Review: 41100 Heartlake Private Jet
Posted by Huw,
MeganL has written another review on one of the summer Friends releases: 41100 Heartlake Private Jet.
I love LEGO vehicles, so when I saw the private jet and the airport, I knew I would be checking both of them out...
The front of the Private Jet box shows Olivia and her friend Matthew going through security with the jet in the background. The back of the box shows the features of the jet: the internal details (mostly a cockpit and seating area) and the ability to remove various top parts of the jet (nose, centre, tail) in order to access the inside.
Inside are two numbered bags, custom molded nose and tail portions (one white, one blue) plus an instruction booklet and sticker sheet. In my case both the instruction booklet and the sticker sheet were almost entirely curled up in the box.
Olivia looks smart and ready for her trip. Her torso is only found here and in the Airport (which will be the next review). She comes with a very snazzy looking valise in gold, which is also new to this wave of Friends sets. Her friend Matthew has been previously only seen in Jungle Bridge Rescue, and comes with a briefcase. It’s unclear whether Matthew is supposed to be a pilot or a fellow passenger.
The first bag is the security screening area, Olivia and the base of the jet, which includes a large blue piece for the base of the tail. This large blue piece appears to be unique to this set, as are all the larger blue pieces for the wings and airplane body.
The build for the screening area is straightforward, with a xray machine for carry on luggage and a metal detector for passengers to walk through. The xray machine has a rather nice use of a flap to make conveyor belt portion of the screening area realistic.
Bottom of the plane is also relatively straightforward, but with nice use of magenta and very bright yellow for accents both inside and outside. By the finish of the first bag we have the base for the cockpit, two luxurious chairs and what appears to be a rear lav (though no apparent door to get back to it).
Second bag is likewise very straightforward, with the addition of some details such as the seat backs, a TV, a table with vase and flower. The final part adds the roof and tail fin of the plane.
All portions of the roof are removable, though I found the center part to be easier than the nose or tail.
Overall thoughts
For $29.99 and 230 pieces, this set is a little light on the parts count, but that is offset by the larger molded pieces for the plane and that some of the pieces are new. This is a solid set that offers lots of play possibilities, especially in conjunction with other sets. I like that Olivia and Matthew are not set in their roles and that the pictures on the box show both Olivia and Matthew flying the plane, showing the possibilities for everyone.
However I can’t help but feel a little underwhelmed by this set. I think I used the word “straightforward” several times, and that’s how the whole set feels – straightforward. What you see is what you get, and it’s pretty good. It’s a nice looking plane. It would have been nice if there’s have been a doorway to get into the plane, or a way to access the lav/storage area in the back.
I think having other Friends sets that included clever little features have spoiled me. It’s getting to the point where I almost expect a nice little surprise somewhere in the build, and this set doesn’t give you that. Here’s hoping the next set does.
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12 comments on this article
Nice revie! Wonder if Lego is allergic to doors..? :) -And the tailwing is WAY too small.
Matthew's first appearance was in Heartlake High, set 41005.
I'm not sure why one would be seemingly disappointed with a product that is advertised to be what it is. LEGO sets have historically been lacking doors and stairs.
With this set we are given one of the most, if not the most, detailed play interiors for an airplane in LEGO history. I think it's pretty spectacular.
I love the interior and the playability. But the tail is way, WAY too small. This thing couldn't fly in real life with a tail like that!
Also, no doors anywhere. They were able to do this 10 years ago, so why not now? And what about stairs, hmm?
Yeah, I'll agree with others. The interior, wings, and security checkpoint are great, but the tail is way too small! The lack of doors is not really a concern for me. After all, the 4-wide planes I grew up with usually didn't even have aisles! Those kinds of details may be realistic but they're not all that feasible in an aircraft less than eight studs wide.
Most of the images and videos I've seen show Olivia flying the plane and Matthew as the passenger. I think the set would be improved if there were another mini-doll to act as the security agent. But all things considered, it's a great set aside from that tail!
Doesn't it seem strange to release two Friends airplanes in a single season?
I agree with the others on the tail being too small (not sure why they didn't use a larger piece since they do exist), and the lack of at least an exterior door (again, pieces that exist...I guess due to the difference in size between the minifigures and the Friends figures).
@Dedgecko not really that strange considering that the City line often releases an airport w/ plane along with other aircraft in a single wave.
It's as though they hit the budget/part number limit as they got to the tail and just gave up on it. Whoever approved this plane for production should be sacked. Dreadful, just dreadful. I quite like the X-ray machine though.
My 6 year old daughter bought this at 20% off and it is her favourite set to date. She has lots of friends sets and all the elves set, but this is by far the set she plays with the most.
I would recommend the set.
Plus it's way faster than both quinjets in swooshing races.
Well written review.
This set has a few nice parts, with some nice Light Tan, Medium Azur and Bright Yellowish-Orange ones, the UK price isn't too expensive for parents, and the model looks nice, but the tail really bugs me. I'm a MOCer, so that's OK for me, I can Bricklink a larger one, and design a custom decal for it, but non-FOLs can't. They would never have even heard of Bricklink, and so their daughters / granddaughters / nieces may be dissappointed, because most of them wouldn't have heard of Bricklink either, and so they are left with a tiny tail that looks way out of proportion. That would be OK for most girls, as only a handful or so in the world are into aviation, which is typically left to boys. And let's face it, a lot of girls would not save up for the 41109, and most parents wouldn't buy that for them as a gift. This is supposed to be a small set. For girls. That is fun. It is, but the age range is 6 - 12 years (even though TFOLs / AFOLs collect it :) ). The girls over ten might not like the tail on this one so much, and there is no alternate City set available right now, so... It's a case of people's opinions on this one, really.
And of you're wondering, I do like it in spite of the tail. :)
EDIT: I've been looking through the parts under "Transport Means, Aviation", and have noticed that the tail used for this model is the largest they could have used on this. There are apparently only two larger ones, the ones used on huge planes, such as the 60022 and 41109. TLG would have had to introduce a whole new mould for one set. That would have been helpful, but they seem to have to strayed away from that idea for some reason. Annoying, I must say.
LEGO Friends makes me sad.
That tailfin. Could the designers get more lazy? Oh yes, they could re-release a years' old set for the winter village series and change the colour of two elements.
There's some nice details there, but it's hard to imagine any designer that'd be happy with how that tail looks.
While the vertical stabiliser is too small, for me it is the ridiculously puny horizontal stabilisers that really make this look like a caricature of a plane, which is a pity, because it would have been so simple to use larger elements for them.
EDIT: In fact, I've just thought of a simple mod to fix it using the pieces supplied. Simply swap the white elements from the top of the wings with the stupid turquoise triangles from the back. Problem solved.