also see them as a good base for modifying into custom action figures, since they're fairly generic. If I ever find myself with some of them in hand, I might even try that...
The slotted cardboard walls and white pillars are very early Duplo so assume easily lost.
The kitchen, bathroom and lounge furnishings seem to look more like standard doll house furnishings from one of the leading doll brands rather than Lego. Although that is the most realistic skateboard I've seen in Lego.
Its another set that Brickset have NO GOOD PIC while you can find good pictures ONLINE.
When I was really into 3 3/4 figures, I'd buy a couple of Belville figures every now and then if a seller had some new ones. And, the mom in this set is one of the handful I own. Basically, the only other good-quality figure one can regularly find cheaper are the Playmates Star Trek figures from the 1990s, and most Lanard The Corps. They're about the only ones other than Belville with good articulation and a non-huge price tag. 3 3/4 figures are getting really up there in detail and price--I regularly see $20-30 pieces. I actually just ordered a Boss Fight Studio Mighty Steeds horse (scaled for 3 3/4 horses), which isn't that bad at $35, but still pretty expensive. At least unlike the Breyer horses I bought heavily during my preteen years, these have a huge amount of articulation.
I still need to pick up a few more Belville figures, especially the medical ones.
I would have loved this set as a kid. The bright colors, the dolls, the dog - I would have thought it was incredible. Part of the joy of a doll house is imagination. Perfection is not required.
I wish there wells more appreciation for the history of these sets instead of the put-downs and negative comments.
@Galaxy12_Import:
It goes beyond just unique molds, though. Back in those days, set designers were more free to pack their sets full of unique elements. The mold may be used in several other sets, but as evidenced by that list of parts, that might be the only time they ever appear in that specific color. After Kjeld Kirk stepped down as head of the company, new rules were put in place under the new CEO. One of them basically put a hard limit on the number of elements that could be in play at any time. In order to request a new production element, an existing element had to be retired (at least for the time being).
All of those different elements cost money to warehouse. They take up valuable space that limits their ability to store elements for high-demand sets, which inhibits their ability to crank out new copies of sets that have a tendency to sell out. Plus, by the time they finally get around to using them up, someone may have to take the time to brush the dust off them...
@Spartan_Ghost:
I had a coworker like that. Actually, two. One was an amateur bodybuilder.
@cody6268:
Playmates had a good thing going, until they shot themselves in the foot with the 1701 series. I was buying all the DS9, Klingon, and Borg characters, so I wasn't personally impacted by that decision, but I knew someone who was complete on TNG up until that point and, as many others did at that point, I believe he gave it up cold turkey once he realized there was a Picard he could never own.
I've just noticed something. Looking through the list of Belville figures here on Brickset, I realised that all of them up to 2003 had arms that were fully articulated to bend at the elbow, whereas those from 2004-onwards have what look like a single solid piece, as seen on the figures in this set.
Does anyone know what bought about that change? It seems weird to me; were the pre-2004 arms maybe too fragile, so they were replaced? Or was there some other reason that caused that change?