Review by Cerry-Lee Chelin and Troy Chelin (SAFOLs Members, jhbLUG Members)
Set number 10292 The Friends Apartment is an adults set that was made off the back of the very popular 21319 Central Perk set that featured the cast of friends in the Central Perk coffee shop which they spent time at throughout the TV Series. This set features Joey and Chandler’s apartment as well as Monica and Rachel’s apartment separated by the hall way which can be placed in-between the two apartments or separate it is your choice.
Box Art and instructions
The box features the Friend’s iconic logo with the picture of the two LEGO® apartments on a black background, it features the characters on the bottom right corner with a blue LEGO® pieces band at the bottom stating the set name and piece count of 2048. Brickset has the piece count of 2047, but you are welcome to count for yourself. To be honest I don’t know why LEGO® chose all the 18+ Adult sets with the black background because on store shelves it does not really pop out at you and I find it very odd, adults do enjoy bright colours and fresh backgrounds I just find the adult box art unappealing and rather boring, even the instruction manual cover is black, luckily the instructions are in a lighter background so you can actually see what piece goes where. Talking of the instructions you get a heavy book with 291 pages, with some lovely pictures and notes from the designer and an overview of all the characters featured in the set. The set comes with 15 bags and a sticker sheet with 17 stickers to apply.
The all-important Mini figures
Rachel: This mini figure has matured from the last figure we received in the Central Perk set, she has a beautiful long ponytail and only Rachel’s character can pull off a printed cropped turtleneck, plaid kilt and knee length socks which makes her look fashionable.
Ross: This mini figure is based on the season 5, episode 11, and ‘The one with all the Resolutions” where he shows off his leather pants. Friend’s fans will know how that turns out. He has a long sleeved grey collared shirt; the hair is a perfect resemblance to Ross.
Joey: This is Cerry’s favourite mini figure because as soon as you see his torso you know the episode. “The one where no one’s Ready” Chandler and Joey have a fight over the couch and it escalates to where Joey does not have any clean underwear to wear with his tuxedo and to get back at Chandler he wears all of his cloths. (This was a two part episode and a must watch for non Friends fans) The legs are nicely printed and he has a scarf to represent the amount of cloths he has on.
Chandler: His character in the series has never had the best dress sense so it is great that the LEGO® designers have created his torso with a brown jacket and a very ugly tie from his collection. Nice hair piece which looks like a harry potter hair piece re coloured to brown. Chandlers alternative face print of him laughing is a nice addition.
Monica: Her hair piece has changed to a nicely moulded longer style; her mini figure is based off the episode “The one with all the Candy” where she makes candy for the neighbours to get to know them better and it all goes wrong. Her legs are beautifully printed to match her torso and are well matched to the episode.
Phoebe: She has a really nice flowing moulded hair piece with a nice pink cardigan torso with purple flowers, and plain purple pants, on the torso’s neckline you can make out a necklace printed in silver, we both find this character rather bland has she has such a spontaneous personality in the series and wears lovely different outfits throughout the. We would have liked to see her in a printed floral dress piece to match her personality on screen.
Janice: Central Perk we got Gunther and now we get another memorable figure in Janice, the torso is classic Janice style, leopard print top with plain legs and with the printed laughing face print you can almost hear her iconic laugh. Her hair piece has been adapted from a harry potter mini figure Bellatrix Lestrange but in dark brown.
The Build
Very enjoyable build and had a similar building experience to the Central Perk set. The same building techniques are used for the mats and furniture, not surprising as the fan designer had input in the building of this set. The best parts where all the Easter eggs that came out of every bag. When the hall way was finished it reviled the episode where Ross, Rachel and Joey eat the pie off the floor. Finding the Kayak, Duck and Chicken were an absolute treat.
Final thoughts
A must for Friend’s fans but even if you are not a Friend’s fan the details in the two apartments and the pieces would sway you to buy this set. Lovely use of colours and the addition of the lighting give the feel of a studio set, which you can remove if you want to display this set without them. This set takes up a lot of space so make sure you have enough room to display it. However the apartments can be separated and you could display the Central Perk and Apartments underneath each other in a display case.
Here is an alternative build https://rebrickable.com/mocs/MOC-90906/beewiks/10292-friends-the-apartments-in-photo-frame/#details
Press Release images:
