Set # 41053 Cinderella’s Dream Carriage: This is a brilliant looking set that really stands out as one of the penultimate must have sets from the first batch of Disney Princess sets. It’s an iconic looking vehicle that any fan of the movie would want to see. Unfortunately there are a few issues I have with this set, and we’ll get to those eventually, first though let’s discuss the set in all its glory.

Box/Instructions

Box: The box design is fairly impressive. The best part about the larger box designs is that they include images of each Disney Princess in one corner. The artwork choices are really impressive and look like new pieces of art based on each set, because Cinderella is wearing the dress with the sparkling design that her mini-doll is wearing and it is just breathtaking.

Instructions: The instructions are separated by each numbered bag and the steps aren’t too difficult or repetitive. They include the cross-promotional images and set checklist in the back like LEGO friends has. All-in-all these instructions are pretty impressive looking.

Parts

I love the parts selection in this, the wheels and printed pieces add another great dimension to the set. Also the heart shaped jewel is included four times in this set, if you’re a fan of unique LEGO jewels of course. Orange Minifigure heads with no printing are also included, not sure what you could use them for, but they might be fun. You’ll also find two green magic wands in the set. Some nice dark purple pieces and tons of light blue.

Minidolls

Cinderella: She’s a beautiful looking mini-doll with magical sparkles printed on her dress and dress is a new lower torso piece. The shade of the lower torso doesn’t quite match the colour used for the torso print. It’s close, but the blue of the upper body is slightly darker than the lower body. This is unfortunate, however it could be intentional. I love the new hair piece for Cinderella, with the sculpted headband and the bun, I hope LEGO will use it more often.

She doesn’t come with official accessories, there is a printed tile letter, and a magical wand, but they are more just included for the sake of giving Cinderella something to hold. Honestly I can’t understand why LEGO didn’t give us the Fairy Godmother in this set, she’s important to this scene and including a magic wand without a Fairy Godmother just doesn’t work the same. Cinderella only uses the wand in the direct-to-DVD sequel. So her absence here is definitely unfortunate. Especially considering the Ariel set includes two mini-dolls and is pretty much the same price.

The build

It’s broken up into three numbered bags for this build.

Bag 1: The fountain, bench and mini-doll are a part of this build, which is fast and easy to follow along with. The fountain is a sheer delight to build while the bench includes some interesting orange Minifigure heads for pumpkins. I do wish they had some pumpkin printing on them though.

Bag 2: Here you build the lower section of the carriage, and this too is easy to follow without any tricky or frustrating steps. The build is fairly large also, which might be a bit off when it comes to scaling nicely next to the mini-doll. Still it’s a great build.

Bag 3: With this final bag you finish off the carriage. The large section has printed pieces, a gold decoration on top and some torches on either side of the driver’s section. This build could have used a bit more to it, there’s no seat for a hypothetical driver, at least not at the height most coachmen would sit to steer their carriages. The footman doesn’t have anywhere to go either, though since none of them are included that makes sense.

The completed model

There’s everything to say about this finished model, but honestly the only word to describe it is gorgeous. This is Cinderella’s Dream Carriage, the carriage transformed from a pumpkin by Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother. And the best part, the sloped pieces with the printed detailing are actually printed, not stickered, so you don’t have to worry about affixing the stickers to awkward pieces.

The wheels on this carriage are really nicely detailed as well, matching the swirly look of the vines of the pumpkin transformed by magic. The carriage is just astonishingly crafted and I love how it captures the look and feel of the one from the movie quite nicely. If I had any complaints really about it, it would have to be the distinct lack of a driver and only one horse to pull it. Is it Jaque? Gus? Or one of the other mice turned horse?

The small fountain build and the bench to sit on are nice additional models for this set as well. With the four heart shaped jewels surrounding it the fountain looks absolutely adorable and the bench has a nice looking pumpkin and a mushroom next to it adding to the fun design of the set. I am not entirely certain why they included a broom next to the bench, seeing as how Cinderella didn’t have one in this scene of the movie, but I guess it’s to add more play value.

Overall opinion

It’s a very good set, with a lot of fun design choices. Unfortunately it’s missing something, the Fairy Godmother should have been included in this set. I would have gladly paid a bit more to at least have the second most important character to the scene depicted in this set. I still say it’s a must own set though and recommend it, preferably if you can find it on sale, however LEGO Mini-Doll sets rarely get put on sale even during the holidays. I also kind of wish they’d included a different body for Cinderella in her more traditional outfit, so you could have more play features such as pretending to transform her between her two dresses.