That's a ... pretty big cake.

I got this in a bulk lot , almost complete just 1 piece missing.

@TheOtherMike said:
"Today's randoms may not have much in common, but I have both of them, so there's that!

@MCLegoboy said:
"It's kind of weird seeing the camera piece actually being used as camera and not some sci-fi blaster. I guess it all just depends on what themes you grew up with."

I first got it in 6659, so it didn't even occur to me to use it as a weapon until I started seeing pictures of it being used that way more than a decade later."
Another thing today's RSotD and RFotD have (very tangentially) in common is that this camera piece was used as a bazooka in the LEGO Indiana Jones video games. Between that, and my first sets with that piece being 7474 and 7476, I've always called it a bazooka. I only learned it was officially called "camera" when I started using LDD (probably around 2009/2010).

Ah, I see the news van is equipped with all the essentials for reporting: a hairbrush, lipstick, perfume (stickered), and a mirror with lights.

"Well I coulda been an actor,
But I wound up here.
I just have to look good;
I don't have to be clear.
Come and whisper in my ear,
Give us [giant cakes (?)]."

I’m assuming both those minis are children, given the usual norms of the series, which raises the interesting question…who’s driving the van?

There is opportunity for a stranger things joke here but I'm to tired to make one maybe tomorrow.

huwbot not beating the allegations

@Atuin :
Regarding yesterday, I did recently find that out about April (but even the 2012 series played into that with her psychic powers). And Mikey is exactly who I’d expect to be The Last Ronin. Leo is the obvious choice because he’s the most disciplined and he’s (usually) the leader, but Mikey has three things going for him. Firstly, while he’s always depicted as the youngest, he’s also the _original_ TMNT. If you look up the napkin sketch that spawned an empire, it’s an anthropomorphic tortoise with nunchucks (Mikey’s weapons) strapped to its limbs. But mostly, he’s also consistently depicted as being the best fighter, purely through natural talent. The 2003 series even made him the Battle Nexus Champion, while I think Leo was the second to fall. And finally, Mikey is the logical choice because he’s the _least_ obvious choice. He doesn’t take anything seriously, but now he’s been thrust into a situation where he has to devote every ounce of his being, and several years of his life, to training with greater intensity than even Leo managed, all to avenge his fallen brothers.

Leo would have been the most obvious, but also most boring choice (plus, you know he’s exactly the sort to sacrifice himself to save his brothers). Donnie just wouldn’t make sense because he’s always been more about technology than bushido. And Raph is always getting into situations where he’s outmatched because he’s too much if a hothead. Mikey is the only one that really makes sense when you really look at things closely.

Also, despite the presence of a news camera, this is not April O’Neil.

Breaking news! Someone baked a giant cake... and ran away. The culprit is still at large. If you have any information so the criminal can be brought to justice, contact us immediately. They WILL pay for their-

Oh wait this is Heartlake City, not Lego City.

Well, this is not the news van with the chainsaw guy who works as a footsoldier in Nova's army. So we're safe.

All in all a decent little set. I'm not sure what more could have been included outside of a person to interview. Still, the van seems a bit light on actual news reporting stuff, opting more for makeup. The computer is a good inclusion though.

@Zordboy said:
"That's a ... pretty big cake. "

It's a lie, though.

@

Legoland Windsor had a life size re-creation of this in 2015.

If you look closely, you notice it's based upon 3184 Adventure Camper

Interesting tidbit, this set was not available in Germany for some reason, even though it is listed as standard retail here on Brickset.
At the time we bought most Friends sets, but this one was nowhere to be found. When I asked at our local LEGO store back in the day, they told me that it was a UK exclusive set.
In the end I bought two from the UK via ebay for a good price. Happy to have them since it's a great set.

@Binnekamp said:
"Well, this is not the news van with the chainsaw guy who works as a footsoldier in Nova's army. So we're safe."

Great. Now we have two people picking on the autistic girl for being autistic.

@BLProductions said:
"Ah, I see the news van is equipped with all the essentials for reporting: a hairbrush, lipstick, perfume (stickered), and a mirror with lights.

"Well I coulda been an actor,
But I wound up here.
I just have to look good;
I don't have to be clear.
Come and whisper in my ear,
Give us [giant cakes (?)].""

We got the raven haired young girl, comes on at 5,
She can tell you about the soufflé crash with a gleam in her eye
It's interesting when baked goods die, give us giant cakes

I have lots of memories playing with this one! This set is owned by my sister as part of her expansive Friends collection and even though it comes with lots of side builds (including the massive cake), we usually only used the van itself. We even had some of the Elves minidolls drive it around, and five of them can fit in the van with the addition of footplates. A trailer hitch can also be put on the rear where the TV screen goes to allow for towing.

Another tidbit I want to say is that the white tiles securing the roof were thrown into our loose part collection and used for other builds, but they were eventually added back to the van later. In short, an awesome early Friends set!

@gunther_schnitzel said:
" @Bart_66 said:
"I got this in a bulk lot , almost complete just 1 piece missing."

Why would post this then not tell us which piece was missing? Don’t leave us hanging."

Clearly the cake, because it’s a lie.

@PurpleDave said:
" @Binnekamp said:
"Well, this is not the news van with the chainsaw guy who works as a footsoldier in Nova's army. So we're safe."

Great. Now we have two people picking on the autistic girl for being autistic."

My comment was meant to poke fun at the 'lore' built up around that news van more than anything. The 'you have to fight 20 of him before you get to a miniboss' or something along the lines about that logger stuck with me in particular. I never really read Nova as anything as I don't really know much about the character. The only thing I know is the sets.