Review: 41730 Autumn's House
Posted by MeganL,
Friends houses have been a staple since the inception of the theme in 2012. Each of the original five Friends had their houses featured, with one being released every other year. Since the next generation of Friends has eight main characters, it will take 16 years to cover all of them at that rate! I hope we'll see Friends houses a little more frequently this time.
The new generation of houses has kicked off with 41730 Autumn's House. Where most of the first generation of houses included only the Friends and their families, Autumn's House shows a situation where Autumn has invited two of her friends over to visit. We'll also meet one of the original Friends, Mia.
Summary
41730 Autumn's House, 853 pieces.
£59.99 / $69.99 / €69.99 | 7.0p/8.2c/8.2c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
An auspicious start for the next generation of Friends houses
- Cameo of one of the original Friends
- Great exterior builds
- Packed with details
- Interior rooms are very shallow
The set was provided for review by LEGO. All opinions expressed are those of the author.
Inside the box there are six numbered bags, a white flex tube, and a folder containing an instruction book and moderate sized sticker sheet.
As is standard in these sets, there's a map indicating where the set is located. We've seen this location before in all the sets that have featured Autumn.
Minidolls and animals
There are four minidolls included in this set. First is Mia, our familiar Friend from the first generation, recognised through her bright red hair. She's Autumn's mom, and dressed very mom-like with an orange cardigan over a blue shirt with a drop necklace. She pairs that with jeans and boots, suggesting that she's still fond of the outdoors. Her daughter Autumn is similarly dressed for the outdoors, with a t-shirt with raccoon icon, shorts and hiking boots. She hasn't quite got Mia's bright red hair, as hers is more auburn.
Autumn has invited Leo and Aliya over to hang out. Perhaps they're reliving their adventures from the first episode of the animated series, when they had to work together? Leo is dressed in a short-sleeved hoodie with bright icons over some bright yellow board shorts. Aliya has a sleeveless purple sweater over a bright yellow shirt, paired with a short blue skirt and some very bright pink metallic sandals.
There is some nice printing on the back of the minidolls, especially Leo and Aliya.
Of course there are cute Friends animals. Considering both Mia and Autumn are known for their love of animals, it's a little surprising that there are only two included in the set. First is Peanut the foal, who is new to this set. We also meet Daisy the dog, who is described as a sheepdog. Daisy is also new to this set, but I don't think she looks particularly sheepdog-like. I love the new addition to the dog universe, and I love Daisy's markings.
The completed model
Two rocking chairs are provided as well as a portable fireplace. Typically, this would be a scene perfect for putting on the front porch of the house, and there is a large porch in the front of Autumn's house. Unfortunately, the chairs don't fit there! They are, however very comfortable for Autumn and her mom.
The other small build in the set is a stable for Peanut. There's everything a foal would need, and it's decorated in an autumnal decor with changing leaves and a pumpkin off to the side.
Moving to the house, we start on the ground floor, in the living room. Like all the rooms in the house, it feels cramped, as all the details (and there are many) are fit into rooms that are just four studs deep.
There are a lot of details! I like the roaring fire in the hearth, as well as the comfy looking couch. I'm not sure of the origin of the artwork above the fireplace (I've not seen all the Friends episodes yet). Other pictures on the wall show a portrait of Mia and Autumn, and the other shows a graduation picture - perhaps Mia and Stephanie from several years ago.
On the other side of the entryway, there's a fully stocked kitchen. In this small space, there's an oven, sink, stand mixer on the counter, and a fridge. The details continue with a nice tiled floor.
Opening the fridge shows that it's fully stocked, with eggs, beverages, and a rather enormous hunk of cheese.
Next to the kitchen is a dining area. It appears that Leo has been busy doing some baking! There's a fresh baked pie on the table, and two slices that have just been served.
Of course, where there's food, additional visitors will always stop by.
(Note: sloths not included in this set.)
Heading upstairs, the first room is of course the bathroom! It wouldn't be a Friends house without a bathroom. This one is suitably detailed, from the rainshower head to the soap and shampoo on the side of the bath.
The other side of the bathroom shows a sink with mirror (through a sticker) and a toilet.
Next to the bathroom is Autumn's bedroom, which is quite expansive. Her bed is off to one side, and she has a large dresser nearby. It seems that the decor matches Autumn's name as there are some autumn-coloured leaves adorning the walls.
It's here we meet Daisy the dog again, and it seems that Daisy's bed - or indeed, her part of the room - is larger than Autumn's! I imagine Autumn is such an animal lover she doesn't mind that inequity.
Daisy isn't the only one who finds the bedroom comfortable.
(Note: sloth not included in this set, though this one is a little miffed they missed out on pie.)
A door in Autumn's bedroom leads to an outdoor rooftop balcony. This area is all set up for another of Autumn's past times - bird watching. Some binoculars are provided on the table, as well as a birdwatching book, a checklist and a pen. A camera is mounted on the corner with a telephoto lens for some great close-ups of Autumn's feathered friends.
We've explored the inside of the house, now let's take a look at the outside.
All the details on the house look fantastic, from the puff of smoke emanating from the chimney, the apple tree off to the side, and the details shown on the eaves and windows. Like Autumn's room, the entire house is decorated in an autumnal theme, with the apple tree changing colours, a pumpkin on the porch, and fall leaves shown on the porch and window sills. The house is very attractive and has great curb appeal. It's unfortunate that as great as the porch looks, the rocking chairs that go with the build don't fit on it!
The back of the house shows all the details, and as mentioned there are a lot of details. There's plenty of play value here.
Overall thoughts
The Friends houses have been a highlight in the first generation, and that continues here. I do hope that the frequency of releasing houses will be more than once every two years. While the previous generation primarily showed a Friend with their family, it appears that for this generation we'll see some of the rest of the primary cast in the house sets - in this case, we see Aliya and Leo visiting Autumn. I like seeing these stories continue in the sets. It's great to see Mia again, though I do wonder if we'll see more of her backstory as time goes on.
The set looks great - building the roof on Autumn's house reminded me of building the roofs of some Winter Village buildings. The rest of the build experience isn't overly complex, but will provide a lot of satisfaction as a child sees the progress of the house coming together. All the details included in the room are fantastic.
My one complaint about the set is the depth of the rooms - they're very shallow. While it's not unusual for Friends buildings to be quite shallow, it seems exacerbated in this set because of all the details (ironically enough). This had to be a real challenge for the designer - provide all these details and the gorgeous front of the house - all for a $70 price point. All in all, I think it's executed pretty well.
I think this is a great play set, and look forward to the other Friends houses over time.
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29 comments on this article
The image at the very top of the review gives an error if clicked on:
"403 - Forbidden: Access is denied.
You do not have permission to view this directory or page using the credentials that you supplied."
If you go to the "overall thoughts" at the bottom of Megan's fine review and click on the same picture, you're all right.
I think the stickered tile above the fireplace is intended to represent a flat-screen tv, making the symbol in the top right the channel icon.
@GarethMoore said:
"The image at the very top of the review gives an error if clicked on:
"403 - Forbidden: Access is denied.
You do not have permission to view this directory or page using the credentials that you supplied.""
Same here, but it's only for the one image. Must be top secret.
I must say Friends is steadily drifting towards a modular/city philosophy, and I'm not complaining at all. It will be curious to see how the theme will develop in the next couple of years. I'm not too fond of minidolls, but I'm surely not the intended target for the Friends theme. Lovely, though.
The set looks fantastic, but it's more of a facade than usual. My experience with Friends theme sets is often to buy two and complete them with a front/back modular style, but even doing that will still be tight.
Still very pretty, but tight.
The sloths should have highjacked the rocking chairs.
This is great. I've really been waiting for this review, because this house is just *chef's kiss*. I've got nothing negative to say about this set, it's great. I mean, it is cluttered, but that just adds to the cozy charm.
Friends is just killing it right now. City-designers, take note.
Another good looking set from Friends, and nice that they've toned down the colours.
Plus, I want a pie like that: take 2 slices and still have a whole pie!
"Autumn is similarly dressed for the outdoors, with a t-shirt with raccoon icon, shorts and hiking boots."
That's a foxy looking raccoon! ;)
I am not ready for the original Friends to be nostalgic about their graduations.
But I do I love that kitchen
This reminds me of the house from GILMORE GIRLS.
Wonderful details! I love those rocking chairs!!
Currently available from Amazon in Germany for less than 40 Euro. I'm almost tempted.
@ForestMenOfEndor said:
""Autumn is similarly dressed for the outdoors, with a t-shirt with raccoon icon, shorts and hiking boots."
That's a foxy looking raccoon! ;)"
Yup, certainly a fox. Also agreeing with someone else in that above the fireplace is a TV. It looks like buttons or lights on the bottom.
It would be ideal if the houses could accommodate the individual rooms. I love sets that can interact with each other, but doesn't look like that will be the case with these.
Nice color scheme! Maybe one of her parents was a Rock Raider
So is there any indication as to who Autumn’s dad is/was?
Same teal roof that Creator 31139 Cozy House has.
I agree that if you're going to have rocking chairs in a house set that has a porch, the chairs should fit on the porch! That said, it's a nice rocking chair build. And Daisy looks like a sheepdog (specifically, a border collie) to me, taking the Friends animal aesthetic into account.
@DoonsterBuildsLego: Notice the pie changes types when you remove slices, too. That's one impressive pie!
Are we ever to learn how much time ensued since they were studying as teenagers, you know, for Mia to have had a child? The hair indicates she's also not adopted. So who is the dad?
Edit: @SearchlightRG just read comments and saw you asked first. This has been bugging me a while.
@oukexergon said:
"Are we ever to learn how much time ensued since they were studying as teenagers, you know, for Mia to have had a child? The hair indicates she's also not adopted. So who is the dad?
Edit: @SearchlightRG just read comments and saw you asked first. This has been bugging me a while."
Well, a quick check of the Friends Wiki indicates that she had a thing for this guy in the animated series: https://legofriends.fandom.com/wiki/Martin
He never got a physical minidoll. Autumn looks as though she could share traits from both of them.
@SearchlightRG said:
" @oukexergon said:
"Are we ever to learn how much time ensued since they were studying as teenagers, you know, for Mia to have had a child? The hair indicates she's also not adopted. So who is the dad?
Edit: @SearchlightRG just read comments and saw you asked first. This has been bugging me a while."
Well, a quick check of the Friends Wiki indicates that she had a thing for this guy in the animated series: https://legofriends.fandom.com/wiki/Martin
He never got a physical minidoll. Autumn looks as though she could share traits from both of them."
I think I prefer the earlier suggestion that Autumn's dad is in fact one of the Power Miners or Rock Raiders. You'll notice that Rock Raiders' Chief has a cybernetic left arm, and after I discovered that Autumn's arm is 3.18 bar-sized, she too now has a cybernetic left arm WITH a drill-attachment.
Then again, maybe Chief is just a grown-up (and shrunken down, and alarmingly jaundiced) Martin.
On the topic of Daisy not looking like a sheepdog, there are sheepdog breeds with short hair like the Welsh Sheepdog.
@Ridgeheart said:
"
I think ... she too now has a cybernetic left arm WITH a drill-attachment.
"
If they don't do something REALLY fun (indeed cybernetic preferred) with that bar attachment in a later set, I'll be very disappointed in Lego and lose hope for their creative potential down the road.
Maybe there IS a picture of Autumn's other parent in the set. Maybe minidolls are capable of homosexual reproduction, and Mia had her with Stephanie...
Thanks for the great review! This set immediately jumped out at me when I first saw the 2023 range of sets. Great color scheme, and some impressive details jammed into a pretty small footprint. I'd love to expand the house to make it deeper so it's not QUITE so cramped in there.
I sometimes wonder if there is internal competition between the Friends and City design teams at Lego, since they're both dealing with "modern day, real life" concepts. While the City team is producing .. (checks notes) ... a penguin slushy van?! ... the Friends team is quietly crushing it with well-designed houses, shops, amusement parks, restaurants, etc.
gorgeous set and a great price! pondering picking this up, then making the rooms and porch about two studs deeper
@TheOtherMike said:
"Maybe there IS a picture of Autumn's other parent in the set. Maybe minidolls are capable of homosexual reproduction, and Mia had her with Stephanie..."
"Nature finds a way...."