Review: 42603 Stargazing Camping Vehicle
Posted by MeganL,
Earlier, we checked out Friends in Space, aka 42605 Mars Space Base and Rocket. In that set, the astronauts were chatting with Nova via video chat. We find out where Nova is in 42603 Stargazing Camping Vehicle.
This set reminded me of 41116 Olivia's Exploration Car from 2016. Let's see how far exploration has come in the last seven years...
Summary
42603 Stargazing Camping Vehicle, 364 pieces.
£24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99 | 6.9p/8.2c/8.2c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
The trend of functional and fun Friends vehicles continues
- Nice alternate expression
- Cute hedgehog!
- Swing function in the trailer
- A little on the pricy side
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Inside the box there are three numbered bags, two instruction books and a sticker sheet.
The instruction books continue to place the sets in their locations. Appropriately, this set is located outside of Heartlake City.
Minidolls and animals
There are two minidolls in this set, Aliya and Nova. Aliya is in an outfit that we've seen before. Nova is wearing a new shirt, that's very appropriate for the location - it's a blue shirt with a spaceship pattern, and a large classic logo! I love seeing this here.
Not surprisingly, Nova has brought Pickle along for the ride. No Christmas accoutrements this time! The other cute animal in this set is a hedgehog. It's tiny, with a printed face and a textured back.
Aliya is given a second head for this set. It would appear that she's seen something rather startling through the brick-built telescope in the set!
The instruction books introduce each core Friend character with a fresh set of icons. This year, Aliya's icons are a jumping horse, a notebook filled with drawings and a pen, and a 1st place ribbon. Nova's icons are a gaming controller, a telescope with moon, and some tools (wrench, screws, screwdriver).
The completed model
The main feature of the set is the camping vehicle. It's in typical Friends colour of purple and bright blue. The sleeping compartment fits (or doubles as) the roof, and there's a trailer to haul all the appropriate camping gear. You can't quite see Aliya in this shot, but the truck does fit two minidolls.
The sleeping compartment (or roof) lifts off, and from this angle you can see that there's a roomy spot for Pickle to enjoy the ride. There's also a compartment built in back - opening the little door shows that there's food and water for Pickle stored there.
I don't know what the "210769" license plate signifies (of course! The date of the moon landing! Should have been obvious! Thanks to the commenter), but it's included on both the vehicle and the trailer. Viewing the trailer from this angle shows that the brick-built telescope can be stored on the clips on the side. I'm not sure this is the smartest idea, considering how delicate telescopes are, but whatever works for the Friends!
Friends vehicles never disappoint with extra features, and this one is no exception. The back of the trailer opens up to show a work station. I propped the star chart in front of the monitor, but you can still see that it's Olivia on the other end of the connection. Other tools are stored in the open top, such as a flashlight and a pair of binoculars.
Wasting no space, the sleeping compartment for two minidolls unfolds from the top of the vehicle. The cloth piece for the tent folds up nicely and is held down for storage by the ladder, in an ingenious twist. I like how the designer has worked this to allow the ladder to provide access to the sleeping area. However, unless other supports are provided, using this compartment may require suspension of the laws of physics.
Taking the roof (and ladder) off the vehicle, you can get a closer look at this compartment.
Aliya and Nova travelled all this way to look at something - after all, couldn't they chat with Olivia from anywhere? In this case, there's a small clearing that includes the hedgehog's home. A blanket is spread out under the stars, and there are refreshments close by.
Speaking of refreshments, more woodlands creatures can appear to appreciate the stars. There are a number of moons/planets/stars included in the set, so the galaxy can be customized for viewing.
(Note: stargazing sloths not included in this set.)
Overall thoughts
This is a fun little set, though price-wise, it's not that little (394 pieces, £24.99 / $29.99 / €29.99). It's twice the price of the 2016 stargazing set. While this vehicle is more robust and has a trailer, it still feels a little expensive for the price.
Price aside, Friends vehicles rarely disappoint, and this one is no exception. I love how Friends designers manage to fit multiple uses in a vehicle, such as the swing function to show the workstation in the trailer. It's a great way to show the technique to younger builders. It could also serve as a nice parts pack for some interesting recolours (part inventory here).
I like that more alternate expressions are being introduced in sets, as well as having one at a lower price point set like this one. I also like the ability to customize the stars, and there's an impressive range of celestial bodies to use. And who doesn't love seeing Pickle in a set?
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24 comments on this article
210769=21st of July, 1969, the date of the moon landing.
Aliya must've looked through the telescope to see the comet heading straight for the center of Heartlake City. Even though they are in the woods far from the future ground zero, I doubt they will survive much longer than the citizens downtown.
Olivia must've been trying to warn them to get further away... unless she was the one who maneuvered the comet to hit Heartlake using a nearly-spent rocket booster in the first place? So many questions, so little time...
Love the galaxy part.
rolled up hedgehog is to new to get an instant like.
Looks like an almost wholesome toy to me. Only the trailer needs some top protection.
The best thing: it caters twice to me as a space- and camping-theme collector!
Also, this being space-subthemed, the car and trailer remind me of 894 for some reason.
Maybe Olivia just told Aliya about the alien from 42065.
Still think the old Friends hedgehog was better
I like the color scheme here, really good contrast balance between vibrant yellow, lavender, with the more basic colors like white, black and classic blue.
@AverageChimaEnjoyer said:
"Still think the old Friends hedgehog was better"
This one can't be run over by cars. Evolution at work!
Expensive? Its clearly 20$ Vechicle + whole scene and extras. Its ok.
Do the stars actually glow and if so, how bright is it?
Thank you for the fun review! I was hoping that you and the sloths would give us a tour of this set. I love the starry background; it could be used in a Northern Lights MOC.
Could Nova be the offspring of Olivia?
You mention "Aliya and Nova travelled all this way to look at something - after all, couldn't they chat with Olivia from anywhere?
They need to be a distance from Heartlake City to avoid the light pollution. True, they could chat with Olivia from almost anywhere but if they want to do some stargazing then driving out to the countryside would be a good idea.
@Lyichir said:
"210769=21st of July, 1969, the date of the moon landing."
And using the Europe / UK date format instead of the US mm-dd-yyyy format!
Even though it wouldn't fit my collection, this is such a lovely little set that I'm tempted to buy. It has just about everything: transforming vehicle(s), cloth piece, clever functions, easter eggs, seriously beautiful color scheme, and lots of play value. I commend how the designers seamlessly used the same logo as seen in City Space to bring this subtheme of Friends literally within reach of City Space. The Friends line continues to pave the way for set excellence and I'm here for it.
Interesting note: The galaxy part is in just about the correct position to be a Lego representation of Messier 101, one of the spiral galaxies in Ursa Major.
@ToysFromTheAttic:
Sadly, it appears they're plain white.
@xris said:
" @Lyichir said:
"210769=21st of July, 1969, the date of the moon landing."
And using the Europe / UK date format instead of the US mm-dd-yyyy format!"
Yeah, can't figure how they managed to screw that up so badly.
@yui:
Interesting note: the Big Dipper isn't even close to being the right shape. This supports my gut reaction, which was that this is just a stargazing wall located outside of town. All the pop concerts must cause so much light pollution that nobody in this generation actually knows what real stars look like.
I love the detail of the flashlight being red -- that color is the least disruptive to dark-adapted vision, so astronomers and stargazers use red lights to see what they're doing without spoiling their view (or the view of others).
As for what Aliya saw...
The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million-to-one, she said
The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million-to-one...but still, they come!
@PurpleDave said:
" @xris said:
" @Lyichir said:
"210769=21st of July, 1969, the date of the moon landing."
And using the Europe / UK date format instead of the US mm-dd-yyyy format!"
Yeah, can't figure how they managed to screw that up so badly."
Anyone who creates digital storage knows it should be logical, i.e., easily searchable - 690721.
Is this the first Lego representation of a cartop, pop-up camper?
"Earlier, we checked out Friends in Space, aka 42605 Mars Space Base and Rocket."
41713: "How quickly they forget."
I'm with @HAL_9001 in admiring the red flashlight. Nice attention to detail, there.
@StyleCounselor said:
"Anyone who creates digital storage knows it should be logical, i.e., easily searchable - 690721."
Or the Y2K compliant 19690721
@HAL_9001:
I noticed that because, in my teens, I got a military signaling flashlight, with the bent neck. Inside the base, there was a storage space for a red lens, a blue lens, and an opaque white lens, along with a spare bulb. One interesting thing I learned a while back is that they have to use unfiltered white flashlights for final inspection before launching aircraft on carriers (and presumably from land bases as well) because leaking oil doesn't show up well under red light.
@StyleCounselor said:
"Anyone who creates digital storage knows it should be logical, i.e., easily searchable - 690721."
YY/MM/DD is easy to sort chronologically, because the order of magnitude descends from l-r. However, there are two major issues with it. The first is that this format was likely created in the comptuer age of the 1900's, and failed to consider how things would work with the shift from 1999-2000, and the fact that 00xxxx sorts before 99xxxx. The second is that by about mid-January, we're kind of over caring about the fact that it's a new year, and we don't really need to be constantly reminded of this fact for the next 11.5 months. Hence, the most common date format in the US, outside of computer data, is simply MM/DD, and we usually only tack on the /YY for official records.
Fun set.
@HAL_9001 said:
"The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million-to-one, she said
The chances of anything coming from Mars are a million-to-one...but still, they come! "
A person of culture! Although given your username I'm inclined it's not martians we should be worried about. Anyone seen a monolith?
Minor nitpick: the landing took place on the 20th (UTC, anyway). Neil's first step took place on the 21st (again, UTC).
Hedgehog? Are you sure it isn't a disabled dog?