Ultimate City layout

[Quandale Dingle]

How do you make the ultimate Lego City layout? 

[Johnny1360]

I would start with some rough design sketches with strong emphasis on future builds and or rebuilding. Do you plan on a train layout, water feature, airport, roads, what you want the overall look to be, that sort of planning will help everything to look right and not just be a pile of various LEGO sets jambed together.

[Quandale Dingle]

On 5/20/2023 at 6:05 PM, Johnny1360 said:

I would start with some rough design sketches with strong emphasis on future builds and or rebuilding. Do you plan on a train layout, water feature, airport, roads, what you want the overall look to be, that sort of planning will help everything to look right and not just be a pile of various LEGO sets jambed together.

I do want a water feature, airport, roads, trains, and a realistic look for the restaurants and stores.

[XG BC]

monorail or tram/small elevated train. can run through buildings and look super cool.

[Silverhurst]

Start looking in threads here or for videos on YouTube for various content creators that feature their cities to get ideas. There are a number of them out there. Going to a local Lego convention and seeing what people build in person could also be helpful. There is no such thing as an ultimate city, only the one that you build that makes you happy. I doubt there is anyone out there that can actually afford to build their true ultimate city dream layout, no matter how rich. It always comes down to compromises you make with yourself and how you deal with the challenges you face, whether it be money, space, realism vs. abstract, or even simply what style(s) you like.

Edited May 23, 2023 by Silverhurst

[Quandale Dingle]

57 minutes ago, XG BC said:

monorail or tram/small elevated train. can run through buildings and look super cool.

I want to use 6399, and if I need more track, I can use this.

I want to use 4108, 4109, 4110, and 4111 for the roads, but they’re so expensive now!

[Berthil]

9 minutes ago, Quandale Dingle said:

I want to use 6399, and if I need more track, I can use this.

Sure you can. Have you checked prices?

Any elevation makes a city much more interesting, not only trains or monorails. But it is hard/expensive to achieve.
The Green Zone in the LEGO House is a good example of what can be done with an unlimited brick supply.

[XG BC]

7 hours ago, Quandale Dingle said:

I want to use 6399, and if I need more track, I can use this.

I want to use 4108, 4109, 4110, and 4111 for the roads, but they’re so expensive now!

unless you already have one id go with a diy system either Rollercoaster track based or masao hidaka style the monorails are super expensive.

https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/150261-wip-lego-monorails-custom-rail-systems-crs/

[Quandale Dingle]

On 5/24/2023 at 2:03 AM, XG BC said:

unless you already have one id go with a diy system either Rollercoaster track based or masao hidaka style the monorails are super expensive.

https://www.eurobricks.com/forum/index.php?/forums/topic/150261-wip-lego-monorails-custom-rail-systems-crs/

I might make my own.

[AstroFalcon]

On 5/23/2023 at 11:25 PM, Berthil said:

The Green Zone in the LEGO House is a good example of what can be done with an unlimited brick supply.

This entire room is gorgeous! I was there a couple months ago, and these builds are genuinely breathtaking. So many cool little easter eggs everywhere too.

 

[Quandale Dingle]

I got a list of sets. Any suggestions will be declined or accepted.

• 60097 City Square
• 60026 Town Square
• 7641 City Corner
• 8404 Public Transport 
• 60050 Train Station
• 3438 McDonald's Restaurant 
• 7848 Toys 'R' Us Truck 
• 3221 LEGO Truck
• 60384 Penguin Slushy Van
• 1252 Shell Tanker
• 1254 Shell Convenience Store
• 1255 Shell Car Wash
• 1256 Shell Service Station
• 3180 Tank Truck
• 7733 Truck and Forklift
• 60020 Cargo Truck
• 10184 Town Plan
• 10312 Jazz Club
• 7567 Traveler
• 3177 Small Car
• 3179 Repair Truck
• 3182 Airport
• 7747 Wind Turbine Transport

[MAB]

On 5/19/2023 at 9:48 PM, Quandale Dingle said:

How do you make the ultimate Lego City layout? 

You don't. Someone will always have something bigger and better looking than yours.

However, you can aim to make one that you have space to display and you enjoy looking at. Personally, I prefer to see a smaller number of nicely designed Modular rather than City style buildings in a row (so essentially a one dimensional display) than a large and more two dimensional table top display that takes up a lot of room and you cannot see details in the builds in the centre. But others will be the opposite.

[fordtruckin]

I have 60097, 7641, 8404, 7848, 3221(x3), 3180, 3177, 3179, and 7747. All good sets. 60097 and 3221 are my favorites of those. I really like 7848 as well. Added another floor to the Toys r Us building to match the height of the Lego store in 60097. I mostly collect modular buildings now. I find them more satisfying. I have all but the first 3. 

[Vindicare]

On 5/23/2023 at 2:28 PM, Silverhurst said:

Start looking in threads here or for videos on YouTube for various content creators that feature their cities to get ideas. There are a number of them out there. Going to a local Lego convention and seeing what people build in person could also be helpful. There is no such thing as an ultimate city, only the one that you build that makes you happy. I doubt there is anyone out there that can actually afford to build their true ultimate city dream layout, no matter how rich. It always comes down to compromises you make with yourself and how you deal with the challenges you face, whether it be money, space, realism vs. abstract, or even simply what style(s) you like.

I’ll echo this. I’m always looking at videos of people’s cities just to ideas on different placements to see what works or not to me & little detail builds to add around. 

[Quandale Dingle]

20 hours ago, fordtruckin said:

I have 60097, 7641, 8404, 7848, 3221(x3), 3180, 3177, 3179, and 7747. All good sets. 60097 and 3221 are my favorites of those. I really like 7848 as well. Added another floor to the Toys r Us building to match the height of the Lego store in 60097. I mostly collect modular buildings now. I find them more satisfying. I have all but the first 3. 

I have 7848, 3221, 7641, and the penguin slushy van. Post pics of the Toys R Us store, I wanna see!

[fordtruckin]

On 6/8/2023 at 7:26 AM, Quandale Dingle said:

I have 7848, 3221, 7641, and the penguin slushy van. Post pics of the Toys R Us store, I wanna see!

It's nothing fancy or unusual. I took the top off and added a 2nd floor to equal the height of the Lego store in set 60097. Kept the flags on top and added a small HVAC unit on the roof. The additional floor just has "stock" cardboard type boxes. I don't have any pics at the moment and it is at the back corner of my display, not easy to get to. When I got into the Modular Buildings I moved away from most of the smaller city builds. And now my layout is mostly Modulars, but I do have GBHQ, Retro Bowling Alley, a hospital modular made from a few of city set 60204, and a slightly modified gas station from 60132. 

[Quandale Dingle]

14 hours ago, fordtruckin said:

It's nothing fancy or unusual. I took the top off and added a 2nd floor to equal the height of the Lego store in set 60097. Kept the flags on top and added a small HVAC unit on the roof. The additional floor just has "stock" cardboard type boxes. I don't have any pics at the moment and it is at the back corner of my display, not easy to get to. When I got into the Modular Buildings I moved away from most of the smaller city builds. And now my layout is mostly Modulars, but I do have GBHQ, Retro Bowling Alley, a hospital modular made from a few of city set 60204, and a slightly modified gas station from 60132. 

Got it

[The Brick Boss]

You'll have to get every town-based set ever made if you wish to do that, which is extremely difficult given that town based sets date all the way back to the late 70s. I don't just mean City either. You may have to get some Friends and Creator sets. There are also modulars to look into and themes like Disney, Harry Potter, Ninjago and Speed Champions also have some good fittings for towns. Unless you're a multi-millionaire or if you get some people who can donate those sets to you, that'll be impossible to make the ultimate city layout. If you want a Lego town, your best bet is to probably keep your desire within reason unless you can afford to go all out. 

Edited June 29, 2023 by The Brick Boss

[The Brick Boss]

On 6/6/2023 at 6:51 PM, Quandale Dingle said:

• 1254 Shell Convenience Store
• 1255 Shell Car Wash
• 1256 Shell Service Station

I can't believe it took me being an adult to realize that all three of those sets made a full service station. 

[Silverhurst]

1 hour ago, The Brick Boss said:

You'll have to get every town-based set ever made if you wish to do that, which is extremely difficult given that town based sets date all the way back to the late 70s. I don't just mean City either. You may have to get some Friends and Creator sets. There are also modulars to look into and themes like Disney, Harry Potter, Ninjago and Speed Champions also have some good fittings for towns. Unless you're a multi-millionaire or if you get some people who can donate those sets to you, that'll be impossible to make the ultimate city layout. If you want a Lego town, your best bet is to probably keep your desire within reason unless you can afford to go all out. 

And not just the money. Space is often just as important a deciding factor. I would imagine that building the ultimate city with every town/city related set ever made would require a large pole barn or decent sized commercial space.

[The Brick Boss]

3 minutes ago, Silverhurst said:

And not just the money. Space is often just as important a deciding factor. I would imagine that building the ultimate city with every town/city related set ever made would require a large pole barn or decent sized commercial space.

He'll need a mansion! 

[Silverhurst]

Wayne Manor!

[Quandale Dingle]

21 hours ago, The Brick Boss said:

I can't believe it took me being an adult to realize that all three of those sets made a full service station. 

It only took me a few weeks to realize that

21 hours ago, The Brick Boss said:

You'll have to get every town-based set ever made if you wish to do that, which is extremely difficult given that town based sets date all the way back to the late 70s. I don't just mean City either. You may have to get some Friends and Creator sets. There are also modulars to look into and themes like Disney, Harry Potter, Ninjago and Speed Champions also have some good fittings for towns. Unless you're a multi-millionaire or if you get some people who can donate those sets to you, that'll be impossible to make the ultimate city layout. If you want a Lego town, your best bet is to probably keep your desire within reason unless you can afford to go all out. 

Most of them. I hate the school, some 4+ sets, and the 2021 family house, just to name a few

20 hours ago, The Brick Boss said:

He'll need a mansion! 

Who will need a mansion?

2 minutes ago, Quandale Dingle said:

It only took me a few weeks to realize that

Most of them. I hate the school, some 4+ sets, and the 2021 family house, just to name a few

Who will need a mansion?

Nevermind

[The Brick Boss]

3 hours ago, Quandale Dingle said:

Who will need a mansion?

You

[Quandale Dingle]

20 hours ago, The Brick Boss said:

You

That’s why I said Nevermind.