Review: 41428 Beach House

Welcome to the Beach House!

Mia, "Hey Andrea, snap a pic of that baby Dolphin leaping!"  Andrea, "Sure, after I get one of that pretty Flamingo on the dock!"

Box front shows this Beach House on an island beyond HLC's downtown and the BFF Heart inset is standard, so we know this isn't part of a sub-theme. Although this wave has a "Vacay with Friends" theme.
The lower left inset shows the roof can flip up for a rooftop music stage. Mia and Andrea's cameo insets are framed in purple doodle circles. The flanges are standard.


Box back has lots of vacation activities at the beach. Even though the title isn't "Andrea's Beach House" and they arrive at the same time, Andrea gets the top right box feature.

Review: 41421 Baby Elephant Jungle Rescue

Set: 41421 Baby Elephant Jungle Rescue
Year: 2020
Pieces: 203



Oh No! A baby elephant is stuck in the swamp! Hold on! Emma and Stephanie are on their way!



The box front shows our jungle rescuers arriving in a forest scene where the baby elephant is stuck. The jungle sub theme BFF heart insert in the upper right corner shows all our friends in their new rescue attire. The bottom right character insets let us know that Stephanie and Emma are included in this set. And the bottom left corner shows that this set supports National Geographic Explorers.



The back of the box features the simple mechanism for rescuing the baby elephant. It also shows Stephanie and Emma caring for the baby elephant post rescue. Emma is featured in graphic form, painting the jungle scenery. All 5 friends are illustrated in their new jungle attire on the bottom left corner. Typical doodles are scattered across the layout. We also see the half-moon knockouts for opening the set as this box is glued rather than being sealed with tape. 

Review: 41427 Emma's Fashion Shop

Fashion Friends indeed! Andrea scoots over to Emma's new shop to see what cool capes and other clothing designs she's come up with in her upper-floor studio!


Box front shows Emma's Fashion Shop situated near downtown HLC. Lovely trees and green-space behind it.
The BFF heart and flange doodles indicate it's a standard, non sub-theme set; and our mini-doll cameos are the previous Lavender circle frames.


Box back shows the garment rack rotates to offer more selection. Of course Emma is featured in graphic form in her classic purple polka dot ruffled blouse.
We get to see inside this Cool Yellow modular shop.

Review: 41424 Jungle Rescue Base

*Red alert* No time to be slow -- there's a tree about to catch fire! Water buckets and spray to the rescue! Get ready for a medic check, and to fly that Zobo Drone for an aerial view too!

Box front is full of activity in the Jungle! The new sub-theme BFF heart inset upper right has Friends in their new jungle attire. We see a mountain in the background, and lower left indicates support for NatGeo Explorers. Three mini-doll cameos are framed in Jungle vines.
This is a big box!


Box back continues with more activity insets, with Olivia garnering the upper right in graphic form with a Zobo Drone!
We also see there are functions for interactive play after we build.


Box top has brick collage and let's us know 41424 will be in the Instructions Plus database. Our 3 mini-dolls with some lush jungle graphics; Olivia is the 1:1 size ratio rep.

Review: 41425 Olivia's Flower Garden

Olivia rides her garden scooter to a spot where she built a solar-powered-light growing station.


Box art shows she's just outside HLC scooting along with her pet hamster Rumble -- while her robot Zobo waits for instructions.
The flanges are printed only and we know this is a standard set based on the BFF heart inset.


Box back has some cute images of them gardening together and that you flip up the solar panel.
The upper right graphic of Olivia features her flying heart robot from the MidWinter Night's Dream Science Fair episode. I would love to build it someday.

Review: 41426 Heartlake City Park Café

Mia loves waffles -- so this new eatery in the park is perfect for breakfast, or any time, to fuel up for the day's activities!


Box front has the standard BFF heart inset, so we know this is a Heartlake City setting, rather than any sub-theme. The purple flanges have the art doodles that started in 2018.
It shows this new, updated version of a Park Café with doors open wide, ready for customers.


Box back shows Stephanie preparing the waffle batter. It's great that she still has her baking interest after the 2018 reboot.
A few funny insets of Mia :-)

Review: 41423 Tiger Hot Air Balloon Jungle Rescue

Emma: "Ready for liftoff! Tiger Cub is secure in the crate, over ..." Andrea: "Roger, ready to add hot air ... rescue on the way! ... over and out."


This tall box shows the hot air balloon aloft, carrying one of the white Tiger cubs. The flanges are only printed, yet have new doodles of compass, map, and other exploring and rescue elements.
The upper right new BFF heart inset shows all 5 Friends with their new Jungle attire. Emma and Andrea have their cameos in a jungle vine frame. This Jungle Rescue sub-theme is in support of National Geographic Explorers.


Box back shows the Waterfall rescue in progress, and all the really nifty interactive functions in this set.

Review: 41337 Underwater Loop

Sea life fans will be laughing out loud while riding the clown fish on this loop ride at the amusement park!



The box cover shows a fun amusement park ride on the pier in front of the Heart Lake City skyline.  The upper right corner shows a standard HLC setting, with the 5 BFFs heart motif.  The wooden boardwalk and the the hanging festival lights let you know this set is part of the sea life themed amusement park sets.  In addition to highlighting all of the fun creations you get to make, the bottom right shows the names of the two mini dolls included, Vicky & Mia.

The back of the box clearly shows that the loop ride can be animated.  In addition to the ride itself, this set also includes a stairway to get on and off the ride, a ticket booth, a cotton candy cart, and two mini-dolls.  There are also many smaller inset images suggesting other play ideas!

Review: 41376 Turtles Rescue Mission

Zobo and Olivia rescue turtles so they can be safe in the sand under the rescue hut!


The front of the box shows the rescue center's beach hut where the Friends take care of turtles in need of assistance. This set is part of the Friends Sea Life sub-theme.  These sets can be identified by the water activities inset on the upper right corner of the box.  The main image om the box shows that Olivia is on her way to a turtle rescue in her new amphibious car, and a baby turtle is getting some much needed sustenance from Olivia's assistant robot Zobo.

The lower left inset shows some detail at the back of the rescue center.


The back of the box also has a wave graphic with a cameo showing Olivia and her rescue robot Zobo .   There are many activities depicted here suggesting lots of different play activities. 

Review: 41380 Lighthouse Rescue Center

Hey! That Dolphin is telling you something Mia -- there's a Seal trapped in an old Island shack!


Box front shows islands off HLC's coast and we know this is a sub-theme by the sea life doodles on the flanges, and the water activity outfits on the Friends in their BFF Heart inset upper right.
The wave graphic behind them is nice! The center show Lighthouse activity and that we get a "Light Brick" for making real working beacon! Plus water-reactive textile of a map.
The lower left inset shows that we save a Seal. The coral reef is shown underwater behind the Lighthouse (cool!), and our mini-dolls get the Gilligan's Island treatment of life preserver cameos.


Box back has that wave graphic continues above the Friends logo and that looks like a water portal behind Mia's feature cameo upper right.
Lots of activities in this Lighthouse -- even though most are pretty quiet -- this serves as a Rescue Center for sea animals in distress. The light can be rotated, just like a real lighthouse.

Review: 41374 Andrea's Pool Party

Make a splash into the pool or a splat off the wave machine. Either way there will be giggles.



The box front shows the pool by the beach behind a wall of shrubs with Heartlake City in the background. We have the 5 BFFs in the heart insert to indicate it is a core HLC set. We see the Stephanie and Andrea are the minidolls in the set. There is also an insert to show how to work the wave machine.

Review: 41378 Dolphins Rescue Mission

Even while on a Treasure Hunt, Friends turn their Adventure into a Rescue Mission!


Box front shows an underwater adventure with beautiful box art! It looks like the water and fish could come splashing out at you! The flanges have special aquatic life drawings for this sub-theme. The upper heart BFF motif has the Friends in Sea Life attire.
On the left under the set name is a graphic telling us the textile (map) is water reactive. With an inset below illustrating moving functions. Plus, we have our mini-doll cameos inside orange life preservers: Kacey and Stephanie.


Box back shows more adventuring activities -- that is the rescue mission, plus a treasure hunt!
This is the first time Kacey has been a mini-doll. The upper right graphic of Stephanie with Dash shows she is the main Friend here.

Review: 41373 Funny Octopus Ride

No time to be crabby today -- this Funny Octopus with a Tophat can make anyone smile!
   Just look at the happy little Crab that Ethan is riding!


Box front shows how this is a set with movement -- as we turn the black knob for rides to go up and down, and all around!
The upper right corner indicates a standard HLC setting, with the 5 BFFs heart motif.
The wooden planks of the Pier's boardwalk against the HLC skyline gives this box a lovely presentation -- especially with the strung lights!


Box back shows more options for riding this silly bulbous aquatic creature! The ticket booth and other inset images capture fun building and imaginative setting for these bricks.
Andrea is the main Friends represented in this set.

Review: 41371 Mia's Horse Trailer

Choosing a very sunny spot in the forest -- Mia feeds her new white horse a carrot.  Good thing she has sunglasses!  Emma checks the crate for supplies and they are so busy -- they don't even notice the wild bunny hideout!


Box front has a fun scene with Mia feeding her horse, while Emma checks the crate. At first I thought the bunny would be Cinnamon, yet the box does not indicate a name for the bunny or horse. Only after building did I realize it's "wild" bunny, and not a hutch -- it's a hideout.
It seems they are just now unloading at this forest site. The BFF heart inset indicates this is a core HLC set.