Grand Designs visits the Modulars !

[swisstony]

My wife is Modular mad, the street being her passion and over the years she has started collecting every one of the 12 models released including the latest Assembly Square. I had to build more storage for them in the house as we had run out of space to display them ! But she now has the full set. But typical of her, she is never happy with the interiors and like our actual house itself, she wants to make changes . Now it would be sacrilege to change the exterior but the interior is a free for all !

She decided that the Cafe Corner was boring inside ( well it is empty after all ! ) so she designed and tweaked all three floors until it was just how she liked it. 

The space is so tight in there it is hard to get the lighting just right when taking photos but you get the idea.

Ground floor- from an empty green base plate to...
 

IMG_0024 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

Complete with her 2nd favourite thing..coffee ! Cakes, glasses, jukebox, bar etc
 

IMG_0026 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

Then the 1st floor was turned into the hotel reception.

IMG_0019 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr


Somewhere for the guests to sit whilst their rooms are made ready but to be honest there are only two rooms so how slow are the chambermaids ?

 

IMG_0021 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr


Once checked in the guests can make their way to their tiny bijoux rooms. Christ knows how much they are paying but don't try to swing a cat in there !

IMG_0017 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

 

IMG_0016 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

 

IMG_0018 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr




Once Cafe Corner was finished (subject to her changing her mind ...) she turned her attention to Green Grocer.

Now this one does have a little more detail inside but again not enough according to my wife so out came the paintbrush , rollers and trips to the DIY store.

Working our way from ground floor up. She has filled the fridge, restocked all the shelves and refreshed the newspaper stand as well as bringing in more groceries.

IMG_0054 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

IMG_0055 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

IMG_0056 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

IMG_0059 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

Moving upstairs to the apartment, she added in sitting room, kitchen complete with flat screen TV ( and yes we like the Grand Tour), iMac desk area, you name it.

IMG_0036 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

IMG_0035 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

IMG_0038 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

Next floor has a new structure for the bathroom and shower, bedroom again with TV..
 

IMG_0030 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

IMG_0029 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

IMG_0031 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

IMG_0028 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

Finally up to the roof and here she has gone to town with BBQ are and sun loungers.

 

IMG_0050 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

Yes that is someone dressed up as a Hot Dog cooking the BBQ ...cuckoooo

IMG_0051 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

Her last project is Market Street. Now I know this is basic because it was designed by Lego Fan but she felt it needed a little 'tweak". So here we can see it looks different from the basic model...
 

IMG_0060 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

Then the Market side has exploded
 

IMG_0063 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

 

IMG_0065 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr


The worker needs stairs to get up to his new vegetable and fruit patch. Somewhere to store his tools and he can get water to water his crops from the kitchen .

IMG_0068 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

IMG_0069 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

IMG_0070 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

Inside the building he now has a new kitchen 
 

IMG_0071 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

Living room and a fold up bed because space is at a premium.
 

IMG_0076 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

IMG_0073 by Chris Dodsworth, on Flickr

 

 

So there you go, a lot of photos to wade through but I hope you enjoy some mad ideas from someone who is obviously mad as a box of frogs :)

[jus1973]

Hello Swisstony.  

Greetings from Switzerland.

Your wife certainly has an eye for adding much needed interiors to the older modulars.  There must be quite a box of pieces behind these alterations too.  Some great ideas there.  Next challenge for her is to build her own modular from scratch.

[Dakar A]

I love it! I made similar changes to my green grocer, down to having the bedroom on the top floor, along with a bathroom! Where you put your bed I put a reading nook with bookshelves on either side though!

[swisstony]

13 hours ago, jus1973 said:

Hello Swisstony.  

Greetings from Switzerland.

Your wife certainly has an eye for adding much needed interiors to the older modulars.  There must be quite a box of pieces behind these alterations too.  Some great ideas there.  Next challenge for her is to build her own modular from scratch.

Thanks for the message. She does indeed love a little bit of interior design just on a small scale and only in Lego :)  She has just used a ton of bricks , some she had, some she had to order . Whilst a great project I do think after buying all the bricks and parts to fit out the three buildings, it must be in excess of the cost of the actual buildings !!

She is currently working with me on an Apple Store to go in the street and as you mentioned, its time to do her own creation. Her plan is to build a Police station, well we need law and order in this street to keep the unruly mini figures in check :)

12 hours ago, Dakar A said:

I love it! I made similar changes to my green grocer, down to having the bedroom on the top floor, along with a bathroom! Where you put your bed I put a reading nook with bookshelves on either side though!

Cheers for that, it seems many people have the same idea to fit out the greengrocer etc. They look so bland compared to the newer modulars, it seemed a shame to leave them empty 

[Stefaneris]

Great details, I love the Café inside the CC. However it is sad that the interior is often hidden by walls and small windows. I'd love to see the Apple Store when you finished it, and a Police Station is also something different than all the shops and appartements

[jus1973]

On 01/03/2017 at 0:17 PM, swisstony said:

She is currently working with me on an Apple Store to go in the street and as you mentioned, its time to do her own creation. Her plan is to build a Police station, well we need law and order in this street to keep the unruly mini figures in check :)

That's a tough one to pull off, Apple Store.  Often very modern shop front in Europe with older styled upstairs. I'd be interested to see the finished article.

My first full sized modular MOC was a police station.  i found it tough to get the feel right.  I went for a small town style, rather than a city, modern block, though I am tempted to pick up a city police station and have another crack.  

[gotoAndLego]

Yeah, my Apple Store was more American, a standalone modern tan and glass building.

[swisstony]

On 02/03/2017 at 5:25 PM, Stefaneris said:

Great details, I love the Café inside the CC. However it is sad that the interior is often hidden by walls and small windows. I'd love to see the Apple Store when you finished it, and a Police Station is also something different than all the shops and appartements

 

On 04/03/2017 at 2:32 PM, jus1973 said:

That's a tough one to pull off, Apple Store.  Often very modern shop front in Europe with older styled upstairs. I'd be interested to see the finished article.

My first full sized modular MOC was a police station.  i found it tough to get the feel right.  I went for a small town style, rather than a city, modern block, though I am tempted to pick up a city police station and have another crack.  

Thought I would revisit these two comments as you both mentioned the Police station and well we did it !

all here , hope you approve :)