Although the new range of LEGO® Friends sets is focused on a new generation of characters, they haven’t forgotten their roots. The 10 previous years of characters and storytelling haven’t been wiped away and the history of Heartlake City remains in place, even if the original five girls have gone on to have new adventures. One of them is all grown up and has remained in Heartlake City with her new family. But which of the original girls can be found in this set? Let’s find out with a closer look at Autumn’s House.
Product Details
Set Name: Autumn’s House | Set Number: 41730 | Pieces: 853 | Theme: LEGO Friends
RRP: £59.99/$69.99/69.99€ | Number of Bags: Bags x 6 (plastic) + Loose Elements | Instructions: Paper + Builder App | Mini-dolls: 4 | Stickers: Sheets x 1
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
As you can buy the style of the house, it looks as if it can be found in the leafy countryside of Heartlake City. Houses out in the sticks, often have plenty of space and room enough for a stable. The set does include a rather small area to keep a horse. The mini stable is connected to the house via a rubbery ‘string’ that features a series of lights. Although this new element has better connections, it simply slips over a rod piece, it also means it’s not as flexible as the old string version.
Friends sets are known for their unusual colour palettes, but this set is a little more traditional in the colours used to create it. The exterior is mostly white with teal trim around the porch and on the roof. It also has light green shutters framing the windows. The combination of these colours and details gives the house a rustic feel. I’m guessing the setting of the house may have inspired Autumn’s name, as the house is littered with fallen leaves, apples and pumpkins, things often associated with autumn or fall.
Inside the house is surprisingly detailed considering it’s a fairly compact space. Although it’s one of the larger of the new sets, it still has quite a narrow footprint, which limits some of the rooms. Downstairs features a small living room, with a toasty fireplace being the perfect place to spend chilly autumn nights. This room is decorated with various photographs including one which features another familiar face from past Friends sets. Across the hallway is a small kitchen, which features the new cupboard element, introduced in the Friends sets this year. It once again doubles as a fridge in this set.
Upstairs is home to a rather small bathroom, but much of the detail is found in Autumn’s bedroom. It’s the biggest room in the house, with a small bed on the left of the room and an area for the dog to sleep on the opposite side. The dog bed is actually much bigger than Autumn’s bed. Again there are various stickers used to create various details such as photos, rugs and bedding. They do add nice details to the house. Overall, the set doesn’t really feature many unique elements or uniquely coloured/recoloured pieces. But it does have plenty of plates and other larger bricks which would be useful for creating buildings.
The set includes four mini-dolls. All of whom are main characters and unique to this set. They also feature a familiar face from the original line-up of Friends characters. Mia is back and is the only original character to appear in the new sets. She’s also grown up and become a Mum. She’s joined by her daughter Autumn, who is one of the new faces introduced to widen the diversity and inclusivity of the Friends characters. Her limb difference doesn’t stop her enjoy a wide range of activities, many of which are featured in the set. Autumn, Leo and Aliya appear in multiple sets but their outfits are unique to this set. Animals are heavily featured in the new Friends sets and you’ll find a foal and a dog in this set.
Overall
It’s nice to have a connection with the original Friends sets. The 10 years of sets and stories have been loved by a generation of kids, many of whom will have grown up with the theme. So it’s nice to see at least one of the originals make an appearance in the new sets. Hopefully, so other familiar faces will be back in new roles in future sets. As a set, Autumn’s House has some nice details. I particularly like the colours used for the house, especially as these go well with the autumnal leaves littering the place. I also like the window shutters, this help to add to the country feel of the set. The small stable is a nice addition but I’m not a fan of the roped lights which trails from the house to it. Because the rope is made from a rubbery material it just doesn’t lay right and looks awkward. Apart from that, it’s one of the nicer of the new LEGO Friends sets.
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This set was provided BricksFanz and provided by the LEGO Group for review purposes. The thoughts within this review are that of BricksFanz and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing a set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
