Legobrandon, on 20 October 2012 - 08:40 AM, said:
Photos leaked on some German website:
Thanks for the pics! My thoughts:
41000 Watercrafting Fun: The jetski and dock are very simple, as is expected in such a small set, but the fig has a new bikini. Note also that there's a new graphic of the five friends on the top banner of the box.
41001 Mia's Magic Tricks: The bunny hardly fits in that hat, but it's still a brilliant way to use the bunny mold in a new way. The cards tile is new, as is the tuxedo (fitted to a girl, of course). The stars are also new AFAIK. Fabulous purple curtains.
41002 Emma's Karate Class: Great new gi for the girls. The little bonsai is perhaps a bit too large but a nice touch. Great reuse of the printed rice-paper window from Ninjago. The kendo helmet also appears, this time without printing. The trophy case includes a classic goblet (if only it had the one from the Minifigures Series 8 American Football Player or the fig-shaped trophy from various sports figs), but also the ring element from LotR.
41003 Olivia's Newborn Foal: Olivia's a weird choice to put in this set IMO. But there's a nice outfit, a nice tree, and a nice water trough, all of which will be great additions to the Riding School or Stables. The foal is too small for a Friends fig to ride, but thankfully has a stud on top for attaching a bird, bunny, or whatever else you have in mind.
41007 Heartlake Pet Salon: Nice architecture (will fit great in Heartlake City layouts) and nice Bright Reddish Violet (Magenta) parts. Jeanna has a hip new hairpiece. Lots of shelves of products. The new poodle is amazing, and the inherent "poofiness" of a poodle means AFOLs might feel fewer reservations about using this with standard minifigs than they would have with many of the other Friends animals. Haven't seen that sign element in quite a while.
41008 Heartlake City Pool: I can't say I've ever seen a pool with speakers hanging over the water like that. Seems hazardous. With that said, the slide is nice and there's a nice new basketball hoop. I can't tell if the basketball is the same size as the classic one, though... looks more Zamor-Sphere-sized. I was honestly expecting the hoop to be brickbuilt with those new 4x4 round plates with 2x2 cutout from the Hobbit sets. Nice snack shack, nice to see the palm leaves return, and the showers/changing room are a great detail. More swimsuits.
41011 Stephanie's Soccer Practice: Great soccer uniform. Again I'm having trouble judging the size of the ball-- here, it seems like a Zamor Sphere would be bigger. The water cooler and healthy snack are nice (here in the US, at least where I live, orange slices are a more traditional soccer-practice snack).
Overall there's some amazing variety in these sets and I can't see any way people could construe them as stereotypical this time around. Even the pet salon keeps the purple and pink somewhat low-key (as does Olivia's Newborn Foal, in which the water trough has a BROWN roof). I look forward to seeing more of the sets, but it seems apparent to me that Friends is going strong. And we can likely expect another substantial summer wave given the gaps in the numbering. Nice to see that the Friends design team isn't about to disappoint!