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2018 LEGO Friends go-kart sets overview

Most of the LEGO Friends go-kart sets became available at the beginning of the month, so I thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the whole collection. It’s always exciting when a new sub-theme of LEGO Friends gets released with unique locations, accessories, and mini-dolls that are outside of what the regular Heartlake City sets offer. This time, the girls participate in go-kart racing, spread out in five LEGO Friends sets. 🙂

The smallest of the LEGO Friends go-kart racing sets is the #41348 LEGO Friends Service & Care Truck. It includes one go-kart, a go-kart launcher (included in all of the sets), a speed bump, and a cute stubby-nosed tow truck that can transport the go-cart. The truck features a lowering ramp to easily maneuver the go-kart onto the truck’s bed. Characters include Olivia in a cool racing outfit with a new style crash helmet with moulded-in hair (yes, it fits regular minifigs), her robot Zobo, and Rumble the hamster. While this is a solid standalone set, it is also a great addition to some of the larger sets in the series, like the car wash and the tuning shop. 247 pieces. Price: $19.99 – BUY HERE

The #41349 LEGO Friends Drifting Diner features an old-style diner with a burger grill, a takeout window, stylized car-shaped table with bench, and a giant burger icon on the roof. Separately, there is also a drive-in movie theatre, which can double as a phone/tablet holder, so you can play real movies for your mini-dolls. I really like the colors and shaping of the diner, although it could definitely be expanded for a more complete building. Like in all of the sets, you get a go-kart, a go-kart launcher, and one of the girls (this time Andrea) in racing outfit with the new style crash helmet. The other mini-doll’s name is Dottie with a fancy new hairpiece, and we also get the bird Pepper. The diner measures over 4” (11cm) high, 4” (12cm) wide and 4” (12cm) deep. The drive-in movie theater measures over 3” (10cm) high, 3” (9cm) wide and 2” (6cm) deep. 345 pieces. Price: $29.99 – BUY HERE

The #41350 LEGO Friends Spinning Brushes Car Wash is not yet released in the U.S., but I believe it’s available in other countries already. It features a car wash where the friends from Heartlake City clean up their go-karts before the big race. You can drive the go-kart slowly through the car wash and turn the red knob to make the brush spin. There is also a gas pump and a small convenience shop with coffee machine, and a go-kart launcher. From all the go-karts in the series, this is my favorite. I really like the colors and that it has a solar panel attached at the back. Mia wears a sporty racing outfit and crash helmet, and she has her bunny Twister with her. The other mini-doll, Zack, works at the car wash. I think this is a nice set overall, and could be used as a general car wash in Heartlake City. Car wash measures over 3” (10cm) high, 10” (27cm) wide and 7” (20cm) deep. 325 pieces. Price: $29.99 – BUY HERE

The #41351 LEGO Friends Creative Tuning Shop features a showroom with sliding door function and revolving floor, lifting workshop platform, opening tool drawers and an upstairs office. The set also comes with two go-karts plus lots of extra pieces to create and customize them in all sorts of ways. This is a good set for learning how to customize the go-karts, but I feel the showroom is mostly dead space with not much going on. I would get any of the previoucs sets before this one, but you may have a different opinion. The two mini-dolls are Emma and Dean, and Chico the cat is also included. Tuning shop measures over 6” (16cm) high, 9” (25cm) wide and 2” (6cm) deep. 413 pieces. Price: $39.99 – BUY HERE

The largest of the LEGO Friends go-kart sets is the #41352 LEGO Friends The Big Race Day. It is the set that all the others are leading up to; featuring the big race day! The main race building features a downstairs changing room with lockers and a restroom, while upstairs there’s a winner’s podium and VIP lounge for all the Heartlake City pets to watch the race (included are Vega the cat, Dash the dog and Twister the rabbit). There’s a start line and a separate finish line with light and loudspeakers. The three mini-dolls are Stephanie, Mia, and Vicky in racing outfits with crash helmets, each driving their own go-karts (go-kart launcher is included for all three). The finish line using the new roller coaster track pieces is a nice touch. I also like that the audience consists of all the girls’ pets. Kids love to line up their stuffed animals to make up the audience of various action scenes! The race building measures over 9” (25cm) high, 4” (12cm) wide and 3” (9cm) deep. 648 pieces. Price: $59.99 – BUY HERE

So you can see the sets and their features better, I have included a few video-reviews and product animation in the player below.

This is a great assortment of LEGO Friends sets with a unique theme. I like the idea of go-kart racing, as it allows the introduction of a bunch of easily customizable colorful little cars in moderately priced sets. I also really like the outfits of the mini-dolls, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see LEGO fans using them in other settings. It’s a little unusual that there is no inexpensive introductory set to the theme, but the sets are fairly priced and none of them are too big or expensive. You can get just one of the sets, or mix and match them as you please. This is a well thought out and designed sub-theme of LEGO Friends with a fun subject that can be interesting to both boys and girls. You can find the sets at the LEGO Friends section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Friends go-kart sets? Are you interested in this collection? Have you gotten any of the sets already? Which one is your favorite? Feel free to share your thoughts and own reviews in the comment section below! 😉

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LEGO Ideas Voltron set announcement

Back in August 2017, LEGO announced that a forthcoming LEGO Ideas set will be based upon the super robot from the classic Voltron: Defender of the Universe television series. The model was originally designed and submitted to the LEGO Ideas platform by Leandro Tayag (a.k.a len_d69), a software architect from the Philippines (you can learn more about Leandro in this interview at the LEGO Ideas blog). The project was very popular on LEGO Ideas and it received 10k votes in just three weeks! Now, after many months of working on the final design of the model, LEGO finally revealed the official #21311 LEGO Ideas Voltron set, which will be released later this year. See details below. 🙂

Here is the official description of the set: Let’s go Voltron force in LEGO style! It’s time to defend the universe so get ready to form the #21311 LEGO Ideas Voltron, the biggest buildable LEGO mech ever! Activate interlocks! Dynotherms connected! Infracells up! Megathrusters are go! This awesome set features buildable and highly posable black, blue, yellow, red, and green lions with specially designed, extra-strong joints to combine them all and create the Voltron super robot, plus a huge sword and shield that attach firmly to Voltron’s hands. Form feet and legs with the blue and yellow lions. Form arms with the red and green lions. And form torso and head with the mighty black lion. Then grab the super robot’s huge sword and shield and form Voltron to defend the universe! Ideal for display or to recreate thrilling action from the original 1980s animated Voltron TV series and the modern DreamWorks Voltron: Legendary Defender series.

  • Features 5 buildable and posable lions that can be transformed and combined to create the giant Voltron super robot.
  • Play with the lions individually or combine them using extra-strong joints to form Voltron. The black lion forms the head and torso, the red and green lions form the arms, and the yellow and blue lions form the legs.
  • Pose the head, shoulders, arms and wrists of Voltron (legs are not posable).
  • Also includes a sword and shield (each with silver-colored elements) that attach firmly to Voltron’s hands.
  • Includes a booklet with building instructions, plus information about the set’s fan creator and super force of LEGO designers.
  • Display or play out exciting stories from the original 1980s animated Voltron TV series and the modern DreamWorks Voltron: Legendary Defender series.
  • Voltron measures over 15” (40cm) high, 5” (14cm) long and 8” (21cm) wide.
  • Black lion measures over 6” (17cm) high, 8” (22cm) long and 5” (15cm) wide.
  • Yellow and blue lions each measure over 3” (8cm) high, 8” (21cm) long and 3” (8cm) wide.
  • Green and red lions each measure over 3” (8cm) high, 7” (18cm) long and 1” (5cm) wide.
  • Voltron’s sword measures 11” (29cm) long.
  • Voltron’s shield measures 6” (16cm) in diameter.
  • 2,321 pieces.
  • Recommended for ages 16+.

The #21311 LEGO Ideas Voltron set will be available on August 1st, 2018, with early access to LEGO VIP members on July 23rd. Prices are as follows: Germany 179.99 EUR, Denmark 1499 DKK, UK 159.99 GBP, Australia 289.99 AUD, Hong Kong 1599 HKD, US 179.99 USD , Canada 229.99 CAD. Euro prices vary by country. For more details, please visit the LEGO Ideas section of the Online LEGO Shop.

After so much waiting for this set, it’s great to see the finished model. It’s interesting to compare the final design to the original submission to spot the similarities and differences. Below, I have included a couple of pictures for comparison, and you can see more images of the original submission at this LEGO Ideas page.

Whether you are into Voltron or not, this looks like an awesome mech with lots of options for customization. I’m really happy to see the number of excellent mechs LEGO has been releasing in recent years, and looks like Voltron is another worthy addition to the lineup. While we are waiting for the release of the #21311 LEGO Ideas Voltron set, you might also want to take a look at the other fan-submitted LEGO sets at the LEGO Ideas section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Ideas Voltron set? Are you looking forward to it? How do you think it compares to the original submission? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below! 😉

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