Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[parksroad]

I'm wondering if there should a poll taken.....who likes or dislikes this design and maybe what direction they would like to see the modular series take ?

I'd be interested, but I'll hold out for the designer video. It looks again like there's a lot of attention paid to the interior, but my vision isn't good enough to make out enough from the pic of the back of the box to know what I think yet. I do love the detailing around the roof, and I'm curious for a closer look inside that alley.

[Wodanis]

I'm not torn by this modular at all. Im loving every detail in this. It beats my expectations of what I was imagining the set would look like. I will definitely buy one. Remember one golden rule with all lego set designs is that they will reuse parts in new and interesting ways. To that I say this is fabulous and keeps up the spirit of what lego is all about.

I can't wait to see what the interior will look like.

Edited November 17, 2014 by Wodanis

[just2good]

Whoop, forgot to comment on the pics. This really is a worthy follow up to the lovely Parisian.

[rabrew]

It also looks like a departure from the love story we've gotten in the modulars:

PC: first date

PR: proposal

GE: Suit and dress choice for upcoming marriage

TH: Wedding

PS: New apartment to start a family

DO: wife has run away and husband hires a private detective to find her?

Loved your comment made my weekend. However one needs to be added:

GG: had a baby and needed a larger apartment

[paul_delahaye]

A new baseplate in an unusual colour :-)

I wonder what the reference of the word Pool is? likely a pool table venue, but I'm unsure where it would be in the building?

I can't quite read what it says on the windows of the ground floor building on the left either. I also really hope they have found a clever way to print onto clear glass, especially after Jamie mentioned with the PR how AFOL's wanted to pay a little more not to have stickers?

[Gryphon Ink]

Wow, this is so wonderful. I don't usually buy modulars, but I think I have to have this one. I love that TLG is moving the modulars to the low-rent side of town. Never would have expected to see a pool hall in an official Lego preoduct!

[tman684]

Not a fan of the light blue, but my barber shop is also called Al's, so I need this

[TheBrickPal]

I have to say, those silver Hero Factory/BIONICLE 2015 fists as roof decorations are a stroke of genius!

[Follows Closely]

^^^ There is a clever pool table pictured on the back of the box.

[Legogal]

I like the design well enough but have problems with the use of so many bright colors. A bit too busy for my tastes, but yup, I will build it. And just change a few of the colors to cool it down a bit. I am assuming the yellow is bright light yellow from Friends. It looks too bright to be the original light yellow, which is one of my all time favorite colors. Maybe I will switch out the bright shade of yellow for the lighter one.

The use of unusual parts is brilliant! Cool to see so many weird uses of parts that don't come to mind when making a building.

Do wish it arrived on two baseplates so we could move it around the hood more easily.

So glad the photo finally made it to EB! Today we just finished building our last unbuilt modular, Palace Cinema, which appeals a bit more to my tastes. Ready for another modular to arrive.

[Follows Closely]

I remember thinking the same of the pet shop color. I think it's tan.

[Boettner Builds]

I FRACKIN love it!!!!! :)

[L@go]

I can't quite read what it says on the windows of the ground floor building on the left either. I also really hope they have found a clever way to print onto clear glass, especially after Jamie mentioned with the PR how AFOL's wanted to pay a little more not to have stickers?

And the pub/bar seems to be called The Highlander, which is hilarious. That's a pub/restaurant in Billund, where LEGO people tend to go to eat and drink :)

Edited November 17, 2014 by L@go

[dhc6twinotter]

I really like how the fists and unikitty tail are used for added detail. Great parts usage, and the pool table has pockets too!

That being said, I find the rest of the buildings somewhat plain. Aside from the unique parts usage at the top, there really isn't any special building techniques used. Together, the buildings look fantastic, but If you take each building by itself, it doesn't have the pizzaz that some of the other modules have, especially the barber shop/apartment half. I'd say this set is on par with the FB, but not as good as PR or CC. I might even rank PS above this.

Still, I'll buy it!

Edited November 17, 2014 by dhc6twinotter

[XAxles]

This makes building #5 since the Emporium... do you suppose we're due for another Mini Modulars set? As an owner of the first one, I'd love to expand the tiny street, but I don't know if that set sold well enough for Lego to bother producing round 2.

Well, let's wait until Mini Modulars 2 does come out. But now that you said it... back to the cave to meditate.

[Amazing Bricks]

Could someone please show where the unikitty tail is being used in the detective office?

[tafkatb]

Very top of the barbershop portion - four grey tail pieces are mounted upside down as cornices.

[PastVPresent]

Looks like a great set - provides much-needed small/"filler" buildings for the modular street while still managing to be very interesting. In fact, the mix of uses makes it one of the more interesting recent modulars I think.

I also really like the variety of heights here (good for visual interest on the street) but I'm still trying to figure out where the stairway (or elevator) is and, if there isn't one, what I think about this new "precedent."

Edited November 17, 2014 by PastVPresent

[badbob001]

The low-res photo of the back of the box is driving me crazy because it shows so many details but they are just fuzzy enough to make them undecipherable.

Observations:

Detective Office:

• Swordfish hanging above window?
  
• Hidden item/safe behind picture?
  
• Lighted-sign outside of office window, a typical setting in movies.
  
• Nice Banker's lamp.
  
• Cat knows how to use the toilet? Case of the missing Misses Buttersworth?
  
• I think the entrance to the 2nd floor balcony is from the office and not the blue/red building. I suspect there is some sort of hinged doorway/window. I would be disa
  
• Is the detective putting money into his safe? Or a green frog?
  

Pool Hall:

• Is that a ceiling fan?
  

Blue Building:

• What is in the pot that the two blue guys are looking at? Soup? Or Coins/diamonds?
  

General:

• The middle part is not really a typical alley. It's more like an atrium/lobby. It has some steps up from the front and some steps down from the back. Perhaps it also leads to a central staircase that runs up the entire building.
  
• What are all those blobs in the lot behind the building? Giant rats?
  
• From the front, it looks like the detective is following coins. The back shows the red-cap man putting something in the roof chimney(?) and it ends up somehow going down to the first floor and into the pool hall. A mechanism to get coins to roll down some track or tube?
  
• In the scene where the barber is helping the police officer up, I have no idea what the arrows indicate. Perhaps the balconies are actually a fire escape and there is a drop-down ladder and a hatch to the roof.
  

Edited November 17, 2014 by badbob001

[sneff]

Love the pool table!! I love this modular. Cant wait to build it!!

[kndy]

I love it, in the sense that it's a new modular that has the 1930's-1940's vibe. Although, not sure how I would like to utilize it yet if I did get it...it would be great to use this set for a more era-based setting and I can focused on more figures that fit the theme. Otherwise, I would like to keep my other Eurostyle modulars more modern .

Edited November 17, 2014 by kndy

[jedijon]

It looks like unikitty tail only on very front, inverted slopes on rest of 3 floor roof. That's odd.

[Faefrost]

A new baseplate in an unusual colour :-)

I wonder what the reference of the word Pool is? likely a pool table venue, but I'm unsure where it would be in the building?

I can't quite read what it says on the windows of the ground floor building on the left either. I also really hope they have found a clever way to print onto clear glass, especially after Jamie mentioned with the PR how AFOL's wanted to pay a little more not to have stickers?

"Pool Hall" or "Pool Room" is an American term for it. I believe you would think of it as a "Billiards Room" or "Snooker Hall"? (Yeah yeah probably completely dated terms). The Pool Hall would almost always be on the ground floor or in many cases below ground in a caller. The pool tables in real life are heavy slate and require leveling, so they tend not to put them on wooden upper floors.

The reason for doing a "Pool Hall" is easy. It's basically a Pub, but the booze is only implied, and isn't the core business. Pool Halls tend to also have a bit of a seedy reputation and fit in well with the Detective Genre. For a feel for what we are talking about pull up the classic Paul Newman movie The Hustler and it's sequel the Tom Cruise movie The Color of Money.

[brickbuilder711]

I love it! It's a set great for AFOLs. Very dense and packed in detail. Might be one of the few MBs that I actually decide to get.

[rollermonkey]

I like the look of the thing, but hate the cruddy resolution, especially of the back.