It’s not just the folk in LEGO® City who are checking out the ocean this Summer, the gang in Heartlake City are at it as well. But the new LEGO Friends are focused on rescuing the ocean’s diverse animals in the Summer sets sub-theme Sea Rescue. There are three sets are varying sizes themed around Sea Rescue and as they are connected this review will cover them all, including the Sea Rescue Plane, Sea Rescue Boat and the Sea Rescue Centre.
41752: Sea Rescue Plane
Set Name: Sea Rescue Plane | Set Number: 41752 | Pieces: 203 | Theme: LEGO Friends
RRP: £17.99/$19.99/19.99€ | Number of Bags: Bags x 2 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: Sheet x 1 | Mini-Dolls: Zac & Dia + Whale figure
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
The smallest of the Sea Rescue-themed sets is a colourful seaplane. The seaplane is very much the same as a normal plane but has the ability to land and take off from the water. The one featured in this set has a couple of additions including the ability to lift up the tail wing to reveal some hidden accessories and a paddle board clipped to one of the plane’s floatation feet.
The set also features a small plate section, which is home to a small beluga whale. The Friends animals are far too ‘cartoony’ but it’s a fun new creature element. There are also two mini-dolls in the set, both of which are exclusive. Although they use heads and legs from other sets, both torsos are unique to this set.
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41736: Sea Rescue Centre
Set Name: Sea Rescue Centre | Set Number: 41736 | Pieces: 376 | Theme: LEGO Friends
RRP: £44.99/$49.99/49.99€ | Number of Bags: Bags x 3 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: Sheet x 1 | Mini-Dolls: Autumn, Leo & Kayla + 2 sea otters, a seahorse & a sea turtle
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
The Sea Rescue Centre is a mid-sized set and acts as the base for the team to tend to any sick animals. It’s a really fun build as the building is built over the water so it’s elevated by a series of pillars. So under the building, you’ll find various ocean plants and a treasure chest. The actual building isn’t that big but it has a number of different features including a slide shoot and a rooftop lookout point.
But much of the detail is found within the raised building. There are a series of three equipment stands that you can add to jumper plates inside the treatment area. The best of these is a funky little X-ray machine and a microscope. Both make great use of parts to create interesting details. I also like that the fairly new bright yellow colour is being used for more elements. The Friends sets continue to excel at creating unique signage and the Otter eating a shell is one of the best yet.
As with other sets, the included mini-dolls are all exclusive to this set, although they do reuse heads, legs and hair. But the torsos are all different. This is largely due to the characters wearing wetsuits and Autumn’s limb difference. Along with the mini-dolls, the set features a number of animal elements. These are all unique to the set and include a new otter element. Unlike the LEGO City version, the Friends otter is swimming on its back. I assume it’s intentional, but I must commend the fact the Otters have been designed so they can ‘link’ arms as they do in real life when sleeping on the water
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41734: Sea Rescue Boat
Set Name: Sea Rescue Boat | Set Number: 41734 | Pieces: 717 | Theme: LEGO Friends
RRP: £74.99/$79.99/79.99€ | Number of Bags: Bags x 6 | Instructions: Paper booklet + Builder App | Stickers: Sheet x 1 | Mini-Dolls: Nova, Aliya, Gunnar & Marco + 3 x Dolphin figures
Availability: LEGO Stores, LEGO Online & General Retail
I’d expect the Rescue Centre would be the largest of the three Sea Rescue sets, but it’s, in fact, the Sea Rescue Boat. This is a sort of catamaran-style craft and has traits of the Sunshine Catamaran set released back in 2017. This set has a more defined hull, which is crafted from a number of curved pieces, only currently found in this set. The back of the boat has another unique feature which is a sort of floating tube, which is connected to the rear of the boat. A little tip when building this part of the set, it uses orange tubing and a couple of Technic pin connectors. I’d recommend popping the axel rod element into each end of the tubes, as it makes it easier to get the pins to fully slot into the tubes. A special mention must go to the panel plates which line the sides of the boat. The graphics on the sticker is really nice. I quite like the stylised sea creature designs. I also like that the base of the boat contains four wheels so it can ‘sail’ across carpets or flooring with ease.
The deck of the boat has a lot of impressive detail, especially in such a small space. The interior can be accessed by popping off the roof of the cabin section. Inside you’ll find some research equipment, bunk beds, a bathroom and a small kitchen area. The use of elements to create these details is very clever.
Along with the boat, the set also includes a cool little one-man sub. This small vessel can seat one mini-doll inside the cockpit. I like the way the domed canopy neatly sits within the space of the interior. The sub can be stored on the hook, which sits on the front of the boat.
The set includes four mini-dolls, with three of the characters being exclusive. The version of Aliya featured in this set is also included in the Friends Sea Rescue polybag. There are only three creature elements in the set and they are all dolphins. With two adults in dark blue and a baby one in pale blue. All of the creature elements have print detail on them including strange sparkle-like spots on the adult ones.
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Overall
Similar to how the first wave of new LEGO Friends sets had the Dog Rescue sets, it is nice to have a handful of sets that are linked together by a subject. But this doesn’t mean they are all required to be built together as they function perfectly well as single sets. Between them, the sets feature some interesting animal elements but I’ve never been a fan of the cartoon-style creatures, compared the those found in other non-Friends sets. Still, it’s nice to have any new animals. One interesting trait across all three sets is the amount of bright yellow elements they contain. Many of them are being featured in this new colour for the first time. All three Sea Rescue sets have fun features but the stand out has to be the Rescue Centre.
These sets were provided to BricksFanz.com by the LEGO Group for purposes of review. The thoughts within this review are those of BricksFanz.com and do not reflect those of the LEGO Group. Providing the set for free does not guarantee a favourable opinion of the set.
