[REVIEW] 42638 Castle Bed and Breakfast - the Friends team does it again

[Clone OPatra]

Just when I thought they couldn't top 41757 Botanical Garden, the LEGO Friends team hits us with this Victorian-style mansion (which they're "castle" for marketing). Will you need to make a ~$100 USD Friends set part of your annual LEGO budget? Let's find out!

Thanks to LEGO for sending this set for review at Eurobricks' request.

SET INFORMATION
Number: 42638
Name: Castle Bed and Breakfast
Theme: Friends
Released: 2024
Part Count: 1311
Minidolls: 4
Set Price (RRP): 99.99 EUR / 89.99 GBP / 149.99 AUD / 99.99 USD / 129.99 CAD
Links: Bricklink Brickset Flickr album

Before I really begin, I just wanted to note that while the price for this set is the same as 60437 Jungle Explorer Helicopter, which I reviewed last week, in Germany, England, the US and Canada, it's $20 less than the helicopter here is Australia. Weird!

BUILD
If you'd like to see shots of the parts spilled out of the ten bags and the build process, check my Flickr album (sorry they're a little over-exposed). This set really earned its 12+ rating with its build. There are several fiddly sections, including the curving window section on the ground floor, all the sections running up to the right hand side, the smaller turret and even the ivy to some degree.

For an experienced builder I wouldn't say it poses a "challenge", but there are lots of interesting techniques at play here, which require close attention to detail. Overall I had a lot of fun with the build, and it's one that really shows the designers' grasp of LEGO geometry as things come together.

If you'd like to see the sticker sheet before application, see the photo here. I also included the three instructions booklets, which have an interesting almost blueprint style that I haven't seen before. Anything is better than the bland renders they have been doing recently!

MINIDOLLS
I've been liking minidolls since the first Friends refresh in 2018, but they've really gone to the next level since the reboot last year, in 2023.

These four - Renée, Olly, Aliya and Zac - all have oodles of personality, with Renée's spunky "still got it" vibes standing out the most to me. I love the unexpected use of a hairpiece created for this Star Wars Young Jedi Adventures character, which I never thought we'd see anywhere else!

The design work and production level of minidolls always amazes me, especially the 360 prints for things like the shoes. Makes you wonder why they're unwilling to do the same for minifigures sometimes...

This being a BnB where the Friends have come to stay, they all come with some luggage - personalised with stickers. You may not want to apply the stickers, given the set introduces the third ever colour for the larger rolly bag, which has come in 14 sets since its introduction in 2018 but still feels like a somewhat rare accessory to me. Though I love the classic small briefcase, I wish LEGO had kept using the larger one they introduced in the first Harry Potter CMF series.

THE HOUSE - Exterior
To my taste, this build is a thing of beauty. It's by far one of the prettiest looking homes I've seen as an official LEGO set. The colour palette feels soft and harmonious while not being bland, and there's heaps of intricate detail all around. I do think the upper floors feel a tad short and should've perhaps had an extra stud or two to the left, though that would have impeded on the balcony space.

This side is a bit bare, but I think the ivy does enough, and at least it's uniform with no unsightly colours.

The entranceway especially has a lot of realistic feeling detail worked into it, from the wrought iron railings, to the flower beds, to the light fixtures, and glass to either side of the door. Note the door itself is also a very new piece, a sort of adaptation in my opinion of the wooden door created for the original Harry Potter line, now for a rectangular frame.

As a matter of personal preference, I enjoy the tree over the balcony which relies on the very new leaf pieces. But I can see how people might just as easily not like, as it's rather spindly and Dr Seuss-esque. I decidedly don't like the stack of rounded parts at the end of the build, under and including the railing; I'm not sure what could've been done about it, but the way the notches in four parts align really draws attention and makes it look extra stack-y.

 

THE HOUSE - Gaps
Before I turn our attending to the inside of the chateau, I did want to take a little time to address the gaps in the build, which are more numerous and more noticeable than I expected.

Given how much design work went into creating the rounded sections that run up all three stories, I was surprised to see the still very noticeable gaps between them and the light blue pillars. It feels like a situation where the designer struck on a good idea to achieve a certain overall look, but the LEGO geometry could only stretch so far. The vertical row of studs on each of these six sections also looks out of place. And lastly in this photo, you can see the noticeable gap behind the dormer window in the slanted roof, visible at some angles.

Even more noticeable though are the gaps behind the smaller turret, where you can see into the bathroom. The turret itself comes together in a very fun way using a variety of SNOT pieces, but nonetheless leaves these gaps behind it.

I was also a bit perplexed attaching the final bit of ivy. I still feel as though I might have done something wrong, but I doublechecked and even tried adjusting it, and still couldn't get it to sit flat against the building. If you've built the set, let me know if this is just a me problem.

My least favourite part of the whole build and design though has to be the attempted rounded section below the balcony. Again, there are some good build ideas in there, but it feels half baked. The techniques and parts used to achieve the effect aren't covered up well at all, making the whole thing look quite clunky.

Now, we can debate how much any of these flaws matter in a still play-oriented set with a recommended age range of 12+. It's not a display model first and foremost. Still, while my 4.5 year old certainly doesn't care about such things when playing with the set, I'm pretty sure a teen with a discerning eye might take issue with some of the things I've noted. Also, when there are sets produced like the Botanical Garden which I find near perfect, this set's flaws stand out in comparison.

THE HOUSE - Interior
Let's turn now to the inside, where the Bed and Breakfast conversion of this historic home becomes most apparent.

Starting on the ground floor, to one side we've got reception. I love the carpeting leading from the door all the way through the desk, and the small details like the wall light. The chandelier above the entrance is also simple but good.

Stickers provide more detail here, including the room keys behind the desk, and the inside of the guest book, but these are perfectly acceptable uses of stickers.

Over on the other side of the ground floor sits the breakfast area. This should of course include some degree of seating area, but for what it is I love the detail that is here, including the buffet table which feels very reminiscent of actual bed and breakfasts I've stayed at in historic homes.

Heading upstairs, we have a bedroom and sitting room, which both have cozy designs including rugs. The sticker dating the building makes for a fun decoration.

There's a fun feature with beds on this floor - you can have them separated as single beds, or put them together to make a double.

Up again, we come to another bedroom and the bathroom. The bed here has a more antique-style wooden frame, and is laid out with both a folded towel and a bar of chocolate.

In terms of detail, the bathroom is the real hero of the whole house. There are so many cute, minor touches in here, like the rug, the bar of soap, the simulated feet under the tub, the toilet paper, the plant and more. There's even a blue 1x1 round piece put into the toilet. Note that unlike the other furniture we've seen so far, these things are very much baked into the build of the room, but that's ok with me.

Importantly, yes a figure can easily fit in the tub!

Finally, up in the attic space are some relics from when this home was supposedly a "castle", like a helmet, a chest with a golden cup and sword, a world map and a stickered painting of some lily pads.

WITH MINIFIGURES
I figured many AFOLs out there might be wondering how the set would look with minifigures instead of minidolls. The two types of figures are similar in size but not exactly the same, so some builds made for minidolls can look awkward with minifigures.

Therefore I created this family of three generations to interact with the build:

I'm happy to say that I don't think there's any proportionality issue with minifigures whatsoever. They seem right at home.

They also fit well with all of the interior furnishings, and it got me thinking about what would need to be done to convert the set back into a home, rather than a BnB. The main thing it's currently missing is a kitchen, so I'd probably try to add one where the reception area currently is, and put a real dining table in the breakfast area.

Perhaps most crucially, a minifigure fits in the bath!

WITH 41757
Before I wrap up, here's the set next to the Botanical Garden from last year. Quite a smart pair!

CONCLUSION & RATINGS
Without a doubt, the Friends team has delivered another elevated gem of a set. Though it's not without exterior design flaws, the set still looks great from a distance and provides a classy rendition of its subject matter with heaps of small detail.

The interior is perfectly set up for the play scenarios intended by the bed and breakfast nature of the set, while also being easy enough to strip of the current detail and MOD - apart from the bathroom, which is excellent anyway.

The minidolls also look great and are very expressive, but as I've demonstrated the scale of the set works equally well with minidolls or minifigures.

All in all, if you're a fan of LEGO houses or architectural models of this kind, I heartily recommend it.

10 MINIDOLLS
Excellent detail including an exclusive hairpiece recolour, and the quantity seems appropriate too.

10 PIECES
The set is a pretty decent parts pack for recoloured elements, as detailed by New Elementary. The quantity of parts for the price is great too.

7 BUILD/DESIGN
Overall the build experience was quite good, but there are some real flaws in the design with all those gaps. It's tough to rate because the set still looks good overall, but also has issues.

9 PLAYABILITY
Some spaces like the bedrooms are a little tight for play, but by and large it's well set up to play through bed and breakfast or regular house scenarios.

10 PRICE
The price is right! It's big, it's detailed, it's got a lot going for it. A sale would make it even better of course, but when isn't that the case.

9.2/10 OVERALL
It's a great, but not perfect, set. That's it!

[Murdoch17]

A fantastic review of an amazing set @Clone OPatra!

[Horation]

A really nice set! I don't personally mind the gaps, but I can see how they bother others. I'll probably get it without the minidolls if I can find it on bricklink.

[Yperio_Bricks]

The Friends line has quite some good sets and this is one of them! The theme has really grown on me in recent years. And it's so much better than City! Although I probably will never buy a Friends set because of the minidolls. It's not that I dislike them per se, but since I buy sets mainly for the minfigs.... Anyway, I really enjoyed reading the review!

[Shiva]

Nice set :)

One could use 2 or 3 of these mod this house to one fitting the Modular Building theme.

[MKJoshA]

The designers for the Friends sets clearly have a fun time, a love of Lego, and a talent for design. I am more impressed by the Friends line every year and this set continues to raise the bar.

[RichardGoring]

I continually think that it's hard to argue against Friends being the best theme LEGO produces overall, and had been for many years.

Great review, thanks!

[Lemerbrix]

Love to see Lego friends get more attention! This set is truly an amazing piece of design!