Today I am going to be looking at a set the celebrates the beauty of nature and also comes with an awesome ute. Oh, and did I mention it’s a Friends set?
Critics of the Friends theme like to say that the sets are too girly and use outdated gender stereotypes. While that might have been valid in the early days of the theme 41707 Tree-Planting Vehicle is a great example of where the theme is now.
There are two main parts to this build – the tree nursery and the truck used for transporting the fully grown plants.
The nursery area is comprised of three sections. The first is the greenhouse, which in this case is actually white. It’s a fairly simple build but I do like the pitched roof. The little swirl elements give a little bit of decoration. Inside the main structure are two plants at various stages of growth, a vine on the wall, trash can and some scissors.
There is also a 2×2 tile with a sticker showing how plants grow. It’s a great sticker but I would have loved it if this was a printed piece.
Beside the treehouse is a small tree build. It’s probably not going to blow anybody away as the most complex tree build LEGO have ever done but it’s cute. The tree is home to a bee on a 1×1 printed round tile and I am big fan of the bee. It’s adorable. You also get a butterfly which is nice but being a solid colour lacks a little bit of detail.
The second part of the tree nursery is a fairly simple section with some round planters and a bit of fence. There’s a sneaky little ladybug in this part that is a bit hard to see.
The round yellow planters are simple but I really hate that they have stickers on them. I don’t mind an easy to place sticker, for example on a 2×2 tile, but ones that are more arbitrary in their placement suck. I think I did ok.
The planters are home to the matured trees.
The final section features a water pump and a stump. The water pump in pink is really the only pink element that isn’t a flower.
The three sections are then combined to create the full tree nursery. I think the brown swirls included in the 3rd section are meant to represent seeds. I say this because it just makes sense that going from left to right you have seeds, saplings and then the mature trees.
The build then switches over to the second instruction booklet for the construction of the truck. I’m going to spoil this at the start and say that the truck is awesome and better than I expected.
The truck is 8 studs wide and bulkier than I expected it to be from looking at the pictures.
It looks great in the blue and green colour scheme with the only splash of pink being the lights on the rear bumper.
Inside the tray of the truck is a small arm with a string attached that is used for picking up the mature trees for transportation. It’s a fun little manual play feature. It was easy enough to hook the trees and move them over in to the truck. The rear tailgate can also be lowered.
The cabin of the truck will fit the two included minidolls, and the roof can be removed for easy access.
The truck also happens to be electric, as indicated by a 1×1 round tile with a plug symbol.
The set features two minidolls and while they are great I do have to wonder about the choices. You get Daniel and Olivia. I personally feel like Mia and Daniel would have been a better combo. Brother and sister working together on a project would have been nice. Olivia just feels out of place a bit. Unless maybe she designed the electric truck?
Final thoughts
I think it’s going to be clear to a lot of parents if this is something that is going to appeal to their kid(s). This one is for those younger LEGO fans with a green thumb and a love for plants. It’s also got that slight educational edge to it as you could easily use it as the basis for a discussion about how plants grow.
So, should you buy it? I think if you can get this one for $30-$35 it’s a great buy. The RRP of $44.99 I feel is a little bit high. Kmart has priced this one at $35 but at the time of publication Target has it for $28. For under $30 this is a steal.