Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[mapimi]

Do you guys remember how early we knew the next modular would be a restaurant long before the official presentation of PR? I remember reading about it during the summer of 2013, which is when I joined Eurobricks, but the rumors might have been out before. So based on previous modular releases, is there a possible timeline of when we might learn the name of the next modular?

[talos]

Right now, I just noticed on shop.lego.com, most of the modulars are on back order, just TH and PR are available. I wonder if that says anything about which are most popular sellers. Hard to say. I'm sure the price is a big factor, both of those are the priciest sets.

As for my wishlist for future sets, I would like to see a shop row, 2 or 3, with flats upstairs, with one of the spaces being a post office. It should have a loading dock space on the back, come with a delivery truck, signs, and be 3 levels too.

Something transport related would be nice also, a bus station or train station. Something with arches, maybe a drive through space for the bus to enter...

My list could be endless I think! Haha! Library, police, museum....

[zobbified]

My list could be endless I think! Haha! Library, police, museum....

Ditto. Perhaps a bank/post office combination?

[mapimi]

Bank would be nice, it's after all a very vital building to any city, and the banks for late 19th century/early 20th century tend to be very nicely decorated with lots of interior and exterior details, and after a few businesses, it would be nice if our minifigs could get the money to buy stuff from these businesses ^^

[Fritzy]

A museum modular would be a thrill for me to put together. No doubt the nature of it would inspire me to add my own exhibits.

[Boettner Builds]

A museum modular would be a thrill for me to put together. No doubt the nature of it would inspire me to add my own exhibits.

I'm working on one in LDD, to be built in real life later

[namioik]

Lego store in Houston Texas manager informed me Town Hall will retire this year in lieu of Grand Emporium. She told me in the beginning of the year too

[AFOLguy1970]

Lego store in Houston Texas manager informed me Town Hall will retire this year in lieu of Grand Emporium. She told me in the beginning of the year too

It is quite possible that Grand Emporium sales are doing well because so many people think it is the next one to go, therefore they are buying it before it is gone. You have people who are new to Lego or someone who just came out of a Dark Age who decided that modulars are great, and they are! Naturally, if you wanted to collect them all, you focus on the one at risk of going first. Then, you have others who want to make a profit and are stocking up on them assuming the price will skyrocket when they retire. I will bet they are not going to be happy when TH suddenly disappears and GE is still around.

I have not really decided about TH one way or the other. This is currently the only remaining modular on the market I do not own, but it does not really excite me as much as some of the others.

Hopefully it will not be long, and the rumors of the new modular will start to surface. A bank does sound nice and would fit right in a central town scheme.

[Laphroag]

It is quite possible that Grand Emporium sales are doing well because so many people think it is the next one to go, therefore they are buying it before it is gone.

That may be a reason for good sales. But my impression is also that GE is very popular to modify into larger versions, meaning people buy more than one set. It doesn't seem that common with any of the other modulars.

[jfbat]

I think GE is just something people can relate to better than to Town Hall. Plus Town Hall is quite expensive with quite a low play/fun factor. GE is just more "bang for the buck".

[Roger_Smith]

Luckily, I ordered Town Hall from S@H and it's on its way, so I'm fine either way. It was the last modular I was missing, though I still have to build the Parisian Restaurant (and the Haunted House).

I can't imagine TH disappearing quite so soon, though. After all, it IS included on the back box art of Parisian Restaurant, and if there were plans to retire ot within a few months of PR's release they surely wouldn't have put it on there. Why waste the opportunity to advertise a building that will be around longer instead?

[rollermonkey]

Because maybe in December 2013 (or whenever the box was finalized) they were still undecided what would retire next and used the box back to advertise the worst selling set(s)? Then, however many months later when the decision is(was) made, if TH is indeed (still?) selling as poorly as we seem to hear, they could retire it, knowing they did everything they could to boost its sales, unsuccessfully, and retire it with no qualms if it was the right or wrong decision.

The simple fact that we've got store managers across the US volunteering the info that TH is next to retire is one of two things:

1: An intentional lie to sell the slowest selling set and then NOT retire what is reportedly the slowest selling set.

2: The truth.

If it's the first, then they risk offending or losing the trust of the customers who've been told this in order to NOT retire the worst selling set?

If it's the second, people know that they can trust the local store managers, and they retire the worst selling set.

So, yeah. Explain to me why you think GE will retire first, despite multiple store managers saying otherwise, and how that's a good idea.

How does the maxim go?

"The simplest scenario is most likely the correct scenario"

Or something like that.

Edited April 15, 2014 by rollermonkey

[jfbat]

The simple fact that we've got store managers across the US volunteering the info that TH is next to retire is one of two things:

1: An intentional lie to sell the slowest selling set and then NOT retire what is reportedly the slowest selling set.

2: The truth.

It might also be an educated guess, based on what they read on forums such as these... ;)

[rollermonkey]

...exactly, except the boards were discussing the timeline of GE's retirement when the first few reports popped up that managers had started saying this instead.

It could still happen that GE goes first, but until then, I'm taking the word of my local LEGO store managers who both say otherwise at two separate locations.

[Boettner Builds]

...exactly, except the boards were discussing the timeline of GE's retirement when the first few reports popped up that managers had started saying this instead.

It could still happen that GE goes first, but until then, I'm taking the word of my local LEGO store managers who both say otherwise at two separate locations.

This is why I bought the TH! And I bought a second GE

[nesquik]

A fairground isn't a modular.....how would it connect with other buildings......it doesn't make sense ?

It could an expert build separate from the modular though ?

'Modular' refers to a design technique rather than an actual product line.

The carnival in question is actually from the same Fairground sub theme as the 'Grand Carousel' from a few years back, and similarly is built on an extra-large baseplate.

[Faefrost]

I suspect it is not so much a question of formally retiring a set, as in its planned and Calender'd EOL date, as it is a question of whether or not to do one more production run of a given set, thus restocking it in warehouses for an extended time. We saw that with FB the first time we thought it was retiring. It got scarce aftermarket orices rose, and suddenly and unexpectedly another full production run arrived, which carried it through until recently. The same with the Death Star. GE just got a similar bonus production run beyond its original plans just a few months ago. So it is well stocked in the supply chain. TH is simply most likely not going to get that extra run. It's sold well. But not well enough to extend its life and go back to production. Plus if the rumors are true and we will be getting 2 Modulars this year, then they most likely not restock whichever of the old is expected to be the next to sell out. They typically will not do a new or extra factory run of something, if a product that is viewed as a direct replacement is already in the production channel. This is why things like Ninjago a Spinners and Chima Speedorz only get one run, even when they sell out overnight.

So it's not so much a question of "when do we retire it, and which one do we retire?" As "are we going to make more of X? Or do we have Y almost ready to replace it?"

'Modular' refers to a design technique rather than an actual product line.

The carnival in question is actually from the same Fairground sub theme as the 'Grand Carousel' from a few years back, and similarly is built on an extra-large baseplate.

From the brief, leaked and badly translated description, it almost sounded like there isn't a baseplate. I think it is a fully done modern mobile fair ride that folds up into a truck. So it probably sits on a tractor trailers wheels or jack stands.

[namioik]

Quite frankly, I am not sure if I would even pick up TH. I would love to be a completest when it comes to modular buildings but Jaime Berard is such a beast at creating the next modular which (in my opinion) puts TH and PC to shame..

[rollermonkey]

Now there's a rumor in the general forum that it's going to be Pet Shop...

(via Brick Show)

It's getting silly now.

[LegoSjaak]

Maybe they skip the 2015 modular, because the older ones still sell very well!

[glendo]

Whatever it is, i will buy it.

im not going to b happy if it's another 'skinny' modular like PR was.

you can justify it once, but if it happens again i'll be very upset.

[lightningtiger]

If it is a fairground then talk of belongs in the creator section of the other forum.......a modular building is a building not a truck with a ride on the back of it......though that would make be a good addition to the great vehicles range ?

But there is no real proof just some hear say.

[lomis]

Quite frankly, I am not sure if I would even pick up TH. I would love to be a completest when it comes to modular buildings but Jaime Berard is such a beast at creating the next modular which (in my opinion) puts TH and PC to shame..

I thought the same thing about the TH.

I wasn't convinced that it was worth it after looking through the photos and reviews.

That was until the wife and I were in our local LEGO store...

We already have the FB, PS, GE, and PR.

I told her that I was somewhat interested in it but that I wasn't sure if it was a "must buy".

She said she really liked it and persuaded me that it was worth getting and that it didn't hurt to get double points.

I'm glad she convinced me.

After building it - it's one of my favorite Modular Buildings (after the PS).

There was something very relaxing about the build.

There are also some really great build techniques - like the columns, and roof details.

I also liked that the whole build was only spread across three sets of numbered bags: a lot of pieces for parts 1 and 3.

I would consider getting it if I were you - even if you're not a completest.

I still don't ever see myself springing for the PC.

It just doesn't strike me as well done as any of the Modular Buildings and the stickers are the nails in the coffin.

Edited April 16, 2014 by lomis

[namioik]

I would consider getting it if I were you - even if you're not a completest.

I still don't ever see myself springing for the PC.

It just doesn't strike me as well done as any of the Modular Buildings and the stickers are the nails in the coffin.

I will reconsider! Thanks for the heads up :)

[Faefrost]

Now there's a rumor in the general forum that it's going to be Pet Shop...

(via Brick Show)

It's getting silly now.

Actually it makes perfect sense if you think about it from a distribution and production standpoint and not simply an age of product / EOL view. We are just coming off a long stretch of double VIP points. Which tend to be the moments when AFOLs will buy the most big AFOL targeted D2C sets like the Modulars. So buy extension these are the moments when the existing stocks of those type sets get quickly depleted. Both Pet Shop and Town Hall are mostly likely nearing the 2 year mark on their last production run and restock. Grand Emporium recently was restocked. And Palace Cinema and Parisian Restaurant are much newer and thus have a larger more recent pool of stock in the channel. So chances are the double VIP is depleting the remaining stock of PS and TH. It's just that PS is now depleting faster. At this point it is doubtful that either will get another production run, so as they run out they retire. (Which as I said above might be a sign of a new one in the pipeline.) PS's retiring first is being driven more by its better price point.