2022 Friends Rumours, Leaks, Information And Discussion

[TeriXeri]

I like how the friends farm roof colors will fit really well with the blue/brown/sandgreen of the blacksmith set or could be a  3-in-1 Castle sidebuild.

Will certainly watch this set closer when more info is known like interior, price, parts list etc.

826 pieces, probably be something like €80 (extra budget for the horse) , the last forest horse stable set was quite nice as well , but I rather get minifig horses.

Edited May 3, 2022 by TeriXeri

[Aanchir]

The farm set looks very nice! It seems like it's where Marcel (Mia and Ava's grandfather) lives. I love it any time family members of established characters show up in sets, so I'm very happy to see him appearing in another set — in cool new work clothes, at that! The color palette looks rustic, but still warm and inviting, and the loose roof shingles testify to both the farm's age and the amount of work that goes into maintaining it. There are plenty of potential play scenarios for both around-the-farm chores and leisure activities like picnics or horseback riding. I look forward to seeing more pics of the interior!

The horse trailer and SUV are also great designs — perhaps a bit oversized for some people's tastes, but personally I'm a big fan of these sorts of big vehicles with super detailed interiors! Savannah's new outfit is very cool-looking, but still practical. I also just realized while looking over the pictures that the bay dun horse (medium nougat body/black mane and tail) in the Horse Show Trailer set has a new style of mane!

[cosmic]

I’ll come back with detailed thoughts on the leaks once I have the time but for now I want to say this theme is largely on a roll and seriously producing some insane content.

But in regards to the theatre, I was insure if I wanted it purely because I had no desire for this open play style set up with seemingly no facade. At first glance. Then more pictures revealed and it closes up! It looks like a fully enclosed building which can open up to reveal the stage. And the back side has quite a bit of detailing too. This is made all the more impressive when you consider how the build itself doesn’t have the most depth so its an incredible use of space and parts combined with an incredibly appealing design both closed and opened up. This theatre is one of the most exciting sets I’ve seen in a minute this theme truly does not disappoint.

[Rotbart]

57 minutes ago, cosmic said:

...It looks like a fully enclosed building which can open up to reveal the stage. And the back side has quite a bit of detailing too...

I don't know. Back side to me is just some small open rooms, where you can store the little things you need for playing with the stage. It will be quite a challenge to integrate this building into a city layout. You kind of need to hide the back side and also make sure, that you can still open it up to reveal the wonderful ideas and details of the interior.

Don't get me wrong, I am very impressed with this set as a standalone building für play and display!

Edited May 4, 2022 by Rotbart

[TeriXeri]

Brickset has a box picture now of the farm, at least the front, so far a price of $89.99 is listed.

Of course need to see more of the back and inside. 

Also friends uses the small bionicle "eggs"  but that could have to do with the age different target group, friends used small eggs a lot more in kitchens/shops as well, while City clearly has egg throwing/splat with the police set earlier in the year.

Edited May 4, 2022 by TeriXeri

[LegoMyMamma]

On 5/3/2022 at 1:54 PM, Aanchir said:

horse (medium nougat body/black mane and tail) in the Horse Show Trailer set has a new style of mane!

This integrated dual-mold rubbery mane style was used for Mulan's Khan, yet it's more prevalent with 2 different colors.  It seems to also be as a white and black striped mane with grey on a white horse for Anna upcoming!

[Aanchir]

12 minutes ago, LegoMyMamma said:

This integrated dual-mold rubbery mane style was used for Mulan's Khan, yet it's more prevalent with 2 different colors.  It seems to also be as a white and black striped mane with grey on a white horse for Anna upcoming!

Ah, interesting! Thank you for clarifying. I pay less attention to licensed sets than non-licensed ones so I must have missed that Khan had introduced a new mane style.

[TeriXeri]

Sets are up on Lego shop now so more pictures, sadly the farm has almost no interior space upstairs at all, basicly just a bed and nothing under the big roof as it's reinforced under the sloped part.

 

[icm]

Regarding the front cover of the instruction booklet for the Mandalorian's Naboo fighter (75325): The instructions for 41713 Olivia's Space Academy also have the simply posed rendering instead of the full rendering on the front of the box. They also mention that there might be a mix of paper and plastic packaging inside. I wonder if the simplified instruction covers are intended to be excused as an eco-friendly measure (less ink) instead of just the egregious cost-cutting that it looks like.

[Lyichir]

7 minutes ago, icm said:

Regarding the front cover of the instruction booklet for the Mandalorian's Naboo fighter (75325): The instructions for 41713 Olivia's Space Academy also have the simply posed rendering instead of the full rendering on the front of the box. They also mention that there might be a mix of paper and plastic packaging inside. I wonder if the simplified instruction covers are intended to be excused as an eco-friendly measure (less ink) instead of just the egregious cost-cutting that it looks like.

I have no idea why you would assume that different instruction covers was a cost-cutting measure in the first place, let alone that they'd need an excuse for it. It literally doesn't cost any more to print a graphic Lego has clearly already produced for the box art itself on a paper instruction booklet as well—heck, if anything, producing two separate cover art styles adds labor to the process (at least when it comes to transitioning the workflow to the new format). The more reasonable assumption would be that Lego has decided that a different graphical style for instruction booklet covers, with a less stylized depiction of the contents than the box art, will be more effective. I don't know for sure how they came to that conclusion, but the new graphics have a similar background to some of the tested paper bags (as seen in the Temple of Celebrations employee gift set from last year), so it might be meant to give the "unboxed" contents of sets a consistent, unified look once the transition to paper internal bags is complete.

[icm]

31 minutes ago, Lyichir said:

I have no idea why you would assume that different instruction covers was a cost-cutting measure in the first place, let alone that they'd need an excuse for it.

Just because it looks cheap on the N-1 cover. Subjective and irrational, I know. But also because it could save a lot on ink compared to dark space backgrounds.

[CodFather1]

I just don't understand why they have decided to change the design after years and years of consistency. And even if it did make sense, why did they change it in the middle of the year, instead of earlier in January?

[Lyichir]

20 hours ago, icm said:

Just because it looks cheap on the N-1 cover. Subjective and irrational, I know. But also because it could save a lot on ink compared to dark space backgrounds.

Less ink used on the cover alone probably doesn't make a huge impact on the cost of printing the instruction booklets as a whole. I have occasionally seen some people request that Lego use less color for backgrounds and such on instructions for if people want to print them out themselves, but I don't think that was the objective here—if it were, you probably wouldn't still have colored backgrounds throughout the rest of the booklets.

11 hours ago, CodFather1 said:

I just don't understand why they have decided to change the design after years and years of consistency. And even if it did make sense, why did they change it in the middle of the year, instead of earlier in January?

Again, if I had to guess, I'd assume it was meant to make the instructions "match" the soon to be implemented paper packaging for parts. I think part of why the paper packaging has taken so long to be introduced has had to do with Lego testing for not just the practical aspects of doing so but also the subjective "experience" of unboxing a set (making sure that it still comes across positively even if you can't see all the parts through their bags). The first set to include the paper packaging was last year's employee gift set, the Ninjago-themed Temple of Celebrations, which had outlines of brick shapes printed across the bags not unlike the ones across the upper and lower borders of these new instructions. So the change to the instructions might be to try to repeat that pattern on the instruction booklets as well, to try to make the unboxing feel like one consistent experience.

Now, whether that will be effective or not, it's too early to tell. Clearly opinions are divided so far even though the lack of paper packaging so far (at least from the reviews I've read) means that the "complete" experience they seem to be transitioning to isn't all the way there yet. Myself, I feel more or less indifferent to the change–the instruction booklet covers are such a nothing aspect of the building experience to me (compared to, say, the actual content of the instructions and building the set itself) that I really couldn't care one way or the other what the booklets look like on the outside.

Edited May 9, 2022 by Lyichir

[Maple]

I think the new style looks fine. 

[jonwil]

Is there anyone here who has the new Friends giraffe and who can tell me whether it would look good next to, say, the elephants from last years City sets or whether it would look out of place or too "friendsified" to work?

 

[The Island Chronicles]

There are three Friends sets I need to find. 41348 to 41352. I need the karts that go with those. 

[TeriXeri]

LEGO added a page with alternate building instructions for some sets for the 90th Anniversary, there are 2 PDF instructions for a Robot or "Tree Mouse" from 41703 Friendship Tree House

https://www.lego.com/cdn/cs/set/assets/blt96e7fc374c111a1b/Robot-Building-Instructions.pdf

https://www.lego.com/cdn/cs/set/assets/bltba665d7a9a840234/Mouse-Building-Instructions.pdf

[DragonElves]

https://jedijacpenguin.com/everythingweknowaboutLEGO2022.html#LEGO_Friends has got the friends winter cubes listed for a September release. I thought we’d lost hope for those, hopefully they’ll include those interesting penguin, husky, bird, panda colours that leaked a time ago.

Edited July 28, 2022 by DragonElves

[Maple]

The Friends Advent Calendar is yet again the best of the bunch. Love how Santa is wearing Mrs. Claus bottoms.

However I'm somehow even more upset with LEGO. 25 Euro and 35 USD? Anyone who is making excuses for those differences in prices is pathetic.

[DragonElves]

41723 Donut shop $9.99

41724 Paisley's House 44.99

41726 Camping trip 24.99

41727 Dog rescue center 59.99

41728 Restaurant 29.99

41729 Organic store 89.99

41730 Autumn’s house 69.99

41731 International school 99.99

41732 Town center 159.99

41733 Bubble tea mobile 9.99

41735 Mobile House 64.99

41738 Dog Rescue Bike 9.99

41739 Bedroom 19.99

41740 Bedroom 19.99

41741 Dog Rescue Truck 29.99

41743 Hair Salon 44.99 

41751 Skate Park 44.99

41754 Bedroom 19.99

41755 Bedroom 19.99

https://jedijacpenguin.com/everythingweknowaboutLEGO2023.html#LEGO_Friends

New set list, from jedijacpenguin. All set for January release. I’m surprised we’ve got two houses dedicated to characters we don’t know yet, so that’ll be intriguing. The town center could be an extension of the Main Street, I hope they change the style up a bit. I really like the sound of the international school and organic store (especially at that price, hopefully lots of detail). Set numbers missing: 41725, 41734, 41736, 41737, 41742, 41744-41750, 41752 41753, so perhaps March sets.

[jonwil]

The people in Heartlake City certainly seem to love dogs a lot (going by how many sets have come out that are themed around dogs and how many dogs appear in sets)

 

[Rune Haako]

2023 Pre-orders on US Amazon, no pics.

Amazon.com: Lego Friends: Toys & Games

 

Edited September 3, 2022 by Rune Haako

[ChromedCat]

I wonder if there’s a reboot coming, there’s so many more sets for next year’s January wave than we had this year! Can’t wait!

[BrynnOfCastlegate]

On 9/25/2022 at 3:12 AM, ChromedCat said:

I wonder if there’s a reboot coming, there’s so many more sets for next year’s January wave than we had this year! Can’t wait!

During LEGO Con, Fenella very strongly hinted that we would have a new cast of characters for next year. I suspect Autumn and Paisley are two of the new Friends. Looking forward to finding out the rest!

[DragonElves]

On 9/27/2022 at 3:45 PM, BrynnOfCastlegate said:

During LEGO Con, Fenella very strongly hinted that we would have a new cast of characters for next year. I suspect Autumn and Paisley are two of the new Friends. Looking forward to finding out the rest!

We have more names now: Liann, Aliya, Leo and Nova. I assume Leo will be male so could be a permanent fixture in the new lineup and hopefully we’ll have even more diversity than the last couple years of Friends.