Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[rollermonkey]

Average shelf life is two years. After that, when exactly they disappear is dependent on demand.

[VintageLegoEra]

As above...2 years of Shlef Life...would recommend to buy now or you will never get it cos it will be 5 times its retail price or then u need to look for second hand..

We all do is: save, save, save for couple of months...:-).

All the best!

[Faefrost]

Hello Eurobricks!

I have a problem that every time a new modular building comes out I cannot afford it. I scrimp and save all my pennies only to find I need to spend money on life . The question I need to ask is when do modular buildings retire? I thought the Grand Emporium was long gone but you can search it on Google where there is a link to the Lego shop where is can be seen fully stocked. I really want a Town Hall but money is hard to come by and there will be another expense. I do not want to miss this amazing set. So will it be out for long?

Thanks, Spud.

P.S. I am not here to scrounge anyone's Town Hall - maybe

It seems that the typical planned lifespan is roughly 2 years. With a new building released each year, so they typically have 3 out. However some things may cause this expected lifespan to expand or shrink. When Lego produces these they do them in large production runs, which then sit in the warehouse until sold. They don't continually make them. If a set is a top seller and has continued high demand, they may go back and do additional production runs, which will often extend its life. (I think GE received 1 extra production run, FB had at least 2.). However, it's possible for a set to sell out before the 2 year mark and TLG to elect not to do another run. (Winter Village Cottage is a great example). They might have a replacement almost ready for release, or they just might not have the factory time available, or while popular they may feel there is not enough remaining interest to justify a full run.

[SSJ2 Dark]

Just nabbed (hopefully) a Grand Emporium from LEGO.com. If you really want one, keep checking the website. They're still going in and out of stock.

[Blakstone]

Spud, as expensive as collecting LEGO is, collecting modulars it much more expensive. There is a new modular released each year... which means that there is another modular that retires each year. It will cost you between $150 - $200 USD each year. For my taste, I don't like the simplistic minifigures that come with the sets. So I add the CMF to them which increases the cost of the habit.

My only recommended to make them cheaper is to buy them from either the LEGO Store or Shop.LEGO.com during October. That is traditionally double VIP Points month. So for a $150 purchase, you would earn $15 to help defray the cost of your next modular. I noticed that they did Double VIP Points for the first half of April this year as well.

[Off the wall]

Well, up again at 4am EDT this morning. GE was back as available at lego.com but is now gone, again. Like whack a mole.

[SSJ2 Dark]

Not to get too far off topic, but what do you guys think the likelihood is of another triple VIP points sale? I believe they had one last year on Black Friday, but there was nothing I wanted at the time. Might wait to get Town Hall then (assuming it isn't discontinued by then), because that would be a major savings.

[VintageLegoEra]

Whats the matter with GE??!!!

Showing up in the store then disappears and again showing up and disappears??

Is this a hidden game?..looooool

[Off the wall]

I think there will be a double points promotion this fall. I also think that TH isn't in imminent danger of being retired. Just a gut feeling on my part, but that's as good as most Internet speculation, I suppose.

On another note, I just expanded my TH so that it's 18 wider on each side. The interior has some nice space for something like a court room or law library. But, I'll leave that to whoever inherits all of this lego that I'm accumulating.

As far as GE goes, I always put it in the cart and go as far as I can before actually pushing 'order' just to make sure it's available. Since I've bought 11 of them, I don't need another. Of course, most of them went into my Super Grand Emporium of 16,000 pieces or so.

Edited July 20, 2014 by Off the wall

[cgarison]

I think there will be a double points promotion this fall. I also think that TH isn't in imminent danger of being retired. Just a gut feeling on my part, but that's as good as most Internet speculation, I suppose.

I think the Pet Shop is the next modular on the list to go, but I think the Monster Fighter Haunted House will be cut before the Pet Shop in the line of 10XXX series sets.

[Faefrost]

I think the Pet Shop is the next modular on the list to go, but I think the Monster Fighter Haunted House will be cut before the Pet Shop in the line of 10XXX series sets.

I think the Haunted House is already pretty much gone. Neither of my local Lego stores has anymore. They will not be getting more. I think like GE S@H is just running out the last of the store stock as they get it returned to online warehouse inventory.

[melbs]

just came from Paris, and both disneyland and so quest lego stores have multiple GEs, Haunted Houses, and the rest of the modulars pretty much well stocked.

[rollermonkey]

...and yet you still didn't get me one for my birthday?

[Returntolego]

On the uk lego website everything is in stock and has never not been. Haunted house, ps and ge. Maybe not so much demand over here, you never see them in shops either, never advertised.

[bjorn77]

I'm trying to decide which modular I should buy next. So far I have the Grand Emporium, Town Hall, Pet Shop and Parisian Restaurant. I'm not willing to pay the insane prices for the first three modulars. I might might bricklink later but I'm not up for that yet. So it comes down to either FIre Brigade or Palace Cinema.

It is still possible to get Fire Brigade for some 200 euro, which I can live with (althought I regret not buying it when it was 110 euro on sale). I think the exterior looks OK but maybe a tad boring. The build doesn't seem very interesting either, with a lot of repetition. Interior seems nice with some fun mini builds. Overall an OK modular that didn't catch my interest enough to buy it when it was still available in stores.

Palace Cinema looks very nice on its own and another corner building would be welcome. Price is also very good here in Sweden, where it for some strange reason is 50 euro less than all other modulars. However, my gripe here is that I feel the perticular architectural style doesn't fit in with he other European style buildings. Palace Cinema is the type of building that could only exist on a Hollywood street, or possibly at Disney World :P

Edited July 23, 2014 by bjorn77

[Blakstone]

Bjornn, my opinion of the Fire Brigade increased while I built it. If you get FB now, you can still get the Palace Cinema later. That would be my recommendation.

Although my current collection is FB and Grand Emporium, the ones that look the most apealling to me are Pet Shop and Parisian Restaurant. I am just slowly working my way through all the available modulars.

[Off the wall]

If you can afford fire brigade, get it now. PC should be around for a while.

[VintageLegoEra]

I'm trying to decide which modular I should buy next. So far I have the Grand Emporium, Town Hall, Pet Shop and Parisian Restaurant. I'm not willing to pay the insane prices for the first three modulars. I might might bricklink later but I'm not up for that yet. So it comes down to either FIre Brigade or Palace Cinema.

It is still possible to get Fire Brigade for some 200 euro, which I can live with (althought I regret not buying it when it was 110 euro on sale). I think the exterior looks OK but maybe a tad boring. The build doesn't seem very interesting either, with a lot of repetition. Interior seems nice with some fun mini builds. Overall an OK modular that didn't catch my interest enough to buy it when it was still available in stores.

Palace Cinema looks very nice on its own and another corner building would be welcome. Price is also very good here in Sweden, where it for some strange reason is 50 euro less than all other modulars. However, my gripe here is that I feel the perticular architectural style doesn't fit in with he other European style buildings. Palace Cinema is the type of building that could only exist on a Hollywood street, or possibly at Disney World :P

It is matter of budget and then ur desire. If you have enough cash, then go for Fire Brigade.

Edited July 23, 2014 by VintageLegoEra

[rockethead26]

I'm trying to decide which modular I should buy next. So far I have the Grand Emporium, Town Hall, Pet Shop and Parisian Restaurant. I'm not willing to pay the insane prices for the first three modulars. I might might bricklink later but I'm not up for that yet. So it comes down to either FIre Brigade or Palace Cinema.

It is still possible to get Fire Brigade for some 200 euro, which I can live with (althought I regret not buying it when it was 110 euro on sale). I think the exterior looks OK but maybe a tad boring. The build doesn't seem very interesting either, with a lot of repetition. Interior seems nice with some fun mini builds. Overall an OK modular that didn't catch my interest enough to buy it when it was still available in stores.

Palace Cinema looks very nice on its own and another corner building would be welcome. Price is also very good here in Sweden, where it for some strange reason is 50 euro less than all other modulars. However, my gripe here is that I feel the perticular architectural style doesn't fit in with he other European style buildings. Palace Cinema is the type of building that could only exist on a Hollywood street, or possibly at Disney World :P

We just finished building the Fire Brigade and it was a lot of fun. There are a lot of very interesting building techniques in this one. Highly recommended!

[Bookworm]

Does anyone know when we will find out the name of the 2015 modular building? I believe it was around this time of the year when the Parisian Restaurant name was released.

[VintageLegoEra]

We just finished building the Fire Brigade and it was a lot of fun. There are a lot of very interesting building techniques in this one. Highly recommended!

The FB was realeased by LEGO in 2009 so definitely it will have great interior details...This will be my next built after I am done with tge Green Grocer.

Does anyone know when we will find out the name of the 2015 modular building? I believe it was around this time of the year when the Parisian Restaurant name was released.

Probably in August

[CityBuilder]

Someone mentioned the next modular was a detective building of some sort.

[VintageLegoEra]

Someone mentioned the next modular was a detective building of some sort.

I Hope NOT....i hope they make: Library, Bank, Museum or University

Edited July 23, 2014 by VintageLegoEra

[Thetford]

Someone mentioned the next modular was a detective building of some sort.

Private Investigator's Office over a Chinese restaurant perhaps (they are always above them in fiction)?

[sithewok]

You think they would do another restaurant right after the Parisian Restaurant set?

I'm hoping that it ends up being the detective set as I think that would be a fun addition, but I'm just impatient to get confirmation on what it is, regardless...