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Pedilego

[MOC] Modular ZOO

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Hi everybody,

A few months ago my wife mused that our city needed a zoo and thus, my first end-to-end, all the bells and whistles effort at trying to make something special begun. It's a zoo with modular exhibits. Depending on how you configure them, the play area can become up to 50" wide. Better yet, you can place all 8 modules onto a single baseplate behind a striking facade, which turns it into a modular building.

90-second video

I recommend watching the 90-second teaser, but pictures are below if you'd prefer:

"Ways to play"

Here are just a few examples of all the layout possibilities:

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Exhibit Close-ups

There are 7 exhibits and 1 food stand & lab. Here's a look at some:

Exhibits.thumb.jpg.0a9f114155e2f93789d797f6809254e7.jpg

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Facade & Modular

Great for tidy storage and Lego city landscapes!

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Ideas & Flickr Links

Lots more pictures here (no pressure to vote, of course.... not that I'll stop you lol):

https://ideas.lego.com/projects/145483

https://www.flickr.c...th/28151428885/

577e757e58ec9_Untitledpicture.png.cdb2d2267fbf0fdf14794f63fa22e3ce.png

Thanks for looking! Thoughts?

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Edited by Pedilego

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Are the exhibits themselves individual modules? If so, you could make a really neat combined standard where you could stack them to make one large modular or spread them out like a traditional zoo!

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Are the exhibits themselves individual modules? If so, you could make a really neat combined standard where you could stack them to make one large modular or spread them out like a traditional zoo!

Yep! That's the concept. :wink:

They're "housed" behind the facade/entrance in 2-columns, each 4-exhibits high. But you could stack them into a single "Animal-vengers Tower" hahah or spread them out to be more like a traditional zoo in whichever order or arrangement you want. Here are a couple more images from the Ideas page:

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Love the elephant in the middle

Great Work!!!!

Greetings

Thanks a lot! The water spouting from his trunk was my wife's idea.

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Thanks! The elephant was in the build all along, but one of the last things I did was give it a "face lift" hahah Glad I did. : )

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Backed this idea, as I really like the concept and would love a zoo in my city. My only concern is that LEGO might not approve it due to the fact the animal enclosures are quite small (at least for the larger animals) and they may want to avoid criticism from animal rights groups. Maybe the concept can be adopted using smaller creatures instead (birds insects, reptiles, ...)?

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This is such a cool idea I would have never thought of a zoo as a modular but it works!!

So GooD!

-RailCo

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Backed this idea, as I really like the concept and would love a zoo in my city. My only concern is that LEGO might not approve it due to the fact the animal enclosures are quite small (at least for the larger animals) and they may want to avoid criticism from animal rights groups. Maybe the concept can be adopted using smaller creatures instead (birds insects, reptiles, ...)?

Thank you for your support!!

To be fair, scale is never quite right in Lego (ex: the one Palace Cinema screen alone should be 12x bigger) because of space and piece considerations (applies to minifigure housing, too). Being Lego, folks can always enlarge the exhibits. But fair concern. In any case, perhaps this reaching their doorstep would at least show Lego there's a demand for some kind of animal-centered sets.

This is such a cool idea I would have never thought of a zoo as a modular but it works!!

So GooD!

-RailCo

Thanks RailCo! Gotta love the possibilities of Lego.

It will be a great thinking to make the next modular by LEGO. :-)

: ) Thanks!

Edited by Pedilego

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I just died! A zoo is the LAST thing I would've ever thought of, yet here it is and I love it! This is very well thought, and the details are superb! Thank you for sharing!

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I just died! A zoo is the LAST thing I would've ever thought of, yet here it is and I love it! This is very well thought, and the details are superb! Thank you for sharing!

Very kind, thanks! : )

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Well, it might sound odd, an "indoor" zoo, but I absolutely love this idea.

It can be arranged in a number of different ways, and one could even add a 16x32 cage, if one needs more space.

Great details. and a very inventive solution with the walkways in front of the cages.

My favourite parts are the façade, the aquarium and the monkey cage.

Inventive concept. Supported.

But seriously, polar bears and penguins, in one cage? (here we go again) :laugh:

Keep clicking those bricks together.

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Love the sign and the facade.

Don't think it would really work as a commercial set. But very cool anyway.

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As much as I really like your MOC and the modular display cases of the single species, I don't think it fits within the modular houses concept.

A zoo on 2 or 3 floors? Without any outside space?

For me it's simply not working, sorry.

A 'real' zoo needs much more space and cannot be squeezed in an area of 32x32 studs.

But within that limited space, your idea is brilliant again. :thumbup:

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I'm interested in having a friendly discussion and/or hearing recommendations with/from anybody interested because, to be honest, I really am surprised by the split reception. Lots of people to be taken back by what I thought was an imaginative solution to the space problem because it's not an entirely realistic presentation of Lego. :sceptic:

Well, it might sound odd, an "indoor" zoo, but I absolutely love this idea.

It can be arranged in a number of different ways, and one could even add a 16x32 cage, if one needs more space.

Great details. and a very inventive solution with the walkways in front of the cages.

My favourite parts are the façade, the aquarium and the monkey cage.

Inventive concept. Supported.

But seriously, polar bears and penguins, in one cage? (here we go again) :laugh:

Keep clicking those bricks together.

Appreciate it. Spot on: rearrange-able (kids and adults alike love Zoo Tycoon for that exact reason) and customizable (Lego!).

Hahah what can I say? The polar bear stays well fed with fish. :laugh:

Love the sign and the facade.

Don't think it would really work as a commercial set. But very cool anyway.

Thanks. I'd be interested in hearing why if you don't mind.

As much as I really like your MOC and the modular display cases of the single species, I don't think it fits within the modular houses concept.

A zoo on 2 or 3 floors? Without any outside space?

For me it's simply not working, sorry.

A 'real' zoo needs much more space and cannot be squeezed in an area of 32x32 studs.

But within that limited space, your idea is brilliant again. :thumbup:

Thanks for your feedback and honesty. I really do appreciate it, and I don't necessarily disagree with points you're making. That said, I do have some counter-points:

  • I think I presented my idea incorrectly by stating 1. modular 2. zoo whereas it should be thought of as 1. zoo 2. modular.
  • Really, it's a zoo with modular exhibits that are placed together horizontally in a variety of configurations spanning up to up to 50" wide... which happens to have the ability to be neatly stored on a 10"x10" baseplate behind a striking facade as a modular building.
  • Space in a children's room or an AFOL's city is at a premium, and something designed to be laid out purely as a traditional zoo would take up far too much space.
  • More open-air exhibits would be nice but I was effectively required to take the glass exhibit approach on most of them based on ^factors mentioned above. I did try to capture the "open feel" in the way the facade was designed with open walkways, plants and vines growing all around, and the open air roof.
  • The Palace Cinema "theater screen" is the size of a big screen tv. Scale is never perfect in Lego because, again, space. Even applies to minifigure living space.

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Hi all,

First, thank you all very much for the feedback. I used it and went back to get some more pictures (see OP), showing how expansive the layout can become & that this is a Zoo #1 and a modular #2. I also added some closer-up pictures of the exhibits.

Thoughts?

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The updated fotos clearly show the brilliance of this MOC!

Very well done (now that even I realized what 'modular' is about). :wub:

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Really nice!

I had plans to build a zoo for so so long, now you just made me jealous :laugh:

I just love the way you wrote "zoo"!

Well done, great job :classic:

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Great idea! Seperate animal sets and all.

Some animals to reconsider; Chameleons,Lemurs & Cobra's.

You guys really look like your minifig's btw. :laugh:

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Took this to a Lego convention this past weekend... kids loved the animals/exhibits and parents' eyes lit up when I showed them how it could be tidily stacked/cleaned up. :grin:

The updated fotos clearly show the brilliance of this MOC!

Very well done (now that even I realized what 'modular' is about). :wub:

Appreciate it! Constructive criticism really can go a long way if presented fairly and taken with an open mind. Hope others notice it as a positive example. Thanks again!

Really nice!

I had plans to build a zoo for so so long, now you just made me jealous :laugh:

I just love the way you wrote "zoo"!

Well done, great job :classic:

Thank you! Hopefully it also inspires you... never too late! ; )

Great idea! Seperate animal sets and all.

Some animals to reconsider; Chameleons,Lemurs & Cobra's.

You guys really look like your minifig's btw. :laugh:

Thanks; nice recommendations! And hahah that's my normal work look... she had to play make-believe a bit.

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I stumbled upon your video on youtube and I must say nicely done :thumbup:

Hope it will make it to 10 000 votes!

Also glad to see that I am not the only one keen on getting more Lego "minifig-animals" :wink:

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