10251 Brick Bank

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

4 hours ago, LegoSjaak said:

They used two light bluish grey hinges; two 1x2 plates, connected as a hinge... I also see a DBG hinge from the same type and a hinge from 1x2 bricks in Dark Bluish Grey as well in the roof section...why couldn't this work...the steps is resting on tiles... and only the hinges hold the middle of the facade above the main entrance!

Because of the geometry. In order to fit perfectly in between the two hinges, the section should have length k*sqrt(2) studs for some integer k (the number of studs along the right side of the triangle whose side is slanted), and that number is always irrational, so it can't be an exact number of studs. That is why I think it's either a little too tight or a little too loose. They probably played around with the tolerances.

Edited September 29, 2016 by BrickHat

[Chubbs]

Thanks @LegoSjaak I had come across that facade as well but was hoping someone had fleshed it out a little more within the community here.  Maybe now someone will take up the challenge.

[LegoSjaak]

4 hours ago, Chubbs said:

Thanks @LegoSjaak I had come across that facade as well but was hoping someone had fleshed it out a little more within the community here.  Maybe now someone will take up the challenge.

Ah, so you hoped it was already done completely, including roof and inside walls... Maybe the guy who made this corner-facade ran into some difficulties and took a picture and after that made the Original building..haha.. We'll, i made my own XL-version of the Brick Bank, but that isn't a corner building...so hopefully someone else is willing to create a nice cornerbuilding out of his set(s)...

[TheLegoDr]

After seeing that photo months ago, I had decided that is what I wanted to do with my Brick Bank. But I haven't done it yet because I have to wait until Christmas to actually get it...so sometime after that, I will see what I can come up with. I might try to build a moc-up of something else entirely to see how the pieces work together before I do anything, but if I can make it work, then I'll go for it.

I already built a hinged Forestman MOC that worked just fine, so I will have to see what I need to move around to make this work because I love the angled nature instead of a blocky corner building.

[Chubbs]

I have seen and coveted all of your builds @LegoSjaak - you're in a league of your own.  And yes I had hoped someone had competed the build.  I could be wrong but I believe PC uses a similar angle for its door so I'm sure its possible to do and make everything work together.

[TheLegoDr]

Using only hinges, it is very tight and without a lot of added weight from the upper floors, it will either pop off the underlying plate OR that part of the baseplate will rise up a little because of the intolerance.

The angle is just a bit off so it won't fit perfectly as was stated before. Also, to get the angle right, the sides are different. One sidewalk is 7 studs deep and the other side is 8 studs deep. I prefer total symmetry. I may have to think differently. I thought about doing away with the hinges, but then I'm not sure how it will connect together very sturdily.

Edited October 1, 2016 by TheLegoDr

[1980-Something-Space-Guy]

3 hours ago, TheLegoDr said:

Using only hinges, it is very tight and without a lot of added weight from the upper floors, it will either pop off the underlying plate OR that part of the baseplate will rise up a little because of the intolerance.

The angle is just a bit off so it won't fit perfectly as was stated before. Also, to get the angle right, the sides are different. One sidewalk is 7 studs deep and the other side is 8 studs deep. I prefer total symmetry. I may have to think differently. I thought about doing away with the hinges, but then I'm not sure how it will connect together very sturdily.

Thanks for the explanation! That makes sense. Playing around with numbers I did notice that sqrt(8^2 + 9^2) ≈ 12.04, so it would make sense to use something like that.

[Lego Conductor]

Finally got around to modding this into a mirror image of each side that faces the street:

IMG_5574 by Lego Conductor, on Flickr

[LegoSjaak]

8 hours ago, Lego Conductor said:

Finally got around to modding this into a mirror image of each side that faces the street:

IMG_5574 by Lego Conductor, on Flickr

Oh i like this one a lot.. I see also that having this Brickbank in relatively sober colors, it is okay to see the Assembly Square a lot more colorful!

[SSJ2 Dark]

This is very similar to what I had envisioned building, Lego Conductor!  Do you think it is more efficient to pick up the needed extra bricks separately, or just get another Brick Bank?

Great work, by the way!  I'd love to see some pictures of the interior too.

Edited October 19, 2016 by SSJ2 Dark

[Lego Conductor]

Thank you LegoSjaak and SSJ2 for the kind words.  Interior is still a little messy on the ground floor and required no changes to the second floor offices.   I bought a second copy as I have plans to make a 16 wide Laundry.  Also modded the DO but did Pick a Brick and Bricklink for that project.

[Lego Conductor]

SSJ2 Dark,

Interiors:

Ground Floor.  Need to redo the Teller Counters:

IMG_5590 by Lego Conductor, on Flickr

Office Level.  No changes needed:

IMG_5591 by Lego Conductor, on Flickr

Roof.  Not pretty but it works:

IMG_5592 by Lego Conductor, on Flickr

[koalayummies]

On February 12, 2016 at 9:10 PM, ncx said:

Not sure I care for the trees that are included in this set(s), the cage around the base are really only held on by 1 stud so they can freely move back and forth.

I agree. The tree's base on this one, the trash can on Firehouse Headquarters (Ghostbusters) both do that and seem to move with the slightest of effort. Its hard to keep it aligned right. Only a minor gripe though.

[SSJ2 Dark]

On 10/19/2016 at 1:19 PM, Lego Conductor said:

SSJ2 Dark,

Interiors:

Thanks, I think you have a great start! The floor and office areas are well done. Glad to have some reference photos when I start to mod mine. Double skylight might look cool.

[Faefrost]

On 1/18/2016 at 10:41 PM, penmanovic said:

I still can't get over the fact that the original set doesn't have a single cash machine. This would be a must for me if I were expanding the bank.

Sorry to reply to a months old post, but I can't believe nobody explained this one. The Brick Bank deliberately doesn't have an ATM or Cash Machine. All of the Modulars are designed to more or less mimic the styles and feels of the early to mid 20th Century. That period when the Main Streets were the principle centers of activity in the towns. While they are flexible, and you can view them as from any modern period, by and large they largely conform to what is known as the (Steam to Diesel) Transition Era, largely covering ~ 1920 to roughly 1960 or so. And yes there are a few anachronisms in the sets. Mostly in Astrid's Town Hall, but by and large the buildings mainly represent pre-information age settings. This is why that little build on the clerks desk is not a computer. It is an old school typewriter (you young 'uns may need to Google up what that is.) Jamie in particular seems to channel a lot of 1930's into his buildings. I rather suspect that he is or spent some time as a Model Railroader. 

[Faefrost]

So finally got the chance to sit down and build this one over a few nights. It's a nice fun good solid build and a gorgeous building. Certainly not the strongest inthe Modular line. But far from the weakest. It has a ton of nice little builds and techniques. Some really unusual small scale stuff. Especially in the interior furnishings. The teller windows and the Bank Presidents desk really stand out. The exterior is nicely textured, making some really interesting use of unusual parts for effect. Especially the ingots molded in light bl grey. It's also a delight to see some of the Friends/Elves new molds appearing in more useful colors. It's biggest negatives are it's somewhat uninspired color pallet which looks a little bland next to everything else, and the fact that it probably should not have been a corner. Everyone says it's too small. The reason for that is this should have been a full width front facing building. That would have resulted in better proportions and a nicer frontage. The Laundry feels un needed. A cute joke taken too far. This alongside the Grand Emporium is a building that really also cries out for an internal lighting system of some sort. Overall it remains a solid build with no major flaws (such as Palace Cinema's overly reduced second floor theater space, or Detective's Office's missing walls separating buildings.) Everything in the Brick Bank is present and does the job. My only other negative is it really needed one more minifig. Maybe a classic crook? Although the CMF Cat Burglar Lady goes well with this one.

Overall a great set. If you are new to the Modulars, this would be my recommendation of what order to grab them, based on what is currently on store shelves. Pet Shop -> Parisian Restaurant -> Brick Bank -> Detective Office -> Palace Cinema. 

[Another Brick In The Wall]

On 10/19/2016 at 8:40 AM, Lego Conductor said:

Finally got around to modding this into a mirror image of each side that faces the street:

IMG_5574 by Lego Conductor, on Flickr

How many extra pieces did this require?  Was it expensive? 

[Lego Conductor]

Another Brick In A Wall: 

Bought a second set of the Brick Bank.  I also modded the Laundry into its own building, you can see it under the Parisian Restaurant Topic.

So in this case a second set purchase seemed more practical.  

Okay got run like hell now....

Edited November 24, 2016 by Lego Conductor
Spelling

[Another Brick In The Wall]

On 11/25/2016 at 3:51 AM, Lego Conductor said:

Another Brick In A Wall: 

Bought a second set of the Brick Bank.  I also modded the Laundry into its own building, you can see it under the Parisian Restaurant Topic.

So in this case a second set purchase seemed more practical.  

Okay got run like hell now....

Thanks for your response LC.

Can you please provide a link to your modded Laundry? I had a look but couldn't find it. 

[Sunseeker21]

Last page

[gotoAndLego]

I'm extending mine up using an extra set of windows on the third floor section instead of the second. This makes it as tall as the Detective Office's blue building.

Edited January 9, 2017 by gotoAndLego

[AFOLguy1970]

If the laundromat is made into its own structure, it could fill in the 16 stud gap left by Assembly Square.  I am considering doing this not only for the sake of trying to maintain a block fit for modulars, but the bank looks a lot better when it is its own building as in the photo above.  

[gotoAndLego]

Sure, you could also do that by just making AS on two 32x32 baseplates and increase the space between the two sides.

[gotoAndLego]

I got the last of the pieces I needed so here is my third-floor mod; I also added a row of plates under the tiling at the top. You can also see that I increased the height of DO's third floor by a row of bricks to the bottom of the blue half and the top of the brown half.

 

 

[Lego Conductor]

Nicely Done gotoAndLego!   Like the mod and really liked the change done to the black fence with the white on the middle section.  Would really consider doing the same to my mod!  Could you show more or explain that mod done to the black fence on the middle section.  Again very nice mod!