LEGO DOTS 41906 Pineapple Pencil Holder review

LEGO DOTS is a new LEGO theme arriving in March – Brick Fanatics reviews 41906 Pineapple Pencil Holder to find out what it has to offer

Price: £17.99 / $19.99 / €19.99 Pieces: 351 Available: March 1

LEGO DOTS has arrived. This new theme is not a traditional LEGO theme, it is more along the lines of some of the experiments that the company has tried over the years – there are obvious comparisons to be drawn to Clikits, although fewer than many fans assumed.

Rather than be about the building, DOTS is tended to be about the decorating. 1×1 studs are the ‘DOTS’ that children can use to create attractive patterns and customise their creations or accessories.
This set, 41906 Pineapple Pencil Holder, builds a blocky pineapple and watermelon slice. The pineapple serves – as the set name suggests – as a pencil holder, while the watermelon can store smaller accessories.

lego

Building the pineapple is a straightforward affair, with a quick rectangular structure having the 6×10 panels applied to the sides. While that doesn’t offer anything interesting in terms of building, the top of the pineapple makes excellent use of a the ship wheel element in green, which the leaf elements are attached to. The lid is loosely connected on two studs so it can be popped off for pencil storing purposes.

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As for the watermelon slice, it is as simple as it looks, but is effective – there is no doubt what it is intended to be and it complements the pineapple. That simplicity is illustrated by the presentation of the instructions. Rather than come in a booklet, they are on a single sheet showing every step.

On the reverse of those instructions is the inspiration for decorating the builds. The team behind LEGO DOTS hopes that children will create as they please, but to get them started there are some suggested patterns, which have been followed for the purposes of this review.

Giving the funky pineapple a face is fun and the quarter circle 1×1 tiles look neat when aligned. There are plenty of colours included in the set to use, with complementary shades offering lots of options. Notably, none of the new printed pieces are included in this set. Attaching the plain tiles provides plenty of satisfying clicks.

41906 Pineapple Pencil Holder comes in non-traditional packaging. It comes in a plastic tray with a clear lid embossed with the LEGO logo. This tray has multiple compartments, which is incredibly useful for sorting as the 1×1 tiles are liable to go flying everywhere. Unfortunately, it is made from very flimsy plastic. Curiously, the 2017 copyright date on the back of the tray reveals that this theme has been in development for quite a while.

Time will tell if the LEGO Group has correctly defined how it should enter the arts and craft for children market, with this product offering a little bit of building and a fun canvas to decorate – but probably not providing much appeal for adult fans.

This product has been provided for review by the LEGO Group.

41906 Pineapple Pencil Holder will be available from March 1 at LEGO.com. You can help support Brick Fanatics’ work by using our affiliate links.

Author Profile

Graham
Graham was the BrickFanatics.com Editor up until November 2020. He has plenty of experience working on LEGO related projects. He has contributed to various websites and publications on topics including niche hobbies, the toy industry and education.

Follw Graham on Twitter @grahamh100.

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Graham

Graham was the BrickFanatics.com Editor up until November 2020. He has plenty of experience working on LEGO related projects. He has contributed to various websites and publications on topics including niche hobbies, the toy industry and education. Follw Graham on Twitter @grahamh100.

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