Review: 41713 Olivia's Space Academy
Posted by MeganL,
There was a lot of excitement when 41713 Olivia's Space Academy was announced. After several waves of City space sets, we were finally getting Friends in Space!
Unlike City, there's only one set, but it looks like this set includes elements of what City would have in several sets: a space shuttle, launch centre, telescope and other builds, and all for what seems to be a reasonable price.
Summary
41713 Olivia's Space Academy, 757 pieces.
£59.99 / $69.99 / €69.99 | 7.9p/9.2c/9.2c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
Another excellent school-themed set with plenty of play value
- First Friends space set
- Plenty of recoloured parts
- STEM based theme
- Inaccurate shuttle proportions
In the box there are six numbered bags, one unnumbered bag with larger parts, an instruction book and a very sparkly sticker sheet. This is the first sticker sheen that I've seen that has extra stickers marked (the stars in the bottom left).
Minidolls
There are four minidolls in this set. The astronauts in this set are Olivia (of course), and William. They're both wearing the same spacesuit, with several buttons, access points, epaulettes, coral accents on their arms, and silver boots. A version of the Classic Space logo is featured on the front. William is new to this set, and I love that a new person of colour head has been included to the Friends world. They come with hairpieces as well as their spacesuit helmets, which are white with spiffy gold visors. Their other accessory is a slide with a specimen from their travels, which is a printed piece and also new to this set.
As with the other school themed sets, Olivia is seen video chatting with another Friend - in this case Mia, who we saw in the first school themed set I reviewed, 41717 Mia's Wildlife Rescue.
The ground crew for our astronauts are Dr. Vidya and Julian. Dr. Vidya is new to this set - I love seeing a woman in a technical field featured! Her head is new, and I love that she's wearing a headset. She's wearing a blue polo shirt with both a star insignia and a classic space logo, and her ID badge is hanging from a lanyard around her neck. It's nice to see a Friends female character wearing some sleeves! While Julian has been seen in other Friends sets (most recently 41448 Heartlake City Movie Theatre and 41682 Heartlake City School last year), in those sets he had a distinctive curl on his forehead that's missing here. His dungaree outfit is new to the set, and also features the same star and classic space insignias as Dr. Vidya.
The completed model
The first auxiliary build is a multi-axis trainer, used by the astronauts to simulate the environment they'll experience in space. Details on the control panel are provided by a sticker, and William doesn't seem very fazed at all about this part of astronaut training!
The telescope is in a side building that can be detached from the main academy. The outside of the telescope is decorated with constellations (provided by stickers, shown in a picture further down). The base of the telescope is the operations centre of the telescope, with a control screen as well as a walkie-talkie to communicate with others.
The telescope is connected to the main building by some Technic beams. The building has three levels. The ground level features an orrery.
Thanks to some Technic gears, it's a working orrery, which is pretty cool.
A display area off to one side shows a rock sample from a previous space exploration as well as some wall decorations of nebulae.
The next floor up shows a briefing and research area. There's a scale model of a rocket on the table along with a microscope for examining the samples brought back from space. On one side of the room there are two chairs with a table, and a display screen to track the shuttle's progress. An extra helmet is on the wall.
On the opposite side, there's a rock drill, and on the wall there's a white board. The equations should be recognisable to most engineers - kudos to the graphic designers for their research here.
The top floor is a command centre. A large desk with multiple screens tracking the shuttle and satellite's progress takes up most of the room.
A walkway to the shuttle can be lowered down by rotating a gear.
The front of the academy looks very impressive! I like the use of gold tubing to mark orbits. All the planet details are stickers, as are the star designs on the windows. A pair of satellite dishes are on the roof - they can be rotated thanks to splat gears.
Moving on to the next major build of the set - the shuttle. The rotating walkway on the top floor allows a minidoll somewhat easy access to the shuttle.
Here's a closer look at the top of the shuttle. There's a small movable platform to get the shuttle into position.
The top of the astronaut compartment lifts off. There's room for two minidolls to fit comfortably. Similar to the real shuttles, the equipment bay hinges open to reveal the Canadarm.
As with many Friends airborne vehicles, the tail looks smaller than it should be, but I don't expect a proportionate size is available.
Oh, looks like there are a couple stowaways on board!
(Note: sloths are not included in this set.)
Putting the telescope and academy together completes the picture. From this angle you can see the constellations on the back side of the telescope.
Like many Friends buildings, there's no discernible way to move between the floors, but perhaps that's what the shuttle is for.....
Overall thoughts
The Friends school themed sets have been great this year! This set, 41711 Emma's Art School, and 41714 Andrea's Theatre School have all been excellent. It's taken a long time for Friends to have a set based in space, and having the space academy is a great idea. There were any number of ways that Olivia could have a science based school, and making it in space was an excellent choice.
This set has the now typical range of diverse minidolls, and so much play value in this set with the shuttle, the telescope, the academy and more. For those of you who are interested in new coloured parts, there are a number of them in this set. A parts list can be found here.
It's a remarkable commentary on the Friends line this year that so many excellent sets are available at similar price points. This set and 41711 are offered at the same price. I'd be hard pressed to choose a favourite between the two.
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57 comments on this article
Huh... So teenagers get to train to go to space...
This looks like a lot of fun and I actually like the shuttle despite the proportion differences - it's a great size for small hands to swoosh around.
But how are they supposed to get those System helmets on their giant heads?!? ;-)
Very nice little shuttle. If you make a few changes to the rocket in 60351, you’ve got the external tank and boosters too.
This makes the City space centers look poor by comparison.
Now if it weren’t for the minidolls…
Best City scale shuttle??
Hmmm...no toilet? What kind of Friends set is this??
Really though, this is great. The diversity, the research area, I think the shuttle feels fun and looks very sturdy. This is a good play set and something my kids would enjoy building and continue to play with.
@darthdrauf said:
"Huh... So teenagers get to train to go to space..."
Mia has to be in her mid 20s by now. Theme is 10 years old now.
I got excited for the sloths, just for a moment...
So, it seems like people are dissatisfied by the proportion of the shuttle? Lego is not known for getting proportions right, the set is littered with pseudo science, and the shuttle was decommissioned years ago. My point is...it grabs the essence of space exploration and cosmology. If you're looking for accuracy you won't find it here, or in any Lego set really.
A really nice set with some interesting features. I especially like the diagram and equations on the whiteboard and the design on the outside of the building.
Great review and nice to see the sloths are back! Any chance of the giant Duplo sloth from 10973 making an appearance in the future?
Maybe whilst she is studying at the Space Academy Olivia will learn not to build the academy so close to the rocket blast zone.
This set is great! As a kid who grew up in an era where "space camp" at Kennedy Space Center seemed like one of the coolest things a kid could get to do, I've wanted a Lego Friends subtheme like that for ages. And while this is just a standalone set, it includes almost everything I could've hoped for! Training exercises, mission control, and a real shuttle for a (perhaps unrealistic but plenty aspirational) first mission into space!
Personally I don't mind the slightly cartoony proportions of the shuttle, which fit the Friends theme's general bubbly aesthetic. And the stickers (in addition to being shimmery and shiny) have some great easter eggs. One of the computer screens in mission control features the Lego City space station from this year, and the nebula photos on the wall on the ground floor are real NASA photos identified with the actual ID numbers of those celestial bodies. The working orrery and solar system diagram on the front of the space center are great, too!
I love everything about this set. I love the fact it exists at all, I love that they've managed to stick within the theme's aesthetic while capturing everything you'd want to see in a space centre, I love the little Easter eggs for space nerds (is that the diagram from the Voyager plaque?). It's a fantastic set, and a really good example of how stereotypically 'feminine' things and STEM are not mutually exclusive.
As such I'm sure it'll make a few people very cross, but hey, that's a plus too.
@MeganL....where are they?
Where are the....
"SLOTHS IN SPACE"
Oh wait....hang on. I missed him. There he is. Phew.
Sorry @MeganL !!
Oh hang on again. There's 2 of them.
What's wrong with me today ??
@graymattr said:
"This looks like a lot of fun and I actually like the shuttle despite the proportion differences - it's a great size for small hands to swoosh around.
But how are they supposed to get those System helmets on their giant heads?!? ;-)"
I had the same question . . . do the helmets actually fit?
@vizzitor said:
"Any chance of the giant Duplo sloth from 10973 making an appearance in the future?"
Check out the review for 41714 - you'll find the Duplo sloth center stage :-)
@SinKiller_Nick said:
" @graymattr said:
"This looks like a lot of fun and I actually like the shuttle despite the proportion differences - it's a great size for small hands to swoosh around.
But how are they supposed to get those System helmets on their giant heads?!? ;-)"
I had the same question . . . do the helmets actually fit?"
They do! Apologies for not taking pictures.
Nice! Who else is for renaming the theme Friends In Space?
I like the term "splat gears"
Despite the absence of sloths a great review!
Friends really is on a roll this year! I'm very much not the target audience, but there have been so many great sets already and this one is no exception. So many nice details (that orrery, brilliant!), such great play value. And again at a very decent price, I don't think any Lego theme right now comes even close to the value-for-money Friends offers. I can't even really complain about the stickers, as these are especially nice....
I think I know what my niece is gonna get for her next birthday....
@ra226 said:
"Nice! Who else is for renaming the theme Friends In Space?"
I would love it if from this point onwards, Olivia is just in space. Next year she gets a moon rover, then a Mars colony ship, then scuba gear for Europa, all while the other Friends are just in carrying on in shopping malls and house boats and treehouses.
Something about the bold color scheme of the minidolls makes them stand out more than usual, Lego should consider branching out from the usual pastels as these colors look good on them.
Nevermind helmets for mindolls, what about for the minisloths?
And how insanely clever is that orrery, someone please steal it for a Dark Crystal MOC!
@MisterBrickster said:
" I would love it if from this point onwards, Olivia is just in space. Next year she gets a moon rover, then a Mars colony ship, then scuba gear for Europa, all while the other Friends are just in carrying on in shopping malls and house boats and treehouses."
It's true, ever since 3933, it was pretty clear which friend was the coolest ;)
This is one of my favorite sets. It's got so many fun details.
Not a fan of stickers but this has some of the best looking sticker sheets you'll ever see.
Each floor has nice little details (love that micro orrery, little micro saturn rocket, etc.)
And the outside facade with the solar system is great.
A totally great set to mod and incorporate into the city space theme, sans the mini dolls.
When this set was revealed, @Iguanaboy asked where Zobo was, and I think I've figured it out; he's uploaded his memory into the satellite.
Overall, I love this set.I love the orrery, the telescope, and pretty much everything else. Would be nice if it had an actual launch gantry, but that would drive the price up a good bit, so I'm not really complaining, just saying.
@graymatter & @SinKiller_Nick: All minifigure headgear is compatible with minidolls and vice versa. Stephanie's usual hairpiece even has cutouts to facilitate minifig shoulders, which aren't necessary when putting it on a minidoll.
@ra226: Absolutely. There's a reason that was my first Friends set. (Well, two reasons. I also wanted the purple tools.)
@darthdrauf said:
"Huh... So teenagers get to train to go to space..."
They totally do: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091993/
@dudebrick said:
"Hmmm...no toilet? What kind of Friends set is this??"
Astronauts wear daipers.
@darthdrauf said:
"Huh... So teenagers get to train to go to space..."
Space camp...
@LEGOKINGKD110 said:
" @darthdrauf said:
"Huh... So teenagers get to train to go to space..."
Space camp..."
Yep, I went to Space Camp as a teenager in the '90s, and it was epic. This set definitely brings back some good memories. I've been told that the grandparents have this set aside as a Christmas present for my daughter, but I'm not sure we can wait that long to build it....
Good review of an awesome set!
The minifigure designs in this set are a lot of fun. I suspect that Julian's swept-back hair is meant to look a little more dynamic for when he's on the multi-axis trainer. I love the reuse of the space logo from this year's City sets on both the minifig uniforms and the adorable little space food packets.
It is a bit of a shame that this set doesn't include Olivia's dad Lucas, who is a former astronaut. His appearance in the "Girls on a Mission" animated series last year is what first got me anticipating a space center/space camp set as a genuine likelihood for the Friends theme rather than just an idea that I personally thought would be cool. It's also a shame that Zobo has largely disappeared from the Friends theme, since even if he was one of the less realistic elements of the theme, he added a great sense of fun, whimsy, and futurism that I know I would have appreciated as a robot-loving kid!
That said, the characters who are included are a great example of the diversity of character designs we've been seeing throughout this year's sets, not only in terms of gender, skin color, and hair color/texture, but also features like glasses and microphone headsets which were frustratingly rare in the early years of LEGO Friends.
The design of the space academy building itself is loads of fun with its big colorful windows, clever "solar system" signage, and stylish curves and color blocking. The interiors also provide lots of awesome details and play features — the orrery is particularly stunning. For that matter, sets depicting astronomical observatories have been rare throughout LEGO's history, so it's awesome getting two different ones (a larger City one and smaller Friends one) just this year!
One slight correction about one of these features — based on the images on the back of the box, the helmet on a rack is not a spare space helmet, but rather a VR training headset, and the two nozzle/tap pieces nearby are wireless VR controllers! It's a very clever feature for a set like this IMO, although it's not very obvious what their purpose is if you overlook that particular image from the box.
I appreciate seeing holographic stickers any time they appear, but here in particular they bring back fond memories of the Exploriens sets of my childhood. The two computer screen stickers showing this year's Lunar Space Station also help reinforce the crossover play potential with this year's City Space range, which makes up a bit for the lack of other Friends space program sets in this year's lineup. Another fun stickered detail is that the space images on the ground floor are based on specific astronomical objects from real life, which can be looked up by the official names/reference numbers accompanying them.
The shuttle orbiter is a great design, albeit not totally realistic for space missions since it lacks the detachable fuel tank and rocket boosters that are needed for a real shuttle mission. That said, it does make improvements in authenticity compared to Town/City/Creator shuttles through some of its details like the grey leading edge on the wings and the consistent black color of the underside. The Bright Reddish Violet and Earth Blue accents are an obvious creative flourish, but no more so than the red and blue stripes on shuttles from other play themes. Also, unlike Town/City/Creator shuttles, this one's cabin can fit both a pilot and copilot thanks to the use of minidolls instead of traditional minifigs.
All in all, while I would have loved to see a larger wave of "Space Camp" sets from LEGO Friends, this one really brings together a LOT of what I was hoping sets like that might be able to include, and offers amazing detail and play potential even on its own. Thanks for the review!
@SinKiller_Nick said:
" @graymattr said:
"This looks like a lot of fun and I actually like the shuttle despite the proportion differences - it's a great size for small hands to swoosh around.
But how are they supposed to get those System helmets on their giant heads?!? ;-)"
I had the same question . . . do the helmets actually fit?"
Mini-doll heads and hands are about the same size as minifig heads and hands. The heads mostly just look larger proportionally because mini-dolls have narrower necks, shoulders, and waists. That said, mini-dolls' chins do stick down a little further than a minifigure's chin (or lack thereof), so the chin strap of the classic helmets doesn't completely cover the chin, and DOES cover their mouths.
Helmets that extend down further in the front (like the welding mask, First Order Stormtrooper helmet, or even the old-school Insectoids bubble helmet) or ones that aren't meant to cover the chin at all (like the aviator helmet, samurai helmet, or this set's VR headset) are a somewhat more natural-looking fit for mini-dolls. You can see for yourself how the helmets look on Olivia and William in some of the official pictures on the set details page.
@Capybara554321 said:
" @darthdrauf said:
"Huh... So teenagers get to train to go to space..."
Mia has to be in her mid 20s by now. Theme is 10 years old now. "
The latest "Heartlake Stories" mini-movie on YouTube portrays them as high school seniors on the verge of graduating and applying for the various career opportunities depicted in this summer's sets (the Art School, Space Academy, Theatre School, Sailing Adventure, and Wildlife Rescue). So they are indeed young adults at this point, presumably 17 or 18 years old.
I do wonder what the future of the theme might be like now that Olivia and her friends are finally reaching adulthood. Will it be "rebooted" again? Introduce a new cast of main characters? Or shift completely to an ensemble cast like that of LEGO City, focusing less on a particular group of friends than on life in Heartlake City more broadly? I think the third possibility seems perhaps most likely, considering how this year's sets have de-emphasized the five main characters in their packaging while introducing a wide range of new and diverse characters to populate Heartlake City and beyond.
I've grown to love these characters, so losing them as the theme's stars would certainly feel bittersweet, but as you mention, they've had a decade in the spotlight at this point, and taking that spotlight off of them would definitely give the theme more room to grow even further beyond its established bounds. Given what a great job the designers have done with recent sets and characters, I'm excited for the theme's future one way or another!
This is a great set, a fine example of a space shuttle set, not just a good one for a Friends set. The price is also good, especially on the UK.
I also wonder if they're going to phase out of featuring the five main Friends, perhaps for a broader focus on more characters including boys.
@darthdrauf said:
"Huh... So teenagers get to train to go to space..."
While I can see for play purposes why the shuttle is a standalone vehicle in the set, I imagine that if it were realistic it would be something more like this a static shuttle mock-up as part of the school: https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/66829
All this talk about the shuttle proportions, while I’m sitting here thinking “I thought they discontinued the shuttle program.” Then again, my primary source on that was a Phineas & Ferb episode. Also, I feel like plenty of space travel media has involved characters who are too young for astronaut training by today’s standards and who also embark on it with little or no training at all.
Happy for all the Friends fans, but I’m still waiting for a Ninjago Space wave.
How odd, this set arrived today at work! Did engage some of my colleagues (one Father of a 9yo girl) in a unboxing/product pitch/discussion about STEM toys for girls (and, according to product description, for boys [but mostly for girls]).
This set brought some fun even before building! =)
Picked this up the other day as it’s already on clearance at Kmart for AU$79. The purple, blue and white go so well together. Space Shuttle looks good. Just replace everything pink with red and would look even better.
@SearchlightRG: A space-themed Ninjago wave would be awesome. I want one now.
I'm not a Friends collector, but Friends wins theme of the year in my book. It's not even close.
@Capybara554321 said:
" @darthdrauf said:
"Huh... So teenagers get to train to go to space..."
Mia has to be in her mid 20s by now. Theme is 10 years old now. "
Olivia, and probably by extent the rest of the gang, were still attending high school last year (41683).
@darthdrauf said:
"Huh... So teenagers get to train to go to space..."
Yeah, Ender's Game was awful.
@starkllr said:
"They totally do: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0091993/"
Woah, now that unlocked a memory! The scene where the teacher(?) was untethered from the shuttle and floated towards the endless void terrified me as a kid!
I read this review and was thinking that my wife would LOVE this.
Then I looked at my inventory and realized we already own it...she just hasn't assembled it yet.
@PDelehanty: I know that feeling. I keep seeing parts listed in my inventory and thinking, "What set has that?" It'll almost always be 41685, which I've had for a while, but haven't yet cleared the space to build.
@MeganL you say the extra star stickers are bottom left, but they are in the bottom right as the photo is oriented.
The front of that building with the golden orbits and planets is just awesome. Friends is home to the most creative building designs these past few years.
Looks like a great set, and the shuttle design is compatible with 31117: Space Shuttle Adventure even if a bit smaller.
@TheOtherMike
Yeah, I think a lot of us weren't sure how long the theme would last given Lego's history with themes aimed at girls. I grabbed it for my daughter who was only 1 year old at the time. She's a huge fan of the theme now, and so am I, especially for inspiring sets like this. Hard to believe it's having its 10th anniversary now, already!
@ra226: Gee, and I thought I was jumping the gun getting my first nephew Duplo for his first birthday.
Once again putting City designers to shame. Better builds, more accessories for role play, and best of all--better value.
@gatorbug6 said:
"Once again putting City designers to shame. Better builds, more accessories for role play, and best of all--better value."
If this was City, it would be double the price. Like 60350 .
Just ordered this set for half the original price! Can’t wait to build it.
Thanks for the great review, Megan. I really like this set; we just bought it for our older daughter for Christmas. I hope I can hold out that long and not give it to her early so "we" can build it!
I have met the designer of this set just after it got released. He was extremely excited and called this his Magnum Opus.
Finally the Friends will meet up with the Minifigures in their space missions.
I'm not big on the Friends theme but I'm really tempted by this one