Newbie question

[Indo brick]

So, a while back I was on a plane and while I was selecting my entertainment I saw a documentary called ' secret world of LEGO' I am sure most here are familiar with the program. Mentioned it to my wife a few days later when we convienantly standing outside a Lego store and we thought we'd give it a go.

We are now hooked

We got the Detectives office and now looking for other modular buildings, they seem quite hard to come by however.

Does anyone have any advice on how to get hold of these? Are they generally tough to get after they have been released?

I realise this may be a simple question, so thanks if you take the time to answer

[Terrasher]

The Brick Bank, Parisian Restaurant, Pet Shop and Palace Cinema should be available in LEGO Stores.

The rest you can purchase at insane prices on Amazon, eBay and whatnot.

Or, instead of purchasing those that are no longer sold directly by the LEGO group at multiple times the original price, you can buy the individual bricks via Pick a Brick, Bricks & Pieces and Bricklink and pay much less than what you would if you were to buy the actual modular from someone having kept it to resell it after they're retired.

[Actor Builder]

Tip: Don't try to "Collect them all".

It won't end well.

Get the ones you like, and can afford. That may seem obvious, but the "collecting bug" can be a serious ailment. We've all had it.

Welcome to Eurobricks and the LEGO Community!

[Wookiee]

Tip: Don't try to "Collect them all".

It won't end well.

Get the ones you like, and can afford. That may seem obvious, but the "collecting bug" can be a serious ailment. We've all had it.

Welcome to Eurobricks and the LEGO Community!

Collect them all. I came back a year ago and have caught up now,wether it ends well or not depends on what you can afford. If you are not a purist and love the buildings released,sub the colours for cheaper colours , or dearer parts for similar but cheaper.

There is some great threads here including "bricklinking modular buildings" which will give you some great tips in how to go about sourcing the older ones and how to save doing so.

To answer the original question they are not widely available other than from lego stores. Every now and then,mainly during major sales periods the latest 3 or so will be available in other stores. If you are a purist and you can afford it then you can buy all the sets no longer available at lego on Bricklink but some are now near 2k for a set.

[VintageLegoEra]

It depends on how to collect them all. If you have the money, then easy to buy them. If cant afford, then you can keep searching for deals ( takes time but worth ). And if you are very limited to budget, best thing is to buy from parts and pieces...

At the end, you will be happy with Lego ;-)

[Actor Builder]

Collect them all...If you are not a purist and love the buildings released,sub the colours for cheaper colours , or dearer parts for similar but cheaper.

That's not really collecting them all...That's creating makeshift versions for peace-of-mind. You don't truly have them all. You have resemblances of all of them.

Anyway, do whatever the heck you want. If you want them all, get 'em! If you think Grand Emporium looks crappy, I wouldn't suggest buying it just to have a complete set, but some people would.

Again, do whatever the heck you want. It's LEGO. It works like that.

[temes]

Some older modulars are available at somewhat reasonable prices, but the first three (CC, MS, GG) are so expensive that it doesn't really make any sense to buy them at those prices - in my opinion. I bought Fire Brigade last year for about 2.3x original price, which was expensive but not "stupidly" so - it's my second favorite modular (after PR) so it was worth it and I haven't regretted buying it. I've given up the idea of purchasing the first three modulars, but luckily I don't even like Green Grocer that much and I hate Market Street. CC would be nice, but definitely not worth the price.

Edited January 25, 2016 by temes

[pirzyk]

If there is not a lego store near by, you can also order them from the Shop @ Home site: http://shop.lego.com/en-US/Creator-ByTheme

There are 5 currently available, though I hear the Pet Store will be retired any time now, so if you want it, I would get it now.

[Immo]

I'd also try to look for local offers of guys selling their collections, even the assorted mixes of bricks. They could be obtained cheap sometimes and may prove useful if you want to build something of your own - and that day will come.