Modular Building Sets - Rumours and Discussion

[craiggrannell]

Given that these sets are supposed to work as standalones as well as part of a series, an inverted corner sounds like a really weird choice. I imagine even some collectors would be hard-pressed to go for one, since they'll have 'flat' displays (i.e. one deep) rather than a table of units. So I think I'll file this rumour under hmmmm.

[Agent 86]

May you tell us more about this other apparent source?

CM4Sci and the Italian forum (unless CM4Sci was also posting on the Italian forum or the poster on the Italian forum was copying and pasting what CM4Sci said here).

[LandmarksWorld]

Don't worry, nothing copied and pasted ;-)

[AFOLguy1970]

I hope the rumor is true, because a modular that is far north of $200 will probably not be purchased by me and will allow more

Given that these sets are supposed to work as standalones as well as part of a series, an inverted corner sounds like a really weird choice. I imagine even some collectors would be hard-pressed to go for one, since they'll have 'flat' displays (i.e. one deep) rather than a table of units. So I think I'll file this rumour under hmmmm.

money to be saved for vacations.

I am not sure I would consider Detectives office or Brick bank to be standalone sets due to the ugly unfinished sides. If displayed alone, they must be displayed with the "good" sides facing you and hopefully the bad sides will be against the wall or something else. If you are trying to build a whole town, you would feel compelled to buy or build something else to place next to the bad side to hide it. Prior to the DO. the modulars had details on all sides, even the back. You could have doors, balconies, dumpsters, patios, windows, etc on the back or sides. Obviously, they were not as attractive as the front sides, but they could hold their own if displaying individually.

[Doge]

Interesting rumor, 250 Euros is an ok price, but still I doubt the inverted corner part..

It is indeed not great as a stand-alone, or street part. Still I am interested, if it will be, how they will solve this problems..

[sebitsena]

For 250€, we will get more bricks, but i hope there will be something new and exclusive for this price ! And also something better than the Town Hall which was just bigger for 180€.

I would love Lego make a great anniversary set for the 10th year of the modular line.

But maybe it is a fake...

Edited August 4, 2016 by sebitsena

[BlockLogo]

I'm kinda baffled that this is taken seriously... A $250 inverted corner building on a 48*32 base??? I guess anything is possible, but this has to be BS.

Edited August 4, 2016 by BlockLogo

[sebitsena]

BS?

[Terrasher]

I actually hope it's not an inverted corner. It'd look quite out of place in a one-modular-deep street display (like craiggrannell said).

[BrickFit26]

If they do an inverted building and if it looks anything like the example on the intalian forum then there would be no sidewalk.

Edited August 5, 2016 by BrickFit26

[CM4Sci]

I don't think an inverted corner would look good.. you'd see the empty, bare side walls on the box, blah. I do think a bigger modular is a good idea, though.

[Actor Builder]

BS?

It's an abbreviation.

The "B" stands for "Bull", and the "S" is for the heightened intensity of the word feces.

They are combined into one long word that looks similar to this: Bulls**t.

This word is often used in declaration of disbelief, such as "I call BS!"

This basically means the user of the word thinks that the person they are responding to is lying to them.

If you are planning to use this word in front of your mother, I advise you to reevaluate the matter.

I hope that helped.

I don't think an inverted corner would look good.. you'd see the empty, bare side walls on the box, blah. I do think a bigger modular is a good idea, though.

I disagree, actually. I've made two Corner Modulars for my little city. They were each 16x16, for simplicity's sake, but they actually look good next to the others.

[blackie]

What is the text in the Italian forum saying? The picture is a MOC from some member right? Because it clearly looks nothing like a modular LEGO would ever produce. So he just built it after what he saw from his salesman?

Kind of hard to believe for me anyway ...

[nikhkin]

The problem with an inverted corner is that the area of the facade is tiny (like the back corner of Cafe Corner). Plus, by design it'll show one of the plain sides however it is displayed (unless with other modulars). Both of these mean it'll be really ugly to display alone and will seriously limit the appeal to people. Nobody would want it as their first modular.

[ReplicaOfLife]

I'm kinda baffled that this is taken seriously... A $250 inverted corner building on a 48*32 base??? I guess anything is possible, but this has to be BS.

Yep.

An inverted corrner is something that's mostly of theoretical interest. Even with a 16x32 added on, you'd be pressed to get as much facade as with a normal straight modular.

So far, this is the oddest and least realistic rumor I ever heard about an upcming modular.

And to be honest, I'd call BS even on a regular corner...since we just got one this year.

[AFOLguy1970]

Does anyone have a good example of a MOC inverted modular that could in theory be compatible with the current modulars?

[LegoSjaak]

Just ordered an extra Pet Shop, just to be sure i have a few more possibilities for my layout as it contains actually two 16x32 buildings....I can't imagine they would do an inverted corner in 2017...such a building would not be very attractive to new buyers.....i think an inverted corner is a building you have to MOC yourself....!

[nesquik]

It's not a strange choice at all, for several reasons.

Regardless what anyone says, this line of product is designed to work indepently. The feature of being able to connect buildings to one-another is just that - a feature. There are no patterns or hints or clues in the models. There is no obligation to please so-called 'hardcore' fans or collectors.

Thus far, the buildings have either had a front-facing 'flat' facade or corner design. These are as much marketing features as they are architectural ones; the design process for any LEGO product involves multiple stages of briefing and testing. An inverted building is actually overdue, because with more modular buildings being on sale than at any time, the company will wish to offer more benefits to the features. These products mean different things to different people, and there will be many, many people who will purchase the 2017 building as their very first 'mature', or advanced, LEGO product. I've found that there are increasingly more families purchasing this buildings who anticipate new ideas each year, and they ask year round what we're releasing next.

The rumoured price isn't an issue. Fans often look back to Town Hall, but that was a poor seller not because of the price, but because customers couldn't associate with the architecture. Big difference. With the greater focus on narrative and detail these days, an inverted building would really shake up the product line.

[Ondra]

Could it be hospital with emergency reception in front or Police station with parking lot for squad cars?

I think that they made baby minifig and wheelchair isnt coincidence.

Edited August 6, 2016 by Ondra

[sebitsena]

What about a hospital based on 6 interchangeable levels ? You know, a pet-shop like modular on two 16x32 baseplates to build a single big hospital but in wich you could switch and/or add rooms...

[Still Raindrop]

Regardless what anyone says, this line of product is designed to work indepently. The feature of being able to connect buildings to one-another is just that - a feature. There are no patterns or hints or clues in the models. There is no obligation to please so-called 'hardcore' fans or collectors

I think this actually makes such a building less likely. It's fans who would want an inverted corner (some fans--I wouldn't). But a potential buyer who sees only minimal façade with two big walls lacking detail might not feel the same. I'm a parent as well as a fan; I don't think kids are as drawn to a tiny façade and minimal sidewalk as they are to a building that has plenty of front-facing design features. I feel the same way. As a standalone set, to avoid displaying it with blank walls showing, you'd have to display the back end frontwards.

[ReplicaOfLife]

The only way I can see an 'inverted corner' as a feasible set would be if it had a fully detailed back facade aswell.... the back facade of course being the side 99% of people would put to the front when displaying it. In other words, it would be a regular corner building with a highly detailed back facade, possibly a second sidewalk back there aswell.

[eliza]

I'm excited because the rumors of a large modular make a hospital more likely.

[TheLegoDr]

So $200 for a normal sized modular? Since the scale has been cut way down from the earlier days of GG, FB, GE, etc. Town hall was bigger so it cost more. Makes sense. I bought it right away. Great color scheme, interesting facade with the pillars and the tower. It happened to be kind of blocky since it was so much taller than the others but the same width. So if they do another large scale modular at the current trend, I don't expect another Town Hall. I expect something more GG size with more tiles and plates on the ground level.

Also, I've attempted a Cafe Corner inverted corner. And while it looks neat and different from everyone else's cafe corner, I scrapped it because it didn't fit on my shelf. So if they make an inverted corner set, it may look great and I may still want it, But I won't be able to display it so I'd likely only buy it for pieces, which is unfortunate.

[Xyver]

Does anyone have a good example of a MOC inverted modular that could in theory be compatible with the current modulars?

I turned my apartment building from the Pet Shop into an inverted corner

IMG_1714 by Adrian, on Flickr

They present their own challenges, you pretty much lose the footpath and unless you do add the extra 16x32 plate on one side, there is very little facade to face the street. I don't see Lego ever actually releasing one, most people display their modulars in a straight line, or in a standard city block, an inverted corner makes it turn the other way which doesn't work for most collectors.

They are also very brick intensive due to the extra size of the back wall, which typically isn't very detailed as people don't generally see the back. It would provide a lot of internal space for play scenarios though/