LEGO Friends sets are designed to appeal to girls and were introduced in 2012. The Friends theme includes mini-doll figures, which are around the same size as minifigures but are more realistic. LEGO Friends pieces are fully compatible with all LEGO System bricks and sets include pieces in pink and purple color schemes and depict scenes from suburban life set in the fictional town of Heartlake City.
2013 LEGO Sets
2013 included a number of notable theme releases including the Legends of Chima, The Lone Ranger, Galaxy Squad, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Jake and the Never Land Pirates and Mickey Mouse & Friends. The flagship release was Legends of Chima with the coincided premier of The Legends of Chima TV Show on Cartoon Network. However, LEGO unfortunately did retire a number of well-loved themes such as Monster Fighters, SpongeBob SquarePants, Cars and Dino. One interesting note is that in 2013, LEGO started changing from 4-digit set numbers to 5-digit set numbers. 2013 was also the year that LEGO release the exclusive Mr. Gold in its collectable minifigures blind bags. This event single handled created one of the greatest investment opportunities for collections LEGO has seen.