Klaus-Dieter

2019 Friends Sets - Rumors and Discussion

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13 hours ago, Aanchir said:

By age five, many kids will already have a sense of what colors they like or dislike, whether in general or in particular contexts.

Yeah, sure, but you're aware that at that age many of them can't even name and differentiate the primary colors verbally, let alone name specific shades. This even extends to your point about kids throwing tantrums if they don't find their favorite color - they couldn't tell you what they want, just that something is missing or off.

13 hours ago, Aanchir said:

I also think it's misleading to refer to LEGO Friends colors as "harmonious pastels". Color harmony is as much about how colors are used as it is about which colors are used, and is hardly particular to "girly" colors. And pastel colors are light colors of medium intensity, such as the Light Green grass, Light Yellow beaches, and Light Reddish Violet accents in many Paradisa sets.

I've worked in the graphics and media industry for 25+ years, have had a strong background in traditional painting and other arts ever since my childhood and occasionally like to nerd out on weird science stuff. 'nuff said, I believe?! Feel free to obsess about whatever is your preferred color theory and I'm sure we can have tons of fun (or not) discussing Pythagoras, DaVinci, Newton, Goethe and all the others who have dabbled in this from the scientific to the obscure, including human perception vs. physical color properties.

Yes, I know "harmonious" is not just putting nice-looking colors next to each other, but point in case: Those minutia irrelevant to the larger demographic. It's a whole can of worms, but at the same time I think generalizations and simplifications on a forum not specifically dealing with art theory or exact optical science are okay. Let's just not go there end endlessly debate the merits of what makes a true "pastel" or not and similar things. I think we both have better things to do with our time.

Mylenium

Edit: Just for kicks: https://myleniumsbrickcorner.wordpress.com/2019/04/19/coral-bliss-an-analysis-of-legos-new-2019-color/

Edited by Mylenium

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Yes, I saw this Friends City Restaurant earlier, and I must say, I actually like it, maybe my first Friends set I buy. 

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10 minutes ago, Digger of Bricks said:

Honestly that restaurant looks stunning, color wise you can't even tell its a Friends set. The roof is amazing with a few recolors of that new rounded brick?, ice cream top in purple for grapes is amazing, use of that new plant piece to hold the grapes is genius, the recolor of those small arches from the D2C Hogwarts are great. The cool yellow in so much use is great the sign is well done and that garbage bin is a nice side build!

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48 minutes ago, Nexogeek said:

Honestly that restaurant looks stunning, color wise you can't even tell its a Friends set. The roof is amazing with a few recolors of that new rounded brick?, ice cream top in purple for grapes is amazing, use of that new plant piece to hold the grapes is genius, the recolor of those small arches from the D2C Hogwarts are great. The cool yellow in so much use is great the sign is well done and that garbage bin is a nice side build!

I think as time goes on there will be more and more examples of Friends sets with colors that seem “normal”, not just because of changes in Friends but also because OTHER themes have been increasingly using colors that used to be almost exclusive to girl-targeted sets and themes. For years after colors like Cool Yellow and Light Royal Blue were introduced, non-minifigure parts in those colors remained largely exclusive to themes like Clikits, Belville, Duplo, and Friends… to such an extent that I remember some comments on Friends sets mistaking them for brandnew colors. Medium Azur was also largely Friends-specific initially But gradually we’re seeing these colors used in a wider range of themes like Creator 3-in-1, Creator Expert, Classic, and City.

In hindsight, Heartlake High from 2014 was not so much more “girly” than this set, but it surely seemed that way at a time when Cool Yellow walls or Medium Azur accents were far rarer outside of Friends.

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That Restaurant is stunning. I love cool yellow buildings. The Friends cool yellow beach house was super awesome too from years ago.

(No idea if that's the color, it's just what I call it.)

The coral piece is neat but kind of useless in the grand scheme of LEGO.

Edited by Maple

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That can't be all of them, the Italian Restaurant wasn't on that page. 

The ones that are all look pretty mediocre, though. Nothing exciting about any of them.

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I’m literally speechless right now. I can’t help but notice the laziness of lego here. The mermaid and the pirate have no new pieces. Why lego whyyyyyy. I mean not even a new top for the mermaid? Or a pirate outfit for the boy? And those outfits that the girls have:sick:. The only one I like is Emma’s. The pool seems the best set to me, I like the new white skirt and the return of the light pink skirt and there are also cute floaties :wub:. The other amusement sets are really meh to me. The others are really boring but I like the outfits in the gymnasium spectacle. The new piece for the cart is ugly tbh, it look really un-lego and it bothers me. Anyways I hope the beach rescue sets will surprise me but still no pics for those

Edited by Rambo260

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55 minutes ago, Feng-huang0296 said:

The ones that are all look pretty mediocre, though. Nothing exciting about any of them.

Really? The impression I got was quite different. The boardwalk amusement park and octopus ride sets look amazing! Creative, colorful, and with lots of awesome play features. Plus a fantastic pirate ship ride, swing ride, an ice cream stand with a waffle iron… all stuff very different from what we've seen in most previous amusement park sets, and expertly executed!

Not much all that new or unique about the horse trailer, but the Bright Yellowish Green recolors of the 3x3x6 and 3x4x6 arched panels are delightful! Love those parts but always disappointed by their lack of color options. Also, Mia's pickup truck totally suits her outdoorsy style!

The gymnastics set is definitely pretty novel in terms of subject matter, even if I'm not much of a sports/athletics person. Some creative functions for the uneven bars and trampoline, and also some cool new parts/recolors such as the ribbon and the recolored Elves amulets as gold medals!

The pool isn't too bad either, and I love the creativity of the flamingo and pineapple floats. Even if it doesn't introduce too many brand-new play features, it's got a creative look that stands out from past swimming pool sets and will probably be popular among kids who missed out on those.

But yeah, we're definitely still waiting on finalized pics of the ocean animal rescue subtheme, which I'm very excited for!

1 hour ago, Rambo260 said:

The new piece for the cart is ugly tbh, it look really un-lego and it bothers me.

I have mixed feelings about the cart, because yeah, it's very different from what I'm used to, but at the same time, how much more "un-LEGO" is it than similar parts like the hand truck, wheelbarrow, and wheelchair? Even as far as looks are concerned, it might look much less unusual in a more typical neutral color like medium stone grey or silver metallic.

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On 4/23/2019 at 5:45 PM, Nexogeek said:

Honestly that restaurant looks stunning, color wise you can't even tell its a Friends set.

Well, you could from the Light Lavender plates and knives. *giggle* I agree, though, this looks amazing. If all Friends sets looked that good, the Friends series wouldn't be treated as much as the ugly step child by many AFOLs...

Mylenium

6 hours ago, Feng-huang0296 said:

The ones that are all look pretty mediocre, though.

I have to agree. Most of the sets immediately evoke this "Not again!" and "It's been done to death already." feeling, considering that a lot of the stuff really looks like rearranged bits and bobs from sets available only two or three years ago.

Mylenium

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wow wow oh wow !!!!! the fairground stuff is stunning ! 

Im planning a theme park as we have the big wheel and carousel also my daughter has the original friends fairground stuff.

I really want this lot though i could have it as a new extension for the "neon" section thats planned (like all theme parks do when they put up new rides that are shiney and new but the old rides look dull )

 

the designers have out done themselves this year

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I saw a pic of the turtle set for the beach rescue subtheme and it is so cute:wub:. There are three baby turtles and one adult one as well as a new outfit for Olivia. The cute details are awesome especially the cracked eggs. But I don’t see the others right now. Maybe they will upload them later?

the pic is on the website lyichir has linked

the other pics are showing up right now 

Edited by Rambo260

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The beach rescue sets are amazing! I love all four and so many new animals! I like the narwhal and the baby dolphin, the builds are all packed with details and the girls have cool outfits! theres also a new character! A good  subtheme for sure

Edited by Rambo260

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Oh yes, the beach rescue subtheme is so much better than the boardwalk theme. I'll have to pass on the big boat, because I just don't have anywhere to put it, but I'll definitely at least consider buying the rest. Especially the lighthouse, that is the first building ever to use Coral as a primary colour and I need that. Even the turtle set would probably be great as a parts pack for adding on to it. 

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Also, looking at the set description the Dolphin Rescue set has who I suspect is a new character called Kacey. Maybe she's in charge of the rescue operation?

EDIT: And I've checked the numbers, we're missing 41377. Possibly a retailer exclusive?

Edited by Feng-huang0296

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I think it’s possible this could be the best wave of Friends yet! It’s certainly up there anyway. Unfortunately I don’t think I can justify buying too many as I already have many similar sets from Friends and I really don’t need repeats for all of them. 

  • 41337 Amusment Park Loop Swing - I think this is the only set worse than its predecessor. It’s the bumper car set but you’re paying $10 less to not get any bumper cars or the arena in which they were in. At least the beehive to cotton candy recolour is available in a much cheaper set now. 
  • 41362 Heartlake Supermarket - This looks like a slight downgrade to the 2014 Juniors supermarket, oddly enough I think it’s colours fit Friends better. All the food here is super common and it’s a shame that the budget only allowed for one new print for a food related item. The shopping cart is nice, but I’ll wait for it to appear in a better colour than green. Also I think it’s really odd that Andrea is the only one of the main 5 not to appear in a Juniors set.
  • 41371 Mia’s Horse Trailer - This is the only remake that is more or less the same quality as the last one, it even has the same horse! :roflmao: It’s nice that we got four different horses this year considering most of the land animals in the reboot have been prone to appear in at least three sets each. The new recolour for the horse riding cap / hair for Mia is great! I think Emma’s legs are the most unnecessary inclusion of new minidoll parts here.
  • 41372 Stephanie’s Gymnastics Spectacle - This set is awful in my opinion. The builds aren’t particularly clever or interesting and the colours look gaudy and unfinished. Stephanie’s outfit is beautiful but that hairpiece. :facepalm: Who’s decision was that?! It’s way to short and the bangs don’t match at all. I’m sure kids who like playing with bows won’t appreciate it either with the lack of holes for such. I think Sweet Mayhem’s or DCSHG Harley Quinn’s hair recoloured in cool yellow would’ve worked better. Mia reusing Stephanie’s legs in the same set is a really odd choice too.
  • 41373 Octopus Carousel - I mean the set isn’t bad but I have Olivia’s Space Ride and I really don’t think there’s need for me to have both. I think the idea of teaching kids to create their own rides is cute and gives it a step over Olivia’s Space Ride. I think it’s a real shame that Ethan appears twice in the same wave when there’s only a limited space for tertiary characters.
  • 41374 Andrea’s Karoke Pool Party - This is beautiful! Each time they make a pool set I don’t think they can top it but I’m proved wrong each time! I don’t have any gripes with this set really, I’m honestly tempted to buy it even though I don’t have a need for another pool. I just kind of want to support more sets like this being made. 
  • 41375 Amusement Park Pier - The coaster itself is obviously leagues and bounds better than the last. I really like the interactive features with the bat and light brick. The fact only one girl can ride at a time is probably the only factor that makes it worse. I’m not to over joyed with the rest of the set. The swing ride is cool but I don’t think it’s better than the Ferris wheel or the drop tower and it’s spinning function just makes it seem like an elaborate version of the carousel. While it’s print is nice, the prizes in the spin the wheel game makes it pretty lackluster. The entrance way is nice and the ice cream stand is fine. The minidolls in the bigger summer sets are almost always dissaponting but I think Chloe in her work uniform might be one of the worst designed minidolls yet. *huh* Why on earth did anyone think it was a good idea to include the hard plastic version of Emma’s hair that doesn’t have any spots for accessories?! The recolour of her hair in blonde has been used as recently as 2017 so I’m not sure why they can’t bring that back...I’ll degress.
  • 41376 Turtle Rescue - I originally really liked this set when I saw the prelims but I think it’s really weird that most of the interesting parts come in different sets, I.e. Olivia’s rescue outfit and the baby turtles. I don’t think the builds are strong enough to stand on their own. 
  • 41378 Dolphin Rescue - This is probably the most unique of the new sets other than the awful gymnastics one. I think the submarine is a neat enough build, it’s a bit blocky in the back. The pirate ship and Kacey's water vehicle are both really nice. The play feature of turning the wheel to reveal the treasure in-particular is spectacular! Oh and the baby dolphin! :grin_wub: I think it’s a little odd they produced 31 new pieces for the minidolls across these sets yet didn’t go to the trouble to make a single new piece for any of the tertiary characters besides Kacey. Kacey did get the deluxe treatment and get three new pieces though. 
  • 41379 Restraunt - I think it’s widely agreed that this is one of the best Friends sets of all time. It turns out the copious recolours are exclusive after all! I’m shocked this set isn’t a normal retail one I think it has mass appeal.  
  • 413780 Lighthouse and Seal Rescue - I don’t think this is better or worse than the last lighthouse, it’s just a different take on one. All the builds are solid and it’s nice to see the seals return. I do think the Stephanie on the box art would work a lot better here and would’ve worked better than having Mia in two sets. It would’ve been nice if we got an extra minidoll too considering the price of this set.
  • 413781 Boat and Narwhal Rescue - I think the interior to this boat is the best yet! It has detail everywhere and doesn’t look crammed in, it’s quite an impressive feat to ever the designer is. The exterior of the boat isn’t quite as nice as the inside but I think that’s mainly because of them trying to make yellow and coral as a colour combination work. :tongue: I know people have debated this before but in my opinion that narwhal does not look natural in that colour. I think the side builds are just worse versions than the ones found in other sets which is a shame considering how expensive this set is.

 

 

11 hours ago, Feng-huang0296 said:

Also, looking at the set description the Dolphin Rescue set has who I suspect is a new character called Kacey. Maybe she's in charge of the rescue operation?

EDIT: And I've checked the numbers, we're missing 41377. Possibly a retailer exclusive?

We can hope so, but sometimes gaps are just filled in later waves like 41337. We’ve got two retail exclusives in this wave alone so I’m not sure if they’d bother doing another one.

21 hours ago, Rambo260 said:

The pool seems the best set to me, I like the new white skirt and the return of the light pink skirt

It’s great to see that both old light pink skirts from 2012 have come back this year with updated prints. 

Now we've got white and normal yellow skirts there’s not that many colours to go! :laugh_hard: 

15 hours ago, Mylenium said:

I have to agree. Most of the sets immediately evoke this "Not again!" and "It's been done to death already." feeling, considering that a lot of the stuff really looks like rearranged bits and bobs from sets available only two or three years ago.

Mylenium

I mean it’s only fair to the kids who missed out on those sets. Besides, I think that each designer has tried their best to make them as different as possible and have succeeded in the most part. It’s not like we’re getting vague space themed rides again or a light pink lighthouse with a shop next door. Even the boat has a really interesting interior and a bath for the Narwal. 

The turtle rescue, submarine and gymnastics sets are all completely brand new ideas for Friends so at least we get something. :classic:

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Pretty impressive wave I'll admit. The restaurant is easily the standout. I like the new shopping cart piece, hopefully we'll see that recolored at some point.

Edited by strangely

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I have to say, Boat and Narwhal Rescue will probably be the first Friends set I ever buy.  Something about it is just so appealing, same goes for the submarine set.  The new coral color really compliments this line, and the new coral/sea life molds are fantastic.  I haven't kept up with Friends too much, but it really looks to me like the set designers outdid themselves this year.

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10 minutes ago, Robert8 said:

Holy crap.... When did Friends become the best LEGO line? *oh2*

Look at that Stephanie gymnastics set from this wave again and revise your statement. 

Edited by Feng-huang0296

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