craigslegostuff Posted July 25, 2015 Posted July 25, 2015 (edited) https://flic.kr/s/aHskgQydqV Hi everyone. Welcome to ALF'S STARS 'N' STRIPES GRILL! My first MOC Modular Building. It's a three-story building, incorporating a fast food grill downstairs and a two-story apartment upstairs. It's taken me a couple of months on and off, and was designed as I went along - ie. no forward planning - so it's got quite a few faults here and there, and a few things I'm just not happy with. But I really ran out steam a bit and decided I'd post it as it is. I'd be very happy to hear from people with comments, tips and advice etc. A BIT ABOUT THE BUILDING It was built using a lot of parts from the first motorized AT-AT (10178), along with the BTTF Delorean (21103), the Titan X robot (4508) and a load of bits from Ebay. It has been a valuable lesson in planning ahead, and maybe designing first on LDD or something. But also the costs involved in getting hold of particular parts, does get frustrated when all you want to do is build! One bugbear is the staircase on the outside. It was originally around the back, but decided it was just taking too much space so I stuck it on the side and decided it would have to be a 32" stud layout. I wanted it to still be essentially a 16" stud building, plus I was low on parts, so I decided to just tile the whole thing, add some flowers and make it a wide alley. One thing I have noticed about the Lego Modular Buildings is that only the Market Street set incorporates anything resembling an alleyway, so if you don;t have that set there's no way of accessing the back alleys of the buildings other than through the front door (if that makes sense?!). So I'm looking forward to standing this next to another MB and see how the alley works. It does also work as a 32" corner building if you're happy having the stairs sticking out a bit. And maybe removing the flowers. I suppose that big gap could also be somewhere for an ice cream cart or even a little newspaper kiosk. 1ST FLOOR A's Stars 'N' Stripes Grill is a "American Style" British fast-food place - not exactly cordon bleu on the menu, just some tasty (and probably quite greasy) burgers, fries, kebabs and pizza. Features include counter, two grills, drinks machine, fridge, a pizza oven. There's a doorway out to the backyard / alley, which can also be accessed from the alley on the side of Al's. Backyard is pretty empty, apart from a dumpster. Steps lead up from the side alley to a two-story apartment. 2nd FLOOR There's a large living area on the second floor. I decided not to furnish it just because I wanted to get some pics up, plus I was getting low on suitable pieces. There's a modern staircase leading up to the bedroom / shower room. 3rd FLOOR The bedroom area. Note from the pics I have actually put the bedroom furniture in the 1st floor room instead. There's a door to a small shower room / toilet. And that's about it! It's been great fun doing this, has taken a lot of evenings playing around with ideas, building, rebuilding and then rebuilding again! I've learnt a lot as I've gone along, and it's got me inspired to do something much grander or more detailed next time. Edited April 7, 2016 by craigslegostuff Quote
ilikeboomerang1 Posted July 25, 2015 Posted July 25, 2015 It looks good, but you're wrong in that the Market Street was the only one with an alleyway. The DO has one too. Quote
craigslegostuff Posted July 25, 2015 Author Posted July 25, 2015 It looks good, but you're wrong in that the Market Street was the only one with an alleyway. The DO has one too. Thanks for your comment Boomerang. I didn't realise the DO had one too, just had a look now! I thought was just another entrance to pub. The alleyway thing has really got me thinking about how to lay out my city, as usually we see pics of the modular buildings in a row (I guess for display purposes), but the possibilities are quite exciting once you start turning them around - alley ways facing shops, corner buildings turned sideways etc.... fun to be had! Quote
lightningtiger Posted July 25, 2015 Posted July 25, 2015 The photography is as good the MOC itself, very nice exterior and interior 'craigslegostuff', Brick On ! Quote
deraven Posted July 25, 2015 Posted July 25, 2015 If I'm being honest, I don't love the facade (a bit too much grey/monotone for me), but the shape itself, the layout, and the interior details are great. Very nice! ... especially for your first go at a modular MOC. Looking forward to seeing you next one! Quote
craigslegostuff Posted July 25, 2015 Author Posted July 25, 2015 The photography is as good the MOC itself, very nice exterior and interior 'craigslegostuff', Brick On ! Thanks lightningtiger. I appreciate that especially as I have spent a lot of time practicing photographing lego stuff - it's tricky, right? But I'm a believer in taking time over presentation, especially as photography usually doesn't do justice to great subjects! If I'm being honest, I don't love the facade (a bit too much grey/monotone for me), but the shape itself, the layout, and the interior details are great. Very nice! ... especially for your first go at a modular MOC. Looking forward to seeing you next one! Thanks. Yep, I understand what you mean about the facade - it was a worry when I knew what bricks I was working with (mainly grey AT-At stuff, then I bought loads more grey to "go with it" (??!!)). In the end I suppose it represents some of the less attractive grey buildings found in the North of England where I grew up. If I'm being honest, I don't love the facade (a bit too much grey/monotone for me), but the shape itself, the layout, and the interior details are great. Very nice! ... especially for your first go at a modular MOC. Looking forward to seeing you next one! Thanks Deraven. Yep, I understand what you mean about the facade - it was a worry when I knew what bricks I was working with (mainly grey AT-At stuff, then I bought loads more grey to "go with it" (??!!)). In the end I suppose it represents some of the less attractive grey buildings found in the North of England where I grew up. Quote
timmyc1983 Posted July 26, 2015 Posted July 26, 2015 Fantastic looking modular!! Personally I like the color scheme, not every building in a town is brightly coloured. And also not every building in a town is in a row, so it makes sense to have alleyways and wot not throughout your city. That's the great thing with LEGO, there really are no rules. I will note that the Green Grocer also had an alleyway to the back of the building as well as the DO, but that's just an aside! Your interior is simple but very affective too! For a first modular MOC this is outstanding! I can't wait to see what's next. Happy building Quote
TheLegoDr Posted July 27, 2015 Posted July 27, 2015 Very neat idea. I will agree about the gray being "off" only because I'm used to bright LEGO buildings. Definitely more realistic, but I don't want my LEGO realistic As far as the side alley with the flowers. I love that. The simple grill bricks really add to the flower bed and I like the idea of having something to break up the scenery a bit. I don't know how it would work with my layout, but I like the idea. Keep up the good work. Quote
craigslegostuff Posted July 29, 2015 Author Posted July 29, 2015 Thanks for all the comments, I appreciate you all having a look, and this is all helpful and inspiring as I'm now going to move on and finally build my pet shop - the first of the modular buildings I've bought. Lots of catching up to do, but I'm so looking forward to lining it up with this one... gotta start somewhere! Quote
MrGeographicus Posted July 30, 2015 Posted July 30, 2015 Fantastic interior details like the kebap rotisserie. Well done! Quote
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