Review: 41394 Heartlake City Hospital
Posted by MeganL,After many years without a LEGO hospital set, the first Friends hospital, 41318 Heartlake Hospital, was released in 2017. City followed with a City Hospital in 2018, and now this year the Friends line has come out with another hospital, 41394 Heartlake City Hospital.
This year's Friends version is a smaller offering than 2017's version at half the price and less than half the parts. The build is obviously noticeably smaller and I wonder if it really deserves the name "hospital". Maybe a clinic?
I reviewed 41318 Heartlake Hospital in 2017, so when appropriate I'll comment on the similarities and differences between that set and 41394.
Inside the box there are four numbered bags, a 8x16 plate, two instruction booklets, and two sticker sheets. One of the things I didn't like about 41318 was that I felt it had too many stickers. While this year's hospital doesn't have quite as many stickers, it's also half the size. One sticker sheet is devoted entirely to show window blinds for the large windows in the hospital building.
Minidolls
There are three minidolls in this set - the Friends sweethearts Ethan and Emma as well as Dr. Maria. Ethan comes dressed as we've seen him before - in a sand green hoodie with black trousers. Emma has a brand new outfit on for 2020 - she's wearing a pale green cami under a one shouldered pink sleeveless tank. The tank has a lovely origami design printed on the front that reminds me of a crane.
The pink tank matches perfectly with the pink skirt she's wearing, finished with purple shoes with pink soles. Similarly, Dr. Maria is also new to this set - she has large green eyes with full orange-pink lips. She wears a white medical smock styled like a blazer. I like the detail of the two patch pockets.
Other printed details are included on her torso, including an identification badge plus a logo of the hospital - a large heart with the waves of an EKG reading inside. The details on Dr. Maria's torso are in the new coral colour, as are many of the details of this set. Otherwise, Dr. Maria's torso is very similar to that of Dr. Patel, who was staffing 41318.
Ethan comes with a banana, which apparently is the cause of his injuries (I can't think of any other reason a banana is included in this set!). After Ethan's fall as a result of the banana peel, he ends up in quite a state, with bandages on his wrist and around his head! Good thing his Friend Emma is stopping by to pay him a visit, and has brought along some chocolate and a balloon to cheer him up and help him feel better.
Ethan's wheelchair is built similarly to the unfortunate Henry's wheelchair from a few years ago, though I think this version is better - in the last version Henry was tilted back and forced to look at the sky even when seated.
The completed model
Like the previous hospital, this one has an ambulance to transport Ethan. It's a pretty blocky vehicle with just the basics included - four wheels, a windshield, and a space to place a stretcher. There isn't even a steering wheel included, though there is a space to put a minidoll in the front. Perhaps it's a self-driving ambulance?
I rather like the flip down back door of the ambulance in this version. I think it makes it more interesting for play, though not as practical as the more conventional doors in the ambulance from 41318. The roof on this ambulance is pretty easy to remove, allowing one a view of how the stretcher nestles in the ambulance.
The main hospital building is composed of four main rooms. Upon opening the double front doors there's a reception area. There's a small seating area as well as a walk-up reception kiosk - something I've seen at my last visit to a clinic. A small floor rug has an appropriate logo of crossed bandages (with a heart in the middle, of course).
After getting registered, Ethan would likely be taken to the intake room, where there's a cot to lie on, and all the equipment handy to take all of Ethan's vital signs, including a rather large thermometer. There's also a cheerful plant on a small table to help keep Ethan's spirits up. The bandage-logoed floor rug can be found in this room, too.
On the other side of the reception area there's a room that's dedicated to a rather enormous microscope. I'm not sure what samples will be examined here, but whatever they are will be very magnified!
After getting Ethan's vital signs, he'd travel up to the examination room. This room has much more medical equipment, including an x-ray scanner that slides over the bed so any body part can be x-rayed. I like how most Friends sets include at least one moving function in them.
A nearby monitor shows the result of the x-ray (the result of a sticker). Other medical equipment can be found in the cabinet close by that has a sink on top. However, I'm not sure what use the syringe is going to be while attached to the top of the wall.
Next to the examination room there's a green patch. The set description calls this area a "rooftop garden". I think that is marketing speak at its finest, as there are no plants here save for a single leaf piece.
The front of the building is quite attractive. Similar to 41318, this clinic has floor to ceiling windows - always an interesting choice for a hospital - and many of the stickers are dedicated to portraying blinds in the many windows. Of course, hearts are used to show the pulls for the blinds. I very much like the brick built heart with the bandage at the top of the building.
Overall thoughts
This is a nice little set. At half the price and less than half the pieces, it's a scaled down version of 41318, but the designer has included most of the key areas needed for lots of play. In that respect I like this version better, because it seems to me to lend itself more to direct playability. Though while the essentials are there, some of the details are not. The ambulance is a good example of this.
There are a lot of stickers included for a set of this size. Many of them are for window dressing (literally), but unlike the larger set, I didn't find the stickers to be a drawback of this set. Of course, if your little builder likes adding stickers, then this is a bonus!
It seems that the theme of "coral is the new pink" continues - this is another Friends set where coral is used where in the past I would expect to see more pink colours. I like the change and hope it attracts more people to the theme.
But......
The major downside of this set is the price. This is one of the worst values (379 pieces, $49.99, £54.99, 59.99€) that I've seen in a while. It's getting into Disney Princess type of eye-watering pricing. For a non-licensed set, this doesn't make a lot of sense.
I like the set for the playability, but I can't recommend it for the price. I would definitely wait for this to go on sale.
Thanks to LEGO for providing this set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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21 comments on this article
Good review, but completely terrible pricing in Euro.
Compared to the 2017 Friends and 2018 City Hospitals which were more expensive, but also much larger.
That ambulance is very cute.
Thanks for the review, I havr both the first Friends Hospital (I decided to buy it as there was a serious need of a medical facility) and the CITY Hospital (hey, two medical stations equals twice the patients treated and the Friends one will be incorporated into a desert apartment next to a factory and mine while the CITY will be well, in the midst of the ciry) so I have no need of a third hospital but at least this doesn't have a horrible helicopter.
That *is* a gigantic thermometer. Poor Ethan. I can only imagine how they're going to take his temperature.
Preferred the heartlake hospital from a couple of years back with Henry, Olivia & Doctor Patel..
The colour scheme was better and the general build was too and it seemed bigger.
I guess it's a Teslambulance?
maybe calling it hospital instead of Emergency Department made more marketing sense.
Ethan’s there because the banana caused a falling injury? Thanks for supplying a G-rated alternative to my first banana-related need to visit a clinic.
I much prefer the previous City Hospital. Even the last Friends one was much better imho.
In general I don't like the price trend that is apparent almost across the entire current LEGO lineup.
There are so many sets now, even non-licensed ones, that have RRPs that border on insanity. You are supposed to pay so much for so little.
This has had the effect that I have not purchased a single current set this year, nor do I see anything on the horizon to sway me otherwise. This plus the fact there are hardly any sets I find attractive or enticing anymore. The only ones I am looking forward to are some of the upcoming Ideas sets.
Feels like I am almost about to slip into a second LEGO Dark Age.
Thankfully there are several other companies nowadays that are happy to take some of my annual brick budget in return for awesome sets.
The hospital bed wasn't pushed down all the way. I don't mean to nit pick but it was pretty noticeable. It's nice getting more reviews on friends though. :)
I sort of see the reasoning for the pricing as there are many large pieces, like all of those windows. Btw I love a total lack of privacy when I'm in the hospital and feeling my worst lol. It's still 5.00 - 10.00 overpriced though, especially since that's probably the saddest "garden" I've ever seen, and no steering wheel? Seriously that's just crap. I'd like to have the medical instruments from this set, and that's about it. @Zordboy, I know right? Hopefully it's taken orally and not alien/probing style. Thanks for the review though! Except are you trying to trigger me by not pushing all the pieces down lol ; ) Off topic my pocket money is very afraid of the new Friend's Play Cubes (Toy Store, Cinema, Sweet Shop, and Pet Shop)!
The space menagment in this set is so bad.
Fig can barrely stand on upper floor
Horrible set... old hospital was much better
@LINK_O_NEAL said:
"The hospital bed wasn't pushed down all the way. I don't mean to nit pick but it was pretty noticeable. It's nice getting more reviews on friends though. :) "
I also noticed this in a number of pictures. The tan 1x2 panel in Ethan's wheelchair isn't pushed down all the way, the ambulance's roof isn't pushed down all the way in the pics where it's on, the hospital bed, as you pointed out, is pretty egregious, the microscope stand and base in the next picture is also pretty off, and the 4x4 "garden" isn't down all the way either. Once you spot one you start seeing more. I'm pretty surprised as usually issues like that are an outlier for Brickset.
In all honesty, I would question the productivity if I lay in that 'hospital'...
The price is absolutely disgusting - there's no way I'd buy this for my kids.
Price sucks but the set is adorable. Love the colors and the overall aesthetic. That ambulance is to die for
Great review! The egregious price is akin to highway robbery. Also, you failed to completely press down on many of the pieces, and hence, it looks unfinished!
While the price per piece is pretty steep, I suspect it probably has more to do with the use of a lot of big plates, panels, etc. There were a lot of similar complaints with 41345-1 a couple years ago, which had a similar overall structure at a somewhat larger scale. And 3061-1 , which had a similar emphasis on transparent windows at a smaller scale, had an even MORE egregious USD and GBP price per piece when you account for inflation!
I definitely can't fault anybody wishing there were a more elaborate build or higher piece count at this price point, but even then it probably wouldn't have amounted to a much bigger build, just a less window-heavy architectural style for the exterior.
As for comparing it to the previous Heartlake Hospital, I suspect LEGO deliberately went with a smaller design this time so it might appeal to a different set of buyers who might've been less interested in a hospital at that higher price point. As others have mentioned, this could also serve as a clinic for buyers who already have a bigger hospital set. Honestly, if kids continue to demand this type of subject matter, I think it's for the best that designers vary them up where they can.
All in all, I like the curvy aesthetic here, and feel like the ambulance looks a lot more charming than previous ones in the Friends theme. The sign up top is also really cute and clever! At the same time, I am personally drawn more to sets with a cozy, low-stakes look than ones that are more focused on work or emergency scenarios.
I guess it's sort of like how I made a point of picking up the Dolphin Cruiser and Sunshine Catamaran, but have so far passed on last year's genuinely brilliant Ocean Rescue sets. So I don't anticipate this making it onto my personal wanted list. Good review, though!
@rex501 said:
"Great review! The egregious price is akin to highway robbery. Also, you failed to completely press down on many of the pieces, and hence, it looks unfinished!"
I didn't much notice this when first glancing over the pictures, but now it is hard to un-see.
Strange that this appears to be such a sloppy build job when the review itself is so great.
Photos in this review of partly pressed-down parts are numerous—and distracting.
Love reading your reviews Megan, even though I have no interest in the theme.
And I don’t mind that parts weren’t pushed together all the way. It’s hardly a capital offence, even though some people seem to react that way!