Review: 41348 Service & Care Truck

Olivia is ready for an exciting summer go-kart racing!  She is prepared to support her race season with this fully equipped support truck and a service robot.

This set was provided by the AFOL Engagement of The LEGO Group for the purpose of sharing set details with fans.

Opinions provided here solely reflect those of our reviewer.

Photographs are property of FriendsBricks and are not directed by TLG in any fashion.

This set comes in a small box which has a new racing theme!  The front of the box depicts five of Heart Lake City's most competitive BFF's putting their hands in for a "GO TEAM" celebration of their friendship. In the background their is a race track crowd stand.  A very distinctive checkered flag wraps around the side and back of the box.

This set includes Olivia, a Racing Kart, a Support Truck, a Robot, a Hamster Crossing, and a Hamster!  The play features for the truck are shown on both the back and front of the box.

Included inside the box is a staple bound 84 page instruction guide, a sticker sheet, and two numbered parts bags.

The bags include the Lego parts shown below.

The instruction booklet is very typical of all Lego guides, and is very easy to follow.  

Like all Friends sets, this guide also includes a parts list for your reference.

The booklet also includes some marketing material.  One page highlights the other 2018 summer Kart Racing themed sets, and the facing page shows some of the other 2018 Summer Friends sets.

In my opinion, these are the most interesting and new parts included with this set.

This is the first time that the 2 x 2 Inverted Curved Slope has been available in dark pink!  Two are included in this set.

The Olivia mini doll includes a new helmet element, which has an integrated ponytail, and is dual molded using two different types of plastic.  The ponytail portion is made from a softer more flexible material.  The mini doll's head, torso and leg's have new prints, which are very detailed and have a distinctive racing outfit theme.  For the Racing Kart theme each mini doll has two differently colored arm's.

Their are three characters provided for you to interact with, including Olivia, a hamster named "Rumble", and a brick-built service robot named "Zobo"!

After completing the steps from pages 4-23, you will have built Olivia's race kart & launcher, the robot, and a Hamster Crossing!

Here, you see Olivia admiring her new racing Kart.  You'll notice that her Kart has tools onboard.  This ensures Olivia is prepared for any potential breakdown and to tune up her race kart at any time, even while racing!

Olivia tests her suspension by driving over the hamster crossing.  Of course she is always careful to make sure the road is clear before passing by...

A special go-kart launching mechanism is provided with each Kart, so you can easily propel them to high speeds!

Part two of the instructions is all about building the support truck!  The instructions are very well laid out and easy to follow.

In the above step you build a wheel mounting machine, which is used to put new tires on rims.  Even racing go-kart tires get worn down!!

After completing the build, their are quite a few small, albeit useful parts left over...

The truck build was entertaining, and includes many small details that make this a more realistic support vehicle!  Although there are a fair number of stickers that get applied to this truck, they are tastefully done and add to the realism of the vehicle.  If you don't want to apply the stickers you certainly don't have to.  Even without them, I feel the truck still looks very good, and does not detract from the maintenance truck feel of this vehicle.

One of the distinctive designs of this truck is it is configured for Zobo to be the driver, which allows Olivia to focus on navigation, and race preparations.  

In this way, when Olivia is racing the go-kart, Zobo can bring over the support truck as needed.

The area behind the driver's cab has plenty of room for equipment, including a fire extinguisher, and many other tools.

The best play feature on this truck is the tipping rear bed, making it very east to load and unload Olivia's Go-Kart for transport!

While having Zobo drive the truck may be practical, Olivia may not always want to be the passenger...

Below is a SMALL modification I made to the trucks cab, allowing Olivia to drive, and for Zobo to be the passenger.

Notice, I simply changed the positions of the tiles and plate pieces used on the floor of the cab.

This is a very good set, with may play features.  It is sure to entertain racing enthusiasts for many hours.  Their are some other friends "Go-Kart" themed sets being released at the same time as this one.  Each of those includes additional go karts and launchers, making it possible for you to set up races with many of your real friends at the same time!

This is a fun theme, and this set is awesome.  I highly recommend it.

-Tyler