Review: 41708 Roller Disco Arcade
Posted by MeganL,
I envisioned the following scene in a LEGO Friends designer meeting room:
Designer 1: We've one more set to design for the second half wave. I want to do something really eye-catching.
Designer 2: Those dollhouse style sets are really going over well. Why don't we do another one of those?
Designer 1: Good idea! But I want to make it colourful, really colourful, with lots of retro touches. Pink, purple, lime green, rainbow bricks....
Designer 2: Really? Just how many bright colours do you think you can fit into a set?
Read on to find out how many in 41708 Roller Disco Arcade.
Summary
41708 Roller Disco Arcade, 642 pieces.
£54.99 / $59.99 / €59.99 | 8.6p/9.3c/9.3c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A fun dollhouse dose of nostalgia packed with as much colour as possible
- Lots and lots of colour!
- Dollhouse design
- Plenty of play value
- Only three minidolls
- Unsightly Technic arms
Inside the box are five numbered bags, an instruction book, a 8x16 plate, two long tubes, and another very sparkly sticker sheet. Love all the details in the stickers evoking the '80s.
Minidolls
There are three minidolls in the set. Andrea is the main Friend in the set and we see her in the updo that's been featured in sets this year, though this time it's tied with a teal headband. She's wearing a colourful halter top in jewel shades of blue teal and magenta. Her short blue skirt is paired with bright magenta boots, which clash a bit with the red roller-skates! We've met Jackson before in 41704 Main Street Building, and he's wearing the same outfit here. The same can be said for Evelyn, with the exception of her head, which has some bright coloured face paint.
There's a bowling alley in the arcade, and there's a ball ramp provided so Jackson can join in the fun, too.
The completed model
There's a small auxiliary build, which is inexplicably a palm tree with a coral trash can. In the trash can is a clear mug. The connection to the arcade isn't clear to me.
The outside of the arcade is.....colourful! There are bright yellow translucent windows, a purple building, fuchsia accents, gold piping and stairs, teal doors, and coral doorknobs. I really like the brickbuilt sign on top of the door, showing clearly three of the activities featured inside: bowling, roller skating and video games. Stickers on the doors feature '80s styling, which explains the retro look.
Note there are no stairs to enter the building, but a ramp. There's a ramp inside the door to allow Jackson to access the arcade in his wheelchair.
The arcade opens up doll house style. On the left is the roller skating area, complete with a multi-colour light hanging from the ceiling. Splat gears move the two round plates so the Friends can move around the floor. There are three lockers for the Friends to stow their shoes/skates, and you'll notice (as I did when reviewing these pictures) that I managed to put one of the stickers on the lockers upside down.
The other side of the arcade is the video game side, with an eye-catching dance game (featuring one of those sparkly stickers), and an air hockey game. Note the bright yellow bars above the games, as well as the rainbow-coloured pillars throughout the building.
In one corner of this area is an old style video game, in another bright colour - lime green.
Air hockey brings back good memories for me, so I took a close up of the table, which also detaches easily from the main building. I love that it has the puck and two paddles attached to the side.
The centre of the building is for the bowling alley. There are six pins included in the set, which can be placed on the alley are stowed behind the barrier. I'm not sure what bowling game this is, as I'm only familiar with five and ten-pin bowling. An automatic scorer is at the ready, and of course, there are snacks.
And when there are snacks, you'll usually find extra (colourful) guests.
(Note: sloths are not included in this set.)
If you've been wondering what the grey Technic arms are for - I did too, while building, as they're rather unsightly (though obviously they can be removed). Apparently, they're for propping up a phone to play whatever tunes go with the vibe of the arcade.
(Note: old iPhone is not included in this set.)
The outside continues the very colourful theme of the set.
The splat gears used for the roller skating area are brightly coloured, too.
Overall thoughts
It seems I say this with every Friends set, but this has so much play value! It wasn't until writing this review that I noticed I neglected to take a picture of the vending machine just inside the front door. Between the roller skating, the bowling, the dance game, the video game, the air hockey, the vending machine.....there's a lot here. It would be nice to have another minidoll, as similar priced sets have had at least one more.
I had wondered with a name of "Roller Disco Arcade" what exactly that meant. This set pulls together just about everything popular in that era in one building. One very, very colourful building. Speaking of colours, there are several parts in new colours in this set, a set inventory can be found here.
I really love how the designer has worked in the colours of the rainbow in the set - if there was a set that could make this work, this was it. I really appreciate the nods to inclusivity in providing activities in which all Friends can participate. The Friends line has done an outstanding job of promoting diversity and inclusivity this year.
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54 comments on this article
I LOVE the neon windows. I'm definitely checking BrickLink.
I don't own any Friends sets, but being an 80s kid, I love this set so much.
I might buy this just for the salmon trash can and the glittery stickers.
Any space fan NEEDS this set.
I bought two of them and I regret NOTHING
This is such a fun set design! The color scheme is so intense and makes great use of the new Vibrant Yellow color. And layout-wise it packs a ton into a modest floor plan, that can be displayed either open or closed. Love the sparkly stickers, too—reminds me of old themes like Exploriens.
I didn't know the friends had a time machine.
I mean they somehow became astronauts, sooo...
OMG, thats giving me a headache just looking at it!!
What a fun set! They really did pack a ton into this.
@Mechalex said:
"Blacktron 2 and M:Tron fans are going to go ba-nay-nays for those trans-neon pieces though!"
Those really are just perfect. I might need to get two; one for the kids as is, one for an epic M:Tron build. Maybe the 90th celebrations have more in store in this department?
Still kind of expensive, but not prohibitively so. I like this so much that I can't decide whether I'll buy it as an awesome parts-pack, or just as my first genuine Friends-set!
The shapes in the background on the stickers for the arcade section sign and the lockers are really reminding me of the start of Saved By The Bell , is anyone remembers that.
The "definitely not Outrun" arcade game is bringing back some memories too.
freaking genius to use nipple pieces as air hockey paddles.
I believe the coral trash can links with 41712 Recycling Truck.
@Mechalex said:
"Blacktron 2 and M:Tron fans are going to go ba-nay-nays for those trans-neon pieces though!"
Unfortunately this trans neon pieces are of different shade than those used in blacktron and mtron... but they are still very cool for space mocs!
I read “rainbow bricks” as “random bricks,” idk about you but I think the girl with the blue Karen hair might like rainbows. Friends sets can have the most awesome builds possible but I still don’t end up buying them because my brain is still rigged with the mindset that I can’t buy “girl toys*” and the Minidolls can’t work alongside Minifigures.
*Doll-size anime schoolgirl uniforms and pink kimonos are not girl toys.
A worthy successor to the fabulousness of 70828!
(where, incidentally, Vibrant Coral first appeared)
After Olivia returned from her unexplained space adventure, the other friends remarked how ... different ... she seemed. Andrea was the first to voice her concerns, but when Olivia inexplicably folded the constructs of space and time with a singular thought, transforming the old abandoned Heartlake shack into the ultimate combination of locales and attractions from the 70's, 80's, and 90's, Andrea shrugged off her concerns and joined Red for a nice game of air hockey.
Nice review!
I'd never heard of five-pin bowling before. I'm on a ten-pin bowling league, and here around Baltimore there are a few duckpin bowling alleys. I've also heard of candlepin bowling but have never played it. Apparently there is also nine-pin bowling as well. The only thing that I found for six-pin bowling are those little toy sets for kids.
I can't open the main photo!
Great review! I love the retro design of this set — mind you, I was a 90s kid, but a lot of the bowling alleys, arcades, and skate parks I've been to in my life still had the sort of "Cosmic Bowling" neon decor that first became popular a few years before my time. It's possible that even today's kids might be familiar with this retro 80s aesthetic (which the designers have recreated quite brilliantly with this set's dynamic color palette and glitzy stickers) from similar businesses where it never really went out of style.
I'm amazed how many great features the designers were able to incorporate into a mid-size model like this, particularly one that neatly folds closed! The gear-driven skating rink is particularly clever, and its mechanisms are very effectively concealed beneath the floor compared to some of the "dance floors" with similar mechanisms in the Disney or LEGO Movie 2 themes. The lockers are also a very authentic detail for this sort of setting. Besides shoes/skates, they're a great place to put handbags or other accessories that might be cumbersome on the rink.
The bowling alley is a lot simpler in terms of construction, but it's still long enough and wide enough to be believable while still making room for important details like a digital scoreboard, a tray to hold the ball for the next bowler, and even a ramp for Jackson — a testament to this theme's thoughtful attention to detail. Years ago, I dabbled in trying to MOC a bowling alley/arcade Modular Building, and tried to make it wheelchair-friendly since bowling and arcade games tend to be fairly wheelchair-accessible forms of recreation. So I'm glad to see that this set's designers had the same thought!
The arcade itself really showcases the designers' creative versatility — I love that they included three different types of arcade games instead of just a bunch of similar-looking arcade cabinets. Obviously, none of them are as mechanically complex as the one from the more adult-targeted 71741 Ninjago City Gardens, but they're still great builds with all the details you need to imagine enjoying a fun day at the arcade.
As in some previous Friends sets (and even one City set, 60228), the device stand is a very "take it or leave it" sort of feature, but one that presumably costs very little to include and offers a neat option to boost the immersion by adding working sound and visual effects, and doesn't detract at all from the model's playability or appearance if you choose not to use it. I definitely appreciate features like this — after all, I know some AFOLs have been using mobile devices to add music or video screens to their MOCs for around as long as those devices have existed, and this is a way for sets to allow that option without having to include any costly electronics in the set itself.
It's an amazing set overall, and definitely shows that even after 10 years, the LEGO Friends theme hasn't even come close to running out of fun and exciting new ideas to explore! Thanks for your detailed review!
@Dylex said:
"I believe the coral trash can links with 41712 Recycling Truck."
I was about to say the same thing! Earlier this year I was kind of surprised to see multiple new trash can recolors in Friends sets like 41698, 41701, and 41712 — why not just pick one color for all those sets, I wondered? But once the recycling truck came out (with separate color-coded bins for glass/plastic, paper, and compost/organic waste), the purpose became a lot more clear!
In this case, I do wish the refuse were something a bit more suited to the arcade. For the current bin color, they could have gone with a soda bottle (the dedicated bottle mold would not have fit in the bin, but a transparent cone with an opaque cap would have worked) or a plastic cup like those from 41450 and 41448. Or they could have instead used the Vibrant Yellow paper recycling bin and included a white paper cup or a ticket or note pad tile. The glass mug just feels a little out-of-place by comparison.
Just ordered it last week, but the package got lost in Amazon's delivery chain, so I'm waiting for a replacement. :-\ I like the funky colors, though perhaps there just a bit too much of the Dark Purple.
Friends again doing sets they reject for city. Arcade, Mall, art school, movie theater, Regular theater.
M-Tron fans rejoice!
Desperately wanting a LEGO City / Icons Arcade in this style!
This review complains (in the list of cons) that there are only three minidolls. I've seen this show up in multiple Brickset reviews over the last year or so. (Including the review of 75338.)
I think some of the sets with overwhelming numbers of minifigs have really set unreasonable expectations in some people's minds. Not everything can be 76178 Daily Bugle. To me, three seems like the right amount of minidolls in this set...like 75338 also had three and that seemed right to me for that set.
So cool! Awesome set!
Between the trans neon colours and the holographic stickers, this set is maximum 90s nostalgia for me.
This is so going into my LEGO CITY.
It almost looks like an arcade-bowling center in space. Lots of cool stuff in here. And i want that stickersheet
@Lordmoral said:
"This is so going into my LEGO CITY."
I purchased one of eBay for £34 delivered for my City Theme Park adds some colour to it and the minifigs look good in it as well. A lot better than the Noddle shop 3 in 1 arcade which I may still get...
@MeganL why must you taunt us with your sloths?
It’s a great set. Really cool design and some fantastic colors.
I just chuckled at an overdue realization. It’s easier to be complimentary, immediately and enthusiastically so, when I’m not so invested in the object I’m engaged with. Fandom can be a great thing though a bit self-destructive if one isn’t careful. I succumb to the nitpicky aspects of that more often than I want.
I should take this food for thought and have an afternoon snack…
@GBP_Chris said:
"After Olivia returned from her unexplained space adventure, the other friends remarked how ... different ... she seemed. Andrea was the first to voice her concerns, but when Olivia inexplicably folded the constructs of space and time with a singular thought, transforming the old abandoned Heartlake shack into the ultimate combination of locales and attractions from the 70's, 80's, and 90's, Andrea shrugged off her concerns and joined Red for a nice game of air hockey."
"I go by 'The Doctor' now."
@Ridgeheart said:
" @GBP_Chris said:
"After Olivia returned from her unexplained space adventure, the other friends remarked how ... different ... she seemed. Andrea was the first to voice her concerns, but when Olivia inexplicably folded the constructs of space and time with a singular thought, transforming the old abandoned Heartlake shack into the ultimate combination of locales and attractions from the 70's, 80's, and 90's, Andrea shrugged off her concerns and joined Red for a nice game of air hockey."
"I go by 'The Doctor' now.""
More like she got hit by the "Phoenix force" from the X-Men films. Either that, or she found a Monolith while in orbit around Jupiter. (or both!)
Either way, it never turns out well for those involved...
@Trigger_ said:
"I read “rainbow bricks” as “random bricks,” idk about you but I think the girl with the blue Karen hair might like rainbows. Friends sets can have the most awesome builds possible but I still don’t end up buying them because my brain is still rigged with the mindset that I can’t buy “girl toys*” and the Minidolls can’t work alongside Minifigures.
*Doll-size anime schoolgirl uniforms and pink kimonos are not girl toys."
I used to think this way as well, but many of these Friends sets, especially this year's offerings, work very well in a Lego city with standard minifigures. I have included the theater, art school, and this set (roller disco) in my town and all three are perfect fits. I just swap out the minidolls for minifigures, add roofs or sides where applicable, and voila - they become an instant part of the landscape. I wish the city designers would make more sets like these as they are so fun and really help flesh out the environment.
@Murdoch17 said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
" @GBP_Chris said:
"After Olivia returned from her unexplained space adventure, the other friends remarked how ... different ... she seemed. Andrea was the first to voice her concerns, but when Olivia inexplicably folded the constructs of space and time with a singular thought, transforming the old abandoned Heartlake shack into the ultimate combination of locales and attractions from the 70's, 80's, and 90's, Andrea shrugged off her concerns and joined Red for a nice game of air hockey."
"I go by 'The Doctor' now.""
More like she got hit by the "Phoenix force" from the X-Men films. Either that, or she found a Monolith while in orbit around Jupiter. (or both!)
Either way, it never turns out well for those involved..."
Can't wait for the Friends set where Andrea declares herself as a space deity and punishes the other Friends for their insolence by turning them into Lego minifigures, before twisting Heartlake City into her own demented, neon-less image.
Jackson's going to need some help getting up that ramp...
@Trigger_ and @michael4me: I never had a problem with buying Friends sets. Although I did once run into a friend of mine at Barnes and Noble when I was buying a Friends set and say to her that this was why I couldn't make fun of another male friend for being a fan of My Little Pony...
It's sad neon colors are so rare nowadays, they are even mistaken for being yellow in the review!
MeganL, Jackson was not part of the Main Street Building but he was in Friedship Tree House, 41703
If it wasn't for the fact that I hate trans-fluro-green, I would probably have bought this set by now because of all the cool parts.
@SearchlightRG said:
" @MeganL why must you taunt us with your sloths?"
She missed a chance to put the sloth on the screen of the phone for even more SLOTH
Surely I can’t be the only one that sees Bart Simpson driving a car into the sunset in the lime arcade cabinet •_•
This had new parts in Trans Neon green. It was an instant buy for me.
@TheOtherMike said:
"Jackson's going to need some help getting up that ramp...
@Trigger_ and @michael4me : I never had a problem with buying Friends sets. Although I did once run into a friend of mine at Barnes and Noble when I was buying a Friends set and say to her that this was why I couldn't make fun of another male friend for being a fan of My Little Pony..."
I agree with both of you (hence the bit at the end— not a joke btw) so it’s more of me just limiting my set purchases in general, I guess. I’ve actually wanted a few Friends sets as early as 2019 (it was only the Italian Restaurant one at that point but nonetheless).
Nice to see Evelyn evoking the spirit of Aladdin Sane
Looks like a fun and 'contained' set (I'm not such a fan of those sets that seem to be a scattering of minibuilds). But that price... hopefully it will see a discount of £10 or so.
@MeganL I want to see a picture of this under a black light :(
@Interstellarpig said:
" @MeganL I want to see a picture of this under a black light :("
100% …This set looks like it’d be bonkers neat. My kids will love it. …wouldn’t mind seeing more sets with these sorts of acidic colors.
I presume it's six pins because they can be arranged in a triangle in the same way ten pins are. Just taking up less space.
@kingalbino said:
"OMG, thats giving me a headache just looking at it!!"
Absolutely! That's why I want it. Max Headroom vibes all the way.
@GBP_Chris said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
" @GBP_Chris said:
"After Olivia returned from her unexplained space adventure, the other friends remarked how ... different ... she seemed. Andrea was the first to voice her concerns, but when Olivia inexplicably folded the constructs of space and time with a singular thought, transforming the old abandoned Heartlake shack into the ultimate combination of locales and attractions from the 70's, 80's, and 90's, Andrea shrugged off her concerns and joined Red for a nice game of air hockey."
"I go by 'The Doctor' now.""
More like she got hit by the "Phoenix force" from the X-Men films. Either that, or she found a Monolith while in orbit around Jupiter. (or both!)
Either way, it never turns out well for those involved..."
Can't wait for the Friends set where Andrea declares herself as a space deity and punishes the other Friends for their insolence by turning them into Lego minifigures, before twisting Heartlake City into her own demented, neon-less image."
Hilarious exchange! Except of course you meant the Phoenix Force from the X-Men comics (they certainly never mangled that storyline into two confounding films ... la la la I can't hear you)....
@Andhe said:
"Looks like a fun and 'contained' set (I'm not such a fan of those sets that seem to be a scattering of minibuilds). But that price... hopefully it will see a discount of £10 or so."
It was £42 in B&M recently, might even still be.
@ForestMenOfEndor said:
" @GBP_Chris said:
" @Murdoch17 said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
" @GBP_Chris said:
"After Olivia returned from her unexplained space adventure, the other friends remarked how ... different ... she seemed. Andrea was the first to voice her concerns, but when Olivia inexplicably folded the constructs of space and time with a singular thought, transforming the old abandoned Heartlake shack into the ultimate combination of locales and attractions from the 70's, 80's, and 90's, Andrea shrugged off her concerns and joined Red for a nice game of air hockey."
"I go by 'The Doctor' now.""
More like she got hit by the "Phoenix force" from the X-Men films. Either that, or she found a Monolith while in orbit around Jupiter. (or both!)
Either way, it never turns out well for those involved..."
Can't wait for the Friends set where Andrea declares herself as a space deity and punishes the other Friends for their insolence by turning them into Lego minifigures, before twisting Heartlake City into her own demented, neon-less image."
Hilarious exchange! Except of course you meant the Phoenix Force from the X-Men comics (they certainly never mangled that storyline into two confounding films ... la la la I can't hear you)...."
You know, I find Lego Friends sets to be the most fun if one considered them a twisted eldritch surrealist horror reality within the extensive universe of original Lego themes. It's certainly not the original intent whatsoever, but no one can tell me that it's NOT a way to expand interest in the theme beyond just its intended 6 to 10 year old girls demographic.
Also I'm too low-effort to reference actually good superhero stories, for this unusual evaulation of a fun looking set, I am contractually obligated to only reference botched cinematic attempts at beloved events.
Boogie woogie! Do you like my acid rock?
"If you've been wondering what the grey Technic arms are for - I did too, while building, as they're rather unsightly (though obviously they can be removed)."
It seems like they’re meant to be folded down when not in use.