LEGO Ideas 21319 Central Perk is rated for ages 16+ and contains 1070 elements, seven minifigures and a small sticker sheet. It is due for release on 1 September 2019. Let's go and have a coffee with some friends now.

The original idea was submitted by Aymeric Fievet back in October 2016 and his model has been turned into an official set by LEGO designer Milan Madge, with the graphics designed by Crystal Marie Fontan. I have to admit that I was a fan of the show so if you have never watched Friends, some of the references in this review may pass over your head. 21319 Central Perk is best described as a minifigure-scale coffee shop interior.

There are four new printed elements in the set, and one of each is supplied.

The windows and door frames of Central Perk are dark green which means that the 1x2x3 window frame returns in Earth Green (6288626|60593), albeit with a new Element ID, having last been seen in 2013. As for Door Frame 1x4x6 in Earth Green (6262972|60596), it has only ever been in four sets, most recently this years 10264 Corner Garage.

Plate 1X1X2/3, Outside Bow has appeared in Bright Orange earlier this year in a single LEGO Friends set - 41379 Heartlake City Restaurant. I thought it was worth highlighting as there are 14 in this set and this is only the second appearance. The same goes for the single Medium Stone Grey/Light Bluish Gray one, which has only appeared in one other set: LEGO Harry Potter 75965 The Rise of Voldemort, released earlier this month.

The One with the New Minifigures

Obviously the six main Friends characters are included in the set with a 'bonus' minifigure, namely Gunther who was the waiter who also worked at Central Perk and was infatuated with Rachel. So we have from left to right: Ross, Rachel, Phoebe, Joey, Monica, Chandler and finally Gunther.

The base structure of Central Perk is cleverly designed as there are some lovely angles to give it the appearance of a 'set' where you can reenact scenes from the show with your minifigures. This is initially accomplished with the use of wedge plates and 1x2 Hinge Plates (19954) to achieve the angle.

Once the covering wedge plates and a selection of tiles are added, the base really takes shape giving the angled set appearance.

The front counter of the serving area is also nicely constructed with angles using hinge plates and wedge plates to give the curved shape.


The final angle I want to mention is the wall that pivots, to angle the wall smoothly across the tiled floor. Once the entire wall is constructed, it really opens out the space available to play, move the characters and take photographs. I still feel the far right corner is a little cluttered though as you can't really see the golden candlestick behind the flowers.

The One with the Clips and Slips into Place

Milan Madge has used a variety of clip and bar elements to fix parts of the build into place; for example, the striped curtain clips into place by attaching the plate with clip to the Brick 1X1 W. Handle in Brick Yellow/ Tan (6170568|2921).


A similar technique is used for the performance area (where Phoebe sings and Ross infamously played his piano recital) just below the Central Perk window. Brick 1x1 w. Vertical Clip in Black is built into the flooring and attached to the bars on the base to achieve the patterned flooring.

There are two further areas on the base with space for brick build patterned flooring to be slipped into place; the smaller area in front of the counter and the key larger area at the front where the Friends characters all sit.

Once the furniture is built and in position, you can see the similarities to the Friends set.  The table looks a little less battered and the couches and seat a bit firmer but these are pristine LEGO versions, and look great. The RESERVED sign is in place, thus solving the mystery of why the characters were always able to get prime position on their favourite couches in a busy coffee shop.

The One with the Furniture

I have to mention the furniture in this set as there are some lovely little builds to enjoy. The tables using the newly recoloured Technic Disc 3x3 are great solution to get a suitable circular table top of that size but I have to mention again that only two came in my set so I'm a table short in my final images.



The main couch is a real winner as the new Orange elements are put to good use.

Conclusion

The angled base is clever and allows lots of play space for hands, photographs and enjoying the display element. It doesn't look the best from every angle but is designed for front-on viewing with all the action on the inside.


So it is 1070 elements and seven minifigures for £64.99/  US$59.99/ CA$89.99/ DE€69.99/ FR€59.99/ 649DKK/ AU$89.99... are you a Friends fan?

No.  

Don't worry, this set is a great looking coffee shop. Simply buy the set and ditch the minifigures, sell them for half the cost of the set on the secondary market and keep the set for an awesome price!  It's a great build plus those who only build MOCs will like the parts.

Yes.  

You'll love the minifigures of the six friends and Gunther.  You'll be able to enjoy the build and then you can take all sorts of fun photographs or stop-motion movies to re-enact some of the greatest scenes that took place in Central Perk. I expect this will be popular with Friends fans who have perhaps not particularly thought of buying LEGO before.


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