[MOC] Detective's Office/Newsagent/Barber Shop modulars

[ReplicaOfLife]

Hi,

I'm in the process of finally building my MOD of 10246 Detective's Office. The MOD will include three full buildings. Two are MODs on the DO; the third is an original design.

I planned the entire thing in LDD starting in late February and ending at the end of May. I collected the required pieces in June.

I will document the building process in this thread, so if you're interested be sure to check in regularly, or follow this topic . I'll try to update it every 1-2 days, but it may take a bit longer sometime.

I won't post pictures of the LDD model to keep this thread more interesting. I have some unique ideas for the MOD I haven't seen done before, and I don't want to give it all up right away.

Every step will be documented in a new post, I will put direct links to those posts here:

Part 1: All the parts and first floor of the Detective's Office (this post, see below)

Part 2: Detective's Office, second floor

Part 3: Detective's Office, third floor and roof

Part 4: Barber Shop, Ground Floor

Part 5: Barber Shop, Second Floor

Part 6: Barber Shop, Third Floor

Part 7: Newspaper Agent MOC, Ground Floor

Part 8: Newspaper Agent, Second Floor

Part 9: Newspaper Agent, Third and Fourth Floor (final update!)

I'll also update the 'Last update:' tag of this thread whenever I post an update.

Be sure to check out my Flickr account, as I'll be posting some more pics there that aren't on here occasionally (usually detail shots and different angles)

Part 1: All the parts and first floor of the Detective's Office

The MOC uses pieces from 2 10246 Detective's Office, one 31025 Mountain Hut plus another ~1000 pieces. The total piece count will be just a few bricks shy of 5000 bricks.

Loose parts and my original DO.

The Mountain Hut and the seond DO (most of it in bags). That one I bought used off Ebay. This explains its sorry state - this is just how the groundfloor looked coming out of the box. All the parts are there, though.

The Detective's Office will become a standalone 16 wide building in my MOC

First walls are going up. The ground floor got expanded.

With help of Rainbow Construction, Inc. almost the entire baseplate gets used.

Finished ground floor. Now contains a small bar at the back.

I'll propably add a small booth or two in the corner, as it feels kinda empty. Would have to move the dart board to the other side of the bar. What do you think?

At the back there's now a stair leading up to the second floor

The stairwell also provides protection from the elements for the backdoor.

Artsy shot through the window to finish this first part of my building.

Read on in the second update

Right now I'm already well into building the second floor, so be sure to check in again soon

Hope you'll enjoy this!

Roger

Edited September 20, 2015 by RogerSmith

[TheLegoDr]

I like it so far. I think more buildings could use a rear stairwell to beef up the front. However, you'll need an alleyway somewhere to accommodate the back stairwell (the only problem).

But I like the larger footprint. I don't own the DO yet (I'll get it for Christmas), but I had considered expanding/separating it also. So I'll have to look at this for some inspiration for sure.

I'm interested to see more!

[tkatt]

Looks good RogerSmith.

I'll be following this thread as I also want to modify this set. I hadn't thought of seperating the buildings, it's a great idea.

Rather than a booth maybe try a couple of tall tables, (the exact name escapes me, pub table? cafe table? 2x2 round plate on 2 1x1 round bricks).

Some smaller bars/cafes I've been in have the type of table that you stand at rather than sit, and I feel like the Highlander is that type of bar.

[LegoSjaak]

I'm pretty curious after what you are going to build and will follow your thread!! I already like the stairs at the back!!

[Poisso3]

Good start! Can't wait to see the other modifications you are planning.

[ReplicaOfLife]

Thanks guys, glad to get some feedback :)

Rather than a booth maybe try a couple of tall tables, (the exact name escapes me, pub table? cafe table? 2x2 round plate on 2 1x1 round bricks).

Some smaller bars/cafes I've been in have the type of table that you stand at rather than sit, and I feel like the Highlander is that type of bar.

Good idea, will have to think about that, thanks. I'll rpopably change around the ground floor a bit before I'm finally finished.

Also, does anyone have good ideas on how to build bar stools?

Anyway, time for...:

Pt. 2: Second floor of the Detective's Office

03_Detective's_Office_2nd_Floor_01 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

First order of business: make it bigger! The footprint got enlarged by 6 studs.

03_Detective's_Office_2nd_Floor_02 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

All walls except the front wall were removed and rebuilt.

03_Detective's_Office_2nd_Floor_03 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

The safe got moved to the side, a shelf with a coffee machine took its place.

03_Detective's_Office_2nd_Floor_04 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

03_Detective's_Office_2nd_Floor_05 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

Off to one side there's a small toilet. It's pretty much the same build as the one from the blue building of the original DO.

03_Detective's_Office_2nd_Floor_06 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

Second floor almost finished. Stairs leading up go over the toilet, and the 'mysterious woman' has taken seat at the desk. Not so mysterious anymore, she could either be a working as a second detective, or maybe she's Ace's secretary?

03_Detective's_Office_2nd_Floor_07 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

Cupboard at the backwall.

03_Detective's_Office_2nd_Floor_09 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

View from the back. The front is still pretty indistiguishabe from the original set at this point. That, however, will change with the next update. Change big time

Continue reading with the next update

Be sure to leave a comment and/or critique.

Cheers

Edited August 20, 2015 by RogerSmith

[Brandysnaps92]

Im loving the look of it! Im looking forward to seeing what you make for the third floor!

[pirzyk]

Yes, the anticipation is killing me... :D

[ReplicaOfLife]

Thanks guys, glad to see there's some interest. I enjoy this a lot

Time for the next update

Part 3: Detective's Office, third floor and roof

04_Detective's_Office_3rd_Floor_01 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

Starting on the third floor, Ace's desk is put in

04_Detective's_Office_3rd_Floor_03 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

04_Detective's_Office_3rd_Floor_04 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

Next the exterior walls go up, plus a small cupboard towards the front.

04_Detective's_Office_3rd_Floor_05 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

Never forget the time...

04_Detective's_Office_3rd_Floor_07 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

BAM!

Finished front of the building!

04_Detective's_Office_3rd_Floor_16 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

Detail shot of the gable. Some interesting work with snot and offsets in play here :)

04_Detective's_Office_3rd_Floor_13 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

Angled view of the building.

04_Detective's_Office_3rd_Floor_14 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

View from the back. Still rather plain, but I tend to display my modulars with the front facing, well, towards the front

04_Detective's_Office_3rd_Floor_15 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

The Hero Factory hands are an iconic feature of DO. I decided to keep two of them, and give them my own personal twist.

04_Detective's_Office_3rd_Floor_17 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

The building looks right at home next to the pet shop...

04_Detective's_Office_3rd_Floor_18 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

...or the right half of the original DO. I guess if the set had had a comparable size, the complaints about it would've been a lot less vocal...

I added some more pictures to my flicks account, so be sure to check those out as well: https://www.flickr.c...157655071930083

Read the next update for the ground floor of the barber shop MOD

Cheers!

Edited August 23, 2015 by RogerSmith

[Lego Conductor]

Fantastic work Mr. RogerSmith!

Brick On!

[Pedilego]

Nicely done.

Had a "can't be unseen" moment with the lion and those hands; it looks like he's lifting weights.

[BlockLogo]

The gable by itself looks great. Didn't know the lion head brick came in that color. I don't think it fits the style of the rest of the building all that well though.

[TheLegoDr]

It does look like a more substantial set for sure. I don't think I'd like having a full roof, but with it split like this, it certainly works. The Hero Factory fists do make it look more like fists here instead of an architectural detail. The lion head works moderately well, but I'm not sure on the actual style of the building if it works. Granted, there is one in Market Street too and I don't know how well it goes there either. With that said, I don't understand the blade/spikes. It feels like lion fangs? So that throws me a bit, but the rest I like.

In all honesty, I like DO for what it is, but it does feel small, but I liked the roof with the water tower and everything. I think the Agency part certainly needs to be taller, but a straight addition of another floor doesn't make it feel right either. This adds a lot of character to it, but I think I'll go in another direction when I MOD mine (when I get it).

Keep up the good work though. Very interesting MOD to look at. I'll definitely check back at it. It stands out among the other Modulars.

[Brandysnaps92]

Man, thats awesome!

I am loving that front, maybe the 'fists' need some grey supports of some sort underneath on the second level, I think they can work really well.

Nice job!

[ReplicaOfLife]

It does look like a more substantial set for sure. I don't think I'd like having a full roof, but with it split like this, it certainly works. The Hero Factory fists do make it look more like fists here instead of an architectural detail. The lion head works moderately well, but I'm not sure on the actual style of the building if it works. Granted, there is one in Market Street too and I don't know how well it goes there either. With that said, I don't understand the blade/spikes. It feels like lion fangs? So that throws me a bit, but the rest I like.

I'd like the spikes to be way closer to the facade so they'd look more like a part of it instead of hanging in front, but couldn't find a way to make that work. Having no detail there somehoq looked too plain, I need some type of transition from the simplistic facade of the second floor towards the richly detailed gable.

I'm going for a Art Nouveau/Jugendstil type of architecture with the third floor. The idea is that the whole building used to have a far more intricate facade, but most of it got removed in renovations later on - a fate that many buildings from that era shared in the 60ies and 70ies of the last century. Typically a lot of detail, especially around windows, would be removed, while other parts remained completely untouched.

Sometimes parts got rebuilt in a simpler style to repair war damages, too.

Had a "can't be unseen" moment with the lion and those hands; it looks like he's lifting weights.

I played around a bit with the coloring in that area, mainly with the cheese slope above the fists - I had a hard time deciding between black and dark bluish grey, but settled for black, because the dark bley made it look more uneven. Maybe I'll take a picture of how it looks with the bley, it surely should mitigate some of the weight-lifting-association

[Agent 86]

Wow. That third floor façade is beautiful. Really beautiful.

[Covenant84]

That's fantastic!

Love what you did wit this set

[Firebrickbuilder]

So what can i say that hasn't Been said before???. Best modular lego never made. Love it loads. I'd buy it if it was a set.

[pirzyk]

Really nice details on the third floor, it was worth the wait! :D

[AFOLguy1970]

Excellent work. I like the secretary office on the second floor and the roof addition. This is what I wish they had done with the original release

[Hobbythom]

Interesting mod. The 3rd floor does have that jugendstill vibe that you try to achieve but I agree with others that it does not really match the rest of the building. I almost wish the lower parts were more in style to match the fantastic 3 floor.

[ReplicaOfLife]

Thanks for the feedback! Glad so many of you like what I did with the third floor.

I put a lot of time into designing it - I still have an older LDD file with two alternate versions for it - all follow the same principal idea, though.

Anyway, time for the next update!

Part 4: Barber Shop, Ground Floor

Next building is the barber shop. There have been many attempts at enlarging it, and most people went with just extending it upwards or sideways or both. I pretty much ended up doing something along those lines, but again added my own little twist to the upper floors - no change in architectural style this time, though!

But first things first - those upper floors need a ground floor to sit upon, after all

05_Barber_Shop_1st_Floor_01 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

The Barber Shop basically is a completely new build. Only very few pieces stayed in their original place.

05_Barber_Shop_1st_Floor_02 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

The Barber Shop got an even bigger expansion then the DO (relatively speaking). The floor size of the shop was more than doubled and there's a small back room with back entrance now.

05_Barber_Shop_1st_Floor_03 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

First walls going up. I replaced the white 1x2 bricks with groove with regular bricks, freeing them up for use in another project where they won't be wasted on the inside.

05_Barber_Shop_1st_Floor_04 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

Slowly taking shape. In case you're counting studs - my MOD is an 18-wide building!

05_Barber_Shop_1st_Floor_05 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

A lot more space to move around inside, even with two places for customers.

05_Barber_Shop_1st_Floor_06 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

Finished ground floor.

05_Barber_Shop_1st_Floor_07 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

Small door leading to the backroom

05_Barber_Shop_1st_Floor_08 by Tobias T., auf Flickr

Read more in the next update!

As usual, I'm looking forward to reading your thoughts, critique etc!

Enjoy!

Edited August 25, 2015 by RogerSmith

[TheLegoDr]

Nicely done. I was planning on extending the width also to make better use of the room and to change the Al's sign a bit. I hadn't considered 18 wide though, that is definitely interesting and adds a lot to the typical streetscape.

I can't wait to see more updates.

[PastVPresent]

Looking great! This set clearly really benefits from stairs in the DO portion - great that you were able to fit a bar underneath, perfect addition/use of that space!

[Digivolution]

That looks GREAT!!