LEGO® Disney 43266 Cinderella's Dress is one of two new 'dress' sets revealed earlier this year, the other being 43262 Maleficent's and Cruella De Vil's Dresses.
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We have this set for early review as there's a useful new mould in this set, along with some new prints and recolours. Even if Disney Princesses are not your thing, read on, as new elements always bring excitement.
Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own.
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43266 Cinderella's Dress
- Release date: 1 March 2025
- Pieces: 474
- US$ 39.99 on LEGO.com US
- CA$ 49.99 on LEGO.com Canada
- GB£ 34.99 on LEGO.com UK
- AU$ 59.99 on LEGO.com Australia
- NZ$ 74.99 on LEGO.com New Zealand
- DE€ 39,99 on LEGO.com Deutschland
- NL€ 39,99 on LEGO.com Nederland
- FR€ 39,99 on LEGO.com France
- PLN 174.99 on LEGO.com Polska
- NOK 549,90 on LEGO.com Norge
- DKK 349.95 on LEGO.com Danmark
New mould
Round Plate 2 x 2 with Circular Bar Frame (part 7068)
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- 2x Round Plate 2 x 2 with Circular Bar Frame in White (6518048 | 7068)
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This new mould will also come in black (6537543) in 43262 Maleficent's and Cruella De Vil's Dresses.
Geometry
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The element has a central 2x2 round plate which has a round Technic hole (as opposed to an axle hole). The outer edge is a series of eight 3.18mm bars, with thicker dividing sections. It connects across 4 modules so the resulting element is just under 4 modules in diameter, to keep the bar connections in LEGO® System.
Having a round hole rather than an axle hole is useful as this means multiples can be stacked and rotated slightly, to offset the bar connections – in fact it is used in this manner in the set, as you'll see in the build section later.
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Lining up the new mould with 3x3 Dish (top image above) and 4x4 Dish (bottom) shows the comparative size. Both are lovely effects.
This new circular bar frame fits within two main element families.
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Firstly, elements with a 2x2 round plate centre and an outer frame with 3.18mm bars. From left to right:
- Plate, Modified 2 x 2 with Bar Frame Square (30094)
- Steering Wheel with 2 x 2 Center and Axle Hole (67811)
- Plate, Modified 2 x 2 with Bar Frame Octagonal (75937)
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Secondly, elements where connections can be made in a circle. Some but not all are shown above, and some are illegal connections you would not find in official sets.
Connections
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Having anything circular with bar connectors is super useful. Curves and LEGO building can be tricky at times.
The 8x bar connections hold any regular clips. For example 1L bar with clip (3484) shown above in orange, or bar holder with clip (44873) shown in magenta.
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The height of the new mould means that things get a little crushed if there is not sufficient space when stacking. In the above left example, there is one plate in between the circular plates and, on the right, there are two.
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When using a 3x3 dish, a 3l bar can be pushed through to give enough space for clips to be attached to the ring.
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When using a 1x1 tile with clip, the distance between each clip is greater than 1 module but less than two. This means an element like the 1x1 plate with clip light attachment (4081, 41632) can attach to each of the 8 clips, but nothing longer than a clip light can.
In order to connect an element 2 modules long you need to add another plate to make the circle diameter wider to accommodate the 2 modules.
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Above, a 1x1 round plate in medium azure has been added which allows the curved 2x1x⅔ inverted slope (24201) to fit.
Below are a few more tablescraps to enjoy!
Using two of the new moulds with skeleton arms with clips (93609, 49752) bent inwards, as shown in white above left, looks nice for wheels.
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Having two of these tablescraps side by side allows an inverted 1x3 tile to be placed between them and then the good times can roll...
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Finally, one of the New Elementary team asked what could hold the thicker section of the outer rim. I found three helpful people to hold the new mould. Above top left we have Allegra Zane from the LEGO® Galidor theme; bottom left we have Tiny from the LEGO® Little Robots theme and then on the right we have the discontinued LEGO® Technic figure.
New prints
- 1x Tile 4 x 4 with print in White (6524467)
- 4x Tile 1 x 3 with print in Bright Light Blue (6524466)
- 1x Minidoll Skirt Full with print in Bright Light Blue (6530951)
Recolours
- 2x Plate Round Corner 5 x 5 with 4 x 4 Round Cutout in Bright Light Orange (6529338 | 80015)
- 2x Plate Round Corners 2 x 6 Double in Bright Light Orange (6521100 | 18980)
- 2x Brick Curved 1 x 4 x 2/3 Double Curved Top, No Studs in Bright Light Orange (6536797 | 79756)
- 2x Brick Curved 2 x 2 x 1 with Curved Top - Corner in Pearl Gold (6529272 | 5846)
- 2x Plate Angled 3 x 3 with Heart Shape in Bright Light Orange (6529336 | 39613)
- 6x Tile Round 1 x 2 Half Circle in Yellow (6527809 | 1748)
It's good to see the new curved corner 2 x 2 x 1 with curved top come in pearl gold but now we need to wait on the Brick Curved 1 x 2 x 1 with Curved Top (5841) to pair with it.
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- 4x Wedge Plate 2 x 4 27° Right in Dark Azure (6529333 | 65426)
- 4x Wedge Plate 2 x 4 27° Left in Dark Azure (6529330 | 65429)
- 4x Wedge Plate 2 x 4 27° Right in Bright Light Blue (6530952 | 65426)
- 4x Wedge Plate 2 x 4 27° Left in Bright Light Blue (6530953 | 65429)
Minifigure
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- 1x Minidoll Skirt Full with No Hips or Feet with print in Bright Light Blue (6530951)
Cinderella's head and torso are also in 30695 Cinderella's Mini Garden Castle, but she wears a different skirt in that set. Her hair with ribbon in bright light orange (6573997) has been in two previous sets; 43275 Cinderella's Castle & Horse Carriage and 30695 Cinderella's Mini Garden Castle.
The Mouse with Yellow Shirt Print (6333209) is in 6 other sets, but I thought Cinderella needed her little buddy for the photo op.
Rare elements
The following three elements have been in one previous set:
- Diamond Key in Silver Metallic/ Flat Silver (6517939 | 78169)
- Brick Curved 1 x 2 x 1 with Curved Top in Dark Orange (6536264 | 5841)
- Plate Round 6 x 6 with Hole in Dark Orange (6495165 | 11213)
The following two elements have been in two previous sets:
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- 1 x Hair Bun with Bright Light Blue Ribbon pattern in Bright Light Orange (6573997)
- 2 x Brick Round 2 x 2 with Axle Hole in Bright Light Blue (6522321 | 6143)
The build
Base
I built the base first as I was still experimenting with the new mould when I started to build the set.
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A nice cross structure is built as the central support for the base to give a rounded edged square as the final shape.
One side of the square is flattened off to attach the new 4 x 4 tile with Cinderella portrait print (6524467). You can see there's a bit of SNOT building used to attach the decorative sections although it throws off the colour scheme when the innards are exposed.
The base has the feel of a decorated box with detailed wooden legs to keep it all balanced.
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Each side opens out to show some inner details; an antique sewing machine on one side and afternoon tea set out on the other.
On the opposing side to Cinderella's portrait there is a door that opens, allowing her to hide in the closet.
Customisation
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Customisation of the tile pattern on the top of the base is encouraged; the instructions give three options. The main option is shown above.
The diamond key that is included is not for locking/unlocking anything in this set; it's supplied to allow the tiles to be easily removed and rearranged.
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Here's one of the other two options but builders may want to create their own design, perhaps utilising tiles they have in their own collections.
Dress
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The bodice of the dress utilises the first of the two new round plate 2 x 2 with circular bar frames at the waist, with some shapely curves above.
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There's a certain irony to adding a 1x1 plate to the bottom of the Brick Curved 1 x 2 x 1 with Curved Top (5841), since it is the same as Brick Curved 1 x 2 x 1 1/3 with Curved Top (6091, 32807) without the same plate. I imagine this is a sign that the newer mould 5841 will indeed replace the older mould, as the original one would have been more appropriate here.
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The other new plate 2 x 2 with circular bar frame is stacked next to its cousin 2 x 2 plate with octagonal bar frame (75937), shown in pearl gold above. Note that an axle is used to stack these elements which means the pearl gold element is not able to rotate.
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The benefit of the new mould (in white) having a round central hole means that it can be rotated to offset the pearl gold bars to allow the layers of the dress to be arranged in a pleasing, overlapping manner.
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Four of each of these sections are built with all the clips attached to the new mould's bars to give a rather lovely arrangement depicting a flowing dress.
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The bodice includes a cute bow at the back and some shapely... um... details at the front.
Final build
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The completed model is a sturdy base with a few play features; the hinged opening sections and the door that leads to a compartment, with the customisable area on top; and then finally the rotating dress.
The rear view of the completed model is just as good, although I've opened the compartment door here. With the door closed, this truly is a 360-degree model.
Conclusion
Looking at the positives, the set has a new mould, some nice recolours in bright light orange and shades of blue, plus some new prints; in particular, the 1x3 tiles could be useful in a moc. For Disney collectors there is an exclusive minifigure, as her dress print only appears in this set so far.
As a playset, there are limited play features with the opening base and customisable options. I'm not entirely sure about the dress as it doesn't actually look like the dress Cinderella classically wears. I did like the build process but the end result is proportionally far too short – Cinderella's miniskirt dress!
Not everyone is a fan of Disney Princesses and I personally prefer the female Disney characters who are a bit more kick-ass, like Mulan and Brave! At US$39.99/ £34.99/ 39.99€ this is more than a pocket money priced set but the price per part sits well within reasonable limits at 7.4p/8.4c/8.4c, despite the usual "Disney tax".
READ MORE: Review of set 71490 Izzie and Bunchurro the Gaming Bunny from LEGO® DREAMZzz™
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Great review!
ReplyDeleteI was already excited about that new round plate mold (since it can sometimes be frustrating arranging clips evenly around the old octagonal one), and having a pin hole instead of an axle hole through the middle makes it that much more different and useful! Both the top and underside of the mold also have interesting looks, shown off well in your various tablescraps.
I think you've built the dress slightly wrong here—specifically, the official pictures have the 2x2 round tiles facing upward so that they overlap the printed tile and are more in line with the 2x2 round half-circle tiles (a clever way to make a thematically appropriate pumpkin shape).
DeleteThanks Andrew. I will check, I’m notoriously bad at following instructions so apologies if I’ve gone rogue with the dress and customised it 😉
First part of your comment was basically my thoughts on the piece. "Oh nice, a variant that holds clips in the center by itself… oh nice, it has a functional difference in how it can be attached, too."
DeleteThat new part 7088 is very interesting ! Thanks alot for the review, and for the analysis about that new part's connections 😊 !
ReplyDeleteI wonder if the new round plate with clip would allow for a 1x2 inverted slope?
ReplyDeleteI'm excited to see how the new 7088 works with various rubber tires, it being slightly less than 4 studs in diameter should work out well! And for other brick-built wheels like you've shown, and spaceship engines!
ReplyDeleteOhhh now that's a good question!
Delete