The largest LEGO convention in Texas, Brick Rodeo, is happening this weekend at the Houston Marriott Sugar Land in Sugar Land, Texas. The convention for attendees starts Thursday afternoon, and many sessions are offered through the weekend.
Around 20 contestants from various seasons of U.S. LEGO Masters will be in attendance, and Paul Hetherington, LEGO artist, is giving a talk on Friday and a workshop on Saturday. The convention will be open to the public on Saturday from 10-5 and Sunday from 10-3.
I'll be there from Thursday through Sunday. On Friday I'll be leading the Women's Brick Initiative workshop, which will feature building our collaborative build for display over the weekend.
Over the weekend you'll be able to find me at the WBI table, which will feature our two collaborative builds, including the WBI quilt. Please stop by and say hi - I will have a limited number of 1x8 Brickset bricks to give away.
Heartlake City has an ever increasing number of stores, and the team continues to find new niche businesses that we haven't seen before. One of the offerings in this wave is 42653 Music Shop & Apartment.
I don't remember seeing a music store in Heartlake City before, and I like that the store includes another residence.
Two years ago, an inexpensive way to get all eight of the then-new characters was to buy four of the Friends rooms. We've skipped a year, but we're back to seeing more of the Friends' rooms - specifically 42646 Autumn's Room and 42647 Paisley's Room. However, instead of featuring Olly's and Zac's rooms in a set (maybe next year?) the third addition to this set is 42645 Aliya's Baby Sister's Playroom.
Similar to the sets from two years ago, I decided to review them all together for comparative purposes.
It's time for a party! Heartlake City in general knows how to throw a party, but they've been predominantly birthday parties. 42661 Costume Party is the first of its kind. I'm excited for this set, particularly because of the terrific looking minidolls.
As we approach the end of the first wave of Friends sets (the second wave coming very soon!), there's another pocket money set, 42640 Guinea Pig Playground.
Every time I think we can't have another cute Friends animal, I'm proven wrong with another one being released. This time, it's the guinea pig, and we get two of them in this small set.
When I first saw the first wave of this year's Friends sets, my first reaction was: "Are those corgis that I see?".
The answer was yes, yes, those were indeed corgis in 42641 Surfing Dogs and Scooter Adventure, and not only that, they were surfing corgis. Surfing dogs!
When I first started building 42656 Heartlake City Airport and Airplane, it felt like something that had been done several times before. I was wrong - this is just the second airport that Heartlake City has had an airport (I'm not counting the partial buildings from 41100 and 41343).
It's about time, then, that this new generation of Friends has their own airport! Let's see if their airport matches up to their predecessors'.
Have you ever wanted to take a Friends set along with you, but just didn't have the right equipment to do so? Were you ever short one carry-on for a flight, and thought, "I could really use a LEGO suitcase right now?". Did you ever think "I need to have some beachy builds that are portable enough that I can take on the go?"
If you have, you're in luck, and the Friends designer team has an answer for you: 42672 Creative Beach and Travel Suitcase.
One of the smaller Friends sets of this wave is 42643 Candyfloss Stand and Scooter - perhaps as a companion piece to 42649 Heartlake City Sweet Shop. Like 42649, this set has a slightly different name on the box than on the database.
I was surprised when the box I received had a set name that included the word candyfloss, as I know that's the term used in the UK for cotton candy. However, the database has the set listed as Cotton Candy Stand, but I rather like the term candyfloss better!
Heartlake City has its share of shops, but surprisingly enough, a sweet shop hasn't been one of them! That deficiency has been corrected now with 42649 Heartlake City Sweet Shop. (To forestall the inevitable comments, I know the database calls this set Heartlake City Candy Store. But the set name on the box I received says Sweet Shop, so Sweet Shop it is).
I would expect this store to be very popular among the Friends - after all, who doesn't like sweets?
Hair salons have been found in Heartlake City from the start of the theme. I've always found it interesting that hair care has been a staple in the Friends world, but not so much in others, such as City. The 2025 version in Heartlake City is 42662 Hair Salon and Accessories Store. Actually, this set combines two common themes in Friends - hair care and accessories! I suppose it was only a matter of time before we had the two combined.
One of the most intriguing sets of the early wave of Friends is 42669 Beekeepers' House and Flower Garden. This is another example of the charming boutique type of businesses that we see in the Friends world that we don't see in some of the more legacy themes.
While beekeeping has been a theme in previous sets, (notably 41703 Friendship Tree House), this is the first set that has beekeeping as the featured activity.
Pets and animals are a constant in the Friends world, especially this year as we've already looked at 42651 Horse and Pet Vet Clinic. Clearly, the next stop for some of these pets is 42650 Pet Accessories Shop.
After all, after a visit to the vet, I'm sure all of the pets can use a toy or two. This price range is one of my favourites for Friends sets, and I'm interested in seeing what details the designer manages to fit in this moderately priced set.
In my last review (42663 Friendship Camper Van Adventure), one of the pictures on the wall showed a potential destination for that adventure, 42652 Friendship Tree House Hangout.
Treehouses have been a staple in the Friends world of late - last year we had one of the largest treehouses with 42631 Adventure Camp Tree House. My favourite Friends treehouse was from three years ago; 41703 Friendship Tree House. How will this version stack up to those auspicious sets?
Camping is a common theme in the Friends world, with the Friends getting out regularly to enjoy the great outdoors. This year's example is 42663 Friendship Camper Van Adventure. Friends vehicles are always packed with lots of great detail, and I expect this one to be no exception. An interesting feature of this set is that there's a working toilet, like 71799 NINJAGO City Markets.
The Art theme continues with another 3D rendition of a van Gogh work, this time with 31215 Vincent van Gogh - Sunflowers. The last set based on a van Gogh painting, 21333 Vincent van Gogh - The Starry Night, has been one of my favourite builds from the last few years, so I was excited to build this as well.
Although the building style is distinctly different than The Starry Night, the end result is just as satisfying.
Animals, and businesses catering to them, are another staple of Heartlake City. There have been 40 vet-themed sets in the Friends world, with the latest entry being 42651 Horse and Pet Vet Clinic. This particular vet is a bit more versatile as there is a horse as well as smaller pets as part of the practice, which I think is a first in Heartlake City.
Restaurants are a staple in the Friends world. This year, there's a bit of a twist in that we have 42655 Restaurant and Cooking School.
As indicated in the title, this is a training ground for the future chef of our Friends, Leo. Undoubtedly, he's adding to the lessons he learned from his Abuelita in 41747 Heartlake City Community Kitchen. Coming in at $80, it's more expensive than 41747, so let's see if it's worth the price.
In my review of 42670 Heartlake City Apartments and Shops, I mentioned that I thought the set was comparable to the modular series - it certainly is with respect to build techniques, though the set is only 16 studs deep. There was a request in the comments to see 42670 next to some modulars. As the modulars are some of the few sets I keep assembled, I cracked open my display case and took pictures of 42670 with some recent (and not so recent) modular buildings.
Looking at the new Friends sets for 2025, it looks like it's going to be another good year! There's a host of interesting sets, but let's start with the biggest of them all - 42670 Heartlake City Apartments and Stores. This is ostensibly a follow up to 41732 Downtown Flower and Design Stores from 2023, which at the time was the largest Friends set to date.
Will this be as good a set as 41732? Which new Friends will we see? And will we see the sloths again in 2025? (Spoiler alert: we will.)