2013 Friends Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[Lordofdragonss]

Talking about the animation... This is how ALL lego animations should be animated- you can clearly see bricks there! It's no like ninjago or chima where all stuff is realistic.

Edited April 16, 2013 by Lordofdragonss

[Peppermint_M]

Oh, the bakery will be coming to my little Heartlake. Mum has commanded!

[Aanchir]

Talking abou the animation... This is how ALL lego animations should be animated- you can clearly see bricks there! It's no like ninjago or chima where all stuff is realistic.

I don't know. I admire the effort that goes into making media where a lot of things are physically made out of LEGO (like the LEGO video games), but at the same time one thing I like about the Ninjago TV series is that since everything (even the official sets) is stylized, there isn't any one right way to build the vehicles and settings that don't appear in sets. Which I think is part of the point-- it gives kids inspiration to build things of their own, which provides a further incentive to buy and play with the toys. If everything were depicted as if made of bricks, then a kid might not even try if they saw a brick that would be difficult or impossible to obtain.

[Pandora]

High-Res friends set images from cache.LEGO.com:

Thank you so much for finding these Aanchir.

I've put smaller versions of the pictures themselves in the first post, but included links to the original 4000 wide pictures.

[Xyver]

Just showed my daughter, she is thrilled by the boat and the school.

These sets just keep getting better!

[paul_delahaye]

Wow, that blue bike is certainly popular this year

[Ajax]

In the box picture of the Dolphin Cruiser you see in the background a lighthouse, I hope this comes out in the future, I think it would make a great addition to the friends line.

Just showed my daughter, she is thrilled by the boat and the school.

These sets just keep getting better!

They really do, I thought they were much better than the new City sets this year.

[ritzcrackerman]

That boat is just ridiculously cute.

[markbrow10]

That new (New as in I cant find it anywhere in bricklink) Slope, Curved 2x2 corner looks good in 41006, pity about the colour.

See Ya

Mark

[jonwil]

If you are referring to the purple parts in the awnings of 41006 they appear to be these

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=88293

[The_Creator]

That Dolphin Cruizer actually looks really good, I can think of better things to spend my LEGO money on but that's definitely one of my favorite Friends sets so far. What'd be really awesome if a City version was made, then I'd probably have to buy it.

[markbrow10]

If you are referring to the purple parts in the awnings of 41006 they appear to be these

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?P=88293

I am indeed referring to the purple awnings parts and my bad, I didn't even think to look there.

Thanks

Mark

[Bubble]

High-Res friends set images from cache.LEGO.com:

By the way half of your pictures aren't working

Edited April 17, 2013 by Pandora
Please don't quote an entire (long) quote

[Rufus]

Wow, some great sets here! Shame about the palm tree: bring back the flexible one, TLG!

I love that boat. Look at the flex tubes on that!

[Ajax]

That Dolphin Cruizer actually looks really good, I can think of better things to spend my LEGO money on but that's definitely one of my favorite Friends sets so far. What'd be really awesome if a City version was made, then I'd probably have to buy it.

There are actually very few pink bricks on the cruiser, If you swap them for say dark blue or navy blue it would look like a regular Lego cruiser.

[Aanchir]

By the way half of your pictures aren't working

That's odd. Which half? All the links are formatted the same and are working just fine for me.

[just2good]

I got ahold of all the Series 2 Animal Packs and have reviewed 'em. If video reviews aren't your thing, move along. Enjoy!

Edited April 19, 2013 by just2good

[SheepEater]

I think this is an appropriate topic for this:

I sent an email to Lego asking them what age the main characters are supposed to be. Here is their reply:

Dear ######,

Thank you for your interest in LEGO® brand toys. We are always delighted to hear from a loyal LEGO enthusiast.

######, the magic of our bricks is that LEGO builders can use their own individual talent and imagination to invent, explore, and discover new and exciting ways of self expression. For this reason, we have not attached any specific age to the mini-dolls in our Friends assortment. This way the builder can use their imagination for the girl to be the age she can identify with herself, or maybe the age of her older sister she might idolize. Generally speaking we designed them to be any age between 11 and 14 years old. However, one can imagine Stephanie to be 16 as well because after all she drives a car!

The LEGO Friends story centers on the everyday lives and personalities of five girls in a fictional hometown called Heartlake City. The sets are age-graded for builders 5-12. Each of the friends has a distinct personality and interests, such as animals, performing arts, invention and design, that are reflected in the models. Building sets reflect different parts of town where the girls’ adventures take place—downtown, suburbs, beach, camping grounds and mountains which are familiar to all builders.

Thanks again for getting in touch. We're always pleased to receive feedback from LEGO fans! If you could take a moment to complete a four question survey by going to the link below, it will help us make sure we are providing the best customer service to you.

Please contact us again if you need anything else (you’ll need to remind us of your reference number #########). It’s free to call our experts at 1-800-835-4386 or you could go to service.LEGO.com which is always open!

Happy building in Heartlake City!

Moira

LEGO Consumer Services

Edited April 20, 2013 by SheepEater

[Aanchir]

I think this is an appropriate topic for this:

I sent an email to Lego asking them what age the main characters are supposed to be. Here is their reply:

Dear ######,

Thank you for your interest in LEGO® brand toys. We are always delighted to hear from a loyal LEGO enthusiast.

######, the magic of our bricks is that LEGO builders can use their own individual talent and imagination to invent, explore, and discover new and exciting ways of self expression. For this reason, we have not attached any specific age to the mini-dolls in our Friends assortment. This way the builder can use their imagination for the girl to be the age she can identify with herself, or maybe the age of her older sister she might idolize. Generally speaking we designed them to be any age between 11 and 14 years old. However, one can imagine Stephanie to be 16 as well because after all she drives a car!

The LEGO Friends story centers on the everyday lives and personalities of five girls in a fictional hometown called Heartlake City. The sets are age-graded for builders 5-12. Each of the friends has a distinct personality and interests, such as animals, performing arts, invention and design, that are reflected in the models. Building sets reflect different parts of town where the girls’ adventures take place—downtown, suburbs, beach, camping grounds and mountains which are familiar to all builders.

Thanks again for getting in touch. We're always pleased to receive feedback from LEGO fans! If you could take a moment to complete a four question survey by going to the link below, it will help us make sure we are providing the best customer service to you.

Please contact us again if you need anything else (you’ll need to remind us of your reference number #########). It’s free to call our experts at 1-800-835-4386 or you could go to service.LEGO.com which is always open!

Happy building in Heartlake City!

Moira

LEGO Consumer Services

Wow, that's a very insightful reply. I usually don't ask LEGO Customer Service those kind of non-product-related questions, but maybe I should if I ever have one that's particularly bugging me.

Speaking of ages, I wonder if LEGO Friends will ever introduce figs representing younger kids. The torsos do already have three or four body types: the standard young female torso for the main characters and most secondary characters, an adult female torso for Olivia's mom Anna, an adult male torso for Olivia's dad Peter, and a young male torso for the two boys who come in this year's summer sets. But there are no arm or leg pieces for depicting preteen kids. Still, of course, there's no rush, considering that only one of the torso styles already out has seen much use.

Edited April 20, 2013 by Pandora
Removed extra identical quote

[CM4Sci]

Here's something neat I found:

Prelims of this years first wave!

*Photos removed by Pandora*

There are also some prelims for the Summer 2012 sets, which can all be found here!

-Sci

[Pandora]

Here's something neat I found:

Prelims of this years first wave!

Hi Sci, although these are pictures of sets already released, we do not ever post pictures marked "Confidential" here on Eurobricks, so I've removed them from your post.

Thanks for your understanding.

[badbob001]

Generally speaking we designed them to be any age between 11 and 14 years old. However, one can imagine Stephanie to be 16 as well because after all she drives a car!

Since there will be a high school, the girls will have to be at least 14. Safest bet is 16 so they all can drive cars and be in the same classes.

[Oky]

I guess you only have to be 16 to pilot airplanes and yachts as well in Heartlake City.

[Aanchir]

I guess you only have to be 16 to pilot airplanes and yachts as well in Heartlake City.

In both the U.S. and the U.K. you can be certified for solo flight in a powered aircraft at age 16, or for solo flight in balloons and gliders at age 14. So that's not totally unreasonable. Boating laws are more diverse and I'm having a hard time finding any general laws, but I believe in many cases for boats under a certain size the boating age would be consistent with the driving age. Despite being a very big boat compared to most previous LEGO boats, based on its accommodations I imagine the Dolphin Cruiser is meant to be a luxury cabin cruiser, not a larger yacht which would require a larger crew.

[LegoMyMamma]

The LEGO Friends story centers on the everyday lives and personalities of five girls in a fictional hometown called Heartlake City.

That's enough for me

My imagination takes care of the rest