LEGO® Friends review: 42621 Heartlake City Hospital

While the LEGO® Friends theme often portrays small, independent businesses, it also gets a fair share of public services. The health services take place in 42621 Heartlake City Hospital which is a name that might sound familiar to you as there is a LEGO Friends set from 2020 with the exactly same name - 41394 Heartlake City Hospital. Comparisons with it show just how far the LEGO Friends theme has come; not only during its 12-year run, but also just within this decade. Heartlake City has been rebooted, so let's find out how its hospital has changed with it.

Products in this article were gifted by The LEGO Group; the author's opinions are their own. This article contains affiliate links to LEGO.com; we may get a small commission if you purchase.

42621 Heartlake City Hospital
US$109.99/ £89.99/99.99€/ AU$149.99
1045 parts
Released 1st January 2024

Set 42621 on LEGO.com

The Parts of Interest

New moulds

1x Mini-doll Hand Prosthetic in Dark Azure (5059 | 6467587) - with 1 extra

This mould sparked a lot of interest. For more info about all the new moulds see our LEGO Friends 2024 introductory article. And for an extra spicy part analysis on this piece, check out our Patreon post about it.

3x Bunch of Leaves in Bright Green (6507837 | 5058) - in 4 other sets

3x Panel 6 x 5 x 3 1/3 Curved Top in Transparent Clear (6457960 | 5065) - in 2 other sets

3 different and 8 total new moulds is not bad at all.

Recolours

Don't hold your breath - this set includes only three different recolours.

2x Bracket 1 x 2 with 1 x 2 Vertical Studs in White (6465322 | 4585) - unique to this set

1x Animal, Dog with Scarf Print in Medium Nougat (6465614 | 105844) - unique to this set
1x Plate Angled 6 x 6 Heart Shape in Bright Bluish Green/Dark Turquoise (6469527 | 46342) - unique to this set

Three new recolours at four total pieces for a +100 € set is heartbreaking, especially with one of them being a dog and hard to re-use in interesting way.

Rare parts

The rare parts are not that numerous either. The rarity of these parts might not be entirely accurate as they were measured before the inventories of 2024 were available. In general, these parts appeared in 1 or 2 sets before the January 2024 wave.

1x Plate 8 x 8 in Bright Bluish Green/Dark Turquoise (6344002 | 41539) - in 2 other sets
1x Plate 8 x 8 with Rounded End in Bright Bluish Green/Dark Turquoise (6472687 | 41948) - also in 41937 Multi Pack - Summer Vibes
1x Plate 8 x 16 in Bright Bluish Green/Dark Turquoise (6424332 | 92438) - in 3 other sets

4x Plate Special 4 Stud 45° Angle Plate in Medium Stone Grey/Light Bluish Grey (6442144 | 15706) - in 4 other sets
2x Equipment Candlestick in Bright Yellowish Green/Lime (6448748 | 37762) - also in 21342 The Insect Collection
1x Brick Curved 1 x 4 x 3 in White (6334838 | 65734) - also in 31133 White Rabbit
1x Plate Round Corners Double 3 x 4 with 1 x 4 Raised Edge Studs in Dark Green/Green (6425980 | 3263)- in 4 other sets
2x Brick Arch 1 x 6 x 3 1/3 Curved Top in Bright Bluish Green/Dark Turquoise (6390729 | 30935) - in 2 other sets
1x Equipment Medical Wheelchair with Pins for Wheels [Mini-doll] in Medium Lilac/Dark Purple (6429030 | 2135) - in 2 other sets
2x Tile Round 1 x 2 in Black (6507792 | 1126) also in 76261 Spider-Man Final Battle

The array of rare parts is larger than that of recolours, but still small for a set of this magnitude. They are generally useful pieces at least, except for the wheelchair, which is cool but quite specific, and the Green Mario plate which hasn't yet found many alternative uses.

Sticker sheet

This set includes a hefty sticker sheet. Most of the these are appropriate as stickers as they feature two-dimensional objects that are complicated or impossible to build with bricks. The only distracting one is #18, the collection of lunch boxes and bags. I did not apply all of the stickers as some are applied on unusual parts more universal without them and some of the stickers are more widely useful on neutral pieces such as tiles. Here's an official render of the set to see what many of the stickers look like applied:

The mini-dolls

On the mini-doll front we have Brendan the Nurse, Mia (Autumn's mom and one of the original friends) and Doctor Alicya.

1x Mini-doll Head, Brendan in Light Nougat (6465596 | 105826)
1x Mini-doll Torso, Boy with Dark Azure Shirt and ID Card in Light Nougat (6468556 | 73161)
1x Mini-doll Head, Alicya in Reddish Brown (6465592 | 105822)
1x Mini-doll Torso, Woman with Lab Coat, White Gloves and Medium Azure Shirt in White (6468309 | 73152)

In addition, the set includes Autumn and Mary Joy with her newborn twins.

1x Mini-doll Torso, Woman with Necklace in Aqua/Light Aqua (6474581 | 73152)
1x Mini-doll Shirt with Nougat Legs and White Shoes in Aqua/Light Aqua (6468557 | 59794)
2x Bundled Child / Papoose with Nougat Face and Smile and Eyes with White Pupil Print in Lavender (6469473 | 106472)

Autumn comes with an alternative head:

1x Mini-doll, Head Autumn Surprised in Light Nougat (6465591 | 105821)

The hospital

The new premises of Heartlake City Hospital have some similar forms and elements from its 2020 predecessor: 2 floors, rounded corners with large window panels, Coral-rimmed heart logo in the middle, roof terrace and Dark Turquoise highlights. But this new version is so much more pluralistic in its shaping, featuring more advanced building techniques, part combinations and architectural elements. Less is bore.

The 45 degree angle (known as niksautus in Finnish architect lingo) is seamless and enhances the overall shape. The main dome has a functional purpose as it makes the patient rooms airier and well lit. The rounded door frames reflect the overall shapes of the building, while the flower boxes, solar panels, lampposts and tree add something known as human scale. The front is relatively busy, but I don't think it is a problem. The horizontal windows in the middle are nice, but get a bit lost in the middle of everything; this could have been even stronger motif. Maybe in another set.

The right side features an elevator that uses the worm screw introduced in 2023. It's exciting and works well; the mechanism has plenty of friction to keep the elevator from falling down on its own. The whole curved panel segment opens to allow play on the elevator. It supposedly opens in-universe too as it's the only way to reach the elevator on the ground level. It's quite a brusque opening, but it's done seamlessly in the main facade. Note that all of the entries have ramps included for the wheelchair.

Unlike in the 2020 version, the rooms are separated by function, just as in real hospital. All of the rooms have full ceilings which is an improvement over some older LEGO Friends sets. Interestingly only the rehabilitation room on the upstairs left is accessible via the elevator; there's no route to the roof where the helicopter is. But this is clearly a cross section of a larger building; the stairs and additional elevators are somewhere else.

The 45 degree angle is filled with wedge plates. The gap is seamless, but there is a small notch on the corner.

There is a backroom for the employees or possibly for patients to hang out together. The lockers embedded into the bathroom wall are nice and behind the sofa there's a space for the hospital therapy dog.

This is a LEGO Friends set, and thus, a toilet is included. This has a nice triangular floor plan, and the hand sanitizer is a nice addition. The toilet bowl itself has quite an elegant shaping.

Doc Alicya's room has a scanner, probably a magnetic one, or perhaps it's an X-ray. Sliding the coral tile moves the scanner; a simple but nice play feature.

The rehabilitation room has some info about Autumn's prosthetics as well as some hand weights for training.

The baby ward has a room for the twins and their tired but happy mother. I like the star mobiles on the baby cribs and their hinge top "wheels" are appropriate for the scale, but they're a bit hard to display satisfyingly on the studded floor. The family can also watch real stars through the glass ceiling if the light pollution of Heartlake allows for it.

Heartlake seems to be tackling the lack of workforce in the health service sector by using robots. This one's eye sticker is similar to the drone in 42605 Mars Space Base and Rocket. Its small wheels are not designed for studded floors and it can topples fairly easily, which you might have already noticed in previous photos...

The 2020 hospital had an ambulance, while this one features a helicopter. It's very small and toy-like (and, amazingly, it is a toy) and has no capability to carry patients, so I suppose it's for bringing acute care to those in need. Nurses and doctors have to double as aviators. The helicopter consists mostly of usual pieces and doesn't have many "helicopter parts" commonly seen in early 2000s sets, which is nice.

The left side features a roof terrace and a tree made with candles, branch elements and old and new leaf pieces. The general shape is good, but I can't help feeling it's quite a sparse tree. Some additional big leaves as well as a less flat treetop would have helped.

Conclusion

42621 Heartlake City Hospital has everything a toy hospital playset needs. It's cool to include more positive aspects of hospital life, like childbirth and recreational areas. The elevator and the scanner are additional mechanic play features, and the helicopter adds playability as well. As a building it's decent, featuring some interesting shapes and piece uses. The composition is relatively busy, and it's not the foremost architectural masterpiece of Heartlake City; but there are no major weaknesses in the build.

As a parts pack it's mediocre at best. New moulds are decent, and Autumn's hand prosthetics, which remains unique to this set, is an exciting, albeit quite confusing piece. But four total recoloured pieces is a bummer and the rare piece arsenal is relatively thin as well. US$109.99/ £89.99/99.99€/ AU$149.99 for 1045 parts is decent value and naturally most of the common parts are generally useful, but for a MOC builder or part-oriented adult hobbyist there are plenty of better sets in this price range. This hospital is at its best with what is was designed for: as a hotspot of medical play.

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05 February 2024