How Many Botanical Gardens Do We Need?

On Tuesday, 19 December 2023, the LEGO Ideas team released the results of their last half of 2023 review with 71 designs under consideration. You can read the post and watch the video here. The second set listed was by Fan Designer Valentina Bima (aka Goannas89) and it’s titled “The Botanical Garden.”

Image from ideas.lego.com

It’s an awesome design with some great details and 8 minifigures. We’ll see what the final set looks like, but hopefully the LEGO designers can do it justice.

But wait…

Don’t we already have a Botanical Garden set?

We have #41757-1: Botanical Garden from the Friends theme as seen here.

I realize there are a lot of differences. Minifigures versus minidolls, one is designed as a play set while the other is a… bigger play set… maybe… and obviously size, but I’m curious as to why the Ideas team selected another Botanical Garden set when LEGO has one available already?

If LEGO is looking to appeal to a wider audience, I think they have done that already. I posted Tiago Catarino’s review video below. Around the 4:45 mark, he starts to talk about buying two of these sets and making a larger Botanical Garden. Tiago used two pieces from his collection to make it work and I have seen numerous other posts of people doing a similar thing. The Friends set has appealed to a larger audience already beyond the normal Friends fans. Why would LEGO need to try and do it again? #41575-1 costs $79.99 in the US. Two will set you back $159.98. Will this new Ideas set have more details at a lower price point? We’ll have to wait and see I guess.

Happy building!

Set Review - #21319-1: Central Perk - LEGO® Ideas

LEGO® Ideas set #27… #21319-1: Central Perk… cue the intro theme… and roll it!

Okay, I don’t do videos and I don’t have rights to stream that music, but you get the idea.

Released 1 September 2019, this set contains 1,070 pieces. It retails at $59.99 in the US. That works out to $0.056/piece. This set is based on the TV sitcom “Friends” which aired from 1994 until 2004. It captures the coffee house the gang used to meet up at very often. And for whatever reason, after 27 LEGO® Ideas sets, this is the second one of a TV studio. The first was #21302-1: Big Bang Theory (LEGO® Ideas set #10 from the 2015 to 2016 time frame).

The front of the box shows the full set with the minifigures highlighted on the bottom. The back provides a few close ups of some of the details. For fun, I included pictures of the sides so you can see some of the details to include “how you doin” and smelly cat.

The set contains six parts bags, a small sticker sheet, and the instruction booklet. Like some of the previous Ideas sets, the instructions contain some information about the TV show, details about the fan designer, and details about the LEGO set designer and graphic designer.

Five stickers total. Not too bad. There are a bunch of printed elements so I can’t complain too much.

Bag one builds the base of the TV studio. Nothing overly exciting here other than it’s great that it is not just a rectangle or square, but they included some angles.

The second bag builds the wall where the coffee bar is located. Lots of small little details are included with different cups and containers which helps it to match the scene. The menu board is printed versus a sticker which was a bonus.

Bag three builds another wall and starts to build the wall that goes around the angle with hinge bricks. The interior has some decorations to include the standard 1x2 tile with a bridge picture used in numerous other models. Brickset says it is in seven sets to include four modular buildings and then #21302-1: Big Bang Theory.

I was curious how the angled wall would be created. The designer used a mix of tiles and studs on the floor. Then the wall uses hinge bricks. The geometry was done just so in order for the hinge bricks to line up on the spots where there are studs in the base. Clever design in my opinion.

The fourth bag includes the coffee bar counter, some additional decorations, and a table and chairs. What stood out to me was how the patterned rug was made. Many of the modular buildings use tiles to create patterns on the floor. Here the designer built a design using plates and bricks and then you lay that on its side. It does not attach to the set in anyway, but it fits perfectly and won’t come out unless you tip the set over. They also included some SNOT pieces so you can connect the furniture or minifigures to the rug.

The fifth bag completes the wall in the “front” of the cafe. It has the angled wall, two doors, and the window with logo. The window with logo is printed and thankfully not a sticker. This part of the build also includes a couch for Phoebe or others to perform at with a microphone, stand, and keyboard. The keyboard is made with a 1x4 tile with printed keys. This section includes another “rug” with bricks placed on their side.

I also found it interesting how the wall hooked into the floor with clips to achieve the angle. A cool building technique I wouldn’t have thought of for sure.

The last bag builds the main part of the cafe you are used to seeing on the show… the couch and chairs where a lot of the discussions are held by the main cast members. This section of the build includes another “rug” built by laying bricks on their side. On top is a couch, an arm chair, two other chairs and a coffee table. The table has a reserved sign (with a sticker), a newspaper, and some studs to put cups or whatever else you want on the table.

This bag also includes three poles that would hold up the ceiling (if it wasn’t a studio) and then two brick built studio lights.

This set comes with seven minifigures. The top row from left to right in my picture is:

Chandler Bing (with laptop)
Phoebe Buffay (with guitar)
Gunther (with broom)

The bottom row of my picture from left to right is:

Joey Tribbiani (with pizza box, pizza slice, and a bag)
Monica Geller (with a chocolate pastry as I guess they didn’t have anything else for her to hold)
Rachel Green (with tray and mug)
Ross Geller (with… nothing)

I didn’t do a deep comparison between pictures of the actors and the minifigures, but from a top level I think the designers did a good job capturing the cast. You can easily discern which minifigure is which character and they are wearing outfits you remember from the show.

Here’s the full set with the minifigures inside. Overall it’s an interesting build with some good techniques. The piece count is high considering the price although a lot of the pieces are smaller. Otherwise, the price isn’t too bad. I would have preferred to pick this one up on sale, but it has yet to go on sale (that I have seen). The good thing is that the initial rush that led to this set being out of stock is over and it is pretty easy to find or pick up online.

From a LEGO fan standpoint, there was a great post on thebrickblogger.com about custom Central Perk sets. A number of fans took the set and then built full up buildings to go with the set. I don’t think you ever see the full outside of Central Perk so it’s cool to see what some people think it looks like. It’s something I will add to my long list of buildings to come up with someday.

If you’re a fan of “Friends,” definitely grab this set. It definitely meets the intent of the show and captures the likeness of each of the characters.

This might not be the set for people who aren’t fans of the show, but thankfully there are some great pieces for MOC builders to use elsewhere.

What are your thoughts on this one?

Happy building!

Store Review - LEGO® Brand Store - Saarbrücken, Germany

I wasn’t planning on it, but I had the opportunity to stop in a Brand Store in Saarbrücken, Germany during the Triple Force Friday sales event 2019 (4 to 6 October). The store front was full of some of the most recent new sets. With the focus on Star Wars, I’ll start there. The first picture I took included the new LEGO Boost Droid Commander (#75253-1), Kylo Ren’s Shuttle (#75256-1), another Millennium Falcon (#75257-1), and Yoda (#75255-1). They had all of the other new sets available as well. I didn’t look around at the sale sets to see what was available (sorry).

Additionally, they had the UCS Imperial Star Destroyer (#75252-1) assembled in the front window. Wow is it a big set! I was not the only one in the window taking pictures of the set. Still not sure if it is worth my money or not, but it’s definitely a cool display piece.

Additionally in the front window was the new Winter Village Gingerbread House (#10267-1). It was cool to see it up close and personal. I think I’ll be picking the set up at some point, but I’m not sure when.

Also on display was the new Disney Train and Station (#71044-1). Inside the store they had the Disney Castle built (#71040-1).

The LEGO Ideas Tree House (#21318-1) was on display in the front in the summer version. Inside the store they had it built in the fall version with the other set of leaves. It was neat to see how it looks with both versions if leaves.

LEGO Ideas Central Perk (#21319-1) from the TV show Friends was on display in two places. There was one in the front window and one inside the store. The one inside the store was a little easier to see and get pictures of so you get the picture here.

The Technic Land Rover (#42110-1) was available for sale and they had a built set that they were letting people touch and pick up. Props to LEGO for allowing that!

The Pick-a-Brick wall or “Suche & Baue” wall was in the back. According to Google Translate, this works out to be “Search and Build.” The wall was one of the better ones I’ve seen. There were a lot of pieces that I wanted to get, but I decided against it. There were numerous “gold” colored pieces, some different flower pieces I have never seen before, some colors that are not always out there, and a few cool pieces that would look great on MOCs for buildings. Bravo to LEGO for stocking this wall well!

I thought this display was cool. Two Statues of Liberty in different formats. The Brick Headz version (#40367-1) and the Architecture version (#21042-1). It’s cool to see the different sizes and versions next to each other. Behind it is the Architecture Trafalgar Square (#21045-1).

Most stores have some none standard builds that are usually larger in size. This one was no exception with a large Chewbacca holding a crossbow and then a Pirate Captain with a hook arm and a parrot sitting on his arm.

Overall, I was impressed with this store. They had everything in stock from what I could tell and a large amount of sets on display for viewing. There were numerous build stations for kids to play with in the store to see things before you buy. The workers were all very helpful with one dressed up as Princess Leia for Triple Force Friday. I talked to one who spoke German, French, and English and the one who rang up my purchase spoke English as well.

I purchased the LEGO® Brand Store (#40305-1) which is only available in Brand Stores. It was 24.99€ as compared to $24.99 in the US. The price I paid was roughly $27.37 with the exchange rate so the total varies since the VAT (value added tax) is factored in and the sales tax in the US varies by location. The last place I lived in the states had an 8.5% sales tax rate so it would have been $27.11… although we didn’t have a Brand Store. I’ll do a review of the set at a later date.

So if you’re in western Germany or eastern France and you’re looking for a LEGO® Brand Store, I highly recommend this one.

Happy building!