Review: 41425 Olivia's Flower Garden
Posted by MeganL,
The smallest set of the second wave of Friends is 41425 Olivia's Flower Garden. I was happy to see that it features Olivia, so I wonder what science aspect will be featured in this small set. Best of all, it includes Zobo!
Inside the package there are two unnumbered bags, and instruction booklet, and a medium sized sticker. I'm not sure if it was an error on packing, but my box had two stickers inside, so now I have a spare.
Not surprisingly, Olivia is the minidoll in this set. She's wearing a sleeveless metallic blue vest over a pink sleeveless shirt. The detailing on her torso is great - not only does the vest have lapels with buttons, but the pink shirt has PacMan icons on it! That's the best pattern I've seen on a Friend yet. That's paired with a short yellow skirt with blue shoes. Olivia's pet hamster Rumble is joining her on tending her garden, also satisfying the Friends cute animal requirement for the set.
I was very happy to see Zobo in this set! Zobo is getting to be a regular in Olivia sets, and I always enjoy seeing him (?) when he's featured. In this set he's taken the gardening hobby seriously, and has donned a hat to help him fit in with the hobby. With all the sets he's been featured in, he's a very adaptable little robot!
Olivia's garden is actually inside a greenhouse, and a portion of it is included here. I like how the angled window has been included to accurately represent the lighthouse. Inside the greenhouse there's a table with various plants, including a strawberry plant. Some flowers can be found growing on the wall.
On the other side of the greenhouse, you can get another look at the strawberry plant, plus there's a tap providing water for the plants. To show that this is truly Olivia's garden, there's a blackboard on the wall that shows the equation of light and water that's needed to successfully grow plants.
Olivia needs to get the starter plants from somewhere, so she has a collection vehicle that she uses to get new additions to her greenhouse. It's a brightly coloured vehicle and I like the pale yellow accent on the front. It's a nice little vehicle, filled with brightly coloured flowers in the back.
There's handy location for tools to be attached to the side of the vehicle, in this case a spade and a pitchfork.
Thanks to the use of 1x4 plate with two knobs, Rumble can accompany Olivia on her plant finding expeditions. I think it makes sense for Olivia to be standing while she drives as she needs the vantage point to find her next plants!
Overall thoughts
This is a nice little set (92 pieces, $9.99, £8.99, 9.99€). There's quite a bit of play value for a small set. The greenhouse can be configured, there are a number of flowers included, and the vehicle can be used for a number of purposes. I always enjoy seeing Zobo, and I like his farmer's hat!
There's a good assortment of parts, and because of the many small builds, there's quite a number of extra pieces. Being a smaller set, it's perfect for a pocket money spend, or a quick impulse buy.
Thanks to LEGO for providing a copy of this set for review. All opinions expressed are mine.
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6 comments on this article
I wonder why Olivia doesn't have a braided ponytail.
I tend to like these small Friends sets (the last range's ice cream cart was adorably cute), but this one didn't really grab me. I don't really get how the set is part of a greenhouse, but looks like a free-standing structure. It just seems very strange. Why put the window there at all (and that light fixture is baffling)?
And since I'm being honest, Zobo is always off-putting, I tend to avoid sets with him. The highlights of this line, for me, are the fashion shop and the park cafe (even though the latter has the usual issue of being more of a facade than an actual building).
What a great little set! Thanks for highlighting this one, Megan.
I'm always partial to those sets where Olivia (and Zobo!) get some science on, and where this set really shines is its expandability; the hint of glasshouse inspires the building of the rest of the growing area & garden. Wonderful.
I love the use for those bar-sized flowers sideways on those green stems with hole.
Anyone else getting a real "Silent Running" vibe here??? :D
@Joefish said:
"Anyone else getting a real "Silent Running" vibe here??? :D "
Absolutely.