Since I’ve been back in the hobby, Lego hasn’t really produced any themes that have had me jumping up and down. Chima comes pretty close, with its beast mecha and science fantasy setting. As a result, my taste in sets often revolves around the elements and techniques that they contain. That said, the new Elves theme is amazing!

It was love at first sight for me when I was pictures of the Elves theme. The colors were bright, but somehow more natural than the Friends theme. I am disappointed in the use of minidolls, but all of the new colors and elements more than make up for it.

This last weekend, I managed to buy my first Elves set at the local Lego store. They weren’t on display yet, but a couple of sets were sitting in the back, where I could snatch them up. The bakery is one of the sets that I’d had my eye on, so it was an easy sell.

Even at first glance, this is a set with solid value. 324 elements, many of them either new or uncommon colors, for $30. That is hard to pass up.

Inside, the thing that struck me was the big plate. Like the Friends theme, many sets in the Elves line are built on 16×16 plates. This it the first 16×16 green plate that I’ve ever seen in a set. I have a few bright green plates from the odd Creator set, but I was quite happy to be getting a true green plate here.

It’s also worth noting how small the sticker sheet is, which bodes well for nice printed elements in the bags. I’m sad that the pie isn’t a printed tile. That motif could definitely get some use.

The instructions are fairly standard, with understated flower design and a nice pale background. I did have a bit of trouble telling some elements apart, as this set had bright light orange, medium dark flesh, and pearl gold, and they were sometimes quite similar on the page.

Diving in, the first bag built the picnic table, kitchen interior and laid the foundation for the rest. This also included the first minidoll, Azari with her unique map element. There were a lot of great pieces here and many of them were quite small, which means lots of extras. I really appreciate getting some nice minifig accessories like the nap sack and bag elements.

Bag 2 built the tree/oven combination. There are some nice play functions here, like the sliding oven tray (complete with bread) and a hidden compartment in the fire flow that hides the key. I’m very excited about these new colors for the foliage elements, not to mention the wealth of translucent elements here. Fun stuff.

The last bag completes the bakery facade with lovely bits of foliage and brightly colored roof. As I was putting it together, I couldn’t help but think that it would be a lot of fun to construct modulars with this kind of color and detail. I might have some good inspiration for future projects here.

The final build is great. Lots of colors and fun design elements. Even without the stickers it looks handsome and relatively complete.

The set really shines in the details, like this hidden compartment for the secret key. Note the tiles printed with flame motifs. Those should be useful in all kinds of builds.

Turning the set around, there is a lot more to see in the kitchen. No slacking here with lots of detail to be seen. This really adds to the play value.

In the end, I can’t recommend this set enough. A $30 set with 324 elements (and 25 extras) including two minidolls and a cute animal friend. If you can see yourself building with these bright colors, then don’t hesitate to get to it.

Keep building and enjoy!