18 replies to this topic

[JamesTheCat]

See http://messageboards...&PostID=5318515 - yay, Jamie! :P

[LEGOman273]

When asked what the next Modular would be, he said that he is not a very good cook; that he managed to burn soup.
Perhaps this is a hint. Modular restaurant, anyone? A restaurant would make sense, and would make a good set.

[caperberry]

He answered very well, that was interesting. Thanks for posting the link

[TheLegoDr]

I would say he answered well. I would like to think that is a hint at a restaurant, but who knows. He could have also said his secret is not being very good with money and should find a safe place to keep it. Who knows..but a restaurant would be a great modular. I can't wait to see it whatever it turns out to be!

[CM4S]

I was reading the LMBs (I was bored.) and I came across a thread that looked like some sort of interview with Jamie Berard. Surprisingly, I think he responded. I found this:


5. What's the next Modular Buildings set? I don't think you'll answer this one, it has to be a secret :-)

We have lots of secrets that we have to keep. Don’t tell anyone this secret, but I’m not a very good cook. I once managed to burn soup!


Is a soup kitchen in store for us? I know it's from the LMBs, but, who knows?

We'll have to find out.. ._.

EDIT: Thread is here.

-Sci

Edited by CM4S, 09 April 2012 - 07:15 PM.

[LEGOman273]

Restaurant, more likely.
BTW, I already brought this up here.

Wow! I can merge threads with my mind.
"Power! Unlimited power!"

[mrklaw]

Corner based restaurant, this time with a decent interior.

That should satisfy those that just started with modulars and missed cafe corner.

[Tragic Banjo]

I'd like for it to be a corner building, though it's not really clear whether Market Street is considered canonical, so the pattern might be "1 corner, 2 sides" or it might be "1 corner, 3 sides." Hopefully it's the former, though I certainly wouldn't blame TLG for wanting to stretch it out considering how successful the modulars have been.

[Lyichir]

Tragic Banjo, on 12 April 2012 - 03:43 PM, said:

I'd like for it to be a corner building, though it's not really clear whether Market Street is considered canonical, so the pattern might be "1 corner, 2 sides" or it might be "1 corner, 3 sides." Hopefully it's the former, though I certainly wouldn't blame TLG for wanting to stretch it out considering how successful the modulars have been.

I don't think there is a "pattern" so much as that they adapt it based on what they want to do. Grand Emporium is a corner because it works well as one, not because one was "due". I'm sure if the next building is well-suited to a corner design they'll build it as such.

[Legocrazy81]

Lyichir, on 13 April 2012 - 12:37 AM, said:

I don't think there is a "pattern" so much as that they adapt it based on what they want to do. Grand Emporium is a corner because it works well as one, not because one was "due". I'm sure if the next building is well-suited to a corner design they'll build it as such.

Eh, I don't know. They definitely work in a system with releases, though. They may all be theories, but I've read about City, the first release is vehicles, next release has buildings, like the Hospital and (maybe) the Parking Garage. I believe in SW, its kind of the same, vehicles first, then playsets second. So, I think they may very well have a pattern.

[mrklaw]

Legocrazy81, on 13 April 2012 - 02:38 AM, said:

Eh, I don't know. They definitely work in a system with releases, though. They may all be theories, but I've read about City, the first release is vehicles, next release has buildings, like the Hospital and (maybe) the Parking Garage. I believe in SW, its kind of the same, vehicles first, then playsets second. So, I think they may very well have a pattern.

City is clearly a system. I'm not sure when they started modulars whether they expected it to be a short run of a few cool models, or develop into something more regular. I expect they monitored things to see how it went. So there may not be a system around how they are planned, or if there is it may only have been developed recently, so early patterns of release might not apply anyway.

[pinioncorp]

When the Emporium drops of the box, they'll need a new corner building. There's always been a corner building on the back of the boxes but never more than one. The next one will have the Pet Shop, Town Hall and the new modular on it, so a corner would have to be on the cards.

[GRogall]

On the questions and answer forum on TLG website Jamie might have hinted at the next modular building?

Via Brickset

<blockquote rel="LegobrandonCP">BREAKING NEWS: Jamie Berard somewhat hinted at the next modular building on the LEGO Message Boards.

Original Post
<blockquote>What the title says ;-) I hope Jamie stops by.

1. How did you become a LEGO designer?
2. Why Creator?
3. What started the Modular Buildings series? How do you know?
4. What's your birthday? When it comes, I want to wish a happy one for you ;-)
<b><u>5. What's the next Modular Buildings set? I don't think you'll answer this one, it has to be a secret :-) </u></b>
6. Are you going to make and sell any additional Mini Modulars (e.g. for the Town Hall or Pet Shop)?

Thanks :)</blockquote>

Jamie's Answers
<blockquote>1. How did you become a LEGO designer?

I’ve been building with LEGO bricks for most of my life—well, at least since I was 4. Back in 2000, I joined a local LEGO club and started building with other LEGO fans for the first time. It was exciting. We made a 7 foot tall and 15 foot long replica of a local bridge, a 100,000 piece mosaic of the Boston Skyline and even spent 3 years working alongside LEGO designers to build a 3 million brick replica of the Manchester Mill Yard up in New Hampshire, USA.

I was offered the job about six years ago after displaying my motorized amusement park rides at a big LEGO fan event in the US. One of the top managers from the LEGO Group saw what I had built, liked speaking with me and then offered me a job after I showed him my website with more images of other stuff I had built. I think it really helped me that my website showed I could build lots of different things besides just rides—even though I still think those are the most fun.

Most of the other designers here have design degrees. Unlike me, they had to go through these workshops where LEGO designers gave them lots of different tasks like building challenges, story-telling sessions, sketching and teamwork activities. It can be pretty intense, but also lots of fun!

In case you’re interested in other designers, Astrid wrote about how she became a designer here:

http://creator.LEGO....aspx?id=3332992

2. Why Creator?

If you love to build, Creator is definitely the place to be. We build cars and planes and creatures and buildings and all kinds of things for kids. We also build for adults and kids who can handle more advanced building techniques. It’s really cool to be working on a 4,000 brick Tower Bridge one day and then a 50 brick Mini plane the next day.

3. What started the Modular Buildings series? How do you know?

The idea for the Modular Buildings came from several of us back in the early part of 2006. Many of the LEGO fans were asking us to make realistic buildings that connected together like the old castle system from the 1980s Another designer and I gave it a bit more thought and came up with connecting points that would allow an entire city to grow in many directions. We also thought it would be cool to make it so that the buildings could also grow taller if you add more middle floors. From this idea, the modular building system was born!

4. What's your birthday? When it comes, I want to wish a happy one for you ;-)

My birthday is in October. If I don’t tell you the day then we get to celebrate the whole month! Woo-Hoo!!

<b><u>5. What's the next Modular Buildings set? I don't think you'll answer this one, it has to be a secret :-)

We have lots of secrets that we have to keep. Don’t tell anyone this secret, but I’m not a very good cook. I once managed to burn soup! </u></b>

6. Are you going to make and sell any additional Mini Modulars (e.g. for the Town Hall or Pet Shop)?

I unfortunately can’t say what we might or might not make in the future. Hopefully you like the set so much that you’ll start making your own mini versions of other sets. Micro building can be a whole lot of fun! </blockquote>

So he is kind of hinting at a restaurant of some sort. Kinda odd of him to bring up the topic on cooking and soup out of nowhere. ;-) First saw the link on Eurobricks. Here is the link to the message boards: http://messageboards...15</blockquote>

I'm thinking that we could very well be getting something like Gusteau's restaurant from Ratatouille?


Image © GAETAN MONTAUDOUIN

Also this would start phase 3 of the modular building series since Jamie said in Brickjournal that

phase one was 10182 Café Corner, 10185 Green Grocer and 10997 Fire Brigade!



Phase two of course being 10211 Grand Emporium, 10218 Pet Shop and 10224 Town Hall



and they get the go-ahead for 3 Modular building at a time.

I guess we can only speculate at the moment!

Edited by GRogall, 15 April 2012 - 03:01 PM.

[Dakar A]

Yeah, I saw that too. It may only be a hint, though, since Astrid designed the town hall, and Jamie may not be the one designing the next one. Which leds me to think: Maybe the 'phases' are based around who designed the sets (i.e. Jamie did the first three, then Astrid did the next three, maybe it's Lami's turn next! ).

[Artifex]

Although GRogall skipped Market Street from the two phases he mentioned, there is a pattern there:

* An all business building (Café Corner, Grand Emporium)

* A business-living building (Green Grocer, Pet Shop)

* A "town service" building (Fire Brigade, Town Hall).

If that pattern is correct and Lego is actually following it, we may get a restaurant of some sort (as per Jamie Berard's hint), then a mixed business-living building (no idea about what that could be) and another "town service" building (Police Station? Hospital?).

I still believe that at some point we'll get a cinema (an improved version from the last Town Plan set) and a hospital (especially because this year's one is so... small [compare it to ANY police/fire station]). As there's a modular fire station, a police station is sort of mandatory -- so we can expect one at some point.

An apartment building would be cool, but I don't think we'll ever get an apartment-exclusive modular (my bet is something like the Green Grocer). A bank would be nice, but I can't remember Lego releasing that many bank sets.

A big (Town Hall-wise) train station would be nice.

[Faefrost]

Artifex, on 09 September 2012 - 09:53 PM, said:

A bank would be nice, but I can't remember Lego releasing that many bank sets.

Lego actually has three banks on store shelves right now. 3661 Bank and Money Transfer (a City set), 6864 Batmobile and Two Face Chase (which features a small city type bank branch), and 10217 Diagon Alley (Harry Potter set, of which Gringots Bank is the central structure.)

Wasn't Market Street actually part of a different line, and is slightly out of scale to the rest of the modular's? So it isn't so much one of the planned phases, as a forerunner to all of them?

[Artifex]

Faefrost, on 10 September 2012 - 06:18 AM, said:

Lego actually has three banks on store shelves right now. 3661 Bank and Money Transfer (a City set), 6864 Batmobile and Two Face Chase (which features a small city type bank branch), and 10217 Diagon Alley (Harry Potter set, of which Gringots Bank is the central structure.)

You are right! I had Bank and Money Transfer in mind when I wrote my post, but those other two just escaped me.

Faefrost, on 10 September 2012 - 06:18 AM, said:

Wasn't Market Street actually part of a different line, and is slightly out of scale to the rest of the modular's? So it isn't so much one of the planned phases, as a forerunner to all of them?

According do Wikipedia and Brickipedia, Market Street is a modular building. Quotes:

"Market Street (set number: 10190) was the first of the Modular Buildings series to be designed by LEGO fans. It was originally released as a follow-up to Café Corner in 2007." -- Wikipedia

"10190 Market Street is a Modular House set released in 2007. It is the smallest of the six sets." -- Brickipedia

The difference from a regular modular building is that Market Street was designed by fans.

I wonder why there's not been any other modular designed by fans...

[Faefrost]

Artifex, on 10 September 2012 - 12:29 PM, said:

According do Wikipedia and Brickipedia, Market Street is a modular building. Quotes:

"Market Street (set number: 10190) was the first of the Modular Buildings series to be designed by LEGO fans. It was originally released as a follow-up to Café Corner in 2007." -- Wikipedia

"10190 Market Street is a Modular House set released in 2007. It is the smallest of the six sets." -- Brickipedia

The difference from a regular modular building is that Market Street was designed by fans.

I wonder why there's not been any other modular designed by fans...

Market street was actually part of the fan created Lego Factory line, where Lego used to make sets from some of the best sets created using their digital tools and you could design and order a custom set.
http://www.brickset..../?theme=Factory
They ended that program awhile back. It's been theoretically replaced by CuuSoo. So that's where we will see any further fan designed Modulars come from. Assuming we can ever get one to 10k.

[tedbeard]

Faefrost, on 11 September 2012 - 04:18 AM, said:

Market street was actually part of the fan created Lego Factory line, where Lego used to make sets from some of the best sets created using their digital tools and you could design and order a custom set.

Not exactly. They used Market Street to launch the project but he did not design something and submit it. As I understand it they worked with him as a freelance designer not as in choosing something built on the LDD platform. The set was designed and produced before LDD was released publicly. The idea was to inspire people to build their own extra floors or entire buildings using LDD and buy them from LEGO Factory.

As for the Modular House Standard (MHS), it was described on the LEGO Factory site and the "rules" as posted there were those used previously in the Cafe Corner and followed in all subsequent sets (ie: Fire Brigade, Grand Emporium) right down to the current Town Hall. So yes, they are all part of the same line. If you need any further evidence you need only look at the  Mini Modulars (10230) which represents "the first 5 buildings in the Modular Building series". (Quote from S@H) Once again LEGO likes to mix-up and mess around with themes to the eternal confusion of collectors and those who like neat tidy lists.  

Cuusoo BTW is significantly different in that many can suggest but very few will ever be produced. LEGO Factory would produce anything you could design (within the limits set) so long as you were willing to pay the premium. The only submissions they ever produced for wide release were the result of a special contest run to promote the launch. It was never intended to be a regular feature of the program. Clearly the lessons learned from that have been incorporated into Cuusoo and hopefully it will produce a worthwhile line of sets over time.