Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[Jdrewg]

No, just the one dude said he'd eat his collection. Ouch. I was doubtful, but what a journey on here!  

Leaks. "I hate it "  "It looks like a MOC" "I love it"  "Interior's too small" 

Of course I'll buy it!  :)

Edited December 14, 2022 by Jdrewg

[mark1991t]

25 minutes ago, Honbushu said:

I thought for a moment the chef was wearing a face mask! I think he has a beard (or I need new glasses)

Isn't that the Santa-head?

 

[ReplicaOfLife]

Phew.

Positive: It has some decent depth to it, the side walls look really clean. Seems like there's some nice snot work going on on the upper floors of the jazz club. Some nice interior details on the upper floors.

But:
I really don't like the overall look of it. Especially the upper floors of the jazz club look very random. The rooftop decoration looks downright terrible, imho. The dark red and that azure blue (whichever one it is) are clashing hard visually. The pizzeria has laughably little interior space (notice how they removed all of the front wlals to get that inside pic).

 

Might entirely skip this one. Definitely the least visually appealing one for me to date.

[Silverhurst]

 

It certainly does look better in the official photos than it did in the leak.

Hopefully my Lego store will have it on display so I can see where it ends up falling on my priority list. For my January spending I'll probably pick up a pair of pyramids for my wife's birthday in April (she loves the architecture and speed champion series) and maybe another 3 in 1 Castle before it retires (one of the most versatile set I've ever bought imho, I have 3).

I don't mind reading the early speculation and all the criticism, both for and against, after leaks. They often have plenty of validity and help me look at the sets from a different perspective, which sometimes influences how I decide to change the sets in the end.

[24nolf]

Great damage control interview with the designer if you speak PR. I feel so bad for this guy :(

https://brickset.com/article/86726/interview-with-anderson-ward-grubb-designer-of-10312-jazz-club

I don't think there is anything surprising, he basically confirms what went wrong. Highlights:

• Set was rushed after something went wrong with the original 2023 modular
• TLG slashed the budget after being unhappy with costs on BH
• He was forced to change the color to dark red

[brimbolet]

I've eagerly waited for the official reveal and the Jazz Club turned out nice. It's certainly an improvement in shape, color and storyline over the hotel. Also the interior seems to be more detailed, though the official pictures show the upper floors at a bad angle...

At first I was taken aback by the smaller size for the asked price when compared to the cheaper PS, but it seems to be closer in height to earlier modulars.

I'm not entirely convinced about the style however; it doesn't look like an American club (from Chicago, New Orleans, Memphis) or I might remember them differently. 

[Lyichir]

27 minutes ago, 24nolf said:

Great damage control interview with the designer if you speak PR. I feel so bad for this guy :(

https://brickset.com/article/86726/interview-with-anderson-ward-grubb-designer-of-10312-jazz-club

I don't think there is anything surprising, he basically confirms what went wrong. Highlights:

• Set was rushed after something went wrong with the original 2023 modular
• TLG slashed the budget after being unhappy with costs on BH
• He was forced to change the color to dark red

I wonder what it must be like to read into something like this in the most bad-faith way possible. Lego designers aren't trained PR agents, they're creative professionals. When they submit to an interview like this they aren't doing "damage control", they're doing their best to explain their process and what they feel makes a given project unique or interesting. It's a shame there are so many "fans" who think twisting their words into the shape of something that fits their preconceived opinions gives them any sort of greater insight.

Anyway, I think the modular looks great (especially now that we've got better views of it). Reminds me positively of the Detective's Office, and thematically would probably complement it well. I love the angled entrance and marquee, and the facade looks a lot more interesting in general when you can see the depth of it.

[Killian]

47 minutes ago, mark1991t said:

Isn't that the Santa-head?

 

Think so. I mean he needs some sort of profession when it's not December. The Jazz Club/Pizzeria is now a Winter Village set in my headcanon    Someone needs to put Santa's Elves heads and hats on the red minifig pizza torso 6275699 to be his pizzeria workers. 

 

[24nolf]

8 minutes ago, Lyichir said:

I wonder what it must be like to read into something like this in the most bad-faith way possible. Lego designers aren't trained PR agents, they're creative professionals. When they submit to an interview like this they aren't doing "damage control", they're doing their best to explain their process and what they feel makes a given project unique or interesting. It's a shame there are so many "fans" who think twisting their words into the shape of something that fits their preconceived opinions gives them any sort of greater insight.

Anyway, I think the modular looks great (especially now that we've got better views of it). Reminds me positively of the Detective's Office, and thematically would probably complement it well. I love the angled entrance and marquee, and the facade looks a lot more interesting in general when you can see the depth of it.

You are welcome to your opinion as are others. However I don't think it is right for you to attack others for pointing out this "damage control" interview. TLG has done several of these lately including on the Foosball table. This like saying The NY Times piece with Sam a few weeks ago wasn't "damage control". It's fairly insulting. 

[Citromon]

One big question - What's with that big passage from pizzeria to the jazz club? Like, if you buy a pizza then don't need to pay for the ticket?

 

[hoppa]

1 hour ago, 24nolf said:

Great damage control interview with the designer if you speak PR. I feel so bad for this guy :(

https://brickset.com/article/86726/interview-with-anderson-ward-grubb-designer-of-10312-jazz-club

I don't think there is anything surprising, he basically confirms what went wrong. Highlights:

• Set was rushed after something went wrong with the original 2023 modular
• TLG slashed the budget after being unhappy with costs on BH
• He was forced to change the color to dark red

None of this is said like that and you do a gross misrepresentation of the text.

1. They changed courses is what they write. Just part of the normal design process. Later down in the article itis mentioned that the whole process was a standard as ever, even mentioning dates. On top of that he mentions the changed courses while in the sketching phase, not 3 months of building down the line or something.

2. It wasn't said that budget was slashed or that Lego was unhappy with costs. What is written is that they where conscious of costs of interesting geometry and the more expensive parts it requires. Being at the exact price level of the hotel, with a similar piece count in a much more expensive time might mean they were extra conscious, not to increase the price too much, I will give you that. But to translate that as big bad Lego slashed budget because they where unhappy about BH is nonsense.

3. He writes that they changed colors because the original dark blue was too cold and people were not responding too well to it. If you call testing a design and reacting to feedback "being forced...."

 

All in all I feel you really want your position to be true for some reason but these are lame statements and not facts

[RichardGoring]

Apparently Ashnflash has said in a video that one of the original concepts was a newspaper HQ, but they moved away from that due to a clash with the Daily Bugle. I wonder if they made concept sketches and whether those will ever come out, like the early ones for the Boutique Hotel.

[Borex]

5 minutes ago, RichardGoring said:

Apparently Ashnflash has said in a video that one of the original concepts was a newspaper HQ, but they moved away from that due to a clash with the Daily Bugle. I wonder if they made concept sketches and whether those will ever come out, like the early ones for the Boutique Hotel.

It does make sense with the newspaper boy in the cmf. So it probably would be a 40s/50s newspaper HQ.  I mean i love the daily bugle, but i would have loved that as a modular as well. But i get that it isn’t the right timing. 
 

from the interview i see that at first they actually had gangsters in mind, and the colorway was much more dark (especially the pizza place). Too bad, i would have loved that. If i ever am going to buy this set i’ll have to make some serious changes :-)

[Magnum]

I agree with 24nolf. That interview has no critical questions. It reads as one pr piece. Those colours are really clashing and the façade has little to none details like the other modulars have. I really like the previous one BH. That one has some great architecture. The JazzClub looks like a simple moc. But one that you built with leftover LEGO colours you never use. I don’t get nobody at LEGO said something about it. 

[24nolf]

28 minutes ago, hoppa said:

None of this is said like that and you do a gross misrepresentation of the text.

1. They changed courses is what they write. Just part of the normal design process. Later down in the article itis mentioned that the whole process was a standard as ever, even mentioning dates. On top of that he mentions the changed courses while in the sketching phase, not 3 months of building down the line or something.

2. It wasn't said that budget was slashed or that Lego was unhappy with costs. What is written is that they where conscious of costs of interesting geometry and the more expensive parts it requires. Being at the exact price level of the hotel, with a similar piece count in a much more expensive time might mean they were extra conscious, not to increase the price too much, I will give you that. But to translate that as big bad Lego slashed budget because they where unhappy about BH is nonsense.

3. He writes that they changed colors because the original dark blue was too cold and people were not responding too well to it. If you call testing a design and reacting to feedback "being forced...."

 

All in all I feel you really want your position to be true for some reason but these are lame statements and not facts

You are welcome to have an alternate interpretation. Different viewpoints are a good thing. However for folks looking for an explanation and wondering if the modular series has changed course I believe the designer has given you some clear answers. I strongly recommend reading the entire interview where Anderson also touches on removing some storytelling from the build because it was to "risqué" and the future of the line. 

Edited December 14, 2022 by 24nolf

[hoppa]

Just now, 24nolf said:

You are welcome to have an alternate interpretation. Different viewpoints are a good thing. However for folks looking for explanation and wondering if the modular series has changed course I believe the designer has given you some clear answers. I strongly recommend reading the entire interview where Anderson also touches on removing some storytelling from the build because it was to "risqué" and the future of the line. 

I read the entire interview because I couldn't believe what you were writing. But let's agree to disagree, since your interpretation of that Article is so far off from how I read it, that any kind of discussion is quite pointless

[RichardGoring]

Reading the Brickset interview, he confirms that they don't get new pieces, and that the double bass was for VIDIYO. That suggests there may be other VIDIYO moulds that make it into sets, which would be nice as some of them were excellent.

On the colour, he says it was all dark blue, which I can see being a bit too much, but not sure they needed to stick with the dark colour to 'give that nighttime feel'. Although seeing the wide shots with other modulars there certainly makes it feel less over the top than the original leaked images.

I don't see this as being a PR piece at all. Brickset is a gentle website, run by LEGO fans. It sounds like an enthusiastic and respectful fan interview. I don't know what would be gained by doing a challenging interview with the designer of a LEGO set.

[Jdrewg]

1 hour ago, 24nolf said:

Great damage control interview with the designer if you speak PR. I feel so bad for this guy :(

https://brickset.com/article/86726/interview-with-anderson-ward-grubb-designer-of-10312-jazz-club

I don't think there is anything surprising, he basically confirms what went wrong. Highlights:

• Set was rushed after something went wrong with the original 2023 modular
• TLG slashed the budget after being unhappy with costs on BH
• He was forced to change the color to dark red

Check out the advance photos that were sent to the press, in particular the top edge of the first floor and the bottom of the second floor.

Who hasn't done that?  Oops.

Note: It's corrected on the (US) website.

Edited December 14, 2022 by Jdrewg
Added note

[24nolf]

11 minutes ago, Jdrewg said:

Check out the advance photos that were sent to the press, in particular the top edge of the first floor and the bottom of the second floor.

Who hasn't done that?  Oops.

Note: It's corrected on the (US) website.

Good eye! Old photos still on the Denmark store. 

[Maple]

Funny I would have MUCH prefered if this was dark blue instead of red. That's much of my complaint, the dark red color. I think the set would be amazing in dark blue and I'm very curious to how the test group works. Is it just a LEGO test group or do they get random people in? 

Interesting this interview seems to hint that the video was filmed in September. The designer wasn't rushed, just was development process. They have been working on it over since July 2021 and things changed.
 

 

Part 2

The video is so old that the designer thought the set was $200. 

Edited December 14, 2022 by Maple

[badbob001]

31 minutes ago, Jdrewg said:

Check out the advance photos that were sent to the press, in particular the top edge of the first floor and the bottom of the second floor.

Who hasn't done that?  Oops.

Note: It's corrected on the (US) website.

I'm curious about what you're talking about? Is it this?

 

Is there a "fixed" version? I see this on the US Lego site.

I'm more curious about what is on the second floor of the pizzeria and what those four axels are for.

[Ogist]

Disappointed.  First time im so not excited about a new modular.

[antp]

19 minutes ago, Maple said:

Funny I would have MUCH prefered if this was dark blue instead of red. That's much of my complaint, the dark red color.

Same for me. With the dark red it reminds me too much the Fire Brigade. And it does not work so well with the Azure.

[24nolf]

13 minutes ago, RichardGoring said:

Reading the Brickset interview, he confirms that they don't get new pieces, and that the double bass was for VIDIYO. That suggests there may be other VIDIYO moulds that make it into sets, which would be nice as some of them were excellent.

I don't see this as being a PR piece at all. Brickset is a gentle website, run by LEGO fans. It sounds like an enthusiastic and respectful fan interview. I don't know what would be gained by doing a challenging interview with the designer of a LEGO set.

I believe we are supposed to see some other VIDIYO elements in BAM.

I think folks not familiar with PR might be a little confused here. The point of giving Brickset an interview was so the designer could provide explanation. The interview is released the moment the set is revealed to mitigate backlash. This PR approach is a common and by no means unique to TLG.  The designer gives you detail in some cases without being asked. I believe the designer addresses all the big questions fans had. The interview asks the right questions in a nice way and a few the designer preemptively addresses. For example the interviewer didn't have to ask about size of the set because the designer previously addresses the budget constraints.

Reading an interview can be like dating. Questions and answers are not always direct which can of course lead to different interpretations. The more experience you have the better you become at reading the tea leaves. The Foosball table interview is much more blunt than this one for folks looking for a recent comparison. I also recommend the roller coaster video interview where Jamie addresses the state of trains. He couldn't be more clear but his answers are in PR speak. That interview is a perfect learning tool because it was done several years ago so you get to see Jamie tell you in PR speak exactly where trains are going years before it happens. I hope this helps folks because TLG has been doing a lot more of these and we should expect that to continue. 

[TeriXeri]

Missed opportunity to have a building with a bigger focus on dark red masonry bricks.

Edited December 14, 2022 by TeriXeri