Elves 2017

Shib

Just seen the official images uploaded onto the main site, they look a lot better than the preliminary images. I was hoping to not want too many from this wave but once again find myself wanting them all.

Is it just me or do the 'Goblins' look like Trolls? (As in the toys not the fairytale creatures)

LostInTranslation

I want them all too! And I can definitely see the Troll resemblance. 

I like the Sophie Jones and goblin village sets the best. I'm imagining how cool it would be to buy several sets and make a bigger enchanted village :-)

Shib

I really didn't like the airship from the prelims (wasn't fond to of the Ninjago one threat used the balloon parts and looked too similar) but from those images it looks really good. Also I absolutely need the Lavendar coloured boomerang parts for reasons that I do not understand :-P

Bumblepants

I think the goblins look much better than the prelims but I doubt they will be esteemed as highly as the baby dragons are by my girls. It struck me that the evil goblin king dragon set is 100% baddies which is quite rare, even in regular lines. The Airship is fantastic and will pair well with Naida's ship.

Fauch

you mean these troll toys? https://www.etsy.com/fr/listing/246860145/russ-troll-jouet-poupee-bleu-cobalt

interesting wave, but even the airship looks goblin-sized :/
on the "maybe" list.

MeganL

I love the look of these sets.  I'm going to get all of them!  It never fails to amaze me how LEGO manages to make "evil" still look cute.

tallblocktoo

I really like the two largest sets of this wave.  However as I have so far collected all sets from this theme I will likely continue to do so.  Will see when the time comes.  I have always wanted an airship so I guess I will finally be getting one.  If I am correct its missing at least one piece though in order to make it a balloon.  It to bad they didn't toss in an extra so you could create a balloon ride as well.

Aanchir

Lekmer.fi has lots of new high-resolution LEGO Elves pics. Observations:

• The back-of-box pics for #41181 and #41182 has more character art similar to the back of this year's boxes, with Emily and the elves facing off against the Goblin King and his subjects.
  
• The shop in 41182 has a little bed and a framed picture of Mr. and Ms. Spry.
• The wing flapping function of #41184 has a REALLY impressive range of movement.Can basically go from perfectly horizontal to perfectly vertical.
• The jeweler's shop and workshop in #41185 each include a tiny bed, and the jeweler's shop also includes a tiny toilet. There's a function to hide the stairs to the second floor balcony of the jeweler's shop.
• I can't stop laughing at this pic. XD

blogzilly

I'm going to explore this line and a few others I haven't. I realized after studying a few MOCs that I am missing out on a ton of elements by not expanding my horizons.

Aanchir

blogzilly said:

I'm going to explore this line and a few others I haven't. I realized after studying a few MOCs that I am missing out on a ton of elements by not expanding my horizons.

While Elves has a lot of great elements designed specifically with it in mind, I'm often just as impressed with how well it uses existing elements. Last year's dragons are a good example: the only new parts designed specifically for them were the heads and some of the wings, while the rest were either existing elements or recolors.

I myself had tried to make a full-grown Elvendale dragon on LEGO Digital Designer prior to those sets being revealed, but struggled to create anything even approaching the lifelike curves of LEGO Friends and Elves people and animals, so needless to say I was very impressed with how well the LEGO Group's designers did at that task. When I look at the baby and adult dragons from LEGO Elves, I can totally believe that they're different life stages of the same species.

Naida's Epic Adventure Ship and Aira's Airship also make great use of existing elements to create their distinctive curves, even while introducing new gold filigree pieces to decorate their railings. And the Elves theme is great when it comes to brick-built landscaping and architectural features.

Dedgecko

Airship and the Goblin King's Dragon will be must purchases for me---I mean, my girls!  I'm just not down with that dude's castle.  I think he'll need to find a bench to sleep on in Ragana's castle.

Dedgecko

My kids finally watched some of the 2017 videos... Who signed off on claw hands!?  TLM, TLBM movie and the Ninjago movie sure...  But the 2016 Elves videos were sans claw hands.  Do the new Friends videos have claw hands as well!?  It looks freakishly odd.  Both my kids were "Dad, what's wrong with their hands??" O_o  They were struggling to understand the change from the previous iterations of animated shorts.

SeanTheCollector

Just ordered my first Elves set! It's only #30259 "Azari's Magic Fire" polybag from eBay but I've being trying to resist these sets in recent weeks after seeing some of the new Goblins sets. I'm not a fan of the Goblins themselves, but the color scheme and the builds for this year's sets look very interesting. It has got me thinking whether to pick up some of the older sets before they retire.

I've also noticed that Elves theme doesn't seem to be quite so actively traded on eBay with some sets listed at higher than expected prices? I don't collect for selling purposes but i do somethimes sell stuff that I've changed my mind about. I'm wondering if Elves is a safe diversion for my Lego buying impulses! :)

pharmjod

The right sets, sure. I've done well with the quickly retired Dragon sets.

Aanchir

Dedgecko said:

My kids finally watched some of the 2017 videos... Who signed off on claw hands!?  TLM, TLBM movie and the Ninjago movie sure...  But the 2016 Elves videos were sans claw hands.  Do the new Friends videos have claw hands as well!?  It looks freakishly odd.  Both my kids were "Dad, what's wrong with their hands??" O_o  They were struggling to understand the change from the previous iterations of animated shorts.

I think they probably just saw the move to Netflix as a good opportunity to change up the style. One frequent criticism I've seen of the LEGO Elves specials and webisodes (from both dyed-in-the-wool LEGO fans and parents watching with their kids) is that nothing in them is obviously LEGO, so perhaps the animators were hoping the new style might allay some of those concerns.

I don't mind the new style (it's actually kinda cute IMO), but I have heard from other people who are not so fond of the change.

On that note, I wonder when we might hear more about the Netflix series?

Dedgecko

I hadn't heard Elves were coming to Netflix.  Hopefully they get a better run than Bionicle.

Dedgecko

pharmjod said:

The right sets, sure. I've done well with the quickly retired Dragon sets.

Dragon Sanctuary is double to triple MSRP on eBay now.  QQ

natro220

Dedgecko said:

pharmjod said:

The right sets, sure. I've done well with the quickly retired Dragon sets.

Dragon Sanctuary is double to triple MSRP on eBay now.  QQ

That's because it was in stores for just a few months.  I never even saw it. I'd like to know how they decide the life span of some sets and why...

Ronyar

That is crazy.  My sister picked up one for my kids at Kroger's for 1/2 off.   Have to rethink giving it to them now.  (Kind of kidding...)

Lyichir

Dedgecko said:

I hadn't heard Elves were coming to Netflix.  Hopefully they get a better run than Bionicle.

At the very least (based on what little concrete information we've gotten on the series) it will be getting a longer run than Bionicle—there are apparently eight full-length Elves episodes due on Netflix his year, twice as many as Bionicle got last year (and for that matter, twice as many as Elves has gotten in the two years prior to the move to Netflix combined).

Dedgecko

As a cord cutter and Netflix subscriber, that is music to my ears.

SeanTheCollector

Some people go away for Easter and do fun things! I'm a determined Lego collector so...
I spent my Easter break driving all around Birmingam (4 Toys R Us, 3 Smyths Toys), Milton Keynes (Lego, Toys R Us, Smyths Toys) and Northampton (2 Toys R Us, mega Tesco) looking for retired Elves sets! Obviously I spent some time on the internet searching for any shops or online stores which might stock old Elves sets at RRP or below.

I picked up the new sets in Milton Keynes Lego store using triple VIP and Calendar vouchers. I only bought my first set on the Wednesday before Easter. However, by the end of Easter Monday, I had completed my collection!! Of course, I had to resort to eBay for some sets (and the Elves Magazines which I had previously avoided), Amazon for some items and BrickLink for #41178 The Dragon Sanctuary and the #41074 Azari and the Magical Bakery.

I'm still waiting for #41178 The Dragon Sanctuary, #41076 Farren and the Crystal Hollow, and Elves magazine #4 to arrive. I've also picked up a few duplicate sets, e.g. Smyths Toys is currently selling #41078 Skyra's Mysterious Sky Castle for £40 (47% discount) so I couldn't resist picking up a second one!

You can see the collection below carefully organised by waves! The cost to date has just tipped over £1000 which I could have spent on a nice weekend away but where's the fun in that! And yes, I've only built 2 sets so far!

BillyBricks84

^

HugeYellowBrick

I don't see LEGO® Elves Me and My Dragon Display on the shelves - but thanks for the tip on Smyths.

Galactus

SeanTheCollector said:

Some people go away for Easter and do fun things! I'm a determined Lego collector so...
I spent my Easter break driving all around Birmingam (4 Toys R Us, 3 Smyths Toys), Milton Keynes (Lego, Toys R Us, Smyths Toys) and Northampton (2 Toys R Us, mega Tesco) looking for retired Elves sets!
[...]
The cost to date has just tipped over £1000 which I could have spent on a nice weekend away but where's the fun in that!

That last six words made me laugh so hard!

SeanTheCollector

I thought I would post an update on my Elves collection which is now more than complete since I now have a considerable number of duplicate sets as well. My policy being, one to build, one to keep sealed! :)



I'm in the process of building all the dragons. I'm hoping I can avoid using any of the stickers since I hate applying stickers! The dragons look great without stickers. Although I'm not sure the buildings will be ok without any stickers.

The most expensive set by far to buy is #41178 The Dragon Santuary which I had to pay £85 for from a european BrickLink seller. I ended up buying a second set from a different BrickLink seller (based in Germany) for £86 since first set's box was not in great condition. However, you will be lucky to pick this set up for £100 on eBay. It's a great set with a nice dragon. I'm looking forward to building it.

Aanchir

Netflix trailers! Some stuff I've read says that the animation is by Studio Mir (the same studio that animated The Legend of Korra and Voltron: Legendary Defender). Unconventional for LEGO to turn to a non-Danish studio but it definitely seems to pay off! It's not what I expected but it still gets me even more hyped for the series premiere next week!

https://youtu.be/Ca83_2sg76M

https://youtu.be/7TXRjeRD0RY

Bananas

Wow! After the webisodes I wasn't expecting the Netflix series to look like that. What gorgeous animation.

Penkid11

I have to say that I've always been very disappointed on how Elves' story had been portrayed up until now. The initial animations style was okay, but it felt a little... slow. And then the minidoll anatomies just seemed out of place, after all the characters had been portrayed as human proportioned until that point.

This changes everything. I've been a huge fan of Studio MIR (nearly everything they touch comes out beautiful) for quite some time. The fact that Lego made this push to outsource the animation, well, I can tell you that, at least from my perspective it's paid off in droves. This has been the best that Elves has ever looked (outside of the sets, of course) and I hope that this breathes new life into the series, to the point that it is allowed to continue beyond the three year span (which I've felt pretty confident that it will for awhile, but something to cement that in is always good).

HugeYellowBrick

Is there a novelisation of this story?

Lyichir

HugeYellowBrick said:

Is there a novelisation of this story?

The first two years' main story were released as two chapter books (though the second book has a number of spots where it diverges from the specific sequence of events from the TV specials). There weren't any new chapter books this year.

SeanTheCollector

The animation quality does look good. I thought they were changing the animation style for new Elves episodes to use minifig hands? I much prefer real hands. Obviously, someone realised that was a bad move! Not that I'm the target market for Elves anyway! :)

Still haven't spotted any news or rumours regarding Elves sets for 2018? First wave sets normally come out in March so maybe we need to wait a while. Also haven't seen any details of #41189 which is tagged as a Retail limited Elves set for 2017?

Lyichir

SeanTheCollector said:

The animation quality does look good. I thought they were changing the animation style for new Elves episodes to use minifig hands? I much prefer real hands. Obviously, someone realised that was a bad move! Not that I'm the target market for Elves anyway! :)

Still haven't spotted any news or rumours regarding Elves sets for 2018? First wave sets normally come out in March so maybe we need to wait a while. Also haven't seen any details of #41189 which is tagged as a Retail limited Elves set for 2017?

Considering this series has likely been in the works since even before this year's webisodes debuted, I'm skeptical that fan feedback played any role. If anything the difference in the two styles might have been a deliberate choice to make the webisodes seem more like their own thing instead of just a substandard version of the more expensive animation in the series.

lentil

I'm pretty impressed with those trailers! The animation looks very anime/Japanese inspired. that creepy black shadow monster thing is particularly awesome! Wish they had him as a minidoll (or bigfig?).

Aanchir

lentil said:

I'm pretty impressed with those trailers! The animation looks very anime/Japanese inspired. that creepy black shadow monster thing is particularly awesome! Wish they had him as a minidoll (or bigfig?).

It appears in bird form in the Goblin King's fortress! Granted, that's far from its most impressive form, but that seems to be the form it reverts to most often in the webisodes. It probably wouldn't be too difficult to brick-build some of its larger forms.

russianstackingdolls

Why is 41178 so expensive?  I know it's now discontinued, but even LEGO store employees don't recall seeing it in stores.  Where was it sold?

Ronyar

I found my copy in a Kroger's.  Not sure where else it was...

SeanTheCollector

russianstackingdolls said:

Why is 41178 so expensive?  I know it's now discontinued, but even LEGO store employees don't recall seeing it in stores.  Where was it sold?

It was retired early after just 6 months. I ended up having to buy the set on BrickLink from a German seller. It was definitely way cheaper to buy on BrickLink than from any UK sellers on eBay. It's still listed as available for £34.99 but out of stock in John Lewis:

• https://www.johnlewis.com/lego-elves-41178-the-dragon-sanctuary/p2895860

Which is weird since I haven't seen it in stock at all this year! :)

77ncaachamps

The people who did Korra did it? NICE!!!

MoneyHypeMike

What do people think of the Netflix series?

Aanchir

MoneyHypeMike said:

What do people think of the Netflix series?

I enjoyed it a lot! The art is gorgeous, the characters are compelling, and the story has some neat twists and turns.

There were definitely some parts I didn't like so much, namely Naida and Azari's attitude towards Cronan in the beginning, which made it hard to take Naida's attitude towards him and Rosalyn later on harder to take seriously. There's also a story-related moment when the (instrumental) main theme music is used where it feels like the lullaby version of "If You Dare to Believe" was meant to be used instead and couldn't be for some reason. But overall it was amazingly fun to watch and I hope it gets a second season next year!

Lyichir

MoneyHypeMike said:

What do people think of the Netflix series?

I was generally a fan. Granted, I enjoyed the older episodes despite their weaker animation and more rushed story, and the better animation combined with the longer running time allowing for more in-depth storytelling effectively negated both of those issues.

It's not perfect by any means, and is very definitely aimed at kids, but I still loved it and am hoping to see a second season next year.

drlmiles1

I enjoyed the eight episodes very much - I binge watched them over two days. I do hope Elves continues as a theme. Interestingly I looked in Smyths recently (England) and they had an end display with Disney Princess, DC Superhero Girls, & Elves sets from floor to the top of the display cabinet. There were more Elves sets than the other two themes combined, hopefully suggesting the styore sees good sales of Elves sets

Aanchir

Not 2017-related, per se, but Thomas van der Heiden recently shared a bunch of 2015 LEGO Elves concept art and illustrations he worked on!

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/ZE4WX
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/vKbdE
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/rwlem
https://www.artstation.com/artwork/4g0V4

fourstud

^ I keep my eyes on that site and I saw the one with the logos was removed. Glad he reposted it! All of his stuff is absolutely beautiful. 

drlmiles1

Really great pictures!