MOC: Townhouse Trio - Butcher, Barber, and Laundromat

[sonicstarlight]

B-RM-1A

Hello all!

When it was announced that this year's modular was going to be a pair of 16 stud wide townhouses, I realized that all of the MOCs I've done have been at least 32 studs wide and I really need to make some smaller scale buildings. What began as one turned to two turned to three, so my plan for a nice and simple build after my diner and theater turned into anything but .

I am not a fan of Harry Potter in the least, but once I saw the pictures for Diagon Alley I just knew I had to have it. While picking it up, I also got The Burrow on a whim, partially because I thought the building itself was interesting, but mostly because I was desperate for medium dark flesh pieces at the time. I was originally just going to turn Ollivander's into a modular, but I also liked some of the details on Borgin and Burke's so I made two that are both a mix of each (I have another plan for Gringott's Bank, which I am working on now). Wanting to top Lego, I decided to add a third building to the mix with all the leftover Burrow parts I had after making my theater.

So without further ado, here they are.

After doing so many signs and lettering with my last creation, I wanted these to be text free. With the barber pole, socks sign, and pig on an ax, I think it is clear which is a barber, laundromat, and butcher.

The backs have more detail than I am used to doing on my creations. The butcher has a chicken coop (with the brick built chicken from the MMV taking residence), the laundromat has a tree with one of the many owls I now have taking roost, and the barber has a private garden with a skeleton acting as a scarecrow.

I'll briefly go through each one by one - let's start with the barber. This one is based largely on Ollivander's, with a few tweaks to make it work as a 16 wide.

Inside is a bench for customers to wait for a chair, two stations for a haircut, shelves with shampoos and conditioners, and a large hairdryer. Not visible under the stairs is a sink with a hose to wash hair.

Upstairs is an apartment with a sofa, flat screen TV, and a place to sit and eat based on Saarinen's iconic Tulip table and chairs (like the ones in my own apartment, these are cheap knockoffs ). The second apartment level has a dresser, platform bed, and exercise bike.

Moving now to the laundromat. I though Borgin and Burke's was a little to dark to do a full modular in that palette, so only the ground floor is dark bley and black. The upper floors are based on the ground floor of Ollivander's.

The laundromat has the usually rows of washers and dryers as well as a basket and change machine. Under the stairs is the owner willing to sell detergent to those without.

The apartment above has a fireplace with a painting over the mantel and a kitchen, while upstairs is a bedroom with a balcony.

Finally, the butcher. I tried to keep a lot of the elements from the Burrow so that it was instantly recognizable as coming from the set, as seen with the covered entry into the apartment and the various bay windows. The pig found a new life as a sign out front.

The butcher has some fish packed in ice, a counter with a variety of meats and cheeses (as well as a scale on top), and the counter behind has a deli slicer. Under the stairs is a refrigerator.

Upstairs the apartment is based largely on the interiors of the original, from the orange counters and corner sink to the green clock and medium blue and orange striped bed.

Like the official modulars, you can remover the middle floors from these and they still work.

The barber and laundromat are the same size, so you can mix and match floors between them. The butcher can be mixed with the townhouse of Market Street, although it doesn't look great.

Last but not least, here are the buildings mixed in with the official 16 stud wides...

... and here are all seven of my creations together.

Many more photos on my flickr page here and on Brickshelf here.

Thank you all for looking! Comments and questions are always welcome .

Edited August 31, 2011 by Phred

[Section8]

Fantastic, and I can easily tell which official sets they were made from. I especially like the butcher's counter and the interiors of the apartments. I browsed your flickr galleries and saw you have a particular talent for making modular buildings! I like your diner and theatre too.

Edited July 24, 2011 by Section8

[Teazza]

WOW! excellent buildings with more excellent internal details!

Many many congratulations!

[McBuddha]

Hi sonicstarlight!

What an excellent way of using the Diagon Alley and the Burrow bricks!

I have the Diagon Alley myself and love it, but I would prefer using the

bricks the way you did since I´m much more of a Modular fan. :)

Any instructions perhaps? :)

-dB

[jonwil]

Nice job.

What part are you using for the clear bits on the front of the washers and dryers and where did you get it?

It looks like a 2 x 2 round tile but I dont think the 2 x 2 round tile exists in clear.

[Dazmundo]

These are great thanks for sharing. I wish I had your talent (and brick supply) I may have to give something like this a try but I just don't think I have the imagination.

Can I ask why the wall splitting the barbers shop from the stairs is 2 studs wide? I guess that you must have a reason for it but I can't see why.

Cheers

D

[The Blue Brick]

AMAZING

[iElkie]

Fantastic build! The pig hanging outside, advertising the butcher, is priceless!

[Ben Blackman]

Looks pretty cool.

[sonicstarlight]

Thank you all for your great comments!

Any instructions perhaps? :)

Not yet, but I would like to make them. All of these builds were pretty basic - I can't think of anything tricky about them so they won't be hard to make. These are the first MOCs I've done where I didn't at least set up a partial digital model to figure things out, but once my next creation is done I plan on taking a break and trying my hands at making instructions.

What part are you using for the clear bits on the front of the washers and dryers and where did you get it?

It looks like a 2 x 2 round tile but I dont think the 2 x 2 round tile exists in clear.

They are actually 2x2 clear round tiles. There were only a handful of people on Bricklink with them in the inventory and I had to go to a seller in France to get enough of them - easily the hardest pieces to track down. They look official enough, but I don't know of any sets they have appeared in, so I don't know their true origins.

These are great thanks for sharing. I wish I had your talent (and brick supply) I may have to give something like this a try but I just don't think I have the imagination.

Can I ask why the wall splitting the barbers shop from the stairs is 2 studs wide? I guess that you must have a reason for it but I can't see why.

I was initially overwhelmed by the excellent creations the people on this site and others were capable of when I got back into Legos a few years ago now, but I just experimented and tried a lot of things until I had something I was happy with. Don't sell yourself short - you never know what you are capable of until you try.

As for the thicker wall in the barber, it was really just done so that the mailbox in the stairwell of the apartment didn't poke through the wall on the other side - nothing structural. It did help make the barber more symmetrical as well, which is also why there are thicker walls in the apartments above on both the barber and laundromat in the same location.

[Pandasushi]

You Sir, are an absolute genius, intuitive use of many elements and amazing attention to detail. Love the finished product!

[LegoCityMann]

Absolutely inspired. A Brilliant use of official sets to create a modular.

Brick on

~LCM

[cimddwc]

Great work! Recognizable exterior and nice interior details, and they go well with the official buildings.

(Maybe I shouldn't have used the Diagon Alley and Burrow that I bought just as parts supply...)

[Pandora]

These are lovely shops; each building has its own individual style and character, drawn from their respective source sets. There are some charming details both inside and out, for instance the rear gardens are very nicely done and remain individual to the buildings.

I also appreciate the level of detailing you've put into the interiors, not only with the elements for the shops, but also the details in the apartments which make them homely, rather than just a bland shell.

Really great to see these lovely MOCs.

[Derek]

Amazing work.

The Burrow is one of my all-time favorite sets and you have done a fantastic job converting it into a modular...My favorite interior details out of all of them has to be the laundromat

Love your creativity!

-Derek

[icy brick]

Awesome as always sonicstarlight !

Really well done inventive design in all of these and jawdropping ideas

Just one question: what kind of neighbourhood are you going do with these?

[lightningtiger]

One word....AWESOME !

'Sonicstarlight' you have out done yourself in taking two Lego sets and in the true spirit of Lego combined them into this.

Excellent interior designing - nice chairs, rugs and sofas !

Another raise of the bar by someone......fantastic job 'Sonicstarlight' and totally Brick On !

[Trent]

These are really inspirational - you've done an excellent job on the exteriors, and your eye to to detail on the interiors is second to none as well. Fantastic work!

[L@go]

These buildings are just superbly done. Just my kind of modulars, with lovely exteriors in great color combinations and detailed interiors packed with neat solutions. Even the backs of the buildings have wonderful details. I really thought you were going to have a hard time living up to the standard you set with your previous builds - but I was wrong.

I repeat: Superb, inside and out. The most inspiring modular MOC I've seen in here in quite a while.

And of course they look wonderful mixed with the official 16-wide buildings.

[enrgie]

Wish I saw this post before my regular Lego hunt! would have picked up the Burrow too...damn...

[Brickmamba]

love your work, that is one awesome lil town right there, plan to add to it in the future? :thumbup:

normally a SW collector myself but i am slowly diversifying, will start with modular GE, pet shop and HP diagon alley

[MattieG7]

I love these buildings! They really look like they fit in with the theme! Did you make any of your 7 MOCs with pieces from the official Modular Buildings? If you didn't, I'd love to see your MOCs joined with the official ones

Matt

[Goengar]

I am hoping to build some of these modular buildings and your work inspires me. The one thing I would change is the door to the butcher. It is too medieval for my taste.

[LEGO Guy Bri]

Excellent work 'Ss'. I love these three creations, especially the butcher shop. Also, great idea for a simple washing and drying machines. Fantastic job

[sonicstarlight]

Thanks to all for your great comments.

Just one question: what kind of neighbourhood are you going do with these?

Honestly, that's a good question. I live in a part of NYC which is virtually nothing but townhouses, many with retail below, but there is not much variety in the styles of them all. In some ways this looks like the theme park version of a historic neighborhood rather than the real thing, and I'm ok with that.

Another thing I struggled with until now was what time period the modulars are supposed to take place in. From the old school cash registers in the Green Grocer and Grand Emporium to the rather modern coffee maker in the Pet Shop, I had a hard time deciding how modern to make the interiors in my own builds. This is the one where I finally said "Screw it - this apartment gets a flat screen TV".

love your work, that is one awesome lil town right there, plan to add to it in the future? :thumbup:

Always! I started on these immediately finishing my diner and theater, and my next creation is already well underway - I started it while waiting for the last of my townhouse bricks to arrive in the mail. I don't want to give too much away, but as mentioned before it will be based on Gringott's and should be instantly recognizable despite no longer being a bank...

I love these buildings! They really look like they fit in with the theme! Did you make any of your 7 MOCs with pieces from the official Modular Buildings? If you didn't, I'd love to see your MOCs joined with the official ones

I make a point to never take apart any of my modulars, and I do have the full set of official ones. I will try and take a few photos of everything together at once, but my tiny apartment makes it rather difficult. If my math is right, all told my modulars take up 23 16x32 stud plates - it might be hard to get them all in one shot.