Review: 41397 Juice Truck
Posted by benbacardi,LEGO definitely seems to have a thing for food trucks in recent years; as highlighted in my review of 31104 Monster Burger Truck, we've had pizza, hot dogs, burgers, and hot chocolate, to name just a few. This time, the Friends are heading down a more healthy route with 41397 Juice Truck.
As with my previous review of a Friends set, this is from the 4+ range aimed at the younger builder; as such, I built it with my daughter and her opinion is more important than mine!
The Box
The set is contained in a medium-sized box with the standard Friends branding. The truck is depicted on a beach near the ocean, with two dolphins frolicking about in the sea (although they are not obviously part of the set, as they blend in somewhat with the background artwork).
As with most Friends sets, it is bright and colourful, and therefore particularly eye-catching for younger builders. My daughter was disappointed that there isn’t more pink, but she feels that about most things in life!
Minidolls and Parts
Two minidolls are included in the set, Andrea and Emma. According to the box art, the Juice truck belongs to Emma. She is sporting a pair of transparent dark pink sunglasses, and wearing a light aqua skirt with dark blue shoes that has been in five other sets since 2018.
Andrea’s skirt and sandals is more uncommon, only appearing once before. Her hair allows for two accessories (one on top, and one on the side), and today she’s chosen an orange flower.
Both torsos, however, are unique to this set, and are suitably attired for the beach. Emma is wearing a sleeveless and backless blue top with a white pattern, and Andrea’s crop top features gold and turquoise highlights on a navy fabric. Both look fantastic, with excellent detailing, even down to the lacework around the hem.
As a 4+ set, it is meant to be easy to put together for little fingers. My daughter had no problem with the minidolls aside from the hair; being made of a rubbery material made it harder for her to easily fit together. In general, though, minidolls seem much easier for her to assemble than minifigures.
Of the 103 parts included in the set, there are a handful of interesting ones worth mentioning, shown in the photo below. The baby dolphin was introduced last year and has so far only appeared in one other set.
The two plant pieces are new in Lime, and there are three unique printed parts. The new pineapple print looks fantastic, and goes perfectly with the printed minifigure head that’s been around for a while now (of which one is also included in this set.)
Additionally, a new juice menu is printed for the side of the truck, and the curved 4x6x2 roof part used for the front of the truck is both new in dark turquoise and a unique print, depicting a bumper, two headlights, and some flower decals.
The new prints tie in very well with the theme of the set, giving the truck a “flower power” vibe that perfectly suits the colours chosen for the vehicle. As the creative member of the Friends, this seems to suit Emma’s personality very well!
A large number of spare parts are also included, although most are not particularly special. There are two spares of each of both the flowers for Andrea’s hair and Emma’s sunglasses, a pink cupcake, both green and pink cherries, and a green flower used for the top of the small pineapple.
The Build
As with most 4+ sets, the instructions are fairly basic, and limit themselves to only one or two parts per stage. The first stage is to construct the truck around a large chassis that I was surprised to find was a single part! Apparently the chassis has been in ten sets previously (although never in this colour), and all but one were in the Juniors range. I think I would be disappointed to find this in a normal set, but it is somewhat acceptable in those aimed at younger builders. I do question whether the axles could at least have been a separate part, though.
The truck comes together fairly quickly, without too much difficulty for my three-year-old. It includes a seat for Emma to drive, a cash register with some money, and a serving hatch. The van has no roof, so is clearly designed for warmer climes than I am used to in the UK! The shape of the van is reminiscent of the classic VW camper vans, which suits the vehicle’s colour scheme and vibe very well.
Placed on the serving hatch is a blender containing some cherries (presumably one of the beverage options is cherry juice, although I would normally expect the stalks to be removed before blending!), a pineapple, and a smoothie in a glass. A nice detail is the wood panelling on the side of the van, but I was disappointed to see that this part was not printed on the other side, but a plain tile was used instead.
The enormous pineapple on the roof looks fantastic, if not particularly aerodynamic, and it would certainly catch the eye of any thirsty holidaymakers on the beach. From the rear, however, the van is slightly less appealing. It would have been nice if both sides of the pineapple had been printed, in addition to the extra 1x4 tile mentioned above.
Next to be built are the smaller models, including a camera and bag for Andrea, and a crate containing a banana and an apple, presumably other juices that are able to be purchased from the truck. The crate can be stored in the large opening at the rear of the van.
A sun lounger is put together beneath a palm tree, with a small table and cup (presumably with more juice!) nearby. The lounger is a simple build with only a few parts, but fairly effective. Again, my daughter was able to put most of this together by herself with only a little guidance.
The Completed Model
When finished, the model looks fantastic displayed together. There seems to be more to the set when complete than the box art would suggest—this may be partly due to the dolphins being depicted in the sea on the box, somewhat far from the rest of the model, meaning that I didn’t originally spot them.
There are a few parts that aren’t part of the build process and therefore not in the photos above, such as the dolphins and the surfboard, which are shown below.
While I was photographing the model for the review, my daughter was eager to play with it, and she moved it around to set it up as below when I had my back turned! Apparently, Emma had sold the smoothie to Andrea, who was now enjoying it while relaxing in the warm sun beneath the palm tree.
As with previously, I asked my daughter some questions once we'd finished (although her answers were somewhat distracted, she was too busy trying to play!)
Did you enjoy building the set? What is your favourite thing about it? Yes! I liked building the truck. You can even brum it along the floor, and I love the blue and the pink.
Was it easy to build? Yes, but putting the plant on the pineapple was hard.
Do you think other children would like to have this set? Yes, like my friend. And her sister, but she's too small to play, so she can only look.
Conclusion
The set is much more appealing to me when built than it originally looks on the box. I don’t know if this says something about the box art used for Friends, but this was also true of the previous Friends set I reviewed. The model is very bright and colourful, and contains a large amount of play opportunities. It was obviously quite appealing to my daughter, who is exactly the target market (or near enough), as she couldn’t wait for me to finish with it in order to play. This is probably more important than anything else mentioned in this review!
Sets that contain more than one of the Friends are appreciated, as they offer greater play value, particularly if not playing alone. Likewise, vehicles are always welcome, as most children (and some adults!) can get a lot of pleasure from rolling it around on the floor or table and acting out scenes from their imagination.
Although I was disappointed with a couple of the parts not being printed, and the chassis being a single large part, my daughter was not at all bothered by this (and I didn't expect her to be!) - and at an RRP of £17.99 / $19.99 / 19.99€ it seems to reflect overall decent value for money. It is, after all, a 4+ set aimed at younger builders, and a great introduction to Lego and the Friends line. For only 103 pieces, it seems to have it all—bright colours, multiple figures, a vehicle, and some cute animals to boot! It definitely went down well with my little girl, anyway.
Thanks for LEGO for providing the set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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20 comments on this article
"brum it along the floor"
I love that! Brilliant review. I feel a bit sorry for the friends little sister who can "only look"!
This is on my want list for this year. I like the 4+ sets - no stickers!!
Another great review. Including your daughter's experience is very informative. I'll be picking this up for my nephew's daughter's birthday. She's six and she'll love it for all the reasons your almost 4 year old does. Thanks!
If I were a 4-year old girl I think I'd probably love this set.
Brilliant and funny review and daughter report! Thank you :)
What I don't get about Friends-Cars is why they basically never have a roof.
I think the 4+ line is great even for older kids - as well as AFOLs who are looking for special printed pieces.
One general observation though: You wrote:
"As with most 4+ sets, the instructions are fairly basic, and limit themselves to only one or two parts per stage."
To be honest I get the impression that that is the case with most LEGO instructions these days, even for Creator Expert or Technic sets. Instructions are so dumbed down these days that it is bordering on annoying. Not in a 4+ set, it is perfectly fine here.
But having to put up with instruction "booklets" that are thicker than the phone directories of old for most themes is more than just annoying. There's just no fun in building one or two pieces per page for an advanced builder. As a kid I had to make do with instructions that were only a few pages even for large sets. And guess what, I managed to build the sets nonetheless. As did my friends. Kids nowadays are pampered too much imho. Not enough trust in their abilities.
@wasn it's always sunny and warm in Heartlake City - their vehicles don't need to have a roof.
Well except for the ski resort where it must snow. Unless it's fake snow. Hmm. Curious now.
Great review @benbacardi!
@AustinPowers said:
"I think the 4+ line is great even for older kids - as well as AFOLs who are looking for special printed pieces.
One general observation though: You wrote:
"As with most 4+ sets, the instructions are fairly basic, and limit themselves to only one or two parts per stage."
To be honest I get the impression that that is the case with most LEGO instructions these days, even for Creator Expert or Technic sets. Instructions are so dumbed down these days that it is bordering on annoying. Not in a 4+ set, it is perfectly fine here.
But having to put up with instruction "booklets" that are thicker than the phone directories of old for most themes is more than just annoying. There's just no fun in building one or two pieces per page for an advanced builder. As a kid I had to make do with instructions that were only a few pages even for large sets. And guess what, I managed to build the sets nonetheless. As did my friends. Kids nowadays are pampered too much imho. Not enough trust in their abilities."
I've been saying this for years to anyone who would listen - instruction booklets are a pain in the neck! Some of the most nothing sets (such as a caravan from the regular Creator theme) are bigger than most uni text books. I keep all my instruction booklets, and all the old ones are fine to store - but anything from after about the year 2013 or 2014 is just a nightmare to find an adequate storage solution for.
"All opinions expressed are my own."
And your daughter's ;)
Nice review. I may buy this set for my 4 year old.
More new swim tops. Still waiting for swim bottoms - even a one piece.
I'm liking the reviews, particularly the viewpoint of those it's aimed at
I know that Becardi is spelled differently from Bacardi, though it still amuses me that you're reviewing a refreshment truck. :)
Great review!
I love the mini interview with your 3yr old, that's a great idea! I love the giant pineapple, and no stickers! I kind of want this now... :)
@benbacardi I feel the same way about not getting a second wood print tile :-)
Both torso prints have appeared before, in each of their 2019 Summer Heart Boxes.
https://brickset.com/sets/41385-1/Emma-s-Summer-Heart-Box
https://brickset.com/sets/41384-1/Andrea-s-Summer-Heart-Box
I don't know why previous existing pieces occasionally get a new inventory number; especially only a year apart.
@AustinPowers said:
"To be honest I get the impression that that is the case with most LEGO instructions these days, even for Creator Expert or Technic sets. Instructions are so dumbed down these days that it is bordering on annoying. Not in a 4+ set, it is perfectly fine here.
But having to put up with instruction "booklets" that are thicker than the phone directories of old for most themes is more than just annoying. There's just no fun in building one or two pieces per page for an advanced builder. As a kid I had to make do with instructions that were only a few pages even for large sets. And guess what, I managed to build the sets nonetheless. As did my friends. Kids nowadays are pampered too much imho. Not enough trust in their abilities."
Easy solution: Skip every other page if you want a less easy build. No one is stopping you. Won't do much about them being so thick but it'll solve your first problem for sure
@alyxavior said:
"I know that Becardi is spelled differently from Bacardi, though it still amuses me that you're reviewing a refreshment truck. :)
Great review!"
Is his name Becardi then?
You'll need to change your disclaimer to "all opinions expressed are my own or my adorable child's" :)
Nice review, looks like a fun little set and a great introduction to Lego for young ones.
@wasn said:
"What I don't get about Friends-Cars is why they basically never have a roof. "
Well at the 4+ range anyways I think its more important to be able to get in and out of the vehicle and with that said half the time the top would likely get lost so why have one.
It looks a bit unfinished. Where is the roof for example?
@undead_rising said:
"I keep all my instruction booklets, and all the old ones are fine to store - but anything from after about the year 2013 or 2014 is just a nightmare to find an adequate storage solution for."
This!
When I look at my instruction booklets, the entirety of my collection from 1978 to the beginning of my dark ages in or around 1997, even though it is over a hundred sets, takes up less space in the cupboard than two instruction "booklets" of recent years like the Technic Arocs, Xerion, etc. Even a medium sized Friends set has a larger instruction booklet (or even several) than for example the 8880 Supercar, which is far larger and more complex.