Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[MAB]

On 31/12/2017 at 3:08 AM, ncx said:

I have to say something, especially since this is inspired by American culture. The Diner is of a 1950s style called “Art Deco”. It was a very popular style in the 1940-60s. Even our trains and cars began to use the styling.

You guys really rush to judgement when you really don’t know for sure if that is the case. Stuff like this is what makes me hate AFOLs. They are so stuck up and think they know it all. 

2

Art Deco was 20-30 years earlier than that and over by the 1950s. Trains in Art Deco style came before the diners, the early diners were modelled on train dining cars. The 1950s diners are just based on earlier and by then traditional designs.

[VBBN]

I've wanted to get into the modular series since CC but never have; In terms of what is available in Lego stores right now, what would everyone say is the best set to go out and grab?

The Parisian Restaurant or Assembly Square look the most enticing to me from glancing at the most recent magazine, but of course that doesn't show the fun in building or owning the sets.

[Terrasher]

48 minutes ago, VBBN said:

I've wanted to get into the modular series since CC but never have; In terms of what is available in Lego stores right now, what would everyone say is the best set to go out and grab?

The Parisian Restaurant or Assembly Square look the most enticing to me from glancing at the most recent magazine, but of course that doesn't show the fun in building or owning the sets.

I'd buy Assembly Square. It has a little bit of everything regarding details, architectural styles and building techniques. Beautiful and dynamic.

If you want to play it really safe and not miss out on any of the modulars currently available, I guess you should buy Parisian Restaurant, since it's the oldest, but it will probably retire much, much later in 2018 or even early 2019.

[koalayummies]

1 hour ago, VBBN said:

I've wanted to get into the modular series since CC but never have; In terms of what is available in Lego stores right now, what would everyone say is the best set to go out and grab?

The Parisian Restaurant or Assembly Square look the most enticing to me from glancing at the most recent magazine, but of course that doesn't show the fun in building or owning the sets.

Get Parisian first. For those just getting into Modulars its usually recommended to get the oldest one that they want first. Assembly Square is only a year old, Parisian is 5 years old. 

Parisian is also (IMO) the best overall modular, gorgeous exterior, interesting and fun build techniques, elegant and timeless detailed interior, the whole building is classy. Assembly square is a bit boring of a build, predominantly brick on top of brick and not very interesting, a hodgepodge of styles and half-buildings and is more than a hundred dollars more expensive. 

[Faefrost]

35 minutes ago, koalayummies said:

Get Parisian first. For those just getting into Modulars its usually recommended to get the oldest one that they want first. Assembly Square is only a year old, Parisian is 5 years old. 

Parisian is also (IMO) the best overall modular, gorgeous exterior, interesting and fun build techniques, elegant and timeless detailed interior, the whole building is classy. Assembly square is a bit boring of a build, predominantly brick on top of brick and not very interesting, a hodgepodge of styles and half-buildings and is more than a hundred dollars more expensive. 

Agreed. Also while Parisian Restaurant looks like a smaller modular, it's incredibly dense. There is no wasted space in it and it is wall to wall interesting builds and techniques. It really is Jamie's masterpiece. 

[Bricked1980]

12 hours ago, VBBN said:

I've wanted to get into the modular series since CC but never have; In terms of what is available in Lego stores right now, what would everyone say is the best set to go out and grab?

The Parisian Restaurant or Assembly Square look the most enticing to me from glancing at the most recent magazine, but of course that doesn't show the fun in building or owning the sets.

As others have suggested Parisian restaurant is a beautiful set, jam packed with details. This was the set that first got me interested in Modulars. It works well alongside other buildings but also makes a good stand alone building.

Last years Assembly Square is brilliant though and I'd say my favourite one overall. With the extra width and the appearance of 3 buildings crammed in to one set, it kind of creates a miniature street scene on it's own even if you haven't got any other models in the series. In my opinion, Assembly Square could almost be called a Modular "Starter Set".

I doubt you would be disappointed with either of these sets.

Edited January 18, 2018 by Bricked1980

[Eaglefan344]

23 hours ago, VBBN said:

I've wanted to get into the modular series since CC but never have; In terms of what is available in Lego stores right now, what would everyone say is the best set to go out and grab?

The Parisian Restaurant or Assembly Square look the most enticing to me from glancing at the most recent magazine, but of course that doesn't show the fun in building or owning the sets.

Palace Cinema is still available on Amazon. 

[Vindicare]

I’m curious how you all come to arrange your Modulars. I’ve pretty much had mine in their release “groups”-Cafe Corner, Green Grocer, Fire Brigade, & so on. I’m in the midst of working on a remodel and I’m thinking about switching it up. Been looking at YouTube for inspiration. 

[Gpack418]

I could not find this, but has anybody turned Assembly Square into a corner modular? If you could send me a link to one that would be appreciated! 

[koalayummies]

33 minutes ago, Vindicare said:

I’m curious how you all come to arrange your Modulars. I’ve pretty much had mine in their release “groups”-Cafe Corner, Green Grocer, Fire Brigade, & so on. I’m in the midst of working on a remodel and I’m thinking about switching it up. Been looking at YouTube for inspiration. 

Here's a bunch of inspiration with lots of variations:

 

[Faefrost]

I have a wide Ikea shelf that circles three walls of my Home Office at about shoulder height. 5 shelf segments each holds 4 1/2 Modulars (4x32 + 1x16 or similar). The city basically wraps around and above my work desk. It's starting to get a bit tight. With City of Ninjago, Haunted House and Old Fishing Store in with them, plus 3 of my own MOC's I am almost out of room. I can fit maybe 2 more buildings. 

[Bricked1980]

Reports just coming in from the Nuremberg toy fair are saying that the rumored Ninjago Harbor set 70657 will have technic pins so that it can be connected to Ninjago City. Looking forward to seeing how this can possibly be adapted to fit in with the Creator Modulars.

Edited January 30, 2018 by Bricked1980

[LegoModularFan]

32 minutes ago, Bricked1980 said:

Reports just coming in from the Nuremberg toy fair are saying that the rumored Ninjago Harbor set 70657 will have technic pins so that it can be connected to Ninjago City. Looking forward to seeing how this can possibly be adapted to fit in with the Creator Modulars.

Confirmed!:

https://www.google.fr/amp/s/www.thebrickfan.com/the-lego-ninjago-movie-ninjago-city-docks-70657-confirmed-at-nuremberg-toy-fair/amp/

http://www.brickfanatics.co.uk/the-lego-ninjago-movie-70657-city-docks-confirmed/

Can’t wait to see it! More and more buildings with interiors  

Edited January 30, 2018 by LegoModularFan

[Bricked1980]

2 minutes ago, LegoModularFan said:

Confirmed!:

https://www.google.fr/amp/s/www.thebrickfan.com/the-lego-ninjago-movie-ninjago-city-docks-70657-confirmed-at-nuremberg-toy-fair/amp/

Can’t wait to see it! More and more buildings with interiors  

Great, wish there were some pics available.

Last year when Ninjago City was released, a lot of people felt that the technic pins had been included so that it could be attached to the main Creator Modulars, some people even felt it could actually be considered a sort of spin off from the official modulars. I think it's pretty safe to say now that this was not the designers intention though and the only reason the pins were included was so that Ninjago City could be connected to the docks and any other future Ninjago modulars that get released.

Even so I am very much looking forward to seeing if and how this can be modified to fit with the modulars and the awesome ideas that people come up with!

[Roebuck]

1 hour ago, Bricked1980 said:

Last year when Ninjago City was released, a lot of people felt that the technic pins had been included so that it could be attached to the main Creator Modulars, some people even felt it could actually be considered a sort of spin off from the official modulars. I think it's pretty safe to say now that this was not the designers intention though and the only reason the pins were included was so that Ninjago City could be connected to the docks and any other future Ninjago modulars that get released.

Not me at least: 
 

On 25.8.2017 at 8:02 AM, Roebuck said:

Ninjago City has nothing to do with the modular buildings so off course they will not make a connection to it in the next modular That thing is huge compared to them and do not have the same architectural style, in short; do not fit at all! Lego have released several big buildings lately like; haunted house, old fishing store and Firehouse Headquarters. You can make them fit the modular street more or less after some modding, but officially they are not connected 

But looking forward to see the new Ninjago D2C, hopefully it has some animal moulds down at the docks

[badbob001]

7 hours ago, Bricked1980 said:

I think it's pretty safe to say now that this was not the designers intention though and the only reason the pins were included was so that Ninjago City could be connected to the docks and any other future Ninjago modulars that get released.

That may be true, but I also don't think it's random chance that the pin placement is 100% modular compatible.

[Kalahari134]

Not random chance no, but why change it for the sake of making it different? Might as well leave the pins in the same place as the Creator Expert sets to allow people to choose to join them.

[LegoModularFan]

Hey guys! There is a leaked picture of The Dockyards on Reddit! It looks amazing! Great addition to the NC! Can’t wait for the official press release  What do you think about it?

[Bricked1980]

25 minutes ago, LegoModularFan said:

Hey guys! There is a leaked picture of The Dockyards on Reddit! It looks amazing! Great addition to the NC! Can’t wait for the official press release  What do you think about it?

Thanks for the heads up. Just had a look and it looks great! It will look very impressive next to Ninjago City, but I reckon it would need a lot of work to make it look acceptable alongside the Creator Modulars.

[8BrickMario]

Huh. It's even less of a modular than the city, but I guess it's appropriate. Hi-res pictures will make the decision.

[AnnaBuildsLego]

On 1/17/2018 at 9:04 PM, VBBN said:

I've wanted to get into the modular series since CC but never have; In terms of what is available in Lego stores right now, what would everyone say is the best set to go out and grab?

The Parisian Restaurant or Assembly Square look the most enticing to me from glancing at the most recent magazine, but of course that doesn't show the fun in building or owning the sets.

I think I would echo everyone else in saying to get the Parisian if you really want to get something from Lego directly; it's gorgeous and the oldest modular currently in production. However, the Palace Cinema (which is also beautiful) was only recently retired and is still available in some places and I'd highly recommend getting that while you can at retail price. 

--

My question to people: How easy/difficult would it be to piece together the Town Hall? I've always sorely regretted missing that set because I adore it, but I was in my Dark Ages at the time of its release. Do you think I could relatively easily recreate it with the right parts? Thanks in advance to anyone who can give advice!

Edited February 2, 2018 by AnnaBuildsLego

[Bricked1980]

16 minutes ago, AnnaBuildsLego said:

My question to people: How easy/difficult would it be to piece together the Town Hall? I've always sorely regretted missing that set because I adore it, but I was in my Dark Ages at the time of its release. Do you think I could relatively easily recreate it with the right parts? Thanks in advance to anyone who can give advice!

I also regret not owning town hall. It's such a huge and impactful set with a fairly decent interior as well.

[koalayummies]

43 minutes ago, AnnaBuildsLego said:

My question to people: How easy/difficult would it be to piece together the Town Hall? I've always sorely regretted missing that set because I adore it, but I was in my Dark Ages at the time of its release. Do you think I could relatively easily recreate it with the right parts? Thanks in advance to anyone who can give advice!

If you desire new bricks it will cost more than buying one of the complete/sealed new sets from a scalper and you'll probably still be missing a few of the rare pieces like the clock face. TH is the only set I caved in and bought on the aftermarket after discontinuation (I sold other useless-to-me items in order to get it so it didn't feel like I was blowing cash) but I did pricing comparison on piecing it together beforehand, went piece by piece and it was a good amount more than just buying the whole set new from a private party (and would have been missing said rare pieces). There's numerous discussions on acquiring/building the discontinued modulars but that was my experience with TH. 

Buying a complete used set is different and will be a more reasonable price. 

Another option is color-substitution. Since a lot of the discontinued modulars have been pieced together and are highly desirable some of the pieces command a premium. A color change of the hundreds of pieces that make up the walls can noticeably drop the price. Easy way to do this is download the LDD file for the set, color-change the bricks and compare the parts list pricing. 

Edited February 2, 2018 by koalayummies

[AnnaBuildsLego]

2 hours ago, koalayummies said:

If you desire new bricks it will cost more than buying one of the complete/sealed new sets from a scalper and you'll probably still be missing a few of the rare pieces like the clock face. TH is the only set I caved in and bought on the aftermarket after discontinuation (I sold other useless-to-me items in order to get it so it didn't feel like I was blowing cash) but I did pricing comparison on piecing it together beforehand, went piece by piece and it was a good amount more than just buying the whole set new from a private party (and would have been missing said rare pieces). There's numerous discussions on acquiring/building the discontinued modulars but that was my experience with TH. 

Buying a complete used set is different and will be a more reasonable price. 

Another option is color-substitution. Since a lot of the discontinued modulars have been pieced together and are highly desirable some of the pieces command a premium. A color change of the hundreds of pieces that make up the walls can noticeably drop the price. Easy way to do this is download the LDD file for the set, color-change the bricks and compare the parts list pricing. 

Thanks for the response! This is very helpful, I'll have to think about the options. Cheers! 

[sebitsena]

Patience is also a good solution to get retired sets. After i started to collect new modulars in October 2015, i found the Grand Emporium + the Fire Brigade (with box and instructions in like new condition) 6 months later for 450€ both. At the end of 2016, i found the Town Hall for 300€ (again with box and instructions in like new condition) ; only 4 bricks were missing (less than 1€ at "Briques et pièces" service on the Shop@Home). It tooks me about 3 years to find the Cafe Corner and the Market Street below 300€ each. Now, i am still looking for a Green Grocer in like new condition with box and instruction, but it's the harder to find: nothing below 600€, the lowest price i found :/

So, if you want to save money, be patient trying to find the best deal and have a daily look on eBay, Bricklink and local ads ;)