Review: 42639 Andrea's Modern Mansion
Posted by MeganL,42639 Andrea's Modern Mansion has made a big splash in the January wave of sets. And for good reason - it's the largest Friends set ever released (2275 pieces), the most expensive (£169.99 / $199.99 / €199.99), has the most minidolls (10), and is the first with a 14+ recommended age rating.
With that price and piece count, this is a set comparable to the modular buildings. Appropriately, the designer of this set, Wes Talbott, does have a modular building (10270 Bookshop) in his portfolio.
This is the set that many Friends aficionados have been clamouring for - a Heartlake City build that appeals to the theme's older fans. It's also the first retail set with all five of the original Friends! Let's see how the original Friends have grown up in this sophisticated, stylish build that's sure to please Friends fans and create some new ones.
Summary
42639 Andrea's Modern Mansion, 2,275 pieces.
£169.99 / $199.99 / €199.99 | 7.5p/8.8c/8.8c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
The fun, complex, sophisticated build that older Friends fans have been waiting for
- Advanced building techniques
- First retail set with all five original Friends
- Fantastic use of colour
- Working elevator
- No kitchen
- Tiny bathroom
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Inside the box there are 17 numbered bags, 2 unnumbered bags with larger plates and speciality parts, and a folder with two weighty instruction books and a sticker sheet. The sheet is not as large as I expected for this larger build.
As with many sets released at the beginning of the year, there are new moulds and recolours in this set. For an excellent review of those, please see this piece by our friends at New Elementary. This review will focus on the building experience and set features.
Minidolls
It's good to see all five original Friends in one set! The premise of the set is that Andrea has a fabulous new mansion, and has invited all five Friends for a reunion. I'm not sure how Olivia was able to make it, since she was on Mars the last time we checked.
The instruction book wastes no time in updating us on how the Friends have fared. Olivia is an astronaut and Stephanie is the mayor of Heartlake City (both of which we knew from previous sets). Mia is listed as not only being Autumn's mom but also a horse ranch owner. Emma has become a famous artist, and Andrea is a music icon.
All the Friends are dressed in new gear (aka new torsos) for this set. Andrea has a blue dress with silver accents, and she has dramatic blue eyeshadow, as is appropriate for a music icon! It's the first time I recall seeing eyeshadow on a Friends minidoll. Mia has her trademark fire engine red hair and is dressed in a silver halter top and orange jeans. Olivia is wearing a distinctly non-astronaut uniform, in a pale blue dress with fan bodice. I love Emma's long pleated skirt with sleeveless tank with a geometric design. Finally, there's Mayor Stephanie, looking very sharp in a purple pantsuit with a gold tank.
There's some back printing - I particularly like Emma's and Mia's detailing.
Four of the five Friends come with accessories - three phones, and a camera (for Emma, of course). Some of the phones are new this year, but others - such as Andrea's - come from the old generation. I hope this doesn't mean Andrea is using 30-year-old technology!
Joining the original Friends for this reunion are three of the new core cast, plus Andrea's husband and daughter. It makes sense for Autumn to be there, as she's Mia's daughter, and she's brought along Leo and Paisley. All three are wearing outfits that have been seen in other sets.
We also meet Andrea's husband, Ji-Won. Ji-Won is a retired K-pop star - that influence definitely shows in his hairstyle as well as his clothes, a blue and white shirt and silver necklaces, and a pair of bright green pants. Their daughter Imani is just adorable, and it's not surprising to see her dress is bright and sparkly, considering her mom's sense of fashion.
The back prints here aren't quite as interesting, though I do like the back of Ji-Won's shirt.
The completed model
Like several recent modular buildings, this build starts with a car to go with the building. This is a very modern car, and very suitable for a music icon! The colours are very eye-catching, and the sleek lines show that Friends cars have come a long way from the first Friends car.
Of course, Andrea has an appropriate vanity license plate.
It seems that Andrea has been running an errand to bring some treats home for her friends.
This is definitely a one-seater car, but there's enough room in the back (I hesitate to call it a trunk) for that box of doughnuts.
The main feature of the set, of course, is the house. Based on the box art on the front, the general architecture and the gradient colouring, I think it exudes a Malibu vibe.
Ground floor
One of the eye-catching features of the ground level is the garage. Like the accent colouring on the top level, the garage trim is decked in the gradient colours of a sunset. For those who were interested to see how reddish orange fits in the colour spectrum, this is a good example. I particularly like that the top colour is flame yellowish orange, which was Andrea's signature colour back at the beginning of the theme. I think this is a nice nod to the origins of the character.
The rockery next to the garage shows some nice dryscape flora.
The garage door is activated by a Technic mechanism built into the wall. Flipping the switch not only opens the door, but raises the rear of the road bed, causing the car in the garage to roll out. It's a very nice moving function, and works flawlessly.
Next to the garage is the ground level elevator access, and then the featured room on this ground floor is Andrea's studio (though I expect Ji-Won may get some use out of it as well). Considering she makes her living creating music, I wonder why the studio would be in the basement, but perhaps the soundproofing is better down there?
Viewing from another angle, we see that Andrea has mail and an award on the nearby bookshelf.
A surprise waits in this room - the synthesizer pulls out to reveal a bed! That's perfect for Andrea to host some of her friends for a sleepover.
First floor
The front door of the house is accessed through a flight of stairs, the top of which shows the address number on the mailbox, which is filled with Andrea's fan mail.
Also at the entrance is the pool. For those more interested in sunning than swimming, a daybed is close by. A float ring is available for those who would prefer lounging in the water.
Speaking of lounging in the water...
(Note: water-lounging sloth not included in this set.)
The top of the stairs shows the other side of the daybed, and that the bottle on the bed is 50 SPF sunscreen. A very wise move for the sunbathers!
Continuing through the front door, the tiled floor gives way to the elevator entry on this level, as well as a refreshment bar. Clearly, it's only for beverages, as evidenced by the mug and the sink.
If you hop in the elevator, what do you see? The minidolls have a floor to ceiling view outside. The elevator shaft is the prominent multi-storey central pillar of the house that is half glass and half white cladding. Through the clear sections in this picture you can see the elevator platform just above the first floor as well as the worm gear that allows for up and down movement.
The rest of the open plan first floor is an entertainment area. The room is dominated by a stage, piano and microphone for Andrea to practice her music at home.
There's lots of nice parts usage here, especially with the use of roller skates for foot pedals for the baby grand piano.
The rest of the room is perfect for Andrea's audience - and for the group to socialize. There's a table set with a pretty blue tablecloth, glasses and some macarons for the party. The Friends even have the option to hang out in the hot tub while catching up with each other or listening to the music.
Speaking of hanging out...
(Note: hot tub lounging sloths not included in this set.)
Second floor
The second storey features the personal spaces for Andrea and family. First, on the angled portion of the floor, is Andrea's bedroom. It's decorated in varying shades of yellow and also features flame yellowish orange, which I think is a nice touch. The moving function for this room is the bed, which rotates.
Andrea had a pet bird in the first incarnation, and it appears she has one now, too. This version is a lovebird. I'm not sure what lovebirds eat, but this one has a chocolate chip cookie hidden in the planter!
The elevator foyer on this level features an amazing tiled floor, and also a photo gallery. In some of the stickers we can see a picture of Stephanie and Mia graduating (we saw this sticker in 41730 Autumn's House, as well), pictures of Andrea and her family, plus pictures of Olivia and Emma.
The other side of the elevator foyer is Imani's room. Her room is space themed - I wonder if that has anything to do with her Aunt Olivia?
Next to Imani's room is the bathroom - of course there has to be one in a Friends set! This one, however, is quite tiny, and only includes a toilet and the sink. Where's the bathtub/shower? This bathroom doesn't seem like it's quite the size it should be for a music icon.
Roof level
There's one more level yet to explore! There are two spaces up here - the first is a meditation/yoga spot, which I love. There are essential oils and a lit candle, and some succulents behind a large fern. A yoga program is playing on a monitor conveniently placed on the floor. The yoga practitioner can be soothed by the sounds of water; there's a koi pond right there! There are water lilies and flowers to complete the serene scene. However, the koi had best be careful - the pond is also the feed for the waterfall that cascades down the building.
The other side of the roof is another gathering space with a comfortable couch and chaise, with a table laid out with one of the doughnuts we saw earlier. Some more plants are in a large planter off to the side. However, as this is Andrea's house, there has to be entertainment, which is provided by the karaoke machine. I'm guessing Ji-Won's and Andrea's music is featured on the tracks.
Overall architecture
We've taken a detailed look at the rooms. The outside of the building is just as fascinating a build as the interior.
The side of the building near the entrance is not only dominated by two palm trees featuring the new double fern piece, but also a waterfall that cascades down from the yoga area on the roof. More natural flora are found at the base of the waterfall (and trees).
A close up of the facade of the house shows the sunset colour gradient across the building, culminating in the flame yellowish orange around the central pillar. The technique for building the facade is quite fun and as advanced as any modular building.
The reverse gradient is found on the other side of the house, giving some great colour symmetry. I would be remiss if I didn't mention the inspired choice of the garage pieces, in new yellow, orange, and reddish violet colours as accents for the windows. They look fantastic!
This is a beautiful building from any angle, and lovely for display.
The rear view is as impressive as the front, and from this angle it's much more obvious that one section of the second and third storeys is set off at an angle from the rest of the building. This contributes to the building looking more interesting than floors just stacked one on top of the other. The elevator can be moved by twisting the black knob at the top of the pillar, between the solar panels.
Overall thoughts
What's not to love about this set? It has just about everything - a fantastic colour scheme, a really cool car, interesting architecture, and all the Friends details that we expect. Of note are those terrific tiled floors, and I like the memory wall on the top floor.
The icing on the cake is the selection of minidolls - what a treat to have all five Friends together in the set. It's great to see they're all doing well (though did we have any doubt?). In their current status, it's interesting that Mia is listed as "horse ranch owner and Autumn's mom", but Andrea is listed as "music icon". What about Imani?
It is unfortunate that there's no kitchen, but considering the space in the set I don't think I'd sacrifice any of the other rooms for one. Maybe Andrea and Ji-Won get all their food catered in? Plus, the bathroom is pretty small. I expect a much larger bathroom for a music icon.
This is a contemporary building with modern lines and makes great use of colour. The design team has done a great job of using new colours and pieces to their best advantage. For a detailed look of those new pieces and recolours, you can find a deep dive in this article at New Elementary. Additionally, you can find a parts inventory here, to see how many new pieces/colours are in the set.
Unlike modular buildings, the floors can't be separated because of the best reason - the working elevator! There are some great moving functions in the set, including the elevator and the garage mechanism.
The build experience does not disappoint - I haven't gone into much detail about the techniques as I don't want to ruin the surprise. Even though the suggested age rating is 14+, I think all adults would have an enjoyable time with this build.
I'm happy to see the Friends team embracing their older teen and adult fans. I hope this is the first 14+ set of many!
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64 comments on this article
This might be the first friends set I ever pick up
Our 12 year old daughter bought this on January 1st and built it very quickly. She LOVES this it and I must say it is quite a beautiful set even from an adult's point of view. LEGO Friends has been knocking it out of the park for years and this set is a perfect example of a flagship set for this theme. This review (along with New Elementary's) covers everything anyone would want to know but you really need to see the set in person to appreciate it all.
Trans-yellow garage door parts, whoopwhoop! Now I can finally attach a garage to my Blacktron I base! :)
Amazing! I love the California vibes with the plants and seeing the OG Friends cast all grown up!
As a guy, I'm not usually too interested in the Friends sets, but this and the Botanical Gardens (of course) are definitely piquing my interest!
Ha! I bet you all assumed I was a girl because I use Windra as my pfp! Well psych!
Great review of a gorgeous set!
I love the garage function. It's quite clever how they designed it to open the garage door and tilt the floor in sequence instead of at the same time, so that the car is only ejected once the door is open and you can open the door without tilting the floor to "reload" the car into the garage. The car itself is great, too, with a vibrant Friends color scheme and a very sleek build that calls to mind some of the old 6-wide Speed Champions sets.
The elevator is a great feature—the elevator frame and lift in this set were introduced in the Gabby's Dollhouse set, but this is the first set to use those parts with the worm gear functionality that allows the position of the elevator to be controlled remotely.
It's a bit of a shame that this set doesn't include basic features like a kitchen or a more full-featured bathroom, but it's understandable that the designers wanted to focus on the sorts of features like the pool and hot tub that would only be seen in a lavish mansion like this.
This right here gives me faith in a potential future for a Tony Stark Malibu mansion. Might have to pick this up just convert it!
All the floor-to-ceiling windows make me think of Flanders and Swann: "Our boudoir on the open plan has been a huge success / Though everywhere's so open, there's nowhere safe to dress!"
Feels like this could be doubled into a Tracy Island style Thunderbirds set up, or Tony Stark playhouse and workshop, but irrespective of this, Friends is once again showing us great Lego models, not based on an external licence, using mostly regular bricks with lots of building, clever techniques and a fantastic end result!!
OK, first person who takes this set and makes a BOJACK HORSEMAN-style intro video with the Andrea minidoll wins all the prizes.
Love this set - would have been a good opportunity for LEGO to employ a Paradisa-inspired pink-gray-white-green color scheme, but I like it nonetheless. Anyone looking to add a Hollywoo Hills style mansion to their LEGO city just got a big gift handed to them.
"In their current status, it's interesting that Mia is listed as "horse ranch owner and Autumn's mom", but Andrea is listed as "music icon". What about Imani?"
I assume that it was specifically mentioned that Mia is Autumn's mother because the latter is part of the new Friends' main cast.
As for all of the original Friends faring extremely well, it is par for the course in a toy that aims to creatively inspire. But in a time where a lot of people are repeating "you can do anything" like a mantra that might sometimes create unrealistic expectations, it could be nice to highlight that a more "average" life can also be a successful life too.
Very nice build. Not sure if my oldest will pick it up, since she hasn't been into Friends for over a year now, but would love to build it with her. I will say, though, the plants in this set are all sorts of weird. I don't like the double-fern part, much less used as a palm tree, and I can't believe they made the leafy plants into cubes. Bizarre.
Olivia must have brought those from Mars and planted them--and now, who knows how invasive they might turn out to be....
Wonder what kind of kickbacks Andrea gave to the mayor to build that mansion. Probably happened after she called the cops on that kid who was protesting the logging work done during construction.
Mars mission was only 1 year :)
With the various experiments that Lego have done releasing sets in alternative colour schemes, maybe they could do the same with a few Friends sets.
There are a lot of undeniably brilliantly designed sets that I'm sure would sell twice as many if they had a 'you're so square' version as well as a 'paint factory explosion' version.
I am tempted by this set, I like the architecture and the colours. The downside is the open back. I might still get it one day.
No need for a kitchen with the multitude of fast food joints and patisseries from HLC and City. ;)
My daughter loved Friends when she was six. She's now 17 and loves K-Pop. She's looking at Ji-Won and she hates him. Specifically, his pants.
@R0Sch said:
"No need for a kitchen with the multitude of fast food joints and patisseries from HLC and City. ;)"
Quite a few years back, I was 'shopping' for a flat in London. The agent showed me one with a kitchen the size of a closet - barely enough room for a microwave, a toaster and a coffee machine. She (the agent) gave me that exact reason: "in this neighbourhood, no need to cook, there are plenty of nice places to go eat". I did not take it; I got something in Islington (Angel) which has tons of good restaurants but the flat had a sizeable kitchen nonetheless..
Nice looking set. At a discount I might actually think about buying it.
But what's with the 14+ age rating?
With LEGO's current phone book sized instructions even an average five year old can build any set. And this one certainly doesn't look like it's using any complicated building techniques either.
The most surprising thing to me is that Andrea married Ji-Won instead of Jeremy from the LEGO Friends: Girls on a Mission. As someone who has seen the whole series and followed the lore, it caught me off guard that they Andrea and Jeremy split. I wonder what happened there.
Overall a great LEGO Friends set for sure.
@AustinPowers said:
"Nice looking set. At a discount I might actually think about buying it.
But what's with the 14+ age rating?
With LEGO's current phone book sized instructions even an average five year old can build any set. And this one certainly doesn't look like it's using any complicated building techniques either. "
I think you significantly overestimate the building skills of "average" five-year-olds. Yes, they could maybe manage to build it eventually—but would they manage it without succumbing to frustration or boredom, or without making mistakes along the way (easier to make in bigger sets where there's more space to potentially misplace parts)?
Keep in mind we're talking about an age where they've been maybe building with standard Lego for a year at most, and that a set like this features things like SNOT construction, Technic functionality for the garage and elevator, and a build process that's long enough to test even a neurotypical kid's attention span.
@SDlgo9 said:
"All the floor-to-ceiling windows make me think of Flanders and Swann: "Our boudoir on the open plan has been a huge success / Though everywhere's so open, there's nowhere safe to dress!""
The Garden's full of furniture,
And the house is full of plants.
@Agent00Z said:
"The most surprising thing to me is that Andrea married Ji-Won instead of Jeremy from the LEGO Friends: Girls on a Mission. As someone who has seen the whole series and followed the lore, it caught me off guard that they Andrea and Jeremy split. I wonder what happened there."
Perhaps the BTS Dynamite set actually sold reasonably well in other parts of the world and LEGO thought a connection to K-Pop might sell more of this set as well. And it's business, so off you go Jeremy! ;-)
The most surprising thing to me is that Andrea didn't marry a female partner. After all, wouldn't it be about time?
This is an amazing set, I like how it's able to be so colourful without having it look strange, which some other friends sets have struggled with
Beautiful and bold architecture, fantastic set! The only thing i don't like are those palm trees. These new Fernando and doublefern pieces look so unlego to mee. If this set had the classic palm trees (3 of them!) it would be perfectly flawles.
“ I wonder why the studio would be in the basement”
I imagine the music studio is subterranean because she’s making… wait for it… rock music.
@Librarian1976 said:
"“ I wonder why the studio would be in the basement”
I imagine the music studio is subterranean because she’s making… wait for it… rock music."
Sounds like a joke made by Bert from the geology department. ;-)
Good looking set. Even better once de-Friended. My only issue is price. $350 here in Australia and a Lego exclusive too. Can get a Jazz Club or Boutique Hotel for the same price.
Friends gets some of the coolest designed buildings. Shame I'm not a fan of minidolls. Always wondered how well they'd scale with regular old Minifigures.
I saw this set and thought "Wow, I can make a great Malibu Mansion for Iron Man combining this with 76007."
Then I saw the price and decided to pass on that dream.
@Spidey220 said:
"Friends gets some of the coolest designed buildings. Shame I'm not a fan of minidolls. Always wondered how well they'd scale with regular old Minifigures."
Mini-dolls and minifigures are close enough to the same scale that it generally won't matter. Mini-dolls need slightly more legroom to sit and can sit closer side by side in vehicles, but apart from that the scale is close enough that that you don't need to do much modification to switch which type of figure you're using.
The set is nice on the eye, but I'm curious to learn how many parents will shell out ~$300CAD after tax for that. Personally, I don't think there's $300 value in it, unless you're a hardcore "Heartlake City" fan or a passionate MOCer.
Thanks for the review - the set looks really quite good. I'm unlikely to get it, I don't really have the space, but it's great that it exists, and Friends has been tempting me more and more of late. Not bought the botanical garden yet, but I'm sure I will in the near future!
I do have a query for @MeganL though - your photos of the car show the same-handed 1x2 slope piece on both sides of the car above the rear wheel arches - is this a mistake or deliberate? It looks to me like the appropriate other part has been used in the vents on the doors - again they're not symmetrical. I've not seen the instructions of course so I'm just curious. Thanks again for the review!
@danishbricklayer said:
"I do have a query for @MeganL though - your photos of the car show the same-handed 1x2 slope piece on both sides of the car above the rear wheel arches - is this a mistake or deliberate? It looks to me like the appropriate other part has been used in the vents on the doors - again they're not symmetrical. I've not seen the instructions of course so I'm just curious. Thanks again for the review!"
Good catch! I just checked, and on the left hand side of the car I have the 1x2 slope pieces switched. The right hand side is correct.
That trans red curved slope for the tail lights is fabulous!
The car was the first thing that grabbed my attention. It reminds me of a 60s/70s idea of a futuristic car
Truly a celebration of the bourgeois glitterati. Needs a golden toilet for the master bath. Or, would that be over the top considering the floating hot tub?
"She told me her name was Billie Jean, as she caused a scene
Then every head turned with eyes that dreamed of being the one
Who will dance on the floor in the round..."
/Vice CITY vibes/
“The other side of the roof is another gathering space with a comfortable couch and chaise”
…perhaps Andrea also collaborates with Wet Leg?
It’s a fab looking building though - some of the room space usage could be a little better but it’s a popstar’s mansion so they don’t have to worry about real world things like a kitchen!
Well, there goes my headcanon for the fates of the original friends:
- Olivia gets lost in space (41713)
- Stephanie disappears after sending a mysterious distress signal from her yacht (41716)
- Emma flunks out of art school (41711) and becomes a garbage truck driver for the rest of her career (41712)
- Andrea becomes the sole guardian of her sister after their parents’ deaths, quashing her dreams of becoming an actress (neither parent is seen in 41698)
- Mia, after returning from a gap year in Africa (41717), is the only friend left in Heartlake, gets married, has a daughter, divorces and now just lives in the mountains writing ‘Stand by Me’ rip-off novels (41730).
Pretty good set though.
Descent set, I'm not a Friends collector but this makes me really want another 10880 Malibu mansion set since I didn't get 76007
This looks really good. Definitely caught my eye when this new Friends line was first revealed. I have only ever gotten Botanical Gardens from Friends and I love that set. So many great details and looks great in person. This set feels the same and I can’t wait to get it. Hopefully Friends will continue to release exceptional building sets. Thanks for the review @MeganL !
I love the stories told by the pictures and the growing families. I'm going to miss the original 5 and I hope we keep seeing cameos, but I suppose kids do grow up. 'cept for all of us here, obviously!
Built this over the last two days and it's massive - I love it! Just a bummer about the lack of a kitchen. Rest is great.
Early contender for best set of 2024?
This guy (who doesn't collect Friends and is more into vehicles than buildings) thinks so!
"The moving function for this room is the bed, which rotates."
Not sure why anyone would want a rotating bed in their room. :-D
But this is definitely the best of the larger Friends sets released so far. The spaces that need to be enclosed finally have walls where needed, unlike those from previous waves where buildings consist mostly of facades and sides are left open. I understand that this is for playability purposes but the overall look of the sets gets compromised as a result.
I have yet to find a review of this set that isnt too cowardly to admit that the colour scheme is the lesbian pride flag
Every time i see a mini-doll i think its a knock off lego set why cant they just use regular mini figs
The concept of the original Friends being grown up, and having grow-upish jobs is great!
I guess Stephanie doesn't have a phone, because she has staff to handle her phone :)
@magmafrost said:
"I have yet to find a review of this set that isnt too cowardly to admit that the colour scheme is the lesbian pride flag"
'Cowardly' seems a bit pejorative. Yet, there is no doubt you are correct about the color scheme. Interesting. It's hard to see that as a coincidence. I like it.
It would have been a neat detail if the piano was trans clear glass making it invisible ala "Girls 5-Ever". :)
@magmafrost said:
"I have yet to find a review of this set that isnt too cowardly to admit that the colour scheme is the lesbian pride flag"
It's not though...?
Wouldn't have occurred to me unless you mentioned it. It's just a sunset color gradient.
@MeganL said:
What about Ima[a]ni?
"Where are you?"
Might be a bit niche that one...
@Iceranger22 said:
" @magmafrost said:
"I have yet to find a review of this set that isnt too cowardly to admit that the colour scheme is the lesbian pride flag"
It's not though...?
Wouldn't have occurred to me unless you mentioned it. It's just a sunset color gradient."
Color gradient with white in the middle is literally the definition.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbian_flags
Every really rich Friend is awesome.
The 14+ rating on this is interesting. It's been a long time since I was 14, but I don't remember a lot of girls being into toys anymore at that age. I assume that's a primary reason why most Friends sets are targeted at younger kids. Will be interesting to see how well this sells.
Great review! This set is a beautiful one for sure, inside and out! The sunset gradient effect is gorgeous and reminds me strongly of the sort of colors I enjoy wearing in my day to day life.
It certainly surprised me a bit to see all five original Friends in a set so soon, considering that last year's sets only introduced one per wave, but it's exciting to see them all together again after all the separate ways their lives have taken them. I hope in the future we will continue to see more sets that show what's become of their lives since high school. For example, what sort of art does Emma make nowadays? And do any of the classic characters besides Mia and Andrea have partners or kids? Regardless, I'm sure they will all make great role models and mentors for the new generation of friends!
Truth be told, I've never been a huge fan of ostentatious celebrity mansions like this — in real life they often strike me as excessive (feeling more like what I'd expect from a hotel, resort, or art museum than a home), and in LEGO I'm usually more drawn to more familiar, "everyday" sorts of houses and buildings. But it is definitely suited to Andrea's glitzy pop star lifestyle! And the distinctive architectural style really shines through in details like the enormous picture windows, cantilevered upper floor, rooftop terrace, elevator, hot tub, and infinity pool.
The interior definitely matches the opulence of the building itself with all its colorful and classy flooring and furniture. Certainly, it lacks some practical features like a full kitchen, bath/shower, laundry room, or even roof access, but all the features showcasing Andrea's glamorous tastes, musical inclinations, and memories of her friends and family help make up for those drawbacks. The pullout bed in the recording studio is a particularly fun detail, since it both makes that room more functional/livable AND cleverly utilizes the narrow space below the swimming pool (which would otherwise go to waste).
I'm very impressed with the garage function — although there's something ironic about a set introducing three exciting new garage door recolors and then using entirely different parts for the actual garage door! The car is also really gorgeous with its sweeping lines and eye-catching colors, although its compact interior means less seating than other LEGO Friends vehicles this size. And it's charming that the donut box in the back matches the branding from 42606!
Regarding your description of the karaoke machine, I think it's playing one of Ley-La's songs rather than one of Andrea's! Note that the stickered "lyrics" in 42610 match the ones on this set's karaoke machine!
All in all, between the gorgeous color scheme, the architectural complexity, and the presence of all the theme's original main characters, it's definitely tempting me to make this the year I begin collecting LEGO Friends sets in earnest, instead of just buying occasional sets that catch my interest!
@bricks_and_boxes said:
""The moving function for this room is the bed, which rotates."
Not sure why anyone would want a rotating bed in their room. :-D "
Ordinarily I'd agree, but with big windows like these, I'm sure it'd be amazing to turn the bed around to watch the sunrise or sunset, or to watch firework shows on holidays!
@StyleCounselor said:
" @Iceranger22 said:
" @magmafrost said:
"I have yet to find a review of this set that isnt too cowardly to admit that the colour scheme is the lesbian pride flag"
It's not though...?
Wouldn't have occurred to me unless you mentioned it. It's just a sunset color gradient."
Color gradient with white in the middle is literally the definition.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbian_flags
Every really rich Friend is awesome. "
Honestly, while I do like that about this set (the lesbian flag is one of several reasons that I love to wear sunset-type colors), it's not really all that great a match — it'd need more shades of pink to really evoke the lesbian flag properly, since that flag uses different shades of pink and purple for all of the lower stripes and different shades of red and orange for all the upper stripes.
@Aanchir said:
" @bricks_and_boxes said:
""The moving function for this room is the bed, which rotates."
Not sure why anyone would want a rotating bed in their room. :-D "
Ordinarily I'd agree, but with big windows like these, I'm sure it'd be amazing to turn the bed around to watch the sunrise or sunset, or to watch firework shows on holidays!
@StyleCounselor said:
" @Iceranger22 said:
" @magmafrost said:
"I have yet to find a review of this set that isnt too cowardly to admit that the colour scheme is the lesbian pride flag"
It's not though...?
Wouldn't have occurred to me unless you mentioned it. It's just a sunset color gradient."
Color gradient with white in the middle is literally the definition.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lesbian_flags
Every really rich Friend is awesome. "
Honestly, while I do like that about this set (the lesbian flag is one of several reasons that I love to wear sunset-type colors), it's not really all that great a match — it'd need more shades of pink to really evoke the lesbian flag properly, since that flag uses different shades of pink and purple for all of the lower stripes and different shades of red and orange for all the upper stripes."
You are indubitably correct. But, it's also really, really similar. It seems difficult to believe it's just a coincidence with all the differing layers of oversight at Lego.
It would be interesting to get the designer's perspective.
This set looks great bt I really dislike fact it has barrely space to play.
@lordofdragonss said:
"This set looks great bt I really dislike fact it has barrely space to play."
I sort of agree, something like 41135 : Livi's Pop Star House was obviously a lot smaller, but offered quite a few options for pure play, like hinged walls or the second floor coming off.
Interior can be changed, but space cannot, and especially that Dining table room in the Mansion, where that cloud shaped table and chairs are looks to be kind of annoying to reach. (don't have the set so cannot confirm)
Anyone else notice that the most significant thing that seems to be holding up the left side of the upper floor is a waterfall?
@Astrobricks said:
"Anyone else notice that the most significant thing that seems to be holding up the left side of the upper floor is a waterfall?"
Yeah I saw that pillar, but the majority of weight is supported by those window frames , and not just that simple transparent 1x2 waterfall pillar, as it kind of floats next to the actual floors.
The black frames are also supported by a few layers of plates and tiles, most notably a few 2x6 tiles under the Tan plate.
The waterfall is added last, right before the palm trees finish the build.
Nice set. A bit expensive and why 14+? My 8 year old daughter would love it and would have zero problems building it.
I think the house would look better with all plates being properly pushed down though ;)
@MeganL thanks for the clarification!