10218 Pet Shop

[Canada_7]

Tempted to pick this set up right away but will do the smart route and get the Grand Emporium prior to this. Of course when they go on sale that is. I have the Green Grocer and Fire Brigade but still haven't gotten around to building them yet.

[roamingstop]

To those of you who are moaning about the price:

It is now listed on the Norwegian Shop@Home pages - for NOK 1599. With today's exchange rates (because the Norwegian currency is currently very strong compared to most other currencies), that translates to €201, £179, and US$293.

A great set, yes. Robbery at broad daylight, yes again.

I sure will pick this up when I'm going to London in June. £119.99? It's a third of the price off. A bargain.

Or 250 Swiss Francs... which equates to 284 USD. Slightly better than Norway, but I guess everyone considers everyone in Switzerland to be wealthy (not true).

Oh well.. guess it will be bought in USA, and ponied across the Atlantic.

[geiri]

OMG

I live i Norway and was so happy to see it at Lego store.

Then i got knocked out by the price, 1600,-Nok ~~300usd.

WTF!

Why we have to pay twice the price of the Burgernation??

Its hilarius!

I been collecting Modulars and got the whole lane, but this pricing makes me think twice.

The set was a stepback and dissapointed me, and with that price im not gonna buy it. Mayge Extraleker will have it in stock. Bouught GE there for 1199,- And that was good price.

Or i buy from the US.

Would be sad if TLG prices out nations like this.

I usually shop 2 of each set, one to build and one i got MISB, wrapped up and stored in y cottage. They tend to be valuable ;)

[damian]

10th May confirmed:

http://shop.lego.com/ByTheme/Product.aspx?p=10218&cn=245&d=100

[Jed]

Very excited by this.

I'm a bit surprised to see that 8 minifig shot in an official press release. Until I read the text I thought 8 was what we got.

[HighFlyer]

You can still make most of us happy with either a post-office or a bank, but anything from your hands in this line will do for me!!

Henri

I doubt they'll make a bank modular because of the new city one. I'm very much hoping for a either a modular post office, town hall, or hospital. Or at least a city hospital.

[Wolfy 8880]

I would pay 100 AUD for this set, not a penny more. I certainly won't be paying the 270 AUD / 300 USD they are asking for it.

If I did get it (which I obviously won't be), I would only build the blue building, the brown side would go straight into the parts box. I'm sure there are other people who prefer the brown building. I think making some smaller buildings for the modular street was a good idea (I would have much preferred 24-wide - 16 is too narrow), but they have made a blunder by putting two into one box. Rather than selling two 16-wide buildings together for 150 USD, they should offer two 24-wide buildings separately for 100 USD each.

I think it goes without saying that when you're selling by mail order to the whole world, you should be selling for the same price to the whole world. The way they treat us in Australia, or even the way they treat different European countries right next to each other, has got beyond ridiculous and is just offensive.

[malleable]

As you can see in one of the images, it is a bit different. Instead of using a bit of a convoluted method like the one in FB using many minifig claws and lamp-holders, this one uses two horizontal aerials and a bunch of 1x1 clip-plates (of both angles - 90 degree and 180). It simplifies the whole technique and provides an easy way to fit it in such a small space.

Thanks for pointing that out! I checked the picture of the parts list that cesium_salami posted in the other thread, and it seems to make sense.

[ManitobaMoe]

I can hardly wait :)

[HighFlyer]

I would pay 100 AUD for this set, not a penny more. I certainly won't be paying the 270 AUD / 300 USD they are asking for it.

I think it goes without saying that when you're selling by mail order to the whole world, you should be selling for the same price to the whole world. The way they treat us in Australia, or even the way they treat different European countries right next to each other, has got beyond ridiculous and is just offensive.

I totally feel for you, however I don't think it's LEGO's fault, why would they do something like that for no reason? Perhaps it's something to do with tax and revenue, or the economic state of the country... I'm not sure...

[Syn]

I'll add this to my collection at some point, though I'm TICKED about the price!

Considering that the CDN dollar is worth more than the Yankee buck, I would have expected a slightly better price point.

I'll wait for it to go on sale.

LOL by 4 CENTS on the Dollar.

I don't know if it has been stated yet but the Pet Shop is on the Lego store this morning. No pictures and a limit of 5 with a release date of the 10th.

[cottonwood]

LOL by 4 CENTS on the Dollar.

That means the price for Canadians should be around $6 less than in the States, as opposed to $50 more.

[Aanchir]

I'm a bit disappointed that the cat has a new print rather than just using the print from Mrs. Norris from last year's Hogwarts Castle. It seems slightly less adorable now that it has more lozenge-shaped, cat-like eyes as opposed to regular black bead eyes like minifigures. The dog, on the other hand, is amazing, and it's nice to see TLG throwing a brand-new print on him the same year he makes his debut as a police dog. It shows that they're not going to limit his use to places where a German Shepherd or similar dog seems appropriate. They still need a dog with larger, floppier ears who can work as a dalmatian, but I'm willing to wait for that since to be honest expecting new molds in a modular set would be just silly.

I can't quite decide whether I like blendy parrots... I've had doubts about them for a long time, which became an actual animosity after my January trip to Costa Rica when I came to appreciate the old parrot's resemblance to an actual Scarlet Macaw. But I recently saw pictures on Flickr that really demonstrated how realistic the feathered look is on these co-injected versions. And since the main thing I prefer printed animals for is their eyes (which are hollow on the parrot whether it's printed or not), I can't say whether the 2009 co-injected parrot is truly a bad thing. I can say with certainty that I feel the PotC theme ought to have brought us an alternate two-color blend for Cotton's parrot.

The new toilet is simply amazing and fills a role I've been trying to fill on LDD for months-- a simple residential toilet design. Unfortunately, to build it in real life requires the white pot, which I do not have (I can picture that becoming a much-demanded Bricklink part), and it doesn't work on LDD (where a 3.2mm bar cannot fit through the underside of the headlight brick). The paint roller and tray are both amazing, again especially after my trip to Costa Rica (it was a service learning project, so I did a lot of painting).

One thing that bothers me about the actual architecture of the Pet Shop and townhouse is that some parts are hard to see when it's fully constructed. The toilet, for instance, is in a tiny bathroom/WC. EDIT: Another thing that bothers me about the bathroom is the inexplicable window on that interior door-- with the glass door released in an opaque color for the first time in this year's police sets that shouldn't be necessary. I don't especially like that the high-res pics in Grogall's Brickshelf folder often have to have parts of the building disassembled to see those floors in full detail (the lowest floor of the Pet Shop is the most egregious offender in the official photos, although the moving staircase in the video should have been able to solve that problem). The interior architecture of most of the rooms is amazing, with the creative stairs and floors in both the townhouse and the pet shop.

The items on the shelf on the pet shop's bottom floor are rather interesting. There's a birdhouse, as well as a yellow frog. Since the frog isn't any sort of enclosure, my brother suggested that he might not be an actual frog but rather some kind of chew toy! The furniture in the town house is also all ingenious.

That little girl should not be riding that bike! Her feet can't reach the pedals!

Edited May 7, 2011 by Aanchir

[David Thomsen]

I'm much happier now, having seen these vids and pics. The buildings are not all that impressive from the exterior, but they're not supposed to be. It's all the little details that make up the appeal - these are supposed to be homes, not architectural wonders.

In the video, Jamie talks about the different architectural styles of the buildings, and how they don't really belong anywhere in particular. I'd love to know when they belong, because I'm quite sure that fire engine doesn't belong with that escalator...

[Syn]

That means the price for Canadians should be around $6 less than in the States, as opposed to $50 more.

that's at a 0% bank transfer rate, if it was straight cash you wouldn't even be able to get a full "Yankee" dollar.

I can't quite decide whether I like blendy parrots... I've had doubts about them for a long time, which became an actual animosity after my January trip to Costa Rica when I came to appreciate the old parrot's resemblance to an actual Scarlet Macaw.

The new toilet is simply amazing and fills a role I've been trying to fill on LDD for months-- a simple residential toilet design. Unfortunately, to build it in real life requires the white pot, which I do not have (I can picture that becoming a much-demanded Bricklink part), and it doesn't work on LDD (where a 3.2mm bar cannot fit through the underside of the headlight brick). The paint roller and tray are both amazing, again especially after my trip to Costa Rica (it was a service learning project, so I did a lot of painting).

One thing that bothers me about the actual architecture of the Pet Shop and townhouse is that some parts are hard to see when it's fully constructed. The toilet, for instance, is in a tiny bathroom/WC. I don't especially like that the high-res pics in Grogall's Brickshelf folder often have to have parts of the building disassembled to see those floors in full detail (the lowest floor of the Pet Shop is the most egregious offender in the official photos, although the moving staircase in the video should have been able to solve that problem). The interior architecture of most of the rooms is amazing, with the creative stairs and floors in both the townhouse and the pet shop.

I have to agree with you on a lot of this. I'm not a fan of the blendy parrots but the more that I see them the more that they grow on me. I guess I'll just have to order it and just live with it until I do like it. I do like all of the new features that they have added but I really wish they would have had the same amount of detail like the fire brigade had as well. To me that would have tied it all together much nicer than what they have added with this set. I also don't particularly like the fact that the buildings seem to be getting shorter and shorter. I love the stairs and some of the general interior design like the loft, but the exterior seems.....not quite up to par. I'm not a big fan of the color combos which means I'll most likely end up changing it provided new parts are available in the colors that I want.

[David Thomsen]

I also don't particularly like the fact that the buildings seem to be getting shorter and shorter.

I think that was an inevitable compromise to be able to fit in the entire two extra walls needed to create two separate buildings. I was actually quite surprised by how little this affected the size of the buildings.

Unless they try to create a triple building modular, I doubt the height of the buildings is ever going to get any shorter than this.

[Syn]

Unless they try to create a triple building modular, I doubt the height of the buildings is ever going to get any shorter than this.

I hope they wouldn't do a triple building modular, at least not on a 32x32 over all base. now three 16x32s would be Ok but I don't see this being something they would do. Your most likely right, I don't generally mod my modulars' but this one I probably will.

[Plastic Nurak]

I know how I spend 149 € this autumn . Now it's better I buy Grand Emporium, I'm late .

[Vindicare]

Why are they're so many complaints on the height? Not all buildings are the exact same height, same with width, which is nice to see they've finally brought out smaller buildings.

Edited May 7, 2011 by Legocrazy81

[SwissBrick]

I'm much happier now, having seen these vids and pics. The buildings are not all that impressive from the exterior, but they're not supposed to be. It's all the little details that make up the appeal - these are supposed to be homes, not architectural wonders.

In the video, Jamie talks about the different architectural styles of the buildings, and how they don't really belong anywhere in particular. I'd love to know when they belong, because I'm quite sure that fire engine doesn't belong with that escalator...

David you're absolutely right...!

At first I was quite disappointed, but now with the hi res pics & both videos, I am much more satisfied with the overall set!I still have something to say about the Pet sign and the overall townhouse, but as you mentioned: These are not meant to be spectacular buildings!!! They are meant to fit in the modular street and represent usual building/houses.

Had a closer look today at some architectural details in a town in europe, and yes they would match usual yet nice buildings we see around.

And as someone else said as I was complaining about the pet sign, that's how a real pet store would do, have a simple and not fancy sign on the front...

Thanks Jamie and TLG, especially I believe Jamie's videos add a lot to the commercial process/marketing strategy.

Again, I must say: well done!

Of course some of us complain a bit, but that's usual and TLG has always heard these and did something about it in next modular buildings...

[cottonwood]

Just wanted to note that the Townhouse (the taller building of the two) is 8 studs shorter than the right side of the GG. Granted the GG was very tall and didn't have bricks in the middle, but it's still a big difference. With the (approx) 174 bricks that FB+GE ha over this one, each story could probably be heightened by a brick.

[malliemcg]

I think the Australian pricing is taking the micky just a little bit.

150USD = 140 AUD

200CAD = 193 AUD

150EUR = 201 AUD

120GBP = 184 AUD

Add our GST (10%) to each of those prices and you're still $50 away from TLG's pricing. The closest is the Euro price converted to AUD, with a 35% price premium. Looks like I'll have to give our local retailers something to whinge about by going overseas.

(Aussie price to local currency table below)

270AUD = 288 USD

270AUD = 279 CAD

270AUD = 201 EUR

270AUD = 176 GBP

270AUD = 1592 NOK

[hanzocloud]

I think the Australian pricing is taking the micky just a little bit.

150USD = 140 AUD

200CAD = 193 AUD

150EUR = 201 AUD

120GBP = 184 AUD

Add our GST (10%) to each of those prices and you're still $50 away from TLG's pricing. The closest is the Euro price converted to AUD, with a 35% price premium. Looks like I'll have to give our local retailers something to whinge about by going overseas.

(Aussie price to local currency table below)

270AUD = 288 USD

270AUD = 279 CAD

270AUD = 201 EUR

270AUD = 176 GBP

270AUD = 1592 NOK

I know, LEGO is so expensive here in Australia it is flamingly ridiculous!!!.. I was from Germany as a kid, and bought many Legos there for really cheap prices, but when I moved to Australia, I was put off from buying lego due to their absurb prices, which then coincided with moving into the dark ages. Now days with the power of the internet, we can easily buy from online sources which even including shipping costs is cheaper than grabbing it off a shelf of the retail stores in Australia. I envision it to be game over for Lego in Australia if it's pricing strategy does not change in the near future. Take a look at BOOKS, with major bookstores in Australia such as Borders and Angus&Robertson closing down due to most Aussies now buying books online from USA as it is a fraction of the price that our retailers are selling them for.

I also saw the new PoTC sets in Australian retailers, and their pricing is unbelievably crazy. we are paying 100% more than what our USA counterparts are paying for them.

In short, we are paying DOUBLE for the same set!!!!! (eg. a pack that costs Aussies US$100 would only cost Americans US$50) !! that is crazy !!!.. i bought some new sets online instead and saved heaps of money !!!!

[muscleman]

Thanks for the great info and photos, and videos!! Amazing!

[Niku]

Im in love.

Really like everything.

Such great technics, they did a great job.

And surely they success in surprising all of us.

My budget for LEGO will have to be raised up, but for something so beautiful like this is really no pain.