Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[Brick Dangerous]

11 hours ago, Eaglefan344 said:

They already did one in Cafe Corner though. I would be shocked if the next one is a hotel.

I was about to say the same thing. It's funny how no one ever seems to acknowledge that. It even has a huge sign that spells it out. Would be really strange if we got another one to boot when there are so many other possibilities.

[Isherwood]

On 8/7/2018 at 11:42 AM, Ggroup said:

The only thing on having a Hotel is that, in the moduar building scale, it wouldn't be enough space to have many rooms for the guests, lobby and other features. But ithe Hotel continues being a potencial candidate.

It could be a Boutique Hotel. Ground floor lobby and restaurant/bar, then two floors of rooms, and of course a rooftop pool.

Actually, have Lego ever done a swimming pool? That would be cool. 

[Jasper Joppe Geers]

2 hours ago, Brick Dangerous said:

I was about to say the same thing. It's funny how no one ever seems to acknowledge that. It even has a huge sign that spells it out. Would be really strange if we got another one to boot when there are so many other possibilities.

It did have the sign indeed, but not the interior. If one thing has changed over te years in modular terms it is the fact that the interior has become more important.
Just as important as the facade i'd say.

For me it should be the reason to re release the Cafe Corner, just to provide an interior if possible. 

Edited August 10, 2018 by Jasper Joppe Geers

[jus1973]

6 hours ago, Jasper Joppe Geers said:

For me it should be the reason to re release the Cafe Corner, just to provide an interior if possible. 

Whilst I’m a late starter to the modulars and only have the last 6, and would love to have more, the way they’ve evolved to have more detail inside would make any re release of Cafe Corner, or any other, so expensive for a 32x32 size, as TLG would be adding upwards of another 500-1000 parts for the interiors, and have to redesign the walls to take the new insides.

I think its best to just move forward with new ideas and new designs.

[eliminator]

I'm only missing the first two modular buildings and I really don't want them to do re-releases. Onward and upwards!

[fordtruckin]

I am missing Market Street, Cafe Corner and Green Grocer. I would love to have rereleases because i wont pay the extortion aftermarket prices for those sets.

[Chiaroscuro]

Those earlier releases don’t fit with today esthetics so they could not be rereleased without a major overhaul which would make them pointless as rereleases. 

 

But I agree that they can revisit old themes/buildings (like the hotel) with a completely new building.

[Fenghuang0296]

23 hours ago, Isherwood said:

It could be a Boutique Hotel. Ground floor lobby and restaurant/bar, then two floors of rooms, and of course a rooftop pool.

Actually, have Lego ever done a swimming pool? That would be cool. 

I think the closest we've ever had to a proper pool was the Ship In A Bottle. 

Though how would it work? Would they dump a bunch of trans blue studs into a built enclave? That sound s like a recipe for disaster to me . . maybe if they designed a tiled-over section of floor a la Ninjago City and built in a couple of holes so that minifigure could be placed inside to look like they're partly underwater? That's the only thing I can think of that wouldn't be liable to spill if you moved it . . though following the example of Ship In A Bottle would be a lot more dynamic . . hmm . . 

[Kalahari134]

7 hours ago, Chiaroscuro said:

Those earlier releases don’t fit with today esthetics so they could not be rereleased without a major overhaul which would make them pointless as rereleases.

Does it? Sure, the purist collectors would be unhappy but the rest of us who just want a building that looks 99% like the original would be fine. 

[Chiaroscuro]

1 hour ago, Kalahari134 said:

Does it? Sure, the purist collectors would be unhappy but the rest of us who just want a building that looks 99% like the original would be fine. 

I think it is exactly the opposite: collectors would be happy to have a exactly copy of the old set, while new and casual builders would think the buildings are too simple and empty by today’s standards.

[tkatt]

On 8/10/2018 at 4:58 AM, Isherwood said:

It could be a Boutique Hotel. Ground floor lobby and restaurant/bar, then two floors of rooms, and of course a rooftop pool.

Actually, have Lego ever done a swimming pool? That would be cool. 

That is basically the Friends Grand Hotel. 

[Brick Dangerous]

6 hours ago, Chiaroscuro said:

I think it is exactly the opposite: collectors would be happy to have a exactly copy of the old set, while new and casual builders would think the buildings are too simple and empty by today’s standards.

I think you're actually saying the same thing, not the opposite. If I'm not mistaken, Kalahari134's point was that collectors would be unhappy about a redesign while most everyone else would be fine with it.

[Chiaroscuro]

9 hours ago, Brick Dangerous said:

I think you're actually saying the same thing, not the opposite. If I'm not mistaken, Kalahari134's point was that collectors would be unhappy about a redesign while most everyone else would be fine with it.

I guess I misread him, but even so I don’t know if LEGO could please anyone. If it is exactly the same set, as purist collectors want, it won’t sell much because it doesn’t have modern appeal. If LEGO change it, substituting the old pieces for modern ones (like the windows) some estrutural changes have to be made, plus adding interior detail will also requires those changes, maybe also changes the facade to add detail and modern building techniques. So the end build would so different that it only resembles the old set, and the nostalgia/completeness will not be a factor anymore. Lego may better just release a new set within the same theme.

[Wodanis]

On 8/10/2018 at 9:01 PM, fordtruckin said:

I am missing Market Street, Cafe Corner and Green Grocer. I would love to have rereleases because i wont pay the extortion aftermarket prices for those sets.

Do what I just did last year and built my own Market Street. Most of the parts are available. Normally I am a purist but I made a few adjustments since it was a fan creation. The doors were replaced with the regular 1x6 door frames and instead of the tubed fencing I took out the platform and just used a 1x4 fence (1980's). It looks great and retains the essence of the set. Thankfully I had the foresight to order the figures when I built my Green Grocer and Cafe Corner. 

[Hippocampe]

Just by curiosity, does someone know which is the bestselling modular overall to date ?

I wish for the next one to be a hospital or a school : so many different rooms possible for each one, and enough elements to be a one theme building... Since I am the happy owner of them all, an hotel isn’t a first choice for me 

[eliminator]

3 hours ago, Hippocampe said:

Just by curiosity, does someone know which is the bestselling modular overall to date ?

I wish for the next one to be a hospital or a school : so many different rooms possible for each one, and enough elements to be a one theme building... Since I am the happy owner of them all, an hotel isn’t a first choice for me 

Based on Brickset data, the set owned by most users is Pet Shop (likely due to its long shelf-life), followed by Palace Cinema, then Parisian Restaurant.

https://brickset.com/sets/theme-Advanced-Models/subtheme-Modular-Buildings

[AE bricks]

On 8/12/2018 at 6:19 AM, Chiaroscuro said:

So the end build would so different that it only resembles the old set, and the nostalgia/completeness will not be a factor anymore. Lego may better just release a new set within the same theme.

I think TLG should not re-release but create more and newer designs indeed.

Still no news about a trainstation in the city line so an expert creator one might be a welcome surprise for 2019     

[Roebuck]

6 hours ago, eliminator said:

the set owned by most users is Pet Shop (likely due to its long shelf-life)

The reason it got a long shelf-life was probably because it was selling so good 

[eliminator]

1 hour ago, Roebuck said:

The reason it got a long shelf-life was probably because it was selling so good 

IMO it's a great set; first time I built it was with a friend...I did one half and he did the other. Good times!

[jus1973]

12 hours ago, eliminator said:

Based on Brickset data, the set owned by most users is Pet Shop (likely due to its long shelf-life).

It’s interesting to note that this set has dropped in price on the seller area of bricklink recently.  I don’t have it, and am quite tempted as there are some sealed new versions available at not much, if any, over listed new price.

Edited August 13, 2018 by jus1973

[TheLegomane]

Are there any rumours about a possible rerelease just like they did last year for the Taj Mahal? Do you think it was a one time thing?

Edited August 13, 2018 by TheLegomane

[Lyichir]

2 hours ago, TheLegomane said:

Are there any rumours about a possible rerelease just like they did last year for the Taj Mahal? Do you think it was a one time thing?

Given the logistical issues of a more or less straight rerelease like the Taj Mahal for the early modulars (which rely on many retired parts), I doubt we'd see one like that. A redesign, maybe, but that'd require more resources dedicated to the design process so I'm unsure whether they'd be able to fit that into the schedule as easily.

Personally if we were to get a redesign of the Café Corner with a fully-featured interior, I might be interested in getting it despite already having the original. But it's hard to say for sure without actually seeing it.

[CopperTablet]

On 8/12/2018 at 10:39 PM, eliminator said:

Based on Brickset data, the set owned by most users is Pet Shop (likely due to its long shelf-life), followed by Palace Cinema, then Parisian Restaurant.

https://brickset.com/sets/theme-Advanced-Models/subtheme-Modular-Buildings

 

I don't think you can use this as an indicator of Lego sales.   I think it just means that the Brickset site has declined in popularity after 2014, consistent with Reddit/Discord eating into traditional web forums.   All of the D2Cs show a drop from 2014 to 2017, not just modular.

2013 UCS Ewok Village: 9155 own it, 6425 want it

2014 UCS Sandcrawler:  7606 own it, 6187 want it

2017 UCS Falcon:  4904 own it, 4409 want it

 

2014 10242 Mini Cooper:  11272 own it, 3108 want it

2017 10258 London Bus: 3658 own it, 2335 want it

 

2014 Winter Village Market: 8605 own it, 3708 want it

2017 Winter Village Station: 5128 own it, 1872 want it

 

Lego sales increased each year from 2003 to 2016 and dropped 8% from 2016 to 2017:

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2018/mar/06/lego-sales-fall-growth-job-cuts

An 8% drop in sales could not translate to a 50-66% drop in buyers, especially since Brickset is not measuring sets sold, but # of people who own a set.   Brickset is just leaking users at an alarming pace.   Because of this, it is unknown whether Pet Shop is the most popular Modular: Jamie Berard said in an interview a few weeks ago that Fire Brigade was where most people became familiar with the Modular series.

[danimarroquin]

I would be fine with a 70s hotel casino , kind of Vegas style . 

[jonwil]

I can't see TLG doing a casino (exposing kids to gambling doesn't seem like something TLG would do)