2016 Friends Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[Exetrius]

The party store is such a happy place! The chocolate fountain is very neat! Meanwhile, the performance school is appropriately.. eh.. modest? The exterior has good detailing and a serious/elegant look, but the interior is just too dull imo, except for the top floor. The hairpiece recoloured in black is fantastic, though!

[CM4Sci]

Interesting how the 'OPEN' sign says 8-20 and not 8-8.

[Soupperson1]

Interesting how the 'OPEN' sign says 8-20 and not 8-8.

Some people would think it would mean it open then closes :P

[Pandora]

I've added a bunch more High Res pics to the first post, including the Party Store, Amusement Arcade/ Space Ride/ Hot Dog Stand/ Rollercoaster/ Bumper Cars, and of course the Performance School with that nice looking bus. There are also first look pictures of the new Juniors Friends sets, and with all these sets we have more pics on EB Town's flickr page.

[Lyichir]

Chocolate fountain!

[Lordofdragonss]

As I hoped. The Junior Clinic has many wonderfull prints! I need it!

[Sarah]

Interesting how the 'OPEN' sign says 8-20 and not 8-8.

I thought it was a new store, "Coming Soon" (Open Aug 20) kind of thing

And Wow. Until I looked through the first page, I didn't realize HOW MANY Friends Sets we have coming out this year.

Edited May 21, 2016 by Sarah

[TheGlynreaper]

a message to my nearby LEGO store in june , be prepared since I have saved up over £800 for the summer sets and I have a annual 10% discount card meaning it will be the haul of hauls

I will be bringing home at least 20 sets on that day , 7 or 8 from the friends line

[Klaus-Dieter]

Thank you very much for the pics of the party shop and the performance school, just2good, for the links to the reviews, Exetrius and for the review, Zusammengebaut!

I've got mixed feelings about the Performance School: I don't care about the too small school bus, but the interior of the school has too much pink in it and is too spartanic. On the other hand the exterior looks really great with this old schoolhouse architecture.

I'm displeasingly excited that the Party Shop is 16x24 (instead of 16x16) and has only one floor (instead of two). But the exterior design as well as the interior - esp. the chocolate fountain - look really nice and perfectly fitting for preparing a birthday party.

Klaus-Dieter

[TheGlynreaper]

the summer sets will be released on Monday here in the uk

[xtremegoogler]

Little Miss Brick has a review of the school:

[Soupperson1]

I have a review of 41129 up on Brickipedia if your interested, http://en.brickimedia.org/wiki/Review:41129_Amusement_Park_Hot_Dog_Van/Soupperson1

I highly recommend the set!

Edited May 28, 2016 by Soupperson1

[LAKAbricks]

I've got mixed feelings about the Performance School: I don't care about the too small school bus, but the interior of the school has too much pink in it and is too spartanic. On the other hand the exterior looks really great with this old schoolhouse architecture.

I do agree on this, Klaus-Dieter. The interior detailing is quite spartan, almost boring. The exterior I think is ok without being exceptional. When compared to the previous years' big sets, namely Heartlake Shopping Mall and Heartlake Grand Hotel, I find these sets far more interesting and detailed. That being said, the Performance School has a nice selection of bricks - not least tan - and a lot of windows.

[Prairie]

I too am underwhelmed when looking at pictures of the performance school set. It reminds me of the Mega Bloks valley high set I reviewed a while back, in its sparseness. The front of the building screams for some decoration along the side and near the ground. The interior is also sparse, similar to the 'Bloks set. Seeing this set gives me more appreciation for the older Heartlake High set.

That said I imagine that LEGO intentionally is trying different design approaches. I could see this one as not being so sophisticated in order to encourage the builder to improvise and improve it. It can also put less of a difference between the sophistication of the set design and what a builder is capable of, making them feel more capable rather than being in awe of LEGO's designers. In this regard I hope LEGO continues to try things like this, because it's important for keeping the theme alive and relevant. If this set is a hit with kids, then so be it and I'll learn to like what they offer.

In a way I appreciate that this year LEGO's Friends and Disney sets haven't appealed to me as much, especially this latest round of amusement park ride sets with their neon green and purple. It's given me a breather from feeling I have to collect all the sets, and given me more appreciation of what they've already released (along with the great shop sets like the grocery, cupcake shop, etc.) Elves, on the other hand, is becoming my favorite theme and worth getting every set from.

Edited August 3, 2016 by Prairie

[Robert8]

LEGO Friends Amusement Park Roller Coaster (41130) won Toy of the Year Award and Construction Toy of the Year Award 

Source http://brickshow.com/2017/02/lego-bags-toy-of-the-year-award-from-the-toy-industry-association/