Note: My reviews summarize the opinions and experiences of a 6-year-old girl and her father, both of whom have been playing with LEGO Friends for less than a year.

When rating the Friend's set, I usually give my daughter's experience greater weight than my own, but in this case I am going to overrule and say that this set should have been a lot more exciting to a little girl than it was to my daughter. I thought she would be enamored of the foal, and engaged by the little wheelbarrow and the pump, and was disappointed when she was not.

Sure, the foal was a hit, and an extra carrot never hurt anyone, but the wheelbarrow had a bumpy ride and the pump barely made a splash, so to speak. The trough is not getting played with much, either.

Six is at the low end of the recommended age range for these sets, and some sets have a harder time reaching the younger fans than others, and not because they are not well thought out, but because small kids have trouble keeping track of, and incorporating small details -- like the moving pump handle or the water bubbles in the trough -- that attract older kids and adults.

This is my second favorite Friends set (after Emma's Horse Trailer). I hope it grows on my daughters, or they grow into it.

Set #41003 Olivia's Newborn Foal: LEGO Friends is a Theme that's really picked up, not only with the target audience either. The smaller sets are great ones for those who enjoy building something quick to play with, the larger sets really outshine a lot of what LEGO has been doing for the City brand in the past few years. We're seeing a lot more structures and a lot less vehicles, this is more than likely because of the different play styles of boys and girls, however I feel LEGO is missing the boat a bit on that front.

These smaller Friends sets are also beginning to proove a bit irksome in that you only have one Mini-Doll per set to interact with, so it's nice that this is one that includes another element to play with. Anyway let's get on with the review.

Box/Instructions

There really isn't much to say about the LEGO Friends boxes that hasn't been shared before in previous reviews, the same could be said for the instructions. I will point out though that I've found the cross-promotion pages at the back of the Friends Instructions a lot more interesting to look at compared to the stuff they put in the 'boys' Themes. The presentation works a lot better in the design and they really take the time to make the pages shine, it feels like the old LEGO Catalogue Books you'd get in larger sets back when I was growing up.

Something I wish they'd go back to for at least one or two large sets from each Theme a year.

Parts

This set has a lot to offer, you get a Wheelbarrow, a brown bucket with handle, a bag full of prize ribbons, horse brushes and water bottles for washing the animal and two of the special 1x2 bricks that actually look like real world bricks. On top of that there's a carrot in this set and some decent parts used in the tree build that could be useful. Overall a really good assortment of pieces.

Minifigures

Olivia is the main character advertized in the Friends Line, at least according to the special CGI shows they've made. She's got a lot of different Mini-Dolls, and the design on this one is no less stunning from the others. The dark purple top and the light blue skirt she's wearing pop and look pretty good as far as Mini-Doll prints go.

The number of accessories she comes with in the light purple colour are all pretty impressive. This is my first time with some of these pieces and many of them stand out as pretty impressive. There's two large brushes and one smaller brush, a comb, a bar of soap, a spray bottle, two prize ribbons first place and second, and of course all the clip on hair ribbons. I think these work really well, and they mostly all fit inside the wheelbarrow which is itself a great looking accessory not often seen in LEGO sets. All in all a great version of Olivia.

The build

The build in this set isn't as intricate as some of the others, you have a few small elements that work together as part of Olivia's stable? Or perhaps is meant to work with the Summer Riding Camp and Heartlake Stables sets, either way they aren't that difficult to follow along with.

The completed model

Ordinarilly I don't have issues with the completed models in these smaller sets, they tend to stand out as some fun little add-ons that can be quickly built and played with. And this one does have some good aspects to it.

For example the tree build looks really nice and the feeding trough for the foal is a nice looking build too, they've even got a small water pump built out of a few elements so you can get water to give the horse or brush her coat.

The thing is it does seem like the designers could have taken a slightly different approach, maybe make the feeding area a bit longer so that the foal has a place to stay during the night or something? It's not a bad set, it just doesn't stand out to me too much as one that offers a lot of variety or uniqueness on its own. Some of the sets are more obviously meant to go with others, this set would work great as a little side area for the Heartlake Stables set. On it's own, while it does offer a lot of things to do when playing with it, it just doesn't grab me like some of the others have.

Summary

So overall I'd say this is an ok set, worth picking up if you already own the Heartlake Stables or want the Foal, which I think is a pretty decently scaled animal next to the Mini-Doll. I do think it can be picked up later though, the Karate Class, Magic Trick and even Soccer Practice sets also released in the 2013 wave with this set are much better, rounded sets when it comes to the design in my opinion. Recommended, though isn't an immediate need.

My little sister bought this set at Walmart and when she showed it to me, I was impressed.

Box/Instructions

The box and instructions are both tiny, but they explain everything pretty well.

Parts

The best parts are the bucket and the carrot,( Lego gives you an extra bucket handle and carrot stalk.

Minifigures

No comment.(Just kidding. Olivia looks just like she did last year.)

The build

The build is OK, not hard at all. The water pump is pretty nice.

The completed model

The completed model is good for the price point.

Summary

This set would make a good gift for Valentines and/or Easter for girls 5-8.