Central Perk

The build goes down in a fairly logical order: you start with an angled base made from wedge plates and hinge plates that gives the whole cafe a slight stage-like tilt, then work up the exposed brick wall and the green storefront. From there it's the counter, which uses hinge plates to get that gentle curve, the seating area with a rug built from textured bricks and studs-on-the-side pieces to lift it off the floor, and finally the fun set-dressing. The two studio lights on ball joints and lattice-tower supports are a wink at how the show was actually filmed, and the whole thing stays open-backed so you can pose the minifigs inside.

For parts hunters there's a decent haul of firsts here. The four-flute lamppost shows up in earth green for the first time, which is a genuinely useful recolor if you build streets. There's a 2x2x2/3 plate in bright orange (its first orange run after seven years), a Technic 3x3 disc in reddish brown, and a dark red triangular tile. Four printed elements carry a lot of the character: the Central Perk menu wall, the logo glass panel, a dark red SERVICE arrow tile, and a white piano-keys tile. My favorite bit of cleverness is the little 1x1 round plate with a shaft, an old espresso-filter style piece, repurposed as the portafilter on the coffee machine. At a shade over eight cents a piece originally, the value was strong, though retirement has quietly rewritten that story.