33 replies to this topic

[Johan the Yellowhead]

Layout

In another thread of mine where I showed my interior of the Cafe Corner I noticed people are very interested and thrilled to see a group-shot of all the modular buildings. With the photos in a post not all people would necessarily look for them, I decided to make this new thread with more pictures!

I first bought Cafe Corner off e-bay some time ago when it was still ‘reasonably’ prized (that said, it was my wife who, through showing me pictures of the CC, pulled me out of my Dark Years!), with the Green Grocer following swiftly. Every since the Fire Brigade, I am ‘on target’, buying them mostly a few weeks after they arrive in stores. After buying the Fire Brigade, I went on a stroll to collect all the pieces for the Market Street, seeing as it was virtually impossible to get it for a decent price at the time. I managed to buy most parts through Pick-a-Brick and the missing parts department of Lego.

Throughout the year, my modular buildings are stored safely in the attic, out of the light and partially dust-free (or at least more dust-free then in my other rooms in the house). Every two weeks or so I climb my ladder to wonder at them. Once a year they get their chance to shine, when I bring them down every time I finish a new modular building. Then, I proudly show them to my wife and family or friends who happen to pass by. After two days, I take them back up again, and they will have to wait a whole year to see the light again!  

Now, for the pics... I hope you enjoy them just as much as I do when I sit in my chair, looking in wonderment!   I will try to get a group picture every year once I build the new modular! My future plan is to buy some streets and connect them, creating a nice sidewalk.


The corner-shot photo...


Hmm, it's light, but where are all the people...?


A full-frontal shot!


The back alley. Although it is way more simple then the front, I still really enjoy looking at it, seeing the different colors interconnecting perfectly with each other! I envision one day, when the modular buildings come 'full circle', to build a grand park in the middle, with a play ground, trees, water, etc.


Bird-view...




Gotta love it!



Thanks for watching, hope you enjoyed it!

Edited by Phred, 20 March 2012 - 06:25 PM.

[lightningtiger]

Very nice layout 'Johan' , but it's a pity we can't see the wonderful corner frontage of the GE ?
Are you considering a roadway to run in front of all the buildings.....8x16 tile pieces in black would do (that's what I'm using at the moment for my 1950's street).
Brick On 'Johan' !

[Johan the Yellowhead]

lightningtiger, on 12 March 2012 - 09:43 PM, said:

Very nice layout 'Johan' , but it's a pity we can't see the wonderful corner frontage of the GE ?
Are you considering a roadway to run in front of all the buildings.....8x16 tile pieces in black would do (that's what I'm using at the moment for my 1950's street).
Brick On 'Johan' !

Thanks lightningtiger! I tried several combinations, but I believe this one works best (sorry for the GE, my kitchen doesn't have that much white wall  ) . I am planning to buy some lego-roads, lenghtening the street and placing some trees and stuff like that. I think I might make a bicycle path on the other side of the street in brick yellow. Connected to that side of the street would be a dock and harbor, with beyond the sea. In the middle of the sea would be a small island and I would place my log cabin on there.

Edited by Johan the Yellowhead, 12 March 2012 - 09:50 PM.

[SwissBrick]

Hi Johan the Yellowhead,


As LT just commented, when you said you would buy streets, I thought, mhmhmmm, I have bought streets and it does not look that good (see here)...


At contrario, LT's street just looks fabulous with his own designed street with tiles (see here), I think it would really render good with your layout!.

The park idea in the middle when the modulars circle up (at some time I hope) is also great, you might want to start before the modular line gets so far though...

Thanks for the pictures.

Cheers,
SB

Edited by SwissBrick, 12 March 2012 - 09:58 PM.

[SeanM]

Posts like this are making me very envious... Nice layout

[Johan the Yellowhead]

SwissBrick, on 12 March 2012 - 09:58 PM, said:

Hi Johan the Yellowhead,


As LT just commented, when you said you would buy streets, I thought, mhmhmmm, I have bought streets and it does not look that good (see here)...


At contrario, LT's street just looks fabulous with his own designed street with tiles (see here), I think it would really render good with your layout!.

The park idea in the middle when the modulars circle up (at some time I hope) is also great, you might want to start before the modular line gets so far though...

Thanks for the pictures.

Cheers,
SB

Thanks! First of all, your town lay-out looks great, although I do see what you mean concerning those streets. Hmm, I might have to change my plans. I plan to start building the park soon, and continue with it one piece at a time (thinking about doing one 32x32 plate at a time). Still, I don't know how big to make the park, since I don't know how many modulars lego is going to release. Thinking logically, every corner is followed by (guessing the next one won't be a corner building) three straight buildings, leading to another 9 sets to complete the circle? That means 9 years. I sure hope I'll be finished with my park by then!  

[JackJonespaw]

That is great! I never knew that the Town Hall had those sky lights.  

[TheLegoDr]

Very impressive layout! I didn't come out of my dark ages until well after Grand Emporium was released, so I missed out on a lot. The park in the middle sounds like a neat idea. That is, if you have enough space to do so. I would rather just display the sets all the time so I can always look in awe at their beauty  . Thankfully we have a separate room dedicated to lego, so that is my plan eventually.

I like all the shots. I can't wait to see more. I am sure I will return to this page often to admire the set-up.

[Legocrazy81]

It's an injustice to keep these cooped up in the attic!? For shame sir, for shame! I have no room to talk, really. Mine are in a big box... . Just felt like bustin' your chops.

At least when I get sad I can always come back here. While SwissBrick doesn't care for the street plates, I like them. They give a new look and dimension to the buildings. They're a bit pricey, I don't really know if it'd be any cheaper to brick build a street...I wish LEGO would release 2 a year, I can't get enough of these!

[Johan the Yellowhead]

Legocrazy81, on 13 March 2012 - 05:10 AM, said:

It's an injustice to keep these cooped up in the attic!? For shame sir, for shame! I have no room to talk, really. Mine are in a big box... . Just felt like bustin' your chops.

At least when I get sad I can always come back here. While SwissBrick doesn't care for the street plates, I like them. They give a new look and dimension to the buildings. They're a bit pricey, I don't really know if it'd be any cheaper to brick build a street...I wish LEGO would release 2 a year, I can't get enough of these!

Same here, same here! And I applaud your criticism on the attick!   I've been searching eurobricks for some more pics of towns build with standard road plates, and I came across a few that look really good. Might have to give it some time to think it over...

Edited by Johan the Yellowhead, 13 March 2012 - 07:14 AM.

[chrk82]

The modular series.....is amazing!!!!!!
Excellent!!!

[dosto_tube]

It's a very pleasure to see all modular buildings.
Good work.

[TheLegoDr]

I was looking at this picture again and I hadn't realize how big the Green Grocer really is. It looks wider and taller than I originally thought. People kept complaining of how tall the Town Hall is, but the Green Grocer is right up there with it. Every time I saw Cafe Corner it was next to the Green Grocer so I thought the CC was just smaller, but that is not the case at all.

Again, a very impressive street scene. I am really digging on the Pet Shop the more I see it.

[Johan the Yellowhead]

TheLegoDr, on 13 March 2012 - 04:31 PM, said:

I was looking at this picture again and I hadn't realize how big the Green Grocer really is. It looks wider and taller than I originally thought. People kept complaining of how tall the Town Hall is, but the Green Grocer is right up there with it. Every time I saw Cafe Corner it was next to the Green Grocer so I thought the CC was just smaller, but that is not the case at all.

Again, a very impressive street scene. I am really digging on the Pet Shop the more I see it.

Pet Shop is really fun! Before buying it, I had my doubts, seeing as the pictures I saw beforehand did not impress me. After building it I became sure this is a worthy addition to the modular series. It is a nice build and compared to the other buildings it is cute (as my wife would say...).

For me personally, GG is still my favorite. I think architectural wise it has the best build, technique wise it was one of the more challenging, and I really love the color-scheme! Everything combined, I believe Lego will have a hard time giving me one that I believe to be better then GG!

[LEGO Guy Bri]

One of the lucky few who have the whole collection! I still need the Pet Shop though...  It's great to see them all together  

Edited by Lego Guy Bri, 13 March 2012 - 06:37 PM.

[The Dutch Guy]

It's great seeing al the modulars together. Like you said Johan, the colours match perfectly together. Love to see more of your city as it progresses

[Dakar A]

As Swiss Brick and LT said, roads can look great, or can be a burden to the overall look of the city.
As for me, I tried to take a page from the Lego city commercial setup designers, and just used an interlacing pattern of plates and tiles in LBG. It turns out really nice, but, then again, I keep my city out 24/7. It's pretty peice intensive, so for a setup like yours, it might not be the best. Great aesthetic layout in the way you have it setup. Two more corner buildings, and you can make an entire square!

Dakar

[kasmca]

Thanks for the post.  They look great.  If you are interested in adding a road, here is a neat tutorial to add a baseplate in a unique way as opposed to just placing it in front of the modulars.  It might work well considering your limited space:

[Legocrazy81]

kasmca, on 15 March 2012 - 02:36 AM, said:

Thanks for the post.  They look great.  If you are interested in adding a road, here is a neat tutorial to add a baseplate in a unique way as opposed to just placing it in front of the modulars.  It might work well considering your limited space:

That's an interesting idea. Thanks for that.

[Johan the Yellowhead]

kasmca, on 15 March 2012 - 02:36 AM, said:

Thanks for the post.  They look great.  If you are interested in adding a road, here is a neat tutorial to add a baseplate in a unique way as opposed to just placing it in front of the modulars.  It might work well considering your limited space:

That is interesting! Thanks! Neat way to add these roadplates. Although what I like best about the roadplates used normally is that it gives you more space for a sidewalk. Nevertheless, very interesting tutorial!

[The Dutch Guy]

kasmca, on 15 March 2012 - 02:36 AM, said:

Thanks for the post.  They look great.  If you are interested in adding a road, here is a neat tutorial to add a baseplate in a unique way as opposed to just placing it in front of the modulars.  It might work well considering your limited space:

Thanks for this video. I like the idea a lot. I have a whole table for myself an one to build on, but still am cramped for space. This, would surely give me a lot more space.
It doesn't tell me however what to do with cornerbuildings like CC and GE.

Thanks again Kasmca     

Edited by The Dutch Guy, 15 March 2012 - 09:04 AM.

[Redhead1982]

This is an interesting idea. I specifically like how you can add a drainage hole under the pavement. But on the other hand, this can be plate consuming.

kasmca, on 15 March 2012 - 02:36 AM, said:

[Legocrazy81]

The Dutch Guy, on 15 March 2012 - 07:19 AM, said:

Thanks for this video. I like the idea a lot. I have a whole table for myself an one to build on, but still am cramped for space. This, would surely give me a lot more space.
It doesn't tell me however what to do with cornerbuildings like CC and GE.

Thanks again Kasmca     

For the corner buildings, it wouldn't be much different, albeit a little more tricky. You'd have to use 3 baseplates, ten just do what was shown in the video. It would just take a lot more plates and tiles.

[Marckeyh]

That's a nice line up off modular buildings, I didn't realise there were so many already. The only one I own is the pet shop, but haven't had time to build it yet.

[Brickmamba]

Beautiful collection, great work getting all the modulars to date