Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[hikouki]

1 hour ago, Silverhurst said:

 

My take is that they were thinking that since Lego usually releases the modular in January, it would be cool if the museum were to not be the regular modular, but a special one to replace AS, and that on January 1st everyone would wake up to find the actual annual modular released, and without any spoilers having been leaked! Surprise! 

 

33 minutes ago, Lego Nostalgia said:

I meant that it would be interesting  if they would release a modular in December and January. Basically 2 in 1 year

I think it would have to leak at least a few days early if it were to be in stores by Jan.

If this were the case, I am thinking that the "second" modular will perhaps be a crossover from another theme? Perhaps CNY x Modular?

[BrickFit26]

We basically got 2 this year in 2023. The Jazz Club in January and now the Museum in December.

[Mellish]

4 hours ago, BrickFit26 said:

We basically got 2 this year in 2023. The Jazz Club in January and now the Museum in December.

So this is one of my Questions, do we get the next modular 1st December 2024 or have to wait to ‘normal’ 1st of January 2025 - in effect never having a modular in 2024

14 hours ago, Silverhurst said:

A tablesaw and fine blade for plastics will easily fix that issue

I have also found a sharp craft knife and a metal straight edge works with a little practice.

I was once a purist and would never consider modifying a Lego plate. But when I had unusual size modifications to my street (removing the donut shop from police station and deleting the green building) I found it was necessary and just allows that little more creativity. 
 

I think that cutting a base plate is the only modification I would ever do though 

13 hours ago, Lion King said:

I just finished reading reviews on this amazing museum set. 

I really don’t understand why most of AFOLs saying that it’s “boxy”…

Oh yeah, and I’m really glad that the museum has a lovely cherry blossom.

I think this is well said, and agree with your points, for a museum I think it is well thought out, the style and building type feels like it would be a sand stone build so a tan colour is what we expect maybe, but the earthy green works for me. 
 

I am a big fan of trees on my street so will enjoy seeing if I can include this tree, just a little sad we did not get the technique bits in brown to avoid the grey bands  

[Arjo]

I take everything I wrote back (inc. reservations re. Colour). I’ve seen it “in the brick” at my local store and it in fact works very well. So I’m in… at some point, so as to maximise bang for buck and compensate hefty price tag (though not egregious by Tlg standards these days). For those of you who might have been disappointed by the pictures, go take a look if you can, it might change your mind.

 

ps: for the most AFOL of us outthere who buy multiple copies of modulars… this might not require much as it could be sticking two of these side by side makes quite a statement already

ps2: comments above as a “stand alone” modular. Integrated into a street or city, it will be a game of trial and error (as well as personal taste) to find the best pairing

[cebelicamya]

I really prefer the look of museum without the extras.
The picture is from Tiago Catarino review on youtube.  

Edited November 4, 2023 by cebelicamya

[ddavid]

22 minutes ago, cebelicamya said:

I really prefer the look of museum without the extras.
The picture is from Tiago Catarino review on youtube.  

 

I like the tree and the posters- adds more variety. I admit the statutes seem a little out of place - Maybe on the roof they would look nicer. Without the more colourful parts, the museum looks even more like a haunted house 

[FrkW]

Without the decore, my first thought is a court house. Imposing-bordering on-scary. 

[Lion King]

6 hours ago, Mellish said:

So this is one of my Questions, do we get the next modular 1st December 2024 or have to wait to ‘normal’ 1st of January 2025 - in effect never having a modular in 2024

Yeah, htat’s an excellent quesiton - I do wonder… we have heard that there is a rumored second modular. So we shall see aout it. A year without Modular sounds little…dry.

6 hours ago, Mellish said:

I think this is well said, and agree with your points, for a museum I think it is well thought out, the style and building type feels like it would be a sand stone build so a tan colour is what we expect maybe, but the earthy green works for me. 
 

I am a big fan of trees on my street so will enjoy seeing if I can include this tree, just a little sad we did not get the technique bits in brown to avoid the grey bands  

Yeah tan color wold be nice,  it’s also an earthly color. But i appreciate that Chris and his design team chose olive green to add some variety to our streets!

True, gray bands are worst wen it comes to building trees for modular street. Bonsai Tree set is a fantastic one so I think it can be used for the street.

[BrickFit26]

12 hours ago, Mellish said:

So this is one of my Questions, do we get the next modular 1st December 2024 or have to wait to ‘normal’ 1st of January 2025 - in effect never having a modular in 2024

Idk. I wonder if anybody in the ambassador network asked why it was moved up to December. I'm thinking they will probably stick with a December 1st availability from now on. I also don't think the rumor of another modular is true. I think it could be a modular style build for another theme. 

[hikouki]

17 minutes ago, BrickFit26 said:

Idk. I wonder if anybody in the ambassador network asked why it was moved up to December. I'm thinking they will probably stick with a December 1st availability from now on. I also don't think the rumor of another modular is true. I think it could be a modular style build for another theme. 

The early December release is the elephant in the room and no one is acknowledging it. So there must be more to it than just 'an early release.'

Yes, I agree with you and don't see a reason why they would have two actual modulars in a year or every year. Some series have set releases every two, so why twice a year and we have been getting complaints from people that sets are getting expensive. Anyhow, a modular-style build from another theme is more plausible.

 

[jonwil]

My guess is that the modular is launching in December to make way for a different set (maybe the Ideas Orient Express) that got delayed somehow and needs to take up the spot the modular would normally have been released in.

As for other themes getting modular-type sets, we know we are getting a big Avengers Tower (AFAIK basically everything has been leaked at this point except the actual date when the set will be officially revealed or released) so there's that.

 

[Kallego]

29 minutes ago, jonwil said:

My guess is that the modular is launching in December to make way for a different set (maybe the Ideas Orient Express) that got delayed somehow and needs to take up the spot the modular would normally have been released in.

As for other themes getting modular-type sets, we know we are getting a big Avengers Tower (AFAIK basically everything has been leaked at this point except the actual date when the set will be officially revealed or released) so there's that.

 

The reveal will probably be on the 8th of November at this livestream:

https://www.lego.com/en-us/live/black-friday-product-reveal

 

Regarding the Orient express: rumors are it will be available from 1st December as well. But I think this is not official yet.

[Lion King]

2 hours ago, BrickFit26 said:

Idk. I wonder if anybody in the ambassador network asked why it was moved up to December. I'm thinking they will probably stick with a December 1st availability from now on. I also don't think the rumor of another modular is true. I think it could be a modular style build for another theme. 

 

2 hours ago, hikouki said:

The early December release is the elephant in the room and no one is acknowledging it. So there must be more to it than just 'an early release.'

Yes, I agree with you and don't see a reason why they would have two actual modulars in a year or every year. Some series have set releases every two, so why twice a year and we have been getting complaints from people that sets are getting expensive. Anyhow, a modular-style build from another theme is more plausible.

 

Maybe you are right that thee won’t be another modular for Modular Buidling Collection in 2024. Chinese New Year modular set could work well for the collection. For example, Spring Lantern Festival goes into Modular street real nice.

But Lego is competely unprecitable so I can’t underestimate them!

[Yoggington]

Probably as simple as a sales strategy of putting your flagship product out in time for the Christmas market makes more sense than holding it in hopes of a January sales bump.

A previous strategy of holding may have been wiser when there was only a handful of >€300 sets yearly. Seems like there's one every two months now.

[BrickFit26]

4 hours ago, hikouki said:

The early December release is the elephant in the room and no one is acknowledging it. So there must be more to it than just 'an early release.'

Yes, I agree with you and don't see a reason why they would have two actual modulars in a year or every year. Some series have set releases every two, so why twice a year and we have been getting complaints from people that sets are getting expensive. Anyhow, a modular-style build from another theme is more plausible.

 

I've seen 2 interviews with Chris now and nobody's asked him about the early release. 😳 

1 hour ago, Lion King said:

But Lego is competely unprecitable so I can’t underestimate them!

True.

[Lyichir]

1 hour ago, BrickFit26 said:

I've seen 2 interviews with Chris now and nobody's asked him about the early release. 😳

I think most of those interviews are from the Registered Lego Fan Media days in Billund earlier this year—back before this set or its release date had been publicly revealed. It's possible that even the interviewers didn't know about the release timing until long after the interview took place.

Edited November 5, 2023 by Lyichir

[hikouki]

1 hour ago, BrickFit26 said:

I've seen 2 interviews with Chris now and nobody's asked him about the early release. 😳 

True.

 

11 minutes ago, Lyichir said:

I think most of those interviews are from the Registered Lego Fan Media days in Billund earlier this year—back before this set or its release date had been publicly revealed. It's possible that even the interviewers didn't know about the release timing until long after the interview took place.

True, true. But now that the cat is out of the bag...???

At the end of the day, Lego Ambassadors de-facto work for Lego. (I have stopped watching these influencer videos over a year ago - a lot of them are just Lego apologists.)

[Gremer2]

Okay I've got one more question. Are the instructions for 910009 Modular Lego store available anywhere online? I can't find them.

 

Edit: I'm sorry, I meant to post this in the BrickLinking thread.

Edited November 5, 2023 by Gremer2

[The Reader]

On 10/31/2023 at 9:10 PM, Aanchir said:

I mean, maybe he wouldn't need an ID badge for ordinary office work. But for public-facing work like exhibit openings, fundraising events, or VIP guided tours, it doesn't seem odd for him to wear a name tag so he can be recognized by people who don't regularly work with or under him.

For that matter, it wouldn't surprise me if this museum's ID cards are also used as key cards for access to otherwise restricted areas of the building (like the curator's office or exhibit storage room. That would explain him wearing it on a lanyard instead of on his lapel.

Ok, I agree to that part of the museum's story.

But I have an other "problem" with the ID batch: It makes the torso almost useless for any Adventurers setting/display/MOC. I mean, we can't sent Doc Lightning to the desert or the jungle with an ID batch, can we?

[Alexandrina]

3 hours ago, The Reader said:

Ok, I agree to that part of the museum's story.

But I have an other "problem" with the ID batch: It makes the torso almost useless for any Adventurers setting/display/MOC. I mean, we can't sent Doc Lightning to the desert or the jungle with an ID batch, can we? 

Maybe Johnny Thunder can pay him a visit at the museum and "encourage" him to leave right away on urgent adventuring business. I recall Indiana Jones doing something similar to Doctor Liam Brody in The Last Crusade.

[Lion King]

2 hours ago, Alexandrina said:

Maybe Johnny Thunder can pay him a visit at the museum and "encourage" him to leave right away on urgent adventuring business. I recall Indiana Jones doing something similar to Doctor Liam Brody in The Last Crusade.

Great idea!! I will add Johnny Thunder (Jungle Explorer) from CMF Series 19 to the museum. 

[hikouki]

7 hours ago, The Reader said:

Ok, I agree to that part of the museum's story.

But I have an other "problem" with the ID batch: It makes the torso almost useless for any Adventurers setting/display/MOC. I mean, we can't sent Doc Lightning to the desert or the jungle with an ID batch, can we?

I'm with you on that!

However, without that ID, he will look like he just got off the expedition and would not look like he is the museum curator.

[Lyichir]

Finished building the set on Stud.io earlier today (based on review pictures and a helpful speed build video). Here are some of my thoughts that crystallized for me as I built the set digitally:

• I've seen a couple reviews say that they felt like the build lacked novelty, but I feel like the columns are certainly somewhat novel. Their overall shape isn't totally unique (somewhat of a refinement of the Town Hall's columns), but the way they're attached to the floors via SNOT so that they can span both floors and separate with them is pretty unique.
• Speaking of the columns, anyone interested in adding a floor will have to do a little modification. While the middle floor IS repeatable (as with most modulars), a small but necessary modification will have to be made to remove the capital from the columns in the middle section to make them look right.
• I think I've already mentioned this but personally I'm fond of the color, with the dark brown, tan, and dark tan adding a lot of visual interest to the olive walls. The front also makes excellent use of texture, though the back is somewhat lacking in that respect.
• The use of ingot pieces for some of the signage inside is interesting—a white ingot is placed above the restroom door to simulate a restroom sign while a red one is placed above the supply closet door, presumably to simulate an exit sign. These work but also make me feel like there might be a market for third-party custom prints for such broadly useful signage.
• The tiling and varied levels on the ground floor are quite elaborate. It definitely makes the layout interesting, but also reminds me that we have yet to have a fully wheelchair-accessible modular. Maybe someday...
• Some of the "unused" space features little easter eggs. The first floor features a dino fossil under the central raised floor and a mousehole with cheese (but no mouse) off to one side.
• A part of me wishes that some of the space under the skylights were used more—perhaps for a suspended aircraft or spacecraft model. Though I suppose for the practical purpose of letting light in it's probably not a bad thing to be relatively unobstructed.
• It's not uncommon for a new modular makes heavy use of some of the new molds introduced the previous year. In this one, some of the parts that stood out to me in how widely they were used were the 1x3 and 1x4 rounded plates. The 1x3 version is used for the fence in front, for the capitals on the columns, and for the dinosaur fossil. The 1x4 versions are used less but find good use for mounting the ferns (another new piece) in the front garden. Another new-ish part used to practical effect is the 3x3 corner plate which is used to reinforce the many corners of the building and the arches that span the middle section of the interior.

All things considered, I'm very much looking forward to getting the set for real—maybe for Christmas.

[henrysunset]

I had the distinct pleasure of building this set early through the LEGO Fan Media program. I love the Modular series and am familiar with the entire series - and have built the 6 most recent sets.  Since I have the set-in hand, I would be happy to answer any questions you might have about the set!

 

I think it looks best with the Police Station on the left, and the Boutique Hotel on the right.

 

If you want to read the entire review, which includes a lot more analysis and photos, please visit:
https://brickarchitect.com/2023/review-10326-lego-icons-modular-natural-history-museum/

It is the largest set in the modular series, and you will find a box within the box containing the first 14 bags.
 

Highlights and Lowlights (spoilers below)

I debuted a completely new metric to try to assess value: price-per-minute.  (Only includes sets I built for fairness purposes, and the main discovery is that some sets are a lot faster to build that others, and part count alone doesn't predict this well since some sets are a lot easier to build than others. I am legitimately curious to hear what folks think of this metric.)


The poor price-per-minute is easily explained by this photo - there aren't a lot of complex techniques to slow things down.
 

In the review, I offered a bit more analysis of the architectural styles being used here, and while I don't prefer the Olive Green color, it is historically accurate to the French Second Empire architectural style.

The pediment is cleverly built and nicely detailed.

 

There has been a lot of discussion about the decision to release in December instead of January.  My two theories are that:
1: They had a different AFOL set planned for this holiday, but something went wrong.
2: It is an intentional strategic change to capture more sales at the holidays by making the modular into a family tradition. (especially with changing global economic outlook.)
 

The banner and instruction book are marked (c) 2024, indicating that the decision to change the release date was probably late in the year.

 

I really wanted to love the set, especially given the wider format compared to every other set besides Assembly Square.  I ended up giving it just a 3/5 rating, which I describe as 'Good' but we usually get great out of the Modular series.    I ranked the last six modulars from best to worst.  I wonder how close your ranking would be?  (#1 Police Station, #2 Boutique Hotel, #3 Jazz Club, #4 Bookstore, #5 Natural History Museum, #6 Corner Garage.)

Completed model posed the same way as the front of the box.

 

Sincerely,
— Tom Alphin

Edited November 6, 2023 by henrysunset

[Kallego]

My expectations were to high, no modular in the cny line. But it's a nice restaurant building with mod potential.

http://brckmrg.de/80113-1