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LEGO Ideas Central Perk Set Press-Release

The LEGO Ideas team announced back in February that the Central Perk Coffee of Friends project was approved, and will be made into an official LEGO set (see: Latest LEGO Ideas Review Results & More!). The project was originally submitted to the LEGO Ideas platform by French LEGO fan Aymeric Fievet (a.k.a. Mric76) back in the fall of 2016. It achieved the required 10,000 supporters two years later, and since its approval early this year, LEGO’s own designers have been working on refining the model. Today, we can finally see what the official set will look like! You can find the press-release, set description, pictures, and other details below. Check them out and let’s discuss!

Celebrating its 25th anniversary since its debut in 1994, Friends remains one of television’s most beloved series. One of the highest-rated shows on television in its original network run, the series still remains a perennial go-to in syndication and on streaming services, where it continues to be a smash hit worldwide. A favorite among critics and fans alike throughout its 10-season run, Friends not only won the Emmy for Outstanding Comedy series, but also garnered Emmy Awards for series stars Jennifer Aniston and Lisa Kudrow. From Warner Bros. Television, Friends follows the lives and loves of a close-knit group of friends living in New York City: siblings Ross (David Schwimmer) and Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), along with friends Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow), Joey Tribbiani (Matt LeBlanc) and Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston). Friends was created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, who executive produced the series with Kevin Bright through Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions in association with Warner Bros. Television.

For any LEGO fans who may feel their building is always stuck in second gear… there is something new coming that’s perfect for you – as famous TV show Friends arrives for fans with the new LEGO Ideas Central Perk set. Celebrate the 25th anniversary of Friends, the legendary American TV sitcom, with this highly collectible LEGO Ideas set! This wonderful LEGO recreation of the café TV studio set is packed with authentic details, making it a must-have Friends memorabilia item for fans. The iconic seating area with a couch, armchair and two chairs for the friends is removable for easy play. And check out the stage where Phoebe performed her songs on guitar (and where Ross once played his keyboard and everyone except Phoebe thought he was terrible). The 7 new-for-September-2019 LEGO toy minifigures of Ross, Rachel, Chandler, Monica, Joey, Phoebe and Central Perk’s long-suffering manager Gunther each come with accessories to role-play famously hilarious scenes. An ideal Friends-themed gift for your own friends and family who love the TV show, this hot toy is great for play and will grab attention when displayed in any room.

The LEGO Ideas fan designer for Central Perk was Aymeric Fievet from Normandy, France, who is passionate about TV series, movies and cartoons, as well as LEGO products. When designing the Central Perk set, Aymeric said, “The challenge was to visualize passages of the series to allow me to recreate the furniture and the characters in as much detail as possible. The assembly of this model took me about a week after finding the necessary references. During the voting period, the set was changed several times!” LEGO Ideas offers fans the opportunity to submit their own brick creations with the chance to have their concept brought to life with the help of LEGO master designers and a share of the profits.

  • This LEGO Ideas set includes 7 new-for-September-2019 minifigures: Ross Geller, Rachel Green, Chandler Bing, Monica Geller, Joey Tribbiani, Phoebe Buffay and Gunther.
  • The Central Perk café construction toy features the iconic main seating area including a sofa, armchair, two chairs, and a table. The service area features a brick-built coffee machine, service counter, cash register, cookie jar with two cookie elements, menu board element, and other authentic items. A stage for musical performances with a sofa is also included, as well as extra seats and tables. The 3 pillar (lamppost) elements are in a new-for-September-2019 dark-green color. There is also an umbrella stand with two umbrella elements, window with ‘CENTRAL PERK’ logo decoration, entrance doors, and two brick-built TV studio light rigs with translucent light-style elements.
  • The seating area for the show’s star characters is removable for easy play.
  • The minifigures each have their own items inspired by the TV series, including Ross’s brick-built keyboard, Rachel’s tray and coffee cup, Monica’s muffin, Joey’s pizza box, pizza slice and ‘man bag’, Chandler’s laptop, Phoebe’s guitar, and Gunther’s broom.
  • Other accessory elements in this café playset include a newspaper, 15 coffee cups, a ‘Reserved’ sign, and 3 vases and buildable flowers.
  • Set comes with a booklet with building instructions and information about the fan creator and LEGO designer.
  • Measures over 4” (11cm) high, 11” (29cm) wide and 8” (22cm) deep.
  • Recommended for ages 16+.
  • Includes 1,070 pieces.

Below are a few more pictures of the set, showing you some additional details of both the interior and the exterior. I assume that the decorated pieces are printed, as usual in LEGO Ideas sets, although we won’t know for sure until the set is released.

The #21319 LEGO Ideas Central Perk set will be available directly from LEGO from September 1st, 2019. Prices are as follows: US $59.99 – CA $89.99 – DE €69.99 – UK £64.99 – FR €59.99 – DK 649DKK (Euro pricing varies by country). For more pictures, details, and to purchase the set, visit the LEGO Ideas section of the Online LEGO Shop.

What do you think? How do you like the #21319 LEGO Ideas Central Perk set? Is this a project you voted for? Do you like the details, minifigures, and accessories? Are you planning to purchase the set? Feel free to share your thoughts and discuss in the comment section below!

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LEGO Hidden Side Sets & App Overview

Some of the most intriguing sets this month are from the new LEGO Hidden Side theme, combining physical play with augmented reality. The sets are reminiscent of the LEGO Monster Fighters collection from 2012, which included similarly spooky, ghostly haunted sets, but also has a strong LEGO Stranger Things and LEGO Scooby-Doo vibe with kids being the main characters. I know many of you are interested in this new collection because of the interesting designs, unique pieces, excellent minifigures, and the augmented reality expansion. So, let’s take a closer look.

Here is the official description of the theme: Hidden Side invites kids to join a fearless team of ghost hunters, who dare see the unseen and help turn a haunted world back to normal, one ghost at a time. This new theme includes a series of “haunted” building sets full of awesome functionality and secret surprises that, on their own, provide the build and roleplay fun of any LEGO theme. Activating the free augmented reality app brings the models to life, revealing a hidden world of interactive mysteries and challenges to solve. When combined, the two worlds make each other even more compelling and fun. The app also consists of a digital game that kids can play independent of the building set.

The main characters of the LEGO Hidden Side story are Jack Davids, Parker Jackson, scientist J.B, and Douglas (a.k.a. El Fuego). Jack is the 13-year-old son of the school headmaster, and he has a ghost dog named Spencer. He is into live-streaming to his online video channel, BOO-Tube. Parker is also 13, and lived in the town of Newbury with her parents all her life. She always suspected that something was off about the town. J.B. enjoys being the brains behind the local ghost-hunting operation and all the gang’s ghost-hunting gear, while leaving all the messy work to the kids. She eats, works and sleeps in her lab, except when she’s driving Sweet Sally, her old decked-out school bus. Douglas is the groundskeeper of Newbury Middle and High School with mad mechanical skills that turn out to be valuable assets to the ghost hunting team.

To enjoy the augmented reality aspect of the sets, you will need to download the LEGO Hidden Side app at the Apple App store or the Google Play store. And to make sure your device is compatible, you can visit the LEGO Hidden Side Device Guide. You will find drop-down lists for both Android and IOS compatibility, so you can look for your particular phone or tablet. It seems that compatibility is pretty good, and the app should be able to work on most modern devices.

The app can recognize the set immediately, and expand the setting around it in virtual reality. It’s pretty cool to see. There is also some interaction between the built sets and the app. By changing the positions and colors of certain components, you also make changes in the game. This interaction is not very extensive, but it’s still interesting and engaging. In the player below, I have included reviews of the LEGO Hidden Side sets by JANGBRiCKS. He will show you both the details of the sets and how they interact with the app.

The LEGO Hidden Side collection is going to be quite large. Nine sets are already available, with more coming in the future. Currently available sets are the #40336 LEGO Hidden Side Newsbury Juice Bar, the #70418 LEGO Hidden Side J.B.’s Ghost Lab, the #70419 LEGO Hidden Side Wrecked Shrimp Boat (this seems to be a very popular set), the #70420 LEGO Hidden Side Graveyard Mystery, the #70421 LEGO Hidden Side El Fuego’s Stunt Truck, the #70422 LEGO Hidden Side Shrimp Shack Attack, the #70423 LEGO Hidden Side Paranormal Intercept Bus 3000 (another very popular set), the #70424 LEGO Hidden Side Ghost Train Express (super interesting train with many great parts and new tracks!), and the #70425 LEGO Hidden Side Newbury Haunter High School, which is the hotspot for ghost activity. I do recommend checking out the sets in detail because you will find many interesting new pieces and building techniques. You can find pictures and full description of all the sets at the LEGO Hidden Side section of the Online LEGO Shop.

LEGO Hidden Side will also have a video series with episodes posted on the LEGO Hidden Side website, and I assume will be available on LEGO’s YouTube channel as well. We discussed the trailer previously, but I’m posting it here again for your convenience.

In summary, it appears that the LEGO Hidden Side theme has been a hit so far. Older LEGO fans are excited about the interesting sets, the great minifigs, and the unique pieces and colors. And kids like the idea of combining their building sets with virtual play. In reality, there is not much interaction between the build sets and the games in the app, but I think that’s okay for now. If everything works well with the first wave of sets, LEGO could add more interaction in the future. This is still a pretty new technology, so it’s best to do small but sure steps that make LEGO fans happy.

What do you think? How do you like the LEGO Hidden Side theme? Did you get any of the sets yet? Have you had a chance to play with the app? Feel free to share and discuss in the comment section below!

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