Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[Blakstone]

The FB was my first modular. I only bought it to keep me from regretting missing it. But it seems that every one of these modulars I buy, I really come to love them once I build them.

If you think you might like the FB, get it. You will come to relish it.

[Off the wall]

What are people's opinions on Fire Brigade? I came to Lego right after it retired and wasn't at all interested in it from the pictures I had seen (for some reason, those brick-built flags look really bad to me), so I kind of pushed it to the bottom of my wanted list. I'm wondering, though, if I should try to pick one up before it really shoots up in value. Are there a lot of exclusive bricks/colors that would make it pricy to bricklink?

Yes, I would pick it up.

The best way for you to answer your question about specifics of the set is to go to Lego.com, pull up the instructions/parts list and see if its something you'd want.

[Danz4]

Just to comment on the modular buildings. My first was the PR and since then I couldn't wait and had to get more. I obviously missed out on the first 3 buildings, but I'm not too fussy. My most recent purchase was the Town Hall from the shop.lego/AU website which is still available. But as everyone knows outside the US pay more for Lego, which may be another reason as to why we still have the TH set retailing for AU$299.

[TheLegoDr]

Fire Brigade was my first and probably towards the top of my favorites. I have no affinity for fire stations. I don't buy LEGO City sets. I have a handful of fire sets from the early 90s when I was a kid.

But this being my first big set as an advanced builder basically brings a lot more creativity and awe to the table. I was impressed with a lot of little details, but maybe only because I hadn't seen them before (I would have just came out of the Dark Ages not long before receiving this product at Christmas 2011).

The brick built flag does look odd, but it is also neat with the wind ripple effect.

Anyway, I'd highly recommend it. To bricklink one right now it is sitting at around $322 with instructions/figures and ~$304 without instructions/figures. As far as rare/expensive pieces:

light blue-gray trash can

dark bley 8x16 tile ($5.62 average price)

white ornamental arch

light bley 1x16 brick

dark bley 16x32 baseplate (could be swapped out) ($5.81 x 2)

black plate 6x12

Now I consider pieces expensive if they are over $1/each, that's the only reason I listed those above. But ultimately, nothing too "rare" outside of maybe the large tile.

I think the primary reason the price is so high is just the number of pieces. So if you find one to buy in box well below $322, you are probably doing good. Keep in mind, those prices would be withOUT shipping, so it would ultimately be more expensive.

Edit: To add further to the information above. I took a quick look at Town Hall and it is sitting at bricklinking $433 with instructions/figures and around $400 without. So it is safe to say by bricklinking a set vs MSRP, it sits at about double. So always try to find a boxed version if/when available!

Edited October 14, 2014 by TheLegoDr

[Dharkan]

PS is one of the best of modulars and people love it, why would they retire it.

[talos]

I keep track of the sets I have using Brickset. Its also handy to get some statistics on popularity. Its a small subset of total sold, maybe, but I think its valid to compare each of the modulars on how many people have them or want to get them. I think you need to factor in how long each has been available, and price, along with the design's popularity.

FB 8964 own, 3473 want

GE 9763 own, 3567 want

PS 8371 own, 3511 want

TH 6537 own, 3642 want

PC 5765 own, 3419 want

PR 3668 own, 4103 want

[Blakstone]

PS is one of the best of modulars and people love it, why would they retire it.

They need to make room for new modulars. That said, I find the 16x32 style build very special. I hope we get some more of that style soon.

[ronenson]

I finally decided to buy the Town Hall, based on all those rumours and double vip points. They were never gone in s@h in the Netherlands, but I didnt want to risk it. Just a bit sooner than I had planned.

[Big-whoop-Guybrush]

Exactly the same as my plans for tomorrow

[VintageLegoEra]

I ended up building PR last night and I have to say that my thoughts on this have changed completely. At first, it wasn't my favourite, but now I think it's an outstanding building. So many details, great building techniques and a beautiful facade. Also, the rear of the building is the best so far on modulars, IMO. I'm so happy with it. The only issue I've found (no pieces missing) is the hair on the waiter. It's so loose that it can be detached so easy. Never happened to me before. Looks like the same problem as in new MFC. Does anyone had the same problem with this figure?

Great Choice..For me, the hair is tight but i did face a loose ones in other sets!....

I just finished building the 1st floor and it is SUPERB!

Enjoy it!

[Andy D]

PS is back in stock on S@H USA...gettem while they're hot! ;-)

PS is back out of stock in the USA. I ordered one Oct 11, they came back in stock Oct 13, they shipped mine today, now out of stock after less than 24 hours. More to be available in 30 days.

This thing is still selling quick!

Andy D

[sonicstarlight]

I just finished building the 1st floor and it is SUPERB!

The first floor of the PR was my absolute favorite part of any official modular build and the entire set is neck-and-neck with the GG as my favorite in the series. Hopefully no one is on the fence about that set - just get it.

[namioik]

I wonder when we will get the news on the detective agency, it's been pretty dry lately

[Gongoro73]

I wonder when we will get the news on the detective agency, it's been pretty dry lately

Yeah, me too. I had a dream last night about it. I was searching I don't know what in a drawer and suddenly I found the Detective Agency. It was a 90 pieces set packaged in a polybag!!! Oh man, what a nightmare. And it wasn't a even a Jamie design... I think I'm a bit obsessed with this...

[VintageLegoEra]

Yeah, me too. I had a dream last night about it. I was searching I don't know what in a drawer and suddenly I found the Detective Agency. It was a 90 pieces set packaged in a polybag!!! Oh man, what a nightmare. And it wasn't a even a Jamie design... I think I'm a bit obsessed with this...

Hope your dream will not come true...looooooool

[Donatello]

I build PS and PR and fell in love with the Modulars, I hope the next one will also be 2 buildings with both being 16x32 so we can make a little more variety in our streets.

[badbob001]

Yeah, me too. I had a dream last night about it. I was searching I don't know what in a drawer and suddenly I found the Detective Agency. It was a 90 pieces set packaged in a polybag!!!

Micro-scale modulars series 2 CONFIRMED! Thanks.

:)

[badbob001]

I wonder when we will get the news on the detective agency, it's been pretty dry lately

Maybe LEGO's marketing department wised up and realized that it's not very smart to announce a product before the holidays but have it not available until after the holidays. People wanting to buy a modular may ignore the current stock and wait for the new hotness. People saving their money for holiday purchases may decide they need to keep that money for the new and expensive post-holiday modular.

I vote for LEGO to announce it for purchase in December... hopefully along with a VIP-points promotion. :)

[namioik]

Maybe LEGO's marketing department wised up and realized that it's not very smart to announce a product before the holidays but have it not available until after the holidays. People wanting to buy a modular may ignore the current stock and wait for the new hotness. People saving their money for holiday purchases may decide they need to keep that money for the new and expensive post-holiday modular.

I vote for LEGO to announce it for purchase in December... hopefully along with a VIP-points promotion. :)

I would agree because it makes sense but disagree on your theory based on the fact that they did unveil the slave 1 ready for purchase after the holidays.

[Herky]

A few pages back we posted that there is an exclusive announcement coming out on Legoshop facebook page on Nov 21, since Slave I took the Oct 6 slot, we think this slot is for the modular, well we hope it is anyway. So Nov 21 is the next day we may likely hear about it.

[AFOLguy1970]

PR was released on Jan 1, and if I remember correctly the announcement came out well ahead of the holidays. In fact, it seems like we already had the designer video by October of last year, if not sooner. I would highly doubt Detective Agency would be available this side of Christmas. There is limited space on the shelves, and stores are probably trying to move a lot of product before then in order to prepare for new sets after the new year. Besides, a lot of people will receive gift certificates and money for Christmas. They could then use that to purchase something that becomes available in a week after Christmas.

[rollermonkey]

PS is one of the best of modulars and people love it, why would they retire it.

Everything retires eventually...

Unless it's the Death Star.

[lightningtiger]

I found out yesterday, that the GE,PS and TH were all still available for independent retailers in Oz to order......so if you can't find it in your country perhaps look down under.

[finnbricker]

TH out of stock in Europe, estimated delivery 30th Oct. I just had to grab that second TH now so I can MOD my existing one into a larger stand-alone. Had been postponing this for a long time already and planned to buy it in the US, but with the Finnish price being €199 and double VIP points, it's actually not that much more expensive than in the US.

FIN €199 - 20 (VIP) = €179.

US $199 x 1,08 (estimated tax) x 0,81 (cash exchange rate) -€10 (VIP) = €164.

The difference for eg. PS is a whopping €60! Used to be €70 with a weaker dollar.

[L@go]

The first floor of the PR was my absolute favorite part of any official modular build and the entire set is neck-and-neck with the GG as my favorite in the series. Hopefully no one is on the fence about that set - just get it.

My thoughts exactly. I'm also very fond of the Café Corner, but that's probably more because it was the set that pretty much brought me back to LEGO than because of the actual build - although I still do like the architectural details on the CC facade. Fire Brigade, on the other hand, I just never liked - that's my least favourite of the whole series. But then other people say they just love it, so it all boils down to the question of taste :)