21319 Friends Central Perk LEGO set officially unveiled!

August 8, 2019 | 18

First of all, how you doin’?

LEGO have officially pulled the curtains back from 21319 Central Perk, which was greenlit in February as a LEGO Ideas set.

The set coincides with the 25th anniversary of Friends, one of the most successful television sitcoms that I think captured a lot of the essence of the mid 90s and early 00s.

The 1,070 piece set is priced at a very respectable US$59.99 / AU$89.99 and has a release date of 1 September.

It will be available from LEGO.com, LEGO Brand Retail and Certified Stores at launch.

See below for LEGO.com links and regional pricing.

• LEGO 21319 Central Perk [US] – US$59.99
• LEGO 21319 Central Perk [AU] – AU$89.99
• LEGO 21319 Central Perk [UK] – £64.99
• LEGO 21319 Central Perk [EU] – €69.99
• LEGO 21319 Central Perk [CA] – CA$89.99

Being a television sitcom, the minifigures are the main stars of the set, and I think LEGO’s design team have done a great job translating the beloved characters into minifigures.

From left to right we have: Phoebe Buffay, Chandler Bing, Rachel Green, Ross Geller, Monica Geller, Joey Tribbiani, and Gunther, the manager of the Central Perk coffee shop.

Here’s what they look like versus their television counterparts. Out of the six main characters, I think they captured Phoebe, Ross and Joey particularly well.

Love Joey with his red jacket, and trademark raised-eyebrows “how you doin’?” face.

Here’s a look at the back of the box.

The set itself is pretty simple cutout of the Central Perk cafe. Interestingly, it’s set up in a way that simulates the recording studio, with lighting on each side.

I love the colours used in the set – the eclectic decor of Central Perk is on full display, which makes it look particularly vibrant.

Main sections include Gunther’s bar, with a cash register, massive coffee machine, and a cookie jar, the entrance, a stage for Phoebe to perform, and of course the iconic couch area where the Friends characters come to hang out.

Here’s a look at the couch area, which is easily removable for display or photographs.

I was also really glad to see that we also got the iconic green exteriors and entrance of the Central Perk cafe, along with the logo in the window.

On the left of the shot is a poster of Joey with blue lipstick.

If you’re a fan of the TV series, you’ll remember this hilarious bit, where Joey appears in an ad for Ichiban – lipstick for men.

Oh and fun fact about the set, it contains 15 LEGO coffee cups!

The Friends set got a lot of hate online when it was selected during the Ideas Review round in February, which I think is quite unfair.

I think it’s great to see LEGO continuing to use the Ideas theme to reach new audiences, and there’s nothing wrong with LEGO creating sets that don’t typically appeal to traditional AFOLs.

Personally, I’m a fan of the TV series – I mean, who wasn’t in the mid to late 90s? This will be a set I’m definitely getting, although I won’t be in a massive rush to do so.

I mean, I would not want to pass up an opportunity to get a Chandler Bing minifigure, one of my role models growing up. Joking. Or am I?

Another thing I think LEGO did right with the set is kept the cost way down – I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the official price for the set, and I think it’s quite decent value for AU$80.

LEGO 21319 Central Perk releases on 1 September 2019 on LEGO.com.

So what do you think of the LEGO Friends Central Perk set? Now that you’ve seen the final product, has it swayed your opinion of the set?