Elves

The Elvenstar Tree Bat Attack

The grand finale of LEGO Elves, and it goes out as a proper treehouse.

Brick Rated Score

4.2/5

Set 41196 · 2018

Pieces883

Minifigs3

Year2018

Set number41196

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The verdict

This was the biggest Elves set of 2018 and, as it turned out, one of the last the theme ever got, so it carries a little weight for me.

What got me is how genuinely tree-shaped it is: a real three-story trunk with a colored roof for each elf, a slide, a waterfall, and a hidden staircase you swing a branch to reveal. It leans hard into play functions rather than shelf display, so if you want a quiet architectural build this is not it. But for a kid who wants a world to live in, it delivers.

Best for: Elves fans and function-loving kids who want a playable treehouse, not a display piece

The full review

What it is

The Elvenstar Tree is the kind of set that earns its size. It is 883 pieces built into a three-story tree, and the designer clearly cared about making it actually look like a tree rather than a boxy tower with leaves stuck on. Each of the elves gets her own room with a differently colored roof, there is a waterfall tower on one side, a slide, and a branch you swing aside to uncover a hidden staircase. When it is finished it has real presence, and I found myself fiddling with all the little mechanisms long after the last brick went on.

The catch

Here is where I will be straight with you. This is a playset first and a display model second, and that shapes everything about it. The functions are the point: shelves that transform into beds when you turn a knob, a forge where you pound the Volcano Hammer to make a sword, a bat shooter, a moving telescope, an opening mailbox, and a little side build with a portal and knock-down targets. It is delightful if a child is going to play with it. If you wanted something to sit quietly on a shelf and look elegant, all those moving bits and bright roofs will feel busy. There is also the price to reckon with. It launched at 79.99 dollars, but Elves wrapped up in 2018 and the set retired, so it now trades well above that on the secondary market.

Who it's for

Get this one if you love the Elves world, or if you are building for a kid who wants somewhere to stage stories rather than a model to admire. The three mini-dolls, the bat, the bear, and the spiders give you a whole cast, and the sheer number of functions means it holds up to actual play. Skip it if you are chasing display value or a parts-efficient build, or if mini-dolls just are not your thing, because they do not carry over to the regular minifigure world. For what it is, a warm, playable send-off for a much-loved theme, it lands really well.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

Building this is a friendly, forgiving experience rather than a technical challenge. It comes together in clear stages: the trunk and its levels, the roofs, the waterfall tower, and then the surprising number of little mechanisms tucked inside. None of it is difficult, which makes it a lovely build to do alongside a younger builder, and the payoff of each working function as you finish it keeps the momentum going. The moving branch that reveals the staircase and the shelf-to-bed transformation are the moments that made me grin.

The headline piece is the buildable bat, fully posable with wings that move and a jaw that opens, which is more characterful than the usual big-cat or dragon filler in a set like this. Beyond it you get the printed leaf and petal elements Elves used so well, the bright translucent pieces for the waterfall and portal, and the roof plates in that signature Elves palette. The three mini-dolls, Lumia, Naida, and Azari, are nicely detailed, and rounding out the cast are Hippo and Crase the smaller bats, Blubeary the bear, and two spider figures. It is a generous parts count for the money it originally cost.

Fun facts

01This was the largest LEGO Elves set of 2018 and part of the theme's final wave, released in June 2018 before Elves was discontinued after a three-year run.
02The set includes a whole menagerie beyond the three elves: a big buildable bat, two smaller bats named Hippo and Crase, Blubeary the bear, and two spiders.
03Brickset reviewers rated it 4.3 out of 5, praising how convincingly the designer made 883 pieces read as an actual tree with a room for each elf.
04It launched at 79.99 dollars but, with Elves retired, now regularly sells for well above its original price on the secondary market.