My copious reply to a comment on an article on which a person asks for clarification, due to the commenter not owning any Friends sets of their own -- to evaluate first-person -- yet relying on some images online, which appear to show Friends as over-sized/pre-built:
"While I don't know which pictures online you looked at (there are a lot
of distorted images & data regarding Friends) I can tell you the
bricks are System bricks (meaning *not* DUPLO) but in fact, the same
type/size which exist in *all* other LEGO sets and brick buckets. I own
several Friends sets, so this isn't me merely reading it
somewhere.
What is sadly being over-shadowed by this myopic
"backlash" is how innovative this theme is, in relation to overall LEGO
products. If you watched the robotic sorting machine in the LEGO
factory
on National Geographic channel this weekend, you would have a glimpse
into the mind-boggling, complex packaging process for these sets. The
current trend in building structures has gone toward what it called
"modular" --
which *does not* mean pre-fab, yet, each 'section' is build
brick-by-brick and 'then' can be combined in several different
configurations. The most well-known modular LEGO set is the Grand
Emporium http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Grand-Emporium-10211
Olivia's
house was designed and packaged the same way. Rather than randomly
dumping all the bricks into a bag into the set box, groupings of
individual bricks are sorted into various bags -- so the owner can
*choose* to build one specific section of the house -- *brick-by-brick*
-- and/or continue on building the entire house in one sitting. Due to
the anthropological research TLG garnered, being able to "build" with a
several bricks -- along *with* imagination play -- is offered for the
purpose of keeping some girl builders attention long enough to continue
interest in building. In today's busy lifestyles, this may also be a
practical application; building the entire house in one
sitting takes even experienced adult builders a couple of hours. Also,
the modules are meant to be rearranged to owner's taste. Also, the
owner can re-build the entire house into something completely
different. What you may think of as "limiting" by TLG producing sets,
most LEGO fans thrive on because it is a chance to obtain new colors and
pieces. Also, since Olivia's house is LARGE, so for *stability*
purposes, there are a few 1x5 bricks -- which are the *same size* as
found in Harry Potter, Indiana Jones, and several other sets!
Please
take time to answer your questions visually with this meticulously
photographed, detailed review of Olivia's House -- for a much better
understanding of the actual build and the way it's packaged, plus, it is
written by a female, Pandora:
http://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=64270
It is
*very* long, as it is a large set (695 separate pieces) and it provides
analogy
of this set in relation to other sets of equal degree in building
challenge. Pandora has added in a nice mini-doll analysis in comparison
to the traditional MiniFig :-)
The kids who build Friends (kids =
boys who also appreciate real-life settings) will definitely build
spatial, math, and engineering skills while engaged in play!"
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