Review: Liann's, Aliya's, Leo's, and Nova's Rooms
Posted by MeganL,
Of the eight new Friends we met at the beginning of the year, four of them have sets dedicated to their rooms - hopefully that means we'll see the rest of them in the near future! They're priced at $20, so I expect these to have plenty of details so we can learn more about the next generation.
Each Friend has one of the other characters included with their set, so acquiring all four rooms is one way to ensure getting all eight new Friends characters. I decided to review them all together, to directly show the features of each.
Summary
41755 Nova's Room, 179 pieces.
£17.99 / $19.99 / €19.99 | 10.1p/11.2c/11.2c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
An inexpensive way to get to know the new Friends
- Buying all four rooms will get all eight Friends
- Plenty of detail and personality
- Some kind of moving function in each room
- None!
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
41739 Liann's Room
Liann has Autumn over for a visit - it makes sense that Autumn's room wouldn't be featured this time around, as it's included in her house!
All the Friends rooms have a sticker sheet. Liann's room pops with bright colours in blue and pink tones.
Autumn and Liann look to be in the middle of a painting session, and haven't been all that neat about it, considering the paint splotches on their clothes. Liann's pet Popcorn fortunately seems to be unscathed.
There's a good reason Popcorn is unscathed - they're the model for the girls' artwork!
Taking a look at Liann's room, it's apparent that Liann is not the neatest Friend. There are paint containers everywhere, evidence of a spill on the stool, a mug on the floor, and a spill of one of the paint containers on the floor. The centrepiece of the room is a large display case that houses some books and electronics. I like the window seat, that has one of Liann's snacks close by.
If something seems missing - it is! The display case flips down to show Liann's bed. Included on the bulletin board above her bed is a picture of Liann with Autumn and Leo. It's a nice touch that there's a moving function included in each of the Friends' rooms.
The beds are comfortable.
(Note: sloth not included in this set)
41740 Aliya's Room
Aliya and Paisley are having a slumber party! Again, lots of details are found in the stickers. Aliya's room looks a bit more serious, with wood tones, and pops of colour with the bed and plants decorating the walls.
Aliya and Paisley both have adorable sets of PJs. In this set we also meet Aira, Aliya's puppy, who is as cute as all Friends animals have to be.
Looks like Aliya and Paisley have been writing some stories, with some inspiration from one of their favourite novels. We'll see the image on the book cover in one of the other Friends' rooms later.
The Friends also spend some time watching a movie streaming from a cellphone. It's hidden in the picture, but a container of popcorn is there for snacking.
Aliya's room is as packed as you would expect for a star student - plenty of books, a study area, and trophies showing all of her accomplishments. There's even a table close by with snacks and drinks for the girls.
There's a pullout bed underneath Aliya's bed, so there's plenty of space for the two Friends.
A close up of the study area shows that Aliya stashes her tests here. However, a closer look shows that even though Aliya is a straight A student, she also struggles at times. There's an assignment with an "F" grade hidden underneath a more stellar paper.
41754 Leo's Room
Leo is the chef of the group, and wants to start a baking channel. Olly the video expert is over to help out! Other details in the sticker sheet shows Leo's love of soccer (or football, for those of you across the pond). Bright coral is the featured accent colour, both with bricks and the sticker sheet.
Leo and Olly both are casually dressed - I particularly like Leo's shirt with a confetti print. And I always love seeing an appearance by Churro, Leo's grumpy cat. I think I like Churro almost as much as the sloths. Almost.
Accessories for the room include a soccer net with ball, some sports drinks, and a phone stand with ring light. I didn't notice while taking pictures that I'd had the phone stand turned backwards.
Leo's rooms shows many of his pursuits: photography (pictures of Olly with the Leo, and of Leo, Liann and Autumn are found here), a life vest and snorkelling helmet, and a surfboard.
Leo's room has bunkbeds, so there's room for two Friends. There's a small kitchen in Leo's room, and some sweet treats to feature on the channel. There are more treats inside the small cabinet (that has Churro on the front - maybe they're supposed to be for Churro?) From this angle you can see the stand ready for Churro, as well as a fish toy.
(Note: sloth not included in this set. Grumpy cat is still not amused.)
There's a chef's hat for Leo to wear while streaming, and the cookbook that he uses for all his creations.
Leo's room is the only one that has an external feature, and through the sliding door we see the outside area that stores some of his gear, and a drink. The back also shows the knob that twists the fish toy for Churro. The grumpy cat still doesn't look amused.
41755 Nova's Room
Nova is the gamer of the group - and the reigning champion - but Zac loves gaming as well, so they're spending some time geeking out. Additional details show that Nova's computer has some pretty fancy accessories, and the whole room features darker tones.
Both Nova's and Zac's shirts have a gaming console motif. Since this is Nova's room, we also meet her dog Pickle again.
Accessories for this room includes a laptop for Zac to play on, as well as a maintenance station for Pickle's wheelchair. The sticker on the back of the display shows that gaming is never far from Nova's mind.
Nova's room has a fine gaming station that takes up most of the room. I like that the bed has a ramp for Pickle to use so they can share the bed with Nova. I really like the fluorescent details of the room, from the fans on the computer and the decoration over the bed. I love the jagged sword over the bed, though for a moment I thought it could count as a Friends version of a bat'leth.
For the moving function in this room, Nova's bed flips up, though I'm not sure why. We can also see the skull on the table in this room, which reflects one of Nova's interests, but.....maybe she's into anatomy?
There's a bookshelf beside the bed that shows books, a lava lamp, and other things - but wait! It turns out that the bookshelf can be pulled aside, revealing a poster hidden behind. It's the same picture as we see on the cover of the book in Aliya's room.
These beds are very comfortable!
(Note: sloth not included in this set)
Overall thoughts
These are lovely little sets to introduce the new Friends. I really like that each set has two Friends, making these sets a (somewhat) economical way to get all eight characters. Some key colours choices make each room distinct while also reflecting each Friend's personality - from the bright coral of Leo's room to the darker tones featured in Nova's.
I really like that even for these smaller sets, the Friends' rooms all have some kind of moving functions in them. It's a great way to start teaching these kinds of techniques.
I like all the rooms, but if I was pressed to name a favourite I think I would opt for Nova's room. I love the ramp for Pickles, and I have many questions about what the poster is hidden behind the display case and why she has a skull in her room. I haven't watched all the Friends episodes yet, so perhaps the answers are there.
These sets are a good choice to be able to collect all eight new Friends characters at a not-too astronomical price, and they may serve as decent parts packs, as there are some new colours for some pieces included.
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23 comments on this article
If the literal only thing in Liann's room was that painting of the salamander with the looser composition, I would still buy the set.
Actual masterpiece.
I vote that Churro become an honorary sloth for life!
I like how intricate each of these are! Are they intended to stack together or combine with 41731 or another set?
They kind of remind me, particularly Aliya's room (though Nova's is probably my foavorite thanks ot the color scheme), of Aunt Beru's kitchen. Just a nice little room with some sweet details and mini-builds, plus minifigure(s).
There's a neat Bionicle reference on Zac and Nova's computers where it looks like Tahu and Kopaka are playable game characters.
Eagerly awaiting @Ridgeheart and his take on 41755 !
Hmmmmm, with a little tinkering, you could probably make these rooms into a kind of dorm.
Every one of these little sets are fabulous! We will be buying all of them! Thanks for the terrific review(s)!
I think the poster/book cover may be a reference to the Elves minidoll theme. Nova's skull-in-a-jar could be a reference to Ogel's Evil Orbs from Alpha Team, a contemporary theme to Bionicle (which is pretty clearly the inspiration for the game that she's playing)
@HAL_9001 said:
"I think the poster/book cover may be a reference to the Elves minidoll theme. Nova's skull-in-a-jar could be a reference to Ogel's Evil Orbs from Alpha Team, a contemporary theme to Bionicle (which is pretty clearly the inspiration for the game that she's playing)"
Nice catch(es)! We figured that since Nova was into collectibles and geeky stuff, it would be fun to throw in some vintage LEGO references like the Ogel Orb and Tahu/Kopaka. If I recall the poster and book graphics were more meant to be a general romance/fantasy novel rather than a specific Elves reference. In Nova's room, we were trying to weave a little character story by having the hidden poster, implying that beneath Nova's cool exterior, she secretly likes a cheesy romance story :)
These are very nice, I particularly love the pullout bed, a very clever design and space solution. The pajama outfits are also well-done.
Creepy feet return^^
I wonder if they look better if they'd simply print toes on them?
Could these be used to expand 41704 ?
I think this is a greta idea nicely executed, I love the shift in colours for Friends in this wave, too. But I won't be getting them because I don't do minidolls.
I love that movie in Aliya's room, it's actually a Lego Elves reference.
I have Liann's Room and I quite enjoyed it except for putting all the window panels in!
When I built 41739 (the only one I have so far, although I am planning to get at least 41755), I was wondering why one of the shelves hinged down, until I kept building and realized, "Oh, it's a Murphy bed! Nice." I've always loved those. I love the fact that Aliya feels the need to hide the F-graded test, and that Nova wants to hide her romantic side, as @Titolian revealed. Speaking of Nova's room, two things: One, even if it is an Alpha Team reference (Which is nice, by the way), it's still weird seeing a minifig skull in a minidoll set, especially since Easter eggs in other sets have established that Lego City and Heartlake City inhabit the same universe. Maybe @Ridgeheart's right about Nova... Two, I'm choosing to interpret the sword as a prop replica from a fantasy and/or sci-fi game, movie, or TV show.
Also @MeganL, your use of language in this review left me confused. You use the spelling "colour," but you also say "soccer (or football, for those of you across the pond)."
Liann has a weird 1x2 stickered tile with a pink heart version of Spiderman?
@HAL_9001 said:
"Nova's skull-in-a-jar could be a reference to Ogel's Evil Orbs from Alpha Team, a contemporary theme to Bionicle (which is pretty clearly the inspiration for the game that she's playing)"
So Nova works with Ogel?! Not to mention she's a fraud as a gamer, having Zac hide away with a laptop playing against her to lose on purpose. Also, Nova's sword looks more like a kris to me,
My headcanon is that the skull in Nova's room is from the last desperately inept noob that she had to carry in her last CoD game, a match with so much ... volatile ... discussion over the game lobby mics that Zach wished he was hanging out with Aliya and Paisley instead.
Besides that, neat little sets. No doubt some of our more avid FRIENDS MOC makers are preparing to incorporate these into larger house builds for the gang.
Aliya's room shaping reminds me of a caravan
Good review!
I love the matching outfits in these sets and the way the sets showcase not just their "main character's" hobbies, but also the way they interact with their friends.
Liann's room does a great job of focusing on her artistic interests, and I love how the two paintings contrast Liann's more practiced and imaginative style with Autumn's sloppier but no less endearing artwork! Though I can't help but wonder how the combination shelf/Murphy bed would be supposed to work in actuality—wouldn't the things fall off the shelves when you try to fold it down?
In Aliya's room, I assumed that the paper with an "F" might be Paisley's and that Aliya has it to help her friend study for next time. I can really picture the two friends sleeping over for a study session but getting distracted by their shared love of fantasy books and movies.
Leo's room feels a bit less cohesive than the others due to his somewhat divided interest in both baking and sports. I do love the summery colors, though—and the exercise toy for the chunky Churro!
And Nova's room just exudes cool with her glowy gaming PC and Bionicle game, but I also love the hidden fantasy poster behind the shelf that suggests she maybe has some less "edgy" interests that she's a little embarrassed about.
Even though @Titolian already confirmed the Poster/Book is supposed to be an Elves reference I like to think that it's a reference to Breath of the Wild, especially in Nova's case, since she is a gamer. The two characters do somewhat look like Zelda and Link.
Shouldn't this article be linked from all of the sets' database entries as the "Official Brickset Review?" 41755 is the only one that has that link.