Review: 71006 The Simpsons House, part 2
Posted by Huw,
Continuing with our review of The Simpson House, today we'll be taking a look at part two of the build: the garage.
'Whoopie-do, a garage', I hear you say, big deal... Actually it is, with new parts, new colours and fantastic details that bode well for the rest of the building.
You will no doubt notice straight away that the garage doors are an 'odd' colour. It's certainly one I haven't come across yet. It's like the 'Prince of Persia' medium nougat colour, but not quite. It may well be a Friends flesh colour and I think it could be the same as that used on the Landspeeder in the Cantina set. I should have put a medium nougat part on top, not a tan one, when I photographed them. D'oh!
It seems that the tool-wheel sprue that's been around for years has been replaced with this selection of parts. They featured in some 2013 sets and also a couple of older sets that were manufactured in 2013, according to BrickLink.
Last but certainly not least in terms of new parts are these 2x2 corner tiles. It was only a matter of time until these were made, wasn't it? There is also four of them in this year's 41039 Sunshine Ranch Friends set.
The garage is built on a 16x16 and a 16x8 grey baseplate. There's a workbench and tool rack on one wall, both very well detailed. I'm not entirely convinced by the robot arms to hold the drill and oil can, but other than that it's perfect. The broom from the opening tile sequence is also included, along with many of the other major features which are visible, including the tools hanging on the wall and the paint cans on the shelves.
Here's the completed building. It's a straightforward, solid, build.
The door hinges at the top to reveal the workshop inside, and of course to drive the car in.
The roof is in two sections that just rest on the walls. Note there are plenty of 1x2 cheese slopes in tan which I don't think are very common yet. Note also the 1x2x3 brown window frames that are mounted horizontally.
Here's the underside of the roof. The inverted domes are used to hold the panels in place: they sit in the corners of the garage and prevent the roof from slipping.
Finally, at the side there's a mound. This is occasionally seen in the show, although this is inconsistent from one episode to another as are many things in the Simpsons (be honest, how many of you knew that the house actually includes a rumpus room in the show?)
We haven't started on the house proper yet but already we have new parts, new coloured parts and great details. It's not such a boring garage after all, is it...
Bags #3 build the ground floor of front of the house and we'll try and get that reviewed tomorrow.
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21 comments on this article
I knew there was a rumpus room. In fact, I know EVERY room:)
Entranceway
Living room
TV room
Kitchen
Dining room
Bart's room
Lisa's Room
Homer and Marge's room
Maggie's room
Bathroom
Homer and Marge's private bathroom
Rumpus room.
And the hallway, if you consider that a room.
The tools look very detailed, and is that toolbox like the Lego briefcases? As for The Lego Movie stets, are we going to see the last two after the Simpsons house review?
^ "Well, there's a rec room off the kitchen. But sometimes it's there and sometimes it isn't. Our house is very odd that way" as said by Marge :P
"The 'garage'? Hey fellas, the 'garage!' Well, ooh la di da, Mr. French Man."
"Well, what do you call it?"
"A car hole."
You missed out the basement...D'oh!!
The garage door pieces are just regular Nougat — the same classic "flesh" color that was used for the NBA minifigures in 2002. It might not be a perfect match in this set (don't know for sure) but officially it's SUPPOSED to be the same color. It's a beautiful color and is not used nearly as often as it should be for things other than skin tones, so this set's Nougat plates and doors are most welcome.
No mention of the way the tool bench and cabinets in the garage are attached to tiled surfaces by just a couple studs each? I was looking at this set today and that was one of the most distinctive features of the set in my opinion. Pretty much every piece of furniture in the house except the cabinets and appliances in the kitchen are done like that. Very nice design decision in my opinion, as it makes removing the furniture to redecorate or to use the furniture in other scenes very easy.
Good review. I look forward to the reviews of the other sections of the house!
^Friends has been doing this with many furnishings since the beginning. It is most successful in the Heartlake Pet Salon (41007) which can quickly be converted from a pet salon to a pet store by flipping out the furnishing like you mentioned.
I'm still not feeling the love for this set. The garage is pretty boring; it looks like a third build from a Creator set. It's all right, but I'm not seeing what's so special.
I doubt I'll change my mind, but I'm looking forward to the rest to this build to see if something can change my mind.
Another excellent part of the review! The garage will connect to the side of the house via axle pins, connecting doorways, correct?
Kinda disappointed in the garage. I realize there are limitations and making it wide enough for two cars probably wasnt in the budget. However my biggest gripe is the door. It's supposed to be at the back of the garage not the side.
You know, I wouldn't be surprised if we see someone take this set, or maybe two of them, and make a more scale accurate version of the house
@Plell: Which episode was that? I think I just saw it.
@Cult_Of_Skaro: It's the one where Marge is a cop.
Over all I'm impressed with what I've seen of this set so far. It's too bad they didn't do a floor board gag, but you do everything.
@Lordmoral
The toolbox is just a molded solid 1x3 brick, same as the one in 8827-15: The Mechanic CMF. Non-opening
I have to say I was totally uninterested in this theme and a little disappointed by the first unofficial images that started to appear, but subsequent pictures and these reviews have made me think twice. Nice looking and interesting set for anyone, kid or afol. May need to revise my budget for this year ...
For aestetics (probably misspelled that...), they should have made the top of the roof (the parting line between the roof halves) symmetrical. Looks a bit odd now, both in front and 3D view.
I agree with toplessjeep - the house looks wrong without a double garage. TLC have done it on purpose to trigger my OCD and make me buy 2 sets to add a bigger garage!
I must say I'm not a Simpson's fan and most of the time be zapping on TV to another channel.
But with the first pictures of the set and the LEGO Designer video, it was clear for me that I had to have it.
Last Friday I ordered it and received it yesterday at 11 am (I was working from home).
A short mail to my colleagues to explain that I will not be able to wait and have to start building, that in urgent case I will only answer on phone.
It took me 6.5 hours to build. I enjoyed every details, the nice colours.
It is maybe the set with the biggest number of different colours.
It is a rainbow of colours.
But I will not share to much details here, only making it a little bit appealing for you who are waiting for the next parts of this review.
@Huw, Many thanks to you
I definitely think a perfect scale replica of the Simpsons House would start to get a bit ridiculous in size and feel more like a mansion than a typical suburban home. This is already by far the most "livable" LEGO house to date, with enough bedrooms for every resident, a bathroom, a kitchen, and a living room. All in all, definitely worth its price when compared to similar dollhouse-type sets from LEGO Friends and other themes.
Could it be made larger and more accurate? Sure, for another $50–$100. But is that really necessary? I don't think so. I feel like that would just limit the set's appeal further by pushing it outside the realm of what many people would be willing to pay. Even in the franchises I actually like, I rarely expect 100% accuracy from a LEGO set because most LEGO sets are inherently an abstraction of reality, not exact replicas. Better for a model to be condensed slightly and optimized for play and building than to be painstakingly exact, and thus outside the means of most buyers.
Complaints about the accuracy of the set are amusing, since, as the quote by Marge that legomaniac posted in the third comment shows, the house itself is "flexible" in the show, depending on the needs of a particular episode. Showrunners for The Simpsons have said the same about where different landmarks in Springfield are in relation to each other - it all depends on what is needed at the time.
Thanks very much for this review so far, pictures are so clear, and you've already provided new information - I would never have noticed the garage wasn't Medium Nougat. But I don't think the colour's new; isn't it the colour that was used for many villains' skin in the 2009 Indiana Jones sets?
The garage is great for what it is, but looking forward to the more interesting parts of the house!
Looking good! Love the detail.
And @Plell - it's a "car hold" not "hole" ;)