10246 Detective's Office

[GCO]

Anyone can pluck a picture off the Internet to pretty much support whatever they want to support.

I have no problem with a shorter building, but the price should also be 'shorter'.

Oh, I could also just go out and drive to the next town to take a picture of a height varying skyline, 'Off the wall'... but it's already dark here in the old world!

My post just refered to the complaints about the height, not the height/Euro ratio... or dollar for you.

good points all and thanks for the pictures of it next to others, was surprised to see the barber shop was taller than the PS, but this reiterates my post from Jan 1 about the Slave I being a better overall looking set than DO and is also why I didn't pick it up day 1; having just built the birds set, that was fun and the result is great, they look awesome, now to see if I can snag an employee birds set with the other 5 for a decent price.

I think you all are seeing what I saw though, play stories do not equate to happy AFOL's, we want buildings that mirror real life with enough room to get our hands inside and we aren't really going to play with them anyway so make them cool enough to look at and occasionally move things around, but don't expect us to run home from school and right to the modular so we can have fun after our homework is done...that's what other lines are for.

Well said, Herky!

Edited January 5, 2015 by GCO

[Off the wall]

It's not just the height/cost ratio. The height in and of itself, well, sucks.

[finnbricker]

It's not the height as such that is the problem. It's the scale. Place DO next to the PS and realise that a terraced house, a one-family apartment, is bigger than an inner-city highrise. It just doesn't work out. The scale of the DO doesn't fit. The FB, GE and PS are all more or less comparable scalewise (well, the FB is a little off, too) and I agree the TH needs some expansion but it works out next to the rest if need be. The DO, however, looks horribly out of place next to the FB/GE/PS. It will probably fit after some extensions, though.

I will buy the DO and most likely I will expand it, too. But if the series continues to go in this direction, which I believe it will, TLG is going to lose a part of the AFOL clientele. However, it might still be a good move from their perspective since these 2nd generation modulars will entice lots of younger fans, probably more than they will put off AFOLs.

[ReplicaOfLife]

I wouldn't necessary agree with that. The height of the blue portion is ok, and having a two storey building like the DO itself also doesn't hurt. It's the sheer volume of the building that's way too low. There's barely any room inside. To do a proper building in Lego scale with that layout you'd propably need to make it about 5 studs deeper and expand it to 24 or 32 studs in width.

edit: This was in regards to OTWs post concerning the height. I'm pretty much with Finnbricker.

Edited January 5, 2015 by RogerSmith

[Off the wall]

You're opening a whole can of worms when you talk 'scale'. It's just easier for me to say the DO side of the building is too short. And, it certainly looks too short in the town lay outs that I've seen.

On the modular series as a whole, I've often expressed concerns about scale. And my credit card receipts reflect an attempt to address those concerns. :-).......look at the different type of businesses, governmental functions and general building uses that are used by TLG to describe/label the modulars and you'll see that having a series of 32 wide modulars doesn't work from a scale perspective. I mean a truly grand emporium the size of a one door fire station? A Parisian restaurant almost as wide as a theater? Sure, I know we can headline the exceptions, but in general all of these businesses need a different footprint/square footage. That's why my town hall is 64 wide and my GE 96 wide.

In this regard, I think a lot of modular enthusiasts miss an opportunity by not addressing scale through modifications. I have two more DOs that will be here Wednesday and will probably buy two more in the near future.

[Super Goblin]

I think the height is fine and makes it more unique. It would be boring if all buildings were the same height.

I also think this set should have been $10 cheaper, it has around 200 less pieces than the PR but costs the same.

[TheLegoDr]

I like the variance in height. I also like the variance in colors. It definitely breaks it up.

However, I think it all depends on the angle you look at them. That first image above showing the full street, DO looks TINY compared to the FB. The blue building height looks good. But in the second picture above at a different angle, it doesn't look as bad next to FB.

I don't own it currently, and probably won't get it until Christmas at the earliest, so we'll see what I think of it then. But as it stands, definitely seems a bit small at least for a city row. But I like having variable heights. Maybe I'll just not have it next to anything really tall and it will look okay. Same goes for PR.

[talos]

FYI, I think they have run out of the Flower Cart freebie (USA S@H), I had it in my cart last night and its not there anymore. Rats, I wanted to get a second one too...

[polarscribe]

The stores still have the Flower Cart freebie. Just picked one up at the Stoneridge Mall store, along with DO and Birds.

I really don't get the complaints about the DO. In the real world, buildings aren't all the same size, the same height, the same width or the same scale. Walk into many old downtown areas and you'll see all sorts of craziness, from falling-down-dilapidated balloon-frames to beautifully-restored masonry edifices. The variety is part of what makes those places neat — I don't want a perfectly-uniform skyline of big empty boxes like the Grand Emporium. I want unique details and neat architecture like the Parisian Restaurant or the Palace Cinema.

Edited January 6, 2015 by polarscribe

[pugmom]

It's the playability which I would complain about! The modular buldings were never meant to be toys, don't they? Are there really parents out there buying modulars for their children? I mean kids below like 14 or so? My 15 year old son loves to build modulars, but never plays with them!

I buy them for myself, but allow my boys (9 and 5) to play with/build them with me (gasp!). Having said that, my kids have enjoyed the modulars without all of the play-ability and storyline built in. To me green grocer and pet shop were nice because there were some fully finished floors, but lots of open space for creativity. When my 9 year old "plays" with them, it is more furniture creation, or interesting minifigure placement than following a storyline. We shall see the verdict in this house once we buy it, but my guess is it will not get any more play time after building despite the added "play features", so in my opinion, keep them more simple on the inside!

[rriggs]

I have no issues with the DO. I enjoyed the build and really like the end result. I have placed it next to the PS and it looks just fine. The two fit together nicely. My larger modular (TH, GE, cinema) are together too and all looks well. I really enjoyed some of the details inside the DO and am glad that they are there. The barrel passage I could live without but the rest is really nice and, as I said, some of the details are great. On the flip side, I think that the GE went too far the other way and could have done with more details inside so each to his own.

Besides, don't most of these arguments apply at least in part to the PR too? It's smaller than other modular and has more interior detail but didn't seem to receive the same level of complaint as the DO.

Price-wise it seems fair to me and is about what I would expect to pay for a detailed modular building. You can argue until you're blue in the face about £10 more or less on the price but if you don't like the price then don't buy it.

Interesting that the voting on the DO review topic paints a different picture to the negative comments being thrown about... This would seem to imply that the silent majority like the DO and there's just a lot of moaners about!

Cheers

Rog

[Vodnik]

My DO and Slave 1 are here - and the Flower Cart in each box, so now I have two

And I have a feeling that I will soon have three, as another one is most likely on it's way to me with Ideas Birds

[3797]

Anyone can pluck a picture off the Internet to pretty much support whatever they want to support.

I have no problem with a shorter building, but the price should also be 'shorter'.

Maybe you picked the wrong hobby, since LEGO buildings (as well as figures, cars and pretty much everything else TLC made over the past 50+ years) never were to scale. Never. Ever.

It's a set with 2262 pieces officially (way less than the typical 10 cents/brick) and you're still complaining about the price. Want a cookie coupon?

[AFOLguy1970]

Besides, don't most of these arguments apply at least in part to the PR too? It's smaller than other modular and has more interior detail but didn't seem to receive the same level of complaint as the DO.

The PR is well received by most people. It is smaller than the average size, and a lot of the pieces in the total piece count are small and dedicated to the interior. It did not bother me as much as some, because the exterior also received a great deal of attention to detail. A common denominator in the criticism for the DO appears to be the unnecessary focus on the particular storyline. In the PR, the storyline was an engagement in the restaurant. You only needed one extra piece to tell that story: the ring. All other pieces would have likely been included even if you did not have that storyline. The artist studio required some extra parts as well, but that was not really the main story as presented by the designers. The message I am receiving from some commenters is that a significant portion of the design has been centered around the cookie prohibition storyline. In addition to the cookie barrel itself, passageways, the kitchen, and hiding places had to be created for it, and that goes against the piece count. I plan on purchasing the DO, however agree that the storyline is not necessary, and I do not want exterior detail or size sacrificed for the sake of it.

Edited January 7, 2015 by AFOLguy1970

[Off the wall]

Maybe you picked the wrong hobby, since LEGO buildings (as well as figures, cars and pretty much everything else TLC made over the past 50+ years) never were to scale. Never. Ever.

It's a set with 2262 pieces officially (way less than the typical 10 cents/brick) and you're still complaining about the price. Want a cookie coupon?

Gee, that tone of hostility over my opinion about a toy. Maybe I'm not the one who needs a new hobby. Smile, man, we're talking about toys here.

[ReplicaOfLife]

The PR is well received by most people. It is smaller than the average size, and a lot of the pieces in the total piece count are small and dedicated to the interior. It did not bother me as much as some, because the exterior also received a great deal of attention to detail. A common denominator in the criticism for the DO appears to be the unnecessary focus on the particular storyline. In the PR, the storyline was an engagement in the restaurant. You only needed one extra piece to tell that story: the ring. All other pieces would have likely been included even if you did not have that storyline. The artist studio required some extra parts as well, but that was not really the main story as presented by the designers. The message I am receiving from some commenters is that a significant portion of the design has been centered around the cookie prohibition storyline. In addition to the cookie barrel itself, passageways, the kitchen, and hiding places had to be created for it, and that goes against the piece count. I plan on purchasing the DO, however agree that the storyline is not necessary, and I do not want exterior detail or size sacrificed for the sake of it.

That's pretty much it.

Screw the cookie storyline, save that all for bricks, throw in an additional 150-200 pieces or so for a second storey to the DO (bringing the piece count up to PR levels....or maybe just use some larger bricks instead of all those tiny 1x2 and 1x4s...), and I'm sure there'd be a more welcoming response, even though the interior space would still be tiny and the blue building would still be unrealitically devoid of function.

By the way: Can anyone who has already built the DO do a WEIGHT comparison? Just put it and maybe 2-3 other modulars on your kitchen scales and report the findings. 'Cause I don't buy into the 'the building is smaller, but the price per weight ratio is still the same' argument.

[BirdOPrey5]

Measured weights with kitchen scale (American so in Pounds & Ounces)

DO - 4 lbs 4 oz

PR - 4 lbs 2 oz

Pet Shop House - 2 lbs 6 oz

Pet Shop Shop - 2 lbs 7 oz

PS (total) - 4 lbs 13 oz

These weights were with all the mini figures included in the set but for the PR not with the scooter

Edited January 7, 2015 by BirdOPrey5

[Faefrost]

Measured weights with kitchen scale (American so in Pounds & Ounces)

DO - 4 lbs 4 oz

PR - 4 lbs 2 oz

Pet Shop House - 2 lbs 6 oz

Pet Shop Shop - 2 lbs 7 oz

PS (total) - 4 lbs 13 oz

These weights were with all the mini figures included in the set but for the PR not with the scooter

So they are all fairly close in weight? Interesting.

[Off the wall]

9 oz or 11 oz. Huh, that could be quite a few bricks?

[SSJ2 Dark]

Um, so to sorta derail the hostility train...

I picked up a copy of DO at my local LEGO store on the 1st. Haven't built it yet, partly because I'm thinking of mirroring each side like I did with Pet Shop. There, I ended up with a really cool residential building, and a large pet store that I'm still modding. I like the potential for the Highlander, with a double door entrance, a bar near the pool table, and a large office for Ace (or maybe a sassy, competing female detective next door?). Not sure how well Al's will expand with the alley, but hey, it's LEGO so it'll work eventually.

Anyone else want to buy multiple sets and mirror expand like that?

[Off the wall]

I've got an additional two that I'm going to combine. First floor is all pool hall with at least two tables. Second floor is the detective agency and his residence. I have no idea what the third floor will be or how it will look as it will be 100% MOC. Barber shop and all the blue bricks go in the parts bins.

Edited January 7, 2015 by Off the wall

[Herky]

hmm...isn't this a discussion board where folks can post their opinion's about a set or a line? thought so...there are several posts I disagree with, but you have to let it go, who cares what you post as long as you are participating...stated opinions are better than "I like it" which I have seen a lot as well, what is the point of "I like it". Only by analyzing and building can one figure out how to get TLG to make a better product for us all.

That said, I find it interesting that PS, which has less pieces and a lower price, is heavier than the newer ones with more piece counts and a higher price.

DO - 4 lbs 4 oz 2262 pieces $160

PR - 4 lbs 2 oz 2469 pieces $160

PS - 4 lbs 13 oz 2032 pieces $150

To me, this implies smaller pieces for a higher price...which is interesting now that the price of oil is down, and since oil is a key content to make plastic, will the prices of Lego fall in the future? I hope so.

[SSJ2 Dark]

Sounds very similar to what I had envisioned, Off the wall! I hope you'll post a picture of it at some point; it'll help me decide if I should go ahead with another one!

[K4kitty]

Can't wait to see these modifications! The DO is crying out for a proper bar, IMO.

[Poisso3]

Can't wait to see these modifications! The DO is crying out for a proper bar, IMO.

Me too! As soon as I finished the Highlander I wanted to make it larger and have a real bar. Can't wait to see what the more talented people here can do with it.