LEGO Andrea's Modern Mansion (42639)

Name: LEGO Andrea's Modern Mansion
Brand: LEGO
SKU: 42639

The biggest Friends set ever made, and quietly a brilliant grown-up build.

Brick Rated Score

4.3/5

Set 42639 · 2024

Pieces2,275

Minifigs11

Year2024

Set number42639

Check price on Amazon

Affiliate link. We may earn a commission at no extra cost to you.As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases.

The verdict

I went in expecting a kids' house and came out genuinely impressed.

This is the largest Friends LEGO set there is, four stories, 11 minidolls, and a build that earns its 14+ rating with real technique. The colors are turned all the way up and the whole back is open, so it won't suit everyone, and at $199.99 it asks for real shelf space. But if you love Friends, or you just want a big colorful house that plays as well as it displays, I think you'll be won over the same way I was.

Best for: Friends superfans and adult builders who want a big colorful house that plays as well as it looks

The full review

What it is

This is the biggest LEGO Friends set ever made, and the moment I opened it I could tell it was not messing around. Andrea's Modern Mansion is a four-story house with 2,275 pieces, and it packs in a swimming pool, a hot tub, a toy piano, a karaoke corner, a Zen yoga spot, and an actual waterfall that runs off the roof. Down in the basement there is a recording studio and a garage. This is the set older Friends fans had been waiting years for, the one that finally treats the theme like it deserves a proper flagship. If you are into Friends at all, this is the headline act.

The catch

I'll be straight with you about the trade-offs. The colors are loud. There is a lot of red, orange and purple happening, and while it looks great standing on its own, it will absolutely clash if you park it next to muted Heartlake City sets or a modular street. The whole back of the house is open, which is wonderful for little hands reaching in to play but does mean there is no finished rear if you wanted a fully enclosed display model. And it is a big, pricey set at $199.99, so it needs real shelf space and a real budget. It is not a quick afternoon either. That 14+ marking on the box is the highest age rating Friends has ever carried, and it is there because the build genuinely gets involved.

Who it's for

So it comes down to this. Friends superfans, especially anyone who grew up with the original five girls, will adore that this is the first retail set to reunite Andrea, Emma, Olivia, Stephanie and Mia in one box alongside the newer crew. Adult builders should not sleep on it either, because behind the bright colors it is a clever, technique-heavy build with a working elevator and that rolling-car garage. If you want a subtle, display-first house or you need everything to match your existing city, this is not your set. But if you want a big, playful, function-packed home and you do not mind it being loud, I recommend it easily. The community score of 4.4 out of 5 feels exactly right to me.

The parts story

What the build is actually like, and the pieces worth knowing about.

The build breaks into satisfying chunks, floor by floor, which keeps a 2,275-piece set from ever feeling like a slog. You start in the basement with the recording studio and the garage, and the car-roll-out function is one of those small mechanical touches that made me grin. From there you work up through the living spaces to the roof with its waterfall and outdoor Zen area. The star is the working elevator that actually travels to every floor, and getting it to run smoothly is the fiddly-but-rewarding stretch that earns the 14+ rating. The landscaping and pool area add some nice organic shaping too, so it is not all right-angle rooms.

For parts lovers this is a proper haul. New Elementary counted around 17 recolors plus new molds, including the long-awaited 3x3 macaroni brick and a thick fern element that opens up new foliage options. The three garage doors come in Trans-Yellow, Trans-Orange and Trans-Dark Pink, which line up into a lovely gradient. There is a bird mold printed in Lime for the first time, and a 1x2 tile with an orange koi print on Transparent Light Blue. At roughly $0.088 per piece, and as the largest Friends set to date, it lands as strong value and doubles as a recolor-rich parts pack for MOC builders.

Fun facts

01With 2,275 pieces this is the largest LEGO Friends set ever made.
02It carries a 14+ age rating, the highest LEGO has ever given a Friends set, thanks to how involved the build gets.
03It's the first retail set to reunite all five original Friends girls (Andrea, Emma, Olivia, Stephanie and Mia) in one box, bridging the original and rebooted eras of the theme.
04The three garage doors come in Trans-Yellow, Trans-Orange and Trans-Dark Pink so they form a color gradient, and the set debuts the long-awaited 3x3 macaroni brick mold.