Combining City with Other Themes

[WesternOutlaw]

Lego City has offered an abundance of different buildings over the past few decades, but have you ever had the urge to add another theme to your Tabletown?

• Adventurers
  
• Batman
  
• Creator
  
• Harry Potter
  
• Power Miners
  
• Spiderman
  
• Wild West
  

Is a Harry Potter castle too unique for City? How about an Arkham Asylum?

Which themes might lend themselves to adding to Town/City?

Which themes have you mixed?

[Imperial Governer]

Creator is one of the best themes to combine with City. You got airplanes, trucks, ferris wheels, windmills, and other stuff. I know there used to be a comic that the Power Miners got their vehicles from a warehouse in LEGO city, but I'm not a fan of Power Miners, so I can't say. But to me, I usually combine my Creator sets with my City sets.

[Derek]

Creator is one of the best themes to combine with City.

Agreed. Some of the Creator houses are better than anything we've gotten from the official City line.

I just LOVE the Beach House!

-darthperson

[Tom Bricks]

Other than the sports line (some people don't consider it City but I do) I used the Robo Attack set from the Agents line to wreak havoc on my city. With so many policemen and fire fighters fighting it would be no problem, and with about 20% of the population being construction workers the cleanup should be a cinch.

The spiderman bridge also works pretty well in a city but it's kinda small. MMV village also works well in an old section.

Edited September 14, 2009 by Tom Bricks

[Bob]

I think pretty much anything that's a house, or that looks like a house could be included into the city. For example, the Avatar Air Temple I put in my city as a spiritual zone for a time.

However, It depends what type of town you're building. If you are building a western town, then the Wild West buildings would fit. If it's a seaside village, then Creator and some other city buildings. If it's a giant city, then you'd add Batman and Spiderman buildings, as well as modular buildings. If it's a jungle type of city, then you'd add Adventurers.

I'd say just about any other themes would work, it just depends what type of city it is.

[Davey]

Good question Brickster! Stacy and I tend to mix all the themes...but then again...that's how we roll. I don't think it's much of a stretch at all to mix in some Harry Potter. We have certainly mixed HP and Town sets significantly on our layout. In fact...we're working on building Diagon Alley for Brickworld 2010 as an addition to our Town/Train layout. I've also mixed Star Wars in...yes I said Star Wars. Awhile back I setup a 'back-lot' film scene where they were filming the Battle of Hoth. It worked really well and the crowds at the event we did thought it was cute. I'm also considering mixing in some Classic Space soon, but not sure how I am going to incorporate that. I'm considering some type of 'Mission to the Moon' idea to incorporate Classic Space, but we'll see. My big problem now is that I am running out of display space. I need to buy a bigger house.

So in summary, I think mixing of themes is great! It's all in how you make the layout flow. I think just about any of the themes can be combined together in a fluid layout. Currently on our layout we have the following.

Town, Train, Creator, Pirates, Harry Potter, Agents, Power Miners, Castle, Spongebob Squarepants, Paradisa, and Racers

There might be one or two more, but I can't think of them right now.

Cheers!

-Dave

[WhiteFang]

You do know that this is a very interesting discussion!

Still remembered my recent first town street display? That was my very first attempt to integrate Classic Town, along with Creator series. In this case, I believe all Creator houses, including Beach House, Family House, Red House and etc, integrates very well for our town citizens to be included along with the modular buildings. These sets fit in nicely. I believed with slight arrangement, the planning effect can take place in a nice manner with the current City setup.

I have tried integrating Agents sets into creating, more vilians and dangerous criminals for the town, and the Agents will be special police task force, working along with the local police. Batman offers even more excitement in terms of criminal activities. I am not going to create a Gotham City, but I can create another level of crimes, that only Batman can be stopped. Indiana Jones is also part of my future planning, whereas the German Guards can be either used as my National Guards, taking care of the local city defenses. While the Russian guards are other form of terrorists. The only thing I don't like is both yellow and flesh tones in my city, and it looks kind of funny in it. Not sure what is the nice way to bypass it. I can combine and worked with Johnny Thunder from the Adventurers series to create more interesting concept in it.

Aqua Raiders and Coast Guard works well together, in my opnion. Although I could prefer Divers in this case, but Aqua Raiders are the ones taking care of the underwater operations harvesting, and my Coast Guard are taking care of the citizens' safety in the beach and sea.

There are actually many much possible ways to create so much fun into our City by offering more variations. Of course, this complicates the entire planning setup, and making it look appealing. In the end, I am sure I will be facing more integrating problems, by being too ambitious. Then, this is the fun of building an amazing town layout.

[frogstudio]

Besides Creatro house, I 've added a lot of Castle in my layout. In fact, Medieval Market Village forms pat of the Historic town of the layout, toguether with a Cathedral and several other castle buildings. I also have a traditional fair in my layout, with jousting knoghts and minifigs in castle "costumes". They work really well alongside with regular citizens taking photographs and filming. :)

[Rick]

In my opinion, the creator house series fits in nicely with City, when properly arranged, and with the Modular House series. But also (classic) Castle and Pirates could be integrated with City. Castle could be used as old city walls or forts and a pirate ship could be in your harbor as a tourist attraction. You could even let the castle and pirate minifigs be actors in the scenario.

[Captain Zuloo]

I often include Pirates in my towns. As a tourist attraction you say? Hell no, as pirates! And it seems I'm not alone with that idea:

Brian Darrow's Pirates of the Bermuda Triangle Image from Classic-Pirates.com.

[spade450]

This is an interesting topic and one that I ponder from time to time.

In the past I have mixed modded Harry Potter sets in and plan to do so again in the future (my HP sets are in storage back in the U.S.). I recently purchased a second Medieval Market Village to mod with my first one for an old section of town where the first floors are maybe a bit more modern -- restaurant, pub, antique shop, etc. I also like the previously mentioned idea of a medieval fair (but all of my castle stuff is also in storage in the U.S.).

Once I get done modding Brickbeard's Bounty, it will also be making a "tall ship" visit to my city (without any pirates).

[kinjai]

Mine would a city set-up with an outdoor star wars museum featuring a tie fighter, an x-wing and landspeeder. There will be lots of stormtroopers with civilian heads walking around the place, and further up is the cinema from Town Plan screening the Original Trilogy, with a civilian-head Boba fett selling the tickets, and the royal guards guarding the entrance. The queue to the screening, of course, will be a mixture of all things aliens and humans - a wretched hive of scum and villainy. :)

[WesternOutlaw]

Interesting thoughts. It's always great to see how some think outside of the standard City box - esp. with Pirates and Harry Potter.

I've had my HP, Spiderman, and Batman sets in the garage for some time, and although I'm not planning to build them anytime soon, the thought of combining a few of these sets would be interesting.

I have used a few of the Spiderman sets in my City before, which I think worked very well. The bridge with Cablecar and Doc Ock's Hideout helped create a neat oceanside setting.

[CDC]

Creator houses and some indiana jones stuff, such as wehicles are included in my LEGO town, but thats about it

[Unitron6991]

I for one like space co-existing with town.

[Joebot]

I used to have all my Wild West stuff set up within my town as a movie studio lot. I used the figs from the old Studios line (cameramen, director).

Like several others have mentioned, I've got the Medieval Market Village set up as as a historical district.

[Rijkvv]

I think Res-Q fits very well. X-Treme Team can be a nice addition too. The Creator modular houses (Café Corner, Green Grocer, Market Street and Fire Brigade) are perfect, while the other houses may need some modifications. Batman and Spider-man can also be added, since the movies the sets are based on were located in cities.

It depends of course what you want. Do you want a city invaded by aliens, you can add Space. Almost everything is possible, especially if you modify sets (think about a Black Seas Barracuda full with tourists, an entrance and a souvenirs shop. If I add a theme, it will be Creator.

[Marko]

I have Ferrari Garage fixing all the cars. Nazi planes from Indiana Jones are protecting the town from Pirates gone modern by hijacking the large Police boat. Soldiers Fort from Pirates is used as Police station and Fish market where Brickbeard works. Ferrari team members participate in local soccer matches. Island Extreme Stunts Pepper Roni is having treiler truck service. Williams F1 racer has retirement home there. Classic Space minifigures are transported by small cargo ship as illegals. So I have mixed a lot and am waiting for Star Wars fire power to take over the nazis soon after the Christmas.

[Klaus-Dieter]

That's a great and very interesting topic, TheBrickster!

I'd say it does depend very much on the themes in general and even the sets in detail whether combining these with City sets is possible.

Imo themes that really don't go with City buildings/sets:

- Power Miners - simply too ugly!

- Creator - completely different building style (much bigger buildings and with backwalls and mostly without interior)

Imo themes that really don't go with City buildings/sets:

The most "historical" themes such as Western, Castle, Pirates and/or Adventures but even some licensed themes such as Batman, Spiderman and/or Harry Potter offer a lot of great buidlings which could surely well be added to your cities.

The only problem is that there is a visible difference in between the present/realistic buildings and the past/fantasy buildings. One imo very good solution is to add a TV team to the combined set/building - so you can play and see when displayed in your layout that this is e. g. a scenery for a movie or an old house prepared for making a movie around/in it. Then even the fleesh minifig heads and hands in the newer licensed sets are no problem since this is make-up.

Until now I haven't mixed any sets from City and other themes in one and the same layout. But perhaps I'll buy the Toy Story soldiers to have some soldiers for the reception of Legoland's president and/or some Prince of Persia sets (if they included some decent buildings) to have a scenery where a movie team makes a movie. Well, let's see. But all in all I do not and even will not add many sets/buildings from other themes to the City ones since normally they don't fit that good together.

Klaus-Dieter

Edited September 14, 2009 by Klaus-Dieter

[The Green Brick Giant]

All the different themes with different planes, they fit. Res-Q and X-Treme things are a subtheme of Town/City.

The last Adventurers theme with the mountain type gear was really nice addition to a wintertime city/town.

[Xenophilius Studz]

Well, I've intergrated Star Wars into my town as my army, since I'm no good at making realistic soliders. I also the SW vehicles for millitary vehicles. And I use the Sail Barge as Jabba's Residential Hideout. I've used the Spongebob buildings for residential houses and restaurants and the Fish Bus at one point as a bus. I use Indiana Jones with some raving psychopath scientist bringing Nazis into the future. Creator for some houses. Pirates have a base hidden on the coast of my town. And Agents and Power Miners have groups of miners/agents stationed in my town.

I like to intergrate just about everything into my LEGO town.

[Piranha]

Town and City is universal basically, the style may change ,but it can be integrated into almost anything

At first I was thinking trains, but that is very similar because trains can be easily used with city.

However there a wide variety of themes, one I think you might have missed is Space.

There could be futuristic space cities and such. It would work especially well with the current Space Police line because police are in every city, and the criminals need something to be criminal against

Edited September 15, 2009 by Macoco

[5150 Lego]

For me Ferrari sets work great with city. Mainly the Scuderia Ferrari Truck and garage.

[pe668]

My latest train layout has a large bridge with a lower table section specifically for pirates.

The different height tables keeps the two themes very seperate. Still a work-in-progress, there's no pirate ships in this pic.

In the past I have incorporated race cars. Lego body on (AFX) slot cars.

The coolest thing about Lego with slot cars is all the great trackside buildings that you can make.

Oh and slot bikes are way cool.

They go nice and fast so be sure to watch the video of them in action.

Speed King Video