Review: 10362 French Café
Posted by Huw,
10362 French Café is what could be the first in a collection of 'restaurants of the world' sets, designed to be displayed on a shelf as home decor rather than as a model to be played with.
It aims to capture the charm of a typical gallic establishment that can be found in towns and villages across France.
Summary
10362 French Café, 1,101 pieces.
£69.99 / $79.99 / €79.99 | 6.4p / 7.3c / 7.3c per piece.
Buy at LEGO.com »
A detailed and attractive model to brighten up your bookshelf
- Interesting building techniques
- Authentic details
- Main arch looks slightly awkward
- Dubious architectural style
The completed model
It's reminiscent of the series of Houses of the World and shops that were gifts with purchase recently and perhaps they were deemed to be successful enough to warrant producing a series of larger models.
This one is about 30cm wide and 16cm tall, and the plinth is 8 studs deep, so it's very much just a façade, with a few details inside visible through the doors.
I've seen discussion online that, attractive though its architectural style is, most buildings in France have a normal sloping tiled roof rather than a flat one. To me, it looks more ex-French colonial North-African, than mainland France, but I'm happy to be corrected.
The most prominent feature is the arch above the door, which is made using regular arches with a semi-circle of the new 1x2x2/3 slopes mounted on hinges underneath. It looks OK, but not seamless.
The building's walls are set at non-right angles, which contributes considerably to the visual interest, and they've also required some interesting building techniques to achieve.
Hanging baskets decorate the sand green and light nougat walls beneath glass canopies, adding splashes of colour and detail.
Whenever the weather permits, people sit outside cafés in France, often sipping coffee and indulging in cakes and pastries while enjoying the warm sunshine, and it's no different at this one. There are a pair of chairs and a table on the right, and more on the left.
The front may look beautiful, but the back is awful. I don't suppose it matters, though, given it's been designed to be displayed on a shelf. Using window shutters and clips to fill the gap on the left is clever, although perhaps unnecessary given it's not going to be seen.
The chairs are an interesting design, making use of the new 2x2 round inverted tile and the triangular piece that I think debuted in Ninjago sets.
The pattern on the pavement is interesting as well, formed using interleaved window arches mounted sideways. There's a better picture below in the construction section.
Three cypress trees in pots, typical of the Mediterranean region, provide shade and seclusion outside.
There's no interior space to speak of but that which is visible through the front doors is occupied with a counter with a till on top, and a table with a cake. There's also another table and chair to the right of the door but you're hard-pressed to see it once the building is complete.
The chalk board, and sign above the door, are printed.
Construction
The first picture below gives a good view of the technique used for the pavement.
And here you can see the details inside a bit better.
I'm not sure if I like the arch or not: it's certainly an interesting feature, constructed using novel methods, but the end result doesn't quite look right due to the gaps between the brick-built section and the arch pieces.
Verdict
Overall, it's an attractive model that will indeed look good on display on a bookshelf. It won't necessarily appeal to LEGO's core demographic, but I think it's likely to be appreciated by those new to the hobby, those that have perhaps been drawn in by the botanical and gardens of the world sets, who have an appetite for more.
That said, there is a lot here for AFOLs to like too, including interesting building techniques and a wealth of light nougat pieces, many of them new.
It's hard to see where its 1,101 pieces have been put to use: there are quite a few in and under the pavement, which does not help when trying to reconcile the price of £69.99/$79.99/€79.99 with what you see. But, at 6p/7c per piece, it's fairly good value.
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60 comments on this article
Is it at anything close to Minifig scale? The chairs look close, if perhaps being high-tops instead of regular height, and the doors are obviously the same they would use in other buildings. In the reveal people said it was obviously not in scale, but I always thought it was close, or at least close enough that you could put minifigs in the scene if you had them/wanted to.
Good review Huw - thanks.
For myself, I am yet to decide whether I like it or not. It's one of those pieces which will fall into my 'possibles' list.
I will probably wait and see what the next in the series looks like
Looks like a fun parts pack at half price, but thats about it. Is it going to be a lego exclusive? if it is, then its wayyyyy less likely to be discounted unless its in a local lego store.
The triangular piece is a modified version of the original Ninjago (aeroblade) piece; the new version has an antistud on one side and a stud on the other, whereas the old one only had a stud on the other side.
@Narcuru said:
"Is it at anything close to Minifig scale? The chairs look close, if perhaps being high-tops instead of regular height, and the doors are obviously the same they would use in other buildings. In the reveal people said it was obviously not in scale, but I always thought it was close, or at least close enough that you could put minifigs in the scene if you had them/wanted to."
I'd say it's close enough to scale with the modulars, for example.
Unless you are an Architecture collector, I think an $80 that looks like a $40 set is gonna be a hard sell to a lot of people.
I do like the chair designs though.
Here it costs $100. I wouldn't pay even $30 for this, must be the set with the worst cost-to-perceived value-ratio of all time.
@Huw said:
" @Narcuru said:
"Is it at anything close to Minifig scale? The chairs look close, if perhaps being high-tops instead of regular height, and the doors are obviously the same they would use in other buildings. In the reveal people said it was obviously not in scale, but I always thought it was close, or at least close enough that you could put minifigs in the scene if you had them/wanted to."
I'd say it's close enough to scale with the modulars, for example."
That tracks with my assumptions. Thanks Huw! And thanks for the great review!
I'm so happy light nougat is a commonly used color now. This looks so much better than it would any of the tans.
I hate sets that uses these pedestals. They don't add much except to the price.
AFOLs: "There's nowhere for me to place minifigs in buildings! Too many sets are just... just... FACADES!"
LEGO: "Hold my beer."
Overall, I don't hate this set. And the idea for a "mini architecture" line for buildings isn't a bad one. But as usual, the set seems insubstantial and overpriced. Call it the "Black Display Base/Stand" tax.
An easy hard pass.
It looks OK but, at the moment, there are a lot of much better sets available so, short of a strike or a pandemic slowing new releases, this will stay on the shelf.
I hope Grandma likes it...
Reminds me of a Cheesecake Factory
I would be very interested in they had kept the same format and footprint as the houses of the world. That firmat and footprint was perfect especially next to the four seasons of shops. This is too large. Too expensive and too many wasteful parts. The black base is completely unnecessary.
So I'll be skipping this whole line. But probably would have bought all 4 if lego had been consistent.
It's just too expensive, with an unappealing back that could have easily been altered to match without changing the price.
It feels like a prototype mock up for a building idea that never made it to development.
I was looking for the poll to vote "No, it doesn't interest me" a couple more times.
Looks like a taco place in the middle of nowhere
@Huw said:
"Using window shutters and clips to fill the gap on the left is clever, although perhaps unnecessary given it's not going to be seen."
Those window shutters are behind the windows, right? So they are there to prevent you seeing whatever is behind the model through the windows. Or am I missing something?
@johleth said:
"Unless you are an Architecture collector, I think an $80 that looks like a $40 set is gonna be a hard sell to a lot of people.
I do like the chair designs though."
Architecture sets are based off real buildings, these are just fictional buildings dreamt up by the designer with no minifigure compatibility.
Struggle to see the market for these sort of sets.
Croissants as wide as the tables! Muffins as tall as the chair legs! We builders may find things to criticize, but the customers are going to love this place!
This feels like a set that a designer cobbled together during their lunch break just for fun, but then a product manager walked by, saw it, and said, "Ship it!"
I think Lego has reached the F-ck Around and Find Out phase of their corporate life cycle. Given their huge revenue the past few years, they're now feeling emboldened to just throw out whatever to see what happens. If it's a bust, who cares. If it's successful, then they can turn it into an ongoing series and gullible AFOLs will pay 3x the price to collect the entire series.
That arch is way too gappy to look anything other than cobbled together - as its just on one plane there's no real reason not to just use a 6 x 2 arch to sit snugly over the window; if they wanted to include some 3d interest, just add a projecting tile as a keystone at the top and sides where the arch brick becomes thin enough to allow a tile to overlap slightly using SNOT techniques...
One of the worst looking Icons sets yet. The shape looks really bad, and it's quite overpriced. Hard pass.
Why do I hate this so much?
At least it’s a set geared towards adults in a (slightly) lower price bracket, and it doesn’t have stickers.
I don’t like the way it looks though sadly, but feeling a bit more hopeful for future sets.
@Huw, is it all prints or are there any stickers?
I do still kinda like the idea of this set, though I'm just not enough interested in French stuff to either pay €80 (or €65 as it's already been discounted) for it nor feee up some display space for it. I'd say next stop: Japan or Korea!
It looks like the designer got their inspiration from the Friends line, but I think the bigger impact is the recognition that most AFOLs don't "play" with their sets, just build them and put them on a shelf - so, no need for an interior.
One of the most visually unappealing sets in recent memory. I can see what they were going for, but very little about the design is coherent to me - the needlessly NPU cobblestones, the broken archway, the awful rubber string stretched awkwardly around the door. Worst of all is the colour blocking: the light nougat looks good, but the various shades of green plus the pink flowers and mint chairs just do not work and give the set a sickly feel.
@Narcuru said:
"Is it at anything close to Minifig scale? The chairs look close, if perhaps being high-tops instead of regular height, and the doors are obviously the same they would use in other buildings. In the reveal people said it was obviously not in scale, but I always thought it was close, or at least close enough that you could put minifigs in the scene if you had them/wanted to."
It looks like it's scaled closer to real human proportions instead of minifigure proportions. Think of figures a little taller and skinnier, with the waist closer to the middle of the body (proportionally longer legs).
Thanks for the review. I'd have to agree that it doesn't really look French to me - although I'll happily defer to anyone from France who says otherwise!
I was quite interested when I heard about this, but it definitely doesn't pass the eyeball value test. The cobblestone technique is nice but somewhat pointless in a set this size, other than to inflate the price. I don't like the arch or the rubber string very much either. All in all, it's a pass from me!
If LEGO ever released its sales data, I would probably spend an unreasonable amount of my free time pouring over it all....looking for winners and losers (this?)...
Clever set. I think this will appeal to my friends who are new to Lego and just like using it to make pretty things to display on their deals, just like the botanicals or Barad Dur. Nice to see another entry point for new fans.
I do think some of the construction is a bit rough, but in the same way the early modular or 1:8 scale cars were. They're not bad by any stretch, but I'm excited for what Lego will do with this line inner a decade of improvements
"The front may look beautiful, but the back is awful."
That description does hit the 1-by-1 round plate on the head.
"The front may look beautiful"
Then again it may also look kitschy as hell and nothing like any real French building that I've ever seen.
I have seen lots of hate for this set though, and from my point of view it deserves every ounce of it.
One of my top contenders for most useless and ugly sets of the year, with a value for money that rivals most 4+ sets.
To think that when I saw the first images some time ago I almost found it half decent - that is until I actually took a proper look at it.
I think it looks like a naked person from the waist down.
All I see is a naked lady from the waste down.
@jkb said:"I hate sets that uses these pedestals. They don't add much except to the price."
If by "those pedestals," you mean https://brickset.com/parts/design-19798 then that part has a long and halloed history going all the way back to Classic Space!
@JDawg5 said:
"This feels like a set that a designer cobbled together during their lunch break just for fun, but then a product manager walked by, saw it, and said, "Ship it!"
I think Lego has reached the F-ck Around and Find Out phase of their corporate life cycle. Given their huge revenue the past few years, they're now feeling emboldened to just throw out whatever to see what happens. If it's a bust, who cares. If it's successful, then they can turn it into an ongoing series and gullible AFOLs will pay 3x the price to collect the entire series. "
Compared to what Lego was doing around the turn of the millennium, this is nothing. That was peak "throw stuff at the wall and see what sticks." If Bionicle hadn't stuck, they might have gone bankrupt or been bought out.
every aspect of this thing just feels rushed. nice parts pack and i'm sure there's a couple weird recolours that'll be useful but overall it just aint it
It looks like they were more interested in cramming as many weird building technic and NPUs in it than in making something that looks architecturally normal. 1st floor looks fine, 2nd floor looks random
The Review said:
"Using window shutters and clips to fill the gap on the left is clever, although perhaps unnecessary given it's not going to be seen."
They're there to block the view through the windows from the front. Without them, you'd see whatever was behind the set instead of seeing a dark interior.
I don't want to be the guy who shouts, "Thanks I hate it!" but ... honestly, I think it's awful.
Calling the arch above the door "okay" is being charitable, I feel. Also, the ground pieces don't fit together, leaving those huge gaps everywhere. It looks unfinished and awkward.
I don't understand the point of this. It barely even looks like a French cafe. If the goal was to look pretty on a shelf, it doesn't even do that.
If someone wants to buy it, more power to them, but I know that I won't be.
@Reventon said:
"All I see is a naked lady from the waste down."
Now that I have seen it I can't unsee it.
Seriously, what was the designer thinking? Or those who greenlit production.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @jkb said:"I hate sets that uses these pedestals. They don't add much except to the price."
If by "those pedestals," you mean https://brickset.com/parts/design-19798 then that part has a long and halloed history going all the way back to Classic Space!"
I think @jkb meant the black base that originated in the Architecture line and then was used in more and more instances, like for Star Wars dioramas, different kinds of vignettes etc. These "decorative" bases sure add little more than extra pieces that jack up the price.
@Reventon said:
"All I see is a naked lady from the waste down."
I had to look twice, but yep, I can't unsee it now. Thanks for that.
There are just so many other more interesting sets related to flowers or café.
This building is barely 3 bricks wide , and just seems to be bloated with small pieces for "detail" , and even at 1100 pieces, still not a great volume ratio as a parts pack either.
Still, some interesting build techniques at non-standard angles, and that may at least serve as examples to MOCers, even without buying, there are the instructions.
Architecturally it definitely looks like it's based on French Art Nouveau. In terms of the lack of roof, I can't think of any pre-modern French shopfront that is less than two storeys anyway so that in itself feels inaccurate.
@AustinPowers said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @jkb said:"I hate sets that uses these pedestals. They don't add much except to the price."
If by "those pedestals," you mean https://brickset.com/parts/design-19798 then that part has a long and halloed history going all the way back to Classic Space!"
I think @jkb meant the black base that originated in the Architecture line and then was used in more and more instances, like for Star Wars dioramas, different kinds of vignettes etc. These "decorative" bases sure add little more than extra pieces that jack up the price. "
Ah, okay, that makes a lot more sense. I wondered what they were on about!
@JDawg5 said:
"This feels like a set that a designer cobbled together during their lunch break just for fun, but then a product manager walked by, saw it, and said, "Ship it!"
I think Lego has reached the F-ck Around and Find Out phase of their corporate life cycle. Given their huge revenue the past few years, they're now feeling emboldened to just throw out whatever to see what happens. If it's a bust, who cares. If it's successful, then they can turn it into an ongoing series and gullible AFOLs will pay 3x the price to collect the entire series. "
Yeah, Ive been saying that for the last few years now (but yet LEGO is still supposedly doing very well). It will be interesting to see what happens to the world economy over the next 4 years though. With LEGOs 'hardship tax' increases, ever increasing 'licensing tax' on sets like Star Wars (which line is already is a bit of a joke if you are a kid, at least compared to 10 years ago), and the general increased cost of most of their sets lately, LEGO may be wishing that they had not started to focus so heavily on cash grabs for their CEO's Ferrari fund, and did not fritter that money away with things like this.
But then again LEGO has appeared to be bulletproof still somehow.
Has kind of a 'cheap' look.
Doesn't look that great from these photos.
Very busy. And even with 1k of parts, at $80, there's a bunch more sets I'd put my $80 into...
- The Evolution of STEM
- Galactic Spaceship
- daVinci's Flying Machine
etc...
Looking at it more closely, yeah the large gaps in the arch, which should be the main signature look, focus of the building really hurts it.
Dubious architectural style in a set where the focus is 100% on the architectural style = fail
Come on! 70$ for a facade? I get it, it looks really good - the buliding thechniques are awesome and the detail level is remarkable - but at least you could do the inner side of the wall and decorate it a little. And maybe everything would be fine, if not the fact it costs almost twice as much as some play sets that have incredible display value as well (like 77013). But if I will see a Ukrainian restaurant with borsch and varenuky as a result of this starting "trend", well, let it grow then!
I love French architecture, and I am a big fan of the modulars. With that said, an $80 facade that looks like a $40 set...........
Meh.
I don't agree with Huw saying "at 6p/7c per piece, it's fairly good value". No, it's not fair.
This is set without minifigs, without license, without back, without designers consuming time for play & durability standards.
Value is not fair and piece count doesn't matter here.
Surely this early review is sponsored? It's not marked as such.
@MrClassic said:
"Surely this early review is sponsored? It's not marked as such. "
The summary box doesn't say that the set was provided by Lego, so who knows.
@TheOtherMike said:
" @AustinPowers said:
" @TheOtherMike said:
" @jkb said:"I hate sets that uses these pedestals. They don't add much except to the price."
If by "those pedestals," you mean https://brickset.com/parts/design-19798 then that part has a long and halloed history going all the way back to Classic Space!"
I think @jkb meant the black base that originated in the Architecture line and then was used in more and more instances, like for Star Wars dioramas, different kinds of vignettes etc. These "decorative" bases sure add little more than extra pieces that jack up the price. "
Ah, okay, that makes a lot more sense. I wondered what they were on about!"
Indeed, sorry for the bad English. Friday afternoon, after a terrible week, it's sometimes hard to find the right vocabulary =/.
I like the printed elements for their MOC potential, and some of the techniques are nice, but I would need a steep discount on the set as a whole to consider getting it as a parts-pack.
Looks like a Friends set, similar colour themes to the recent Bed and Breakfast set and the Art School. Quite like it but the black plinth is a rip-off and the rear will have to be junked.