Review: 41428 Beach House
Posted by MeganL,
In these waning days of summer, in most years one might look fondly back on a summer holiday….however, if you're like me, summer was spent at home during some form of shelter in place.
Fortunately, the LEGO Friends don't have that challenge. Mia and Andrea, fresh off their stint at 41424 Jungle Rescue Base, are taking some of their holiday at the very convenient 41428 Beach House. They've left the others back at the Rescue Base, so they're enjoying the Beach House on their own.
Read on for more about the getaway, including the most interesting use of a clamshell piece I've seen yet.
Inside the box there are four numbered bags, an instruction book, a 16x16 plate in brick yellow, a bright yellow 6x16 plate with 26 knobs for the roof, and a sticker sheet. It's a pretty standard sized sheet for a Friends set this side, but from looking at the stickers, it seems like many of them are somewhat gratuitous.
Minidolls and Animals
The minidolls in this set are Andrea and Mia. They are dressed in suitably beachy attire, with both wearing midriff baring halter tops. Andrea's top is light blue with darker blue and gold accents; it also has a musical note motif at the sweetheart neckline. Mia's top is suitably detailed in cool yellow with a green leaf and red berry pattern with purple trim. Both torsos are new this year and Mia's is only seen in this set. Andrea's white skirt and gold flip-flops are also new this year, while we have seen Mia's purple shorts and blue shoes (doesn’t she worry about getting sand in them?) we've seen several times before.
It's been a new trend this year that most minidolls have printing on the back, and that's also true with this set (and admittedly, it would look odd with the halter tops if it didn't…..).
Both minidolls come with some accessories. Mia has a coordinated suitcase and camera in bright yellowish green. Andrea has a fuchsia valise, and is a girl after my own heart with some tunes dialed up on her smartphone with some fuchsia headphones.
The animals included in the set aren't pets, which makes sense, since Andrea's parrot and Mia's bunnies aren't likely to have a good time at the beach. Instead, we have a flamingo, which is new this year, and this set is the least expensive set in which it's found (so far). I like the bright pink (LEGO name, bright purple) colour for the bird and the mold is pretty realistic, considering it's been Friend-ified. The little dolphin was introduced in the brilliant 41378 Dolphins Rescue Mission last year and apparently that rescue was successful as we find it jumping around just offshore at the Beach House.
The completed build
The only auxiliary build for this set is a paddleboat. I like how Mia's bright yellowish green has been included in this design as well. The boat is large enough that the two Friends can go out on the boat together. When I think of "beach house" I think of the ocean, but I've only seen paddleboats at lakes. Perhaps this is a house on a large lake?
It wouldn't be a beach house without a dock, so of course there's one here. It's large enough for the Friends to get to their paddleboat. The water's deep and clear enough so that you can see the fish swimming in the shallows, as well as the small dolphin jumping in the surf.
The beach house has two levels. The lower level opens to the beach, naturally, where the two Friends have built one awesome sandcastle. I love the use of the clear bottle piece for the tower in the centre of the castle. A handy outdoor shower is close by to wash off all the salt and sand.
There's a serving window here from the kitchen inside - a handy shortcut to the long eight stud walk around the building. The Friends have put together an absolutely enormous hamburger - that should give them more than enough energy to go boating or surfing, as a sticker decorated surfboard is hung close by.
The side of the house provides a peaceful scene - a palm tree, a nice patio, and a decorative door arch. I believe the door arch is really there for one reason - to provide one side of support for the hammock, which is a new cloth print in this set. There's a table with a pink mug within a minidoll's reach in the hammock.
Here's Mia taking advantage of all the amenities. A nearby crab looks jealous. I suppose I should have included the crab in the animals section!
A side doorway takes the Friends into the compact kitchen area, which is comfortably furnished with a stove, sink and undercounter fridge. A gargantuan order of fries to go with the burger is on the counter, and some orange juice is stocked in the fridge.
Of course, this wouldn't be a Friends set without a bathroom. The Beach House has a typically outfitted one, though the highlight for me is the parts usage. Major props to the designer for using a clam shell piece as a toilet.
Thanks to a large-ish sticker, much of the rest of the bathroom detail is shown.
I'd be remiss if I didn't show the bathroom door, too, with its inventive sticker.
The stairs on the dock ascend to the upper level, where there's a balcony to enjoy the view of the water. A door leads to the sleeping quarters inside.
It's a pretty cozy space in the bedroom - two bunk beds and a desk.
Notice the 1x2x2 wall elements here - they're new to the set in this colour. While building, I wondered why they were used instead of regular bricks. However, on examining the functionality of the space, the purpose became clear.
It's a pretty tight fit! If this building had four walls, I'm not sure the Friends would fit at all. Though I have to give more props to the designer for using a skeleton leg for the desk lamp.
The other side of the room provides storage for some Friends essentials, like snorkeling fins and a map. One this side is also a ladder to the roof level. There are many Friends buildings that don't have a means of getting between levels, so I appreciate at least having the ladder here. Though considering this room is one floor above ground level, I'm very impressed with any Friend who takes the literal leap of faith to get on the ladder to get to the roof.
What do you find at that top level? A nice, bright, sunny roof, with some attractive stickers and brick built flowers to provide detailing.
But that's not all! This roof isn't just a roof…..it flips up to become a DJ terrace! Now, how a Friend manages to get behind the DJ table while the roof is being flipped after just coming up the ladder while not being severed in two - those are details I won't get into. While LEGO describes this as a DJ terrace, the presence of a piano keyboard makes it look more like a performance stage to me. There are plenty of great details in the stage, from the neon lights, the speakers, and the sticker showing the synthesizer.
The house overall looks quite attractive from the front and back.
Overall thoughts
This isn't the first time one of the Friends has had a beach house. Stephanie had one back in 2014, 41037 Stephanie's Beach House. If my LEGO collection wasn't currently in storage I'd have built 41037 for a side by side comparison. 41037 and 41428 are very similar - both had two minidolls (Stephanie and Kate in 2014, Mia and Andrea here) - there was a kitchen for snacks (much more spacious in 2014), a relaxation area (overwater deck vs hammock), an upstairs bedroom, and of course, a bathroom (though the clamshell toilet surely wins on this score).
41428 (444 pieces, $49.99, 44.99€, £48.73), is more expensive but has more pieces than 41037 (369 pieces, $39.99, 39.99€, £39.99). For the extra money/pieces, the scene is a bit more complete in 41428. While the house itself is a bit smaller, there's more going on outside with the hammock and the beach area (despite the name, 41037 doesn't really have a beach). There are some parts in new colours in this set, notably two aqua pieces (1x1x5 and 1x2x2 wall element) and a bright yellow 1x4x6 frame. A complete set inventory can be found here.
The two sets show how Friends designs have progressed over the last few years. There were no animals in 41037; animals are pretty much expected in Friends sets these days. It was pretty rare to see a function like the roof/DJ terrace conversion in the Friends early years sets. I think that type of functionality is one of the great things to demonstrate to kids the flexibility of LEGO, and I hope to see more of it.
The parts usage in this set is great - as noted above, I particularly like the use of the clamshell and the skeleton leg. All in all, I'd say this is a nice update of an older Friends set.
What do you think? Do you prefer this beach house or the original? Let us know in the comments.
Many thanks to LEGO for providing a copy of this set for review. All opinions expressed are mine.
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23 comments on this article
I don’t like the DJ on the roof.
Why do they need it?
Yeah, the DJ is confusing. Does she lay down when you unfold the roof? There is no other way up...
Also, again very inconsistent colors in mainly 3 pieces: white 1x2x5 brick, white 2x2 brick and light aqua 1x2 brick...
I quite like the DJ terrace-thing, it is like a functionality feature from Hidden Side theme but... for girls. And there's the vodka-bottle hidden in the sand castle...
The toilet lid is up- perhaps one of the boys has visited? :)
I’m not sure I’d use a toilet with a wall missing, door or not!
Stephanie's beach house was better!!
I helped my daughter make one for Emma too, which impressed some users on lego life...
This is a 6/10
Overall a pretty nice set with a good variety of rooms.
need that surfboad :D
Great review!
I did not expect that roof conversion function; that's wonderfully done.
@560heliport said:
"The toilet lid is up- perhaps one of the boys has visited? :)"
Wait, what? Do girls use toilets with the lid down...?
@bananaworld said:
"
Great review!
I did not expect that roof conversion function; that's wonderfully done.
@560heliport said:
"The toilet lid is up- perhaps one of the boys has visited? :)"
Wait, what? Do girls use toilets with the lid down...?
"
No, they just complain that guys always leave the lid up...
“...and apparently that rescue was successful as we find it jumping around just offshore.” Had to laugh at this. Great review, nice pictures illustrating the details and very informative, along with having some humour thrown in along the way - well done!
I like how official photos dont show you closed roof from the back xD
Cool set but not as good as other summer houses.
My initial reaction to this set was that it was a cut down, sparse looking version of Stephanie's Beach House.
Barring the roof gimmick, I've seen nothing to change my mind.
And as for the cramped beds, that really doesn't look good at all
"Instead, we have a flamingo, which is new this year, and this set is the least expensive set in which it's found (so far)"
For the record, there are flamingos in one of the summer series of collectable cubes (of course, you've got to guess what colour you're likely to get, but I'm sure that's a cheap way to get a flamingo if you wanted one, and they've been out, in Australia, for a couple of weeks now. I picked up a couple to get a seal and a seahorse, both of which are very cute).
It's an odd kind of set, isn't it? It's called "Beach House" which implies somebody has rich parents (or else, the girls are still involved in Heartlake City's organised crime scene. C'mon. We're all thinking it), but it's clearly more of an exclusive resort or a clubhouse or something. That looks less like a kitchen and more like a bar and cafe, and there's a public bathroom on one side. Although the bedroom upstairs doesn't mesh with that.
Having said that -- as impractical as it would be, I do like the clam-shell as the toilet seat. That's inventive.
My life goal is to get to the point I can just live like one of these girls. From beach house to ski resort, private planes to jungle expeditions - their life is so awesome.
The original is a solid 9/10, this a mediocre 4/10.
Great review, Megan. So glad the rescue worked out for the cute dolphin!
Friends is miles ahead of City in terms of municipal functions and commercial businesses, but I’d like to see Friends delve into some other areas instead of redux of prior themes. The ski and carting themes were great expansions and I look forward to seeing where else Friends can take us!
This set (as do the other friends set) oozes the joy the designers must have had creating this set. A joy that city is sorely lacking
Agree with Toc13, I prefer Stephanie's Beach House as the bedroom was 8 studs deep and the fantastic kitchen and sitting area 11 studs, wide whereas 5 studs is just to narrow for Friends as illustrated by the beds and tiny kitchen. One of the reasons Stephanie's Beach House has less pieces is it uses the larger full height window frames saving on bricks, and given a more modern feel. I understand that the designer was trying to present a more historic building here and from the front it does look fantastic, although the stairs could continue upwards to a permanent flat roof terrace. Alternatively, I would just put the music area under the arch and remove the terrible pink shag pile.
Better find someone to nail down the top step of the staircase. Someone can trip on it. (The photo of the stairs and dock)
Paddle-Boats (Pedalos) are quite common in Mediterranean resorts, where the tides and currents are nowhere near what you might experience on ocean shores. Maybe the friends have gone all Marbs!
Unless they are on Party Island the neighbours must hate the DJ thing in the roof.
"Turn that's racket off. I am trying to have a nice holiday."
Shouldn't even be too hard to replace the magenta!