Boys (2014)

2013 saw the introduction of Heartlake City boys: Andrew and Matthew. In 2014, the boy population doubled with the addition of the two new faces, Robert and Julian!

Well, actually, they are not exactly two new faces.

They are just two familiar faces with new identities.





Andrew: 41056 Heartlake City Van
Julian: 41058 Heartlake Shopping Mall
Matthew: 41036 Jungle Bridge Rescue
Robert: 41057 Heartlake Horse Show

Andrew and Robert were from the first wave of 2014 while Julian and Matthew appeared in the second wave.

The guys from the first wave were utterly disappointing to me, since I already owned the two boy mini-dolls from the previous year.

Andrew wears the same outfit from the Dolphin Cruiser, but instead of his wig, he has his blue baseball cap on. I never like it when mini-dolls are simply given minifig hats with no hair showing; it just feels like lack of effort.

The brand new character Robert is not that great, either. He is simply Matthew from 2013 with a different wig and a different name. And there's nothing special about his hairpiece; it's the same one as Peter's. Poor Robert appears to be made of readily available parts.

Somehow it feels like these two boys were added as an after-thought.

The two guys from the second wave were better treated with at least one new element. Matthew got a cool khaki shirt, and the new character Julian got a hoodie torso with long sleeves as well as the wig in Dark Orange.

By the way, I have a sneaking suspicion that when they designed Julian, they had Jacob in mind, but somehow they got his name wrong. If you have watched LEGO Friends mini-movies and webisodes, you know that Jacob is a recurring character, and he is especially close to Olivia. Webisode #17 from Season 1 is called "Two Jacobs", and the plot revolves around the fact that Julian looks exactly like Jacob. But it just seems like a lame excuse for having Julian mini-doll instead of Jacob...

A new leg mold: cropped pants for boys

When you first saw this year's Toy Fair photos, you got excited about all the new stuff, didn't you?

How about those fun new pieces like the water melon slices and hot dog buns?

We love new pieces. New molds and new designs are always welcome.

But there is one new mold that no one seems to care about...

So that got me thinking: maybe some people haven't even realized it's a new piece!

Have you looked closely at Nate and Matthew in those Amusement Park sets?

Do you see them?

That's right!

They are wearing shorts that we have never seen before!

This new leg mold may have been overlooked, as we haven't gotten very good close-up images showing it yet. And it may look like Mia's basic leg mold if you are not really interested in mini-dolls.

So how are the new boys' pants different from Mia's basic legs?

Mia's pants are calf-length capris that appear to have rolled-up cuffs secured with a buttoned tab.

This is the camp leader Joy wearing her Sand Green capris made from Mia's basic leg mold.



The boys' new cropped pants have a large pocket on either side, and seem to have a baggy silhouette around the knees.

Other than their torso, this is the first time Friends boys are getting any new mold designed for them.

Am I the only one who is looking forward to getting these new legs?

The 6th Friend

Can there be a sixth Friend?

If you think there is one already, who is it?

Many fans may say it's Livi. After all, she is even shown as the sixth member of the group on the pop star sets.

Livi has appeared in six different sets, and she even appears in one of them without being accompanied by any of the five main girls.





She seems, however, like a temporary member limited to the Pop Star sub-theme.

Some may argue the sixth Friend is Matthew. No other male mini-doll has accompanied the five Friends as often as he has. He goes to school with Stephanie, has rescued the bear cub in the jungle with Mia, and has flown with Olivia in the private jet.



Later this year, he will be going to the amusement park with Andrea and Emma! An interesting fact is that he always comes in a set released in the second wave of the year since his first appearance in 2013. I'm not sure if it's intended or just a coincidence.

And how about Kate? She has been in different sets herself, and she has had her own small set where she is the only mini-doll. She was also the gift mini-doll attached to The Adventure Guide book published by DK. And don't forget that she is one of the three girls in the Mini-doll Campsite Set released this month.





In contrast to Matthew, Kate has appeared only in the first wave of the years between 2013 and 2016.

But if we start naming everyone who has made more than one appearance, we get a pretty long list: Andrew, Joanna, Liza, Maya, Naya, and Sophie. And it looks like Naomi and Nate will be making their second appearance later this year. But of course, those characters have not been seen nearly as often as the three discussed above.

There may be no official sixth Friend, but it is nice to have all those familiar faces in Heartlake City.

Boys (2013)

The boys were finally added to the mini-doll population in the second wave of 2013.

Before they joined Peter, the male/female ratio in Heartlake City was 1:18. That wouldn't be a very exciting place to live in if you ask me.

The situation had to be corrected fast, so there came not just one but two males in the same wave!

By the end of 2013, there were 3 males and 22 females in Heartlake City.




Andrew: 41015 Dolphin Cruiser
Matthew: 41005 Heartlake High

As I have discussed often before, the boys' head mold appears to be identical to the girls'. But LEGO had to invest in a brand new mold to make the boys' torso.

It would have been more cost-effective to produce boy mini-dolls using Peter's torso mold.
But that brawny body would not have looked quite right when combined with the boy head.

Both Andrew and Matthew wear the side swept minifigure wigs. The hairstyle looks perfect on those two boys as if it had been designed especially for them.

They both have a polo shirt on, but interestingly, the designs are different.

No new legs were designed for the boys. Matthew got Peter's legs, and Andrew got Stephanie's soccer pants legs!

Since their introduction, two or more boys have appeared every year.