City.. Where do I start?

[Ben C]

Hi,

Ive mostly been building Fire/ EMS/ Police MOCs, but I now want to start building a city with a Downtown, Midtown, Suburb and rural area, Could I please have some tips/ pointers on where to start and how to make it more realistic?

[RedBaron4850]

How you build really depends on the size of your table or area you are displaying on. You can have one main road that spans the length of your city and have the buildings very close and a few stories tall, and as your push further from the city hub, spread the buildings out more and eventually go into residential areas. Again this could be entire neighborhoods, or just a few of each depending on the area you have available to build on.

[Matoro]

I would suggest having a lot of road plates on hand (if you intend to go with road plates and not brick-built road) from the start. I've been working on my city layout for over 9 years now, and if there's one thing I've found it's that a sufficient amount of road plates offers the consistency that separates a great city layout from a table with Lego city models on it. That's just my opinion.

Don't overlook details on your streets. While buildings tend to be the main focus, I've found that a lot of times it's the details on my streets ( traffic lights, streetlights, fire hydrants, trees, benches, etc.) that can really make a city look realistic.

I'd also suggest some modular sets. They really add that level of detail that can inspire the rest of your city (they're actually what got me into building a city).

A drive around town never hurts either! Never know when you'll see something that will just make for the perfect Lego model.

[Yzalirk]

Apart from having a lot of bricks and baseplates, start from the center of the city. Assuming it will be like a part or something, that's where it would be best to start so you can ad buildings around it creating more space.

[Matoro]

One other thing I would suggest is that, from the start, you have a section of houses and a section of industrial buildings. While you probably want to start small, I would say that having at least those two sections would get you off to a good start.

[KringlesBricks]

I would suggest building a city center, then build outwards. Maybe like a river can separate the downtown from a suburb/small neighborhood, and have a bridge built over the river driving into the suburb form downtown... That's what I'm doing. I'm building a main street lined with those modular buildings with a road running down the middle...then have a bridge cross a river leading into a suburb or small neighbor of family size homes. my train will also run in-between the suburb and down town along the side of the river.

A drive around town never hurts either! Never know when you'll see something that will just make for the perfect Lego model.

Funny you mention that. I do the exact thing! I take a drive and visualize real life buildings and streets in brick - then go back home and re-create it with what I have on hand, or hit up the pick-a-brick wall or bricklink.

[Off the wall]

I would suggest you also look at some of the creations of contributor 'eurotrash'. Such as his spectacular abandoned factory. Every town needs its seedy side. Or, as realtors call it, an 'up and coming' neighborhood.

[Pop Bumper Pete]

look around where you live, are there interesting buildings?

I would build a hardware store or a pizza shop, rather than a grand theater(that can come later)

[Ben C]

look around where you live, are there interesting buildings?

I would build a hardware store or a pizza shop, rather than a grand theater(that can come later)

Where I live theres a Fire Station, a Gun shop a Pizza place and a bank..

I like the Idea of having a river separate the downtown from the suburb(Since I have a Dive Rescue I could do incidents..) .. A bridge that actually supports weight.. Would that be road plates or brick built?

[The Jersey Brick Guy]

You can do both. Check out this YouTube video for something that is similar to what you are talking about.

[lifeinplastic]

You need to ask yourself the following...

Do I want my city to stand out from others? If so, although the modular buildings are great for gathering a large number of parts, most people already use these models for displays and if you plan to make more buildings you will need to make sure they match the official Lego style if you do decide to go with existing sets.

What are my restrictions? How large can your city spread out without taking over the whole house? Also, how much you can spend will affect the size and detail of your layout.

Does my City represent an existing city? If so, your buildings will need to reflect the architecture, the transport and people there will have to represent the surroundings (for example, London's red buses, New York taxis).

One thing that does bother me is when people populate their cities with all their minifigures just because they have them and they like the figures. Think to yourself, why would a clown be walking down the street, etc? Sometimes it is nice to have quirky figures in scenes but don't overdo it!

[VintageLegoEra]

If u have the buildings/sets ready, then align the in yhe shape you want then you can have a great vision on where to place the roads, Train, .... etc

Regards

[Axelthestormer]

I would start with the layout, and dont fill the street with too many minifgs or vehicles or it'll look quite crowded.

[cgarison]

Look around your local area and build in that style. I have created a couple of style of houses based upon the ones that I have seen (or lived in) around Philly for our club's town layout. Now, I am looking at the smaller businesses that line the streets of the small town suburbs around Philly for some of the ideas for businesses to put into the town. Currenty, we are short on restaurants (with only the Parisian Cafe in our layout), so my latest MOC is modular standard building based off the Friend's Juice Bar facade, but in a style that looks like it could be a part of main street in Wayne. PA.

I know down the road, we will need a new police station and the Fire Brigade fire station will need an upgrade as well. But all that will come in time.

[ResIpsaLoquitur]

People. You need people. The problem with many of the City sets is that they're Police or Fire-centric, so your town may find itself full of cop, robber, and firemen and very few of the ordinary denizens who are just trying to live their lives. Fortunately, there's plenty of ways to get some civilians:

- Many of the Collectible Minifigures work well as "ordinary" people. Alas, a lot of the waves have come and gone. If you can find any of the earlier waves (like in the US, Target often has older waves still sitting around), go for it.

- The Lego Store has a "Build a Figure" setup where you can make three custom people for $10 US. You can get a head, torso, legs, headgear, and one accessory for each figure. (Some stores are generous and will let you load up on parts.)

- Some of the polybag sets come with ordinary people. Last year, the Lego Stores had "seasonal" sets: a couple sitting on a park bench for spring; a guy on the beach with a castle for summer; a family raking leaves for fall; and a dad and daughter with a Christmas tree for winter. There was also a Thanksgiving family which had a couple, some cats, and a big pile of food.

- The annual City Advent Calendar often comes with a lot of ordinary people (and lately, they come with kids--something hard to find in regular sets). If you're lucky, you may be able to find last year's set on clearance. This year's set, sadly, comes with two cops and a burglar, but it also has a mom and two kids (and CMF Santa). It also has a number of parts which will be useful for filling out your city with little details. (I am actually disappointed in this year's City calendar, since it strikes me as a big parts pack with few practical items.)

[SearchFunction]

I've been working on my city layout for over 9 years now

Not to hijack Ben Cs thread here, but do you have any pictures online of that? Would love to see it .

As for tips, I´d say look at as many layouts as you can on flickr, brickshelf etc. At some point you´r going too see something you like, and then slowly form your own idea of what you want in your city.

If you already have that and want advice on realism, well, thats a subject for itself. There are two things to consider in realism:

1. How does different sections interact, and how do I plan them? That is downtown, suburbs, industrial etc. You could spend hours and hours on this reading books about it or just copy something from reality. If it was me, I would think about it in a historical perspective, how did it start, what happened when the railroad appeared etc.

2. Details of one section. Like street lamps, trash cans, sidewalks etc. I think this one is easier to do really.

Also, even though its tempting, dont try to do everything. Skyscrapers are going to look strange in a small town etc. unless its all downtown.

[cgarison]

People. You need people.

Regular Joes are very important. But they run and hide when is an alien invasion in their front yard.

[haddock]

I have just started looking into building my own town , for me i found mapping it out on paper has helped me get a sense of the size for each of the sections i am doing . As i buildings and things im sure the overall will alter but at least with it on paper i have a "map" of sorts to work with .

[VintageLegoEra]

I have completed gathering my elements for my city and will start building them soon...will post few photos once I am done to share my city

[kibosh]

Initially, I had thought I wanted to build my city as a real as possible. Realistic settings, realistic people of the streets, etc.

After seeing the LEGO Movie, I have changed my mind.

I still plan on making a realistic town to a degree, but I will fill it with a little bit of everything. I want it whimsical. There will be Superheroes fighting crime. There will be alien invaders. There will be Simpsons. Etc.

[VintageLegoEra]

Initially, I had thought I wanted to build my city as a real as possible. Realistic settings, realistic people of the streets, etc.

After seeing the LEGO Movie, I have changed my mind.

I still plan on making a realistic town to a degree, but I will fill it with a little bit of everything. I want it whimsical. There will be Superheroes fighting crime. There will be alien invaders. There will be Simpsons. Etc.

It is always great to start what you think and want, then modify it...cos if u gonna think a lot, then u will end up doing nothing. .:-)

[kibosh]

It is always great to start what you think and want, then modify it...cos if u gonna think a lot, then u will end up doing nothing. .:-)

This is a very real problem for me. I keep thinking about things to build, buy the bricks and the sets, but I don't build. Paralysis by analysis I'm afraid.

[VintageLegoEra]

This is a very real problem for me. I keep thinking about things to build, buy the bricks and the sets, but I don't build. Paralysis by analysis I'm afraid.

No worries, just tell me what sets u have so far so I can see how tp put it down there. ..

Tip: in any city Land you must have : fire department, police, hospital and Hotel. These are the basics. ..:-)

[Matoro]

Not to hijack Ben Cs thread here, but do you have any pictures online of that? Would love to see it .

Not to help you hijack Ben Cs thread but unfortunately, I don't have any photos up yet. I've just finished my big summer projects, so hopefully they will be up soon though! (Granted, I must say that it is not nearly as impressive as most of these cities I see on the forums )

[VintageLegoEra]

This is a very real problem for me. I keep thinking about things to build, buy the bricks and the sets, but I don't build. Paralysis by analysis I'm afraid.

Another Tip: what i do before making a city, i do a draft drawing in how i want the city look like with: Trains, Roads and buildings....Then put it into reality and see if it meets your desire, or change it according to your style,,,,believe me it is very easy the only thing what you gonna hate is, you might end up buying more parts to support your city...looool...i have been collecting the parts for my city since March and till now i notice i need more to add to city.....:)

Good Luck and Enjoy!