LEGO Friends 41318 Heartlake City Hospital conversion

41318 Heartlake City Hospital is the first chance in a long time to own a LEGO hospital. If it’s not in the theme you had hoped for, perhaps Brick Fanatics can help with this quick conversion

The production of hospital sets is somewhat of a rarity for the LEGO Group. In the almost four decades that minifigures have existed, only five have been released, including this year’s Heartlake City Hospital (read our review here). Due to their rarity, some may be disappointed that this year’s offering comes with mini-dolls and a Friends colour palette – it’s not the most natural fit in a CITY layout packed with black-and-white police stations and red fire stations. However, with a few slight modifications, there is a way for 41318 to be transformed into a perfectly respectable CITY themed medical centre.

Colour

This modification is mostly about changing colours – very few brick types need to be changed. Primarily, you are taking parts which are purple or dark pink and making them, in the case of this example, dark blue, a colour that complements the rest of the existing colour palette.

lego

Around the windows exchange the single Dark Pink 2×1 plates for dark blue. The Light Blue 1×6 bricks on each side wall can be traded for white ones to match the rest of the walls. Remove the planters beneath each window and fill in textured white bricks to break up the facade. This reduces the height by one plate. I compensated for this by adding a white plate above the window. Visually this works quite well with the added white beneath the glass.

Entrance

The ground floor is where the most substitutions need to occur. First the exterior needs to be modified. Both the components that form the roof of the emergency room and sit above the entrance need to be swapped out. I elected to use grey but that was mostly because I had the pieces required in that colour. I slightly modified the entrance ramp and stairway so that a sidewalk to the edge of the grass could be constructed. Additionally the planters beneath each big window and to either side of the entrance need to be swapped out for the same textured white bricks.

Ground Floor Interior

The inside of the bottom floor requires more modification than any other section of the interior. The purple tile just inside the doors can be completely removed and the purple tiles in the roof can be swapped for either dark blue or white. A few other minor changes can then be made. I traded the dark yellow desk for light grey as well as exchanging the few other pink pieces that appear in various spots.

Details

The rest of the set requires only a few changes on the furniture. Desk colours, the base of the crib, cushion colours and a few other minor spots need to be exchanged. Some of the pieces of equipment such as the x-ray need a few colour swaps also. This is just colour changes, no types of bricks need to be changed. I added tiles to the bathroom in the maternity ward because I felt like it was incomplete without them.

Minifigures

The finishing touch is adding the minifigures. Getting your hands on medical minifigures can be a bit of a challenge if you don’t have a past hospital set, but they can be acquired on BrickLink. The hospital really starts to pop when they are put into place.

This guide is meant to serve as inspiration, the exact mechanics used on the conversion can be changed to suit your individual needs and parts supply. The key is to eliminate the pinks, purples, light greens and dark yellows.

 

Author Profile

Daniel
When I was 3 years old my dad bought home 6659 TV Camera Crew as a gift — he had no idea what he had just unleashed. Three decades and no dark age later, I am still going strong. My love of LEGO led me to a career in Civil Engineering and I am now raising three budding LEGO lovers with my lovely wife who is, bless her, a huge supporter of my brick addiction. When not writing for Brick Fanatics or fulfilling my duties as the U.S. Editor of Blocks Magazine I enjoy collecting, MOCing, exhibiting, as well as running, climbing and home improvement.

Daniel

When I was 3 years old my dad bought home 6659 TV Camera Crew as a gift — he had no idea what he had just unleashed. Three decades and no dark age later, I am still going strong. My love of LEGO led me to a career in Civil Engineering and I am now raising three budding LEGO lovers with my lovely wife who is, bless her, a huge supporter of my brick addiction. When not writing for Brick Fanatics or fulfilling my duties as the U.S. Editor of Blocks Magazine I enjoy collecting, MOCing, exhibiting, as well as running, climbing and home improvement.

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