Friends

Andrea's Talent Show

A tiny theatre with more working parts than sets twice its size.

Brick Rated Score

4.1/5

Set 41368 · 2019

Pieces492

Minifigs2

Year2019

Set number41368

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 did not expect a stage set to have this much going on.

You pull a lever and a 4x4 tile flips from a smiling face to a frowning one, there is a magician's box where the rabbit actually vanishes, a phone stand that turns your background into a real backdrop, and rotating platforms that let three different acts spin into place. That density of function in 492 pieces is what earned this one its score from me. My honest caveat is that only Andrea and Chloe show up to compete, so the talent show feels a little thin on talent, and at this price point I wish LEGO had squeezed in one more mini-doll to round out the cast.

Best for: kids who love drama, dance, or putting on shows for the family, and Friends collectors who want a set that actually does something

The full review

What it is

I did not expect a stage set to have this much going on. You pull a lever and a 4x4 tile flips from a smiling face to a frowning one to judge each act, there is a magician's box where the rabbit named Chili genuinely vanishes, a stand that lets you prop up a phone for a real backdrop, and rotating platforms that swap between three different performances. For 492 pieces, that is a lot of working parts packed into one small footprint, and it is the kind of set where the fun is in pressing the buttons, not just looking at the finished model.

The catch

I will be straight with you about the price. A few reviewers pointed out that once you count the larger, simpler pieces that make up the stage frame, the RRP felt high for what you are actually building. It is not a complicated build either, so if you are looking for hours of construction, this will not deliver that. The bigger gap for me is the cast. Only Andrea and Chloe show up to compete, which makes a talent show feel a little empty when there is no real competition on stage with them.

Who it's for

This one is for a kid who likes putting on shows, doing voices for characters, and building little dramas more than one who wants a big display piece. If your child loves performance play, the mechanisms here will get used constantly. If you are shopping for shelf appeal or a bigger cast of characters, look at one of the other Friends sets from this wave instead.

The parts story

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

Building this one moves fast. The stage frame goes together in big, satisfying chunks, and most of the time goes into getting the mechanisms right, the lever linkage for the flip tile, the rotating platform axles, and the little catch that makes the rabbit disappear from the magic box. It is a build that rewards a builder who likes function over decoration.

The standout piece for me is that flip-tile judging mechanism, it is a simple lever and tile trick but it works every time and it is the kind of engineering you do not expect in a Friends set this size. The deep yellow 1x4 slopes used as stage curtains do a nice job faking soft fabric, and the flower pieces doubling as curtain ties is a smart bit of part reuse. Chili the rabbit and the vanishing magic table add a second working gimmick on top of the judging panel, which is unusually generous for a set in this price bracket.

Fun facts

01The rabbit character has an actual name, Chili, revealed on the top of the box art
02The set includes a working magician's table where Chili can be made to vanish
03A built-in stand lets you prop up a real phone behind the stage to use as a video backdrop during play
0441368 was part of a 10-set Music sub-theme within Friends, and it retired not long after its 2019 release