Review: 42689 Heartlake City Friends Club House
Posted by MeganL,
After several sets that were animal-oriented (we'll go back to them soon), it's time to take a look at one of the larger sets of this wave, 42689 Heartlake City Friends Club House. It feels like there's been a plethora of clubhouses in the Friends world.
However, in searching the database, this is the first one (at least called by that name). Turns out I was thinking of 41340 Friendship House, 41703 Friendship Tree House, and 42652 Friendship Tree House Hangout. And that's not counting the myriad of treehouses in the Friends world.
My long-winded point is that there have been a lot of hangout venues in Heartlake City, so let's take a look at the 2026 version.
Summary
42689 Heartlake City Friends Club House, 794 pieces.
£79.99 / $89.99 / €89.99 | 10.1p / 11.3c / 11.3c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A stylish club house packed with details for the new generation of Friends
- Five minidolls
- New bunny
- Large windows
- A little expensive
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
inside the box there are eight numbered bags, one unnumbered bag containing a 16x16 plate, a 10x10 half circle plate and a slide, a long green pole, and an instruction package with three instruction books and a sticker sheet. All things considered, the sticker sheet isn't too large, though I think many of the stickers may be a bit gratuitous.
Minidolls and animals
There are five minidolls in this set, and as is fitting for a club house, they're all from the regular crew (though I do wonder about Olly. We don't see him much in this wave.) All of the Friends (except for Leo) come with accessories. Autumn has a camera, Aliya and Nova have walkie talkies, and Liann has (of course) a paintbrush.
All the Friends are dressed casually, though for markedly different seasons. Autumn, Nova, and Liann look like they're dressed for spring and summer weather with sleeveless tops. I particularly like the printing on Nova's sleeveless hoodie and Liann's tank top.
Aliya and Leo are dressed for considerably cooler weather, with Aliya wearing a nice red cable knit sweater vest, and Leo wearing a varsity jacket. Maybe they're the ones spending more time outside?
While not a animal-themed set, there are of course animals included! Leo and Liann have brought their pets, Churro and Popcorn. A bunny (with the rhyming name Honey) is also here, and it's reasonable to assume that they belong to one of the Friends. I wonder if Honey is an addition to Autumn's growing menagerie of pets?
The completed model
There are some smaller builds to accompany the clubhouse. First is the awaited tandem bicycle. I love that it comes in purple! A basket of flowers adorns the front, and there are two bells from the riders. The bike fits two riders comfortably.
As Liann has a paintbrush, it's clear she's bringing her artistic talents to the clubhouse - she's painting one of the axolotls here!
The other small build is a popcorn machine, with a box of popcorn and a butter dispenser. The butter dispenser is the same size as the popcorn, which is about the right proportion of butter to popcorn for me.
The clubhouse is a rather modern structure, with a lot more glass than we've seen in other similar buildings. The middle level shows an opportunity for open-air dining, and of course there is a slide to get from one floor to another. While not a treehouse, there's greenery found on each floor.
The rear view of the building shows plenty of details on every level.
Starting on the ground floor, there's a pretty well-stocked kitchenette. Naturally, there's a rock climbing pillar (I can't quite call it a wall) that provides a means to get up to the next floor.
The kitchen has a sink with curved counter, and three stools for the Friends to sit on. I'm not sure why there's a stool right in front of the sink, but I'm not a Friend.
For a small kitchenette, there's a rather large fridge that has plenty of foodstuffs for the clubbing Friends.
Turning to the other side of the floor, entrance is granted through double doors. Large windows allow everyone to see what's inside.
Through the double doors is a lounge area that seems clearly designed for the pets. A water dispenser is at the appropriate height, and pet-friendly snacks are found in several dishes on the floor. In case the Friends gets bored, a sticker on the side of the climbing pillar shows that the Friends are engaged in a game of darts.
Of course, it wouldn't be a Friends club house without a bathroom! The one for this set is tucked underneath the slide (at least there's quick way to get there!) and has all the basics.
Moving up to the second level, there's one computer with some basics programs open, and a bulletin board that shows some of the Friends, a train schedule and the alien plushie found in 42674 Comic Book and Game Store. A perfectly innocuous set up - or is it?
The bulletin board slides to one side to show a secret computer! This seems to be a monitoring app of some sort, as one of the screens show a kitty stranded in a tree. It reminds me of poor Pluto's fate in 42670 Heartlake City Apartments and Stores.
The other half of this level is a dining area for the Friends, with some snacks laid out on the table. It looks very carb heavy with cookies and peppermints. The Friends are surrounded by flowers on this level, so this must be a pleasant place to spend outside.
The large round piece with the Friends Club logo is a printed piece, which was a pleasant surprise.
When there are that many treats available, more the one kind of club is likely to turn out.
(Note: sloth club not included in this set.)
Thanks to the handy ladder on the second level, the Friends can make it to the top level which has more large windows. The windows look great, but don't provide a lot of privacy for the sleeping areas.
A drone with launchpad and a solar panel are both found on the roof. I was quite puzzled to see a door that led to nowhere on this level, until the zipline was built - there's lots of ways for the Friends to get from one level to another!
This level has another hangout area for the Friends, with a sectional couch, and accommodations to sleep five. I love the little ladders provided to get to the top bunks! Each sleeping area has its own little light.
I expect this is a popular spot, as the Friends have a large monitor on which to play their favourite video games. Printed controller pieces are provided in this set - I don't understand why some sets have the printed pieces and others don't. The monitor flips up out of the way when the Friend in the top bunk wants to call it a night.
A special call-out to the fun Venn diagram design for the floor rug here.
Even though there's not much privacy, I love the large curved windows in this area. Also, that zipline looks precarious. I hope the Friends don't lose their grip. Also, how do you get the ring back up to the top?
Overall thoughts
Like many Friends club houses before it, this one has plenty of features and fun play details. It's a nice change that the minidolls in this set are all from the regular crew. Like other Friends club houses, it has a little bit of everything - a kitchen, dining area, sleeping area, lounging areas, accommodations for pets, and of course a bathroom!
This is a much more stylish building than any of the Friends hangout predecessors - the large windows give it a more sophisticated feel. Similarly, the details are quite polished - from the secret computer to the sleeping pods. I always love how the Friends designers find different ways to get between floors. There's not a single staircase in this building.
The new tandem bike is a plus, and I always like seeing Churro. Honey the bunny is adorable. My quibble on this set is a common one - it feels a little on the expensive side. I would expect a set like this to be about $10 less.
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15 comments on this article
Thank you! I was on the fence about this Friends set, but you just might have convinced me ??
I thought this was going to be a nice set, you know? Something innocent, something benign. And then - bam, hidden computer-console, designed to monitor and focus on animal-cruelty. Nobody asked for that.
I should've known better, I should've assumed the worst.
A little expensive? If this were a Star Wars set it would be $150 and come with two minifigs! ;)
Cool set though. My daughters would love it.
@Crux said:
"I thought this was going to be a nice set, you know? Something innocent, something benign. And then - bam, hidden computer-console, designed to monitor and focus on animal-cruelty. Nobody asked for that.
I should've known better, I should've assumed the worst."
"5...4...3...2...1...Frienderbirds are GO!"
@HAL_9001 said:
["5...4...3...2...1...Frienderbirds are GO!"]
OMG this is classic. I wish I'd thought of that!
I was going to say that this set looks a bit childish, then I remembered that Friends is a theme catered towards children. You'd almost forget that with the amount of amazing buildings the theme has seen these past few years. That said, this looks like a fun set, both to build and play with
@MeganL said:
" @HAL_9001 said:
["5...4...3...2...1...Frienderbirds are GO!"]
OMG this is classic. I wish I'd thought of that!
"
You also missed the opportunity to line the sloths up on the zip line.
Slides: the main transportation mode in Heartlake City.
One of the worst clubhouses we have gotten.
Dont get me wrong the design itself seems to be really nice, and I like how they did insides.
But those COLORS are really bad and it even looks worse in real life - That blue clashes so badly with new pink.
@Crux said:
"I thought this was going to be a nice set, you know? Something innocent, something benign. And then - bam, hidden computer-console, designed to monitor and focus on animal-cruelty. Nobody asked for that.
I should've known better, I should've assumed the worst."
Yes, she seems to be compiling a blooper reel of Leo … letting Churro get stranded up a tree, and then bumbling a fancy cake. The completed video will be screened before bedtime … poor Leo!
“ though I do wonder about Olly. We don't see him much in this wave”
Speaking of, it feels like Olly, Paisley, and Zac haven’t been in the marketing as much lately. I’m wondering if Lego intends to phase them out from the main cast
@lordofdragonss said:
"One of the worst clubhouses we have gotten.
Dont get me wrong the design itself seems to be really nice, and I like how they did insides.
But those COLORS are really bad and it even looks worse in real life - That blue clashes so badly with new pink."
Clashing colors attracts attention- especially children. They love it. Let 'em have fun.
From afar, the whole thing looks like a candy dispenser. I'm sure that's not accidental.
@Lemerbrix06 said:
"“ though I do wonder about Olly. We don't see him much in this wave”
Speaking of, it feels like Olly, Paisley, and Zac haven’t been in the marketing as much lately. I’m wondering if Lego intends to phase them out from the main cast"
That wouldn't necessarily be a bad thing. 8 characters is a pretty big cast and can be hard to do properly. Ninjago would know something about that...
@Lemerbrix06 said:
"“ though I do wonder about Olly. We don't see him much in this wave”
Speaking of, it feels like Olly, Paisley, and Zac haven’t been in the marketing as much lately. I’m wondering if Lego intends to phase them out from the main cast"
They seem to be less liked characters, so it makes sense.
I think its juss marketing and they will change focus of each season like Ninjago does.
@StyleCounselor said:
" @lordofdragonss said:
"
But those COLORS are really bad and it even looks worse in real life - That blue clashes so badly with new pink."
Clashing colors attracts attention- especially children. They love it. Let 'em have fun. "
But pink and blue aren’t clashing colours? In the nicest way possible @lordofdragonss have you ever checked if you have full standard colour vision? 1 in 8 men don’t!
On topic, it’s not for me but it’s a cute set, and a fun and detailed review :)