Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[Faefrost]

13 hours ago, jus1973 said:

It’s always interesting to see the comments on a new modular.  Especially when its ‘constructive criticism’.  The thing i think we all forget, is that there is probably a target price point for designers to work to, and that may not be the price we see, but an internal one based on the cost of producing the number of each individual part required.  When it comes to the more intricate bits which high end moccers will always fix on their own designs, but because of this ‘cost cap’, the designer can’t fix it.  I think the cost of the Corner Garage, which surprised quite a few of us, might be explained by this.  

I’m just guessing here, of course,  but I know this is a business model that is used in some industries.

Figure the designer burned a huge amount of parts budget on getting flesh pink bricks. 

And yes they design the sets to an internal points system in order to hit a target price. Each piece has a point value. Things like color changes cost more. Prints cost more etc. The designer is given a point budget to work within. 

[Wesley D]

I really love the Boutique Hotel, it is a fantastic new modular building! The hotel looks great and cosy, the gallery is a bit smaller than I expected, but it has a very fine collection!

I'm really impressed by the wonderful representation of Art Nouveau architecture in LEGO parts! Like the other official modular buildings, there is a lot of detailing, which is well dosed. The detailing I love the most are the organic lines around the windows, especially above them formed by the different types of mudguards.

With its references to previous modular buildings, it's a great 15th anniversary set. At first sight, I was amazed how much the Boutique Hotel resembled the Café Corner, updated with new parts, colors and techniques to nowadays standards.

Like every new modular building offers innovation, this one comes with an acute (sharp) angled corner, which look great on pictures and will probably look even better and amazing in real life!

I like the alley and the continued detailing on this left side. The gap on this side is less pretty and I think it will be a bit difficult to select a modular building to fit on the right side to hide the colored right side due to the short sidewalk. The placing of the Boutique Hotel will be challenging, but it will be rewarded with a fantastic sight!

I'm curious if we'll see a modular Music Hall in the future!

[ReplicaOfLife]

Still besotted with the exterior of this set.

But, after seeing several pictures where different people placed it next to existing modulars, I have to say that it doesn't really work with the older modulars, when the others are placed to the left of it. The only reason you would build a building with such an acute angle in real life is because the street grid forced you to. So putting this on a regular 90° corner looks awkward, because the building's shape suggests something that is not there. 

I will get it anyway, of course, but I'll either put it somewhere entirely on its own, or on the left end of a row of modulars. Tending towards putting it on its own, because I do want to be able to see both sides of it.

Another solution would be modding it to be a regular 90° corner building, but that would kinda defeat its point

[The Jersey Brick Guy]

On 7/10/2013 at 12:13 AM, The Jersey Brick Guy said:

Hi all,

I figured that instead of hijacking everyone's threads with similar questions about modulars, to just create one thread where people can ask questions and the like. This way we are not junking up specific topics with questions about multiple modulars.

I look forward to the discussion with everyone!

-------------------------

:-: For Reference :-:

We have had the following:

• Cafe Corner
• Market Street
• Green Grocer
• Fire Brigade
• Grand Emporium
• Pet Shop
• Town Hall
• Palace Cinema
• Parisan Restaurant
• Detectives Office
• Brick Bank
• Assembly Square
• Downtown Diner
• Corner Garage
• Bookshop
• Police Station
• Boutique Hotel

The unique business's that have come out of those modulars are:

• Apartment (MS)
• Apartment (GC)
• Apartment (PR)
• Apartment (DO)
• Apartment (AS)
• Apartment (CG)
• Art Gallery (BH)
• Art Studio (PR)
• Bakery (MS)
• Bakery (AS)
• Bank (BB)
• Barbara Shop (DO)
• Book Store (BS)
• Cafe (CC)
• Cafe (AS)
• Dance Studio (AS)
• Dentist (AS)
• Department Store (GE)
• Detectives Office (DO)
• Diner (DD)
• Doughnut Shop (PS)
• Fire House (FB)
• Flower Shop (AS)
• Garage (CG)
• Gas Station (CG)
• Grocery Store (GC)
• Gym (DD)
• Hotel (CC)
• Hotel (BH)
• Laundromat (BB)
• Movie Theater (PC)
• Music Store (AS)
• Pet Store (PS)
• Photo Studio (AS)
• Police Station (PS)
• Pool Hall (DO)
• Recording Studio (DD)
• Restaurant (PR)
• Town Hall (TH)
• Town House (PS)
• Town House (BS)
• Veterinarian (CG)

This has been updated to reflect the upcoming modular building. Let the speculation for what the next building will be commence! 

[ddavid]

It’s interesting that Lego seems to have really started to listen to their fans. Hotel and Police station where literally the most popular requests for years!

[Hippocampe]

1 hour ago, ddavid said:

It’s interesting that Lego seems to have really started to listen to their fans. Hotel and Police station where literally the most popular requests for years!

Very happy for the Hotel fans, the product result is rather appealing ! Now how about a school or hospital for 2023 ? Just trying my luck 🍀 ! 

Edited December 13, 2021 by Hippocampe

[Maple]

No school or hospital. Museum would be nice as library is too close to bookshop.

[Hippocampe]

Museum vs art gallery ? Well let’s enjoy the next modular first !

Edited December 13, 2021 by Hippocampe

[Pelen]

4 hours ago, ddavid said:

It’s interesting that Lego seems to have really started to listen to their fans. Hotel and Police station where literally the most popular requests for years!

Now I'm just begging for a Post Office! I feel like AFOLs would go crazy for one, especially since we haven't seen one in City for decades (other than Winter Village).

[JayCal]

13 hours ago, The Jersey Brick Guy said:

This has been updated to reflect the upcoming modular building. Let the speculation for what the next building will be commence! 

A music hall would be a really really logical thing to do ;-)

[Roebuck]

4 hours ago, Pelen said:

especially since we haven't seen one in City for decades

Have anyone in real life seen one for years?!
I would not mind a post-office modular since they are not necessarily set in 2021, however in Norway most of them have closed down or moved in and become part of grocery shops

[Lion King]

15 hours ago, ddavid said:

It’s interesting that Lego seems to have really started to listen to their fans. Hotel and Police station where literally the most popular requests for years!

Where is a building with greenhouse on a roof level?!

[TeriXeri]

1 hour ago, DBlegonerd7 said:

Where is a building with greenhouse on a roof level?!

LEGO did that on an alternate Bank build for 31097: Townhouse Pet Shop & Café but that's not a modular, on true modular scale it could be even better for sure.

Edited December 13, 2021 by TeriXeri

[alvinofdiaspar]

13 hours ago, Maple said:

No school or hospital. Museum would be nice as library is too close to bookshop.

I am thinking:

Hospital
University
Courthouse
Library
Museum
Concert Hall

Though I think being restricted to a 32x32 (or even 32x32 + 16x32) would be kind of limiting for some of these.  I am contemplating a MOC Museum right now and I am foreseeing a footprint of 3 32x32 (if not bigger - hard to include natural history with regular history).

This was the inspiration:

A record store (rather quaint idea, I know) would be kind of neat - a great way to use up all those VIDIYO tiles though!

Edited December 13, 2021 by alvinofdiaspar

[koalayummies]

Newest modular reveal!

:seven days later:

Whut's tha next 1 gunna B?!

[Lion King]

2 hours ago, TeriXeri said:

LEGO did that on an alternate Bank build for 31097: Townhouse Pet Shop & Café but that's not a modular, on true modular scale it could be even better for sure.

Oooh! I didn’t notice that, thank you for pointing it out. 

I guess it would be cool to see a “rural” greenhouse next to a townhouse. Or at least a botanical garden next to science museum. A massive greenhouse would cooler. 

[BrickFit26]

Since Assembly Square was a big one for the 10th anniversary of the modular line, the  maybe well get another 32x32+16x32 big modular for the 20th anniversary. 

[Maple]

10 hours ago, koalayummies said:

Newest modular reveal!

:seven days later:

Whut's tha next 1 gunna B?!

Duh. That's how it goes. What will the summer 2022 sets be? Will we get the canceled Christmas promo next year? 

Edited December 14, 2021 by Maple

[alvinofdiaspar]

4 hours ago, BrickFit26 said:

Since Assembly Square was a big one for the 10th anniversary of the modular line, the  maybe well get another 32x32+16x32 big modular for the 20th anniversary. 

I hope so!  That's like 5 years from now though - we have 4 more sets to get through first.

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by alvinofdiaspar

[BrickFit26]

I know. The waiting is tough. 

[alvinofdiaspar]

I am curious about them (and will buy) as they come along - but I think there are certain types of buildings that TLG just wouldn't be able to do very well given the restrictions of the line.  No skyscrapers (minifig scaled buildings above 3-4 stories) for one; and any civic building that comes along will be town, not city-scaled.

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by alvinofdiaspar

[westracing01]

You would have to think that even on the town level, a doctor's office would be in the cards if not a small hospital. That would be the one I really want (hospital.) 

[alvinofdiaspar]

10 minutes ago, westracing01 said:

You would have to think that even on the town level, a doctor's office would be in the cards if not a small hospital. That would be the one I really want (hospital.) 

My guess they will get around to doing one eventually, since we already have the fire and police station (nevermind dental office and vet).  I tried to conceptualize what a city-scaled modular hospital build would be like - it'd be huge.

Edited December 14, 2021 by alvinofdiaspar

[jus1973]

Stepping away from the thoughts about the next modular, I know many of us have issues with seemingly random architectural styles across the buildings.  It got me to thinking about some of the streets in the cities I grew up in.  

Since much of the UK was bombed in the Second World War, and without any master plan for rebuilding, I grew up with varying styles all in one street as a norm.  Perhaps not to the same extent as the Modulars have, but still, Classical banks would sit next to Art Deco store, across the road from a 1960s brutal slab fronted shop.  

I guess for many of us across the world, this may not be the case, and the jarring styles wouldn’t resonate.

[alvinofdiaspar]

47 minutes ago, jus1973 said:

Stepping away from the thoughts about the next modular, I know many of us have issues with seemingly random architectural styles across the buildings.  It got me to thinking about some of the streets in the cities I grew up in.  

Since much of the UK was bombed in the Second World War, and without any master plan for rebuilding, I grew up with varying styles all in one street as a norm.  Perhaps not to the same extent as the Modulars have, but still, Classical banks would sit next to Art Deco store, across the road from a 1960s brutal slab fronted shop.  

I guess for many of us across the world, this may not be the case, and the jarring styles wouldn’t resonate.

Being in the largest city in Canada, this sort of mish-mash is perfectly natural - in fact given our cycles of (re)development, it's common to see historic stone and brick facades grafted onto glass office and residential towers 50, 60 stories high.  Lego adapting a mix of architectural styles frankly add "freshness" and visual interest to the line - and if anyone want a consistent style, they are frankly better off creating their own MOC build because TLG really can't be all things to all people.

Edited December 14, 2021 by alvinofdiaspar