The primary target audience for LEGO Friends is young girls, typically aged 6-12, with sets designed to introduce them to the fun of building with LEGO bricks while appealing to their interests. In addition, smaller LEGO Friends sets—featuring scenes of everyday life like food trucks, camper vans, and ice cream carts—can easily be incorporated into standard LEGO City dioramas, offering something for city builders.
And some of the largest LEGO Friends sets have caught the attention of LEGO Modular enthusiasts. Their high level of detail and realism, reminiscent of LEGO Modular Buildings, have made them particularly interesting to fans of this style.
Although LEGO Friends sets are not directly compatible with LEGO Modular Buildings (unlike some of the larger sets from LEGO Ninjago, LEGO Super Heroes, etc.), many have enough detail and design appeal to inspire both LEGO City and Modular fans. Notable examples include the #41704 LEGO Friends Main Street Building from 2022, the #41732 LEGO Friends Downtown Flower and Design Stores and #41748 LEGO Friends Heartlake City Community Center from 2023, and the #42670 LEGO Friends Heartlake City Apartments and Stores released this year.
While these buildings have open backs for play and tend to feature vibrant, colorful designs, they share a street layout and fully furnished interiors that are similar to LEGO Modular Buildings. With a few modifications, these sets could easily be adapted into traditional LEGO Modular Buildings. In fact, you can find several modified designs on Rebrickable.com, complete with parts lists and building instructions.
As far as the set from this year, the #42670 LEGO Friends Heartlake City Apartments and Stores, this 2,040-piece set features three buildings; a bakery, a ceramics studio, and a laundromat with small apartments above. The laundromat includes a rolling door and two spinning washing machines, the ceramics studio comes with a spinning pottery wheel, and the bakery offers various treats for sale. The set also includes a charming community park with a fountain, flowers, and a table where the characters play chess.
One architectural highlight of this set is the staircase leading to the second floor, adding an interesting and realistic touch to the layout. Yes, the colors can be a bit bold, but swapping out certain colors can help tone it down to suit your personal aesthetic.
It’s worth noting that you don’t have to turn LEGO Friends sets into full-scale Modulars to enjoy them. Sets like the #42670 LEGO Friends Heartlake City Apartments and Stores, #41732 LEGO Friends Downtown Flower and Design Stores, and #41704 LEGO Friends Main Street Building are delightful on their own and make for an appealing street display. Since these buildings are not as deep as traditional Modulars, they don’t require as much space, making them perfect for smaller shelves or dioramas.
Another key advantage is that LEGO Friends sets are significantly more affordable than adult-oriented Modular sets. While LEGO Modular Buildings typically range from $230 to $300, the largest LEGO Friends sets are priced between $140 and $170. This makes them an attractive option, even leaving room in your budget for extra pieces for customization.
So if you want to add extra charm to your city, or need inspiration for custom buildings, consider LEGO Friends. It’s a theme full of hidden gems that can appeal to kids and adults alike. For the full selection of currently available sets, visit the LEGO Friends section of the Online LEGO Shop.
What about you? Do you incorporate LEGO Friends sets into your city layout? Do you keep them as-is, or do you modify them to fit with LEGO City or LEGO Modular buildings? Share your thoughts, ideas, and tips in the comments below!
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These color schemes are crazy, which might be a good or bad thing, depending on personal opinion.
I’m not a great fan of the mini-dolls, myself, but I have to admit that the Friends sets often contain more interesting buildings and subjects than the City sets…
Time to build Miami Beach! Modular style!
I’m seriously considering combining friends sets and city sets. However, I know that the mini figures are too small for the friends vehicles. I to am not a fan of the friends dolls. The camp ing sets might be an idea. I have a lot of campers and I need a camp site.🤔
I like the larger Friends sets but I usually just take some of the design elements and add them to my city with the pieces I have. But it seems like they are now serious about releasing compatible sets with a street view. I’m curious how this will play out long term.
Oh, okay, wow. So there are now three of those row houses sets. I remember looking at the first one a while back and I kind of liked it. And I really like the second one. The Unity Park, or whatever it’s called. I could see that as a modular for sure.
If not for the mini-dolls, one would be forgiven for mistaking the Friends theme for City sets. It’s all very ordinary life type of stuff. We’ve even seen both Friends and City have specific focuses on things like wilderness adventures, amusement park rides, quirky food stands, etc.