Set Review ➟ 41682 Heartlake High
Every long-lived LEGO theme has recurring sets. It’s no surprise: the primary market for the theme evolves, the kids that bought or were given the sets grow older and a new generation comes to an age where they develop an interest in LEGO. The result: about every four years, LEGO brings out a new police station and a fire station etc. Friends has been around long enough to have two or sometimes even three versions of a particular subject (e.g. a petshop/clinic) and more repetitions are bound to happen.
Heartlake High is no exception. The first Heartlake school came in 2013, 41005 Heartlake High. 2016 saw the launch of the 41134 Heartlake Performance School. This year there is a newer version on the same theme — the 41682 Heartlake City School. Let’s have a look what this new set brings and how it compares to the older versions.
The Heartlake City School build begins with a few accessories: a basketball hoop and a what initially looks like a picnic table. The previous schools also included a basketball hoop, but the design was significantly different. There is something to say for both designs. The older design used a specific element for the hoop (BL# 11641) This element was rather large compared to minidolls, but had the advantage that it allowed a LEGO ball to pass through — great news for GBC (Great Ball Contraption) fans as it means the basketball was back in production. The hoop in 41682 has no net and instead uses a minifig hand accessory as a ring. The downside to this is that the part used as a basketball is an orange Technic Ball Joint, which has a flat bottom and axle connector. There is no advantage to using this as a ball in terms of the minidolls being able to handle is better, and while it can easily be posed by placing it on top of a stud, if you turn it over it looks like the ball has lost too much air to play with it.
Hoops from 41005, 41134 and 41682.
All three school sets come with three minidolls. In the current version, the characters are Olivia, Julian, and Marisa. Marisa us a new character in the Heartlake universe. She could be either a classmate or a teacher. Julian isn’t a new name, but the character doesn’t look anything like the Julian that appeared in earlier sets. So the choice is yours: he’s either a new character or has had a considerable make-over.
Let’s move on the the school itself. The building is styled the way you’d expect an american high school to look, both outside and inside. It most certainly doesn’t look like anything I have ever seen in person. But since this style of school is easily recognised due to the way it is represented in TV series and cartoons for kids and teenagers it is the perfect representation.
Behind the double entrance doors there is space for lockers and for a trophy cabinet. On the left side you can already see the sandwiches that are on display in the cafeteria.
From the rear you have full access to all the classrooms, and it turns out the picnic table is actually part of the cafeteria and connects to is with a hinge brick.
The rest of the school presents a number of interesting classrooms: a music/drama classroom, an art classroom and a science classroom. Each classroom is an individual scene and needs to be accessed from outside: there are no doors or stairs.
The music/drama class contains a stage and a chest with elements for a play and in the opposite corner there is a keyboard (with a printed tile for the keys) a guitar and a microphone. The guitar looks a little incomplete without strings or any other kind of print.
The art class looks pretty complete with an easel holding a large painting of the pineapple that is displayed on the table. The palette is a sticker on a round 2 x 2 tile that is prominently placed in the centre of the room. Some paint on the shelves and a brush on one side and another still painting of fruit on the desk on the other side complete the class. Next to the arts class is the toilet.
Finally there is the science lab. This looks more like a classroom than any of the other rooms in the school. There are two desks for students. There is also a microscope to have a closer look at some insects: two printed 1 x 1 round tiles are included in the set.
Overall 41682 Heartlake High is a worthy successor to the earlier schools in Heartlake City. I’m not crazy about the basketball, but I suppose it lends itself to yet another different storyline of how the ball got punctured and the game hd to be suspended. The other elements in the set make it quite complete and very appealing for play.
We would like to thank LEGO for offering this set for review. The opinions in this review are neither approved nor endorsed by LEGO.
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