Lego Friends (stylized LEGO Friends) is a product range of the Lego construction toy designed primarily for girls. Introduced in 2012, the theme includes unique "mini-doll" figures, which are about the same size as the traditional minifigures but are more detailed and realistic. The sets include pieces in pink and purple color schemes and depict scenes from suburban life set in the fictional town of Heartlake City. The Friends product range replaces Lego's previous female-oriented theme Lego Belville, which had been in production since 1994, and featured dolls that were much larger than both the mini-dolls and minifigures. Other related product ranges have included Homemaker (1971–1982), Paradisa (1991–1997) and Scala (1997–2001). Launched January 1, 2012 in North America (and December 15, 2011, in France), the line includes 23 sets[1] and features five core characters—named Andrea, Emma, Mia, Olivia and Stephanie—in various suburban settings. In the initial wave of sets, the larger sets include bricks that can build a veterinary clinic, a malt-style café, a beauty salon and a suburban house;
smaller sets included a "cool convertible," a design studio, an inventor's workshop and a swimming pool. A description from Lego website stated: "The Lego Friends story centers on the everyday lives and personalities of five girls in a fictional hometown called Heartlake City. Each of the friends ... has a distinct personality and interests, such as animals, performing arts, invention and design, that are reflected in the models. Building sets reflect different parts of town where the girls' adventures take place—downtown, suburbs, beach, camping grounds and mountains." The launch of Lego Friends came after a $40 million global marketing push, according to Bloomberg Businessweek. "This is the most significant strategic launch we've done in a decade," said Lego Group chief executive officer Jørgen Vig Knudstorp. "We want to reach the other 50 percent of the world's children."[1] According to the company, boys comprised 90% of Lego's customers in 2011 before the launch of the Friends line.
According to NPR, Lego Friends are "one of the biggest successes in Lego's history ... The line doubled sales expectations in 2012, the year it launched. Sales to girls tripled in just that year." The success has caused other construction-set companies such as Mega Bloks to introduce girl dolls. The first wave was released in January 2012 with 14 sets being released. The largest of the sets was "Olivia's House" which included 695 pieces and three mini-doll figures. In addition to the first sets six polypag sets have been released as promotions. In February Toys 'R' Us in the United States released an exclusive in-store build set called "Lemonade Stand" and in March Lego brand stores released an exclusive in-store build set called "Ice Cream Stand". Lego announced a further nine sets that would be released later in 2012. Subsequent waves were released in future years, expanding on various interests of the characters and their friends. Specific themes have ranged from various vocational, recreational and academic interests to agriculture, equestrianism, wildlife animal rescue and rehabilitation, and pop stardom, all complementing suburbia-themed sets.
The largest sets since the original wave have included Summer Riding Camp, Heartlake Shopping Mall and Heartlake Grand Hotel. Lego has also released accompanying products branded under the Friends theme. These include a picture frame which includes 49 Lego elements which is available from Lego brand stores and a display stand which includes 17 elements that was released as a promotional polybag. In June 2012, two books are set for release based on the Friends theme. Lego Friends: Welcome to Heartlake City and Lego Friends: Perfect Pet Show are set for release on June 18, 2012 by DK Publishing. Both books consist of 48 pages and are being published in paperback.[37] DK Publishing have also announced that they will release a Lego Brickmaster book based on the Friends theme on September 17, 2012. Lego Friends: Girlz 4 Life is a 2016 American Direct-to-DVD computer-animated film. An animated series titled Lego Friends: The Power of Friendship will air on Netflix in 2016.Are you impatiently and curiously waiting to see what 2012 will bring in the world of LEGO?
In this series of posts I give you a glimpse of some of the upcoming 2012 LEGO sets. You might first want to check out 2012 LEGO Sets – See What’s Coming! That post will give you an overall picture of the 2012 LEGO sets. From there you can link to the particular themes you are interested in. In this post I will list all of the sets in the LEGO Friends theme. Please note that I have written about the 2012 LEGO Friends line in detail before, however I was asked by LEGO to take down the pictures. This time the images don’t have a confidentiality stamp, so they should be able to stay up. You can see my original post here: 2012 LEGO sets: LEGO Friends Through the years LEGO has been making some effort to appeal to little girls with lines like LEGO Scala, LEGO Belville, and LEGO Paradisa. In 2012 they are trying a new angle yet again with redesigned figures and a new story-line. This new LEGO for girls theme is called “Friends”, and is following the story of five girls in their daily lives.
The girls have different likes and hobbies; there is an animal-lover, a smart-girl, a beautician, a singer and a social-girl. So, let’s look at the 2012 LEGO Friends sets. Please note that the quoted prices are estimates based on the pre-order sale prices that were listed (and later taken down) from the Barnes & Noble website. (Read: Barnes & Noble Pre-Order Sale). Also, you can click on any of the pictures for a larger view. #3061 LEGO Friends City Park Cafe – estimated price: $30 #3065 LEGO Friends Olivia’s Tree House – estimated price: $20 #3183 LEGO Friends Stephanie’s Cool Convertible – est. price: $15 #3187 LEGO Friends Butterfly Beauty Shop – estimated price: $25 #3188 LEGO Friends Heartlake Vet – estimated price: $40 #3315 LEGO Friends Olivia’s House – estimated price: $70 #3930 LEGO Friends Stephanie’s Outdoor Bakery – est. price: $6 #3931 LEGO Friends Emma’s Splash Pool – estimated price: $7 #3932 LEGO Friends Andrea’s Stage – estimated price: $10