Review: 42625 Beach Smoothie Stand
Posted by MeganL,
As the weather turns cooler here for those of us in the northern hemisphere, it's nice to look at sets to remind us of warmer settings.
After spending the time at camp, the Friends head to the beach. In addition to the jetskis from 42623, the Friends have some land-based beach activities, with 42625 Beach Smoothie Stand. It feels to me that there have been several smoothie stands in Heartlake City, but according to the database, this is just the second one (the first being a polybag).
Summary
42625 Beach Smoothie Stand, 213 pieces.
£17.99 / $19.99 / €19.99 | 8.4p/9.4c/9.4c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Good continuation of a beachy theme at an affordable price
- Brick built fruit sign
- Beach buggy
- Nice printed turtle piece
- None
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Inside the box there are two numbered bags, two instruction books, and a small sticker sheet that I neglected to take a picture of. Because of the two bags and books, this is a build together set, where two builders can assemble either the smoothie stand or the other associated builds.
Minidolls and animals
There are two minidolls in this set. Nova is the representative from the main characters, and she's joined in this set by Niko, who has made several appearances in the Heartlake City reboot. Both are dressed suitably for the beach, especially Niko, who has a lovely sunset design on his shirt. Nova has a fish pattern on hers, but it looks to me a bit Pacman-like, which would be appropriate considering her gaming hobby.
It wouldn't be a Friends beach set without a cute animal, and here we have a very adorable turtle. Perhaps like the crab in the Beach Water Scooter set, this turtle has a fondness for smoothies?
The turtle has some very nice markings on its shell. Nova also comes with an alternate face, which could be either from sand in her face, or perhaps her reaction to a smoothie that may not be to her liking.
The completed model
There have to be ingredients for a smoothie, and they're found in a cooler chest that comes with the set (it contains several printed orange and strawberry tiles). Sitting on the lid are two jars - or perhaps one's a coconut? A nearby palm tree shows the Friends the way to nearby landmarks. I don't recall hearing about Green-Tech before, so perhaps that's foreshadowing for a future set.
A beach buggy is provided to allow the Friends to get around and explore the beach. This buggy fits two relatively comfortably. However.....the steering wheel is in the middle of the seats. Who gets to drive?
Room in the back of the buggy allows for surfboard storage, or perhaps a hitchhiker.
(Note: hitch-hiking sloth not incuded in this set)
The smoothie stand itself is quite eye-catching and I really like the brick built fruit sign on the top, showing larger versions of several ingredients (watermelon, grapes, orange). The roof pieces are put to good use here, though I think I would have preferred them to be a brick yellow colour as that would have been more evocative of straw roofs typically seen at the beach. That certainly wouldn't have been anywhere near as colourful as this, though,
Two finished smoothies are on the counter, and stickers provide details on the menu. There's enough space under the roof for a beach swing, which can provide a nice respite for a Friend to avoid the direct sun for a little while. A nearby container of sunscreen is ready for when Niko heads back out.
The back of the stand is relatively unremarkable.
The side view shows the blender used for the smoothie. and some other small details.
Overall thoughts
I'm always pleased to see sets in this price range, as not all LEGO fans have enormous budgets to get the $100+ sets.
This set provides a varied building experience and some good play value. A smoothie stand, beach buggy, two minidolls, and some extra little builds - that's not a bad deal for $20.
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8 comments on this article
Novas shirt is awesome.
Nova's alternate face could be her getting brain freeze from the cold smoothie.
Sounds delicious!
Is the print for the turtle new? I don’t have many friends animals, but if the prints are different each time, I would love to see a comparison of all of them.
@shedjed said:
"Novas shirt is awesome."
That’s because, “Everything is Awesome!”
;)
It's okay, but the buggy is pretty uninspired in terms of color usage. There's just generally way too much Medium Azure and Lime Green in Heartlake City and this one made me go "Umph! RLY?" It would have looked so much better in Coral with a Yellow surfboard next to the Reddish Orange roof...
This is such a fun happy set for the price point - the brick-built sign is a standout. Thanks for the great review.
@Maxbricks14 said:
"Sounds delicious!"
Yep. We know why Nova is smiling like that. Turtle soup and/or smoothie.