The Ice Castle revealed!
Posted by Huw,
It's a busy day for news and set reveals today! Here's another one for you: 43197 The Ice Castle, a 1709-piece model of Elsa's palace that will be released on 1st July priced at £199.99 / $199.99 / €209.99.
It comes with mini-dolls of Anna, two versions of Elsa -- one in her coronation look, and one in her iconic outfit, Kristoff and Olaf, plus 4 LEGO Snowgie figures.
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73 comments on this article
That's very impressive; there's some lovely details on the inside as well, which is what really makes this kind of thing special. I already own the Disney castle, though, so when it comes to this set I'll have to...
...let it go.
That's a lot of trans.-blue pentagonal tiles
I like this set way more than I expected to!
It's nice. Just a bit expensive & minifigures might be better instead of minidolls.
Does someone more knowledgeable about Frozen know what that puffin thing at the inside back of the top tower is?
I think I see a bunch of a new 2x2x2 double convex corner slope. Interesting.
New Olaf head!
Boooo minidolls. But at least in this case there are minifig variants for the main characters, so it isn't too much of a loss.
Third time's a charm. Compared to the other smaller Elsa's Ice Castle/Palace sets, this one is a lot more pleasant to the eyes.
Is that an hourglass piece? Yes please!
Love this set! The interior looks great and I think the exterior strikes a good balance between transparent and solid colored pieces. Minifigures or Frozen II versions of the characters would’ve been cool but I’m just glad we’re getting two Elsas!
Hasn’t there been at least 2 sets looking the same as this in the past 3 years?
Wow, almost as dull as a grey Star Wars flying thing
In other Disney news, there's two new sets in the Disney section on the Lego shop: a stables and a new storybook. Philipe and Maximus together at last...
Putting the LEGO in Let It Go!
There's lots of translucent elements attached to each other. Has TLG changed its policy regarding this? Or is it intended to be never disassembled?
Pass. Don’t like minidolls, don’t like the scale/lack of details.
Are those 2x8 hinged tiles at the doors?
Not my cup of tea, but I do love all those trans-blue pieces. Hope they’ll be available at the pick a brick
Wow, this is really neat! There's some great-looking new parts here like what seem to be 2x2x5 angled corner walls and 2x2x2 corner wedge slopes. It's also pretty exciting to see a mini-doll theme get a D2C-scale set like this, though I personally would've preferred one in a non-licensed theme like Friends over a Disney license. Still, it makes sense that Lego would push the boundaries of those sorts of themes with a surefire hit like Frozen.
@zux said:
"There's lots of translucent elements attached to each other. Has TLG changed its policy regarding this? Or is it intended to be never disassembled?"
Yeah I believe that's why they changed the transparent part material to the one that scratches more easily
This looks so much better than the smaller releases. (makes sense)
I bought the last one with the plans of doing something like this for my daughter. Then time went on and she got disinterested in Disney and princesses and LEGO and I'm stuck with a sealed set...
Maybe I'll make an ice castle for some Ninjago villains or something then...
I won't pick this up, but I can see the appeal!
I like it but the fact that it has minidolls and I don't care that much for Frozen, I'm gonna have to pass.
I hope they do a big and detailed Beauty and the Beast castle sometime. (with minifigs)
I imagine my 6 year old daughter will love this one. And while I try to keep my complaints about minidolls to a minimum, I really wish we could get an actual minifig for Christof, to go with Anna and Elsa from the CMF line.
@dbbunny said:
"Wow, almost as dull as a grey Star Wars flying thing"
White and trans light blue look a lot brighter than grey. That said, now I'm thinking about whether you could turn this into a 100 stud plus long spaceship (and not just by turning it on its side- the back needs closing up to protect it from the vacuum of space, after all).
Looks very nice - I am happy they seem to have let the the 18+ branding/pricing go on that one.
@DragonLord56 said:
"Does someone more knowledgeable about Frozen know what that puffin thing at the inside back of the top tower is?"
Its a little soft toy that Elsa had as a child. Cant remember his name, she talks about it in the frozen Christmas short when Elsa and Anna are in the attic looking for traditions.
...at least thats what I think it is!
@kioko21 said:
" @DragonLord56 said:
"Does someone more knowledgeable about Frozen know what that puffin thing at the inside back of the top tower is?"
Its a little soft toy that Elsa had as a child. Cant remember his name, she talks about it in the frozen Christmas short when Elsa and Anna are in the attic looking for traditions.
...at least thats what I think it is!"
It is. Just searched “Disney Frozen Puffin” on Google and the first link should be the Disney Wikia site. Didn’t even know it was that. Would’ve thought it was similar to the teddy bear element. Also that it has the same size as the Snowgies.
Absolutely a sucker for elegant structures mostly in white and teal - the Lego Movie 2 space palace is fabulous to me and this reminds me of that. I might get this as someone who isn't even a big Frozen fan just because I love the way it looks aesthetically.
@KyloRen0806 said:
" @kioko21 said:
" @DragonLord56 said:
"Does someone more knowledgeable about Frozen know what that puffin thing at the inside back of the top tower is?"
Its a little soft toy that Elsa had as a child. Cant remember his name, she talks about it in the frozen Christmas short when Elsa and Anna are in the attic looking for traditions.
...at least thats what I think it is!"
It is. Just searched “Disney Frozen Puffin” on Google and the first link should be the Disney Wikia site. Didn’t even know it was that. Would’ve thought it was similar to the teddy bear element. Also that it has the same size as the Snowgies."
Ah, thank you both kindly! Who would have guessed it?
I am in love with it. I need to buy it as soon as I can. I am just a little disappointed that they didn’t put Sven in the set. At least it would have been the first of 13 regular sets to include all the main characters. But.. not this time. And the change of the Snowgies makes it difficult to use with the other Snowgies, unless you buy their body as a standalone part. They do look cuter, though.
@DragonLord56 said:
" @KyloRen0806 said:
" @kioko21 said:
" @DragonLord56 said:
"Does someone more knowledgeable about Frozen know what that puffin thing at the inside back of the top tower is?"
Its a little soft toy that Elsa had as a child. Cant remember his name, she talks about it in the frozen Christmas short when Elsa and Anna are in the attic looking for traditions.
...at least thats what I think it is!"
It is. Just searched “Disney Frozen Puffin” on Google and the first link should be the Disney Wikia site. Didn’t even know it was that. Would’ve thought it was similar to the teddy bear element. Also that it has the same size as the Snowgies."
Ah, thank you both kindly! Who would have guessed it?"
No one. And the official description on the LEGO Shop does not even state what the purpose of the ‘figure’ is.
How many versions of the castle does this make? Four?
@fulcrumbop said:
"How many versions of the castle does this make? Four?"
Yup. 5 if you count the re-release and 6 if you count Duplo.
For a second I thought NEXOKNIGHTS was back.
I'd like to see this displayed next to 75251 Darth Vader's castle.
This set contains a LOT of new parts and recolours! I hope i will find this at a nice discount in future.
The price is ridiculous. Set looks good, but not 210 Euro good.
That's a lot of nexo knight windshields.
That staircase is ingenious. It took a minute, but when I realised the technique, it blew my mind.
What castle? Put some boosters on the base, and I just see a giant spaceship :D
A shame this isn’t minifigure scale/includes minifigs.
Minfigure and minidoll stuff scales pretty well together, I think. It's more of a OO/HO scale situation than anything.
Minidolls are not Lego...
Nexoknights may be gone, but their parts legacy is strong.
@24nolf said:
"It appears this is NOT a D2C set and will appear in normal retail channels. "
Curious, at that price I thought for sure it was a D2C. I honestly wonder how much legs Frozen still has in merchandise sells this many years on after the original film (enough to sell a $200 at retail?), but if it makes Lego money well why bother to complain?
Now this is impressive.
Hopefully no one buys it and I can pick it up half price in a few months when retailers are desperate to get rid of stock.
It feels like the level of visual detail here is lower than with the Daily Bugle (which, is admittedly, hyperkinetic). One can say that this is because it's not a D2C, but it's also lower than Ninjago City.
@Snaz said:
"ANOTHER one?"
It's like the X-Wing of Disney or something.
Yup, we do get a lot of Ice Castles, but this one is certainly a beauty...I wonder how many sets you can cram onto Lego.com's wish list? I may be pushing it.
@TheHacker said:
" @Snaz said:
"ANOTHER one?"
It's like the X-Wing of Disney or something."
Alongside X-Wings also being Disney ;) l I think Frozen, as a brand, is still extremely popular with the target demographic, and this set is a result of - and evidence of - that.
Plus, it looks incredible! I was glad when they went from a $40 version to an $80 version (and then rereleased it, thankfully, because I missed the first one), but this blows it out of the (solid-state) water!
I may not be the target demographic, but I love this nonetheless!
I think it looks absolutely stunning! All the trans blue is beautiful, and I'm glad they've done away with the wierd lavender all the others have had. Only complaint is that it doesn't come with more figures. Sven, Hans, Oaken and maybe some wolves would have rounded out the display nicely. Also surprised by the lack of Marshmallow, one on the scale of the Tree beard from Orthanc would have been nice.
Still a definite purchase from me, and I hope this opens the door for more Disney D2Cs. Rapunzel's tower would be great at this scale.
That's gonna make a sick modular!
Last week I watched my friends' daughter's school talent show. The sixth grade boys' football team performed "Let It Go". One of the boys had promised to wear the dress... and he did! I think it's safe to say this is still a profitable franchise.
@BrickByBrick said:
[[ @zux said:
[[There's lots of translucent elements attached to each other. Has TLG changed its policy regarding this? Or is it intended to be never disassembled?]]
I am unfamiliar with this policy. Can someone please explain?
I can't be the only one eyeing this as a space parts pack can I?
Alternate build is 100% a spaceship. Or just turn the castle on its side.
I’m a little shocked by this set. Not that Frozen isn’t a great movie and still Disney’s most popular. However the demographics just don’t make much sense. Duplo and 4+ to me would be the appropriate place for Frozen, and I can see it being great for 6 and 7 year olds. But teenagers? Yes, I can see them singing the songs, but are they really still playing with princesses and palaces? I guess I’ll find out in 10 years, but I’m guessing this set will be retired long before then.
@Librarian1976 said:
" @zux said:"
"There's lots of translucent elements attached to each other. Has TLG changed its policy regarding this? Or is it intended to be never disassembled?"
"I am unfamiliar with this policy. Can someone please explain?"
Until recently, Lego's transparent elements were moulded from polycarbonate, which is generally fine, but it has the drawback that two touching transparent bricks would stick together. (Builders of classic Space sets might remember issues sticking 1x1 round bricks onto aerial pieces and then never being able to remove them.)
In the last few years, I gather that the material has changed to a variant of ABS, the same material used for opaque bricks, which doesn't have the same issue of touching parts sticking. That's opened up some new design opportunities. (Unfortunately, it seems that the new material does scratch more easily, which is annoying for large windscreen parts.)
There's a thread on the forum with more details, if you're interested: https://forum.brickset.com/discussion/33843/are-trans-clear-lego-or-all-trans-parts-now-made-out-of-a-different-plastic
" @Librarian1976 said:
" @zux said:
There's lots of translucent elements attached to each other. Has TLG changed its policy regarding this? Or is it intended to be never disassembled?"
I am unfamiliar with this policy. Can someone please explain?"
I don't know about any policy, but, back-in-the-day, putting a trans cone on a trans "aerial" (bar with anti-stud end - it probably has a name...) would sometimes result in a weird fusion (thankfully not nuclear) between the two; they were then inseparable.
Painful times.
@CopperTablet said:
"It feels like the level of visual detail here is lower than with the Daily Bugle (which, is admittedly, hyperkinetic). One can say that this is because it's not a D2C, but it's also lower than Ninjago City."
what
ninjago city was a d2c
That’s a pretty sexy looking Castle.
These ice castles keep getting better, imagine how elaborate the 2030 Elsa's Ice Castle will be :) Seriously though, it looks beautiful, but since it wasn't released six years ago (at the peak of my daughter's interest in the subject matter) it won't have to fill a big spot on my Wanted List.
Lots of parts to make a costume ice castle for anything in fact, I know some people who might buy this and then replace the minidolls with their own figures.
That’s a good parts pack to expand the 70678 Castle.
@bananaworld said:
"I don't know about any policy, but, back-in-the-day, putting a trans cone on a trans "aerial" (bar with anti-stud end - it probably has a name...) would sometimes result in a weird fusion (thankfully not nuclear) between the two; they were then inseparable."
Yes, that or a regular 4L bar from 1999-on (lightsaber blade).
@mnolan99 said:
"Alternate build is 100% a spaceship. Or just turn the castle on its side.
"
Great, now we'll have to test its swooshability against all other castles.
The swooshability of castles....
I can imagine a derelict version of this castle being stumbled upon by the Ice Planet team.
Alt build: Fortress of Solitude...ok, maybe w/more trans-clear parts added:)
It reminds me a bit the shape of Black Fortress form the "Krull" movie (1983)
I absolutely do not care about Frozen but holy heck, this is an awesome spaceship parts pack!
All I see is a bunch of neat stuff I can use for that Imperial Deployment Craft I've been planning to build, a ship that can land and deploy 4 AT-STs, several speederbikes, and a lot of troops!
The set isnt bad, but oh boy, for an official image thats a pretty bad 3d render
Beautiful Castle but at this price I would have preferred the Disneyland castle to go with the Walt Disney World one
@paulmison said:
" @Librarian1976 said:
" @zux said:"
"There's lots of translucent elements attached to each other. Has TLG changed its policy regarding this? Or is it intended to be never disassembled?"
"I am unfamiliar with this policy. Can someone please explain?"
Until recently, Lego's transparent elements were moulded from polycarbonate, which is generally fine, but it has the drawback that two touching transparent bricks would stick together. (Builders of classic Space sets might remember issues sticking 1x1 round bricks onto aerial pieces and then never being able to remove them.)
In the last few years, I gather that the material has changed to a variant of ABS, the same material used for opaque bricks, which doesn't have the same issue of touching parts sticking. That's opened up some new design opportunities. (Unfortunately, it seems that the new material does scratch more easily, which is annoying for large windscreen parts.)
There's a thread on the forum with more details, if you're interested: https://forum.brickset.com/discussion/33843/are-trans-clear-lego-or-all-trans-parts-now-made-out-of-a-different-plastic"
That's strange, I've literally never had this problem, and I've got a lot of trans elements in MOCs or in tubs that are stuck together and easily remove.
@Vladeck7 said:
"I'd like to see this displayed next to 75251 Darth Vader's castle."
Why display it next to it, just have Vader move in?