Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[RichardGoring]

5 hours ago, Lion King said:

Exactly. I only follow this modular building series since Police Station (it was my very first modular building to build) and i love it. 

And I find it very hypocritical of others who  don’t welcome new designers, at same time they love Tudor Corner.  

There is also an element of building it too. I wasn't entirely sold on Tudor Corner when it arrived, but I've learned that you gain a new perspective on the sets once you've built them. Tudor Corner (once you got past the tiling on the baseplate) was absolutely terrific and it's one of my favourites, heavily influenced by the build experience, and seeing in-person reflects better than the photos, in my opinion. Boutique Hotel was similar. For that matter, so was Detective's Office and Brick Bank. The build experience for Downtown Diner was also top tier. I love all five of these sets.

(Conversely, Fire Brigade I think is great, but the build is very basic in comparison with modern sets. I just like the way it looks far more than it probably deserves as a set).

[DeanLearner]

On 12/29/2025 at 1:04 PM, Pauolo said:

I'm not sure what you mean by rapidly falling. This set's review situation seems like an exception compared to the past 3 years or so. 

 

Maybe that’s just my perspective, but it feels like while Lego have massively expanded their “Adults Welcome” offering over recent years, the flagship status of the annual Modular (and arguably Winter Village) releases has faded, even just in terms of the associated publicity campaign.

I could well be completely off the mark there, but it does feel like a shame, given that I think the Modular series sits in a sweet spot between the sets you play with as a kid, and what you can afford as an adult, arguably also does more to encourage repeat custom than some of the standalone 4000+ piece sets.

[HibiscusDrive]

I think we need to see more evidence of the series "falling in Lego's priority". Afterall, we're one year removed from a set that many ranked among the best ever.

I certainly do have concerns, as we see more & more sets shrink. Look at some of the City sets like police & fire departments vs. 15-20 years ago. I don't really care about City sets, but they do show the direction Lego is going. Or the Holiday Main Street from a few years ago, that has spawned so many alt builds, including my own, the set's buildings are 6 deep.

Shopping Street is small in terms of footprint used. Is this a new trend? Time will tell. 

Two things people commented on... one, I hate the Diner. It's one of 3 (soon to be 4) modulars I don't own. The architecture doesn't fit the aesthetic of the others at all. I also don't like 1950s-esque design in general. That said, the Diner is a fantastic representation of that era and they absolutely nailed it. So while I don't like it, I objectively respect how they accurately portrayed an era and its architecture, it just doesn't belong in the modular series with the rest, imo.

My other complaint is people comparing sets to Rebrickable mocs like that's an insult. There are a LOT of fantastic MOCs out there that I feel hold their own with the modular building series. 

[Roebuck]

Up at Jay's now, maybe they have saved it for new years eve 
https://jaysbrickblog.com/reviews/review-lego-11371-shopping-street-modular/

Regarding the designer:

"The model designer of this set is Đặng Hoàng (@know.your.pieces on Instagram), one of my favourite new-ish LEGO designers. Among other things, he designed the Retro Radio, a fantastically unassuming model, and was also responsible for developing the functions for 21358 Minifigure Vending Machine among other things."

[Pauolo]

Đặng Hoàng also designed 10362 French Café and, tbh, I have a hard time identifying what he attempted there as art nouveau. Even the color palette choice feels questionable to me. But I'm probably harsh on it because I'm tired with the dumb romantic clichés of Paris...

On the other hand, I feel he nailed the aspect of the music shop in the new modular. That's the kind of building and style you actually can see a lot in Paris and other big French cities. Even the furniture shop looks like small buildings I've seen in French cities. The color palette though is still more colorful than the real buildings (or else there would be a lot more of tan, sand yellow and dirty white), but that's to be expected from modulars. Replace PR's olive bricks with tan ones and you'd get a somewhat more realist yet boring building.

Edited December 31, 2025 by Pauolo

[HibiscusDrive]

Brickset review is finally up. They also explain they were late in getting the set sent to them.

[jonwil]

Saw a guy at the Lego store building the shopping street yesterday and I want it even more now (or at least a bunch of the marching band uniforms and instruments).

[Lion King]

I just ordered Shoppping Street online to get Vinteage Parade Car GWP on Jan 1! I wonder if there will be marching band’s uniform will show up on PAB? The tan kitten from Tudor Corner never showed up on PAB.

[Pauolo]

I ordered it on the 1st and it's still not shipped. Which happens a lot when Lego releases so many sets at once on the same day... I would have bought it directly in store if not for Lego gift cards I had to use and which are not accepted in franchised store, only on the official website and in stores directly managed by Lego.

9 hours ago, Lion King said:

I wonder if there will be marching band’s uniform will show up on PAB? The tan kitten from Tudor Corner never showed up on PAB.

Someone mentioned new parts are added to PAB around 4 months after a set's release, but I guess it's not always true. I too want to get some marching band uniforms to complete the fanfare for my modular city.

Edited Sunday at 09:21 PM by Pauolo

[Pauolo]

Here's a fun video of the set's designers explaining their approach to its design: https://www.lego.com/en-us/adults-welcome/secrets-of-our-sets/lego-icons-shopping-street

[Sammael]

I finished building the set today (purchased it on the 2nd).

Overall, it was probably the worst modular build experience I've had a in a while. Some of the previous modulars were boring (Town Hall) or repetitive (Emporium), this one was just bad. 

Lots and lots of fiddly bits, tiny pieces to justify the piece count, and honestly questionable techniques at times. I own a few Rebrickable MOCs and this is how Shopping Street felt like. It needed several more refinement passes.

Design-wise, the alley between the 2 buildings is too narrow and doesn't add much visual appeal. It would have been nice if they made it a cobbled street that could then be further extended but no, it's there just for the leak/plumber "story" which I found completely unappealing. The rat's nest and the carrier pigeon loft are far more interesting story points. 

Overall look is better than in pictures but feels too much like a mutant of some of the previous modulars. There is some questionable architecture and the ridiculuous toilet placing.

Too much was sacrificed to achieve the angles - build experience, size, and playability. 

I see above the designer is the same as for 10362 French Café. I found that set's realization atrocious (I did not buy it but watched numerous reviews - 0 appeal). This one is better, but please, TLG, assign someone more senior to mentor the designer a bit more on the topics I mentioned. It's obvious the designer is very talented, but needs more guidance.

 

[Ginger Ninja]

5 hours ago, Sammael said:

please, TLG, assign someone more senior to mentor the designer a bit more on the topics I mentioned. It's obvious the designer is very talented, but needs more guidance.

 

The creative lead for the set was Jamie Berard, according to the video Pauolo linked above your comment.

[Roebuck]

1 hour ago, Ginger Ninja said:

The creative lead for the set was Jamie Berard, according to the video Pauolo linked above your comment.

Do not get any more senior than that when it comes to Modular buildings, @Sammael 

I have not built the last few modulars so must go on pictures only so far, but you probably have some good points in your summary. However it was probably not the designer that decided the shape of the modular he probably just got the concept model and had to work with that..
I hear it goes well with the modular street since it is different in shape to a lot of them and it is the first one with pigeons so not all bad

[Pauolo]

From what I understand in the interview, Jamie used to work alone on the first modulars. Then, Lego put design teams on each modular, and he would work with at least one designer for each to bring new ideas. And they're not alone either. He also mentioned that both Đặng Hoàng and Mike (Psiaki I'm guessing) helped bring SS's triangle shapes. Then there's also an artist for designing minifigs and printed parts, etc...

Checking the instruction for SS on the mobile app, I'm disappointed all these details are not even mentioned there, nor the designers credited. I'm a nerd for creative processes in general, and I feel it would also ease a bit all the harsh criticism Lego sets are getting regularly these days by giving out those details.

Edited Tuesday at 09:01 AM by Pauolo

[Sammael]

6 hours ago, Roebuck said:

Do not get any more senior than that when it comes to Modular buildings, @Sammael 

I have not built the last few modulars so must go on pictures only so far, but you probably have some good points in your summary. However it was probably not the designer that decided the shape of the modular he probably just got the concept model and had to work with that..
I hear it goes well with the modular street since it is different in shape to a lot of them and it is the first one with pigeons so not all bad

Right, and agreed. If Jamie was involved than the only thing left is that they did not iterate enough due to lack of time. 

As for comparing to Rebrickable, many of those MOCs are fantastic but some of them are far, far from a pleasant building experience. They are also often quite fragile. Official modulars were always next level... and Ninjago City series is one level above that when it comes to build experience.

[RichardGoring]

I suspect Jamie was mentioned as creative lead because he leads that team, but the primary designer is Đặng Hoàng. He's been in plenty of designer interviews and even in the LEGO hosted one listed above he talks about the trips he took to get inspiration and the process to plan everything out. Jamie talks about how Đặng Hoàng came to him with the ideas and Jamie said 'I don't know how you're going to fit it in'.

But I think with a lot of LEGO sets (all of them), the design is now a team effort with multiple people having input to varying degrees.

[Lion King]

On 12/31/2025 at 4:17 AM, Pauolo said:

Đặng Hoàng also designed 10362 French Café and, tbh, I have a hard time identifying what he attempted there as art nouveau. Even the color palette choice feels questionable to me. But I'm probably harsh on it because I'm tired with the dumb romantic cliche.

if you are criticizing Dang Honag’s French Cafe, what about Jamie’s Parisian Restaurant?  There is some romance element in that set - a man proposing to a woman with a ring.  And the architecture seems pretty classic and romantic.  So don’t blame Dang. 

[Pauolo]

4 hours ago, Lion King said:

if you are criticizing Dang Honag’s French Cafe, what about Jamie’s Parisian Restaurant?  There is some romance element in that set - a man proposing to a woman with a ring.  And the architecture seems pretty classic and romantic.  So don’t blame Dang. 

My point was about how naive Dang's approach on the French Café was. I didn't think that about the PS because that façade looks like a building that could actually exist in Paris, minus the green olive color and the scale.

Edited Tuesday at 10:55 PM by Pauolo

[DeanLearner]

On 1/5/2026 at 12:49 PM, Pauolo said:

Here's a fun video of the set's designers explaining their approach to its design: https://www.lego.com/en-us/adults-welcome/secrets-of-our-sets/lego-icons-shopping-street

Thanks for the link - that was really interesting.

Curious that it wasn’t on the website, or linked through any of the other LAN-issued press releases. Definitely gives the impression of a rearguard publicity campaign after the decidedly mixed initial response. Good to also get a few more glimpsed insights into the design process too, though I remain firmly of the position (alongside several other posters) that the set felt like it lacked sufficient Beta testing.

I don’t have time for a full rundown of my thoughts, but the video added some additional perspective to several of my concerns with Shopping Street.
 

1. In a number of interviews/videos Dang Hoang has emphasised the importance of the alleyway within the design (including his personal reasons), however the set itself seems to do everything it can to conceal the alleyway, such that it is barely even noticeable from most angles. I agree that it could have been a cool idea, but could have done with more architectural features to highlight its existence, and something far more interesting at the far end to draw you in or provide a better story hook than a leaking sewer.

 

2. The intended style of architecture was not remotely clear from the initial press releases, though from the combination of the smooth facade and curved windows of the music shop, I assumed that they were going for something like the Art Nouveau/Jugendstil style seen in the Norwegian town of Alesund.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugendstilsenteret

Instead, the latest video directly states that Copenhagen was the inspiration for the architecture, though the buildings shown in the video are all of a more decorative style (which fits less with the very smooth facade of the round turret).

Either way it was interesting that both the inspiration photos, and Dang’s early sketches all show the left hand building with a conical turret, rather than a rounded dome, which I think would have been a massive improvement, and far more architecturally coherent.

Interestingly the 2024 Friends Castle B&B set https://brickset.com/sets/42638-1/Castle-Bed-and-Breakfast did a great job of capturing this style, albeit with single large pieces for the turrets, which the Modular designers may have been keen to avoid.

Regardless of all of this, I still consider the roof on the music shop to be extremely ugly, with the large hoops across the roofline looking both unfinished and way out of keeping with the rest of the style. Given the previous instances of great part usage in Modulars (e.g. Unikitty tails in DO), this just feels like such a mess.

 

3. I still dislike the colour blocking. After the master class of TC, and some previous great examples (PS stands out for me), both of which made interesting use of colour that still adhered to the principles of colour theory, this feels extremely uninspired and generic. Comparisons with https://brickset.com/sets/31036-1/Toy-Grocery-Shop are hardly unfair.

 

4. The thematic content is weirdly depressing. If the inspiration was Danish (and repetition of business from AS wasn’t considered a problem), then a bakery and coffee shop would have far more redolent of the location. Or even a statue of a mermaid (the cat is inexplicable, unless it died heroically fighting rats).

Either way, I’m staggered that the designers thought that it was a good idea to combine rodent infestation, a crumbling structure, and a business forced to not only discount, but actually throw away its unsold products. Hardly the sort of thing likely to produce a cosy sense of wellbeing among its customers - would be more cheering to read a newspaper!

***

Ultimately, I like the idea of designers bringing in their own life experiences and knowledge, but I would have much preferred Dang to have built something in a style of vernacular architecture he was more familiar with. The Ninjago City series has shown how amazing sets with a (loosely) Japanese style of architecture can be. It would have been great to see something of Vietnamese architecture, especially given its fusion with a French Colonial style. Instead, we end up with something too close to the clumsy pastiche of the French Cafe https://brickset.com/sets/10362-1/French-Café which unfortunately looks like a bad AI approximation of Art Nouveau.

Ive not yet decided whether I will buy the set. I’m still holding out on NHM, and so haven’t yet skipped a modular in over 10 years, but seriously considering missing this one. If I do buy it, then it will only be to do some serious Mods, like I did with PC, AS, BH, and JC before.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DeanLearner]

While going back through designer interviews with the major outlets to mark previous modular releases, I re-read Anderson Ward Grubb’s 2022 interview for the release of the Jazz Club, in which it sounds very clearly like the concept for Shopping Street had been around for a number of years.

https://brickset.com/article/86726/interview-with-anderson-ward-grubb-designer-of-10312-jazz-club

“Actually, it did not start out as a start out as a jazz club, although a music hall was something we talked about doing. We hadn't thought it through much more than that, but no thoughts about the size of the building or what that would look like.

When I first started doing some sketches for it, we were exploring things like a shopping street, where the layout might have been completely different with an aisle down the middle. That wasn't really working for us, partly because we were trying to fit too many things into a space and physically getting your hands into one building, fitting in a street and a second building was a little too much.”

***

It’s kind of telling that years later, they never came up with a better set name than that placeholder.

 

 

[Roebuck]

17 hours ago, Sammael said:

As for comparing to Rebrickable, many of those MOCs are fantastic but some of them are far, far from a pleasant building experience. They are also often quite fragile. Official modulars were always next level... 

That is a good point, the building experience is very important and Lego with all their professionals at making instructions will make a much better one than most MOC builders (from what I hear this is a problem with BDP sets also). 
 

17 hours ago, RichardGoring said:

But I think with a lot of LEGO sets (all of them), the design is now a team effort with multiple people having input to varying degrees.

Definitely!

6 hours ago, DeanLearner said:

I assumed that they were going for something like the Art Nouveau/Jugendstil style seen in the Norwegian town of Alesund.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jugendstilsenteret

Norway 
 

6 hours ago, DeanLearner said:

When I first started doing some sketches for it, we were exploring things like a shopping street, where the layout might have been completely different with an aisle down the middle. That wasn't really working for us, partly because we were trying to fit too many things into a space and physically getting your hands into one building, fitting in a street and a second building was a little too much.”

Interesting and the issues then seem to be the same with the model today 

[Pauolo]

12 hours ago, DeanLearner said:

Curious that it wasn’t on the website, or linked through any of the other LAN-issued press releases. Definitely gives the impression of a rearguard publicity campaign after the decidedly mixed initial response.

There are more to be found of these "adults welcomed" blog posts, including on other modulars. I don't feel like they get communicated at all (unless through email subscriptions perhaps), and this one isn't an exception. I even found once on the website the press kits influencers use to write articles on new sets, including images that are not posted on the store page.

Also, thank you for sharing your thoughts. That was a good read !

I just received the set today and will probably finish building it by the weekend. I wish I could have checked it out fully built in my Lego store instead of the Stranger Things set that didn't even need the exposition to be sold out on the first day of the year...

I like that the alleyway is a bit hidden, but I get what you mean by giving it more exposition. The final design could have used some visual flair to draw the eye to it. I feel the bridging floor above it doesn't help in that regard. It looks more like a gate to a hidden courtyard, but the back is just too barren. I'll try to mod the back so that at least something is visible at the end of the alley (like another fountain or a statue?). In general though, I feel the last 3 modulars have pretty boring backyards.

 

That Jugendstil style is pretty interesting. It makes me wish we got more North European architecture in the series (does Cafe Corner counts?). And that conical tower roof would have looked better imho. The final shape feels weirdly stubby in comparison.

I'm surprised Copenhagen was referenced mainly as the inspiration source, because I swear both buildings do not look out of place in France. The façade of the music shop looks like your average art nouveau building in busy downtown/shopping district (not exactly what I would qualify as "old town" like in the interview). The furniture shop's style, I'm not sure what to call it, but it wouldn't feel out of place in actual old town districts of French cities (I feel I spied such style in Périgueux and Montpellier).

 

12 hours ago, DeanLearner said:

If I do buy it, then it will only be to do some serious Mods, like I did with PC, AS, BH, and JC before.

Please do share your mods. Especially if you have a way to fix the interior stairs in BH that don't align well with the first floor.

12 hours ago, DeanLearner said:

While going back through designer interviews with the major outlets to mark previous modular releases, I re-read Anderson Ward Grubb’s 2022 interview for the release of the Jazz Club, in which it sounds very clearly like the concept for Shopping Street had been around for a number of years.

Nice catch. Like Market Street, they sure have an awkward way of naming a set with an alleyway... 

[icm]

16 hours ago, DeanLearner said:

4. The thematic content is weirdly depressing. If the inspiration was Danish (and repetition of business from AS wasn’t considered a problem), then a bakery and coffee shop would have far more redolent of the location. Or even a statue of a mermaid (the cat is inexplicable, unless it died heroically fighting rats).

Either way, I’m staggered that the designers thought that it was a good idea to combine rodent infestation, a crumbling structure, and a business forced to not only discount, but actually throw away its unsold products. Hardly the sort of thing likely to produce a cosy sense of wellbeing among its customers - would be more cheering to read a newspaper!

Yeah, that's one thing that really irks me about this modular: the classic minifig chair in the trash. It's such a small detail with no impact on the build, and of course it takes no imagination at all to simply leave out that part of the "storytelling", but even as a throwaway (har har) joke it's so disrespectful. People who own the set can put whatever parts they want in the dumpster at the back, but it's rude for a relatively new set designer to make an easteregg about throwing away 40 years of company history.

[Lion King]

Honestly, a classic minifig chair in a trash is pretty humorous when there is already a post adveristiing its sale.  No one buys those chairs so they are thrown in the trash. It’s just a story there.  

And I can see why Dang Hoang wanted to make an alleyway in that set. He is form Vietnam and he grew up in alleys there. So I can see why he was inspired from his “alley” life.

Also, from where I live, there are so many breezeways down rowhouses. They don’t look like gates to me at all. Just breezeway (alley with bridging floor above it).  Breezeway or alley could work for future modular buildings - hidden or exposed. 

[Lion King]

1 hour ago, icm said:

Yeah, that's one thing that really irks me about this modular: the classic minifig chair in the trash. It's such a small detail with no impact on the build, and of course it takes no imagination at all to simply leave out that part of the "storytelling", but even as a throwaway (har har) joke it's so disrespectful. People who own the set can put whatever parts they want in the dumpster at the back, but it's rude for a relatively new set designer to make an easteregg about throwing away 40 years of company history.

If other designers think it’s rude for Dang Hoang to throw that classic chair, they would say something beforehand. Also, the classic hair is still produced in many sets for 40 years. So I don’t think it’s that rude to Lego itself tho?