Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[Legodt]

On 1/12/2023 at 2:17 PM, jonahtron said:

Here you go, I'm not sure if this is what you meant. It looks a bit like a converted police station to me.

Thank you so much.  I really like it.  I think I am going to build it this way, but I plan to use white support posts on the Pizzeria.  I also plan to add a level.  I'm just waiting for the Pizza Delivery Vehicle GWP before purchasing the set.

[DeanLearner]

On 1/22/2023 at 1:19 AM, Legodt said:

Thank you so much.  I really like it.  I think I am going to build it this way, but I plan to use white support posts on the Pizzeria.  I also plan to add a level.  I'm just waiting for the Pizza Delivery Vehicle GWP before purchasing the set.

I agree the Jazz Club looks good, though may be a bit repetitive depending on which other buildings you place it alongside.

Not a fan of the grey pizzeria but I am planning to do the same with the columns in white.

Judt out of curiously, given how many bricks you’re going to have to replace, will you buy the original set or just BrickLink the whole thing?

[Legodt]

I agree, the dark grey is not the best for the Pizzeria, but I wanted to place it next to the Brick Bank, which is mostly white and grey.  I'm looking for a more coordinated look.

I do plan to purchase the full set... it is cheaper than Bricklink-ing for sure.  Also, I usually sell certain modulars after they retire, so I need all of the original pieces and packaging to be able to sell it.

Whenever the next corner modular comes out, I plan to sell Brick Bank and replace it with the new corner modular.  Hope I don't have to change the Pizzeria colors again.

[hikouki]

On 1/12/2023 at 12:17 PM, jonahtron said:

Here you go, I'm not sure if this is what you meant. It looks a bit like a converted police station to me.

I think this light tan and dark blue is also a very nice color variation! 
 

The pizzeria in gray looks a bit brutalist. Perhaps if it were dark orange, it would evoke more of the brick oven and perhaps look better.

[Maple]

Bit of an odd question, has anyone build Sanctum Sanctorum further back? So instead of having such a huge alley there is a much wider side walk? Wonder how it looks with the other current modulars.

[dukesofbrickdom]

2 minutes ago, Maple said:

Bit of an odd question, has anyone build Sanctum Sanctorum further back? So instead of having such a huge alley there is a much wider side walk? Wonder how it looks with the other current modulars.

I feel that if you tried to do that, the removable walls/portals would get in the way and prevent smooth connection with other modulars.

[Maple]

4 minutes ago, dukesofbrickdom said:

I feel that if you tried to do that, the removable walls/portals would get in the way and prevent smooth connection with other modulars.

It wouldn't be all the way back, because of the levers, just much closer. Two of the three panels would be fine, the monster I could just replace with my own parts. I really hate the alleyway, it's too big.

[dukesofbrickdom]

Just now, Maple said:

It wouldn't be all the way back, because of the levers, just much closer. Two of the three panels would be fine, the monster I could just replace with my own parts. I really hate the alleyway, it's too big.

Ok, that makes sense, I'm not a huge fan of it either. I honestly am debating displaying the set as standalone until TLG creates modulars that flow really well with. Essentially incorporating the alleyway into having an actual purpose.

[Maple]

2 minutes ago, dukesofbrickdom said:

Ok, that makes sense, I'm not a huge fan of it either. I honestly am debating displaying the set as standalone until TLG creates modulars that flow really well with. Essentially incorporating the alleyway into having an actual purpose.

I don't have any room and have spent way too much on LEGO in recent years months but I low balled a best offer and got the set for $145USD so I figured what the heck. I could always sell the built set for ever more than I paid for it.

[Legodt]

11 hours ago, Maple said:

Bit of an odd question, has anyone build Sanctum Sanctorum further back? So instead of having such a huge alley there is a much wider side walk? Wonder how it looks with the other current modulars.

Yes, I modularized the 76218 Sanctum Sanctorum, by adding a narrow extension.  What do you think?

  

 

On 1/23/2023 at 5:26 PM, hikouki said:

I think this light tan and dark blue is also a very nice color variation! 
 

The pizzeria in gray looks a bit brutalist. Perhaps if it were dark orange, it would evoke more of the brick oven and perhaps look better.

After building the 2nd level from my own pieces and a few Bricklink orders, I realized that most of the dark bluish gray will not be visible.  I replaced the pillar post supports with white and placed it next to Brick Bank.  Looks much better, since hardly any of the DBG is visible.

[Maple]

I like it, I'm guessing the sand green slopes are uncommon. You also make me kind of regret not getting the over scaled Lego Store. 

[westracing01]

About 1/3 of the way through the Jazz Club... I actually like the building better than I thought I would, but I find that it's not a that well thought out. There are elements that have no origin. Bottles and glasses on the tables, but no bar for instance. I think this would have been served better to be the entire plate instead of 2/3 of it.

[jus1973]

35 minutes ago, westracing01 said:

There are elements that have no origin. Bottles and glasses on the tables, but no bar for instance.

It’s the same for the Pool Hall in the Detectives Office.  Lego won’t build an alcohol bar I don’t think.  I remember someone on here commenting as such a fair while back.  As for the design, it kinda has the same issue as some other modulars in that it really is only a representation of a Jazz Club.  The same as the Boutique Hôtel, and Palace Cinema.  Both are undersized buildings for their purpose.  The glaring issue in the Jazz Club, is the gap to the pizza place next door.  That’s a shocker.  It would have been a simple, and cheap fix.

[Maple]

1 hour ago, westracing01 said:

About 1/3 of the way through the Jazz Club... I actually like the building better than I thought I would, but I find that it's not a that well thought out. There are elements that have no origin. Bottles and glasses on the tables, but no bar for instance. I think this would have been served better to be the entire plate instead of 2/3 of it.

Bring your own beer. Glasses from the Pizzia Shop.

Problem solved.

 

This is why I wish LEGO would go back to making bigger modulars that have no interior, then people can't complain over nothing.

[DeanLearner]

Currently part way through building the set in Stud.io:

The colours never come out perfectly, but this is the ground floor of the club in medium blue. I have also swapped out some of the black in the sign for navy (according to part availability).

I’ve made some colour swaps for the pizzeria to more faithfully match the sort of neo-classical style, and exchange some of the black for lighter/warmer colours.

There are two variations of the pizzeria, one with the original white trim around the windows, one with it in the pale yellow. I was worried that two much white would make it look a little too all-white when the side wall is covered up, but I think design is a little too plain when it’s all in yellow.

[lomis]

1 hour ago, jus1973 said:

It’s the same for the Pool Hall in the Detectives Office.  Lego won’t build an alcohol bar I don’t think.  I remember someone on here commenting as such a fair while back.

What about the bar on the terrace of the Boutique Hotel?

[Aanchir]

1 hour ago, lomis said:

What about the bar on the terrace of the Boutique Hotel?

Yeah, I think there are a number of cases like that where LEGO can include those sorts of builds with just a spoonful of plausible deniability — no reason a drink counter can't serve juice, seltzer, mineral water, or any number of non-alcoholic mixed drinks. Sort of the same situation as with the casks in a lot of Castle sets — that could be anything in those barrels! A fully stocked bar with bottles lined up across multiple rows of shelves might be pushing the envelope a little too much to get approved, but it's hard to say for sure. Regardless, I think the pizzeria in this set provides more than enough explanation for where the patrons are getting their beverages.
 

Also, it's important to keep in mind that pretty much all Modular Buildings (and other sets, for that matter) regularly have to reduce or leave out certain features in the name of efficiency/economy of detail, even if they'd be logical or necessary in real life.

One of the most glaring examples of this, to me, is that the Grand Emporium has just ONE escalator between every two floors. How do customers who go up to the higher floors ever get back down? Are they just trapped until an employee decides to turn off or reverse the direction of the escalators? On a similar note, Town Hall only having one elevator and no stairs or fire escapes seems like a pretty serious fire hazard!

And how come the photo studio and apartment in Assembly Square can't be accessed without first walking through the bakery and dentist's office? What are their occupants to do when those places are closed? Bear in mind that access-related concerns like these would still generally apply even if all the Modular Building sets still came WITHOUT furnished interiors!

On a more general level, none of the shops in the series have any sort of break room or stock room, and most of the restaurants/cafes (including the aforementioned rooftop bar) don't include any sinks or dishwashers. Even utility closets for brooms, mops, fuse boxes, ladders, etc are pretty much unheard of. And of course, while the designers have gotten better at including bathrooms in new buildings from Assembly Square onward, toilet access was WAY less reliable in the collection's early years!

This is why I'm willing to tolerate the relatively limited seating in sets like the Palace Cinema and Jazz Club or the small number of suites in the Boutique Hotel, and would likely make similar concessions if we ever got a schoolhouse or hospital as part of the series. Likewise, while I'm all for fleshed-out, "livable" interiors, there are a lot of features that I'm willing to do without if they aren't eye catching, aren't critical to the primary activities within a particular setting, or feel too similar to stuff from other recent buildings.

 

Most stuff in the LEGO world is just smaller than it would be real life, and that often means suspending disbelief about these sorts of practical considerations if the same space could be used in more fun and interesting ways. Yeah, a bar would make a lot of sense for a jazz club like this, but I'm not convinced it'd be more fun or interesting than the pizzeria that can serve food and drinks to not just the clubgoers, but also to the upstairs tenants, outdoor diners, or customers who want a pizza delivered.

Edited February 2, 2023 by Aanchir

[RichardGoring]

1 hour ago, Aanchir said:

Most stuff in the LEGO world is just smaller than it would be real life, and that often means suspending disbelief about these sorts of practical considerations if the same space could be used in more fun and interesting ways. Yeah, a bar would make a lot of sense for a jazz club like this, but I'm not convinced it'd be more fun or interesting than the pizzeria that can serve food and drinks to not just the clubgoers, but also to the upstairs tenants, outdoor diners, or customers who want a pizza delivered.

Agreed, but, as you point out, it's to its benefit to be smaller, as anything larger would be massively more expensive and likely a more tedious build experience. It's the problem that doing minigure scale versions of real places suffer from, as they do have to reflect the real-world place. The Home Alone or Simpson's houses are a much larger scale than the modulars, so to my eyes don't fit alongside them. The Daily Bugle and Sanctum Santorum are much smaller in scale, so while they fit, the Sanctum is supposed to be four floors (from the outside), but it's the same height as a three storey modular, and, I think, a bit too small to be truly minifigure scale (with all of the inherent arguments about what scale you measure to for minifigs vs people).

For me, the modulars nail the balance between looks, scale, detail, playability, cost, and all the other things you'd want from a mass market set. Despite the compromises that have to be made as a result. It also shows you just how good Friends is, for including a bathroom in EVERYTHING! (small children LOVE this, and they clearly know their target market!)

[Maple]

Brick Clicker is saying that the Piazza van promo has because a 'Removal Van' which is interesting and silly.

[Lemerbrix]

New leak on instagram, apparently we’re getting a moving van instead of a pizza delivery van, so I guess I’ll get a Lego city pizza van to go with my non existent jazz club

@Maple it’s actually a moving van, just a mistranslation

link: https://www.instagram.com/p/CoLceKwhHhj/

[RichardGoring]

What is the difference between a moving van and a removals van? Aren't they the same thing?

Anyway, it's nice that we finally get a GWP for the townhouse renovation with the petshop...

[Maple]

23 minutes ago, RichardGoring said:

What is the difference between a moving van and a removals van? Aren't they the same thing?

Anyway, it's nice that we finally get a GWP for the townhouse renovation with the petshop...

I just figured 'removal van' is what the British call 'moving van'.

I find it weird that LEGO changed it 'last minute'. My guess is we will be getting a Pizza food truck in 2024. I'm really sick of the lazy food trucs in City and was looking forward how the GWP was going to be. Oh well, money saved.

[AFOLguy1970]

Some of you are probably aware of this, but for many (especially the OCD type), this will be a heads up.  I was converting my Brick Bank to MILS and then had some parts left over to also convert half of the Pet Shop.  I noticed that the bank had the white lamp post on top of a plate on top of the baseplate, while the Pet Shop had the lamp post directly on top of the baseplate.  A quick inspection of all modulars revealed that Palace Cinema and every modular before it had the lamp post on the baseplate.  Everything after that has a plate between the lamp post and the baseplate.  So if you were unaware of this as I was and you insist on your street having lamp posts of the same height, you need to gather some 2x2 plates.  I definitely agree with this design change as the lamp post appears much better this way.  

[RichardGoring]

15 minutes ago, AFOLguy1970 said:

Some of you are probably aware of this, but for many (especially the OCD type), this will be a heads up.  I was converting my Brick Bank to MILS and then had some parts left over to also convert half of the Pet Shop.  I noticed that the bank had the white lamp post on top of a plate on top of the baseplate, while the Pet Shop had the lamp post directly on top of the baseplate.  A quick inspection of all modulars revealed that Palace Cinema and every modular before it had the lamp post on the baseplate.  Everything after that has a plate between the lamp post and the baseplate.  So if you were unaware of this as I was and you insist on your street having lamp posts of the same height, you need to gather some 2x2 plates.  I definitely agree with this design change as the lamp post appears much better this way.  

And to take it even further, do you then use a black 2x2 plate, like Brick Bank Parisian Restaurant, and Detective's Office, or dark bluish grey, like the more recent ones?!

[Lion King]

Oooh a moving van? It’s little odd to go with Jazz Club set but it’s nice to add it to Modular Street!