Modular Building 10232 Palace Cinema

[TheLegoDr]

Sorry to bring it up. I agree. I wasn't attacking her as an individual or her language skills. She did a great job presenting it. It just didn't have the enthusiasm as her first video. She even makes mention that it was a team effort and she gave the final say over, so maybe she wasn't as hands on with this as the Town Hall. Either way, she did a fine job. I will be getting the set with/without a designer video.

I didn't think about a ladder out the back. That would work well. I may copy something similar to Green Grocer, only not as elaborate.

One thing I do like about this and the GE, it goes all the way back to the corner of the baseplate instead of leaving a gap in the back. That's why I am modding the CC to allow more room for stairs and whatnot.

[CP5670]

I also have the same problem with my GE . For the past two years I have put a small heavy ornament on the edge and yet it still lifts upwards when I remove the ornament. I dont suggest bending it as mentioned earlier as that can cause cracks or fractures in the plate.

My GE does the same thing. I have it among a layout of road plates and standard city buildings, so I just replaced the 1x1 tile in the corner with a 2x2 plate that holds it down and is needed to connect it to the road plates anyway.

[Lobot]

That's beautiful :wub:

I've resisted the urge to collect modulars until now, but this is really tempting!

[Devorath]

Nice! I really like the classic style figures, and the place for midnight lovers on the roof. Any new minifigure parts?

[Faefrost]

Any new minifigure parts?

Sadly probably not. I seem to remember reading somewhere that one of the primary restrictions on the designers for the Modulars is that they must principally use existing in inventory parts (no new shapes or colors, nothing that is out of production) I think the only exceptions have so far been the clock face and custom shield printing for the town hall.

Now we can see stuff that has been created for other sets and themes. So something like the Friends Ice Cream Cone piece could show up.

[Pierre_Cochereau]

I seem to remember reading somewhere that one of the primary restrictions on the designers for the Modulars is that they must principally use existing in inventory parts (no new shapes or colors, nothing that is out of production) I think the only exceptions have so far been the clock face and custom shield printing for the town hall.

What about the red baseplate in this set? I think it's new ... at least I can't remember off the top of my head where it might have appeared before.

[Crackerjack]

It's appeared once before in 1978 in http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItemIn.asp?P=3811&in=S.

[Faefrost]

What about the red baseplate in this set? I think it's new ... at least I can't remember off the top of my head where it might have appeared before.

Good point. Although the vacu form styrene sheet may be something that they are more flexible on. I would assume that the vacu form part production is more akin to the pad printing, and less resource intensive than doing a full production run on an ABS part in a new color. I know the "only already existing parts" rules were in effect for at least Cafe Corner and Green Grocer. I'm not sure if they have been loosened or modified since, as the line has evolved into greater sales and success.

[Chocolatecake]

What about the red baseplate in this set? I think it's new ... at least I can't remember off the top of my head where it might have appeared before.

In the Video Astrid says the red baseplate is new, when she talks about the red carpet in the lobby.

[Archer]

http://www.bricklink.com/catalogItem.asp?S=231-1

Unless the baseplate is dark red it isn't entirely new.

[Chocolatecake]

http://www.bricklink...tem.asp?S=231-1

Unless the baseplate is dark red it isn't entirely new.

The baseplate from 1978 seems to be classic lego red, same shade of red as the duplo baseplate from my childhood.

This one in 10232 looks more dark red, but we will know the color when we the set in our hands.

[Aanchir]

It should also not be ignored that the red baseplate in set 231 may be an older, discontinued mold. Probably doesn't make much of a difference to MOCists but from an internal perspective, releasing a bright red baseplate of which an identically-sized version happened to exist dozens of years ago is probably not much different than releasing a brand new baseplate. Certainly it probably involves jumping through the same amount of hoops.

[paul_delahaye]

Anyone come up with a solution of why the spelling of Palace is PaLaCE instead of PALACE

You would think a Capital A would be easier to make? It has to be a simple oversight? She mentioned 2 designers worked on the set in the video, maybe the in-turn made the small letter "a"?

[tafkatb]

The lowercase a's are intentional. In fact I don't know if uppercase A's could even be made in a way that's stylistically consistent with the rest of the letters - the P, L, C, and E establish a clear structural pattern that can't be applied to a legible uppercase A.

[sgeureka]

All letters are two bricks wide and two bricks height, so I imagine a brick-built "A" wouldn't look much different to a brick-built "R". I bet we all agree that a PaLaCE cinema certainly looks better than PRLRCE cinema.

[GRogall]

Well Bricksan from Brickfanatics is reporting that VIP customers might be able to buy this 2 weeks early, Can't confirm this, but remember double VIP points in March!

Although we get to purchase 3300003 Lego Brand store set here in Munich on the 15th!! :wacko:

*Edit, Confirmed VIP customer may purchase this set on the 14th of February!

Edited February 11, 2013 by GRogall

[nesquik]

Yes, VIP members will be able to purchase this early.

[GRogall]

Yes, VIP members will be able to purchase this early.

Yes! Thats what I said!

[tbroyd]

Yes! Thats what I said!

Do you know if that would be online only or also in Lego stores?

[GRogall]

Do you know if that would be online only or also in Lego stores?

Both!

[skobabe8]

So for VIP customers the decision is to buy 2 weeks early or wait until March for double points?

I'll wait.

[LEGO Historian]

First of all the Homemaker baseplates had rounded corners. Modern baseplates have virtually square corner.

Now for the architecture. Europeans probably won't relate as well to the design of a cinema as Americans/Canadians are. The glory days of American cinemas... known as Movie Palaces was the 1920s... which were hard times after WWI in Europe. In Europe most major cinemas were built in 1930s in a much tamer style than those built in USA/Canada in the 1920s.

The Movie Palace started the 1920s in a plain elegant almost "opera house" style. But after the 1922 discovery of King Tut's tomb... movie palaces started to get more exotic. There were 3 major types... Palace theatres... often called "Silver Screen Versailles" was usually in a lavish French or Italian Renaissance or Baroque... or in a plainer English "Adams" (famous UK Architect) style. The Temple style (of which this LEGO model is one)... was first found in the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre... but later found all over the USA in exotic Oriental, Siamese-Byzantine, Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, etc styles... from 1925-30. And also in that time frame came the Atmospheric Theatre... where the auditorium ceiling was painted blue and nighttime stars shone on the ceiling... to give the impression of being in an ancient courtyard at dusk.

There were over 1000 movie palaces built across the United States in these exotic styles. By 1930 the Great Depression tamed down the movie palaces to simple Art Deco styles... these were the ones also found in Europe and North Africa. So this exotic design for a theatre would likely seem out of place for Europe, but not in the USA... while Main Streets all across the country had a unique architectural design for their movie palaces.

[riversarl]

The Movie Palace started the 1920s in a plain elegant almost "opera house" style. But after the 1922 discovery of King Tut's tomb... movie palaces started to get more exotic. There were 3 major types... Palace theatres... often called "Silver Screen Versailles" was usually in a lavish French or Italian Renaissance or Baroque... or in a plainer English "Adams" (famous UK Architect) style. The Temple style (of which this LEGO model is one)... was first found in the Grauman's Egyptian Theatre... but later found all over the USA in exotic Oriental, Siamese-Byzantine, Egyptian, Babylonian, Persian, etc styles... from 1925-30. And also in that time frame came the Atmospheric Theatre... where the auditorium ceiling was painted blue and nighttime stars shone on the ceiling... to give the impression of being in an ancient courtyard at dusk.

The Civic Theatre in downtown Auckland, NZ is one of the few remaining atmospheric theatres, and it is an awesome experience to watch movies there during the annual filmfest. Peter Jackson used the interior for the climax of King Kong.

Looking forward to MODing the Palace Cinema into a mini Civic!

[LEGO Historian]

Nice Atmospheric Theatre Riversarl

I live near Detroit... which has the world's largest surviving 1920's movie palace... the 5,174 seat legendary Detroit Fox Theatre, used by everyone from all the Motown stars to Elvis Presley to Madonna, Eminem... This image doesn't even show the main floor... just the mezzanine and balcony levels. This is a Temple style theatre... with a clear span balcony 170 ft. wide, and a floor to ceiling height of 105 ft. same as the interior height of Notre Dame de Paris..

[LEGO Historian]

Well back to LEGO reality....

I didn't realize this earlier... but there is a cinema in my 73 chapter 2,800 page Unofficial LEGO Sets/Parts Collectors Guide as DVD/download/E-Book.

In the chapter on LEGO Display models there is a cinema picture from 1963 from a UK magazine ad.... and the name of it.... none other than PALACE CINEMA....

My 2,800 page collectors guide is available as a PC or MAC desktop reference (going all the way back to 1949, with help from the Billund Archives), found in the Eurobricks Bazaar...

Edited January 28, 2013 by LEGO Historian