Review: 41431 Heartlake City Brick Box
Posted by benbacardi,
Plastic tubs, containing miscellaneous bricks, that double as LEGO storage containers have long been a part of LEGO’s line up. 41431 Heartlake City Brick Box offers a twist on the usual: it's the first in the Friends theme, containing a couple of minidolls and three small 2-in-1 builds instead of multiple mini builds serving as inspiration.
Continue reading to take a look inside the box at the three included models and their alternative builds, and see how this set differs from similar ones found in the Classic range.
The Box and Contents
The box is a large plastic tub with the lid styled to look like a 2x4 brick. If you have another of this type of box, they do stack somewhat like LEGO, with the studs on top fitting into indents underneath. Obviously, they don’t have the usual LEGO clutch power, however!
This is the first time we’ve seen one of these boxes in this colour, to my knowledge. They are more common in the yellow Classic range, although they have previously appeared in other themes such as City.
A large cardboard sleeve surrounds the box, showing three individual builds with 2-in-1 branding indicating that each can be rebuilt into something else. The alternate builds are shown on the other side of the box. The picture for each build shows two minidolls in each, although there are only two included in total.
Inside the box there are three bags of parts, three instruction manuals, three lime 16x8 plates, and a large amount of empty space. Each manual contains both sets of instructions for a given build, with a corresponding bag of parts to accompany it. Aimed at just 5+, there are no sticker sheets.
Minidolls
As shown on the cardboard sleeve, Olivia and Mia are included. Olivia is built at the beginning of the first bag containing the food stall, and Mia in the second containing the horse and paddock.
Olivia’s torso has only ever appeared before in 41387 Olivia's Summer Heart Box, and features a pink off-the-shoulder top with yellow frills and a geometric pattern. Mia’s torso has appeared in four previous sets (the latest also equestrian themed), featuring a blue chequered shirt and a lightning shaped necklace. Both look suitably detailed, although there is no printing on the rear of either.
The Builds
In the first bag, we get Olivia, and the parts to build an ice cream café. This is constructed on the first of the 16x8 plates, and consists of a table with a parasol, a pair of stools, and a very small café. The café’s counter displays the obligatory till, a cupcake, and a sundae, and a machine for dispensing the ice cream.
The roof of the café is the most interesting part of the build, constructed to resemble the top of a sundae, complete with a cherry and chocolate decorations. I think the tan 1x2 plates look very out of place, however, and I can’t see a good reason why they couldn’t have been white (they’re not visible in the alternative build, which was my original assumption for their odd choice of colour.)
A small rabbit is also included; LEGO animals always go down well with my daughter, so this was a welcome addition!
In the second bag, we find Mia, and a black horse which has only previously appeared in three other sets. This build, featuring a small paddock for the horse, is more substantial than the previous one, although it feels a little repetitive as the two trees on either side of the paddock are exact mirror images of one another. They are constructed fairly effectively, however, and the overall design looks pretty good. As before, everything is placed on top of one of the 16x8 plates, the colour of which is suitable for grass.
A gate leads into the field, flanked on either side by two pink hearts (using last year’s new heart-shaped plate) attached to a pair of pillars. A frog sits on top of one; a hamster on the other. I can understand the inclusion of a frog (they are found in the wild, after all), but the hamster makes less sense.
The horse’s back can either be filled with a 2x2 plate and brick with bow, or they can be replaced with a saddle in which a minidoll can stand. It is not a very realistic riding position, but given the limited articulation afforded by the minidoll’s legs, it is perhaps the only solution. Mia comes with an alternative dual-molded hair piece including a riding hat.
The horse has two attachment points for accessories such as bows and medals; one on top of its tail, and one on its neck.
Bumping up the piece count is the included crate with no less than fourteen horse-related accessories. These include two different kinds of bow, four different grooming brushes, a spray bottle, and a pair of medals. I originally thought that both medals were identical, but in fact one is labelled with a number 1, and the other with a number 2, allowing you to choose whether the horse has performed well or not that particular day!
It is somewhat disappointing that the elements are all the same colour, instead of including some variety. They are, however, listed together as a single element in LEGO’s inventory, which is unusual, and are available in five different colours in total.
The final bag of parts contains no minidoll, but instead what I think is the most entertaining model of the set; a music shop. Only the front facade is included, but it looks fantastic, with two large windows, the door flanked by a rainbow of bright translucent bricks, and topped off with a brick built music note (in one of my favourite new LEGO colours, vibrant coral.) The music note is cleverly constructed out of just five elements, and makes it immediately obvious what you've built.
Inside the store are a handful of smaller musical builds. A guitar stands in one window, and a tall speaker stack in the other. A small drum kit (including sticks), a piano, and a record deck are all mini builds attached to the base by only a couple of studs, making them easily removable for play.
A microphone and stand is also included, so together the two friends can entertain themselves in a variety of musical ways.
Alternate Builds
As promised on the box, each build can be rebuilt into an alternative model. The instructions for these are included in the printed manuals, and a note at the beginning tells you which page to flip to in order to begin.
The first transformation converts Olivia's café into what LEGO’s description terms a “wading pool”. What was originally the blue circular table is now a small pool with a diving board, next to two sun loungers for the Friends to relax on. A small kiosk selling cupcakes and drinks or ice cream is provided as a separate build.
The two large trees in the horse's paddock are combined into a single tree house, with the gate providing access to the top as ladder. There is a small raised flower bed, and the tree contains a number of recessed areas for the hamster or frog to shelter in. The crate of horses grooming accessories remains, however; I doubt there are many other ways you could “rebuild” this!
Finally, in the rebuild that uses the least amount of parts from the original, the music shop is converted into a dance floor and stage. The record deck made it through unaltered, but the rest is a relatively poor redesign, with a very small stage, and half the base plate left empty.
As is often the case with 2-in-1 or 3-in-1 builds, the alternative models can leave something to be desired. There was a significant number of parts left over from each build, and they all feel a little unfinished.
They can, however, be arranged into a single play set more easily than the primary models. This is indicated on the sleeve of the box, but is not mentioned at all anywhere else. They're not joined together, but simply placed next to each other, offset from one another.
It does provide a more cohesive area to play, but the three models aren't ones I would particularly expect to find together. They almost look as if they belong to three individual sets, rather than one.
Conclusion
These “brick boxes” are often more about the storage container and building up a supply of bricks than the actual models that the designers have come up with, and this one is nothing particularly out of the ordinary. Although each of the primary builds was fun to put together, and I actually quite like the music shop, there is little play value in each. My daughter, not too far from the target age, played with them for a while, but they did not capture her interest as much as some previous sets have in the past.
The box could be useful, and can fit far more in it than the bricks provided, although there is no way to provide any organisation beyond bagging individual sets inside it. It could work as a bin of miscellaneous parts, however, if you have a large surface to dump them into when you or your children want to build.
At an RRP of £34.99 / $39.99 / €39.99 it does feel a little overpriced for what you get - you can get more LEGO for less in other sets, both in terms of quantity and interest. Given that there are three sub models, it would have been good to have seen a third minidoll included, too. However, if you like the box (and fancy something other than the usual yellow), or the models catch your eye, then go ahead and pick one up - but perhaps wait for a discount first.
Thanks to LEGO for providing this set for review. All opinions expressed are my own.
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16 comments on this article
Must admit I was ready to dismiss this set until you showed us the awesome music shop build! Multiple different-coloured trans bricks are always a winner.
Look like it actually has lots of potential for classic LEGO freebuilding.
Nice review!
Good set but at €44.99 here, and LEGO-Exclusive (no discounts) , it's overpriced right now.
But still not as overpriced as the 2020 Friends Hospital for sure (379 parts for €60 okay?)
I only own one Friends set and it was in the sale at ASDA (UK Walmart) for £1.50. Not interested.
Thanks for the review though.
I think the tan plates on the sundae is supposed to be the cream's shade as its shape is spiraling upwards.
Ngl the music shop is pretty nice
Regarding the accessories being the same color: those sorts of "pre-packs" of accessories are all considered the same element because they are molded together on a single mold and immediately bagged as a unit, rather than being molded separately and sorted into various sets. That type of production method is efficient for types of accessories that can typically be used together, like hand tools in City, kitchen or animal accessories in Friends, or weapon parts in Ninjago.
I love the "rainbow" of transparent parts used for the music store!
LEGO is honestly doing a pretty impressive job with including sets with multiple builds in a wider variety of themes, not just Classic, Minecraft, Creator, and the movie themes.
All the builds in this set seem to be about on par with other Friends sets in terms of detail, aesthetics, and playability (i.e. not feeling excessively blocky or simplistic), aside from the bright yellowish green base for the music store. If it were a stand-alone set, I'd expect a differently colored base that gave it less of a grassy look.
Even so, it also has a versatile enough and basic enough brick assortment that there's plenty of potential for kids to create their own original creations from them, just as with most Classic, Creator, and Minecraft sets.
I'm curious if LEGO would ever make brick buckets like this for other themes like Ninjago, Star Wars, and Super Heroes, or if the more narrative-driven play patterns and generally higher target age for those themes would dissuade them from taking that approach. Even if the latter were true, I could definitely picture sets like these for the inevitable future incarnations of recurring themes like Castle or Pirates!
The price is far too high. I know the horse is part of it, but still.
If I happen to see it under $25 I'll pick one up. There are some nice pieces in there.
@Aanchir SW bucket? 7159 Star Wars Bucket! It made podracers. It's a SW set I never got... and I regret that!
I do like the trans-clear bricks and window panels. The trees (although a repetitive build) look nice, and I hadn't realised that they're printing keyboards (for the piano) which is a *huge* tick.
This set is not in normal retail in Poland. Such shame because it would be great buy on good sale.
@lordofdragonss said:
"This set is not in normal retail in Poland. Such shame because it would be great buy on good sale."
Same in NL, both this and police box just in LEGO stores or .com
€45 is too much for those.
I might actually get one and stuck upon my yellow brick box. I love, when you get storage box and bricks assortment.
The pricing is off, yes, but it's still a very nice set/box.
At a sizeable discount this could prove very interesting. Really nice builds after all.
Agree about the silly horse riding pose though. Our girls never liked that aspect of their friends sets tbh.
My take on the tan 1x2 plates in the ice cream shop is that they are meant to represent a scattering of crushed peanuts sprinkled over the sundae, a fairly typical addition in my experience.
Funny to see the poop pieces used as food.