Review: 41905 Jewellery Stand
Posted by MeganL,
Continuing with the popular new DOTS theme, today we'll look at 41905 Jewellery Stand. Similar to the bracelets that were reviewed last week, and 41906 Pencil Holder that CapnRex101 reviewed in January, this set has a base build with a wide selection of colourful pieces with which to decorate. Let's see what both the build and the decorations are like after the break.
As the Capn mentioned in his review of the pencil holder, the DOTS theme comes in a distinctive tray type of package with a clear lid. The decorative parts are sorted into bags by colour, which invites dumping each colour theme into each compartment.
The base build is the jewellery stand itself; while the build doesn't merit much comment, the pieces in this set definitely do. The first notable parts are those terrific tile pieces in the silver ink colour that provide the rim at the bottom of the stand. The quarter circle tiles are only found in this set as well as 41902 Sparkly Unicorn, while the 4x4 w/ bow pieces have only been found in 21311 Voltron. The aqua 4x8 and 8x8 half circle plates are also new this year. Finally, the large 9x9 heart plates used to make the cloud shape at the top of the box are currently only found in this set.
Combine that with the tray packaging, one might find value just in the base build alone. When showing these sets at Bricks Cascade, the trays attracted as much attention as the sets from AFOLs who saw them as good sorting trays. As one said, "I might even stop buying advent calendars for the trays now."
The base build is colourful, but is plainly needing more decoration.
Clearly this set is intended to be viewed solely from the front as the back doesn't provide much to look at.
Most AFOLs will of course be most interested the colourful decorations provided. There's quite an assortment, but unfortunately there are no printed tiles included.
The set is meant to be decorated, so here's one of the patterns that's shown on some of the marketing materials.
Naturally, the intent is to create your own design, so here's one I came up with while also shifting the colourful base plates around a bit as well.
As for its intended purpose - it's functional enough, but the hooks are definitely for lightweight pieces of jewellery only. That's not surprising, since the hooks are only attached using regular LEGO clutch power. I found the tray to be much more useful, but then, I use trays much more often in my regular jewellery box than I do hooks.
Overall thoughts
At $14.99 (14.99€, £12.99, 213 pieces), one could arguably find value just from the packaging in addition to the pieces that are included in the base build. The colourful decorative pieces are the intended selling feature and are a plus to AFOLs who could use more of these popular parts. My only quibble is that the coral pieces are paired with the pink pieces. While I love the coral colour, they're not the most complimentary, but I'm sure kids will love them.
What do you think of the new DOTS sets? Do you use the trays, or toss them? Let us know in the comments.
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14 comments on this article
When I checked these out at the store, the trays felt super flimsy and cheap. Even though I'm just organizing small LEGO pieces, I feel I need something that's more solid.
As for the build itself, it looks great, and the parts are seriously compelling. It would've been nice to have a photo demonstrating its use of storing and displaying jewellery, not that anyone couldn't already see that in marketing material and in-store, but still.
If I'm completely honest, I have lost interest in the entire DOTS theme. If I ever bought a set, it would be the pencil holder, mainly for the green wheel, or the Space DOTS band, because I am into the idea of doing a small space MOC, which might benefit from the use of those small, printed tiles. I would only ever buy this set if it was on serious reduction terms or in the clearance at at least half-price. A while ago, I bought set 41328, Stephanie's Bedroom in Tesco for £1.80. It was originally sold for £8.99 and is now worth between £11 and £45 on eBay. That is the serious reduction that I'm talking about.
Thanks for the review @MeganL. You're doing a great job in the Capn's stead!
Thanks for the review, does the piece bin comes with a top?
I got one a while ago and while the DOTS sets are a nice source for those tiles, I still have serious doubts about the longevity of the theme as a whole. And the plastic trays totally rub me the wrong way, anyway. We fill out surveys about LEGO's environmental friendliness efforts and then this? If the sections would at least be full to the brim... It feels wasteful and I'd be much happier had this come in a standard box. After all, once it has been built, I doubt many kids would bother re-decorating every day and the tray and leftover pieces might disappear and get eaten by the carpet monster. For what it is, the jewellery stand is okay and I might even buy a second one for more of the silver tiles and the white heart plates, but it's nothing earth-shattering, either.
@LordMoral - it does - a clear top with the LEGO logo moulded into it. I'm doing the review for the photo holders next; I'll include a picture of the tray with the lid then.
Advent calendars recently switched to biodegradable trays that look like something you'd buy from a guy who tries to promote hemp products for reasons that have nothing to do with hemp. I bought a pile of HP calendars, and one of the guys in my LUG actually wanted them after I split up the contents.
From the back, I see they put four 2x2 round bricks on there, which only make sense as support stands if you tip this on its back while you press the pieces down onto the forward-facing studs. I wonder if they thought of that ahead of time, or if someone suggested it after trying to add a design.
I also note that you fixed the rainbow pattern. It looks like the original pattern alternated dark/light/dark/light, but they made the edge colors dark and the core colors lighter.
@Mylenium:
Two things to keep in mind about the tray are that, if the pockets were just barely big enough for the parts to fit, you'd constantly spill them whenever you went digging for a particular piece. And this leaves tons of room to add pieces you get in other sets that don't come with trays.
Thanks Megan for your review! Love your rebuild of the base design. To be honest I was initially dismissive of the DOTS line, but your (and the Capn's; thanks for reposting) reviews have definitely changed my mind.
I glad to see the correct spelling of jewellery has been used :)
This was the set I chose which is quite funny as I don't really wear jewellery (well except for some certain bracelets now). I chose it because I like the two heart shapes that make the cloud. I was torn between this one and the pencil pot. I don't think I will ever be hanging jewellery on it but it has nice colours and parts.
I like the look of this set, and I really like how you decorated it. Is the plastic of the tray (and its lid) flexible or rigid?
@MeganL said:
" @LordMoral - it does - a clear top with the LEGO logo moulded into it. I'm doing the review for the photo holders next; I'll include a picture of the tray with the lid then."
Thanks for the answer, for AFOLS thoae boxes are golden.
I bought this set to use as a display for Unikitty figures!
Good review! This was one of the first Dots sets I picked out after they launched, and I've already dabbled in a few different pattern ideas. My favorite so far is a tesselating heart pattern: https://twitter.com/SkyeBarnick/status/1237873017285259266
More recently, I stripped a few of the colored tiles from the base of the pattern pictured to turn into brick lettering for my name (inspired by a fellow AFOL in one of my Facebook groups) for my Medium Azur bracelet from 41900-1: https://twitter.com/SkyeBarnick/status/1248432519281704961
I was also able to get a few more Extra Dots Series 1 booster packs while running errands shortly before my area ordered people to stay at home to prevent the spread of COVID-19. During the subsequent dotting session, I experimented with some color changes to my original design, and also added a different emoji tile to each of the five jewelry hooks!
@Mylenium: I can't fathom why you are so skeptical of kids wanting to create new patterns after they've first built the set. That sort of low-stakes creative pattern-building is central to the Dots theme's core premise, and I'm certain that play-testing for the theme involved carefully looking at what parts assortments and "canvas" designs kids were most eager to try new things and explore new ideas with.
I feel like these trays will get a lot of use — ironically because of some of the very same factors you see as reasons they wouldn't. Being able to sort the tiles in a reusable carry case helps kids keep them from getting lost in the carpet or mixed into bins of "assorted" LEGO.
Likewise, the extra space left over in the storage case allows kids to sort in additional tiles from the bracelet sets, "Extra Dots" booster packs, and spare parts from other themes — a further incentive to keep going "back to the drawing board" and coming up with new patterns as their parts selection continues to expand.
I don't see it as a huge environmental sacrifice, either — it's made from relatively thin polypropylene (a material that is accepted at many recycling facilities, for those who do see these as superfluous), and is far lighter and less materials-intensive than the plastic storage buckets that LEGO still uses in themes like Classic, Duplo, and more.
One of the major environmental goals LEGO is working on right now is reducing single-use plastics in their packaging. But a container like this that helps buyers store and sort assorted LEGO parts, rather than intended as storage for just one particular set, is anything BUT single-use! Of all the various plastic buckets and canisters LEGO has packaged sets in over the years, this sort of clear-top, sorting-friendly, travel-size storage tray seems to be the most useful by far.
Has nobody noticed that the stand is very reminiscent of the large rainbow coming out of a cloud and flowing into a large container of bricks in the LEGO House?