Review: 42652 Friendship Tree House Hangout
Posted by MeganL,
In my last review (42663 Friendship Camper Van Adventure), one of the pictures on the wall showed a potential destination for that adventure, 42652 Friendship Tree House Hangout.
Treehouses have been a staple in the Friends world of late - last year we had one of the largest treehouses with 42631 Adventure Camp Tree House. My favourite Friends treehouse was from three years ago; 41703 Friendship Tree House. How will this version stack up to those auspicious sets?
Summary
42652 Friendship Tree House Hangout, 701 pieces.
£59.99 / $69.99 / €69.99 | 8.6p/10.0c/10.0c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
The latest Friends treehouse is cute in its own right, but is not as impressive as earlier versions
- Adorable raccoon's room
- Top choice of a four year old from this year's sets
- Swappable windows
- Pricy compared to earlier treehouses
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Inside the perfect box there are six numbered bags, one unnumbered bag with a slide, several larger plates, and a folder with an instruction book and a sticker sheet. The details on the stickers are super fun, especially those that will end up in the raccoon's room (stickers 2, 4, 5, and 6).
Minidolls and animals
There are four minidolls in this set - two of them are the same as from the Camper Van Adventure. Leo and Zac are additions in this set, and they are suitably dressed for staying in the tree house and helping out with chores.
The animals in this set are Pickle the dog - though I thought he was Nova's pet? - and he's equipped with a ball cap, which I'm taking as doubling for a construction hat. The raccoon is very cute, and obviously the Friends think so too, since the raccoon has its own room in the treehouse!
The completed model
The small build for this set is a workbench. I like the nod to safety with the helmet with hearing protection that's offered in a nearby box. A saw is about to cut one of the planks on the table - this is a printed piece with the wood grain. I'm still not sure why some sets have the wood grain printed on the piece while others have the wood grain added thought stickers.
The lowest level of the treehouse shows one way each of entering and leaving the treehouse - there's a ladder leading to the first level, and a slide that lets the Friends leave quickly. I like the sunflowers at the base of the tree.
The rear of the tree shows that there's a hidden room in the back of the tree. At first, I thought it would be the ever-present bathroom, but I was mistaken.
The raccoon's room is adorable, and filled with little treasures. From this angle we can see a doughnut, and a goblet in the back. Off to the side is a picture of the raccoon on vacation painted by Liann, but I think my favourite touches in this room are the trash can motif of the bedspread, and the painting of sunflowers in the back. I wonder if this is a reference to 31215?
The second level of the treehouse also hosts another resident - a bird snacking on some feed in the windows. Speaking of the windows, they're designed so they can be interchanged in any window opening, allowing the builder to customise the treehouse they need. Random planks and boards can be placed at different spots on the build to allow further personalization.
Off to the side we can see the elevator that Pickle (and others) can use to access the upper floors.
This level is a main hangout level - there's space for a few Friends to sleep. I love love love having the claw machine there to provide the Friends some entertainment. I wonder who stocks it?
The top level offers more opportunities for customisation, with another window, and some extra details around the rails. Googly eyes were provided to add to the roof, though they are mostly obscured by the foliage.
The top level boasts an entertainment area complete with couch and keyboard. A table off to the side boasts just three donuts - I think the raccoon absconded with the fourth, as it was in their room. Maximizing use of space, there's a vegetable patch here as well, with the outside of the box showing a picture of 42663.
The enclosed area of this level is a small kitchen area, with all the necessities - a stove, a sink with some soap, and a soft serve ice cream machine. This is my kind of kitchen!
Above this level is the knob that can be turned to raise and lower the elevator.
The full treehouse looks a hodge podge of colours, which is pretty much what you'd expect from the Friends do-it-yourself crew.
The back view shows all the activities.
Overall thoughts
This is a very colourful set, which I think has been deliberate based on the inexperience of the Friends builders. I really like all the windows are the same size so they can be swapped with each other, to allow for constant modification. The extra pieces for personalisation are a nice touch as well.
I think 41703 is the ultimate Friends tree house, so all others are measured up to that standard. While this one is nice, it doesn't quite match up. Granted, it's $10 less, but perhaps that's more of a statement of what a great set 41703 was. That being said, this set accomplishes what it sets out to do quite well. The window-swapping feature is really nice and hasn't been done before.
The most definitive statement about this set came from a four-year-old who visited my house recently. I had all the Friends sets I've built so far this year out on display, and this set was the one to which they were drawn immediately, and played with for hours. They were so taken with it that they ended up taking the set home. That meant the sloths didn't get chance to crash the review pictures, though I expect some of you will think that is a good thing!
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22 comments on this article
@Ridgeheart said:
"I'm happy Pickles managed to escape, at long last. Ride free, brave wiener-dog."
For sure, he's much better off now. How do you think he lost his legs, poor thing?
@Ridgeheart said:
" @alLEGOry_HJB2810 said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
"I'm happy Pickles managed to escape, at long last. Ride free, brave wiener-dog."
For sure, he's much better off now. How do you think he lost his legs, poor thing?"
41755
It was Nova."
Exactly. The wrench, the lightning sword, the skull...
On a completely unrelated note, all those stuffed toys in the claw machine are made of real fur. I wonder who refills it.
No sloths!!!! I'm so sad!!! I always look forward to seeing the clever ways you incorporate them into the review. Sure they are a little silly, but they always bring a smile to my face.
I guess I can take comfort knowing that their absence is only temporary, and it's because a child truly enjoyed this set.
That board in the workshop has nails in it- be very careful when cutting it!
I'm pretty sure that's a Lava Lamp in the raccoon's room.
@JavaBrix said:
"
I'm pretty sure that's a Lava Lamp in the raccoon's room."
Logged in to say this and refreshed to check if anyone else had, so seconding this! That “goblet” in the raccoon room is 100% a lava lamp!
Never thought of that design for it before but I’m definitely adding that to a couple of my MOCs now!
@sitrukdarnok said:
"No sloths!!!! I'm so sad!!! I always look forward to seeing the clever ways you incorporate them into the review. Sure they are a little silly, but they always bring a smile to my face."
Seconding this too - back when it first started there was a part of me that was mildly annoyed by them, but they’ve grown on me and I immediately felt like something was missing when the sloths didn’t appear in a set like this that seemed absolutely full of places for them, whether jamming on the keyboard or working the claw machine or riding the elevator or haphazardly balancing the construction helmet on one of their little heads.
As a former naysayer on the sloths, ignore the naysayers! Keep the sloths! Even if the person doing Friends reviews changes in the future, the sloths are now one of those Brickset things that should remain forever. They’re like the Brickset version of those cheap frosted sugar cookies at the holidays that still keep us united in some small way as a people.
Not a bad set it seems, but 41703 was one that blew me (not exactly the target demographic for Friends) completely away. And that was only one of a whole bunch of downright amazing Friends sets. I can't help but feel that while the more recent sets in itself are fine, they surely aren't on that same level.
I'm here for sloths.
Free Pickles!!
42652 is a nice old maple. 41703 is a sequoia!
I picked up 3065 for my daughter when she was a year old. It was such a cute set and I just assumed the theme might not be around when she was old enough to enjoy it. It's so amazing to see how far Friends has come, what a great theme!
@Kalking Nothing wrong with those sugar cookies!
The sloths are there. Just hiding in the raccoon room :)
That branch stick out to the side, just below the bird-feeding window, reminds me of the old crumble trees.
@Ridgeheart said:
"I'm happy Pickles managed to escape, at long last. Ride free, brave wiener-dog."
As soon as I saw that Pickles was included, but Nova wasn't, I thought, Oh, gee. I wonder if @Ridgeheart will have anything to say about that? /sarcasm" Why am I not surprised that it was in the cery first comment?
I'm surprised LEGO allowed the raccoon on the beach sticker. Is this the first canonical LEGO pin-up?
That climbing wall seems incredibly dangerous. The Lego Friends should be thankful they’re made of plastic.
@Studnotontop said:
"That climbing wall seems incredibly dangerous. The Lego Friends should be thankful they’re made of plastic. "
Haven't you noticed how many Lego figures nowadays are in a wheelchair, are missing a limb, or have a prosthesis? There's a reason for that.....
@JavaBrix said: "I'm pretty sure that's a Lava Lamp in the raccoon's room."
I was going to say that as well. From my recollection, lava lamps become incredibly hot to touch.
So not only did they give one to the racoon, but it's in a *treehouse*.
I'm sure that will go well.
@Zordboy said:
" @JavaBrix said: "I'm pretty sure that's a Lava Lamp in the raccoon's room."
I was going to say that as well. From my recollection, lava lamps become incredibly hot to touch.
So not only did they give one to the racoon, but it's in a *treehouse*.
I'm sure that will go well. "
I'm sure the Lego City Fire Department will be able to send one of their 200-odd fire engines to assist. Maybe 336.
@stevild3 said:
"I'm surprised LEGO allowed the raccoon on the beach sticker. Is this the first canonical LEGO pin-up?"
I had a very similar thought when @MeganL pointed out the sticker and called it "super fun."
Currently building the 21318 Ideas Treehouse. Will take me 10 years to recover before I ever consider building another Treehouse :/
I'm not inclined to get this set. I think 41703 is a much more impressive Tree House. Glad I bought it when it was available.
@alLEGOry_HJB2810 said:
" @Ridgeheart said:
"I'm happy Pickles managed to escape, at long last. Ride free, brave wiener-dog."
For sure, he's much better off now. How do you think he lost his legs, poor thing?"
He didn't lose his legs, they just don't work properly. You can see them in back of the wheels.
He was that way when Nova found him on a sidewalk, and she designed the wheels to help him get around.
@stevild3 said:
"I'm surprised LEGO allowed the raccoon on the beach sticker. Is this the first canonical LEGO pin-up?"
No, 7676 has the first pin up art I believe with the twilek stickers. Unless you are talking about in house themes.