Review: 41422 Panda Jungle Tree House
Posted by MeganL,
After her sojourn to 41428 Beach House, Mia joins Olivia and goes back to work rescuing adorable wildlife, this time in 41422 Panda Jungle Tree House. As one might surmise from the set name, the animals being rescued are indeed pandas, and the housing is located in a tree.
Will one tree house be enough for three, count them, three pandas? Could the pandas be any cuter than the sloths? Will the sloths be jealous of the pandas' habitat? No matter the answers, it seems that panda-monium (sorry, couldn’t resist) lies ahead...
Inside the Panda box there are three numbered bags, an instruction book, an 8x16 bright yellowish green baseplate, a small slide, and a small sticker sheet. Roughly half the sheet is for wood grain detailing. It made me wonder if a sticker sheet was really needed.
Minidolls and animals
Mia and Olivia are the mini dolls in this set. We’ve seen them both before in 41424 Jungle Rescue Base. They’re wearing the same outfits in this set. I won’t go into detail on their outfits, other than they’re very appropriate for the jungle. I still think Olivia’s top is a lot busier than it needs to be, though far be it from me to complain about detailed printing on a mini doll!
This set includes three, count them, three, pandas. While building, I kept hearing “Panda! Panda! Panda!” in my head, in a voice like we hear “Sunday, Sunday, Sunday!” in commercials for drag races (in the U.S.). In this version of “Panda! Panda! Panda!” there are two identical pandas, and one that seems to have gotten himself into some difficulty and is in desperate need of a bath.
Because this is a Friends animal, there has to be a heart motif on there somewhere, in this case, it’s included in the paw pad shapes (which are of course, pink). A nice detail is that the panda that requires a bath has blue eyes, where the two other pandas have green eyes.
The completed model
There are a few auxiliary builds included in the set. First is a something that’s seen a lot in Friends sets with animals - a see-saw for the pandas to play on. The second - and a build that uses three of the wood grain stickers - is a cart for the Friends to bring back food for the pandas. A bamboo branch is included, so clearly that this trip was successful. The last build is a scale so the Friends can monitor how well the pandas (Panda! Panda! Panda!) are doing.
Here we see Olivia taking measurements of the panda that’s just been rescued, while Mia brings him some snacks. The other pandas are keeping an eye on things while spending time on the see-saw.
After checking in, it’s time for the blue-eyed panda to get a bath. There’s a wash station at the tree house, with a tap conveniently located right at the base of the tree. Bubbles and a wash sponge are of course included.
On the other side of the tree, there’s a napping spot for the pandas. If they’re anything like my dogs, baths can be very tiring, so it’s not surprising the pandas (Panda! Panda! Panda!) need someplace to rest. The Friends have been very thoughtful and included a crate filled with panda snacks close by.
While Mia’s tending to the blue-eyed panda, Olivia is keeping tabs on the others via a walkie talkie in the lab upstairs. There’s a small table included that has necessary panda-tending tools in the drawers.
The lab is pretty well-equipped, with a computer including a monitor with a panda screen saver. Another Friends staple (snacks) is checked off the list, with a cookie and a mug of Olivia’s favourite beverage available close by.
But as soon as Olivia’s back is turned……hey, what are those guys doing here?!?
Apparently the sloths heard about the pandas’ hangout and decided to check it out for themselves. Since they were so helpful at the jungle rescue base, they figured that Olivia wouldn’t mind more help here. (Note: Sloths are NOT included in this set)
There are two ways to get down from the lab - the first is a fun slide. The second is a set of monkey bars, which clearly the pandas (Panda! Panda! Panda!) like very much.
Apparently, they’re not the only ones…
I think we’ve figured out the sloths’ reason or visiting! (Note: Sloths are NOT included in this set)
At the base of the monkey bars, some arched pieces make for an effective bridge over a little stream.
The other panda has decided to come down the slide, and we see the other area at the base of the treehouse, that includes a place for someone to sit, a cleaning station with shovel and broom, and ahem, evidence of the reason to require those tools…..
The last area of the treehouse shows another classic, the tire swing.
However, try as I might, the only way I could get a panda in the swing was this way.
On the whole, I struggle a bit with this being called a tree house. There is some foliage dotted around the reddish-brown pieces, there’s a trunk-like base, and some branches/arches on the top. When I first look at the set, I don’t think “treehouse” right away. However, considering this is a smaller set with a lower price point I think the designer has done a decent job, and I suspect sacrificed some tree-like features in favour of including the slide.
It should not be surprising at all that the footprint of the tree house is a heart.
Probably one of the things that takes away from the tree house aesthetic is the large brick built panda sign at the top. I think it’s great, though, and wouldn’t change it.
Overall thoughts
This is one of the smaller sets of the Jungle Rescue subtheme. For the price point (265 pieces, $29.99, £24.99, 29.23€) there’s a lot of activity with the panda rescue, and plenty of play with the slide, swing, monkey bars. Even the sloths like it! (Note: sloths are NOT included in this set.) Pink-indifferent people will like this set as it doesn’t have many pieces in pink - but the pieces that are, such as the side and monkey bars, are very eye-catching.
I’m a little disappointed that there aren’t any moving functions in this set, mostly because all the other sets in this subtheme have had one. But there are lots of details to make up for that, and I like the use of the monkey bars as a novel way to get upstairs, as well as a continued focus on using technology with the computer lab to help the animals.
From a parts perspective, this set may also be appealing - those bright purple slide pieces are new in this set, and there are a number of parts that are new this year. A parts list can be found here.
Of course, the draw of this set is the pandas (Panda! Panda! Panda!). They’re very cute, and I like that there are two versions, with green and blue eyes (even though real pandas have dark eyes). Are the pandas cuter than the sloths? Ultimately, I think that’s up to you.
Many thanks to LEGO for providing a copy of this set (and the sloths from 41424) for review. All opinions expressed are mine.
79 likes
19 comments on this article
Great review Megan! Just to be sure, Sloths Sloths are NOT included with the Pandas Pandas Pandas?
(Note: Sloths are NOT included in this set)
What!? There are no beds or bathrooms in this set!?
My youngest is an absolute Panda fanatic, she has this set and absolutely loves it. She already had a pretty large collective of Panda's thanks to Bricklink etc so this was just icing on the cake.
@Darth_studious said:
"What!? There are no beds or bathrooms in this set!?"
Not only that. There are NO sloths either!
Omg why is the poop placed directly at the bottom of the slide!!!
@Darth_studious said:
"What!? There are no beds or bathrooms in this set!?"
I know, I was disappointed too. They’re the only reason I read these reviews!
Just look at the bottom of the slide, that’s what happens when there is no toilet!
Panda Panda Panda!
Nice review but those puns. Your readers might think you are panda-ring!
"...with a cookie and a mug of Olivia’s favourite beverage available close by."
Whisky?
You've sold me... on the set WITH the sloths. OMG they (the sloths) are so cute.
The pandas, Pandas! PANDAS!!! are... Ok
@mic27 said:
"Omg why is the poop placed directly at the bottom of the slide!!! "
Asking the real questions!
So, are the sloths included in the set? ;)
Indeed a nice set, but I disagree on the pink parts. They definitely feel out of place and it would have been better if they were yellow, something which I also pointed out in my own little review (https://myleniumsbrickcorner.wordpress.com/2020/10/03/panda-jungle-lego-friends-panda-jungle-tree-house-41422/). And no, no sloths in this set.
I do love what they’ve done with the eye colours to make the pandas different! I dug out my 41049 pandas to build a bigger sanctuary and noticed they used to be blue, so the green eyes are such a nice touch
I want to buy this set now, just so I can make the sloths play with the pandas, but just to clarify....am I to understand that there are no sloths included in this set?! Great review, thank you
I really like the animals provided by Friends theme this year '
Man I usualy love Friends sets but once again the colorsheme is so bad...
Why they are forcing pink so much. Yellow or tan would work much better.
But I love this subthemeb and all lovely animals!
Have to pick this up, just for the pandas! pandas! pandas!