2013 Friends Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[CM4Sci]

http://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn1/538982_10151223977736637_1874950007_n.jpg

-Sci

Edited February 1, 2013 by Pandora
Removed image tags from oversized image

[medib]

bakery looks like a "corner shop"

[just2good]

{pic}

-Sci

Now I like the Yacht. That set is humungous! The Bakery set looks okay. Hopefully it's $30. I still need to get the pool though. Andrea's Bedroom is a bit underwhelming, as goes for the Car set.

[Maya]

Thanks for the photo!! This is great!

Is that Mia in pants at the entrance of the bakery or could it be yet another male character? I hope it's a man/boy but it must be Mia since the other mini-doll doesn't look like one of the main five girls. Her blonde wig looks like a new hairdo to me.

And the girl who is water skiing doesn't look familiar, either. I hope she's a new character, too.

I'd love to see the rest of this display! The school and Olivia's small set must have been there, too!

[XimenaPaulina]

The Yacht looks awesome!

I was waiting for ages for TLG to release a private luxury yacht and I didn't expect it'll come in the Friends line, and what a pleasant surprise it is! A definite pick-up for me!

[Pandora]

http://sphotos-b.xx....874950007_n.jpg

-Sci

I've had to remove the image tags as the picture is too large (see the site guidelines in my sig), but please do repost the image as a smaller version.

Thanks.

[zylek]

Wow, the yacht is even more impressive than I had imagined. I agree that non-Friends lego collectors should be able to tone down the "friends" colors to have it fit into the City style. It's a shame the photographer didn't pan just a little more to the right to capture the high school and beach buggy. I wonder if the series 3 animals were also there?

[Kristel]

Also announced at the London Toy Fair (press release):

Go Friends!

Edited February 1, 2013 by Kristel

[Ondra]

That ship .Suprise of the year.I hope for something like this for long time, but in city line which seem to go in junioriz-ed way..

[MAH4546]

How have we not seen the school yet? I can't find pictures anywhere.

[Maya]

How have we not seen the school yet? I can't find pictures anywhere.

I was wondering about the same thing. Do they restrict photography for certain items so that they can have a bigger unveiling at Toy Fair New York? I also want to see the boxes so we can find out what characters are included in the big sets!

Edited February 2, 2013 by Maya

[KazeMonsuta]

Some new pictures:

Closeup of the bakery: http://www.spieletest.at/pics/bericht/1174/101Lego2013.JPG

It actually looks good. The Flower pots in the front may be too blocky in just lime green.

Olivia's Beach Buggy: http://www.spieletest.at/pics/bericht/1174/103Lego2013.JPG

Nice in purple and with coconuts on the palm trees.

Emma's Sports Car: http://www.spieletest.at/pics/bericht/1174/102Lego2013.JPG

It looks dull, but you can see dolphins in the upper left corner. Accersories look nice.

[lightningtiger]

Thanks for those AWESOME links 'KazeMonsuta'......that Bakery is beautiful and the best thing.....a brick built pineapple !

I'm sold on the Bakery and that cool boat.....depends on my budget.

[jonwil]

Does that sports car include yet another new handbag mold?

Thats, what, 4 different handbag types made for the Friends line so far?

[sgeureka]

And finally... Heartlike High: http://www.spieletes.../005Friends.jpg

(found via http://www.spieletes...cht.php?ID=1174 , which may have even more pictures down the road)

ETA:

Wow, so many things that I want to have. The school appears to have a chemistry lab, an astronomy telescope, a small sports court (basketball), a paint brush (maybe even the painter set with frame from the Collectable minifigs), an aqua bike, an Afro-Lego boy, a female teacher with glasses (I love glasses), a new handbag, ...

Edited February 3, 2013 by sgeureka

[lightningtiger]

One day we should see a department store or alike eh.....well with all those accessories and homewares.

Plus it's nice to see Lego keeping a promise.....we have our first Friend's tradeperson....a baker.....yes, please more Lego.

Edit - the high school looks cute.....science room must be stairs .....a boy and teacher in the set ....Lego should do a collectable minidoll range eh ?

Edited February 3, 2013 by lightningtiger

[Aanchir]

Does that sports car include yet another new handbag mold?

Thats, what, 4 different handbag types made for the Friends line so far?

At Brickfair last year, Astrid Graabaek and Fenella Holden mentioned the number of handbags in the set. They said there was some internal skepticism over whether so many handbag molds were needed, but they justified it by pointing out just how many different sword molds are in a lot of Castle themes.

Personally, I like the decision. I tend to use a brick-built backpack on my sigfig (when he's not in ninja garb, of course-- I need to change that eventually) since I'm not happy with the "camping-style" backpacks that tend to be featured in sets and came up with a brick-built solution that better echoes my real-life backpack. However, that didn't work when I considered giving my sigfig a portfolio to carry around, as I had to do at college last semester. Building certain types of accessories at a scale where they won't drag on the ground is a fiasco, and so having various styles of accessory can make sense in the long run (especially when it's something like a handbag that in real life exists in several styles).

[sgeureka]

Some more thoughts on the school:

- Yes, it's the paint brush of the CMF Artist ( http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/Artist ), although contrary what I remembered he didn't have an easel. The brown thing in the school's top floor does vagely look like an easel, but I am not so convinced anymore.

- In the photo's setting, the school is 38 studs wide and (partly) two stories tall. It seems to be rearrangeable to a 16 studs wide, three stories high building, with an extra 6 studs wide part of a building whose use I don't know.

- Looking at the baseplates, the building definately doesn't appear to be tan-colored, but rather a creamy light yellow. I don't remember this color from other sets.

- There's a milk carton, an apple and a plate in the bottom floor, probably a cafeteria.

- The blackboard is in the top floor.

- The school sign and the basketball board have stickers (i.e. aren't printed).

- What's the light aqua blue (or white) thingie at the right sticking out between the roof bricks?

At Brickfair last year, Astrid Graabaek and Fenella Holden mentioned the number of handbags in the set. They said there was some internal skepticism over whether so many handbag molds were needed, but they justified it by pointing out just how many different sword molds are in a lot of Castle themes.

I heard this in a LEGO video, too. Anyway, the magenta handbag in the school set appears to be different from the new sportscar set or either of the Friends handbags listed at http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?catType=P&catString=771 . So that makes even one mold more, if I see this correctly.

[jonwil]

The thing sticking out above the roof bricks and next to the tile edge looks like the top end of the new-for-2013 Friends guitar piece. You can see the spots for the tuning pegs.

And is that a telescope I see on the top floor?

Neat that we get a Friends fig with glasses.

Whats the brown thing in the upper floor window next to the telescope?

[LegoMyMamma]

Interior images of Heartlake High http://heartlaketime...tlake-high.html

Along with Andrea's Bedroom, Series 3 Animals -- and additional photos of Bakery, Beach Buggy, and Sports Car!

[Chocolatecake]

Why didn't we have friends back in the late 80s and beginning of the 90s? I would have loved playing with theese set back then as a little girl

The School, the hedgehog, the forrestanimal oh and the bakery.

[LegoMyMamma]

Also, see Dolphin Cruiser with the upper deck off at: http://heartlaketimes.blogspot.com/2013/01/nuremberg-toy-fair.html

(Third picture on that post)

[Aanchir]

Some more thoughts on the school:

- Yes, it's the paint brush of the CMF Artist ( http://lego.wikia.com/wiki/Artist ), although contrary what I remembered he didn't have an easel. The brown thing in the school's top floor does vagely look like an easel, but I am not so convinced anymore.

- In the photo's setting, the school is 38 studs wide and (partly) two stories tall. It seems to be rearrangeable to a 16 studs wide, three stories high building, with an extra 6 studs wide part of a building whose use I don't know.

- Looking at the baseplates, the building definately doesn't appear to be tan-colored, but rather a creamy light yellow. I don't remember this color from other sets.

- There's a milk carton, an apple and a plate in the bottom floor, probably a cafeteria.

- The blackboard is in the top floor.

- The school sign and the basketball board have stickers (i.e. aren't printed).

- What's the light aqua blue (or white) thingie at the right sticking out between the roof bricks?

I heard this in a LEGO video, too. Anyway, the magenta handbag in the school set appears to be different from the new sportscar set or either of the Friends handbags listed at http://www.bricklink.com/catalogList.asp?catType=P&catString=771 . So that makes even one mold more, if I see this correctly.

The Light Yellow color is 226 Cool Yellow, known on Bricklink as Bright Light Yellow. It replaced the earlier color 3 Light Yellow, similarly called Light Yellow on Bricklink. Its primary use in System has been for minifigure hair-- Stephanie in the Friends theme uses it conspicuously.

Note that Bricklink calls some Friends parts Light Yellow. This is because Bricklink's database is user-generated and some users don't seem to understand the idea that colors are sometimes discontinued-- I can recall when Hamm's plug from the Toy Story sets was listed on Bricklink as Fabuland Brown!

Interior images of Heartlake High http://heartlaketime...tlake-high.html

Along with Andrea's Bedroom, Series 3 Animals -- and additional photos of Bakery, Beach Buggy, and Sports Car!

Thanks for the pics. Lots of great animals this year. Not sure what to think of the new dolphins-- after all, it's not like the old ones had especially System-like geometries, though these are a little more stylized. But overall my impression of the new animals remains favorable.

The inside of the school is very nice and gets some very nice details, but I notice the omission of a gymnasium. Perhaps a large gym would be a good set for a future wave. And I can easily see how with a basketball hoop in the front, the girls' athletic instruction is basically taken care of, which is a wise choice since it leaves the interior open to more academic subject matter.

Look! The girls are learning about owls! They even have a stuffed owl as an instructional prop. Very nice. The art class isn't bad either. I love how the classes are different modules that can be re-arranged in different configurations-- I wonder if any FOLs will buy multiples of the set to build additional classroom modules and perhaps a hallway connecting them.

The dolphin cruiser's interior is very luxurious and well-furnished. I like how the Friends theme's interiors vary from more "boy-oriented" themes' interiors. LEGO Friends is much more likely to incorporate living spaces instead of just work spaces. It's something that I wish other themes would incorporate some time, but it also makes me yearn for girl-oriented themes in other genres, since LEGO Space and LEGO Castle show this bias a great deal, and I can easily see why this might be more important to young girls who want to act out more grounded, slice-of-life scenes than for young boys who would be conditioned to prefer action scenes.

On a side note, this probably is connected with why LEGO Spongebob Squarepants and Harry Potter have been consistently targeted to girls on shop.LEGO.com. Those set designs often favor slice-of-life storytelling and action-driven storytelling alike, and whether this is a coincidence or a deliberate response to how girls tend to play, it seems like it would be effective catering to a diverse market.

Overall, this year's Friends selection continues to impress! Hopefully its sales will continue to reflect the hard work and creativity that have been put into this theme.

[CM4Sci]

(Could've sworn I posted this earlier..)

The school looks awesome! Might be the only Friends set I'll pick up, if it's not too expensive.

It looks familiar, though...

-Sci

[jonwil]

I cant think why but for some reason I swear I have seen the shirt the person is wearing in that picture of the interior of the boat set somewhere before (as a shirt, as a minifig/minidoll torso or as an image in an instruction booklet)