It’s time for another LEGO® Friends set review and a look at the last of the smaller-scale sets. Hair Salons have been been the inspiration for a few previous Friends sets including one released in 2020. This is almost a remake of that set, as it features plenty of similar traits. But it still offers something new and is the largest of the Hair Salons to be featured in the LEGO Friends theme. Has a new generation of characters take the spotlight, this is one of those sets which shows the theme still remembers its roots. Here’s a closer look at the LEGO Friends Hair Salon.
Product Details
Set Name: Hair Salon | Set Number: 41743 | Pieces: 401 | Theme: LEGO Friends
RRP: £39.99/$39.99/44.99€ | Number of Bags: Bags x 4 (plastic) + Loose Elements | Instructions: Paper + Builder App | Mini-dolls: 3 | Stickers: Sheets x 1
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
Before you get to construct the Hair Salon building, there are a couple of smaller sections to build. These are separate from the main building and add two small pieces of land. One features a pink bench, along with a vintage-style street lamp. It’s joined by a similar-sized section which is a scooter parking zone. These sections, although small, both feature a brand new element. This probably won’t mean anything outside the UK, but the recently introduced new 1×2 tile which is a similar shape to a Weetabix. To better explain for the non-cereal eaters, it’s basically a 1×2 flat tile but with rounded ends. It has only previously appeared in Minecraft sets and although a simple piece, it adds some nice detail and I can see it becoming a really useful element in more sets.
The Hair Salon is a similar size to past versions and matches that of other sets in this wave such as the Cat Hotel and Diner. It also has a similar structure as those sets. The building’s front and sides but a completely open rear, giving access to the interior. It’s a pretty simple frame for the building with quite a few windows used to create the walls. These include a decent amount of Spring Yellowish Green coloured small window frames, making the element exclusive to this set. In fact, a few rare, unique or recoloured elements are found in this set. Almost all of the Bright Purple pieces are unique to this set. The two curved transparent panels used to create the curved roof are also unique. These do look good but they can easily become detached, due to how they are connected.
Inside the Hair Salon, you’ll find all the relevant equipment you’d expect to find in such an establishment. So there are a pair of rotating chairs, one of which includes a hair-dying dome. On the left side of the salon, you’ll find a very simple sink and the opposite side is where hair is styled. Stickers add a little more detail to what is quite a small space. So these are used to add mirrors, shelving and a style board.
All three of the Mini-dolls featured in the set are unique to it. Both of the main characters are unique but it’s a different reason why. Olly has a unique torso design, although the rest of the parts to create him have appeared in multiple other Friends sets. Paisley is a little different, her legs, torso, head and hair technically mean the exact same version of her design has appeared in one other set, but she includes both an alternate head and hair. These make this version of her unique as well as being one of only a couple of mini-dolls to make use of changeable heads. The hairdresser Nadia has a unique head and torso. She also uses the same pink hair previously found in the Everyone is Awesome set. One thing I’ve noticed about the new Friends characters is the number of hairstyles they have introduced and they are all made from the standard plastic material instead of the softer rubbery type material many of the older Friends mini-dolls used. This means these hair pieces can be integrated into other themes and for much better to the heads of the mini-dolls.
Overall
It’s not the most exciting set in terms of what play features it offers, however, it does provide an interesting build experience and beyond that, it has some unique pieces and rare pieces, many of which will interest MOC builders. It’s nice to have three unique characters and the trend of giving certain mini-dolls alternative heads is quite fun. But my favourite part of the building is the cool brick-built sign. Similar things have appeared in other Friends sets and they are all really well done, even the simple ones.
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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.
