[MOC] 16w Alternate Models of Modular Buildings

[Huaojozu]

Francois' Hardware Store  ||  The Pit  ||  The Asylum

I always wanted to make some Modular MOCs but the prospect of the huge pool of available parts seemed daunting. Then a couple of brick orders didn't go exactly the way I expected and so I decided to make the best out of it and try to redesign some of the Modulars as 16 wide buildings. Whether it is because you don't have enough space in your town, or you want a use for a duplicate set you somehow got, or maybe you're just tired of looking at the official model, these alternate builds are a great way to utilize the parts from the original sets. I'm hoping that this will also inspire other would-be-MOCers to try their hand at alternate models as I think they are a perfect way to reuse the bricks. And for me personally the restrictions of the available parts makes it more focused and promotes creativity.

I am hoping eventually to redesign all of the Modulars, potentially with the exception of the Pet Shop which is basically already done.

So without further ado, I would like to present the first two buildings: Francois' Hardware Store (alternate build of the Fire Brigade), The Pit (alternate build of the Palace Cinema) and The Asylum (alternate build of the Cafe Corner):

 

Francois' Hardware Store 

The idea behind this one was to reuse all of the equipment from the Fire Brigade in a way that makes sense. A store was the obvious choice as you can display the items as merchandise. The owner is an avid artist who displays his paintings throughout the house as decoration. Lots of furniture, both new and old, fill out the interior and a homemade sculpture adorns the facade.

The Pit

For the Palace Cinema alternate build, I wanted to really move as far away from the original's look as possible. While the color scheme is obviously limited by the bricks available in the original, there is a substantial amount of blue plates that can be used for accents. Combined with a departure from the original style to the Detective's Office layout, I believe this building can fulfil a very different function in a town layout as well as appeal to people who dislike the Cinema's unique style. 

In terms of interesting features, I was forced to use a brick-built door for the entrance to the first floor as there was no space for stairs on the ground floor and there is only one actual door piece in the original model. In the end it worked out quite well and it can be easily opened and closed without leaving unsightly gaps, but at the cost of being a tad too wide. There is also a "sliding" french window in the apartment leading out to the balcony. Another interesting problem was the lack of a 16w baseplate. In order to be a "true" alternate model, I didn't want to use one from a different set so instead I managed to find a way to create a pseudo-baseplate from the leftover plates in the set. The main disadvantage here is that the ground is thicker than a standard baseplate, so I would suggest you change it into a standard baseplate if you have a spare one (or use the spare one from the Fire Brigade, if you're building both of the above).

The Asylum

This particular building highlights how many different parts we often forget about or misremember when it comes to large builds. If you take a look at the stock Cafe Corner modular building, you'll see very little blue. It's prominently featured on the ground floor, though mostly obstructed by other features. The upper floors don't really have any visible blue at all. When doing an alternate model, I try to move as far as possible from the original, because using the same colors automatically evokes the image of the two buildings being related.

The Asylum is the first of my MOCs to have a simple story tied to it. Anisse comes in to seek help from doctor Tim E. Discants, but his treatments are not exactly orthodox. The first floor features an admission counter and a White room, intended to hold the patients and keep them from injurying themselves. The second floor houses the Extraction room, enabling the good doctor to extract the "disease" from his patients. That leaves them ready for the Operating room. Suffice it to say, once the patients experience the treatments, they look for any way out. 

Check out my post further down or click on the link above for more pictures and the full story.

 

More to come soon hopefully! Let me know if there's a specific Modular you would want to see 16ed.

 

Edited March 29, 2018 by Huaojozu
Added a new MOC

[Bricked1980]

These are really great. Neither of them look anything like the original sets that the parts were taken from. Really like the idea of 16 wide modulars. Not only do they look good from the outside but the interiors are really nice too. Your photography is also really good by the way. 

[LegoModularFan]

I really love François’ Hardware Store. It has a very unique architecture with some NPU’s and some clever SNOTing for the first two floors! Everything works really well!

I’m however not sure about the Pit. I do like very much the left building and the passage but the grey building seems lacking of colors (sorry for the criticism). I hope you’ll be able to come up with a solution.

The interiors of both are very nice!

I need to say again that I love François’ Hardware Store!

I’d love to see an alternative build of the PR. I wonder how you’ll use the pieces!

Edited March 15, 2018 by LegoModularFan

[Huaojozu]

On 3/15/2018 at 4:54 PM, Bricked1980 said:

These are really great. Neither of them look anything like the original sets that the parts were taken from. Really like the idea of 16 wide modulars. Not only do they look good from the outside but the interiors are really nice too. Your photography is also really good by the way. 

Thanks! The photos are nothing special really. No fancy equipment or lighting. I just bought a large sheet of paper, leaned it against the wall and snapped the pics with a Galaxy S7.

 

On 3/15/2018 at 8:31 PM, LegoModularFan said:

I’m however not sure about the Pit. I do like very much the left building and the passage but the grey building seems lacking of colors (sorry for the criticism). I hope you’ll be able to come up with a solution.

Thanks for the feedback! For the grey building, I wanted to imitate the styling found in the Downtown Diner, where two floors are built without much of a separator between them. I do agree them some more color variety would spice things up, perhaps with brown or DBG around the windows, though that's where the parts restrictions of an alternate model come in.

 

On 3/15/2018 at 8:31 PM, LegoModularFan said:

I’d love to see an alternative build of the PR. I wonder how you’ll use the pieces!

So far I've been remodeling the ones that I don't find that interesting - in my opinion the line gets better as time goes on, without PR, DO and BB being much more attractive on the outside then the earlier models. They also usually already include some sort of a twist on the standard 32 wide model - the PR is cut off, DO is basically already 2 16w buildings, although much more cleverly connected than PS and the BB also has a 16w section.

 

In any case, the next alternate build is almost ready! Should be just a few more days to get the interior just right and hopefully a sneak peek tomorrow. I'm really excited to see if someone can guess (without checking BL inventories) what the original was.

[Huaojozu]

As promised, here's a preview of my newest 16w alternate modular build - The Asylum. Can you guess what it's an alternate build of?

Here's a glimpse of the facade:

 

And here's a preview of what's going on the third floor.

+

[LegoModularFan]

39 minutes ago, Huaojozu said:

Can you guess what it's an alternate build of?

The CC? It looks amazing BTW!

[Bricked1980]

49 minutes ago, Huaojozu said:

As promised, here's a preview of my newest 16w alternate modular build

This is looking very interesting. When will you be sharing the full pics?

[Huaojozu]

On 3/25/2018 at 2:40 PM, LegoModularFan said:

The CC? It looks amazing BTW!

The Café Corner indeed. I never realized how much blue there is in the set. And that it uses such rare doors! With a heavy heart I had to use some of the more common ones as the thought of bricklinking the two doors for 15$+ each was a bit daunting. The adjustment is simple enough if anyone is lucky enough to have them.

 

On 3/25/2018 at 2:51 PM, Bricked1980 said:

This is looking very interesting. When will you be sharing the full pics?

I just completed the LDD model to make sure all of the connections are legal (though sometimes it's hard to know whether LDD just doesn't support some connections as opposed to them being illegal - and the 0 tolerance for pressure is annoying too), and that I used only the CC parts. I probably won't have any time tomorrow but I should be able to do the photos on Wednesday. 

[Huaojozu]

Welcome to the Asylum! Once a rundown, empty café on the corner of the main street, the building has been slimmed down and repurposed as a safe space for all of your town's more, shall we say, interesting characters. Meet doctor Tim E. Discants, the mysterious man running this place, and let him cure whatever ails you. 

One day, haunted by a tragic loss she experienced in the Pit, a young women by the name of Annise visits the Asylum. She seeks a safe space and doctor Discants is only happy to oblige. As he opens up the counter and leads Annise to the second floor, she catches a glimpse of another patient in the facility's White room.

The doctor gestures for Annise to sit on the clinical, white table and promises to rid her of all the painful memories. As instructed, Annise grabs a rod with each hand, feeling them dig into her palms, and lies down. As she does, she feels something swell inside her and she can just barely make out a yellow and a red liquid running from her palms and through the rods she's been holding.

Doctor Discants leaves for a bit to let things run their course, then returns to see the outcome of the procedure and taste the fruits of his labor.

But there is still one step remaining to fully cure the patient. The doctor takes Annise to the third floor and straps her onto an inclined table, for her safety.

Annise, still weak from the extraction, makes out the outlines of a large lamp and a pointy contraption she's never seen before. She also sees something strange in the nearby closet, though she can't quite turn her head to make out any details.

The doctor fiddles with the control panel, adjusting the extractor to press tightly against Annise's chest. She can't help but think it wasn't a good idea to come here before she falls unconscious.

Annise wakes up in the White room with the patient she's seen when she came in, as doctor Discants carefully examines them through the glass windows. He mumbles something and leaves, leaving the two patients alone. Annise wastes no time - she's not keen to learn what other machines the good doctor has - and she desperately searches for an exit. 

Almost ready to give up, she notices a little crack in the small window on the wall. Asking the other patient to boost her up, Annise climbs into the window space and kicks the frame with as much force as she can muster. To her disbelief, that seemed to be enough to dislodge the frame and slide it out onto the pavement. She quickly climbs out and helps the other patient, who has been silent all this time, escape as well. 

What adventures await Annise and White-shirt? Stay tuned!

Edited March 30, 2018 by Huaojozu

[Bricked1980]

Very good  I had been looking forward to seeing this. It's a great looking building and I wouldn't have guessed it was made up from cafe corner pieces until @LegoModularFan pointed it out in his comment earlier this week.

The interior details and the storyline you've created are fantastic and very creative. 

[LegoModularFan]

6 hours ago, Bricked1980 said:

I had been looking forward to seeing this.

Me too! It’s very fun to follow this topic and to see what you come up! Amazing alternative build! The building seemed “angry” at the first glance though! The Pit looks better next to the Asylum! 

7 hours ago, Bricked1980 said:

The interior details and the storyline you've created are fantastic and very creative. 

^This.

It would also be nice to see some alternative builds in European architecture after some other builds in this style unless it’s not your cup of tea... For instance something like a canal house?  The PR would work perfectly IMO. Maybe you could also try using some different techniques Just proposing. 

Can’t wait to see what you’re going to come up with!  Keep it up! 

 

[Hobbythom]

These are great. The Palace cinema alternative is my favourite. It wouldnt look out of place in a cyberpunk lay-out. 

[LegoModularFan]

I've just noticed that these alternative modulars aren't made out of Lego, even the PC which is newly retired. So it isn't that expensive to get. Even the others can be BLed for reasonable prices with a few substitutions. Maybe this is why your great alternative modulars receive so few replies. So disappointing.

[nicemoon]

Great job! thanks for the tip taking foto's with a white background.