Friends

Friendship Camper Van Adventure

A tiny home on wheels with a real flushing toilet and a surprising amount of heart.

Brick Rated Score

4.0/5

Set 42663 · 2025

Pieces778

Minifigs3

Year2025

Set number42663

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The verdict

The thing that got me about this camper van is how much life the designers crammed into 15 centimeters of van.

Kitchen, bathroom, a loft with three beds folded up against the ceiling, and yes, a toilet that actually flushes into a pull-out tray. It is a genuinely lovely play build with a couple of honest quirks (no doors, a cramped back wall), but for a kid who wants a little world to move dolls around in, it delivers. I think it is one of the sweeter Friends vehicles of 2025.

Best for: kids who love tiny-house play and grown-up Friends fans who appreciate clever compact engineering

The full review

What it is

The first thing that got me about the Friendship Camper Van Adventure was how much the designers managed to fold into a van that is barely 23 centimeters long. There is a proper little kitchen up front with a fridge, a sink and a hob with a pan, a full bathroom in the back, and a loft ceiling that drops down into three beds. It comes with three of the regular Friends crew, Liann, Olly and Autumn, plus a tiny ferret who is easily the most charming passenger. I found myself grinning at the toilet, of all things, because it genuinely flushes: you press a grey tab into the wall, the contents drop into a tray below, and you slide the tray out the back to empty it. It is a silly, delightful piece of engineering that kids will play with over and over.

The catch

I will be straight with you about where it falls short. For all the interior detail, this van has no opening doors, which means the play happens by lifting the roof off rather than moving dolls through the vehicle the way you would expect. The rear window, when you peer in, looks at a solid wall, and that little detail bugged more than one reviewer once they noticed it. The space is genuinely tiny, so if your idea of a camper van is something you can pose a whole cast inside, this is more dollhouse-in-miniature than roomy road trip. The bike on the back does not click into place, it sort of dangles, so expect it to end up under the sofa. And at around sixty dollars for 778 pieces, the value is fair rather than generous, especially since a good chunk of the decoration is handled by stickers instead of printed parts.

Who it's for

So who will love it? Any kid who lives for tiny-house, everything-has-its-place play will adore this, because the whole joy of it is opening the loft, folding out the beds, cooking a pretend dinner and packing everyone off to bed. Adult Friends fans who appreciate compact design and clever functions will get a kick out of the build too, even if the recolor hunters among us go home a little empty-handed. If you want a large, door-opening, pose-the-whole-family camper, or you are chasing pure part-count value, you might look at a bigger set. But as a warm, playable little world on wheels, it won me over more than I expected it to.

The parts story

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

The build itself is a pleasant few hours, more clever than complicated, and it stays interesting because so many of the steps are building an actual function rather than just walls. You construct the flushing toilet and its hidden tray, fold the loft beds up against the ceiling (mounted upside down, which the designers cheekily note means you need good weather for a good night's sleep), and rig up the little kitchen and outdoor shower. It is aimed at ages 7 and up and sits comfortably there: engaging for a kid, quietly satisfying for an adult builder who enjoys watching a mechanism come together.

On the parts front this one is a bit of a mixed bag for collectors. New Elementary flagged some nice new molds but noted it is light on recolors, so do not go in expecting a treasure chest of rare colors. The cleverest touch is a genuine technique: the pots in the cabinets use the small protrusion on the bar of part 32828 to stop them spinning when they are pushed into a Technic axle hole, a neat little friction trick. You also get the usual lovely Friends accessory haul, a compass, a wrench and binoculars, plus the ferret figure. Just know that a lot of the cozy detailing (the kitchen especially) comes from the sticker sheet rather than printed elements.

Fun facts

01The set was designed by Tom Gerardin and measures roughly 15 x 23 x 8 cm, small enough to sit on a shelf but packed with functions.
02The three beds are mounted upside down against the loft ceiling and fold down for sleeping, which the designers joke means the campers need good weather for a comfortable night.
03The pots in the kitchen cabinets stay put thanks to a small protrusion on the bar element (part 32828) that catches inside a Technic axle hole, stopping them from rotating.
04The animal in this set is often described as a ferret, though its adorable little face has had more than one reviewer mistaking it for an otter.