Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[Chilis]

On 10/30/2023 at 10:06 PM, Yperio_Bricks said:

 

Source: StoneWars

 Does anyone know anything about this GWP? It is the only thing I`m waiting for before ordering...

[hikouki]

6 hours ago, Chilis said:

 Does anyone know anything about this GWP? It is the only thing I`m waiting for before ordering...

Me too!!! I already got my Museum modular.

[jus1973]

9 hours ago, hikouki said:

Me too!!! I already got my Museum modular.

Me too, but i managed to grab the moving truck, which I missed last time.  

I’m guessing it’ll be a January 1st release, probably £190 + purchase price.  Just a guess, however.

[Lion King]

I thoug GWP would be avaialbe in February. I don’t order Natural History Museum yet until GWP is up! 

[Follows Closely]

On 12/6/2023 at 8:24 PM, DonQuixote said:

...Members of LAN s reviews are not as criticising as independent reviewers. Reviews of LAN are actually commercials. 

I could not agree more. There is always a discaimer "...my views and..." but recieveing a set free delivered to your door makes an impression intentionall or not your opinion will be impacted. Also in the back of the mind the reviewer wants to keep getting free stuff, so they are careful with the words choosen. I intentionally do not give any of my time to the members of the LEGO® Ambassador Network (LAN), I have purged my insta just the other day after watching a ridiculously biased review.

[Aanchir]

3 hours ago, Follows Closely said:

I could not agree more. There is always a discaimer "...my views and..." but recieveing a set free delivered to your door makes an impression intentionall or not your opinion will be impacted. Also in the back of the mind the reviewer wants to keep getting free stuff, so they are careful with the words choosen.

Speaking as somebody who's gotten free sets to review via New Elementary several years back, it never crossed my mind even ONCE what LEGO would think about what I wrote. Any sense of responsibility I felt was to readers (by providing high-quality photos and a thorough level of detail) and to the site itself (by ensuring I submitted my review text and photos promptly so I wouldn't keep them waiting).

After all, LEGO has never stopped sending new sets to any LAN-affiliated site just because they reviewed a previous set negatively (at least, not that I've ever heard of)! It's not like a receiving a gift from a family member and having to be sensitive to the giver's feelings, whether or not it's something you wanted/needed. As long as you comply with the LAN's policies about leaks, embargoes, and use of LEGO logos and trademarks (which you can read/download here), they don't particularly care what you say or write about the products they send you.

Moreover, I feel like there is an equal or greater source of bias in reviews of sets that a reviewer buys with their own money — like any LEGO buyer, reviewers are far less likely to buy sets in the first place unless they've already formed a positive opinion about the set. Maybe the calculus is different for influencers who create reviews for monetized, high-follower-count YouTube channels, or for writers who are paid to write reviews for print magazines. But for reviewers on traditional LEGO fansites like Brickset, Eurobricks, or The Brothers Brick, reviews are ultimately a form of unpaid labor with no profit motive.

There's a reason I haven't written any reviews in a long time myself, even for sets I've already bought or received as personal gifts — taking and editing a full review's worth of photos and writing and editing a full review's worth of text is a lot of work! And usually, any ad revenue generated via "clicks" on these reviews goes towards the hosting costs of the site in question, rather than benefiting the writer in any way. How many people do you know who are keen on spending money they don't expect to earn back, and putting in labor they don't expect compensation for, on a toy they don't expect to enjoy? I can't imagine it's very many!

So if any reviewer (whether LAN-affiliated or not) seems to be especially positive-minded in their reviews, I feel it's more likely because building and writing about LEGO sets is a "labor of love" for them than because of any sort of conflict of interest. Because if you're not enjoying some part of the building/reviewing process, there's not a tremendous amount of incentive to become a reviewer in the first place.

Edited December 11, 2023 by Aanchir

[DonQuixote]

I will never follow a member of LAN! 

[hikouki]

On 12/6/2023 at 5:24 PM, DonQuixote said:

I have watched several reviews on YouTube from independent reviewers. Mostly German. Mostly they say it's an ok set with a boring build proces with ratings around 7/10. And I agree. Members of LAN s reviews are not as criticising as independent reviewers. Reviews of LAN are actually commercials. 

 

13 hours ago, Follows Closely said:

I could not agree more. There is always a discaimer "...my views and..." but recieveing a set free delivered to your door makes an impression intentionall or not your opinion will be impacted. Also in the back of the mind the reviewer wants to keep getting free stuff, so they are careful with the words choosen. I intentionally do not give any of my time to the members of the LEGO® Ambassador Network (LAN), I have purged my insta just the other day after watching a ridiculously biased review.

 

I have to agree 150% with both you guys!

Lego Apologists' Network = LAN

[henrysunset]

On 12/11/2023 at 8:25 PM, hikouki said:

Lego Apologists' Network = LAN

While there are many examples that could be used to 'prove' your point, you are painting an awfully broad brush across the range of LEGO Fan Media outlets that are recognized under the LAN program. 

Some outlets are overly positive while others tend more critical.  In the case of my own website (which is recognized under the LAN program), we work hard to distribute our ratings over a rough bell curve centered on a 3.5/5 star rating.   To ensure it is reasonably well calibrated, I ranked every set in the LEGO Architecture series and applied the curve that is listed on our about page to ensure that our ratings are not overly generous.

In the case of the most recent modular, #10326 Natural History Museum earned a 3/5 star rating.  I don't think anyone would consider that overly generous nor needlessly critical.  It is a 'good' set, but it is in a series where we have grown to expect excellence.

 

Sincerely,
—Tom

Edited December 13, 2023 by henrysunset

[Roebuck]

58 minutes ago, henrysunset said:

In the case of the most recent modular, #10326 Natural History Museum earned a 3/5 star rating.  I don't think anyone would consider that overly generous nor needlessly critical.  It is a 'good' set, but it is in a series where we have grown to expect excellence.

Sounds about right

[DonQuixote]

9 hours ago, henrysunset said:

While there are many examples that could be used to 'prove' your point, you are painting an awfully broad brush across the range of LEGO Fan Media outlets that are recognized under the LAN program. 

Some outlets are overly positive while others tend more critical.  In the case of my own website (which is recognized under the LAN program), we work hard to distribute our ratings over a rough bell curve centered on a 3.5/5 star rating.   To ensure it is reasonably well calibrated, I ranked every set in the LEGO Architecture series and applied the curve that is listed on our about page to ensure that our ratings are not overly generous.

In the case of the most recent modular, #10326 Natural History Museum earned a 3/5 star rating.  I don't think anyone would consider that overly generous nor needlessly critical.  It is a 'good' set, but it is in a series where we have grown to expect excellence.

 

Sincerely,
—Tom

Maybe you're an exception and one of the few critical members of LAN but generally they are not criticising enough. And because people don't know what are good reviewers, I still recommend them to NOT watch members of LAN. But independant reviewers, especially those who review all brands of bricks. 

Like I said : I will never follow a member of LAN! 

And my mission is to keep people away from them! And I hope one day all people will abandom them. Because we HAVE to pay those sets with our hard earned money! 

So we want people  who review these sets with their hard earned money too! 

Sorry mate, it's hard world! 

LAN sucks! They still are payed (with Lego) by a multibillion company. 

Long live independant reviewers! 

You gave 3/5 = 6/10 for the modular museum. That's not good at all. It's just ok.

4/5= 8/10 =good. Modulars have high standards 

 

[Murdoch17]

@JopieK I thought this was a modular building topic... not a LAN-bashing topic! Can you step in please?

[DonQuixote]

3 hours ago, Murdoch17 said:

@JopieK I thought this was a modular building topic... not a LAN-bashing topic! Can you step in please?

Yes, it's about modulars and their difference in reviews between independant reviewers and LAN members. So it's defenitely on topic 

[Rick]

Of course you are free to discuss your opinions on the modular buildings, this is veering off-topic. Let's get back to discussing the modular building line please. Thanks.

[DonQuixote]

18 hours ago, Rick said:

Of course you are free to discuss your opinions on the modular buildings, this is veering off-topic. Let's get back to discussing the modular building line please. Thanks.

OK back on topic. Before the the reveal of the museum, it was rumoured to be a replacement of Assembly square and a new flagship of the modular line.

So yes I am underwhelmed with the museum because I compare it with Assembly Square wich is very detailed and far more superior to the museum. To me Assembly square has a wow factor that the museum doesn't have. 

What are your opinions? 

22 hours ago, Murdoch17 said:

@JopieK

Edited December 14, 2023 by DonQuixote

[lomis]

1 hour ago, DonQuixote said:

OK back on topic. Before the the reveal of the museum, it was rumoured to be a replacement of Assembly square and a new flagship of the modular line.

So yes I am underwhelmed with the museum because I compare it with Assembly Square wich is very detailed and far more superior to the museum. To me Assembly square has a wow factor that the museum doesn't have. 

What are your opinions? 

Agreed somewhat.

I consider Assembly Square one of the best, if not the best, modular building.
It would be difficult for any set to replace it.

Having said that, I see the Natural History Museum as a completely different type of modular than Assembly Square, and not as a replacement.
The only things they really have in common are their 48x32 footprint and that they are modulars.
The museum has one standalone, singular theme, whereas Assembly Square is a combination/tribute to many other modulars that came before it.

In short, I'm happy with both and am very much looking forward to building the museum.
My biggest challenge in the near future, as usual, is figuring out where I am going to display all of these sets...

[Murdoch17]

My opinion on the newest modular building is I like it so much, I'm making a scaled down version out of a MOD of City Hall from set 10184. (2008's Town Plan) It's gonna also have a second story and a dollhouse-opening back half.

I'm throwing in references to 2004 pirates (the two map halves), Adventurers in the forms of the Re-Gou Ruby and Von Barron's picture from Haunted House, Galidor as the Picasso-like painting from modular Hotel, along with Western, Pirate, and Castle hats on display. Oh, and that's not all, but I don't want to spoil everything! 

[Lion King]

I still have to reserve my judgement until i buy the museum set in order to get that hot dog truck GWP in February. But I really appreicate that you share your opinions on this set here, rather than being about LAN stuff. 

[Aanchir]

5 hours ago, DonQuixote said:

OK back on topic. Before the the reveal of the museum, it was rumoured to be a replacement of Assembly square and a new flagship of the modular line.

So yes I am underwhelmed with the museum because I compare it with Assembly Square wich is very detailed and far more superior to the museum. To me Assembly square has a wow factor that the museum doesn't have.  

What are your opinions? 

I don't think it's easy to really make a fair 1:1 comparison between them. Assembly Square is a plaza made up of several smaller buildings (each broken up into multiple businesses/properties, while the Natural History Museum is a single BIG, purpose-built property, but with a spacious interior and a variety of different contents. In that regard I think both of them have a strong "wow factor", but for very different reasons.

I do think that because it is split up into so many varied points of interest (including places to live, eat, and work), with no one building or property particularly overshadowing any of the others, Assembly Square makes a particularly strong "starting point" for a Modular Buildings collection or street scene — a strength it shares with some smaller Modular Buildings sets like the Pet Shop and Bookshop. Even with just one of those sets, you're well on your way to creating a lively and colorful neighborhood for a community of minifigs.

By contrast, I feel like the Natural History Museum has more in common with the Town Hall or Police Station. Its impressive size, stately neoclassical architectural motifs, and symmetry make it especially suitable as a focal point within a larger city block — but it is chiefly a place to go, not a place to live. So its main appeal is as an addition to an established collection/street scene, or as a type of building that particularly resonates with you, not as the "starting point" for a neighborhood.

 

[hikouki]

I feel like Lego should pursue making another "Assembly Square type modular" to be its next flagship.

Edited December 15, 2023 by hikouki

[DeanLearner]

14 hours ago, Murdoch17 said:

I'm throwing in references to 2004 pirates (the two map halves), Adventurers in the forms of the Re-Gou Ruby and Von Barron's picture from Haunted House, Galidor as the Picasso-like painting from modular Hotel, along with Western, Pirate, and Castle hats on display. Oh, and that's not all, but I don't want to spoil everything!

I like the sound of this!

From my perspective I think the biggest reason why NHM has been a bit underwhelming (based on pictures/initial reviews) is that it feels a little too sparse inside.

Although there were aspects I didn’t quite like, what was so fun about AS was the density of interest, both in terms of building detail and Easter Eggs from prior modulars.

While the exterior of NHM was bound to be fairly plain (and if anything I think they’ve overdone it - the statues add little); what I think it needed was a far more densely filled interior.
 

Not a modular, but the Old Fishing Store had such a wow-factor because of how packed it was. I wouldn’t have wanted something that busy in NHM, but could imagine how much fun it would have been if they had maybe narrowed down the theme (E.g. removing the science stuff) and made it more a “Lego history museum” full of references to old historic themes.

I’ve been collecting historical minifigures for years (mostly CMFs) and plan to try to include some sort of waxworks figures/diorama section.

[Westbrick]

5 minutes ago, DeanLearner said:

imagine how much fun it would have been if they had maybe narrowed down the theme (E.g. removing the science stuff) and made it more a “Lego history museum” full of references to old historic themes.

That’s exactly what I’d like to do. I want to create my own (probably more modern-looking) space/science museum modular with the rocket from 60351 as the centrepiece in it. Then the NHM can be more just a HM, and will add various historical CMFs to it. This is all a pipe dream as I have nowhere to display all this, let alone the time to build it!

[DeanLearner]

31 minutes ago, Westbrick said:

This is all a pipe dream as I have nowhere to display all this, let alone the time to build it!

Snap!

Yes I’d like to make a separate Science and Technology museum that somehow incorporated Classic Space colours without looking wildly out of place from the rest of the era of the rest of the modular series (maybe vaguely Bauhaus inspired).

I’ve got various bits from 21302 (Big Bang Theory), 21312 (Women of NASA), and 60077 (Space starter set), plus a few others to fill out the exhibits.

No idea when I might have a chance to do this though, or how I’d find the space for it though! Mainly focussing on modding existing modulars when I do have the chance.

[RichardGoring]

7 hours ago, DeanLearner said:

I’ve been collecting historical minifigures for years (mostly CMFs) and plan to try to include some sort of waxworks figures/diorama section.

I did this with a Jack Sparrow figure in the Palace Cinema, as I thought the lobby was far too sparse. Would still like to add more one day, but here he is, entertaining people on costume day:

[jus1973]

4 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

I did this with a Jack Sparrow figure in the Palace Cinema, as I thought the lobby was far too sparse. Would still like to add more one day, but here he is, entertaining people on costume day:

Love this idea.  A good use of some of the CMF series too.