Friends 2020 - Rumours & Discussion

[Huaojozu]

So what exactly is the point of the cubes? Is it to set up a quick ready-made play scenario? Because the ppp seems atrocious, likely due to the cubes themselves.

[Gobias1234]

1 minute ago, Huaojozu said:

So what exactly is the point of the cubes? Is it to set up a quick ready-made play scenario? Because the ppp seems atrocious, likely due to the cubes themselves.

I would say so- as a parent I don't necessarily care about PPP for sets less than $20.  There is a a lot of play value in the portability and $10 is prime impulse buy range.  My kids have really taken to them- so much so that I hope City produces some similar vignettes.  I think it is a neat way to produce some pieces that would fill some niche desires.  There doesn't seem to be a huge will to create a library set for example- I think a cute city Library cube would be a day 1 purchase for us!  

[Rambo260]

So I guess we are now getting 5 waves of cubes. I originally thought only 4, one for each season. But I’m fine with having more, especially if they’re all differently colored. We already have purple and pink, plus we know the summer ones are blue. I’m assuming the jungle ones are gonna be green, and the winter ones could possibly be orangish yellow to match with October? If so we would complete the five colors of the friends. I am really hoping we get some sunglasses in the beach ones. But I’m most excited about the winter ones, we should get some cold weather clothes with them, something that is really lacking in friends sets.

 

[Soupperson1]

That’s shocking about the jungle cubes! I guess they’re going to be a retail exclusive and that’s why they’re only showing up on limited shopping sites. I’m excited to see what they do with them. :) Also now I think a lot of people (including me) will just buy 1 cube of each wave and then have a cube for each friend at the end.

11 hours ago, Huaojozu said:

So what exactly is the point of the cubes? Is it to set up a quick ready-made play scenario? Because the ppp seems atrocious, likely due to the cubes themselves.

Apart from the reasons Gobias mentioned, the cubes’ limited building is supposed to slowly get kids who aren’t into building into building. Even sets like last year’s heart boxes which sold at the same price could be daunting with around 80 pieces, so these nicely ease kids into building.

[TeriXeri]

I can see the point of those cubes, mostly like a small scene or subject, but a bit more expensive compared to the Friends Magazine due to the outer box part.

I personally rather see boxed sets with just parts but that doesn't mean there's no market for cubes.

Also those random Animals add something extra to Cubes, usually not a huge fan of random but for those cubes it's just random colors.

Edited April 25, 2020 by TeriXeri

[DragonElves]

13 hours ago, Soupperson1 said:

That’s shocking about the jungle cubes! I guess they’re going to be a retail exclusive and that’s why they’re only showing up on limited shopping sites. I’m excited to see what they do with them. :) Also now I think a lot of people (including me) will just buy 1 cube of each wave and then have a cube for each friend at the end.

Apart from the reasons Gobias mentioned, the cubes’ limited building is supposed to slowly get kids who aren’t into building into building. Even sets like last year’s heart boxes which sold at the same price could be daunting with around 80 pieces, so these nicely ease kids into building.

I think you’re right about retail exclusive as apparently there is a retail exclusive alpaca in the jungle set. I wonder what the back story is of that!
I imagine the leaked green monkeys (with the slightly weird faces) will be in the jungle cubes but it’s weird they’re a different shade of green, I wonder what the other 2 colors will be? Then the seahorse might be part of the summer cubes.

Edited April 25, 2020 by DragonElves

[Soupperson1]

1 hour ago, DragonElves said:

I think you’re right about retail exclusive as apparently there is a retail exclusive alpaca in the jungle set. I wonder what the back story is of that!
I imagine the leaked green monkeys (with the slightly weird faces) will be in the jungle cubes but it’s weird they’re a different shade of green, I wonder what the other 2 colors will be? Then the seahorse might be part of the summer cubes.

There’s also a retail exclusive party boat.

I think you’re right about the monkeys being in the jungle cubes. It would make sense if the chameleon leak was too then so the other colours would be cool yellow and coral.

[Rambo260]

2 hours ago, DragonElves said:

Then the seahorse might be part of the summer cubes.

It could be but I think there is one in the water park set

[DragonElves]

On 4/25/2020 at 11:53 PM, Rambo260 said:

It could be but I think there is one in the water park set

Yes you’re right, it’s in the coral shell, lots of YouTube videos uploaded for the new sets.

Edited April 27, 2020 by DragonElves

[Soupperson1]

All sets can be found on https://www.promobricks.de/lego-friends-bilder-infos-sommer-sets-2020/98873/

Only three sets feature mini dolls who aren’t the five friends, that’s really disappointing. 

[Harkonen]

I find it interesting that the Friends sets are sponsored by National Geographic (or the other way around?) just like the City deep sea explorers sets. 

Edited April 27, 2020 by Harkonen

[Rambo260]

I think this is an overall very strong wave, definitely better than the winter one and the last summer one as well. I still have nightmares about the gymnastics spectacle set 

The jungle sets are all solid, interesting and also different enough from the old jungle subtheme. I think it’s on par with the marine rescue from last year. I love all the new animals, especially the elephants. The minidolls look fine to me, nothing special. I would have liked more characters but maybe we’ll get one in the alpaca retail exclusive set. There’s a good balance between nature and technology here.

As for the regular sets, I think all of these are fantastic! My personal favorite has to be Emma’s fashion store which brings back what made the accessory store and the art studio so great. Love the two floors and the use of minidoll parts as clothes. The wafflehouse is definitely unique. Has some nice pieces, including the heart shaped waffles. The beach house is also a fun set, I like the interior and the flamingo. I love the fact that we have an airplane that ties with the vacation and exploring aspects of the wave, I would have wanted a bigger plane but for now it will do, the pilot minidoll looks very cool. And the water park of course is very well done, with lots of fun features. Surprisingly there is also a 4+ Stephanie house which looks actually pretty neat. I love getting the parents in new outfits. I can’t wait to see the retail exclusives and the cubes

 

Edited April 28, 2020 by Rambo260

[Soupperson1]

https://www.promobricks.de/lego-friends-sommer-neuheiten-2020/97125/

Theres high quality pictures here for all the June sets! 

The jungle cubes are really disappointing no new coloured frame and all the outfits are the same. Mia is the only one with something special by bringing back the female explorer’s cap. 

[Lyichir]

4 minutes ago, Soupperson1 said:

https://www.promobricks.de/lego-friends-sommer-neuheiten-2020/97125/

Theres high quality pictures here for all the June sets! 

The jungle cubes are really disappointing no new coloured frame and all the outfits are the same. Mia is the only one with something special by bringing back the female explorer’s cap. 

I dunno, the SNOT brackets in lime green are nice too. And those animals... I expect the chameleon in particular will look amazing in all those color combinations!

The plane set also looks extremely good... an extra brick's worth of height on the body allows for a comfortable-looking ride and even overhead storage!

I like the beach house too, with its dining counter, hammock, and hidden DJ stand.

And of course the water park and waffle restaurant are both quite good.

[AMD]

13 hours ago, Lyichir said:

The plane set also looks extremely good... an extra brick's worth of height on the body allows for a comfortable-looking ride and even overhead storage!

That's the good thing with the friends plane that I like about. That to me is the highlight of this set. It beats the city passenger plane in comparison.

Edited April 29, 2020 by AMD

[meliander]

Love the summer wave. I should seriously consider buying these. I like the plane better than the city one, the wings are brick-built and just looks fantastic. So many nice little buildings. Even the 4+ set is better than anything 4+ in City for my taste. It's just bigger and made from simple but useful parts, giving kids a chance to expirement with MOCing.

[DragonElves]

The alpaca set has been leaked, looks very good for price point, comes with 3 different llamas in 2 different colours. Also has a volcano play feature, which looks a bit weird at the top to me. The log float is a fun idea.

[Rambo260]

The alpaca set looks cute, one of the best in the jungle subtheme. It’s nice getting three little alpacas and the build seems packed with fun features, including some treasure hunting going on. The volcano does look kind of small but it’s nice to have a play feature. I was expecting Stephanie in the set since she was in the sets only once, but getting Mia again is disappointing. They really don’t want to make new characters it seems. FYI the set is under #legofriends and not under legoleaks.

[Gobias1234]

The alpaca set looks great! 

I think every single one of the jungle subtheme has a ton to offer- so much nature scenery!  I bet $2 internet dollars my fam enda up with every set, jungle cubes included.

[Soupperson1]

Photos of the alpaca set don’t seen to be a leak, they’re full had photos on promobricks. :3 I think the build is quite good and different for Friends. I’m really annoyed about the mini doll selection in this jungle subtheme, every outfit unchanged comes in three sets except for Mia’s which comes in four. XP I guess there’s an exclusive animal in each set which is nice but if you want to collect all the animals in the jungle subtheme alone you’re going to have so many repeated characters. XP

I found 41433 HD photos on this website: https://www.joueclub.fr/lego-41433-le-bateau-de-fete-lego-friends.html I guess those boat sets really sell well? :P It’s really odd to see one a year after the last, though I guess this is a retail exclusive. I don’t have much interest in having another Friends boat but I can still appreciate this set. It’s probably the worst of the boats we’ve gotten but it’s also the cheapest and has the best side builds! The hut is a lovely shout out to Andrea’s beach house and even features the same two animals. The flamingo floaty is beautiful and such a fun build! It might even be my favourite build from this wave, ugh I wish they sold that separately. :P I love Ethan’s and Emma’s exclusive tops too!  

[TeriXeri]

Interesting boat for sure, reminds me of a Friends version of the 3-in-1 Yacht from 2018.

[Pisces no Aphrodite]

When will the friends go to space ?

[Klaus-Dieter]

Thanks for all the information!

The only set of the summer wave that interests me - and btw this year the only Friends set I'll buy, too - is the boutique which I really like:

- two floors

- closed sidewalls

- great exterior design

- nice interior

I hope that TLG will continue to release buildings of this kind in the future!

[*thomas*]

Those friends sets - once again - look amazing. I understand they are aimed at girls, but I don't understand why LEGO doesn't make this theme more gender-neutral. IMHO, friends and city should be able to merge.

The friends sets come with realistic vehicles, nice scenery, real-life buildings etc. City, well ... 

[Fenghuang0296]

So there’s a new picture of some kind of Friends Volcano, which in itself is unexpected but kind of awesome.

But it comes with all-new llamas, three of them, and they are adorable!

And here I thought I might finally go a year without buying at least one Friends set . .