I recently picked up a copy of 41066 Anna & Kristoff’s Sleigh Adventure. This new entry into the Disney Princess theme costs $29.99 for 174 pieces. The set features Anna, Kristoff, and Sven the reindeer.
This is the second Frozen set to feature Anna in her mountain-cold gear, and the only set currently with Kristoff and Sven. I have a conflicted relationship with this set. The parts-cost ratio is off (17 cents per part, well above the 10 cent average). My initial reaction was that the magenta on the sleigh was out of place and jarring. That said, the set grew on me as I built it. Also, I’m a big fan of Sven. The box comes with parts divided into two numbered bags. The first bag includes Oaken’s Trading Post and the hay bale/tree, along with Anna. Bag two includes the sleigh and Kristoff. The sled rails, in Dark Blue for the first time, are free-floating in the box along with Sven in his bag.
Oaken’s Trading Post is a fairly simple facade with the register and box of Medium Azure skis (great color for skis!). I do like the approach for carrots. This set doesn’t use the traditional pre-molded carrot but rather uses uni-kitty’s horn in orange with 1×1 with flower edge in green. I like the effect. The orange uni-kitty horn previously came in Elsa’s Sparkling Ice Castle as Olaf’s carrot nose.
The little hay bale/tree seems somewhat out of place, but does provide Sven something to eat, which is important for this particular reindeer.
When it comes to building the sleigh, it’s an overall good design. It’s sturdy and well scaled for the two mini-dolls and Sven. It’s most definitely not screen accurate by any stretch of the imagination, but based on a quick image search, might come closer than the other Frozen toys currently on the market. I don’t like the bright magenta on the sleigh. It feels out of place. The color is used as a highlight on the Trading Post and features prominently on Anna, but just feels too much on the sleigh.
Let’s talk about Anna, Kristoff, and Sven. Anna’s printing on her dress and torso are spot on, and I really like the cape. Her hair-piece feels out of place with the rest of the doll. The hair-piece’s printing is off and not as precise as the rest. Kristoff, to me, doesn’t look like his character, and that’s by no fault of the set. The character is a big, burly, blond ice cutter. That doesn’t translate well to the mini-doll style. He does have a new pants-mold with back pockets.
I really like Sven. His whole personality is captured well. The molding is the usual hard plastic, with soft plastic for his antlers. I would have liked LEGO to include a 2×2 modified brick with a curved top or something to put into his back, like the horses come with the 1×2 brick and the plate to fill their back. The set only provides you the parts to make his blanket.
This set is well worth a buy. The parts selection is decent and this is the best way to get yourself Kristoff. But really, you should purchase this set for Sven.
I think the Kristoff minifigure is generally a decent likeness of the character. They did use the “man” torso style instead of the “boy” torso style, which works in his favor. However, I feel like his hair might have been more accurate in Brick Yellow than Cool Yellow. His legs aren’t really new, are they? They seem like http://brickset.com/parts/design-16985, which first came out in 2012 when LEGO Friends debuted, and has been in eleven sets in three different color combinations. I’m also not seeing the issue with the Anna mini-doll’s hair/headgear, but maybe it’s easier to see in person.
I definitely like this set’s carrots a lot better than the old Belville carrot. It’s more reasonably scaled to minifigures and mini-dolls. The Belville carrot has its uses, but as a minifigure-scale carrot, the unicorn horn piece is far superior.
The thing that bothers me most about this set is that the cash register with digital readout seems far too modern for Frozen. Obviously, the Disney Princess sets aren’t entirely movie-accurate — the ice-cream stand in Elsa’s ice palace wasn’t present in the movie, but rather felt like the sort of humorous easter egg you’d find in the LEGO video games. But this cash register doesn’t have quite the same humor value. I’d have preferred a more period-appropriate till, even if it had to be stickered rather than printed.
Also, I’ve gotta say, this set looks like it’d be a lot nicer with the stickers applied. With even the “Oaken’s Trading Post” sign absent it feels a little bit plain!
Overall, I think the “Frozen” sets are probably the best part of the Disney Princess range.