I was excited to be asked to write a review on a LEGO set recently, so I chose the new LEGO Friends Comic Book and Game Store, set # 42674. Although I was gifted this set, I assure you all opinions are my own. Thank you, LEGO and Toy Photographer,s for this opportunity.

At 1005 pieces, the set isn’t big, so it was quick and easy to build, which suited me nicely. The colour scheme, typical of most Friends sets, is very bright and cheerful and suits the theme perfectly. There are two levels, with the comic books and toys on the lower level and the video games area upstairs. There is also a cute little slushie shop attached to the ground floor with a seating area on the roof.

 The completed set looks great, and I particularly liked the brick-built orange figure that cheerily welcomes you from above the front door. The build uses some nice parts, e.g., black sausages for the orange figure’s arms and legs, and telephone handsets for the backs of the gaming chairs.

The Mini Dolls were a pleasant surprise. I’ve bought a few Friends sets over the years and usually I put the dolls away in the cupboard somewhere, never to be seen again, but this time I won’t. These dolls are really cute with their ComicCon costumes and I will definitely put them on display with the set.

There are some nice little accessories that will definitely make their way into other mocs, and I am especially pleased to add a couple of new Squishies to my growing collection. The Martian and Unicorn are very cute.

There are also a couple of removable side builds which will be nice to use in MOCs. One is a vending machine which actually works and the other is a Space Invaders type of video game machine.

In conclusion, the set was a joy to build and to photograph. My one negative comment would be the number of stickers. While they are bright and colourful, and definitely add character to the build, I hated them. Not because they are ugly, but because I hate stickers in general. Being an older person with arthritic fingers, stickers are definitely NOT my friend. I don’t think I have ever put one on straight yet, no matter how many times I peel it off and try again, and, as a toy photographer, crooked stickers are a nightmare. Lego, I really wish you would scrap the stickers and replace them with printed pieces. My fingers would thank you, and so, I’m sure, would a lot of parents out there who get stuck with the job of putting them on.

/Ann Van Breemen

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