Review: Minecraft 21114 The Farm
Posted by Huw,
The new range of minifig-scale Minecraft sets are now starting to appear on shelves across the world and will be available from shop.LEGO.com next week, on November 1st. LEGO has kindly sent us two sets to review: 21114 The Farm and 21115 The First Night.
Let's start off with The Farm...
Let me start off by saying that I know next to nothing about Minecraft and have never played it. However I have seen how captivated 10-year olds are when they play it at my local kids' computer club, so I have witnessed its appeal.
To this non-expert then, The Farm looks to be one of the best of the six sets to be available by virtue of the fact it contains Steve, a sheep and a cow as well as some colourful crops.
The front of the box shows all of this so consequently makes it an attractive proposition.
The main picture on the back shows Steve with a pumpkin head chasing the skeleton off his farm.
Inside the box are two numbered bags, three 16-wide plates and the instruction book.
Bag one contains Steve, the sheep and the cow, along with parts for the paddock area.
Steve comprises classic minifig parts and a new cubic head that measures approxiamately 11.5mm square, which I think makes it 1.5 studs in size.
Apart from the face, there's no other printing on it.
The cow and sheep heads are the same size as Steve's, but with a cut-out at the back, and a 1x2 plate shape on the bottom of each to attach it to the animal's body. They are all printed and made from a softer-than-ABS plastic.
Here's Steve's spade:
The field sits on the 16x16 plate which is raised above ground level by a layer of bricks. The set contains a wide variety of medium nougat pieces, a colour first introduced in Prince of Persia sets in 2010, some of which are new, such as the treasure chest, presumably doubling as a picnic basket here given it contains a baguette, and the 2x2 jumper plates.
I don't know what this is, but I suspect someone will enlighten me. Whatever it is, it's great to see it's printed. In fact there are no stickers at all in this set which will please the sticker-haters among us, me included. (Edit: it's a crafting table.)
Bag two provides the skeleton and parts for the rocky/river area. The skeleton's body is made from standard parts and it also has one of the new square heads.
It's armed with a bow.
The second section goes together quickly and joins to the first. The tree at the back is a birch, apparently. It has a couple of black bricks in it, round the back.
Parts-wise, apart from the new heads and medium nougat pieces, I believe the only new parts in this set are the light orange carrot tops, which provide a welcome addition to the range of available foliage pieces.
Note the pumpkin, which is another of the new head pieces.
The front of the box claims you can 'build your own creations' (who would have thought!) and that 'inspiration [is] included'. What's actually provided is pretty pathetic if I'm honest: it suggests to remove the rocky area around the river and rebuild it into a diving platform, then stack the four corners of the paddock on top of each other for Steve to stand on. That's it. I guess if nothing else it might persuade kids who might not otherwise fiddle about with it once built to do so.
So, what did I like about it? Actually quite a lot. I'd say it's fairly 'juniorised' but that's not a bad thing in this case. It contains a high proportion of good old basic bricks, plates and a few slopes and as such is an excellent 'back to basics' set that doesn't rely on large specialised and otherwise useless pieces to make it easy to build. It maintains the blocky appearance of the game but with enough embellishments -- carrots, flowers, etc. -- to make it interesting.
The minifigs and animals are great, although it's perhaps disappointing that the style of the animal heads make them unsuitable for use in a non-Minecraft minifig environment given we don't have a proper minifig-scale sheep as yet.
The lack of stickers is also a very big plus.
And what didn't I like? I don't think there is anything not to like. I appreciate it won't appeal to everyone: the lack of detail, large number of basic bricks and general blockiness of it won't satisfy those who like highly-detailed display pieces, but as a set that could be a Minecraft-player's first introduction to LEGO, it's perfect.
I don't know prices yet, but I would imagine it will be around the £19.99, $25 mark, which seems reasonable.
Who would have thought back in 2012 when the original Cuusoo Minecraft set was launched, that it would be so successful that it would spawn a series of minifig-scale sets released just in time for the Christmas rush two years later...
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39 comments on this article
In Minecraft, that box is likely used to represent a chest, in which harvested items are stored.
You did a very good job of reviewing the set despite never having played Minecraft. :-)
The thing you didn't recognise is a crafting table, one of the early things you can build in minecraft that lets you build more items.
The sets do really seem to have captured the essence of the game, the parts like the bow and shovel look odd to begin with, but they do fit for their game images.
Loving how the animals look too.
Ah yes, one of these: http://minecraft.gamepedia.com/Crafting_Table. Thanks.
The treasure chest represents a chest, which you keep items in. The printed thing that you don't know what is it, is a crafting table, where the player can use items and materials to make other things, such as using logs to make planks of wood, and using wood to make fences, tools, weapons etc.
The chest with the bread is a chest and the other thing is a crafting table (in minecraft you use it to make complicated stuff)
My brother has the Ender Dragon set.
These are an odd interpretation of the game, but it would be a huge waste of time to make it completely blocky, so I'm fine with it. The necks of the heads really bug me, as does the oversized appearance of them. The new-colored pieces are exciting, though. I look forward to the First Night review.
I'll wait to see the price before passing judgment. $25 it's a fine set, $30+ which I feel it will be, not as nice.
"The lack of stickers is also a very bug plus."
Bug plus! :D
The stickers used in the Friends and Disney Princess line are amazing. If placed down gently before firmly applying, they can cleanly be repositioned for the prefect aesthetic look. After much time of play by a tough and tumble five year old (and her father) and poor storage in a sunny room, the stickers still look brand new. Friends is a newer line, so time will tell, but I don't see this stickers peeling or becoming dingy anytime soon or far into the future. The printing on the chest looks rather crude and sloppy. Maybe it's the level at which the photo is zoomed in, but I'd much rather have the stickers than the printing in that picture.
That all said, I am not a player of Minecraft, but this set is a real temptress to me. It just looks so darn simple and fun. So many folks are all about making things more and more elaborate that the simple ease of LEGO bricks are lost. Should I ever see this on offer or have a fistful of cash to spend, I think I mind pick this up.
Great review! In case you're reviewing the next sets and are trying to figure out what stuff is, check out the Minecraft Wiki. They have EVERYTHING there and you'll never get lost again.
I used to play Minecraft all the time, and while this set does look mostly like the game, it could be better. What really appeals to me about it though is the Nougat bricks, those will be the only reason I pick up any set in this line. I think that these sets would be really nice for parts drafts because of the nougat, foliage, and printed parts.
Great review especially for someone who has never played Minecraft ;)
I love the back of the box, because you actually CAN wear a pumpkin on your head in Minecraft! The Ender Dragon should come with one, because they are useful against endermen.
I still think this set looks pretty ugly (even as an avid MineCraft player), but I've got a hunch that doesn't have anything to do with the quality of the set but rather the immense number of specialized parts in today's LEGO part pool.
Ugly, but an OK set from the looks of it.
The stack of blocks Steve is standing on on the back of the box is an in game way to temporarily escape skeletons which spawn at night and die in sunlight.
Can't wait for Nov. 1
wow, now I'm thinking of getting these minifig scale minecraft sets
"...it suggests to remove the rocky area around the river and rebuild it into a diving platform, then stack the four corners of the paddock on top of each other for Steve to stand on."
To be fair, though, that's what you often end up doing in Minecraft...
Ah... pillar jumping. Only in Minecraft.
I like how the set also includes lime green "soda can" elements to make "Sugar Canes" - the farmable plant needed to make both paper and sugar. I do wish that they had made a new blocky chest though... I love the classic treasure chest in nougat, but it is just too round. That will not stop me from getting this set though. My wallet is going to kill me...
Also, Lego Steve is going to need a LOT more than two torches though, or one skeleton is going to be the least of his problems. He is going to have to deal with zombies, spiders and , perish the though, CREEPERS!
Remember, in Minecraft, the night is dark and full of terrors.
I have all of them except the end and the mine and I do really like them.
The only single thing that bugs me is Steve's head, the fact only the front is printed so that it looks like gigantic sideburns have taken over both sides of his head. I really just cannot stand Steve's head in these sets, it needs to change.
Beyond that they're all brilliant and given how they were flying off the shelves the other day faster than the girl in the Lego store could restock I suspect there'll definitely be a second wave of these at some point.
So fingers crossed for a witch and a witches hut, a village with villagers, a mooshroom island, a nether fortress and all that sort of thing.
I still find the whole virtual Lego being made in real life... out of Lego! thing hilarious, but good review nonetheless!
I was most interested to find out how the animals' heads worked, it looked like some sort of advanced trickery with the new head block disappearing into solid bricks! Can't imagine I'll even think about getting it, but who cares about that? TLG might be about to get a whole raft of new fans from the internet generation, that can only be a good thing!
I can't get it why people are loving minecraft...this cubic look has nothing to do with aesthetics ;)
I could be wrong, but "Inspiration included" could be one of the sentences that appear randomly on the game launcher
@ 1992pb: Yes that's true, one of those little easter eggs.
The inspiration there is actually okay; it's what a child first playing does and what they may do later too. It's called pillar jumping, they build a big tower of just some blocks to hide from evil Mobs.
Same with the diving board, that's also very common in-game.
Huw, would you mind making a picture of all inspiration pics?
I actually won't buy any of the MC sets. I have seen the end and the cave before release, "played" with it for just five minutes and there was already no fun more to be had, also not really as a display thing. But that's just my opinion, you should see for yourself :)
^ OK, I'll scan them later.
It always annoys me when people say Minecraft and LEGO are the same thing, and these sets are clear proof of the opposite. They're fine, and have some nice parts, but it has a bizarre mix of traditional LEGO and blocky Minecraft, which works in some ways and fails in others. I'm not complaining, but who thought the bread was the right color?
I have virtually no interest in these sets, but I'm not a Minecraft player, so thats to be expected. The little interest I have is:
1. The minifigures - I am a regular attendee of Comic Cons and there are always people with Minecraft heads, I've been thinking of doing some Comic con MOCs and these figures would definitely help that.
2. Seeing what people do with these on a large scale. Knowing that part of the attraction of Minecraft for players is the ability to make massive landscapes, I'm curious to see what people start MOCing in a Minecraft world.
It's looking like Steve has printing on his neckline. Great review, just not sets I'm running out and getting.
I just built two of the sets last night as well. The First Night and The Cave! The First Night has so many delicious nougat pieces and so many of the new masonry bricks! And The Cave has black (yes, black!) T-bars! I almost fainted when I saw them! There are two in the spider and one extra. I was so happy! :D
http://www.brickshop.nl/lego/lego-minecraft.html
not only better high res pics of the back of the boxes. But also 15% off
https://www.flickr.com/photos/larsyuipo/sets/72157646580714189/
These looks like decent parts packs, but I have zero interest in the theme itself. And since I can't afford buying sets just for parts, I will give these an easy pass..until I win the lottery..
I wonder what will become of this theme. Microsoft recently bought Mojang so I assume the rights will go to Megabloks soon. I could be wrong though.
Mega Bloks probably wouldn't profit greatly if the license somehow changed hands. Why would it? Anyway, MB would probably have more custom pieces, but for worse quality. And the figures would look like the official Minecraft action figures, making it less original. For what it's worth, I like this quirky interpretation and see no reason the rights would go to Mega Bloks. And although everyone has the rights to Minecraft nowadays, I doubt LEGO would drop it if it sells well.
Not a fan of Minecraft, but great reviews all the same :-)
Thanks for the review! I can't wait to get this :D
Which shelves are these appearing on? Toysrus? USA? If anyone has them from a toysrus in the US, or anywhere for that matter, please post their R Web Numbers. Thanks!
It 's super cool
A bit too pricey for my liking.Rather would save a while for CB