LEGO Elsa’s Sparkling Ice Castle

Elsa’s Sparkling Ice Castle (41062)

Lego

By David Dwight Graham

Do you want to build a snow maaaaaaansion?

Hop aboard the sleigh and join Anna and Olaf as they pay a visit to Queen Elsa’s beautiful ice palace for some frosty fun! What will they do first? Play hide and seek behind the secret staircase, or go skating around the castle? They could ski down the ice hill or prepare frozen treats in the castle’s ice cream bar and then get ready for a picnic in the snow under the magnificent icicle tree. It’s all up to you! First have fun building Elsa’s Sparkling Ice Castle. Then it’s time to play! Includes Queen Elsa and Princess Anna mini-doll figures, plus Olaf the snowman.

In late 2013, Disney surprised the world with their latest theatrical fairytale, Frozen.  It also seemed to surprise Disney themselves along with their licensors, as merchandise of the Arendelle crew was in short supply that first Christmas.  Knowing there were still kids (and parents, and single men and women) still craving ice themed product Disney (and said licensors) made sure shelves were well-stocked this last year (though I can personally attest it can still be difficult finding a regular Elsa doll).  In addition to restocks of sold-out favorites, new products appeared – including the no brainer of Frozen ice castle.

The set comes with two instruction booklets and is laid out into three vignettes – Olaf and a picnic, Anna and a sleigh, and the muti-leveled castle.  Starting with Olaf the snowman, the figure is mostly composed of regular elements.  Lego did wisely choose to make his head a new piece, as opposed to a build - though you do get to put in the carrot [but not the usual carrot element?).  Though the instructions leave his base mound flat, there are enough extra parts that you can give Olaf two round white studs for feet (though you do gain a bit of height, he’ll still be shorter that the girls).  Olaf’s picnic blanket is composed of a 4x4 red base with flat elements added for white pattern on top.  Studs are left at the corners to hold the figure or his food – a sandwich and a cookie.  Yum!

The next mini build is Anna along with a sleigh, though no “talking” reindeer are to be found here.  Maybe you’ll get a set of your own, Sven and Kristoff.  The build is mostly brown with pink accents.  The highlight of the sled is the curved rails on the back which are repurposed Indiana Jones whips in a cute touch.  What could be cuter is Anna’s face.  Oh alright, it’s cute enough, but her expression is missing a bit of the manic-ness that   The softgoods cape definitely helps sell the look though. The Lego Disney Princess line does feature the “mini dolls” body first introduced in the company’s Friends line.  In spite of being taller than the famous Lego minifigure there are some limitations, such as solid arms with no wrist swivel.  To complete the vignette is a nice little, hinged ice slide that Anna can sled or skate down.  Why is it hinged?  Why, to hide an additional cookie, of course!
was her trademark in the film.

Finally, we come to the Queen and her castle.  Elsa looks great as a “mini-doll” and even her own cape manages to get the look of the diaphanous drape she created on film.

  The castle is composed of three levels, and as you may remember from the official copy up top, contains a few features to actually scene in the movie.  Does Elsa really need a lever-activated ice cream machine?  Who cares!?  She’s got one now.  Chalk it up to the Friends influence, I suppose.  Of more practical use is the set of skis Elsa has…acquired?  Made?  Well, she was shown creating everything from a snow pile to a sparkly dress from ice – skis are certainly not out of the question.  The moving spiral staircase does seem to hew a bit closer to the movie’s castle, in any case.

Moving up a level, we find sleeping quarters inside, and a balcony that Elsa can sing to everyone to leave her alone from.  There is also a stand for a crown and a bottle of…something.  Maybe it’s a lamp?  Use your imagination.  On the third and final level is located a dais of somesort, which includes a fairytale book and a letter, presumably from Anna.  The castle is topped by a large purple(?) snowflake.  The main elements the form the castle are large transparent sparkly elements which give the set it’s name.  Though there may not quite be enough transparent pieces to sate some fans longing for a more screen accurate ice castle such as this one seen on Lego Ideas.  Obviously, Lego erred on the side of affordability, which is probably smart.

The set, scheduled for January, juuust made it into some stores before Christmas.  And for the regular price, isn’t too bad.  Now that the holidays are over Frozen fanatics shouldn’t be as tempted to fork over double to scalpers just to get it.  As said, the Frozen train keeps on rolling, including an animated short scheduled to air before the live action Cinderella this year.  So if you are a Frozen fanatic, or have one in your life, keep an eye open for this set.  Just don’t expect it to come with a Lego ice mountain.

Review: Princess Peach

Princess Peach

Banpresto

I thought I’d kick off the inaugural review by looking at a toy that appeals to both my daughter and me.  One of gaming’s most famous females, Princess Peach!

One day the kingdom of the peaceful mushroom people was invaded by the Koopa, a tribe of turtles famous for their black magic. The quiet, peace-loving Mushroom People were turned into mere stones, bricks and even field horse-hair plants, and the Mushroom Kingdom fell into ruin.

The only one who can undo the magic spell on the Mushroom People and return them to their normal selves is the Princess Toadstool, the daughter of the Mushroom King. Unfortunately, she is presently in the hands of the great Koopa turtle king.

Princess Peach first appeared in 1985’s Super Mario Bros, as a perpetually misplaced royal in distress.  However, by Super Mario Bros. 2 Peach (or as she was known then, Princess Toadstool) was made a fully playable member of the cast, and could more than hold her own in certain situations.  The princess has been portrayed in several different types media in the last couple decades, and in spite of being continually captured, has been shown to have a can-do attitude and a level head, even while those around her can be distracted by flights of fancy.  Except for that time she was an enthusiast of Milli Vanilli’s music, but we don’t talk about that.

Our Princess here (she’ll always be Toadstool to me) has a wonderful sculpt, with a cheerful, almost expectant expression on her cute face.  The figurine stands 3 ½” tall, which is just a bit too short to go with my old Toy Biz Mario Kart 64 Mario, as Peach is shown up to a head taller than her chosen champion.  You can however, fake it fairly well.  The word figurine from earlier should clue you in to how many moving parts there are – none.  However, it’s hard to be too mad about that - after all, she has no legs under her dress, and her head would be almost impossible to move even if it had a joint due to Peach’s large, cartoony hair.  Since Her Highness’ arms seem to plug into the main body I suppose they could have let them swivel up and down.  Although Princess Toadstool been seen doing more strenuous activities lately (racing, tennis, soccer, and bare-knuckle brawling), this version of Not-A-Queen will have to revert to form by standing around waiting.

What she lacks in movement, Princess Toadstool “Peach” makes up for with a nice paint job.  There is very little to no slop on ours, and her crown is even a nice golden color, to contrast with the yellow of her hair.  Her eyes are particularly well done, and even have six little eyelashes around them.

She-Who-Must-Be-In-Another-Castle comes equipped with a small display case, as do the other figures in this line.  It’s composed of a small, transparent cube, and a green baseplate with her name on the front.  I suppose if you’re really into displaying figures you might like it if you get all four characters (Mario, Luigi, Peach, and Bowser) – but I like to have my toys a bit more sociable than that.

Toys based on video games have really propagated in the last few years, that to companies like NECA, Jazwares, and McFarlane – just to name a few American companies.  With Nintendo’s Mario being one of the most well known characters in the world today, it’s somewhat surprising it’s taken this long to figures of some pivotal members of the rest of the cast.  In any case, Princess Peach Toadstool seems to be a hit here at Casa 2GT.  My daughter may not play video games yet, but she can recognize a princess when she sees one – and the plumber who tags along.

Mouseover!

Welcome to 2nd Generation Toys!  My name is David Graham, and I have loved playing with toys for over thirty years.

Why?

It's a question that comes to me now as I begin playing my own child's toys.  Why do we give, play with, display, modify, and even destroy toys?  For hundreds of thousands of years, boys and girls have played with sticks and dolls all over the world.  Sure, nowadays in western society there is a huge market geared towards selling toys with tie-ins to movies, television shows, games and more - but that's very much aimed at certain companies selling their toys.  Toys in general have done well without them.  No company ever ordered a three season cartoon show to sell a yoyo.

Tops yes, but not yoyos.

Getting back to my point, why do we feel drawn towards acting out with sticks and swords?  Why do we make up stories about our dolls and horses?  Why do we set up armies and use kung-fu grip?  Why do we cook food that can never be eaten in ovens that will never be hot?  What primal urge is sated when holding a miniature person in our hands and lording our total control over their circumstances, and even actions?

These are all part of the same question that I asked before, and I hope that you might join me as we seek insight into all these facets of inquiry.  Along the way, we'll look at toys current and past, both mine and my daughters, and what is it that she and I actually like about them.  What makes a good toy, how safe or dangerous really are they, and what makes them fun?

Thanks for coming along!