I (finally) tested for you: LEGO 71040 The Disney Castle

The time has come to quickly talk about a set that caused a sensation when it was announced: The benchmark 71040 The Disney Castle. On the one hand, an original creation of 4080 pieces and its 5 minifigs that smell of nostalgia and the getaway to Disneyland, on the other, a public price set at 349.99 € which discourages more than one. Opinions on this box are necessarily very divided.

When it was announced, almost everyone shouted genius and howled their desire to want to buy this set: "Day one for me! ... My wallet will still undergo excruciating pain! ... Take my money! ...".

Since then, many of these early enthusiasts seem to have changed their minds because one of my contacts at LEGO tells me that while this exceptional product has met with great success in esteem, the sales volume is not exceptional. despite the multiple rewards obtained by this box. But it is not a priori so serious: "... the publicity stunt was successful and the benefit in terms of image for the brand is enormous ...". I'm not the one saying it.

As usual, I'm not going to repeat here what LEGO does better than me: If you want to discover the set from all angles, there is a gallery of official visuals on the product sheet and a promotional / presentation video of this castle by its creator, Marcos Bessa:

Most of the "reviews" I have read so far are generally all to the glory of this box and its designer. Few have really insisted on the few big flaws of this set, preferring to hide them to rally the general enthusiasm and be satisfied with the fact that LEGO finally released a Disney castle of more than 4000 pieces.

You will tell me that it is always easier to arrive after the battle. But it also allows you to look at things with a little more perspective.

Having said that, I also think this set is a visual success, no doubt about it. It's a cleverly tweaked Disney castle that almost everyone will recognize at first glance. It is also and above all a superb display product (if you have the space) and to say otherwise would be a lie.

A few remarks, however, regarding the aesthetic choices that were made by LEGO in an attempt to reproduce Cinderella's castle located in Walt Disney World in Florida: There are for my taste too many meta-pieces for the outer wall and the rendering of the latter is still very approximate if we compare the LEGO version with the castle from which it is inspired.

I do not find on the castle of the park either this "swelling" of the walls of the turrets present on the LEGO version via the meta-parts used. What are these Wedge 16 x 4 Triple Curved here ? The towers of the castle walls are straight and they only widen at the level of the moat, not shown in this set.

Same approximation concerning the texture of the exterior walls: The few stickers provided are not enough to create the illusion, while the walls of the castle in the park are made up of many bricks in different shades.

When you are a manufacturer of plastic bricks, replacing a wall that gives the illusion of "real" bricks by a few large, smooth pieces on which to stick stickers with a crude design is disappointing to say the least, especially in a room. box sold 350 €.

And even being made a reason as for the presence of stickers on this part of the set, some stickers allowing to represent the loopholes present on each of the towers would have been welcome.

All other patterned pieces not shown on the sheet of stickers above are obviously pad printed.

There are also a few turns of the real model missing on this LEGO version (on the right and in the background at the back). Considering that the castle is "cut in two", the disappearance of these towers is logical, but the absence of the one normally present on the right between the room of Rapunzel and the small turret unbalances the whole a little.

We can also discuss the choice of color for the walls of the upper part of the castle. The Tan was it the best choice? As far as I'm concerned, a pale pink like the Light Salmon of the Scala range would have been of good quality. But maybe it was too much girly for lego ...

This is the whole paradox of this set: On the one hand, we have really creative construction stages, which in the process add to the pleasure and generate a little difficulty, and on the other hand we have shortcuts hazardous and coarse which somewhat disfigure the whole. As great as it is, Marcos Bessa must have come across an accountant in the corridors of Billund's headquarters who probably asked him to calm his artistic ardor ...

On the assembly side, the pleasure is there. Marcos Bessa obviously had fun deliberately "complicating" the design of certain elements. We discover interesting techniques that the majority of buyers of this box will probably never reproduce, but it is original enough to be entertaining. The mosaic on the ground floor and the interior of the upper part of the perimeter wall towers are nice and interesting puzzles to put together.

A few repetitive steps at the level of the different towers, it makes sense, but the wonder of seeing this LEGO castle gradually rising to reach its final height takes over.

The upper part of the castle is very successful. We find all the finesse and elegance of the upper towers of the castle in Orlando Park.

If you have children and they have the right to touch YOUR LEGO, this is an opportunity to share a good time with them and to introduce them to some construction techniques that require concentration and attention.

By turning over the construction to access what is going on behind it, we quickly understand that it is designed on the principle of a doll's house, with very distinct spaces, furniture and accessories to dress each room. The only detail that spoils the visual rendering of the interior of the castle a little: The few pines Technic blue visible here and there.

If the entrance hall and the ground floor are spacious, the different rooms are logically more and more cramped when you go upstairs. For once, the principle of half-construction that I often find petty at LEGO is almost justified in this specific case: We will exhibit this castle to the choice on one side or the other according to his tastes and his mood from the moment.

The fan service is indeed effectively provided by multiple more or less obvious references to the various Disney universes known to almost everyone: Aladdin with his carpet and the genie's lamp, Rebelle and its archery range, Beauty and the Beast with the enchanted rose under a bell and the Lumière candlestick, The Sleeping Beauty with the spinning wheel, Fantasy fabric with a broom and the sorcerer's apprentice hat, The princess and the Frog with two frogs and a wreath at the foot of the exterior walls, etc ... It's sometimes minimalist, but most of the references do the job (Fans of Rapunzel will be a little disappointed with the color of the lock of hair ...).
If you haven't found all the references, don't worry, the instruction booklet details them on two pages.

If you feel like letting your kids have fun with your freshly assembled castle, expect to have to spend a few hours rebuilding what is sure to crumble, crumble, fall or fall apart. It's not really a playsets.

The base of the castle on the other hand is relatively resistant to handling and movement, thanks in particular to a well-designed base made from Technic parts, but moving this 75 cm high construction when the upper part is in place is much more risky: that pitch, it moves, it sometimes falls.

On the side of minifigs, do yourself a reason: This set is not a box with a large handful of minifigs coated with a few pieces to pass the pill. It's the contrary. And it feels good from time to time. I almost would have preferred to have real exterior brick walls and no representation of park workers in costume at all ...

Despite the faults of the whole, it is however frankly not worth arguing on the price asked by LEGO. 349.99 €, 299.99 €, 259.99 €: There will always be someone who, in the light of their personal finances and what they are willing to spend on a box of LEGO, will estimate that the retail price of this box could have been more content.

The rest is just a spin to find good reasons not to spend the requested € 349.99: Not enough minifigs, lack of fidelity to the reference model on certain points, obvious (and logical) fragility of certain parts of the building, etc ...

Any apology is good to take but this set is anyway the only representation (and probably for a long time) of a Disney castle in a version sufficiently fleshed out to be credible.

You will understand, the purpose of all this is also to offer you the copy of this set that LEGO sent me.

To participate and have a chance to receive this box, you must intervene in the comments. You have until 28 February 2017 at 23:59 pm to contribute to the discussion and a draw will determine the winner. The winner's name / nickname will be posted here within 24/48 hours of the contest closing date.

Very important precision: Disagreeing with me will not prevent you from winning this set if you are drawn. I'm saying it just in case some people think otherwise ...

Update : The winner has been drawn, his nickname is indicated below.