Review: 42651 Horse and Pet Vet Clinic
Posted by MeganL,
Animals, and businesses catering to them, are another staple of Heartlake City. There have been 40 vet-themed sets in the Friends world, with the latest entry being 42651 Horse and Pet Vet Clinic. This particular vet is a bit more versatile as there is a horse as well as smaller pets as part of the practice, which I think is a first in Heartlake City.
Summary
42651 Horse and Pet Vet Clinic, 428 pieces.
£44.99 / $49.99 / €49.99 | 10.5p/11.7c/11.7c per piece.
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Good play value and an impressive range of animals and mini-dolls, but expensive
- Plethora of pets
- First minidoll with vascular birthmark
- Expensive
- Horse doesn't have articulated legs
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Inside the box there are five numbered bags, one 8x16 plate, one 6x14 plate, an instruction book and of course, a sticker sheet.
Minidolls and animals
There are three minidolls in this set, including two of the regular Friends cast: Autumn and Olly. Autumn is outfitted in riding gear, as she's brought her horse to the vet. Olly has brought his cat, and he's rocking a preppy look with a sweater tied over his shoulder. Though I do wonder how the sweater doesn't fall off!
The third minidoll is the vet Eniko, who is dressed in scrubs and white gloves. Eniko has the distinction of being the first minidoll to have a visible birthmark on her face.
The back of the minidolls doesn't show much interesting, and it also doesn't solve for me the mystery of how Olly's sweater is staying on.
Autumn has brought her horse to the vet. We meet Thunder here. Autumn must have several horses, as in 41730 Autumn's House we met Peanut. I do miss the articulated rear legs in the horse - we haven't seen that in a Friends set for a few years.
A small side build is included - a signpost indicating the clinic is open for business next to some very nice sunflowers and the bright purple butterfly.
Not surprisingly, there are a number of animals at the pet clinic. Olly has brought his cat Gertrude, who we have seen in three prior sets.
Also populating the clinic are Eniko's three dogs, including two puppies. Guba, Pali, and Alma are just as cute as can be. Both Guba and Alma have very shaggy fur that flops down over their eyes. I love the markings on Alma, especially around her feet.
Eniko has provided a sizeable dog bed for her charges where they can hang out while Eniko is tending to the other Heartlake City creatures.
The completed model
The vet clinic is a very quaint building, with lilac and blue accents. I didn't include it in the pictures above, but there's yet another animal included in the set - a red bird that has taken up residence above the front door. I like the stickered detail showing the purpose of the building, with a cat, dog, and horse all together in a heart shaped design.
The back of the building shows the clinic portion on the ground floor, and Eniko's living area upstairs.
The clinic area is compact but has a lot of details. A scale is there to weight the patients, and a desk nearby has a monitor that shows the pets' charts. The storage area underneath the desk provides a home for all the medical accessories that Eniko needs.
The vet clinic attracts more than cats, dogs, and horses!
(Note: weighing sloth not included in this set.)
The other side of the clinic houses the examination table, and a small display showing various kinds of pet food available for sale.
Off to one side of the clinic is a paddock for Thunder (or other visiting horses). There's a supply of hay, a saddle, and the results of an x-ray of Thunder's hoof. A brush is close by for grooming.
Upstairs is a small living area for Eniko that includes a bedroom and bathroom.
The bathroom is compact but includes the basics. The pink and blue floor tiling is quite attractive, and colour coordinates well with the soap and shampoo containers next to the bath. While there's no mirror, a sticker provides some additional detail on the wall.
The sleeping area is similarly compact, but there's still room for a bed, a colour print on the wall, and a bright yellow flower in a vase on a shelf over the bed.
I'm quite delighted that the designer has included a way for Eniko to get upstairs, thanks to this staircase on the side. This view of the clinic shows that there's a bug house on the side of the building.
Overall thoughts
This is a fun set, and there is plenty of play value, thanks to the multiple animals included in the set. You can't go wrong with a set that has three dogs, a bird, a cat, and a horse! I think the colour scheme is quite pleasing, and I did like that the accent colours were not pink and orange, like the last two sets that I built. The lilac and blue accents are lovely, though I suspect those who don't like Friends colours will still complain. I also really like the new sunflower piece, and it's put to good use here.
Friends continues to lead the way with diversity, with the inclusion of Eniko with her birthmark, as well as the two dogs having shaggy fur - at first I thought that meant that Guba and Alma didn't have eyes.
My complaint with the set is the price - I just don't see this costing $50. Perhaps it's a "pet tax", and it does include a horse, but to me, I think the price point should be about $10 lower.
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9 comments on this article
A bit of a miss considering the recent friends sets, but I appreciate the simplicity.
The hollow legs on the horse really stand out, not in a good way.
This one falls short of the expectations of the other great friends sets we have been getting.
Good review!
There's honestly something super charming to me that the branding on pet food packages in the Friends theme has remained so consistent for over a decade (beginning with 41107 in 2013). Printed or stickered, they've all got that wavy stripe and paw print logo. Bit of a shame that this set doesn't also retain the "paw print with EKG" logo of the 2021 vet clinic sets, which I found very charming, but its sign does nicely echo the heart-shaped logo from 42632 (albeit with less emphasis on livestock animals).
The living area in this set, along with the very traditional peaked roof, definitely give it a different vibe than past vet clinic sets that felt more like a municipal animal hospital or veterinary office than a home. Of course, it also serves a practical function for Eniko's work, ensuring she is always on hand if an animal should need after-hours care (not to mention giving her a nice large sink in case one of the smaller pets is in need of a bath).
Thankfully, even with these more human-focused details, the set still makes room for all the same animal care features as earlier vet clinic sets like 3188 and 41446. Perhaps the set doubling as both a house set and a vet clinic set is part of the reason for its high cost, though I suspect the inclusion of a horse is a bigger factor in that (large, pre-assembled animals naturally cost more than ones that can be produced from a single mold, and past vet clinic sets with horses have generally had a very high price-per-piece compared to those without).
It's fun that the set includes both an adult dog (Guba) and two puppies — presumably her puppies? I feel like that does a lot to encourage varied play scenarios, since pets might need very different sorts of care at different stages of their lives. Thunder is also a very handsome steed with distinctive coat colors and patterns, and adds horseback riding play scenarios together with the included saddle.
Overall, I think the set compares pretty favorably with past vet clinics, even if it approaches the subject in a different way than those sets typically have. I imagine the colors might be a bit vibrant for some people's tastes, but they are used consistently enough that they still feel harmonious. So even if it's not of particular interest to AFOLs who've had plenty of other vet clinic sets to choose from over the years, I'm sure it will be very popular among animal-loving kids!
@Aanchir said:"There's honestly something super charming to me that the branding on pet food packages in the Friends theme has remained so consistent for over a decade (beginning with 41107 in 2013)."
I... think you linked to the wrong set there.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @Aanchir said:"There's honestly something super charming to me that the branding on pet food packages in the Friends theme has remained so consistent for over a decade (beginning with 41107 in 2013)."
I... think you linked to the wrong set there."
whoops, good catch! That should have been 41007.
Have Minidoll horses ever had moving legs? I swear they haven't, they only semi-recently gained moving necks but I think all prior Minidoll horses were static figures.
Cuanto echo de menos las piezas 'slope' para hacer los techos y cubrir toda la superficie de la planta. Esta nueva técnica no me gusta nada, y menos tan reducida...
Que vuelvan los techos de sets como 6379 o 6388 por ejemplo.
Expensive? IMO the pricing is pretty great especialy when you see ALL animals besides Olly's cat are unique to this set