Review: 41119 Heartlake Cupcake Cafe
Posted by MeganL,A couple of years ago, we had 3061 City Park Café and 41006 Downtown Bakery. Now, we have Heartlake Cupcake Café. Is this a retread of old sets, or does it combine the best of the two?
The box art shows Stephanie and Naomi with the outside and inside on a lovely spring day complete with cherry blossoms. It appears like Naomi is a worker in the café. The back of the box shows various mini scenes of the set.
Inside the box are three numbered bags, two instructions booklets, a small sheet of stickers and two pale blue base plates.
)
Stephanie comes dressed perfectly for that lovely spring day, with a lavender colored shirt and a top decorated with stars. She comes with a little black and white kitty who we have seen before but is very cute nonetheless. Naomi, who makes her debut in this set, comes with a brand new torso that consists of an apron tied over a white shirt. We have seen Naomi's head used in Disney Princess sets but this appears to be her first use in a Friends set.
The instructions waste no time in applying stickers as the first part of the build is the blackboard menu that's propped up on the sidewalk. Next up is the scooter with a storage area in the back, where more stickers indicate that this is intended to be the delivery vehicle for the café's products. The scooter comes with a helmet - safety first!
The first bag starts starts with building a display area with a couple of the café's wares, as well as a phone and a cash register - a printed piece which looks to be new to this set. It continues with the base of the rest of the building; another display area with two large windows, and a doorway leading to an outside eating area.
The second bag builds some of the kitchen area, with room for implements to aid with cooking, then a double-decker display of more cupcakes that rotates. The other display areas are built out next using pavilion pieces that are new to Friends but have been used in Disney Princess sets. Completing the roof of the double-decker display yields another part that is previously unused - a 3x6 semi circle in pink with a notch on the flat edge for the middle two studs. A nice surprise of the rotating display is that it's something that can happen even after the build is finished - something that's highlighted on the box art, but subtly enough that I had not noticed it prior to building.
There's a very nice touch on adding the stained glass-like sticker over the front door.
There's another new part (at least, new to me) that I noticed: the 1x2 in white, but the second stud has a scroll. I imagine it would be great for architectural detail. In this set they are used at the entrance to the outside eating area.
With the completion of the second bag, we have much of the outside walls finished in addition to the double-decker display featured in the front.
The third bag starts with the chairs for the outdoor area. These chairs swivel which is a nice extra touch. Next is a table with plate, cup and teapot, the teapot piece being new to this set. Continuing on with the decorations, we have the awning, that includes the new brick w/ bow 1/3 in a paler pink.
Displays for the two front windows are next, and then the details for the kitchen area - a coffee or smoothie machine (I suspect a smoothie machine because of the fruit next to it), fruit display, and a rather novel use of parts to create a mixer. Further accessories are added - cups and an icer, for the freshly baked cupcakes that are about to be decorated on the counter next to the cash register. The final parts of the build are the couch and the large industrial oven.
When I was building it I thought this was a large refrigerator, but according to the LEGO catalog, it's an oven. I'm a bit puzzled about its placement in that case, as it's smack in the middle of the customer area and not behind the counter. However, where it is located allows for much more space for play, so perhaps I'm just bringing too much of my adult sensibilities to it. I think perhaps the kitchen area space behind the counter was sacrificed to allow for more room elsewhere, such as the outside seating area.
Overall thoughts
This set seems to attempt to be a hybrid of the 3061 City Park Café and 41006 Downtown Bakery. I like the elements that have been combined. The other sets feel a little cramped for space compared to this one - I like the larger area that affords much more flexibility for play. The build is quite nice and I like that there have been a couple interesting elements added, such as the rotating multi level display in one of the windows.
The colour scheme for this set is very... pastel. I think this type of set is what critics of the Friends theme point to when saying that LEGO is reinforcing stereotypes and making everything pink. Of course, pink isn't very prevalent in this set (but there is a lot of pastel) and the build is certainly not any simpler than your average CITY set.
I also am not a fan of the number of Friends sets that seem to revolve around cooking or food preparation. Yes, it's something we all do, but to this extent? You don't see that many restaurants in the CITY side (it would be kind of nice to see some over there). I also realize there will be a lot of boys and girls who will love this set and the colours. I understand that we can't have every set be 'science-y', but I think Friends could offer a lot more to girls if we had more sets along the lines of Olivia's Exploration Car to balance the more traditional offerings.
Rant aside, this is fine set that combines a lot of good elements. The parts would make for the base of a great MOC for a indoor/outdoor restaurant.
20 likes
23 comments on this article
This is a nice set, but what bothers me most about it is how MASSIVE it is for what it's supposed to be! Does a place that serves just cupcakes and beverages really need to be wider than most modular buildings? XD
The architecture is nice, but as you mention its color scheme is very pastel — I feel like I get a sugar high just from looking at the place. The bright red, bright reddish violet, and medium nougat do help balance things out somewhat, so it have the same sun-bleached look as, say, Paradisa buildings, but the pastel colors are still a bit overwhelming. Overall, not one of my favorite LEGO Friends sets for this year.
Things I do like: the cupcake carousel in the window, the rustic decor of the outdoor seating area, and the kitchen appliances like the oven and mixer. I'm mostly just bothered by the pastel-heavy color scheme of the main storefront and the excessive size of the set.
Glad the Hotdog van is coming...those kids are in dire need of savoury fare!
Good review, nice set. I think we can combine this one with the Park Café.
And oh yeah, Stephanie comes dressed perfectly for that lovely spring day...
(it says Olivia in the text ;-)
This seems to be a great set to recreate some of my favorite Hallmark Movie moments :)
@Sjaacko - good catch! Fixed :-)
Ironically, my 9 year old daughter avoids Friends sets because they "look too girly", while I kind of like of like them myself because they offer interesting playsets and pieces.
The architectural scroll brick is relatively new, but it debuted in tan and gold with the Friends sets last year.
I'm a little uncertain on the color scheme... But I do like the idea of a cupcake shop! I think instead of a little scooter it should be a nice cupcake truck! I also like the little teapots and such. Lastly, I think this set is a little too high of a price- but the supermarket goes for $30..
Good overview,
I'd say that Corner deli (http://brickset.com/sets/31050-1/Corner-Deli) is more of an heir to the Bakery this year - or the limited release shop from last year in beige, while this set combines the Cafe with the Juice bar (http://brickset.com/sets/41035-1/Heartlake-Juice-Bar) for a bright and big set. Both the adventure camp and Livi house are pretty neutral
Megan, I am glad you pointed out the rotating window display -- it seems the design team is very clever to incorporate some type of moving functions in most of the sets this wave. I think this is very good for young builders to learn those techniques and think outside the "static" box.
@Aanchir, out of the 200+ Friends sets, this one justifies the pastels the most. There are lots of cupcake cafes in real life across the globe and nearly all have the color palette the designers chose > http://media-cdn.tripadvisor.com/media/photo-s/04/6c/34/ce/nicolas-cupcake-cafe.jpg
Cupcake food trucks are nearly always pastel blue, and other shops similar to this use pink -- many times a darker shade juxtaposed with black.
;-)
@LegoMyMamma: Oh yes, I didn't mean to imply the color scheme is unrealistic. It's just a bit gaudy for my tastes, even in real life. And even then, looking at the set again, it's mostly just that dome roof that has the pink and blue right up against each other that bothers me. The rest of the building isn't so bad because it has deeper colors like Bright Reddish Violet and Medium Nougat to balance things out.
Crying out to be modularised.
I love the look of the Friends sets too but like @weevles said, my young daughter also avoids these sets like the plague because of the colors. I do think the color schemes are over the top (and I can never justify buying them to reuse in parts for my city). But it's worth a shot as a gateway platform to girls who may never otherwise consider Lego as a toy.
I think combining this set with the Supermarket set (which I've already purchased) is a promising way to build a "full-sized" supermarket using accent colors to distinguish the various departments. In other words, this has great possibilities as a base for MOCs, while also being a fine set for play as it stands. I also really like all those large pale blue plates! Thank you for a fine review, MeganL!
Ah, yet another "Friends" building that would look so gorgeous in a typical Lego city (with actual minifigs who can bend their legs or sit down securely) ... were it not for the total lack of a roof. I know that's a minor thing to be annoyed by, but gosh it bothers me.
Another dad with a daughter who says "yuck" at this sort of set here. "Why are they always in cafes or shopping? It's so boring." She's slightly more impressed by the adventure themed sets but would still prefer a Minecraft build over any Friends set.
Still, there's clearly a market for this sort of thing and at least it's been done with a bit of style.
A great set with minor problems. Even I will admit the colors are off with this one. The light pink and light blue are perfect for this set--they are those sugary colors that make you think about sweets, so that spot on, but there is too much blue on the top (even tough there isn't much, it looks like a lot) and too much blue bottom making the set look flat. The colors aren't popping the right way.
I'm not too keen on different color base plates either. I really don't like that visual divide between the tan and blue plate. The set would look much more complete with all tan base plates in my opinion.
That said, it's a great play set. I love that there's a couch giving the set a coffee shop feel. The spinning display is fun, and Naomi's body piece is a great offering.
The colors are weird, it's too flat, it needs more of a roof, and it's ridiculously wide. I don't like it.
Then again... this is how I feel about most Friends buildings. :P
I think a swap of the blue parts to dark magenta & the base plates to another colour (white? grey?)& it would improve the looks considerably.
^ Actually, I think the exact opposite. The magenta is jarring and doesn't work. More light blue and pink are needed, not less.
For those who want a roof, just add a proper base plate and use the light blue plates to make a roof.
And just to make things more complicated--I like the magenta, blue and tan combination; I'd get rid of the pale pink. And I'd use tan plates for the roof, or possibly white ones.
I agree it does need a roof, anyway! :)
^Exactly about the roof. A big bulky or flat base board roof would destroy the appearance and playability of Friends sets.
It's easy enough for those of us who like roofs to add one, along the lines of modular roof-levels--and I can see that it would get in the way of playing. Good to be reminded of what the target audience really prefers, and why!