Getting the pieces for Lego 10190 Market Street

[Locutis]

Hi all,

I now am feeling the need to build a Market Street and I think I can get most of the parts for it (or have already) like the light blue, etc. However, it seems that dark dark blue is hard to find.

I did discover I can rustle up some of the pieces required by buying the Volkswagen Beetle set. Anyone have any suggestions in regards to this, or any experience with a replacement blue that looks similar? How about building it in other colour schemes?

I don't need to build it to exact Market Street specifications, as I won't have the box and instructions anyways. Do you think it would look good in other colors? I do have (and can just order more) several Fire Brigade sets which contain a lot of that nice dark red. What are your opinions on a different color scheme that would look pleasing?

Thanks for your help.

Locutis

Resistance is futile

[AndyC]

There's a version of Market Street in the 'Official Set in LDD' thread here. With a little playing around with the colour select and the paint tools you should be able to get a feeling for how it might look in other colours.

[Vincent Kessels]

Redish-brown is probably a realistic color.

You can download the building instructions from Lego S&H (customer support).

[tellblom]

If you like to search BL shops with most of the bricks you need you can test my software getStores.

With that you can first import the parts you neew from bricklink and then delete the once you have, or change color and then download all the data from bricklink.

It maybe can help you finding your parts

Link to the software: http://www.tellblom.se/lego/getstores/download.html

/Martin

[Locutis]

Just an update to this post.

I've acquired almost all of the pieces necessary to build a 99% true Market Street. I cheated a bit, instead of a bunch of 1x4 in dark blue, I opted for 1x10 and 1x8 as they are relatively inexpensive.

Also, I have found that the 5-high doors (left and right) are very expensive in the proper (Light Bluish-Gray) color, but I found some in Light Gray that are very cheap. In addition, I've got the hoses for the balconies in Light Gray as opposed to White.

I think I'll build it with these substituted colors, until I can bring myself to paying $25 just for the right color door, along with other pieces in a similar situation.

Fortunately for me, I purchased 5 of the dark blue 1x8x2 arches back when I originally started this post, for only $0.54 each, and now they sell for $10-$20 *EACH* !!!

I'm going to be compiling my inventory shortly on this set, then setting out to build it. I don't think it cost me very much to build in comparison to buying an official set ($500+) or building in the completely official colors/pieces. In some cases I think substituting one shade of gray for another to save some money is a worthwhile compromise. If you are looking at building a Market Street, keep these tips in mind, as it will still look very much the same, and it will cost a whole lot less. Here is another tip: the 1x10 dark blue bricks (I bought 200 of them, all brand new) cost me only $0.20 each. The same color as the official 1x4 is $0.71 US each from the least expensive seller on BrickLink with the highest quantity necessary. You need 79 of these, which is $56.09. However, at a current price of $0.31 each for 1x10, you would only need 32 of them for the stud count to be the same. That equals $9.92. The savings can easily be put into other parts that are the official piece, or proper color, and the way I look at it, no one will notice that something is made up of a bunch of 1x4 or a single 1x10.

I'll post some photos to this once I've built it, so everyone can see.

Locutis

Edited August 25, 2011 by Locutis

[Locutis]

Not feeling well today, so I decided to put together what I had for the Market Street set. There are some missing pieces, which I am awaiting to arrive. I've substituted a few pieces for some waiting to arrive, and for some that I won't be able to source a replacement for.

I have not yet decided whether the balcony should be in grey or black. You be the judge!

Edit: One of my photos was deleted from flickr.

The full set is on flickr:

Complete Image Set on Flickr

This project cost me a whole lot less than buying some of the 100% correct pieces. See some of my suggested substitutions above.

Locutis

Edited October 14, 2011 by Locutis

[prateek]

Awesome. I like how it has turned out. I think the grey railing looks better.

BTW, how much did you pay for all these pieces?

Edited September 25, 2011 by prateek

[Locutis]

Awesome. I like how it has turned out. I think the grey railing looks better.

BTW, how much did you pay for all these pieces?

I don't have an exact tally. However, if you consider that some of the pieces came from sets, and you factor out the cost of them vs. the set cost. Also, some pieces were ordered from BL as used (but arrived in nearly new condition).

If I were to guess I would say the cost is around $250. I didn't record each piece and its related cost, though. But like I mentioned above, I saved a bundle of money by buying pieces that look similar, and function the same, but are not identical. One example is the 1x10 dark blue bricks, in place of 1x4. I did, however, luck out on the 1x8x2 dark blue arches, that I purchased in January for 1/50 of the current going rate! A nice substitute for those would be either black, or dark grey, I think, if I didn't have them.

Locutis

[Locutis]

Here it is with both balconies in grey:

Locutis

[medib]

Sweet Locutus...

thanks for the update and for posting the finishing touches.

I'm wondering if Lego would ever re-issue this. I doubt it, but with a price increase, they could make a

lot of profit.

Ben

[Locutis]

Sweet Locutus...

thanks for the update and for posting the finishing touches.

I'm wondering if Lego would ever re-issue this. I doubt it, but with a price increase, they could make a

lot of profit.

Ben

I don't think they will ever re-issue these sets. Here's why:

1. These sets contain rare parts that aren't in production anymore. If they don't want to start back production of the rare parts, they would have to substitute, which would mean the sets are different. Most people wouldn't want a different set, they would want the SAME set.

2. It would anger a lot of people who buy Lego just to sell it later on. I imagine a good percentage (say, 3-5%) of Lego's business is in the collector reseller business, and if you start re-issuing things that people have "invested" in, you will anger both the collector who just bought one for 3x retail, and the guy who's sitting on 10 of these who can't sell them anymore. Do you think both of these groups of people would ever speculate on another modular building ever again? No. This would affect future sales of future modulars.

3. Based on your comment about "price increase", you're assuming that Lego would re-issue these and price them higher than the current models to make the money the collector-resellers are making. The problem with this is that 90% of buyers aren't paying the high prices for Cafe Corner and Market Street, they just aren't buying one at all. If Lego were to re-issue Market Street and Cafe Corner at $400 (which is at least 1/2 what they are currently selling for), how many people would buy them? People would start to wonder why a current modular can sell for $150, but this other one sells for $400 for some strange reason. It would anger customers, more than not offering it at all.

4. Lego already tried this with the Legends series. It bombed, mostly for the reasons listed above.

Locutis

Edited September 28, 2011 by Locutis

[AndyC]

I'm wondering if Lego would ever re-issue this. I doubt it, but with a price increase, they could make a

lot of profit.

They won't, for about a gazillion reasons covered elsewhere, you'd be better off hoping that some of the rarer piece like the dark blue arches get used in a new set, which will bring down prices (just as happened with the dark red roof pieces for Cafe Corner).

[fyrmedhatt]

I don't think they will ever re-issue these sets. Here's why:

1. These sets contain rare parts that aren't in production anymore. If they don't want to start back production of the rare parts, they would have to substitute, which would mean the sets are different. Most people wouldn't want a different set, they would want the SAME set.

2. It would anger a lot of people who buy Lego just to sell it later on. I imagine a good percentage (say, 3-5%) of Lego's business is in the collector reseller business, and if you start re-issuing things that people have "invested" in, you will anger both the collector who just bought one for 3x retail, and the guy who's sitting on 10 of these who can't sell them anymore. Do you think both of these groups of people would ever speculate on another modular building ever again? No. This would affect future sales of future modulars.

3. Based on your comment about "price increase", you're assuming that Lego would re-issue these and price them higher than the current models to make the money the collector-resellers are making. The problem with this is that 90% of buyers aren't paying the high prices for Cafe Corner and Market Street, they just aren't buying one at all. If Lego were to re-issue Market Street and Cafe Corner at $400 (which is at least 1/2 what they are currently selling for), how many people would buy them? People would start to wonder why a current modular can sell for $150, but this other one sells for $400 for some strange reason. It would anger customers, more than not offering it at all.

4. Lego already tried this with the Legends series. It bombed, mostly for the reasons listed above.

Locutis

I know this comes up with regular intervals, but I feel this is worthy of a response anyways. Given enough time, a re-release isn't too far-fetched, Lego has done this recently, with the 10155 re-release of the 10152 Maersk Ship, so Lego could do so again with other sets they find it reasonable to do it with.

You are right that some parts are no longer in production, but for the most part, Lego does take so-called retired molds and use them again. I know there are a few changes that has happened since Lego released 10190 and 10182, most notably the change from 5 stud tall doors to six stud doors, as well as a change in the 2x3 panels and the use of single-pane windows in 10182. Apart from the change in doors where one would need to use the older molds or otherwise change the design of the buildings significantly it's not a big deal, Lego makes such replacements regularly with their sets, 10182 have alternately colored 2x3x1 inverted slopes for example, minifig heads have changed in the 10188 Death Star. Re-releasing these 3 year old sets would not be the same as with the Legends line, where Lego had to salvage thirty year old molds for many of the pieces, adding massively to the expense of the sets.

I really don't think Lego has such high concern for the set investors, they are not interested in making collectibles other than the minifigs. The main reason for the limited amounts of re-releases seen is that Lego executives are only allowing a limited amount of exclusives each year, which makes sense as they need to use their manufacturing and design capacity for the market where they make the most money, namely regular sets that parents buy for their kids in the $10-$50 range. Using these coveted Lego exclusive release spots for older sets doesn't make sense when they can release new sets instead and have a larger potential customer base.

Mind you, if Lego ever did re-release Market Street, Cafe Corner or the Green Grocer it would be like printing money for them, all the new members of the AFOL community would buy them (Eurobricks has doubled the amount of members in the last year or so). and many of these set investors that you predict would cry foul and riot when the sets are released again could just as easily use it as an excuse of buying more sets for the future when they are discontinued again. Just look at what has happened to most of the legends sets in the last 10 years, where many of the sets are worth 300% of what they were when they were in sale, take a look at the Guarded Inn, the Metroliner, the Pizza Shop or especially the Metroliner Club Car, and mind you people picked these sets up in droves for future resale when they were on sale for less than 50% of MSRP, as was the case for the Metroliner.

The parts themselves for these sets are worth plenty of money so significant depreciation is highly unlikely, maybe not the 1000% increase seen on 10190 Market Street in the last 2 years, but several 100% at least. I dabble in set investment myself without being too concerned for loss of value from re-release of sets.

Whether re-releases happen we will see, there is certainly potential for it, but Lego might not choose to do so yet, in a few years when people are paying $2000+++ for sealed Cafe Corners they might change their mind, as there will likely be far more people happy with those sets on the market again than there would be people unhappy with such a move.

[Mr Benn]

I did this too a few months ago. Used PAB for all of the pieces, though had to substitute a few - the little design above the gate I've had to use different pieces, and my balconies are black - I also replaced the balcony doors just with clear windows too.

I think it cost me about £140 in total - price was driven up by having replace the no-longer-produced navy blue (or whatever colour they call it) 1 x 4 bricks that make up the midsection of the house with 3 x the number of 1 x 4 plates in the same colour which are still produced! Really pleased with it, though I much prefer a set that comes all in the box!

[ZCerberus]

I think Lego is playing a mind game with us by adding Market Street to the mini modular since many of us did not consider Market Street as in the same series as the others until now!

[asmodai]

I've also made mine from bricklink around February.

At the time I opted for Dark Blue 1x2 bricks instead of the 1x4.

I was still able to find the hoses in white (I recall they where the last from one seller and when I decided to add another level a month later they were no longer available, and used light gray)

The arches in Dark Blue weren't available when I started, but a couple of weeks later was able to get a set of them for a very decent price.

So I had a couple of colours to try and ended using only one arch in dark blue, because I prefered the arch over the gate in tan.

[medib]

Pics or it didnt happen....

[fyrmedhatt]

I just finished buying most of the parts for this set on Bricklink, which was quite painful for the wallet. The dark blue arches cost a fortune, so do the white hoses and the grey doors, and today I will order the various blue bricks from Lego. Honestly, the designer kind of whe out of his way to use the rarest parts on the pallet here, which was great when the set was for sale, but certainly not great now that we are buying up all the parts for the aftermarket. Chances are that if Lego releases the white hose and the dark blue arches again, the prices will be lowered quite bit. I'm not patient enough to wait, so I guess I will pay for that privilege.

In all honesty what made me do it was the announcement of the mini modulars, while I ordered the gray doors with plans to build the set a while ago, I had gotten quite content with this set not being on my modular street. Now I feel my street should match the minis, so thats the reason for this expensive adventure. I've always known the process of ordering for a project to be fun though, it certainly was for the cafe corner.

[Locutis]

I just finished buying most of the parts for this set on Bricklink, which was quite painful for the wallet. The dark blue arches cost a fortune, so do the white hoses and the grey doors, and today I will order the various blue bricks from Lego. Honestly, the designer kind of whe out of his way to use the rarest parts on the pallet here, which was great when the set was for sale, but certainly not great now that we are buying up all the parts for the aftermarket. Chances are that if Lego releases the white hose and the dark blue arches again, the prices will be lowered quite bit. I'm not patient enough to wait, so I guess I will pay for that privilege.

In all honesty what made me do it was the announcement of the mini modulars, while I ordered the gray doors with plans to build the set a while ago, I had gotten quite content with this set not being on my modular street. Now I feel my street should match the minis, so thats the reason for this expensive adventure. I've always known the process of ordering for a project to be fun though, it certainly was for the cafe corner.

That's great to hear fyrmedhatt!

I guess you didn't want to have any substitutions in your model, which is the reason for the pain in your wallet!

For anyone considering building this, you can save money on the doors by buying Light Grey instead of the official Light Blue Grey. Light Grey doors are only about $1 each on BL, but the official LBG is costly. I held the two colors side-by-side, and they look nearly identical in color. This is one way to conserve funds.

Also, the 1x4 in dark blue can get costly, so as I indicated you can substitute with other functional pieces of the same color, and it will look proper, but won't be the same. See the suggestion 'Mr Benn' had by using 3 of the 1x4 plates in dark blue to make one 1x4 brick. Also, 'asmodai' used a bunch of 1x2 in place of all of the 1x4, which is another option.

I hope others can share their stories here about how they built their Market Street. We could all use the buying and building tips on these to save some money. After all, it is Lego, and you can build using alternate pieces in many cases without making it look too different.

Locutis

Edited September 30, 2011 by Locutis

[fyrmedhatt]

That's great to hear fyrmedhatt!

I guess you didn't want to have any substitutions in your model, which is the reason for the pain in your wallet!

For anyone considering building this, you can save money on the doors by buying Light Grey instead of the official Light Blue Grey. Light Grey doors are only about $1 each on BL, but the official LBG is costly. I held the two colors side-by-side, and they look nearly identical in color. This is one way to conserve funds.

Also, the 1x4 in dark blue can get costly, so as I indicated you can substitute with other functional pieces of the same color, and it will look proper, but won't be the same. See the suggestion 'Mr Benn' had by using 3 of the 1x4 plates in dark blue to make one 1x4 brick. Also, 'asmodai' used a bunch of 1x2 in place of all of the 1x4, which is another option.

I hope others can share their stories here about how they built their Market Street. We could all use the buying and building tips on these to save some money. After all, it is Lego, and you can build using alternate pieces in many cases without making it look too different.

Locutis

I've been trying to not have any substitutions, but then it comes to tiny details I'm not that picky. For example I used the new type 2x3 white panels in my Cafe Corner as the old ones are quite pricy and hard to find nowadays. Also for market street I wouldn't have minded to use white tabless hoses if they were a lot easier to find in good condition, but it seems they are also quite expensive and they have a significant yellowing problem.

For the 1x4 dark blue bricks I plan on buying from the Lego replacement parts service, the pieces are currently in production, so I think they will let me buy the necessary number for me to finish the building. It's not that cheap either, but I will get new parts directly from Lego. If they will not let me buy them there then I might just use different sized dark blue bricks i really do not mind as long as it won't change the aesthetics of the building.

[scottwb2010]

I've been trying to not have any substitutions, but then it comes to tiny details I'm not that picky. For example I used the new type 2x3 white panels in my Cafe Corner as the old ones are quite pricy and hard to find nowadays. Also for market street I wouldn't have minded to use white tabless hoses if they were a lot easier to find in good condition, but it seems they are also quite expensive and they have a significant yellowing problem.

For the 1x4 dark blue bricks I plan on buying from the Lego replacement parts service, the pieces are currently in production, so I think they will let me buy the necessary number for me to finish the building. It's not that cheap either, but I will get new parts directly from Lego. If they will not let me buy them there then I might just use different sized dark blue bricks i really do not mind as long as it won't change the aesthetics of the building.

I too have purchased parts for this from lego's replacement service but be wary as although there may be pictures displayed of parts available some are in fact no longer available. Wish Lego would remove these unavailable parts from their menu.

[Locutis]

Today I received my order from the Lego Replacement Parts Service.

Per my request, they substituted the 1x8x2 dark blue arches with black ones. After they cashed my cheque they told me they were out, and asked what I wanted to do.

They made some other substitutions without telling me in advance. I received different 1x5 doors than what I requested (and from what officially comes with the set).

So, it seems the best way to get the rare parts is to either buy the exact ones you need on BrickLink, or buy slightly alternate colours and save a bundle of money. Lego's Replacement Part Service seems to be a real mixed bag, and an expensive one at that.

Locutis

Edited October 3, 2011 by Locutis

[fyrmedhatt]

I'm curious Locutis, were you able to get any dark blue 1x4's from the replacement parts service? I called them earlier today, but their parts ordering system was down, and they called me back when I was at work, so I haven't heard from them yet. They are the last structural pieces I have missing now, only other thing I'm missing are the two green hairpieces. I'm hoping since the 1x4 blue bricks seem to be in production and were introduced in several new sets this summer that it shouldn't be a problem, otherwise I'll have to spend a small fortune on Bricklink yet again, like with the other rare pieces. 10190 was truly a mixture of many rare pieces and colors, more so than Cafe corner, I feel lucky to have been able to procure the pieces for this set.

Anyways, the latest breaking news is that 10197 Fire Brigade appears to be discontinued from shop at home, as well as on Amazon.com according to Brickset. Searching for 10197 on lego.com only gives me a link to the pet shop, so I kind of doubt it is a random error in their site if they actively link you to another modular. The set has been backordered for a little while, so I'm not surprised it's finally gone, it has been a good 2 year run after all.

Edit: The Fire Brigade is back- http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Fire-Brigade-10197?c=Hard-to-Find-Items-ByTheme

Edited October 4, 2011 by fyrmedhatt

[Locutis]

I'm curious Locutis, were you able to get any dark blue 1x4's from the replacement parts service? I called them earlier today, but their parts ordering system was down, and they called me back when I was at work, so I haven't heard from them yet. They are the last structural pieces I have missing now, only other thing I'm missing are the two green hairpieces. I'm hoping since the 1x4 blue bricks seem to be in production and were introduced in several new sets this summer that it shouldn't be a problem, otherwise I'll have to spend a small fortune on Bricklink yet again, like with the other rare pieces. 10190 was truly a mixture of many rare pieces and colors, more so than Cafe corner, I feel lucky to have been able to procure the pieces for this set.

Yes, I was able to get some of the dark blue 1x4 bricks. I requested 30 and ordered some just to see if they were available. I received them today, and replaced some of the 1x2 bricks in my alterations with the 1x4 I got. I was able to get away with only 15 of the 1x4, combined with the 1x10, 1x2, 1x1, and corner bricks that I have. It looks just fine, and holds together very well. Their shipping cost as noted on the slip was about $5.

Anyways, the latest breaking news is that 10197 Fire Brigade appears to be discontinued from shop at home, as well as on Amazon.com according to Brickset. Searching for 10197 on lego.com only gives me a link to the pet shop, so I kind of doubt it is a random error in their site if they actively link you to another modular. The set has been backordered for a little while, so I'm not surprised it's finally gone, it has been a good 2 year run after all.

This could be a database error, as it still shows available in other parts of the world at Lego S@H. If you switch to Australia, and search for the set (10197), it comes up. Change it to USA (or Canada) and you get "Not available in your country (can not be found)". A little strange for a set that is sold out. I think they may be working on their computer systems.

Although, like you said, it has been 2 years, so it is due to retire.

Locutis

Edited October 4, 2011 by Locutis

[ibecks]

Apologies for resurrecting an old thread but it seemed like the most appropriate one.

I'm starting to build MS from scratch (having done CC a couple of years ago) and I need to put a parts order in while the dark blue arches are in stock with the spare parts service. Is there anything else I should pick up directly from Lego at the same time before I start on the Bricklink orders?