Review: 42674 Comic Book and Game Shop

The sticker sheet is gigantic! In my experience comic book shops look more like densely-packed book stores, crammed with shelves. This set has...one crate of comics?

I'm not minding the colours of the buildings so much. They seem a lot less garish than some of the Friends sets and seem reasonably appropriate for the type of shops represented. This wouldn't look too out of place in a typical city display.

Those comics definitely shouldn't be in a box on the floor. They should be on display shelves, pristinely sealed behind mylar bags and the occasional graded clamshell for rare incentive covers.

Such a fun set! I love the gaming computers with their translucent bricks. Lots of cool pets too, like the blue masonry bricks and that new shield.

Like most comic shops today sadly more toys and merch than actual comics.

Thanks, Megan! Will try to get my game addicted 13 y.o. to take a look at this set. I’m also loving the walking mascots that have come with recent Friends sets and think that’s what’s going to push me to also get this one —if I find a decent discount. Those sloths are still livin the life!

@GirlWoman said:
"The sticker sheet is gigantic! In my experience comic book shops look more like densely-packed book stores, crammed with shelves. This set has...one crate of comics? "

Kind of reminds me of 10270 where there was actually only 1 book found in the bookshop. At least there is more than 1 comic....albeit 2.

Delightful set! I love some of the Easter eggs referencing the box art from past LEGO themes like Space Police, Elves, and Heroica! There are also a lot of references to other motifs from the Friends theme — for example, the dog-patterned rug in the arcade matches a top that Nova's worn in a lot of this year's sets. I wonder if it's based on a game she designed, or just one she's a fan of?

The "feed Churro" game is very cute as well. Can anybody recognize whether the player in the corner who's livestreaming it is a character we've met in previous Friends sets? They don't immediately ring a bell for me, but it's the sort of detail where I'd expect the graphic designer to include a reference like that.

The costumes are also fantastic, referencing a wide range of archetypes/genres, and nicely complementing the ones from 42661. I'm pleasantly surprised by details like the mechanical heart print on Zac's shirt underneath his robot costume's chestplate, and the impressive back printing on all four torsos. Aliya's pegasus shield is also a fantastic new print and recolor of Link's shield from the Legend of Zelda Great Deku Tree set. I love how much use that mold's been getting this year!

The working gachapon/capsule toy machine is a super clever and impressively compact mechanical feature that definitely suits this sort of pop-culture-heavy setting. The plushies also look cute, and make good use of the versatile new unicorn horn and antenna molds for animals and headgear. I love that the alien matches the aesthetics of the aliens in last year's City and Friends space sets, and has a whole comic series about it (four issues appear here, and a fifth appears in 42642)!

The shops themselves are nicely constructed, with unique, flashy color schemes and architectural motifs to suit their wares, and a well-organized floor plan (including an actual staircase, something a lot of Friends shops and even houses would often omit). I imagine some buyers might prefer if the slush ice parlor and the comic and game store were separate sets so that they could pick and choose between a couple lower-priced options instead of one big, expensive set, but they work pretty nicely in tandem, IMO.

It's great that the Friends theme's designers continue to come up with new and interesting sorts of shops and subject matter to fill out Heartlake City and the lives of its inhabitants. Hopefully that trend will continue in the future! Thanks again for another great review!

@shaase said:
" @GirlWoman said:
"The sticker sheet is gigantic! In my experience comic book shops look more like densely-packed book stores, crammed with shelves. This set has...one crate of comics? "

Kind of reminds me of 10270 where there was actually only 1 book found in the bookshop. At least there is more than 1 comic....albeit 2."

There are eight different comics in this set altogether — the review shows four in the crate and one held by each character in the final photo! They cover a variety of genres, which you can see a little more clearly in the photo of the sticker sheet.

Perhaps the comics selection would look a little more impressive if they were displayed on a tall, wide shelf instead of in a crate, but that would've taken up quite a bit more space (and completely blocked the view through the front window), so I get why the designers opted for this more compact approach and used the window shelves for some of their pricier wares like toys, games, and costumes.

I do appreciate this trend of working vending machines in Lego sets.

It bugs me SO MUCH that Nova's outfit has exposed skin, it makes it pretty much impossible to mix and match the costumes. Not to mention exposed skin is probably a really bad idea if you're an astronaut...

I love the garish colors as will my kids! This will absolutely become 41708 's neighbor on that side of our town.

It is definitely more of a gaming and collectables shop but delightful nonetheless. The angled construction is really neat too. I wouldn't have guessed the stairs actually tie it together so well in the back and that is an interesting build feature.

First masonary brick in Medium Azur

I have this. Love the colours. The little vending machine is brilliant.

I love how Friends keeps finding new stuff agianand again. I f only City showed this innovation!

Nevertheless, I still want buildings to have proper roofs so you can display them. A handful of plates, atteched to a few studs, no big deal...

@jkb said:
"I love how Friends keeps finding new stuff agianand again. I f only City showed this innovation!

Nevertheless, I still want buildings to have proper roofs so you can display them. A handful of plates, atteched to a few studs, no big deal..."

They leave them open so it's easier for kids to play within the space.
It's easy to roof them up...just moc some roofs. Use pieces from your parts collection.

I'm surprised this review brushed over a lot of the smaller details, this set is incredibly dense with its references and accessories. Outside the cosplay costumes, there's extra accessories for them to swap between on the window shelf. Inside there's also a LOT of stickered references: packaged sets of 5974 and 41178 , a Brain sucker from Alien Conquest on the arcade cabinet vs the CMF clockwork robot, and even a copy of Heroica on the curved shelf sticker!

This set's one that will probably my next big purchase, it's full of great details that are ripe for reuse in a moc (people hate stickers, but I think many can be very useful). 40805 would probably make a good companion piece with its stickers and parts, especially the boxed game consoles and Junkbot cab.

@shaase said:
" @GirlWoman said:
"The sticker sheet is gigantic! In my experience comic book shops look more like densely-packed book stores, crammed with shelves. This set has...one crate of comics? "

Kind of reminds me of 10270 where there was actually only 1 book found in the bookshop. At least there is more than 1 comic....albeit 2."

There's actually 8 comics, two of which are meant to be manga! Four of the comics appear to be a series about an alien invasion starring the alien plush that was later adapted into a film (as seen in 42642 which also includes issue 5 of the series).

Still not a full-store's worth of comics but it's at least a shelf's worth... the bigger issue is figuring out how to keep them on the shelf lol.

I'm shocked to say this...
but it might be the first set to get just for the sticker sheet itself! lol